CRAZY WORLD CYOA

by Persephone04

In this Crazy World, we all live our lives wishing it to be different, to be colorful and exciting, not the day-to-day monotonous routine of shambling to school or workplace or dealing with the same shit again and again. So we make distractions, we make fantasies, so that even though our world sucks, there's an incredibly vibrant just inside our heads. And heart is the key...

3. DRAFT 2

Chapter 1

Strange Beginnings Part 1

PROLOGUE:

The year is 3120 and technology has rapidly gained ground over the last decades. Virtual reality has become more than just a science fiction. Nowadays, games are not played though consoles or computer sets, they're played by beaming yourself into the gameworld.

It all started when Dominex, that insatiable, soulless gaming empire, acquired the rights to several games through their signature deployment of blackmail, extortion, financial denial and hostile takeover. Not that much of those game companies has survived to see this age, mind you.

Then Dominex announced their Living Worlds RPG, featuring the worlds of Rebirth, Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Everquest, Dungeons and Dragons, Eon Watchers. Mercy's End, League of Legends, Dark Souls, Gladianos, Origins, Dead Quest, Nevermore, Heroes of Newerth, Heroes of The Storm, Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40k and Calcunna each turned into a DIVE MASSIVE MULTIPLAYER ROLE PLAYING GAME.

The gamers of the generation held orgasmic anticipation for the biggest resurrection of games from Old Earth. There had been much clamor to see these games released into this current era. When they were finally released, it was as if the gates of hell broke loose. Gaming shelves were restocked in frenzied rates, only for it to be emptied again in mere seconds.

Dominex had solidified its reputation as the world's premiere gaming authority with Living Worlds. This is a story about several friends getting their hands on a very special datakey to a revisited League of Legends.

000

Two teenagers, a fat boy and a bitchy girl, walking side by side, wearing expressions of extreme disappointment. "Well, that settles it. We're plain unlucky." the boy said. The girl snorted at that.

"Need I remind you that we're still lucky by far? We have the last copy in our hands, right now?You've seen the incredible line back there. People literally broke down when the store announced they've sold out." girl said.

The boy still pouted. "But look at this!" he shrieked, putting the holo-disk in front of the girl's face. The girl snorted again. The holo-disk was a special edition one.

Special edition disks were gamers had either to cheer for or curse the gods they ever had the misfortune of possessing one. They contained limited edition or exclusive races, classes, items, jobs or a plethora of really cool starting items and benefits. That is, if you're lucky.

For the unfortunate, they'll be forced to play troll classes, prank jobs, real shitty items, constant weakness or curses modifier or they get zapped into a fucking 100+ difficulty dungeon as their starting place. In this case, that would be the latter.

The holo-disk the fat boy was holding up contained exclusive prank or troll races and classes. That meant that disk in their hands was a total disappointment.

"Who cares?! We're gonna play Living Worlds and we're playing it no matter how it turns out!" the girl said. She said it with much severity that it ended the discussion. The boy continued to grumble as they walked to their destination.

000

3120 is not such a bad age to be living in. That is if you have the strength to live here. Humanity has taken to space. The high class and the rich had taken to living at the Terra Regina worldship, the middle class lived on the moon and the lower class and the poor scraped a living in the wasteland remnants of Earth.

Nature had taken irreversible damage against the warmachine of Man but she had taken revenge on the remaining pockets of civilization on Earth. The environment here is inhospitable, the skies, lands and waters were green with poisonous and acidic fumes and vapors.

The bodies of water were pools of death no human or work of man could endure. Hosts of vicious, mutated flora and fauna had taken to Man as their primary source of food.

The last sanctuaries of Old Earth still exist in biospheres scattered throughout the globe, surviving through the sheer willpower of scientists, environmentalists and dreamers.

But even the biospheres are not exempted from monster attacks. Worse still, mutated humans litter the barren landscape, as dangerous as the monsters that roam the lands. This was the past generations' gift to the current and future ones. A grave of a dying planet.

It does not come as a surprise that people had taken refuge into the gaming world. The reality of which they live in offered little to make their lives enjoyable. It's a living hell. You might say that the middle class and the high class have it so easy but they too are plagued with their own problems.

They just won't admit it but they're just as worse off as the people on Earth.

000

Two men walked the smog-dominated streets of the industrial dome. They were headed to residential domes where the air was somewhat cleaner and the surroundings were far tolerable. Even though their bodies were tired from the heavy labor, their strides were fast and excited.

Working on Earth was something akin to a life-or-death situation. Hazardous workspace, minimal protective gear and the overall danger involving the work itself contributed to the single-digit chances of survival. What they had for shitty equipment, their bosses made up for fair wages.

Even though the money itself was not worth the life-threatening danger you had to endure, workers were still flocking to it.

This was the best paying job on Earth.

An industrial worker's job involves going out of the designated safezones and into the dangerous landscape beyond the fragments of civilization. They're tasked with harvesting materials from the flora and fauna outside. You can guess that the death tolls were pretty high.

These precious resources kept the communities going. While specialized biospheres still provided food from rapidly-cloned poultry and livestock, it's still not enough to meet the demand.

Cities are built around these said biospheres. They formed an ever-present niche to the survival of humanity. That being said and the importance of biospheres punctuated, industrial workers are also sent to defend biospheres from attacks. They're also tasked with harvesting rare and useful minerals that, ironically, could not have been possible to exist back at the past Earth.

These minerals called Llave (Pronounced as lee-yah-vey), the Spanish word for "key", is appropriately named. It grew abundantly near the poisoned seas but its greatest deposits were deep under the oceans. It fueled the machines of cities but its most important function is to keep the artificial sun going.

That's because Terra Regina, the worldship for the rich and the powerful, blocked the Earth's and the moon's access to natural sunlight. Any demands and pleas involving the matter in the past, present and future had fallen into deaf ears.

The solution was given by Adelia M. Sorenson, one of the geniuses who chose to remain here on Earth and the head of the Earth's Core, the association of scientists operating the biospheres. She invented a false sun using advanced technology.

Problem was how to stabilize the core. The solution was Llave. These crystals were so powerful that they could keep the artificial sun going for a week. This magnificent device, though, had to be turned off for a week every month for repairs and maintenance and when it did so, it plunged the Earth and moon into life-stealing cold. Not even the heat from the overworked machines of the city could stall the chill.

The men joined the railway transport along their fellow workers and the ancient machine, that many wondered how it could still function, moved in surprising speed back to the residential domes.

Upon reaching the docking area, the two sprinted off to their homes. This was a miracle on its own for the two men were known among their fellow workers as having the biggest jobs during the outside trips. The pair were known crackshots. Their spatial awareness, aim and precision were excellent and they had been given the roles of snipers and scouts.

Their teams couldn't count how many times they were saved by the pair's effectiveness.

The pair reached a small building that rose upwards like a stack of cards. To put it bluntly, the house looked like someone had haphazardly put one house on top of another until it looked like it was being held together by magic. They opened the doors and quickly took off their purifying masks.

Clean, synthesized oxygen filled their lungs. It's a treat as these men had adapted to the foul stench of polluted air of their workspace.

While the outside of the house was not notable, the inside was shocking. It was clean, glistening with modern equipment of a well-kept, decorated apartment.

The men walked straight to the dining area and saw five people already sitting on the table, which was laden with steaming food of questionable origins.

"Hhhmmm! Smells good!" the taller of the pair said, sniffing the air appreciatively. The fat guy and the bitchy girl was also there.

"We're having Carnifex meatballs with Jardinal sauce tonight!" the girl behind the counter smiled. She was a drop of sunshine. Fragile-looking, pretty and always with a smile on her face, she was the cook in the house.

"Thanks to you two, we can eat a lot tonight!" piped in another voice. It came from another guy of short height but his physique was impressive. It's an unspoken benefit among the industrial workers that they were given a portion of the goods they bring in.

There was also another fat guy but unlike the first one, he looked more approachable and more prone to smiling.

The other industrial worker was a short guy with a sinister-looking face. He took a look at the food and proceeded to help himself to it. "Doki, I believe we should say grace." the pouty fat guy said, his voice sounded cheerful but his intent was otherwise.

"Grace for what? Another day in this shithole?" he snapped. Pouty fat guy smiled wider now, resembling the Cheshire Cat in more ways than one.

Doki threw his spoon and fork on his plate, crossed his arms over his chest and glared at pouty fat guy. They all sat at the table and said grace, led by pouty fat guy, of course. When he finally finished, his friends descended upon the food like a swarm of locusts.

Amid the scraps of food flying around, bitchy girl nudged pouty fat guy. "Jessa, you have something to announce, right?" bitchy girl said. Jessica's eyebrow shot up. "Watchatalkin' 'bout?" he asked. Bitchy girl (Jessie), looked at Jessica meaningfully.

Across the table, sunshine girl (Bee), hot shorty (Dusty), tall guy (Blackburn), Doki and smiley fat guy (Erica) stopped their eating to look at the two.

Jessica took and deep breath then smiled. The nature of his smile was different this time so they took a breath of relief. Jessica is not particularly dangerous when he's mad but he can be extremely annoying and stubborn in that mode.

He dramatically opened his holo-bag and withdrew a holographic disk suspended within a transparent metallic container. Spoons, forks and even food dropped on the table with a loud sound. "IS THAT-" Blackburn said, daring himself to believe.

Jessica smiled proudly. "YESSSSSSSSSSSS!" he shrieked. The table erupted in cheers. Even Doki joined in the celebration. "Which game is it?" Dusty asked excitedly.

"I don't know. League of Legends. I don't know about it but they say it's a MOBA game. MOBA, you know. The predecessor of Online Virtual Arena." Jessica said. Jessie nudged Jessica again. He sighed. "And it's a prank edition." he added in defeat.

Jessica slumped back on the table and burst into tears.

Doki had burst into laughter. He pounded his fist on the table as he laughed hard. Jessica glared at him. "It's okay! It's a nice thing! We're not serious gamers anyway. We just play to enjoy anyway." Erica offered. Bee added in her words of support.

At an instant, they went back into eating, their eyes positively gleaming with anticipation. Within seconds, the food was gone and the dishes were left on the sink. Blackburn looked at Bee's fragile hands. "Remind me to get a washer bot." he said, taking them into his hands. Despite Bee's frail look, she had a worker's hands.

She was capable but her delicate health kept her indoors. She helped by being the housekeeper and cook in the house and worked part-time as a tinkerer. She blushed as Blackburn said that. "No, it's okay. We don't need one." she said hastily. Blackburn grinned. "We can afford one." he said firmly.

The seven teens walked up five flights of holo-stairs to where the empty story right above Jessica's and Erica's floor. The room used to serve as an attic but when they opened it, it had been cleared. It was clean and pristine and in the middle of the room, a cube-shaped alien device the size of a large cabinet stood quietly.

"I never thought I'd live to see that day to see an RPGium with my own eyes." Doki said, amazed. "I know, right? It arrived just ten minutes right after Jessa and I came back." Jessie said. "So? Are we gonna check it out?" Dusty asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Let's check things up here before we go inside the game." Erica said. They spent the next hour making sure no burglar would come inside and steal what few they have. By the time the others were there, Jessica had already read the manual seven times in a row. "What took you so long?" he snapped.

They gathered around the RPGium and placed their hands on the cube. Jessie had the honors of putting the holo-disk into the server feed.

The RPGium sprang to life and sounds and colors filled the small room. The device erupted into a burst of light and then they felt as if they were being sucked in by a powerful force.

000

Each of the seven teens opened their eyes to see themselves alone in a dark and unending abyss.

"Welcome to Living Worlds, presented by Dominex, your number one source of quality games and goods! You'll be introduced into the world of Runeterra, the setting of the game League of Legends from Old Earth!"

"It would seem that you have gotten the EMBODY edition disk! You have access to exclusive races, classes and items that no other players can access to! Congratulations!"

"For this edition only, you are automatically assigned to a fictional bookbound or animated work, game-based or otherwise, to be your character."

"You are given three rolls if you wish to change your assigned race and class. The more rolls you have left, the more and better starting items and benefits you'll have!"

"Good luck and have lots and lots of fun!"

000

REFERENCE POINT:

SPELLS (FOR MAGIC RACES/JOBS)/SKILLS (FOR NON-MAGIC RACES/JOBS) LEVELS AND POTENCY:

NOTE: FAITH SPELLS FOR GODS ARE EXEMPT FROM ALL CLASSIFICATIONS.

STANDARD JOBS AND CLASSES:

1st Tier

2nd Tier

3rd Tier

4th Tier

5th Tier

6th Tier

7th Tier

8th Tier

9th Tier

10th Tier

11th Tier

12th Tier

13th Tier

14th Tier

15th Tier

16th Tier

17th Tier

18th Tier

19th Tier

20th Tier

Super Tier

Over Tier

God Tier

ARCH-JOBS, ARCH-CLASSES AND EXCLUSIVE EDITION HOLDERS ONLY:

Lessest

Lesser

Less

Normal

Great

Greater

Greatest

000

ITEM LEVELS, CLASSES AND POTENCY:

NOTE: GOD-CLASS ITEMS ARE EXEMPTED FROM ALL CLASSIFICATIONS.

ITEM TYPES:

Material Armor

Immaterial Armor

Material Clothes

Immaterial Clothes

Material Ranged Weapons

Immaterial Ranged Weapons

Material Melee Weapons

Immaterial Melee Weapons

Protective

Trinkets

Accessories

Wards

Weird

Miscellaneous

Quest

Journal

Ingredients

Components

Blueprints

Consumables

Expendables

Charged

ITEM CLASSES:

Poor

Inferior

Discount

Apprentice

Novice

Normal

Journeyman

Superior

Master

Rare

Ultra Rare

Special

Unique

Artifact

Legendary

Mythical

World

Otherworldly

God

000

As each of the teens tested their luck, praying that they'll have something at least semi-useful to use, they expected the worse already.

000

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'll be using Rebirth lingo here instead of standard RPG jargon! In addition,I'll be using unconventional extended timeline chronology. So when it says 2010s, it covers 2010 to 2019 and so on and so forth. 2000s will henceforth cover from 2000 to 2999, for example.

000

For your first EMBODY, you are assigned to GAMEWORLDS AND FICTIONVERSE!

When you reach Level 40, you will be able to pick a new EMBODY and new EMBODY every ten levels after that!

