[DREAMWORLD PARADOX CHAPTER 09: WHAT IS LOVE?]

EnriksD8's A/N: What's changed:

01 (2022-05-09 A.D.) – Fixed some minor errors that MS Word had detected.

02 (2022-05-09 A.D.) – Fixed a few errors that I had noticed.

03 (2022-05-09 A.D.) – Added/Changed some little details in some of the dating scenes.

04 (2022-05-09 A.D.) – Made the Goofy Goober scene a little more hectic.

It was another ordinary day at Azeneasy and right now, Eddy had come up with a brilliant scam that would benefit everyone, not just himself.

"Love Advice! Free Love Advice!" Eddy said as he, Double-D, Ed, Ben, Enrico, Chris, and a highly reluctant Crydius were standing at a single desk while several girls who needed help with their relationships or confessing to the girls that they liked came to them. So far, they consisted of Sweetie Belle, her girlfriend Silver Spoon, Lyra Heartstrings, Peridot, and Luna Loud. Heck, even one of their teachers, Lena 'Tracer' Oxton came to them for advice.

"Well, I must say, Eddy, this is the most altruistic scam ever. You don't even charge them a quarter!" Double-D said as Eddy smirked at his pal.

"Hey, you can't put a price on love, Double-D. That's what my dad always told me!"

Meanwhile, a girl with elf-like ears and green hair with a streak of brown named Amity Blight scowled as she walked past Twilight and Sunset.

"Darn it! I can't believe she got the highest score again. Just you wait, Sparkle. You won't be Top Student for much longer!" Amity thought with a scowl. "Oh well, I'll just have to study even harder for the next-!"

Amity stopped when she noticed a girl with light brown skin and dark brown hair walking down the hall and reading a book from the Good Witch Azura book series. A tinge of pink forming on her cheeks, Amity hid behind the opposite wall.

"Oh no, it's that Noceda girl again! Come on Amity, we've been over this! YOU! DON'T! LIKE! HER! You're a Blight! You can't risk falling off your throne!" Amity's mind then began drifting elsewhere. "No matter how funny she is... or brave... or lovably stupid... Or how much she likes the Azura series, or..."

Amity was snapped out of her thoughts when an explosion rocked the school, causing her to jump back and into Luz's arms, the other girl catching her out of reflex.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT?!"

"It came from the Home Economics Room!"

"GAMMA! Put that soldering iron down!" Twilight scolded.

"Oh, I see. Class One-A has Cooking Class today. Things tend to blow up when they do, especially with Gamma as the new student."

"Honestly! What are those nitwits thinking?!" Amity asked in annoyance.

"Oh, speaking of which, you're from Class Two-A, right? Nice to meet you! I'm Luz Noceda from Class Two-C. What's your name?"

Amity then immediately realized she was in Luz's arms. After a pregnant pause, her entire face turned cherry red as steam emitted from her head. Before she could reply, Applejack walked by with a nervously blushing Rarity in her arms.

"First time?" the Cowgirl asked playfully as Luz looked confused while Amity covered her steaming face, letting out a muffled cry into her hands. Noi giggled as she walked by while carrying Kojin in her arms as well.

"I don't know why but I like doing this. Do you mind, Kojin?" She then noticed the dark-skinned young man's face was a dark cherry red and steam was emitting from his head. "Kojin?"

The short dark-skinned teen was practically unresponsive, being carried like this by what can be best described as a Muscle Mama.

Crydius groaned as he left the school premises. He honestly did not intend to have the Eds drag him into their Love Advice scam. Then again, it was mostly Ben's fault as he had dragged him into the mess in the first place, wanting to do some 'Brotherly Bonding'. As he pondered on how the day could get any worse, a familiar voice rang in his ears.

"Well, well, well. Would you look at that? Not every day you see a walking corpse come out of a high school. I leave you alone for two weeks and this is what happens?"