000

BEE

EMBODY LEVEL 1

EMBODY Type: Citadel

1. Creepypasta: Real World universe: PRIMARY

DEPLOYABLE: Haunts (Select)

2. Scares universe -ACTIVE-

DEPLOYABLE: 1,000 Demons (Select), 10 Offertory (Select)

000

BLACKBURN

EMBODY LEVEL 1

EMBODY Type: God

-PANTHEON OF THE GODS (Exclusive Mechanic)

1. 100 Lives universe: PRIMARY

DEPLOYABLE: Mirrors (Select)

2. Sinister universe -ACTIVE-

DEPLOYABLE: Signs of The Apocalypse (Select), Those-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (Select)

000

DOKI

EMBODY LEVEL 1

EMBODY Type: Diviner

1. Shadows & Secrets universe: PRIMARY

DEPLOYABLE: Sorcerers (Select), Overseers (Select)

2. Blood Secrets universe -ACTIVE-

DEPLOYABLE: The Sacrifices (Select)

000

DUSTY

EMBODY LEVEL 1

EMBODY Type: Assimilator

1. UnEnding universe: PRIMARY

DEPLOYABLE: Shiki's Faction (All), Motemba's Faction (All)

2. Don't Starve universe -LOCKED-

DEPLOYABLE: Protagonists (Select), Mobs (Select), Items (All), World (Select)

000

JESSIE

EMBODY LEVEL 1

EMBODY Type: Ark

1. GALLERY: Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) Games: PRIMARY

LOCKED: Heroes of Newerth, Mercy's End, Defense of The Ancients, Smite, Demigod, Ancient Nations

AVAILABLE: Eon Watchers, Heroes of The Storm

2. Aura Kingdom universe -ACTIVE-

DEPLOYABLE: Envoy of Gaia (All), World of Azuria (All), Eidolons (All), Item Mall (All)

3. GALLERY: Zombie Games (And Zombie-ish Games) universe -ACTIVE-

LOCKED: Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Left 4 Dead, Zombie Army Trilogy, Call of Duty Zombies, Dead Space, Dead Island, Dead Rising, House of The Dead, Carrier, The Evil Dead, Zombie Revenge, Hunter: The Reckoning, Flesh Feast, Zombie Tycoon, Undead Knights, Darkwatch, CarnEvil, Ghosts and Goblins, Ghoul Patrol, Zombies Ate My Neighbors

AVAILABLE: Plants VS. Zombies, Corpse Craft: Incident At Weardd Academy, Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ

000

JESSICA

EMBODY LEVEL 1

EMBODY Type: Dominion

1. GALLERY: Real-Time Strategy (RTS) Games: PRIMARY

LOCKED: Warcraft series, Starcraft series, Age of Empires series, Stronghold series, Command & Conquer series, To Raise A Nation, Universe At War: Earth Assault, Long Live The Dead, Age of Wonders series

AVAILABLE: History, Lord's Legacy

2. Scooby Doo universe -ACTIVE-

DEPLOYABLE: Mystery Inc. (All), Villains (All), Scooby Doo Gameverse (All), Everything Scooby Doo! (All)

3. GALLERY: Animated Films -ACTIVE-

LOCKED: How To Train Your Dragon, Song of The Sea, Kung Fu Panda, Shrek, Boss Baby, Studio Ghibli works, Book of Life, Despicable Me

AVAILABLE: Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, Rise of The Guardians

4. Disney universe -LOCKED-

DEPLOYABLE: Disney Princesses (All), Disney Fairies (All), Disney Villains (All), Disney Franchise (All)

5. GALLERY: Cartoons and Animes -LOCKED-

LOCKED: Inuyasha, Courage The Cowardly Dog, Adventure Time, Ben 10, The Powerpuff Girls, The Amazing World of Gumball, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Foster's Home of Imaginary Friends, Generator Rex, The Amazing Spiez!, Camp Lakebottom, Goober and The Ghost Chasers, Richie Rich

AVAILABLE: Regal Academy, Natsume Yuujinchou, Cardcaptor Sakura, Danny Phantom

000

ERICA

EMBODY LEVEL 1

EMBODY Type: God

-PANTHEON OF THE GODS (Exclusive Mechanic) -LOCKED-

1. Rebirth universe: PRIMARY

DEPLOYABLE: Classes (Select), Items (Select), Creeps (Select) ,Bosses (Select), NPCs (Select), World of Lore (Select)

2. Darkest Dungeon universe -LOCKED-

DEPLOYABLE: Heroes (All), Items (All), Trinkets (All), Enemies (All), Hamlet (All)

000

EMBODY TYPES:

God- Gods have access to the Pantheon of The Gods mechanic. Gods are divided into two categories: Unbound Gods or Bound Gods. Bound Gods are those who are tied to their own religion as such their strengths and weaknesses is dictated by the number of faithful followers in that aspect and the shift of faith in that religion. Unbound Gods slowly gain power over time on their own but they are not tied down by the double-edged advantage of Bound Gods. Embodiments of this caliber usually boast powerful spells from over all the eldritch systems.

Citadel- Citadels, as their name suggests, boasts incredible defensive capabilities. Whether it's durability, immunity or recovery, Citadels combine all of these into their being, making highly indomitable opponents. This is outset by the fact that Citadels have poor offensive power and are reliant on spells to deal their damages.

Assimilator- Assimilators have the potential to be stronger than even the God Embodiments. This is because Assimilators absorb the strengths of the enemies they slay, even abilities and skills, and can use them freely. The more Assimilators progress in combat or in level, their plethora of capabilities ruthlessly expand by leaps and bounds.

Ark and Dominion- Arks and Dominions are basically the same Embodiments with the exception of their total output. Both Embodiments rely on minions to support their causes with Arks getting stronger with each minion they have and Dominions having their minions become stronger as their numbers grow. In other words, an Ark grows stronger with each minion while a Dominion does not, a Dominion's minion grow stronger with each minion while an Ark's does not. An Ark can hold out on its own against enemies while a Dominion cannot but a Dominion's minions can outnumber, outclass and outperform anything thrown their way.

Diviner- Diviners sacrifice all other stats in return for raw unfettered magical power. Combining both devastating area-of-effect and single-target magical effects and churning them at the same rate over the duration of a fight makes Diviners prime targets for removal on the battlefield. This does not mean however that Diviners don't have the means of protecting themselves.

000

FOR REBIRTH:

The Ten Divines were the oldest and wisest of the Anunnaki Beast Gods. They were the most famous deities from the RPG Rebirth and arguably the most prominent NPCs since the game's conception. They are the most well-known and revered nature deities who charged themselves of safeguarding the natural balance from the folly of mortals and gods alike. They wage an eternal war both against Darkness and Light should any of the two imbalance the scales and threaten the fabric of the universes.

The 1st is a three-headed giant wolf. Bezeluth Morde, whose domain is war, revolution and change. Her Abode is the All-Void, a churning chaotic crevice of the past, present and future, all that could have been and all that wasn't supposed to be. Very few ever have the privilege of gazing into this abyss, fewer are those who survive but those who do become heralds of great change, for better or worse, only the Ten Divines can say.

The 2nd is a golden bird with flowing plumes of sunshine gold. Serena, whose domain is time and unchanging passages of life and death. Her Abode is the Golden City, an infinite paradise where the faithful servants of the Ten Divines go when they leave the mortal world. Here the Saints of The Ten dedicate themselves endlessly to the protection of Serena's eternal cycle from all those who sought to break it or bend it to their will.

The 3rd is a child's figure composed by countless dazzling fireflies and butterflies. Terramira, whose domain is the mysteries of love and friendship. Her Abode is the Risen Gardens, innumerable lands upon immaterial clouds where the worthy souls of the dead dwell in eternal repose and celebration. It is in this realm that Chosen Ones realize their fates, choose their causes and go into the mortal realms to usher change.

The 4th is a mighty sea monster: a giant fish that hosted innumerable tentacles. Sorromere, whose domain is the world of dreams, omens and magic. His Abode is the Lexicanum, a terrible place of mist and eternal night. It is in this realm that knowledge forbidden even unto the gods is stored and safeguarded for the secrets here are no easy matter. They can dictate life and death, creation and destruction, and rumors say pinpoint the exact location of the Forge of Creation and Eden.

The 5th is a beautiful doe with twining horns that housed planets, suns, moons, stars and the beauty of Earth Mother. Abeathea, whose domain is nature and all her works and children. Her Abode is the Womb, a beautiful celestial river of heavenly bodies. It is here where entire galaxies are birthed and here they will inevitably return to die. Caught in eternal creation and destruction, no mortal may look upon it and forget its beauty and all-consuming lesson of humility.

The 6th is a black rabbit whose dug holes led straight into the heart of the underworld. Gilbranos, whose domain is the realm of the dead and the hosts of the dead. His Abode is the Courts of Judgment, a mirror of the mortal world that masks the hell it truly is, all unworthy in the eyes of Gilbranos are confined here, caught in eternal act of desecrating one another and wallowing in despair. There are those who willingly confine themselves here, seeking penance and forgiveness for their sins. Few ever go out yet undying legends like Saints Joan and Mulciber claim to have come from here.

The 7th is a giant egg bursting with potential and life. Genesis, whose domain is inspiration, artsmanship, craftsmanship and birth of beginnings. His Abode is the Imaginary, a mysterious continent that exists within the mind of all intelligent creatures. Here in this world, the concepts, beings, perceived truths and imagination are brought to life, gathered from the dreams and wonderings of all mortals. It is a dangerous yet wonderful place. Its fathomless ugliness is matched only by its wild and uncontrolled beauty. Overtures from the dark cults constantly attempt to pierce this place, to bring its denizens to the realworld. Pray they remain unsuccessful.

The 8th is looked humanoid but a close inspection would reveal that the left side is female while the right side is male. Effugus, whose domain is fate and mystery. Their Abode, which they share with their younger brother Fathomnus, is the upper half of the Hellscape, is a sickening distortion of varying realities, souls branching into millions of potentials and a storm of paths and choices. It is a merciless tempest of existential musing capable of rending even gods to cowering madness. From this sphere of knowledge madmen, sages and prophets draw their inner eye, guided by an unknown hand to speak of horrifying secrets that defile mortal perception of truths and lies when the forces of Darkness outweighs the scales.

The 9th is a giant squid whose body was comprised of the cosmos, the stars and heavenly bodies. Atenregina, whose domain is the creation of the celestial firmament. Her Abode is the Forge of Creation, the origin of all existence. It is here where Life and Death, their primordial embodiments, met and from their forbidden romance sprung the holy Forge. Many a gods have tried to stake ownership to the Forge but only Atenregina, forever lost in her daydreams, succeeded where countless failed. The Forge's powers surpass all yet none, not even its mistress, know its fullest extent. From here, Atenregina fills the omniverse with wonders and hope.

The 10th is an owl who pored over countless books, writing secrets none should know. Fathomnus, whose domain is the knowledge of the past, present and future. His Abode, which he shares with his older siblings Effugus, is the lower half of the Hellscape, is a flood rising secrets from the past, violently forced to the surface of the ever-chaotic desert that is time. Secrets of the gods, of mortals, of ancient primordial forces, constantly clash like rocks battered by violent waters of a raging storm. Those who dare gaze upon it are filled with the secrets of things they sought all their life. From this sphere of knowledge heretics, inquisitors and cultists draw their mad inspiration, guided by an unknown hand to sow chaos and spread defilement when the forces of Light outweigh the scales.

000

Each of the friends woke up suspended and alone in darkness. They were alone except for a screen right in front of them. It was blinding white and stood out against the darkness.

"Welcome to Living Worlds, brought to you by Dominex! Living Worlds is the most sophisticated and state-of-the-art DMMORPG of our time! It has A.I. systems and schematics never seen before in a massive scale such as the one you find in this game. Dominex Industries sincerely hope you will enjoy your gaming experience here! Before you go off into the gameworld, we want to thank you on behalf of Earth and the Moon Colony for your volunteering for the first generation testing of Project: Chrysalis!"

"PROJECT: CHRYSALIS?!" shrieked the seven friends. It was news to them. Anyone who's ever heard of Project: Chrysalis would gasp in shock and disbelief. Project: Chrysalis started out as a wildfire rumor that the governments of Earth and the Moon Colony joined together to make the ultimate gaming experience. The two governments combined their respective knowledge of robotics, cybernetic engineering and cyberspace generation to result what would be called as a Nest.

Nests were supercomputers with never-seen-before life support systems, A.I. ports and self-sustaining capabilities. They were supernet hubs capable of functioning for centuries on end, no expense was spared for these devices. The idea of the Nest is to confine a human body within its cells, flawlessly maintaining the body's natural processes while the occupants' consciousness was transferred into an emulated realspace cyberworld wherein they could live their lives in an idealized world.

At the heart of the Nests were powerful Llave crystals, controlled and encouraged by the bio-electricity that is normally within the human body. The life support system would inject specialized nanomachines that enhance natural bio-electricity generation, which in turn increases the growth of the Llave crystals that powers all of the Nest's self-diagnostics system and countless data banks. What the gang didn't know was that they were chosen as part of the first testing of Project: Chrysalis. As of this moment, their bodies were interred into their GEN-1 Nests and being loaded into personalized starships for the first generation, some headed for System X, others for Planet 12, both distant solar systems with similar conditions ideal to foster human life as Old Earth. These starships were far advanced than anything seen before.

Each of these starships contained DNA banks and matter replicators that would flash-generate facsimiles of Earth's flora, fauna and planetary conditions upon anchoring on their destinations but their most jaw-dropping feature was the mutagen biocontroller. Millions of nanomachines were pumped into the bodies of those interred, encouraging the evolution of the human species to a whole new level via the introduction of selectively bred mutator supercells. Should any of these people be fortunate enough to reach their destinations, they would awaken as gods, capable of harnessing the power of their imagination to tangible forces of nature.

"Please do not panic. You are the hope of humanity. Here are news that all three governments never told you about. Our world is about to end. Earth is about to end. Our sun has reached the ends of its days. The time before the planets of our solar system would be consumed by its wrath can be counted in several hundred years. All the while this continues, life on Earth will steadily be reduced by the scorching heat alone. The Earth and Moon Colony government has started building massive starships to save what we could of the planet of Men. In this personal ship of yours, everything you need, every DNA strand and matter example to replicate life on Earth as it was once before the Great Collapse and the Time Beyond That, is here! You are the hope of our world. You are the hope of our race."

"It would take light years for you to reach your destinations. Fate, chance and the prayers to whichever gods you believe in would be necessary to make you survive your journey. The holo-disk you've received not only reflects the game you'll be playing to pass the time but also determined the starship you've received. You are the ones boarding the starship Genesis. This craft is far advanced than the rest in terms of DNA banks and matter examples that go all the way back to the prehistoric times and is equipped with phasing capabilities. Your group and five others more have greater chances of arriving to your destinations. Godspeed, children! Our hope goes with you!"

Then, as dumbstruck as they were, they were redirected to the Character Creation screen. "What the fuck?!" they all thought at the same time. It literally summarized their present predicament. "Seriously? They expect us to play after all that shit?!" they screeched mentally. They pushed the revelations out of their head and started designing their characters. The more they tinkered with the bodies they were going to inhabit in the other world, the more the revelation got unimportant and unimportant. Their inner gamers were coming out and spreading their wings. They made their characters as inhuman as possible. For the likes of Blackburn, Doki and Dusty, they made theirs the stuff of nightmares and monsters. Erica and Bee made theirs as inhumanly beautiful and attractive as they could. The Jessies were the only ones who modeled theirs to their realworld appearance (Hah, watta loser!). They clicked "Create" and their vision spun. They dissolved bit by bit and they became their characters.