The girl speaking to him was a young woman with dark purple skin and raspberry hair done in a mohawk. Her eyes were electric blue, and she had a scar running over her right eye.

"Good thing I transfer here next month, or you might not make it to the end of the year. But hey, it's not all bad. In the right light, you look slightly better than you usually do."

"Oh my," Crydius groaned. "Doth mine eyes deceive me? Is that really the infamous Tempest Shadow? What? Did you get tired of scaring little kids, so you came to find someone who doesn't think a couple scars and an edgy haircut isn't edgy?"

Tempest Shadow had him in a headlock rather quickly. Not that he minded. With what he went through today, this was nothing.

"How about I give you a few scars of your own? Not that that will help your girly excuse for a face," She growled at him. "Should we start from scratch and pop that pretty little head off?"

"Oh no," Crydius responded with a shrug. "By all means, put me out of my misery, my big, strong, handsome, angel of death."

With those words, Tempest and Crydius smiled warmly at each other before nuzzling close together.

"So… rough day, huh?" Tempest asked as she and Crydius sat down on a field of flowers.

"Ugh," Crydius groaned. "You have no idea! I was dragged into helping out with love advice of all things!"

"Wait, love advice?" Tempest was confused. "Seriously?"

"I know, right?!" Her boyfriend exclaimed. "What were they thinking? What about me screams 'romance?'"

"Yet another piece of evidence that this whole school is nuts."

"But that's not the craziest thing that's happened to me."

"Oh yeah? What could possibly be crazier than that?" She asked, silently dreading the answer.

Crydius was silent for a good while before revealing what had been bothering him to her.

"I have a brother. He and his friends recently transferred here."

A brother? Ok, NOW things were getting interesting.

"Oh really? What's he like?" Tempest's curiosity has officially peaked.

"He's a pain in the ass is what he is. You remember that love advice thing I mentioned? HE'S the one who dragged me into doing it, saying some crap like "Oh dearest brother, please come and assist us in helping young women's hearts flutter" or whatever, wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. All I knew was that it was something dumb." Crydius complained, even faking Ben's voice just to drive the point further.

"Now, normally I would have probably smacked the guy and told him to fuck off, but there's just something about him that prevented me from doing that. Well, aside from the fact that those two guys he's sometimes with, Enrico and Chris, are like his two personal bodyguards of course. It's almost like something was telling me not to let anything come to harm him."

"Huh, kind of sounds like brotherly instinct to me," Tempest replied.

"You think so?" Crydius asked, to which Tempest nodded her head yes.

Somehow Crydius doubted that but whatever the case, he's going to have to continue tolerating him up until after they defeat Beo. After that, he is out of their lives, with them out of his.

However, the universe tends to work in very strange ways, and one day soon, those ways are going to involve him having to love Ben just as much as he loves him.

Speaking of Ben, wonder how he's doing.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, OH FUCK!"

Hmm, not that great, apparently. Benjamin Shigura was in full-blown panic mode right now. His double-date with Penny and Mukuro was in a few hours, and he was NOT READY!

"Benny-Boy, calm down!"

"Ben, buddy, just breathe!" Chris and Enrico had been trying to placate the bespectacled young man to no avail. However, if words fail…

Wordlessly, both of them grabbed a wooden bat and a metal baton, respectively, and sent a double smack at Ben's head.

"OW!" Ben rubbed the spots where he had been hit. He glared at his two friends.

"Why'd you do that for?!"

"One: You needed to calm down," Chris said. "And Two: Panicking would solve nothing!" Chris put away the bat in someplace secure before he and Ben sat down on the rather spacious couch.

"I'm gonna be real here: The First Date is always the most frightening thing any guy or gal experiences. Hell, none of us here have any experience with dating!" he exclaimed with honesty in his voice.

"Yeah, but that's no reason to start panicking like an idiot and run around like a headless chicken," Enrico said, sitting down across from them on a different chair, this one being a recliner chair.

"What we should be doing is prepare Ben for his double-date," he said, trying to plan out a multitude of scenarios in his head.

"Right," Chris nodded. "No use in panicking. Now, since it's gonna be in Berry Punch's Pub, that leaves us with limited options. Simple and easy to manage and removes the need for contingencies."

"And here I thought you didn't know that word," Enrico cheekily shot at him, prompting retaliation from Chris who threw one of the couch pillows at him. It painlessly bounced off of him, but it was the thought that counts.

"As I was saying, the date at the Pub means that it's simple as possible. No complications whatsoever!" Chris told Ben.

"You think so?"

"I know so!"

And so began the planning phase. The three young men, each with their own dates, began to plot out what should be done.

"What if I just wing it?" Ben asked although he cringed when both of his friends gave him deadpan looks.

"Remember the last time you winged it?" Enrico asked, an eyebrow raised. Ben shook his head in the negative.

"I don't exactly remember. Can you tell me?"

*Begin Flashback*

The three young men were standing in front of a burning warehouse, grim looks on their faces. Both Chris and Enrico had their hands clasped together in utter concern, eyes somewhat wide as they continued spectating the inferno before them.

All around them, scattered goods were burning as the local fire department was called in to douse the flames before it got worse.

Wordlessly, both of them mechanically turned their heads towards a growingly ashamed Benjamin Shigura, who wanted nothing more than the Earth to swallow him whole right now.

*End Flashback*

"It wasn't that bad!" Ben protested. How was he supposed to know that nitroglycerin would react badly to those goods?

"Ben, you were the sole reason why we're practically Public Enemy Numbers One to Three there," Enrico deadpanned. Everyone with a brain could tell that nitroglycerin reacts that badly with those goods.

"I thought we made a truce to never speak of that incident ever again!" Ben exclaimed.

"Well, we would have continued to do so had you not asked that question about why you can't just wing it!" Chris shot back. The memory of the incident forever haunting his mind. So much fire, so many fumes, so much noise from the goddamn sirens, MAKE IT STOP!

They still haven't managed to clear their names of the incident, just barely managing to get the government to consider rescinding their titles.

"Anyways, we should keep the date with Penny and Mukuro simple for Ben," Enrico was more than eager to make it stop. "Basically, just talk to them and try not to be too overbearing. Oh, and don't act like a suave Casanova because God knows you lack those skills."

"It's not like you're any better," Ben grumbled. "You pretty much run when confronted with your feelings with Emily."

"I do not run!" Enrico shot back, immediately all defensive. "I just… haven't found the right opportunity to do anything yet!"

"That's just an excuse, bro!" Chris shot at him. "C'mon! Just be honest with yourself here!" Before Enrico could protest, Chris continued.

"Look, since we pretty much nailed down how Ben's date needs to go, why don't we talk about how your date with Emily should go?"

His cheeks were crimson, although not to the same extent as before, but he ultimately conceded to his friend.

"Okay… what do you have in mind?"

Chris softly smiled before speaking out the plan.

"Alright, so you'll take Emily out to the arcade in the city nearby. You do have a confidence boost when you're playing games and that should be enough for you to talk to Emily normally outside of talking about Mechs," Chris started, with Enrico nodding along and taking down notes.

"After that, you'll take her to the nearby park and just take a relaxing stroll with her. Maybe discuss a few of your interests outside of schoolwork, too."

"Okay, that's reasonable enough," Enrico replied, nodding along.

"And of course, you have to look presentable!" Chris exclaimed. "Your current dress code isn't exactly what folks would call charming."

"What exactly is wrong with the way I dress?" Enrico asked. Right now, he was wearing what he always wore. A black muscle shirt with gray military cargo pants and combat boots. They were good for everyday wear and for the occasional intimidation display, but not exactly ideal for a date.

Ben and Chris shared a look and nodded wordlessly.

"We have a lot to work on, it seems."

Enrico's eye twitched at being brushed off like that. Still, the plans for his date are finished, so now it was down to planning Chris's date with May.