WHEEL OF FATE:

-All EMBODY: override prerequisites and level limitations

-Dominions can have multiple bodies, maximum of 20

-Arks can have multiple bodies, maximum of 10

-Gods can create customized bodies

-All other EMBODY start with 40% bonus progress rate

-Bee, Blackburn, Dusty, Doki, Jessie, Jessica, Erica start with the same party. Player party features unlocked!

-Jessie and Jessica share starting location: Unknown

-Bee and Dusty share starting location: Emerald Isles

-Doki and Erica share starting location: Witch Mountain

-Blackburn's starting location: Secondus

-Bee is in stasis for 8 months. Starts the game with 50 bonus levels

-Blackburn is in stasis for 8 months. Starts the game with 50 bonus levels

-Dusty is in stasis for 8 months. Starts the game with 50 bonus levels

-Doki starts with 5 bonus levels

-Jessie starts with 1 bonus level

-Jessica starts with 1 bonus level

-Erica starts with 5 bonus level

-Bee starts with Book of The Dead and Terra Mater

-Blackburn starts with Pantheon of The Gods at Level 10

-Dusty starts with Gene Library

-Doki starts with Spiritmagus- Speaker of Trees equipment set and Bloodletter- Culling equipment set

-Jessie starts with Spellseeker's Ring 1 to 5 and Wishing Shoes

-Jessica starts History: The Risen Sea map with choice settings

-Erica starts with Pantheon of The Gods unlocked and "Ten Divines" category items unlocked

DETECTING PLAYERS...

ESTABLISHING REMOTE CONTROL...

SYNCHRONIZING WAVELENGTHS...

DOWNLOADING DATA...

UNINET CONNECTION ESTABLISHED...

CREATING SPRITES...

PRIMING ENVIRONMENT...

STARTING GAME IN...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

The Jessies woke up with a gasp. They were laid against the sand, the sun high above them shining benignly while the waves gently lapped the shore. Jessie rose up partially to look around and she gasped. Never in her whole life had she seen anything remotely beautiful as the scenery sprawled before her right now. What made the beautiful nature all around her even more lovely is the fact that two of the most gorgeous men she ever laid her eyes on sat on her right and smiled down when she looked at them. It was the Fox God and the Zombie Maker! Jessie began hitting Jessica, never taking her eyes off the men. When her friend didn't reply, Jessie looked over and saw that Jessica was no longer human at all. He had become like those of the Celestial Sages.

They were divine celestial beings, their true forms being constellations of eternal light and song, who came be called on by the races of History to guide and protect them. Jessica became a tall, willowy humanoid with a skin that glowed like gold and a face with no eyebrows, nose or lips and whose long hair looked like flowing snow-white feathers. Jessie poked him on the face and her friend moved. "What?!" Jessica complained. He opened his eyes and shielded them from the sun. He noticed his hands had six digits. He also noticed where they were right away and he looked immediately and got overwhelmed with the sight.

"Whoa. Now that's a mighty purty sight." he said, grinning wide. His eyes roamed the great waters before him and the green dots of distant verdant islands. "I know, I know, but look! It's Kitsune and Stein! Eeeeeeeeeeeekkk!" Jessie shrieked. Jessica rolled his eyes and focused on admiring the beach just ahead. The azure waters, the balmy breeze and the glimpse of the another landmass in the beautiful horizon. Above them, seagulls joyfully rode the air. Behind them, just a stretch from the sandy area, rose a mighty woods. "So this is the Risen Sea, huh?" Jessica said. He gave a loud cheer and sunk back on the sands, laughing. He looked over to Jessie and saw that she was busy hugging Kitsune and Stein to death. The two seemed like good sport and welcomed the affection.

He rolled his eyes, looked to his left and saw that he had the two Champions he requested: World and Pluto.

World is from the Tarot family, a ravishing airhead with the ability summon all the Landmarks in History and put them anywhere she liked. Her presence meant that your people enjoy high Morale. Though not suited for combat, when deployed in combination with any of the economy-focused nations, she can ramp up your economy so you can worry about something else. She does, however, possess some of the most powerful spells in the game, which can enchant the battlefield with various effects of her choosing.

Pluto from the Planetary family is the perfect expression of mediocrity, jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none. He neither good nor bad. He can summon his own unique Landmarks but these Landmarks, like their master, perform just okay. He's good with everything from early game to mid game but scales down in late game when the best units become available by then. At each day, Pluto gives you gifts of Coin, Ration, Knowledge, Mana, Manpower and Morale via Events. He's good that way so when the world suddenly changes into Great Famine, you have a nice back-up.

"This is amazing! The world of History! It's all ours! OURS!" Jessica yelled, laughing maniacally. When Jessie didn't respond, he looked her way and found Jessie making out with a barechested Kitsune and Stein. Jessica covered Pluto's eyes (He's a planet but his form is a kid). "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YOU WHORE?!" Jessica screeched at his friend. Jessie looked over him apologetically. "Sorry! They're so hot I couldn't help myself!" she said. "Control your freaking hormones!" Jessica yelled at her. "I'm trying!" Jessie said. Then Stein caught her lips with his and the thinking stopped. Jessica rolled his eyes as Jessie went straight to the sex part. "World! Pluto! Show me to the Round Table!" Jessica said. He rose up and left a beast mode Jessie where she was. He carried Pluto in a piggyback much like he would a young child. The embodiment of a living planet gave squeals of delight and joy as Jessica jogged ahead. By the time they reached the area where the trees grew, Jessie was moaning in ecstasy. And they can hear it from over here. "Slut." Jessica hissed under his breath.

He looked and saw the huge dome where the Round Table sat. Exclusive only for the Reclamation mode, the Round Table is the meeting place of the alliance of Lesser Nations. It was here they signed the pact and summoned a Celestial Sage from the stars. Because he requested to start with both World and Pluto, Jessica's starting alliance composed of only six Lesser Nations. It was composed of the Lost Children, the Lilliputians, the Gnomes, the Djinn, the Outlaws and the Halflings. All of these nations have units or techs that generate resources on their own. If Jessie were to say something, these nations are quite fragile and not suited for entrenched combat or direct combat. It's a foolhardy endeavor if you're purely playing History. Jessica still had his other powers. As the EMBODY, the gang had access to things no other players had. In a sense, Jessica can make up for the lack of better military units with the ones from his other powers. The Jessies knew exactly how devious the races of History are, one moment you're just sitting there minding your own business, the next thing you know an alliance of nations just declared war on your unsuspecting ass. It's like playing chess while having that Game of Thrones mentality.

Jessica was aiming for the Summoner build. The last thing he requested for History is to start with the Summoner Badge active. These were in-game boons when a player delves into one of the fourteen playstyles suggested in the History Encyclopedia. If a player dedicates himself or herself into one of these playstyles, they're given a badge for that respective gameplay. For the Summoner Badge, it makes all Summons and Mercenaries start at Heroic rank and grants them increased casting range for their Spells.

He could also ask for minions from Jessie anyway. She's in no position to deny any of his "humble requests". Among the friends, the fastest to give in to Jessica's demands were Jessie and Bee and, to an extent, Doki. They did so mainly because they couldn't bear how annoying Jessica was until he got what he wanted. If it was something reasonable, why put up with the whining, the bitching and the drama thrown your way? Even as he thought of this, Jessica was giggling maniacally, causing World and Pluto to back up a bit. Jessica snapped his fingers and entered the Round Table. It was a open large circular tower-shaped pavilion in which situated a large circular table and seats around it. Six of the seats were already occupied by the leaders of each of the races.

Sofia of the Lilliputians, she's the young mayor of the picturesque Dawnwoods, the only place where the Little People dwell.

The Pale Matron of the Lost Children, she's the ancient reaper tasked by Death to usher the unsilenced souls of children to the afterlife.

Barty Underwood of the Gnomes, he's the lord of the labyrinthian underground networks that snakes all across History that the Gnomes call home.

Minimus of the Halflings, he's the King of the Halflings by virtue after winning the Spring's Yawn Food Festival three years running.

The Sultan of the Djinn, he's the lord of the shadeworld of the Djinn and holder and arbiter of all Djinn contracts.

The Hooded King of the Outlaws, he's the grandmaster of the Outlaw Alliance and most of the criminal underworld.

"We have so much to work on, so many things to do and so much more to improve. As your Celestial Sage, I would like to see you all rise above from the ashes of war and become a beacon for this continent. Are you with me?" Jessica said, tapping into his inner actor.

The leaders' clear and passionate voices rung in the Round Table. "Well then, without further ado, go and attend to your people. We must bolster our economy first before we make our move. We have to be careful of the other races. We must observe for now the actions of the other nations. One wrong move and all can topple over us. Understood?" he said. The leaders answered loudly once more. Jessica closed his eyes and focused on his power. His body was bathed in light then promptly shattered like glass. In his place, six bodies stood six alien bodies...

The Elder, the King of Thieves, the Demigod, the King of Beasts, the Green Knight and the Starmaker. And since the Elder, the King of Thieves and the Starmaker were females, he also got female bodies (Just plaster his head over a female body and viola! GROSSSSSSSSSSSS!). Anyway, it wasn't much since Jessica's form was alien and outworldly. Aside from the Demigod and Green Knight, the rest of the Sages were focused on economy and leadership roles. Jessica was going for the Summoner path because an army of Summons basically avoided the huge Morale damage that happens as each of your non-Summons die off where as Summons are completely disposable and much reliable until a decent standing army is made. "We better get started!" Jessica said all throughout his bodies. While four of his bodies went to work with managing the island, his Demigod and Green Knight walked back to the beach.

To Jessica, it was just like playing an RTS game. Controlling multiple units came easily to him. He had Pluto and World assist his other bodies while he went to work with exploring. He walked back to where he left Jessie and immediately regretted it. The trio was still at it. It was all hot and steamy. "OHMYFUCKINGGOD! JESSIE!" he screamed in frustration. "Sorry! Just a minute more! Wait, make that an hour!" Jessie yelled back. Jessica facepalmed. "I wonder how the others are doing." he thought to himself.

000

FOR AURA KINGDOM:

Aura Kingdom is an RPG that takes into the world of Azuria and takes on the shoes of a newly awakened Envoy of Gaia. You'll go on all sorts of adventure with your trusty Eidolon companions and embark on quests promises both danger and glory. It's gameplay is a bit repetitive, I can tell you that on personal experience, but if you're new to the RPG genre, Aura Kingdom can show you the ropes without you kicking the bucket. It also has some of the most relaxing sceneries I've ever seen in computer games. You actions will decide the fate of Azuria's three realms and all its inhabitants. May Gaia be with you!

FOR EON WATCHERS:

For those who don't play Eon Watchers but are familiar with the MOBA genre, Kitsune is a Mentor-type Paragon most famous for bringing a ton of secondary objectives into the game via his The Castle Beyond The Looking Glass. If you're familiar with the map objectives in Heroes of The Storm, that's how Kitsune rolls. If allies plays his little games, he rewards them with global buffs or a monstrosity that will push down the lane. Of course since the enemy doesn't want to put up with that crap, they'll try to stop you from achieving that. And since Kitsune's focused on supporting allies with his long-ranged CCs and sustained damage, that makes him the perfect set-up machine in the hands of a competent composition.

Stein is the slowest Assassin in terms of attacking, spellcasting and moving but he makes up for it by flooding the battlefield with zombies who'd love to tear apart anyone he cared to point them at. While he does begin with an insane amount of base Attack Damage, this is made unappealing by his uber-slow Attack Rate. What he excels in, however, is entrenched combat that is common in map objectives and fighting over the Bosses. A well-placed Carpet of Corpses and Emptied Graves can send enemies running, wilting them down with zombies while Stein prepares to land the killing blow. His signature spell, Flash Infection, turns a target ally into a zombie of your own choosing. Depending on what zombie you chose, the ally will get new abilities they can liberally use for the duration. Mothers can birth a nightmare of a pushing power, Stalkers makes you feel like an actual stalker, delete isolated people just when they think they were safe and Gargantuans can take a lot of punishment and still dish out respectable damage and CCs. That's just three of twelve possible zombies.

Eon Watchers is an underground MOBA game with an RPG's fast-paced gameplay. Each of your Paragons has 10 abilities, default hotkeyed on your keyboard by the numbers F1-F10 and you have five ultimates default hotkeyed by Q, W, E, R and T (Q and W share cooldowns, E and R share cooldowns too and T is independent), which also function as default key bindings for abilities granted by some Paragons or items. 1-6 acted as attack styles. Yes, your Paragon has six attacks. Live with it. You have three inventory spaces and a separate two for consumables and other things. These items are powerful but they can only be granted by Generals as a reward (Generals are Paragons who manage the upgrade, customization and overall properties of your base, defenses and minions. They're also in charge of unleashing devastating Tactical Strikes and promote worthy Paragons to a higher rank for bonus stats and item reward. Most Generals have global abilities but only one per team can ever be active).

FOR HISTORY:

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Jessica and I both love this game so much but I'm afraid I'm nothing compared to his madness. LOL. I wanted the game in the story to be for myself but I bowed down to my best gayfriend! LOL! In the game of History, you either take on the shoes of the Divine Anointed, chosen by the gods to lead your Greater Nation to a new era, or become the Celestial Sage, summoned from the stars by an alliance of Lesser Nations to help them rise once more after the rampage of the Demon Gods. Managing a nation isn't as simple as it sounds, you have to safeguard your nation from hunger, unhappiness and everything that would be remotely damaging to any decent, hard-working and honest society out there. It's a hard game (Mostly because it's like a game of chess, only at a turn-by-turn RPG setting) but one that is very enjoyable and fulfilling to master.

000

Two hours later...

"That was so short!" Jessie complained, having the look of a well-pleased woman on her face. "You had sex for two hours with your Paragons first thing since we came here and you still haven't had enough?!" Jessica screeched at her. She laughed nervously. "It was awesome though. Kitsune and Stein have huge whoopers. It's like a blast in my quarry!" she confided. She raised an eyebrow in a challenge. "Just how big a dynamite are we talking here?" Jessica asked. Grinning, Jessie whispered that information to Jessica's ears and he blushed like a schoolgirl. "You lucky bitch!" he said, slapping her back hard. The Jessies laughed foolishly, enjoying themselves. "Let's make our first adventure in this place!" Jessie said. "Yep!" Jessica agreed. Jessie tapped into her Aura Kingdom power and became a Reaper (Or Scythe, Necromancer or whatever you call it). She closed her eyes and summoned a large domed structure housing a glowing crystal. It was called a Warp Portal. These were strategically placed in major cities to allow people, mostly Envoys of Gaia, transport between them. But Jessie didn't just summon a Warp Portal.