"And what about you?"

"What about me?" Chris asked back.

"You and that girl, May," Enrico shot back. "Don't tell me you're gonna wear that to your date?"

"Nah, man, I got something special in mind," Chris said and although Enrico and Ben could not prove it, there was something devious in the way Chris had answered.

"I'll just take May out on a stroll to the park, too. Then after that, I'm going to take her to this new nightclub that just recently opened. It'll be a double date, man! You don't have to worry about clamming up with Emily!" He sent a big smile his way and two thumbs up gestures.

Enrico sighed in response to that. This was not how he had envisioned his day to go.

The three brothers in arms weren't the only ones getting ready though, as the three Eds were also making plans. While Ed and Eddy were confident in their upcoming dates with the Twins and Kirbi respectively, Double-D was nervous as hell.

Ever since the night they made Gamma, Double-D has been questioning himself regarding his feelings. He's always had eyes on Sunset and Twilight, but the thing with Flash was completely new to him.

"Gamma, I need some advice. I already know of my feelings towards your mothers, but with Flash, I've only ever seen him as a friend that I'd be sharing my girlfriends with, and yet I'm starting to see him on the same level as Sunset and Twilight. What am I supposed to do?"

"To improve a relationship, one must understand what it is based on. Your feelings towards Mother Units Alpha and Beta and Father Unit Beta are based on love. Thus, the logical step towards improvement would be to further analyze the concept of love. Love as we know it, is..."

Gamma paused as she began scanning before her eyes dilated in horror when she came up with zero results, clutching her head as her eyes went bluescreen with red question marks on them.

"What... Is... Love...?"

"Um, Gamma... it's okay, dear..." Double-D nervously said before quickly turning to Kojin and Noi, who were both playfully teasing each other with Kojin getting embarrassed when Noi booped his nose.

"Kojin! Noi! Can either of you get that fire extinguisher?!"

"On it!" The tall girl and her short companion said as they rushed off to help Double-D stop Gamma before she had a meltdown.

Despite the constant reminders, Ben was close to panicking. Pacing at the intersection sign near Berry Punch's, he was getting more anxious the closer the clock ticked to 08:00 PM. He checked his watch to check what was the current time.

07:30 PM. Thirty minutes early to the date.

Was his hair alright? Was he dressed properly?

He gave himself a look over in the nearby mirror shop. His hair had been properly groomed, no longer resembling the messy curly hair he was used to. As for his attire, he had opted to change it for a more formal two-piece suit and tie, complete with dress shoes.

All in all, he was dressed for the occasion. The only problem now, of course, would be to calm down and not panic and potentially ruin the date.

Meanwhile, observing him from a nearby café across the street was Kojin, who was also on his own date with Noi. It was an interesting sight, to say the least. A large, buff woman sitting at the same table as a short man was bound to turn more than a few heads.

"Okay… so far so good," Kojin murmured as he discretely observed Ben getting ready for the date. Thanks to Emily and Ruby, the gang had been given a few devices that allowed them to monitor each other in case of emergencies or, in this case, important events.

"Are you sure he can remain calm for the entire date?" Noi, his date, asked him as she took a sip from her milkshake.

"Eh, I trust him to not fuck it up," he shrugged. He then grabbed an earpiece and, after plugging it into his ear, spoke into it.

"Rina, you there, girl?" He had no response for a few seconds before the recipient of the call picked up.

["Yeah, I'm here,"] her reply said although Kojin could pick up some nervousness in her voice.

"Uh, Rina? You okay?"

["P-perfectly fine! Hahahaha… EEP~!"] Rina yelped, making Kojin flinch at how loud it was. He then remembered why Rina was acting like this right now.

Shego was with her. Apparently, the young teacher had approached Rina one day and decided to make Rina her target of her flirting.

He sighed at this, Noi looking at him with concern.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nah, Nah," he waved her concern off. "Rina's with Professor Shego right now."