She had called upon entire regions of places from Aura Kingdom. Port Skandia, Helonia Coast, Crescent Hill and Navea. All of these were summoned, phasing into realspace as a divorced realm accessible via the Warp Portal Jessie placed in Jessica's domain. Along with these places, all of its inhabitants, living or non-living, came with it and by her right as their Ark, Jessie was empowered equal to the number of new followers. Jessie smiled as she felt the power kick in. It really was something. All of a sudden, it felt like her senses and bodily functions went overcharged. She didn't tell Jessica but how could she put into words the things she couldn't even begin to describe? She smiled to herself inwardly. She knew as she got more minions, the stronger she will become. Jessica wasn't that way. The more minions he had, the stronger they are. No one's gonna get a bite out of her best friend without going through her first. She closed her eyes and summoned more items for herself: Custom Aura Kingdom University Uniform (F) and Custom Aura Kingdom University Bows (F).

Jessica smiled as he went to work. Just for fun, he had ordered Pluto to build a Senior Home, a Haunted Museum, an Arcade Portal and a Hamsterian Kingdom. These Landmarks, though they pretty much sound like a joke and look like a joke in-game, produce units that provide a minor boost to Morale and generate a minor amount of all resources. Mind you, these four are not the only ones Pluto has. He has many more of those where it came from. They're not good with combat either but are worth their weight in gold in the early game while you transcend to mid game.

Senior Home units have multiple disruptive spells, Haunted Museum units are Deathless and come in huge numbers, Arcade Portal units are Deathless too and are all Generators and Hamsterian Kingdom units are so goddamn cheap and the fastest of all artillery units you can get in-game. All of Pluto's unit-producing Landmarks are like this but if you take the Summoner's path, they can be as strong as any Tier 3 unit because Mercenaries count as Summons, only that they're not affected by Banish Spells. What really makes them good in late game is that while most of these units have a ca, they can be requisitioned for as long as you have the money for it and they have VERY minimal upkeep. They can also defend your lands from World Events triggering attacks from pirates, bandits, necromancers, rogue mages, cults, vigilantes and rabble-rousers. Jessica filed these units under the name of Fun and Fun Only.

Jessica's Fun and Fun Only:

2 Baker Granny (30) (Cap: 2) (PER TURN: +20 to all resource)- Senior Home

2 Gardener Granny (30) (Cap: 2) (PER TURN: +20 to all resource)- Senior Home

2 Farmer Granny (30) (Cap: 2) (PER TURN: +20 to all resource)- Senior Home

2 Painter Granny (30) (Cap: 2) (PER TURN: +20 to all resource)- Senior Home

1 Medieval Exhibit (100) (Cap: 1) (PER TURN: +30 to all resource)- Haunted Museum

1 World War Exhibit (100) (Cap: 1) (PER TURN: +30 to all resource)- Haunted Museum

1 Ancient Civilization Exhibit (100) (Cap: 1) (PER TURN: +30 to all resource)- Haunted Museum

1 Space Age Exhibit (100) (Cap: 1) (PER TURN: +30 to all resource)- Haunted Museum

1 Prehistoric Exhibit (100) (Cap: 1) (PER TURN: +30 to all resource)- Haunted Museum

1 Guns and Zombies (10) (Cap: 1) (PER TURN: +30 to all resource)- Arcade Portal

1 Vampires and Zombies (10) (Cap: 1) (PER TURN: +30 to all resource)- Arcade Portal

1 Racers and Racers (10) (Cap: 1) (PER TURN: +30 to all resource)- Arcade Portal

1 Building Sunshineville (10) (Cap: 1) (PER TURN: +30 to all resource)- Arcade Portal

1 Detective Catty: The Purr-fect Murders (10) (Cap: 1) (PER TURN: +30 to all resource)- Arcade Portal

1 Dance 'Til The World Ends (10) (Cap: 1) (PER TURN: +30 to all resource)- Arcade Portal

20 Hamsterian Paper Plane Rider (60) (No cap) (PER TURN: +10 to all resource)- Hamsterian Kingdom

20 Hamsterian Tunnel Networker (60) (No cap) (PER TURN: +10 to all resource)- Hamsterian Kingdom

20 Hamsterian Entomancer (60) (No cap) (PER TURN: +10 to all resource)- Hamsterian Kingdom

20 Hamsterian Puppetmaster (60) (No cap) (PER TURN: +10 to all resource)- Hamsterian Kingdom

20 Hamsterian Lily Pad Fleet (60) (No cap) (PER TURN: +10 to all resource)- Hamsterian Kingdom

20 Hamsterian Iceberg Ship (60) (No cap) (PER TURN: +10 to all resource)- Hamsterian Kingdom

ATTACK POWER: C-

DEFENSE POWER: B

SURVIVABILITY: B

VERSATILITY: A+

MOVEMENT: B

The Jessies were shrieking in excitement. Not only did they produce an army of old ladies, possessed exhibits, projected arcade games and cute hamsters but they get some freebies for it. While they were busy teching the Lilliputians and getting a large number of their economy units up, the Jessies would have their adventures. It doesn't really matter that their standing army was weak as hell. Jessie's a Reaper and she has Kitsune and Stein for extra firepower. Jessica can call on his Scooby Doo power for Villains and their minions. Everything's cool. While all that's happening, Jessica's other bodies would coordinate the Lesser Nations for their advancements. They would have a proper army in no time.

Jessie tapped into her Aura Kingdom power and summoned Eidolons for herself. Though technically she's supposed to only have one at any given time active, she can actually field any number at once. That's because of the benefits given to them as EMBODY. Jessie used this to her advantage and summoned Alice, Hansel and Gretel. The Tea Party Queen would lay down additional firepower while the Gruesome Twosome would cover the healing for everyone. "Let's go make our first adventure!" the Jessies yelled. Their units yelled in agreement. One more good thing about Pluto's Landmark-produced units is their universal ability to traverse any kind of terrain (Plus the universal tolerance for whatever that terrain may be). Be it underwater or in space, they can do it. They can show up there. Which makes them highly valuable for boosting a space-based army's Morale (Believe me when say you're gonna need it). "Where to first?" Jessie asked excitedly.

"Maybe we should do a quest?" Jessica asked eagerly. "Well, you do have a Demigod." Jessie said slyly. For those who don't play History, the Demigod is a Celestial Sage that's not supposed to exist in-game. Though weak and helpless on his own, the Demigod can transform into a Boss from his list of usable forms and lay down a world of hurt on the enemy. The forms can vary in function, from the Hellraiser (Who looks like he came straight out of Disney's Fantasia's Chernabog from Night On Bald Mountain) that can overwhelm you with a flood of Summons and powerful Spells to the economy-booming Earthbearer (Who looks like a male version of Te Fiti), he has them all. Basically, if you have this Sage, you can skip military units until mid game. Since they have the Demigod, things might look up for them. Jessica opened the quest tab for History. These quests usually mean you step into a mirror-world where you have to confront a growing evil and stomp them out before they threaten you. The Jessies looked at the window and scratched their heads. "Explore the world of Runeterra." Jessie read aloud. They sighed. Their first mission in the world of League of Legends was spelunking. The Jessies facepalmed.

"Stein, Kitsune, I need you to do me a favor and help Jessica here first. We're making a hard run for resource hoarding." Jessie said. "But who will guard you?" Stein asked, clearly displeased with the request. Jessie shot him her signature puppy eyes and the Zombie Maker looked away. "I'll be fine. If something goes wrong, we're outta there before they even know." she said. The Paragons looked at each other and sighed. "If milady wishes it." Kitsune said resignedly. Though he didn't show it, he was just as displeased as Stein. "Besides, I have Jessa with me. If there's one thing we chickens know, it's how to escape." she said. "Don't worry, guys. I'll die before I let something happen to my bestest bestfriend ever!" Jessica said lightly but his determination was resolute under that. The Paragons looked at each other again and nodded. "On the meantime, you can escort my peepz with the early exploration and Landmark capture." Jessica suggested. Stein looked thoughtful. "It could help us get stronger." he admitted.

That was all the Jessies needed. They bounced in excitement as Jessica pushed the ACCEPT button on the hologram window. Space warped, distorted, twisted and collapsed all around them, consuming the Jessies, the History army and the Eidolons. It lasted for seconds before the dimensional anomaly run its course. It disappeared as if it never happened, taking with the friends with it. The Paragons looked in wonder and shrugged their shoulders. They were looking forward to all the challenges this world was going to throw their way. "Do you think they're gonna be fine?" Stein asked worriedly, very uncharacteristic of him. Kitsune thought for a moment then beamed brightly. "Nope!" he said cheerfully. A starting expedition of Gnomes and Lilliputians was ready by the time the Paragons arrived. They started to explore the Risen Sea and the Paragons thanked their mistress for what was about to happen ten hours from now.

Having an army of Pluto units makes enemies underestimate you. After all, what's an army of Tier 1 units against an army of mixed Tiers 2, 3 and 4? Tier 1 units are just beginning units. Or so most people think. Unlike any other games, History focuses a lot on strategy and planning. Most of the time, brute strength gets outwitted by weaker units just to throw in insult with injury. Though it's comparatively risky to do so, the rewards for someone pitting weaker units against stronger units and actually wining it is immense. The Morale damage to the losing nation is huge. It's enough to send them reeling, buying you enough time to move in with your standing army and kick their asses to kingdom come. With that in mind, there's one thing an army entirely comprised of Pluto units excels in more than the others: distraction and entrenchment.

Played in a pro's hands, Pluto units can prolong the game longer than it should last. On a strategic view, you're forcing your enemies to expend more resources than necessary for the war effort. That resource could've gone to something more impactful in the future. Whether the said skirmish ends in victory or defeat, the Pluto army's already won. That's because there's an interesting thing to Pluto's Landmark races. Jessica was building another one: the Clown Colony. And as soon as it's done, he's going to tech that up as fast as possible. He was rushing for Pennywise, the Clown Colony Champion (YES! IT'S AN IT REFERENCE! EEEKKKKKKKKK!). While alive, Pennywise renders all Pluto units with the Deathless stat. Deathless, in History, means that if the unit the stat is attached to dies, it revives at the end of the battle whether it ends in victory or not. This makes Pennywise the only unit in game to grant the most number of Deathless stat. With this in mind, you can harass to no end with your Pluto army. This was one of the many things the game's developers perfectly incorporated into their game: FEAR NOT THE WEAPON BUT THE HAND THAT WIELDS IT. YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHH!

Economy-focused Lesser Nations+ Pluto+ Pluto's Landmarks+ World+ World's Landmarks+ Hidden Nation: Muses+ Hidden Nation: Charites+ Hidden Nation: Horae+ Celestial Sage: Starmaker+ Celestial Sage: King of Thieves+ Summoner Badge= YOU'RE SO SCREWED! Hahahahahaha!

Particularly notorious for extending battle are the units from Arcade Portal and Haunted Museum. Both of these naturally have the Deathless stat, which makes them annoying to deal with. Arcade Portals are extra annoying since they're all Generators, capable of flooding the battlefield with Summons:

Guns and Zombies (Inspired by first-person light gun arcade games) spawned the undead and living nightmares and these preferred attacking from a distance. Its Summon, the Nightmare Haunts, appears in pairs and split into Lesser Haunts on death.

Vampires and Zombies (Inspired by action-adventure games) spawned the undead and demonic forces and these preferred closing in on the enemy. Its Summon, the Hell Haunts, appear in trios and drain the HP of their killers for several turns.

Racers and Racers (Inspired by racing arcade games) spawned race cars that chaotically drove around in menacing and unpredictable attack patterns. Its Summon, the Grand Prix, appear in pairs and can tie up multiple enemies with its strafing attacks.

Building Sunshineville (Inspired by city-building games, town-building games and construction and management simulations) spawned periodically passive citizens far in the backline who provided one-time healing, buffs or special effects before disappearing. Its Summon, the Good Citizens, is passive but can be touched by an ally to trigger their battlefield-wide benefits.

Detective Catty: The Purr-fect Murders (Inspired by adventure-puzzle casual games) spawned passive Mysteries (In the backline as well) that afflicted debuffs on the enemy. Its Summon, the Clues, is passive but can be touched by an ally to trigger their battlefield-wide benefits.

Dance 'Til The World Ends (Inspired by music video games) spawned musical fields that provided buffs to anyone standing in its coverage. Its Summon, the Disco Inferno, appears in trios in random spaces in the battlefield and must be occupied to receive its battlefield-wide benefits.

Each of these spawned their Summons in pairs and, most importantly, spawned them near enemies (Except for Detective Catty and Sunshineville). They're the best in terms of trying up enemies with a near never-ending wall of nuisances that you just can't get rid of because they spawn right back the moment you kill them. A total exercise of futility. The Jessies cackled maniacally as they imagined all the pains the enemy will endure trying to get rid of them. This army was momentarily dependent on Arcade Portal for meatshields. If Pennywise came up, Jessica would be able to throw everything at them. Jessie and the Eidolons would be there to redirect attention to themselves instead of the History army. The Demigod would turn Boss mode in case of emergency while the Green Knight would summon as many Caretaker Fairies as possible for the most annoying healing output.

Of course, they didn't expect the battle that's about to happen...

000

Still cackling madly, the Jessies and their troopers appeared in what appeared to be some sort of mountainous region. And then, almost like they planned it, began fawning at the spectacular view in front of them. The mighty swells and curve of the mountain range before them extended as far as the eye could see. And because they were inside a game, the friends also knew that the mountain couldn't have been made entirely by the forces of nature. Magic could've have had a hand in its making. The temperature around these parts were delightfully cold (If you happened only to be visiting it and not actually living there). The Jessies took out their World Map, a feature installed to all players. It tracked down and mapped the areas where the player has visited and also displays basic information about the place. "It says here Mount Targon." Jessie said. "Bookmark this. The old man's gonna want to climb that when he wakes up." Jessica said. They both bookmarked the place, setting up a teleportation feature to Targon from anywhere in the world.

Jessie took a cautious step forwards and peeked down at the height below. "That's quite a fall." she said nervously. "Want me to push you off?" Jessica asked innocently. Jessie squealed and jumped back. "That's not funny!" she said angrily. Jessica grinned. "Let's trek down." he said. He looked at the History army. "Whoa. I never realized you were this many." he said. "Yeah, but it's okay. It's just a bunch of hamsters, exhibits, grandmas and video games." Jessie said. "Okay, guys, we're gonna take the scenic route down here, yeah?" Jessica said. "YEAH!" came the excited reply. Everyone automatically began assisting the Grannies since they're the most that needed help with mobility. This was not really needed since Jessica's nature as a Dominion strengthened them. They just did out of respect for the elderly.

What the friends didn't know is the presence of the celestial beings who have taken to the mountain as their home and stargate. High atop the heavens, in a city of silver and gold, is Targon Prime, the abode of the heavenly Targonians who've inspired mortals for generations on end and guarded them from unknowable darkness. These beings were alarmed at the sudden presence of a force they didn't expect and, worse, didn't know about. The energies of the portal that opened at the base of Mount Targon was unknowable, never before seen even by the centuries old Targonians. The beings that came from the portal, though one appeared to be human, was also unknowable. They couldn't be human but the fact that they chose forms that evoked innocence, helplessness and harmlessness was something that scared them.