"Ah," Noi winced at the mentioning of that particular professor.

Back with Ben, it was almost 8 O'Clock exactly when someone had called out to him.

"Ben?"

"Yeah?" Without thinking, he turned to face who had called out to him and his breath was immediately taken away when he saw them.

Mukuro Ikusaba wore a strapless dress, colored in a deep royal purple, with a rose motif design running across it. A pitch-black outer skirt accompanied the dress, leaving the front open and exposing the lower half of the dress but covering every other part of the body. A pair of rose-style studs kept the outer skirt in place to Mukuro's waist.

Her legs were exposed, creamy white, and flawless like the rest of her. Her footwear, a pair of low-heeled shoes, completed the image.

And her hair was polished up, seemingly glistening in the evening light. Ben could make out a silver hair clip on the right side of her hair.

Absolutely radiant.

"T-thank you," Mukuro blushed. "It was honestly a pain to get ready for tonight."

Shit, did he say that out loud?

"Benjamin?" Another voice called out. Like before, Ben did not think ahead and turned to face the speaker. And just like before, his breath was taken away for a second time that night.

Compared to Mukuro, Penny Polendina had opted for a simpler style of a strapless dress, colored in light green. Compared to Mukuro's dress, this one's skirt extended down to her knees, covering half of the good view. Penny had also fluffed up her hair for the occasion, making her appear more radiant than before.

Again, absolutely radiant.

Penny blushed at that. He said it out loud again, didn't he?

Mukuro took one of Ben's hands and Penny did the same for the other.

"Come on, let's head inside," one of them, Ben was not sure who said as they all went inside the pub together.

The pub was surprisingly empty. Really, the only people in the pub were Berry Punch herself and some people at a faraway booth. Neither of them could tell who they were, just that they were occupying the faraway booth.

Shrugging, Ben led the two lovely ladies to their reserved table, and they got seated.

"So, tell me about yourselves, ladies?" he asked.

"I'm sure you remember my circumstances with my younger sister," Mukuro spoke with an even and nearly emotionless tone. Ben nodded, as did Penny.

"Well, after my sister had been admitted to the asylum, I was… lost. Everything I did, it was for her. When she was locked up and she told me not to worry about her, I… I didn't know what to do."

Ben frowned at this. While it is tragic that Mukuro was separated from her sister, Junko Enoshima was not exactly what he could consider sane enough to let out. Nor exactly trustworthy for that matter.

Still, seeing Mukuro sad was not a sight he liked to see. Quickly thinking, he spoke to her.

"I'm sure she'll be let out someday," he told her. She softly smiled at that.

"Thanks," she spoke, although her voice was still even and lacking some emotion.

"As for myself," Penny began when the conversation was over. "I was created by my father, Pietro Polendina, a few years ago. My father had no children of his own, so he sought to make one, using what he knew about artificial intelligence, synthetic material, robotics, and bionics."

"Aren't the last two the same thing?" Ben asked and Penny shook her head.

"No. Robotics involves creating machines designed to help humans. Bionics, on the other hand, involves the mimicry of biological life such as lower-level animals such as Cats and Dogs and higher-level animals such as Humans and Faunus," Penny explained.

"Oh," Ben dumbly responded. That was way out of his area of expertise.

As they began to chat, the occupants of the faraway table observed them.

"So far, so good," Rina said before shivering as she felt Shego's foot tease her leg.

"Well, while their date is coming along fine, why don't we take ours to a different level?" Shego asked, leaning over the table, giving Rina a wonderful view of her marvelous rack, and whispering sensually into her ear.

Steam poured out of Rina's ears as she practically short-circuited.

"KYAAA~!" And with that, Rina fainted.

["Rina? What's wrong?! Answer me! RINA! RINAAAAAA!"] Kojin tried to call her but to no avail as Rina was currently in Dreamland, thinking of all the fun things she and Shego can do to one another.