But as the newcomers descended from the mountain, their leaders, a trio of young ones, pointed and squealed at every little thing that caught their attention, the Targonians softened. Though the age of the League of Legends revealed many things about the mystery of Mount Targon and several Aspects joined its roster of Champions, Targon Prime still held many surprises. Right now the group looked like tourists on a sightseeing tour. Though Targon is one of the client nations of the League, it was more independent and more off-limits to the League's jurisdiction. Strong as they are, the League would never risk triggering the wrath of gods upon them, the same with the Ascendants of Shurima. The strange visitors squealed at everything that caught their attention, took pictures of the view and zoomed back and forth excitedly. The Targonians also noticed that the group was going down the mountain. It would be an interesting sight to see how the group would react to the mortals who lived upon the slopes.

"Hey, Jess, how about we fly?" Jessica suddenly suggested. Jessie raised an eyebrow. 'Are you tired of walking?" she teased. "Not really but the view will be better up high, right?" he said. Remember when I mentioned earlier that Pluto units can go anywhere? All the Jessies had to do was summon a mount and fly. The Green Knight grew huge butterfly wings that shone with the colors of the rainbow, the Demigod moved through the air atop a throne of clouds and Jessie summoned a Dreamy Double Flying Whale from Aura Kingdom for herself (You can look them up from Aura Kingdom webpage at the Aeria Games website! Sorry, the editor kept removing the link. I had to get creative. P.S. Remove asterisk (*). *www*.* aurakingdom.*aeriagames*.*com/*itemmall/*item/*633910/*mystery-box-dreamy-double-flying-whale). The History army followed him with Senior Home riding their own personal fully-equipped hoverbuses, Haunted Museum on flight-capable gadgets or animals from their respective era, Arcade Portal on digitized aircraft and Hamsterian Kingdom riding the waves of wraithwaters.

Jessica was right. The view was much spectacular from up above. The Jessie shrieked with laughter as they zoomed daringly, testing their ability of flight. There are many flight simulators in games back at Earth but this is the first time that such sensory stimulation felt to the fullest. Their hearts beating wild, their eyes shining with tears of joy and excitement, the Jessies dipped in and out of the clouds, their mad laughter echoing right through the vast chasms below. "Are those houses built into the rock itself?" Jessie asked as she saw what could only be a civilization of the craziest people she ever met. How can they bear to live in treacherous conditions of the mountain? "It's amazing how humanity can survive in the harshest conditions." Jessica commented as he watched the homes of a people carved into the stone of the mountain itself. It was a web of entire communities living at the base of the mountain. "Ah, we've been spotted." Jessie said.

True. The Rakkor, the people who chose to dwelt upon the base of the mountain and who predominantly worshipped the sun, who first spotted the flying parade rung the alarm and shouts of warriors clad in golden tribal armors reached even the gang at that height. When at first they thought they were safe, the Jessies quickly amended their thinking when the first bolt rushed past them, barely missing the Green Knight's head. "Holy crap." Jessie said. Before the History army could scream a battlecry and try to avenge Jessica and everything escalated into a violent exchange, the Demigod flew and reached towards the top of the mountain. All eyes turned to him and they saw the wicked glee on his face. By the gods, he was going to bring the mountain crashing down on them all! As the Demigod's power grasped the primal elements of the planet, a thick blanket of white appeared from above and descended upon the entire slope with the Demigod's gesture.

The Jessies and their minions watched as the blindingly white mist claimed the entire region, prompting a panic as the Rakkor were completely blinded. The Demigod's haunting mocking voice echoed in the confusion as the Jessies' group departed from the scene entirely, determined to not start an unnecessary fight. In the days to come, the Rakkor could come to consider the group as celestial beings from the holy peak of Targon and they've been insulted with the Rakkor's reception of them, causing the tribes to offer excess prayers of forgiveness and sacrifice. The mist would not be lifted for two whole weeks and while the Targonians investigated the power affecting the phenomenon, they weren't able to do anything but let the spell run its course. It's not that they didn't have the means to dispel the magic, it's just that they didn't know what counterspell to use for it. To the Targonians' amazement, the newcomers simply passed by the mountain. They didn't come to ascend the mountain or plunder it. They were simply passing through. One moment, they were fascinated by the greatness of the tallest mountain in all of Runeterra, the next they were enchanted by the green things that covered each inch of fertile earth beyond the lands of Targon.

The leaders of this group were far more attuned with the natural world than with the mysticism inspired by the heavens and its greater mysteries. The group wandered off before the Targonians could approach them. What made it all the more disturbing is that the newcomers didn't register to their most complex scrying spells. For Targonians whose empire existed for eons on end, this was unsettling information. Who are these newcomers? It was as if they were from another plane of existence entirely. It was only a matter of time before the higher council ordered an eye to be kept on them at all times. Someone walking with that kind of mysterious power needed to be kept near at all times.

"That was highly underwhelming. Do we really look that menacing?" Jessie asked. She was quite bothered by it all since she was such a diva. "Not at all!" chorused the Grannies. And thus Jessie stepped on a landmine of her own making. Soon the Grannies were talking on and on about things that happened in their younger days. "I blame you for this." Jessie hissed at Jessica. He tried to stop his laughter but ultimately failed. "Maybe they got scared of your face." he said. Jessie rolled her eyes. Something caught her attention. A group coming towards them. "They look like warriors." Jessie commented. "And they also looked wounded." said Detective Warwick. He was from the Arcade Portal, specifically Detective Catty: The Purr-fect Murders. P.S. One cool thing about History and Pluto is that of your reach Legendary rank with any of the Arcade Portal units, they will give you a code that lets you redeem your free game at the Valor client. Legendary rank Detective Catty? Free Detective Catty: The Purr-fect Murders game! Yay!

Anyhoo, Detective Warwick is dubbed as the Sherlock Holmes of the 21st century, the most brilliant detective to walk the Special Cases Division that handles crimes that are paranormal by nature. Detective Warwick claims that his pet cat, Detective Catty, is no ordinary cat, is his mentor and taught him everything he knows. Most people just dismiss it as humility of a very talented person. But on a closer look, Detective Catty does work strange things. She's the first to spot a clue and points everyone to it. She convinces reluctant witnesses and informants to cooperate with her cuteness. She's the reason behind every single freaking breakthrough in a particularly difficult case. And her little antics ends up with the criminal caught. She's no ordinary cat indeed. Anyhoo, Detective Warwick said that as he and Detective Catty looked on.

"Should we help them?" asked the Painter Grannies worriedly. Well, the Grannies definitely reeked of goodness and maternal instinct. The Jessies sighed. "We do have healing capabilities." Jessie said, smiling and finding the whole thing cute. Their entourage swooped down. "Greetings, warriors!" the Demigod said as their group appeared before the band. They definitely saw what Detective Warwick and Detective Catty said about. The warriors looked they gone through a lot of ordeal. Since they didn't know the Jessies were here on benevolent intentions, the wasted group were determined to put up a fight even if it was obvious they couldn't put up much of a resistance. "Do not fear, strangers! We have decided to grace you with our benevolence!" the Demigod said. Jessie shifted to the Bard class in an instant and brandished a golden lyre. She plucked some note on it and the haunting melody lingered in the air.

It took over the air with its mystical energy. As it filled the wind with magical properties, wounds and afflictions began to mend at a rapid rate, sealed by a formidable regenerative power. "Have we proven our good intentions?" Jessie asked. The warriors, now healed, looked at them with reverence and awe. As much as their wounds were healed, their spirits were rejuvenated as well. Then suddenly, they fell on their knees, prostrating headfirst into the ground. "PLEASE HELP US!" they cried as one. The gang was taken aback by the sudden appeal. "You look well enough, mortal. Is there anything else we can help you with?" the Demigod asked. "We know we're asking too much of your time but please help us with the Black Mist!" cried one warrior who looked to be the leader of the band. The Jessies looked at each other, trying hard to suppress their excitement. "What is this Black Mist you speak about?" the Demigod asked.

The warriors looked at them in surprise. "We are beings who neither seen nor heard about this thing you speak of. Forgive our ignorance but please enlighten us." the Demigod said. Jessie mentally applauded Jessica for his way with words. The warrior leader. "We are messengers from Freljord, here to solicit aid from the Rakkor and the divine Targonians for their aid against the darkness of the undead that befell upon our land." he explained. The warrior-woman beside him looked up. "You look like someone who has skill and power. Please aid us. We will reward you to the best we can." she said. Her pleas were repeated by her fellow warriors. The Jessies looked at their History army. "Well, this would be a good time to test out skills." Governor Furballia, from Building Sunshineville, said. Her opinion was echoed by History and Jessie's Eidolons.

"We can move through pace and time directly to be with your people." Jessie said. She felt Jessica beaming with pride when she said this. The warriors looked up with renewed hope. "But in the event that this might be more than we can handle, leave a contingent of your warriors here to seek the aid you came here for while the others direct us to this place we need to be." Jessie said. Again, she felt Jessica's pride. She patted herself mentally. The warrior-woman stood up and looked determined. "I will lead them back." she said. "Ansel!" the leader said. The woman looked at her fellow warriors in a grim determination. "We have no choice in this. We must place our trust in these strangers. The rest of you solicit aid from the Rakkor." she said. When they looked they wouldn't budge an inch, Jessica stepped forward.

"Worry not, warriors. My brother and I swear upon our honor as Celestial Sages that we will ensure no harm will come upon this mortal woman. She will be safe with us." the Green Knight swore. The leader looked at them. "What are you?" he asked nervously. "Celestials." the Jessies said, reading each other's mind perfectly. "We are not aligned with Targon but we are of the heavens." Jessie said. The woman named Ansel stepped forward. Jessie plucked more hymns from her lyre, filling the air once more with restorative magic. "Think clearly of your home, child. I shall use the memory as our destination." the Demigod said. Ansel nodded and closed her eyes, thinking hard. "A clear picture is what we need for my magic to work. One misstep and we'll end up somewhere far or worse." the Demigod warned. Jessie looked at the others, who looked clearly uncertain to entrust their friend to a bunch of strangers. "Words mean little to mortals but that is what all we shall offer you. Our word is far binding than your mightiest chains." she said. A portal exploded behind the Demigod and the warriors gasped.

On the other side of the shimmering gate was none of other can the capital of the Avarosans, burning and in chaos. Darkness swam everywhere as glimpses of undead horrors flew in the skies and descended cackling. The battle was intense but the mortal defenders looked loosing. The Jessies suddenly, uncharacteristically, shrieked with excitement. "War and glory awaits us on the other side! Claim victory in the name of the Celestial Sages! Make this world witness the power of History!" Jessica declared dramatically. Jessie, the History army and the Eidolons gave a mighty battlecry. Jessie gently pushed Ansel aside and with a massive roar, charged into the shimmering portal. The Freljordians were left gawking as the things unraveled fast on the other side.

"OHMYGOD! SO MANY PEOPLE TO KILL!" Jessie yelled excitedly. She sure was excited alright. As a Reaper, she wanted to see how far she can go. "Eidolons, to me!" she yelled as she flew right into the battle. With the Gruesome Twosome and the Tea Party Queen behind her, Jessie unleashed a dark brand of chaos into the battlefield. "Devil Incarnate!" she intoned. A portal appeared on the ground, dark and bursting with the fires of Pandemonium. A massive cacophony of dark souls and hellfire erupted from it. The conflagration rose into the heavens like an unholy pillar, violently dragging unfortunate shades into the pit of hell itself. It closed with a massive unholy yawn, not leaving a trace. Stillness claimed the battlefield. Both sides gazed unto the newcomer, wary and shocked. Jessie's demure voice reached all the way to the defenders, her voice unnaturally magnified. "Frozen Tomb!" she chanted. Rallying to her command, the frozen elements of the world surged and coalesced into vicious spikes of ice that rose from the ground in a split of a millisecond, impaling undead in its horrible wake and imprisoning those who escaped its grasp in an icy cage.

Smoke rose from the shades that were utterly destroyed by the unknowable magic that flowed to Jessie, a magic that is native to the world of Azuria, the world of Aura Kingdom. Grinning viciously, Jessie strode forward with her Eidolons. "Hansel! Gretel!" she said. Hansel and Gretel nodded and unleashed their Aelius and Kotonoha dolls. The two threw it into the air and it grew into gigantic proportions in a span of seconds. Cheering loudly, the three jumped into their dolls, Hansel and Gretel on Aelius doll and Jessie on the Kotonoha doll. Searing beams of nature's might fired from the eyes of the dolls, converging into a churning storm of windpower. As the storm roared and cut shades into ribbons with the very wrath of nature, her benevolence shone down on the defenders. As the mighty gale thundered, wounds and spirit rejuvenated with the same power and magnitude. As the holy winds clashed in erratic directions, chunks of the Harrowing's forces were destroyed while many shades were being plucked from their relative safety and dragged into its merciless confines. Jessie, Hansel and Gretel finished the spectacular magic with the same brand of flair, a mighty pillar of winds into the sky burst into windforce that ripped apart their foes. It was the Deadly Meowlaser.

"Let's get this party started!" Jessie cheered, waving to Jessica in the backlines. Eyes turned to what was happening in the back. Though they couldn't see something from that distance, which was strange because a huge core of the defenders were veteran warriors and mages. Among them were Champions from the League of Legends who volunteered to aid the Avarosans in their time of need. Among them as well were representatives from both League-affiliated nations and League-unaffiliated nations who came to aid the Freljordians. They were masters of their martial arts as well. That's when hellfire erupted like a raging volcano. Jessie shrieked with excitement. "HELLRAISER!" she yelled. "What?" the young queen of the Avarosans exclaimed in disbelief. A towering wall of hellfire consumed the vast horizon, screams of suffering and wailing torment reached the defenders' ears, a horrible cacophony of misery. A demon of solidified living fire rose from this hellscape. Its wings were broad and all-spanning, terrible in their awful majesty, and its horns were as twisted as sin itself, its eyes and maws were set to a permanent look of wicked glee.

It looked at the direction of the Shadow Isles shades and roared in challenge. It was answered by a whine of unfeeling specters. It very much looked at the embodiment of damnation itself. The demon raised on massive claw and let loose the first fireball. The screams of the damned was deafening as the unholy comet wailed through the air. Those touched by the felfire screamed as suffering rend their spirits apart. Inferno burst where the fire landed, screeching into existence a conflagration that blinded all who saw it. Lashing hellfire spat everywhere, seeking targets with malign intent. "Devil Incarnate!" Jessie chanted once more and the portal to hell yawned open and dragged scores of unfortunate victims with it. Instead of heading to the battlefield, Jessie was content to sit back and support the History army. Jessica needed to level them up as fast as he could. Jessie flew to where the defenders were, up the wall of ice and frozen stone. "Hey, guys!" Jessie greeted enthusiastically. Silence met her greeting. Jessie understood them. "I know you're a little shock and uncertain but we're here for you! And it's kinda weird but a woman named Ansel kinda recruited us to help you." she explained.

The queen of the Avarosans immediately looked up at the mention of the name. "Ansel? Is she alright? Is she safe?" the woman asked. Jessied smiled at her. "She's fine. A little dumbstruck but otherwise fine. We used her memory to open a portal here." Jessie explained. The queen looked around. "Where is she?" she asked, not believing them. "They should be appearing in five seconds." Jessie said. She was looking where the giant demon was then she looked at the humans. "Now, that devil's gonna come all the way here. I ask that no one panic and attack it." Jessie said. All eyes turned towards the devil's location. It cackled madly then sunk into the ground, the wall of hellfire collapsing in its wake. At the same time, the earth several meters away from the gates of the Avarosan capital bubbled and hissed. Sounds of demonic laughter echoed in the air as the earth burst open and the wall of fire appeared again. Before them, the titanic angel of darkness appeared once more.

Half of its body was sunk into the fissure of fire and brimstone while its upper half was beholden to those who saw it in all its dark glory. The massive demon turned and faced the mortals. It was a being of living fire given shape and it extended one of its claws. People drew back in the face of such a force before them. Something within them begged to escape, to run far away as possible from this dark creature. Then its palm opened and... "Ansel!" cried the queen, rushing forward to collect her loyal subject. The warrior-woman looked stunned but unharmed as she stepped down from the demon claw. She looked at her queen with frightened eyes. She didn't know what she had done but she invited these mysterious creatures, two of whom wielded nightmarish power, to step into Avarosan territory. "She's a bit shocked, mind you." the demon explained in a teasing voice. "Who the hell wouldn't be? I mean, look at you. You're hideous." Jessie said, smiling a Cheshire cat smile. The demon gave her such a queenly look of disdain then it looked back. "Now, remember what I told you." the demon said to someone, going far as to stoop down to the person he was talking to. It was spoken with uncharacteristic kindness.

People began to crowd at the walls and saw that the demon had indeed been talking to someone. It was an army of old women, holographic projections, moving exhibits and hamsters. "Aaawww!" one of the defenders, a blonde mage with light magic, said. "Hide behind the Summons." the army chorused. The demon clapped his hands happily. "Wonderful! And if shit goes south, what'll you do?" he asked. "Do the chicken run." the army said again. The demon clapped once more. "Remember, we're playing defend for this human kingdom whose existence I don't really give a damn about ("Hey!" cried the queen) but we're going to use it as training ground anyway." the demon said. "Dude, I think they already get it." Jessie said. The demon spread his mighty wings, its shadows casting carnal uneasiness. "Get them, my pretties! Destroy them in my name!" the demon cackled. The weird army gave a cheer and rushed into the fray. The demon leaned back and held his girl companion's tiny hands into his massive claws. "Aaawww... Look at them! Ready to tear apart the world at my command!" he said, wiping a tear away. "Go, get 'em, kids!" Jessie said. Alice, Hansel and Gretel looked excited at the prospect and yelled a battlecry as well.

The demon spread his wings again. "Hear me, oh, foolish souls cast unto the shallow shores of the delusion that is necromancy, know you face the Demigod, the Green Knight and the Reaper. Entertain us to the best of your ability and we shall show you a painless demise." the demon announced, his voice carrying off to the very heart of the Harrowing. A titanic barrier appeared all around them, sealing off an entire region and trapping both the undead and the defenders within. "Release will be once I'm satisfied with the results or you are all dead." said the demon, ending it with a demure laughter. He snapped his fingers and hosts of undead of bone, flesh and spirit appeared in their multitudes as well as excursions of demons, devils and hellbeasts. "Run them over, my darling lambs." the demon said. And the carnage began.

Several hours passed as the stunned defenders watched as the laughable army brought by these strangers slowly but surely overpowered the undead of the Black Mist. The demon and the schoolgirl were playing some kind of card game and were engrossed in it. The old women swam upon the tide of summoned creatures produced by the holographic projections. The painters drew and summoned creatures of ink and unleashed them into the fight, the gardeners threw pots of monster plants that snapped and entangled, the farmers unleashed enraged poultry, cattle and swine and the bakers filled the air with pies that coated shades in sticky goop. The demon and the schoolgirl cheered and howled their encouragement from behind. They would intervene if the monsters came within dangerous range of them. The moving exhibits stood at the thick of the battle, attacking in frenzied and almost suicidal manner. Their numbers hunted down shades both in land and air. The hamsters occupied the summoned musical fields and attacked from afar with their ships of floating iceberg. Soon enough, the invigorated defenders joined into the assault.

They were successfully pushing back the horde. After days of fruitless defense, these weirdos gave them hope for survival in the fight. As the weird army pushed back the main force, the defenders took care of the ones straying to strike from behind. All who watched the weird army saw their unbelievable coordination, how they dictated the battle simply with their movement. The sound of bells and chimes ringing as another figure came down from the skies. Glittering rainbows reflected off the magnificent butterfly wings of the knight that came along. A court of fairies came down with him and the tinkling sounds was the flapping of their musical wings. It flew down beside the demon and the schoolgirl. The knight's armor was overrun with growing plant life, though tiny spaces revealed the armor to be like molten silver. The knight looked at the queen. The Green Knight bowed respectfully and purposefully to the queen, his court of healer fairies mimicked his gesture playfully.

"Well, good news is no one's lost in the middle of the battlefield. I've healed as many as I can save." the Green Knight. Behind him were bodies of the wounded and the fallen. The wounded but concious bodies levitated forward, warriors who were forced from the hands of death by the healing power of the fairy court. The queen clapped her hands and several warriors came running to get their fellow warriors. The fairies levitated the bodies of the dead on the other side. "And we have these guys." the Green Knight said, pointing to other bodies that were kept on the back. They were still alive but they looked suffering. Black smoke hissed from their wounds instead of blood and there was a hollow quality to the light of their eyes. Jessie clapped her hand to her face. "You still don't have Cleanse yet. I forgot." she said. Jessica lowered their bodies to the ground carefully. "The Cursed Brand." the queen said, looking in horror. Another rugged warrior came forward. He wielded a massive longsword that reached all the way to the ground. "Should we put them out of their misery?" he asked, sighing. The Jessies gasped. "How barbaric!" the demon said, surprising everyone. At once, the Jessies were furiously talking how best to aid the afflicted warriors. "Maybe World can help?" Jessie suggested. Jessica thought for a moment. "Yeah. It's right in her alley." the Green Knight called. "World!" Jessica called into the nothingness. Space warped and a ravishing woman appeared from the distortion. "You called, Your Graces?" the woman said, looking almost bored, but curtsied respectfully nonetheless.

"Do us a favor, sweetheart, and cleanse the curse on these guys before they get the blade." Jessie said. World didn't move, raising an eyebrow instead. Jessie sighed and rolled her eyes. History was only getting orders from Jessica and no one else. "Do it for me, girl." the Green Knight said. World snapped her fingers and the curse was instantly lifted. The smell of smoldering necromantic energy filled the air. It smelled like burnt plastic, spoiled meat and a ton unwashed socks. The Jessies gagged, waving their hands in an effort to blow away the foul stench. World smiled and looked over the ice wall to where the fight between the Harrowing and the History army was taking place. She looked pleased with the progress but was critical with its rate. She snapped her fingers again and the attacks of the History was imbued with holy essence, something that was lethal against the undead. "Will that be all?" World asked.

The Jessies looked at her blankly. "Yeahhhhhhhhh..." Jessica said guiltily. World curtsied again and stepped back into the spatial distortion. It collapsed around her. "Nasty! I like her." Jessie said after some time. "Was World always like that?" she added after a minute. Jessica snorted. "Duh. You haven't noticed? She's a tsundere!" he said. The demon suddenly broke into a dark chuckle. "Time for the final blow." the demon said. He turned his back to the mortals and sunk back into the earth. The firewall disappeared along with him. "It was nice meeting you!" Jessie called as she flew into the air and followed the Demigod's direction. The Green Knight held a hand at the cleansed warriors and called upon the power of the fairy court. Brilliant emerald light rained from the skies, bathed the warriors, healing them as it run its course. "We have done our part and pushed the undead horde back. They will not be bothering you for a long time. The Hellraiser's barrier will dissipate once we finish all loose ends. We wish you the best, mortals." the Green Knight said. He grew his butterfly wings again and took to the skies. Even as he spoke, the scarlet barrier that separated the entrapped region from the outside world slowly disappeared.

To the Avarosans who didn't expect salvation to come from one of the biggest Harrowings in recorded history ever to plague Valoran, this was a really weird day...

By the time the Jessies appeared into the battle, the shades of the Shadow Isles had been pushed into a corner. With the sheer amount of Summons and support by the Hellraiser and the Arcade Portal units, not even the staunchest shade managed to withstand an attack that didn't relent. Though in many ways the Pluto army was weaker compared to the Harrowing, they wove in and out the attack range and the Summons came back up as fast as they fell. "This can't be all of them. Where are their leaders?" Jessie asked. "They must've escaped before I erected the barrier." Jessica said. Jessie sighed. "Dude, you always erect the barrier first!" Jessie said. "Sorry, miscalculated. Anyway, how much Morale damage was that? I mean, we did kick their butt with only Tier 1 units. That's like insult to injury, right?" Jessica said, giggling darkly. "It's over the top." Jessie said, smiling widely. Sunshineville and Detective Catty worked out some of the kinks. Detective Catty was picking up the Good Citizens while the Sunshinevillers picked up the Clues. Exhibits and Hamsterians occupied Disco Infernos. The Grannies have to hover behind the Hellraiser's Summons for their own disruptive spells and Summons. Haunted Museum and the rest of Arcade Portal were at the thick of it. Haunted Museum lost the most units but it wasn't a big deal. They would inevitably revive at the end of the battle.

"Next time, I'll take a more active role the next battle." Jessica promised. "Nah. We did great ourselves." the Grannies said. They all chuckled. "Well, that concludes the experiment, ladies and gentlemen." Jessica said to the trapped shades. There must be hundreds of them left. From what could've been thousands now reduced to hundreds. "Would you like to do the honors?" Jessica asked. Jessie grinned. She looked like there's nothing more that would please her. "Devil Incarnate!" she chanted. The hellgate manifested again and there were none...

"I think this little trip had been so insightful, don't you think?" Jessie said excitedly. Jessica grinned. Light bathed the Jessies as they leveled up. The experience accumulated for this one quest alone was enough to catapult Jessica's army to a new Performance Level. A few more of those and they will Rank Up. "Unbelievable." said an unfamiliar voice. The Jessies looked down to see two teens looking up at them in complete awe. "Who might you be, little one?" the Demigod asked. Jessie recognized one of them. It was that blonde guy from the ice wall. He was one of the defenders. He showed up in Jessie's cute guy radar. Come to think of it, the black kid he brought with him was kinda cute as well. "You're from the defense." Jessie said, pretending to remember when she didn't actually forget. "Y-y-yeah!" the blonde said. "How can we help you, little one?" the Demigod said. The kids looked a little reluctant talking to the titan demon and looked instead at the Green Knight.

They were also reserved about talking to the schoolgirl who could call on the powers of hell. It would be smart to assume they were willing to talk with the knight whose armor literally had a garden on it and can call on cute healer fairies. "You mortals put too much stock in appearances." the Demigod yawned. Jessica surrendered the Hellraiser form, dispelling his Summons as well. And the two kids saw an bizarre alien creature floating a meter above the ground, looking quite bored. Their mouths dropped. "Hurry up, kid. We got places to be and things to do." the Demigod said, dropping the regal accent entirely. The two didn't know how to answer to that. The Jessies looked at one another and shrugged. Jessica opened a portal and space distorted once more. On the other side of the portal were the pristine lands of the Risen Sea. "Master, the child wishes to spend time with us." Detective Warwick said. Jessica looked at him.

"Detective Catty says so." he said. "If the cat says so." the Jessies said, nodding in agreement. The Pluto units looked at each other. "This is the advent of something we could use in the future." Alucard, the main character of Vampires and Zombies, said, marveling at the power of the plump cat in a cute detective costume. "Catty will bring us power." added Knight, the main character of Guns and Zombies. "Praise the fat cat!" the Grannies said, holding up Detective Catty Simba-style. The Jessies gave them a look that made the Pluto army smile. "Spend time?" Jessie echoed. The blonde gathered up his wits. "It's gonna be League's Day at Piltover in twenty days. Would you please show up? We'd like to be your friends! You guys are so cool! We want to be like you when we grow up! Please show up! You're our only chance to be among the cool kids!" he said, whining like a kid who really wanted something from his parents but knew he might just not get it. "That's so sad." Jessica commented sarcastically. As someone who deliberately went against the tide, it was expected of him. The Grannies gave him a look. Jessie looked at Jessica and saw that he was leaving the decision to her.

Jessica sighed. Jessica did leave it to her. "Sure, kid, we'll show up. On one condition." she said. The kids looked immediately wary. Jessica began enumerating his conditions. "If we're gonna hang with you, it's gonna be just the two of you and- uh- (He looked at Jessica for help) three- no, five, seven- of your closest friends. Anything above that number and we're bouncing." she added. The kids nodded vigorously, reminding the Jessies of a puppy. "And we dislike crowded places. We're gonna bounce with that too." he added. Jessica nudged her and whispered something into her ear. "And no annoying people. We'll definitely bounce with that too." he said. The Jessies and their entourage began to slip into the portal. The kids looked panicked. "How will we find you?" asked the black kid. The Jessies smiled at him mysteriously. "We'll find you. Piltover. Twenty days. See ya!" Jessie said. The portal collapsed and the two kids were left behind. "ALRIGHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!" the two yelled, pumping their fists into the air energetically.

Back at the Risen Sea...

"So you're telling me you can set your other bodies in auto-pilot mode?" Jessie asked. Jessica nodded. "Yeah. They're guided by my personality and character but if something comes up, I'm getting notifications from them. You're also quite aware what they're doing or experiencing in realtime. Pretty neat, huh?" he said smugly. Jessie got into thinking. How about making another body? But this time, a guy. A really hot, gorgeous, tempting as all the Seven Deadly Sins itself? She drooled as she thought about this. Jessica backed off a bit when he saw the look on his friend's face. That mindless, feral lust. "What dark whispers dance in your head?" he asked. Jessie smiled at him. She sat down and closed her eyes. She called upon her powers again and began to make another Envoy of Gaia, just like the snow-haired red-eyed devil Reaper she used in the real game. If what Jessica said was true, she could make a harem if she put her back into it. She giggled darkly as she continued her work.