Ben looked over his shoulder to see one of the occupants of the faraway booth faint but due to the way the booth was angled, he could not see who that was.

"Strange, that person sounded awfully familiar," he muttered.

"It's Miss Corzin," Penny answered. "She's here on a date with Professor Shego."

Wait, Rina? Huh, interesting. Rather coincidental of him and her to have dates at the same place. Kind of sus now that Ben thinks about it.

"Are you okay?" Mukuro asked as Ben perked up before shaking his head.

"Nah, I'm fine. To be honest, this is the first time I've been alone without Enrico and Chris watching my back."

"You care a great deal about them. Almost like brothers, to be exact." Penny noted with a smile as Ben nodded.

"Yeah, they're the best friends a guy like me could ask for... they put up with me at my worst and help me through all the struggles in my life... like when Pops disappeared..."

"Don't you have any other family?" Mukuro asked.

Ben sighed. "No, as it turns out I'm actually the son of a terrible demon lord who was born a thousand years ago and time-warped here. Yeah, I still can't believe it either."

"I see..." Penny said sympathetically. "Growing up in this time but realizing you came from a different world altogether."

"Yeah, messed up, I know," Ben said to both of them, with Mukuro being rather dumbfounded at Ben's origins, before the waiter came and delivered their drinks. Ben smiled and lifted his glass, a Shirley Temple with the cherry removed, to propose a toast.

"Well, cheers, I guess."

Penny smiled and lifted her iced tea. "Cheers to a sensational date!"

Mukuro nodded and raised her glass as well. "Mmm..."

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Enrico Aquilla Azkalero was waiting outside of the local arcade waiting for his date to show up.

Right now, he was dressed differently. He wore a brown jacket over a blue shirt, he had changed his cargo pants for a pair of gray form-fitting jeans, and he had changed his choice of footwear to some sneakers. His hair, tried as he and the others might, blatantly refused to be tamed to an extreme degree, leaving him no choice but to use hair gel to force it into place.

"I look like a David Bowie impersonator with this getup," he thought to himself as he checked his watch.

19:56 or 07:56 PM. Just four minutes before the date properly begins.

"Ah, Enrico!" He heard Emily Simmons's melodious voice call out to him, making him smile softly in response. "I see you've dressed for the occasion."

"Yeah, I did," he turned to face her. "Had to make sure I-"

He stopped when he saw what she was wearing. He was starting to think that either he was overdressed or that she was underdressed.

Either way, she looked amazing. Her glasses were still neatly framing her brilliant emerald eyes and her hair was still in that long braid. It was her attire that drew his attention and of those around him.

She was wearing her dress shirt, with some buttons left open, giving him a teasing view of what she wore underneath. He can only see her bikini top underneath her dress shirt. He can already feel some blood rushing to two distinct places.

Her lower consisted of a pair of form-fitting jeans that practically highlighted her THICC thighs and her slender legs. Her footwear for the night was a pair of heeled shoes, the kind meant for casual walking.

He was not sure he can survive the night if Emily was dressed like that.

"My, my, look at you," she teasingly spoke to him. "All dressed like a street knight, waiting to escort his fair lady."

"HRK!" Enrico quickly covered his nose to prevent any blood from escaping. "You… You… look great, Emily… Really great…"

He hated this. He really did. WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO DRESS EMILY UP IN THAT DROP-DEAD GORGEOUS GETUP?!

Nearby, Chris and the Eds were grinning, patting themselves in the back and sharing high-fives all around.

"Okay, this should open him up," Chris said.

Emily's hand grabbed Enrico's own and stood by his side.

"So, what's first on the agenda, Enrico?" She asked. He was still blushing heavily but swallowed his nervousness and answered her as stable as he could in his current state.

"Well, I was thinking we… we could have some fun in the arcade," with his free hand, he gestured to the arcade he was standing in front of. "Y'know, maybe have some friendly competition and learn a few things."