So far things have been quite good here in the Risen Sea. No hostilities on their side of the waters but Jessica's Spies from the Outlaws said that the Orcs and Goblins have banded together to assault the Human Empire while the Theocrats are fighting the Naga. Dragons and Shadowlings are on a lockdown on a fight for the alliance of the Beastmen nation. Others were quiet, minding their own agendas. It wouldn't be long before someone came knocking on Jessica's doors. One thing the other Greater Nations and Lesser Nations don't know is that Jessica already knew the game like the back of his hand. For a game with a very praiseworthy A.I. design, Jessica loved the challenge of History presented through its many mechanics. The game itself is not for people who are used to RTS games with a constant predictable phase. The constant World Events in History would keep them off their game. One minute you're ransacking your opponent's capital, the next thing you know a Great Flood cuts off your supply line and you'll have to fend for yourself until it ends.

While they were gone, Lesser Nations around History heard the news of the summoned Celestial Sage. Originally, you would have to be well-established before some of the Lesser Nations out there to come forward and petition to join your alliance. Jessica, however, deployed six Celestial Sages in one instance and this world was very much different compared to the game itself. This resulted in many Lesser Nations vying to join Jessica's alliance. The newcomers who petitioned to join were the Unicorns, the Yokai and the Merfolk. Jessica would want to accept the Unicorns. With the Unicorns, Gnomes and Lilliputians under him, the Greater Nation of the Fey would want to join him. Jessica said yes to all of them. With the Unicorns, Yokai and Merfolk joining him, Jessica's nation was much stronger than before. The Merfolk possess the strongest navy in the entire game with the exception of the Monsters' Leviathan and the Kaiju nation. And the Risen Sea is 90% water. Yokai also had the Deathless stat like the Lost Children have but actually deal a respectable damage unupgraded.

Jessica was planning to flush out the hidden nation of the Homunculi. He needed their Superweapons for whatever alliances would be going up against him in the future. Besides, no decent History player would want to face the Homunculi late game. Your army would be literally wiped out by several WMDs raining down on you at the same time. It would only take seconds to reduce your proud army into ash and failure. Meanwhile, the Elder and the King of Beasts led a party of Outlaws, Gnomes and Summons into the heart of the Risen Sea mainland. They would try to rush for the unique Landmark here, the Whale Whistle. As you might imagine, the Risen Sea is not an ordinary chain of islands. The islands here, in fact, sat atop a family of beast gods. Each island was carried by a baby whale and the biggest landmass in the Risen Sea is carried by their mother. Once the Whale Whistle is under the control of a nation, all the whale islands under their control could be ordered to relocate. They can also be ordered to let access into their mouths, which host sunken forests, vast coral reefs, prodigious marine life, underwater minerals and entire ecosystems. These gave major bonuses to a player's resources. If one played it correctly, one can field an army of Kaiju and Monsters (Which are notoriously hard to do so because of their massive Ration cost and upkeep). The Whale Whistle also allowed one to field some very special units for their own benefits.

This is the fruit of a fully-economical build. You're hoarding resources at an overkill rate so you could utterly dominate everything by late game. There's little that can stand against the Kaiju and Monsters especially if they come in huge numbers. Jessica also begun to build an Evil Carnival, a Weirdo City and a Super High. Unlike Pluto's other unit-producing Landmarks, Super High is actually the only one that comes off as decent and viable to use in your standard armies. Though the price would be that Super High can only be built once other Pluto unit-producing Landmarks are also built. By the time Super High becomes available, you might already have a strong military. Nonetheless, Super High does boast powerful spells in their units, which can be used to strategically deny enemies. Because using weaker units against strong units and winning over them dealt serious Morale damage, Jessica was taking everything. This tactic would be doubly effective against the Orcs since they're Morale-intensive.

As for Jessie, she was pulling out all the stops with creating her brand new Reaper body. It was the culmination of everything she ever fantasized in a perfect-yet-nonexistent boyfriend. Both laughing maniacally, the Jessies were caught up in a world only they understood.

000

20 days later...

League's Day in Valoran is the month-long celebration of all things League of Legends. Champions mingled with their fans and there was even a raffle for three lucky winners to snag themselves a date with the Champion of their own choosing. Games and contests were all around and exciting prizes could be won. Those who fancy themselves as potential Champions could appear in mock matches in the fabled Summoner's Rift. Interviews and documentaries about your favorite Champions and reruns of their most memorable performances of the Rift beset every single object capable of transmitting spectervids. This time of year, it was Piltover's turn to host League's Day and all of the City of Progress wanted to use this to solidify their position as the center of Valoran's economy. Of course, this came with the chance to spite Zaun again. When Piltover was announced to be League's Day host two years back, preparations started as early as eleven months. But not even all the preparations in the world could've prepared them for the veritable flood of people coming from all over Valoran. It was a security nightmare.

Piltovan Champions, and by extension Zaunite Champions as well, were to be present all the time. The Bluewind Court had gone as far as to deploy their own clan security in addition to that provided by the League. Though this was only the first day of League's Day, security personnel decided the entire ordeal was going to be hell for them. People literally came in droves, by land, by air and by water. Lovesick and fanatical fans came from all over the continent, each one noisier and more obsessed than the last. The economy was booming but so were the problems.

The Champions had mixed feelings about the entire thing. Many preferred the security patrol rather than face a swarm of rabid, frothing fans but remembering how hellish the security situation was right now made them rethink. Though every Crystal Screen, Spinning Wire, Holoscreens and Heximages was filled with everything about the League of Legends and the exploits of its Summoners and Champions, one non-League talk rose above the others and perhaps interested more people than anyone would care to admit. It was about the invitation Piltover's Prodigal Explorer and Zaun's Boy Who Shattered Time to the strange beings who appeared unexpectedly in the defense of Rakelstake against the biggest recorded appearance of the Harrowing. These beings disappeared as sudden as they have appeared. Further digging into the story was that a contingent of messengers was sent to Mount Targon to seek aid from the Rakkor and maybe from the Targonians themselves.

Though the messengers suffered at the hands of the shades who sought to stop them, they survived, only to be met halfway to their destination by a host of strange beings and their minions. They weren't what they appeared to be. The Runeterrans didn't know if the beings were aware that Piltovan media drones from the various media centers from Piltover covered the entire defense. The Harrowing has plagued Valoran for far too long and it would seem that the celestial powers of Targon and the darkness of the Void were the only ones strong enough to resist the undead march. Piltover and Zaun combined their sciences to birth technologies that can detect the Black Mist long before it made its landfall. When the biggest cloud of the Black Mist was detected heading for the Avarosan capital, Queen Ashe had gone to great lengths to ask aid from both League-affiliated nations and non-League-affiliated nations. Though they weren't allied with the League or remotely interested in joining them, the countries of Highgarden, Stormsong, Darnarim, The Thirteen Isles, Varfelt Theocracy, Kuran Dominion, Auroris, Everfall, The Fae Glades, Lower and Middle Kingdoms, Maimaya Empire and Kuhakun Empire sent soldiers to aid in the defense.

Ordinary men and women watched in fear and anticipation of nothing but the worse as the Black Mist arrived and the undead shades began their reaping of the living. Everyone watched in horror and sorrow as the battle looked like it would most certainly end in defeat. Many Champions of the League volunteered to aid the Avarosans in their plight and the temporary truce between the Avarosans, the Frostguards and the Winter's Claw was made hastily. The battle stretched on for days and when it was at its darkest, the unexpected and unbelievable happened. The first to catch the odd event was a news drone from Runeterra Today. A portal suddenly appeared a distance away from the gates of Rakelstake. From this portal came three people and behind them was an army. It was an army of old women, moving museum exhibits, hamsters and projections. It seemed a grim joke for those who anticipated a much-needed aid.

The army appeared to obey the orders of two of the three leaders, an alien of glowing skin and feather-like hair and a lithe figure swathed in silver armor upon which grew a garden. The third of the leaders appeared to be a schoolgirl. If there had been a weirdest combination of rescuers, these take the lot. They talked to the one Freljordian woman they brought with them. It looked like they were assuring her that their deliverance is at hand. The armored one made a motion and summoned to his side a court of fairies. It took to the skies on brilliant butterfly wings, heading for the direction of the wounded the specters were gleefully watching as they died slowly. The schoolgirl followed by skipping into the fight. She summoned from thin air an ornate scythe, looking more like a masterpiece instead of a weapon. She held out a hand and massive portal appeared on the land beneath the shades. From this crevasse of tormented screaming and wailing for help and mercy came tormented souls that tore apart shades unfortunate to be in their way, dragging them back to the hellpit whence they came before it closed back up.

Attending to the schoolgirl were three kids, a girl carrying a purple striped cat and three cutesy animal companions, a girl with lamb ears, horns and a big picnic basket and a boy with wolf ears, tail and claws. The schoolgirl unleashed several more magics, one was a spectacular combination with the lamb girl and wolf boy that wiped the frontal assault of the shades. Back in the line, the alien creature closed the portal and stretched. Then transformed into something dangerous and terrifying, a giant demon of living flame. A great wall of hellfire flanked his sides like an honor guard. He took the Freljordian woman into his hand and sunk back into the earth. He reappeared outside the gates of Rakelstake's frozen walls. There he unleashed his weird army upon he shades and declared his animosity towards the shades. The demon then summoned great numbers of demonic creatures and undead.

The demon sent them forward with his main army behind them. To everyone's surprise, the demon and the schoolgirl sat back and let the battle unfold before them. The shades who were foolish enough to attack the weird army from behind suffered instant retribution from them. But the weird army didn't even need help that much. Using the swarm of summoned beings as a meatshield, they were tactically biting off chunks of the Harrowing. The moving exhibits fanatically dove right into the battle, engaging every enemy in the land and in the air. The projections immediately called down their own brand of reinforcements, they were equally as numerous as the demons. The old women dove in and out of the battle, their attacks were as humorous as it was unbelievably effective. What they lacked in damage, they made up for disruption and confusion. Shades hit by their attacks were overrun by their allies, unable to defend themselves. Slowly but steadily, the Harrowing was consumed to its bone.

This Harrowing was led by the Three Wisemen, Caspar the Magesmith of The Damned, Melchior the Maker of Nameless Horrors and Balthazar the Lord of Cursefire. The Three were members of the Table of Twelve, a group of Dark Lords who banded together and sworn to resist the growing influence of the accursed League of Legends. Ever since several Dark Lords joined its ranks, the Shadow Isles suffered from a power vacuum that was only filled with the emerging of the other Dark Lords who didn't bother with the Isles' endeavors in the first place. When the Harrowing on Freljord turned sour, the Three immediately made their escape but the blow of this failure would no doubt make them think twice before attacking another settlement in the future. They would first bide their time and investigate the newcomers. As of this moment, the higher echelons of the League considered recruiting them into their roster. Critics of the League laughed aloud and derisively when they heard it. What could possibly the League offer them in return?

Despite being two of the most popular Champions in the League, Ezreal and Ekko didn't show up in at least one battle during the day. They spent the good of the morning scurrying here and there, preparing everything to make these cool people feel right at home. They made reservations at the Garden Restaurant, requesting an entire pavilion to themselves. They bought gifts, food and other cool stuff from both Piltover and Zaun. They also went as far as to dress up for the occasion. Ekko wanted to bring his gang of street urchin friends, which Ezreal resented a little. But there was no stopping Ekko though. So when six Zaunite kids walked into the restaurant, looking quite out of place, it wasn't a surprise that some of the restaurant's snootier customers and personnel looked down on them and whispered to their companions. Ekko led them, looking every bit the rebel he is, while Ezreal, looking very spiffy in his new suit, followed from behind, one hexcom on his ear and another in the other. He was busy talking to the Dawnlight shopkeeper about his late gifts while he was arguing with the Wine and Cheers matron about his delayed orders. The Zaunites just grinned and rolled their eyes. But more bad news was coming Ezreal's way.

When the Champions and their entourage entered the restaurant, something already tipped them off when the manager itself came walking hastily towards them, looking very nervous. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE ALL BOOKED UP?! WE MADE A RESERVATION A WEEK AGO!" Ezreal bellowed, actually bellowed, right after the manager said his piece. The manager shrunk against the wrath of Piltover's star celebrity. Ezreal was someone of great consequence in this country and perhaps the most popular Champion to all teens in Valoran. Even the esteemed Bluewind Court hired him first thing when it came to their archaeological endeavors. "Dude, it can't be helped." Ekko said, placing a restraining hand on Ezreal's shoulders. The blonde took a deep sigh and just walked out, leaving people gawking at his wake. "Great. Not even a Champion's privilege could get us in. What the hell do we do now?" Ezreal said as he sulked. Ekko and his friends. "Dude, there are other places around here." he said, though it was uncharacteristic of him to be comforting. "No, there aren't." Ekko's friend, Clink, said. Ekko glared at her.

Ekko loved his friends like they're family but like every other family out there, sometimes they're a pain in the ass. Behind her, Mort, Wart, Plume, Shaft and Primer nodded their heads in agreement. "No point in denial, guys. You can't get anywhere fancy with this kind of crowd. You realize all the freaking hotels and inns in both Piltover and Zaun are full right? How much more restaurants like this?" Plume said. Ezreal and Ekko looked at each other in panic. Ezreal's hexcom beeped and he took it out. "Great. Dawnlight offered a full refund and 20% discount on future purchases. They can't get it through. This sucks ass!" Ezreal said. He almost threw the hexcom to the ground in his frustration. "Which is why it was a good thing we made reservations on a more homely place instead of going Hollywood." said a voice that both boys couldn't forget if their lives depended on it. They looked up so suddenly that their heads almost flew off. It was the girl from the Freljord defense. She looked so cute with her new clothes (It was a Custom Taiwan National Day Costume (F)). "Hey!" the boys said, rising to their feet with the same suddenness. The girl smirked. "We told you we'd find you." she said. She turned around and began walking.

"Follow me." she said. The two Champions went after her. "Hey!" Ekko's friends called as they rushed after them. "Who the hell were they talking to?" Mort asked. They shrugged and tried to keep up with Ekko and Ezreal. What the Champions didn't know was that the world was particularly interested with the invitation the two extended to the mysterious defenders. So interested in fact that there's a dedicated site following their progress. So when Ezreal and Ekko bounced up and began moving excitedly as if they were following something, the viewers got really interested. Hoping to catch sight of the mysterious defenders, everything went to a standstill as the League focused its magical energies to unveiling whether or not they were following someone. It turned out that they were. They were following the woman from back the defense although she was wearing different clothes this time. What alarmed the League the most was the amount of Mana dedicated into the Arcane Eye to detect the invisible woman. It was definitely something they haven't seen before. That much Mana to reveal just one person was scary in itself.