"Hmm," she hummed in response, making an act to think it over. "Okay, I'd like to destroy you in the arcade."

"Oh, haha," he deadpanned at her, the blush slowly cooling off. "Very funny, Miss Simmons."

"Glad you think so, Mister Azkalero," she shot back with a competitive grin. As one, they entered the arcade.

Almost instantly, their senses were assaulted by the bright lights, the loud noises, and the overall air permeating from the arcade.

Enrico led them over to the main booth to get what they needed to play the games. Once they got what they needed, they headed out to see what games were available.

"Oh! Look at that one!" Emily pointed to one of the vacant arcade games. Enrico followed where her finger was pointed and saw the game.

His eyes bugged out when he recognized it. He had been subjected to being on that damning platform back in Cebu. No, no, a million times no! No matter what his parents, little brother, friends old and new, and total strangers would say, he did not enjoy it.

He loathed having to dance in front of so many people and hearing their annoying cheers!

"Oh no…" He looked at Emily and saw her giving him a wide smile. The kind that promised exhaustion and humiliation.

"Oh no… Nononononononono!" He was protesting already but Emily was not having it, dragging him over to the game in question.

"Oh, come on!" Emily responded calmly. "This will be fun."

"Fun? I barely have any fun with these things!" Enrico exclaimed in panic; the opposite of what Emily was currently.

"Oh hush, you big crybaby," she teased as she and Enrico stood on the platform of Dance-Dance Revolution.

She selected a song from the touchscreen and soon the tune of the song began to play.

He recognized the song. He knew exactly what that song was.

Caramelldansen. The song that was heard countless times across the world. He wanted to leave but then the lyrics started to play.

Vi undrar är ni redo att vara med
Armarna upp nu ska ni få se
Kom igen
Vem som helst kan vara med
(Vara med)

Try as he might, he cannot stop his body from moving.

Så rör på era fötter
Oa-a-a
Och vicka era höfter
O-la-la-la
Gör som vi
Till denna melodi

"You see?" He heard Emily call out to him. "You're enjoying this!" She said as she danced to the beat of the song, a notable sway in her hips mesmerizing him.

"Am not!" Enrico childishly protested as he stepped and danced to the rhythm along with Emily. "I'm not doing any of this!"

Dansa med oss
Klappa era händer
Gör som vi gör
Ta några steg åt vänster
Lyssna och lär
Missa inte chansen
Nu är vi här med
Caramelldansen

Despite his embarrassing words, he was keeping up with Emily when it came to finding the right rhythm of the song and getting the best score.

Oo-oo-oa-oa
Oo-oo-oa-oa-a
Oo-oo-oa-oa
Oo-oo-oa-oa-a

Of course, while he was doing great, Emily was surpassing him in terms of both score and dance moves. The way she moves, the passion she puts into each step…

Det blir en sensation överallt förstås
På fester kommer alla att släppa loss
Kom igen
Nu tar vi stegen om igen

That kind of passion made him jealous, and that jealousy gave him a competitive spirit now.

Så rör på era fötter
Oa-a-a
Och vicka era höfter
O-la-la-la
Gör som vi
Till denna melodi

"You asked for it!" Before, he was protesting ever stepping foot on the platform. Now, he was getting into the rhythm and the mood of the song.

Så kom och
Dansa med oss
Klappa era händer
Gör som vi gör
Ta några steg åt vänster
Lyssna och lär
Missa inte chansen
Nu är vi här med
Caramelldansen

Emily was surprised. Where before his moves seemed a little bit forced, now he was becoming more fluid with his moves and steps. And it looks like he was catching up to her score.

She smiled, that competitive fire burning ever brighter now.

Dansa med oss
Klappa era händer
Gör som vi gör
Ta några steg åt vänster
Lyssna och lär
Missa inte hanson
Nu är vi här med
Caramelldansen

Oo-oo-oa-oa
Oo-oo-oa-oa-a
Oo-oo-oa-oa
Oo-oo-oa-oa-a

Other arcade participants around the Dance-Dance Revolution platform watched as the two went at it. Most of them were males, especially those younger than Enrico and Emily, and so their attention was drawn to Emily and the way her body moved.