Everyone watched as Ekko and Ezreal followed the woman through the crowd. Those who were keeping up with the news parted to let them through. They too were wondering what kind of spell the woman was using to grant herself invisibility and intangibility. With most of the people moving out of their way, the way was pretty much open for them. The Champions and Ekko's friends were free to move and follow. The woman led them through the docks, her movement was quick and almost fey-like. They walked through the bridge encompassing the massive Sun Gates of Piltover, which connected the east with the west and made worldwide trade possible. She led them through a quiet path, upon the edge of the cliff. "Uh- nobody's here." Mort pointed out the obvious. That's when the woman dropped her magical guise. "WHOA!" Ekko's friends said. They've seen invisibility before. Heck, they watched League matches all the time. They were surprised with the person the two were following. It was indeed the woman from the defense. "Why did you bring us here?" Ekko asked.

The woman smiled. "Well, you brats did say you wanted to spend some time with us?" she teased. Ezreal and Ekko reddened a bit. She smiled and giggled. "That's cute. Anyway, we're not gonna squeeze ourselves into that joint. Still wanna hang out?" the woman asked. "Yes!" Ezreal and Ekko both said excitedly. The woman smiled mischievously. "Then make your leap of faith." she said cryptically. Without even turning back, she leapt off the cliff. "HEY!" everyone said, rushing to the edge and saw that the woman was still falling, laughing as she did. The waters below her shimmered like diamonds and rose to swallow her before she made her lethal contact. The woman was gone in a flash and the waters returned to looking normal. "Holy crap." Ekko said, eyes wide with amazement and awe. "See ya later, brats!" Ezreal yelled as he leapt off as well. Ekko muttered curses as he watched the blonde make the first fall. The street urchins went after him, laughing as Ekko looked cautious, excited and frightened at the same time. Collecting his cool, Ekko ran back and dashed towards the edge of the cliff. He jumped.

There was practically strange as the wind sang against his face. It was a melodic and haunting tune that was both ethereal and beautiful. That's when Ekko realized that the funnel of windsong was slowing his descent. The shimmering waters below him swallowed up his friends and disappeared from his sight. Before the unnatural waters swallowed him as well, Ekko couldn't believe what he thought he saw. Did he just see a house underwater? Before the waters could swallow him up, Ekko gulped down air as much as he could. His concern was proved unfounded later on.

Water feels wet, that's what Ekko always thought. It's just what everything liquid did. It just feels wet. But for the waters that caught him up, it felt different. It felt like air and water combined. He couldn't find the words to properly describe it. Raucous laughter met his ears and he opened his eyes tentatively. His friends and Ezreal were laughing their asses off, wiping away their tears and pointing at him. Let's just say he was in the pose that looked like he wanted to poop and he couldn't get the poop out and leave it at that. Ezreal's laugh was especially grating for him. Though they didn't admit it, they more like bestfriends than rivals. "Will you stop teasing that poor boy and come over here?" a serene but stern voice came over to them. "Yes, ma'am!" they said and ran to the house on the hill like children. House? Hill? Underwater? Ekko's mind grasped the situation around him. Yes, they were underwater. And, yes, there was also a hill. And a house. And underwater. Ekko looked around him wildly. They were indeed underwater. Even as he looked around him, fishes swam by to play in the grass and the flowerbeds. And the gentle hill above him sat a cozy three-story house. That's when Ekko saw the enormity of his surroundings. HE COULD BREATHE UNDEWATER.

When he saw the head of a turtle, Ekko realized they were on the back of a giant turtle and the supposed hill was actually its shell. When Ekko looked closer, there was some sort of faint sphere around the turtle. It must be the one that allowed them to breathe underwater and maintain this house's place. The place was picturesque. Blossoming flowerbeds, green, verdant grass and lively trees flanking the house. He walked towards the house and found that a several tables lined up together and filled with food. Food that was purchased on both Piltover and Zaun. "Surprise!" the woman said as Ekko joined them. The alien that could transform into that giant demon was there. The knight was there as well and he was quite surprised that the demon and the knight shared the same race. There was another one of those aliens with them. This time it looked to be a woman with its slender build and tranquil aura. That new alien was a walking solar system. The knight and the demon already glowed with ethereal light but she glowed even more than them. She was a sun and heavenly bodies revolved around her.

"What are you guys?" Ekko finally blurted. "Uh- Clowns." the Demigod said sarcastically. "Are you Targonians?" Ekko asked. "No." the Green Knight said. Ekko whistled. "Do you guys always have scrying spells on you?" the Demigod suddenly asked. The Champions looked at them in question. "You have someone watching you." Jessie said. "You can detect that?" Ezreal asked. The Jessies nodded. "Is it the League?" Wart asked excitedly. "Dunno." Jessica said then he stopped, realized something then laughed. The Demigod, the Green Knight and the Starmaker all laughed out loud. "Share!" Jessie said, poking the Starmaker. "I think they all saw your horrible pose." the Demigod said to Ekko. "Pffft~!" Jessie and Ezreal burst out laughing. Ekko's friends laughed out loud as well while the Zaunite blushed at the sudden revelation. "The few weeks are gonna be tough but it'll pipe down." the Green Knight said comfortingly. Ekko bit his mouth shut and sat down. He looked at the food at the table and wondered how much these all cost. He spotted ten boxes of Philly Premium Sweetbreads and his jaw dropped. "How much did you spend on these?" he asked in alarm.

The Jessies looked at one another and grinned. "Does it matter? We outdid ourselves and bought as many as we can get our grubby hands on." Jessie said. "Dig in, kids. There's a lot where that came from." the Starmaker said. Pltovan and Zaunites nodded dumbly and helped themselves automatically. "I guessing you two are celebrities. We kept seeing your pictures plastered over the screens." Jessica said. "Champions for the League." Ezreal said, grinning. "League?" Jessie asked. The Runeterrans looked at one another. "The League of Legends?" Plume supplied. The Jessies cocked their heads sideways. "I believe the child meant the administrative body that caters to several major countries in this planet." a voice said as it joined them. The Runeterrans looked around and saw a ravishing beauty. "Hey, Earth!" the Jessies said. "Ah! The corporate Justice League of this world? Ah!" Jessie said, nodding in understanding. Jessica snorted in derision. He didn't like the sound of it when Earth and Pluto explained it to them. As someone who had world domination in mind, this was a force whose existence he didn't like.

"You don't like the League of Legends?" Clink asked. Jessica just smiled at her and busied himself to the food. He didn't answer Clink's question. "Where's Pluto?" Jessie asked. In the time that the Jessies had been together, their respective minions came to an understanding of the deep bond between them and sought to emulate it between the other's faction. "Going crazy with the baking." Earth said, sighing. "I told you not to buy that oven thingy something-something." Jessie said. "Lemme guess? The Grannies, Sunshineville and Detective Catty is with him?" the Demigod asked. Earth nodded. "Go easy with the sprinkles!" the Demigod, Green Knight and Starmaker yelled. A chorus of guilty voices called back to them. Even as they spoke, the smell of delicious freshly baked goods wafted to the tables outside. "Smells good." Primer said appreciatively. "So, kids, in exchange for all these food, is it okay if we ask a dozen questions or more?" Jessica said. The teens looked at one another then nodded.

The hours went along as the Jessies asked the Zaunites and the Piltovan about nearly everything under the sun. Most of their questions were aimed at places of adventure or tourist destinations. "You're really not from here, are you?" Shaft asked. The Jessies nodded. "We're kinda new here." Jessie said easily. "No, I meant not from this world. Everything we just told you is pretty basic for someone who lives around here." Shaft said. "Didn't we establish that like two hours ago?" the Demigod said sarcastically. "Forgive me, Your Highhandedness!" Shaft said dramatically. "Inexcusable! Had I my way, off with your head, I say!" the Demigod retaliated with exaggerated snootiness. Everyone at the table laughed. The Runeterrans like the feeling with the newcomers around. Jessica had shrunk his Pluto units beforehand (Except for the Hamsterians) and each was now the size of a cup. They gathered around the table and feasted on the pastries Pluto baked. Technically, Jessica only said to go easy with the sprinkles, he didn't say anything about the icing. Nearly everything on the table was drowned in it. Pluto's face was smothered with icing and so was that of the Champions and the Zaunite kids. The Starmaker, having possessed the motherly nature of Jessica, fussed over them like a mother hen.

Jessica suddenly jumped and everyone looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Finally! Something exciting!" the Demigod said. He rose and stuffed a lot of cupcakes into his mouth in a hurry. He held up a palm and cut a hole right into space. A shimmering portal appeared in the wake of his fingernail and the Risen Sea was on the other side. "Catch ya later, losers!" the Demigod yelled as he jumped spectacularly into the portal. There was a clamor for excitement and only Detective Catty, Sunshineville, Dance 'Til The World Ends (Gonna call them Dance from now on), the Grannies, World, Pluto and the Starmaker remained. Even the Green Knight went with them. "What's new?" Jessie asked, looking at the Starmaker said. "Whale Whistle." the Celestial Sages said. World gave a whistle. "Wow. We're really making time." Pluto said, eyes wide with excitement and contentment. "Calm down." the Starmaker said. Jessie froze in the act of diving into the portal. The Starmaker snapped her fingers and the portal closed before Jessie could leap into it. He pulled Jessie back. "You promised these mortals some time. Honestly!" the Starmaker said in exasperation. Ever since Jessica fragmented his consciousness, Jessie was caught in a turmoil. As if dealing with one Jessica was hard enough, dealing with multiple ones was a nightmare. "Aaawww..." Jessie said. The Starmaker aimed a "mom" look at her that crushed her resistance with impunity.

"What's that place on the other side of the portal? Was that in Runeterra?" Shaft asked excitedly. Jessie sparkled. "No! It's from our world but it manifested in your world for reasons we don't know yet." she said excitedly. The Starmaker hit her in the head, looming down sternly on her. A silent exchange of words exploded between the Jessies. It felt like the girl gave out something she shouldn't. "Hey, before you two get on fighting, aren't you forgetting something?" Ezreal asked. For some reasons, he enjoyed the company of these weirdos better than he enjoyed the company of almost anyone he knew. It was irreverent, unrepentant yet at the same time easygoing and lighthearted. "We haven't introduced yet.' the explorer said. The Jessies looked at him and smirked. "We already know your name, child." the Starmaker said. "Ezreal. The Prodigal Explorer." Jessie said. "Ekko. The Brat Who Shattered Time." the Starmaker said. "Hey!" Ekko said. His friends laughed. "Clink. Collector of Poro Figurines." Jessie said. Clink blushed and hid under the table. "Mort. Self-Proclaimed God of Hexstreaming." the Starmaker said. Mort joined Clink under the table. "Wart. Inventor of The Lazybot." Jessie said. Wart's mouth nearly dropped. "Plume. Janna's Number One Fan." the Starmaker said. "HOLY CRAP! HOW DID YOU KNOW?!" Plume yelled in disbelief. The Jessies just grinned. "Shaft. Inventor of The Zaungun." Jessie said. Shaft looked pretty cocky. "And last but not least, Primer. Leader of..." the Starmaker said, trailing off purposely, raising an eyebrow in disapproval. Primer lost his will and actually bowed his head.

"By the gods, what are you?!" Plume asked. The Jessies looked at one another and grinned mischievously. "Celestials." the two said. They gave off the feeling that they were teasing the teens. "You're not gonna tell us, are ya?" Ezreal said. The Jessies nodded in agreement. "We'll leave that to your imagination. Besides, it's more interesting that way." the Starmaker said. "So how long are you going to stay for League's Day?" Ezreal asked. "Depends." Jessie said. "On what?" Shaft asked. "On how fast they can restock their goods. It's like everywhere we turn everything's sold out." Jessie complained. Ezreal and the Zaunites gave each other a look. "That's supposed to be expected in League's Day. No, it's entirely the point of League's Day." Ezreal pointed out. "Is is also common in League's Day for self-entitled brainless cunts to cut in line and buy everything out?" Jessie said, stabbing at the pancake platter in front of her. Jessica looked displeased as well. "Well, there are those kinds of people." Clink said lamely. "When I see him again, I'm going to make him eat that hideous mustache of his and shove that damn glaive up his ass." Jessie swore. "Makes me glad I wasn't the one who went shopping." the Starmaker said. Mustache? Glaive? Maybe they meant battleaxe? If that was it then... Ezreal and the Zaunites blanched.

"If it was you, you'll obliterate the city along with the idiot." Jessie said pointedly. Jessica thought about it for a moment. "Obliterating the city is too much. And death is a mercy. I never give mercy." he said. his tone became real menacing with the last two sentences. Jessie grinned. "Morduc Hauser!" she said, recognizing the reference. The Jessies laughed and gave each other a high five. "You can't ride what they're saying because you have no idea what they're talking about." Ekko said, grinning as he bit into his twentieth pancake tower. "Yeah." the others said. "You don't have movies here?" the Starmaker asked. "Movies? What're those?" Clink, Mort, Wart, Plume, Shaft and Primer asked at the same time. The Jessies looked at them. "Uumm- They're like shows but you watch them on screens or something like that." Jessie said. "Like holovisions?" Primer asked. The Jessies looked like they didn't know how to explain it. They didn't know what holovisions were either. "Instead of trying to explain to them a concept from another world, wouldn't it be much better if you showed them?" World suggested. The Jessies looked at her and brightened. World pretended to shield her eyes from the light. "Wonderful suggestion, World! And you can't watch a movie without the proper requirements!" Jessie shrieked in excitement.

"Chips! Lots and lots of chips!" the Grannies yelled. "Crisps too! Buckets of it!" Detective Warwick yelled while Detective Catty was raising a picture of French fries. "Let's go easy with the soda. Maybe juice would be better. Beer wouldn't hurt. Wine would totally make us happy." Mayor Furballia said, her fellow Sunshinevillers echoed her sentiment. "We'd love something fried to go with the beer." Diva, the main character of Dance 'Til The World Ends, said happily. Her backup dancers agreed with that. "Yosh! It's settled then!" the Starmaker said. "What are we going to do again?" Ekko asked. "Buy lots of food for the movie. It's customary to stuff your face while watching it." Jessie said. "Children, back to Piltover. Piltover, right? Did I get that right?" the Starmaker said. "Guys, fire up the tube. We have some serious couch potatoing to do." Jessie said. Detective Catty and Sunshineville went with the Jessies and the Runeterrans. "You'll have to show us around the place." Jessie said. "I just hope it's not as overcrowded as the rest of the city." the Starmaker said. "Dream on." Clink muttered.

The Starmaker snapped her fingers and the wind suddenly howled. It was no natural wind because it air didn't blow that way underwater nor did it move at all like that underwater. By some mysterious intervention of magic or something else entirely, the wind funneled around them, gaining speed and strength with each passing until it lifted all of them from the earth. "Here comes the fun part!" the Starmaker said. Without a warning, they shot into the skies like fireworks. The waters remained undisturbed as they soared out of the depths and fly to the air. The Piltovan and Zaunites yelled in both alarm and excitement. The torrential wind didn't deposit them at the edge of the city. It carried them over the city of Piltover high above the skies. "Here comes the landing!" the Starmaker yelled. Without any warning, the group plummeted from that height to what could've been a lethal fall.

TO BE CONTINUED...