Så kom och
Dansa med oss
Klappa era händer
Gör som vi gör
Ta några steg åt vänster
Lyssna och lär
Missa inte chansen
Nu är vi här med
Caramelldansen

They began to cheer her on, giving Emily a morale boost as she began to gain the lead in the score.

Dansa med oss
Klappa era händer
Gör som vi gör
Ta några steg åt vänster
Lyssna och lär
Missa inte chansen
Nu är vi här med
Caramelldansen

Eventually, the song came to an end and both of them were winded from how much effort they spent on the dance. Glancing at the scoreboard, Emily had a little jump when she saw that she had beaten Enrico by ten points.

"Heh, okay, I'll concede," Enrico said. "That was fun."

"See? I told you," Emily said before doing something that surprised him. She pecked him on the cheek, much to the jealousy of most of their male audience. Some were grumbling and giving him death stares while they were at it.

The blush was back with a vengeance. Enrico gritted his teeth at this.

"So… was that… a consolation prize or something?"

She giggled in response to his question. "Maybe," she teased before leading the way to another set of arcade games.

All the while having a noticeable sway on her hips that Enrico would deny ever watching. He was just looking at the dirty arcade floor and her noticeable booty was getting in the way of his view.

Totally…

His eye spotted another arcade game nearby. With strength that surprised Emily, he redirected them to the game in question.

"Ace Combat Seven? Really?" Emily asked.

"Hey, you got to choose the first time. This time, you're in my turf," Enrico said as he swiped the card across the reader.

Soon, the game booted up and both of them got into their seats. Selecting Versus Mode, Enrico and Emily began to select their chosen planes.

"Isn't that a bit old-school?" Emily asked when she saw Enrico's plane of choice, an F-4 Phantom.

"Isn't yours a little too advanced?" Enrico shot back when he saw Emily's plane of choice; an ADF-01 FALKEN.

"What? Worried I might beat you again?" Emily began the banter.

He had selected one of the maps. Yinshi Valley, perfect for the occasion.

"Nah," Enrico waved her off as their virtual planes began to take to the skies. "I'm just worried about emptying your wallet."

"Hah! You're on!"

And so began their duel in the virtual skies.

Emily's jet was fast, but it was clear her movements were too frantic. Enrico's jet, by contrast, was steady in its movement. By no means would he outdo her in mobility, but speed was an entirely different matter.

Bank right, he avoided the missiles sent his way before diving down.

"I see what you're doing. It's not gonna work!" Emily broke off the chase and instead moved to circle to another part of the map.

Exactly what he was counting on. Quickly, he fired off the SASMs loaded with the fighter jet, scoring a hit, the other missile missing due to Emily quickly rolling the FALKEN away once the first missile had hit. She rolled back into his sights, and she fired the special TLS mounted in the FALKEN's cockpit, rapidly sending the damage percentage of the Phantom from 0% to 78%.

He grunted and broke contact, using the mountains as cover. The lightning bolts, normally a hindrance, had helped when they had struck the Phantom, sending it down a few meters and avoiding the laser further.

He sped up the Phantom, quickly passing through the tight corners, before emerging from the edge of the valley and firing another volley of SASMs. This time, both missiles had hit, and just in time for the end of the match.

He won this round. He sent her a smile.

"You may be the Queen of the Dance Floor, Emily," Enrico began. "But I'm the King of the Skies."

"Best Two out of Three!" Emily challenged.

It went further than two out of three for both of them, their virtual battle spanning over ten matches. In the end, Enrico had won six times whereas Emily only won four times.

"Hah, you did well, all things considered," Enrico said, a smile on his face as he patted Emily on the shoulder. She pouted at him, however.

"No fair. How'd you beat me with such old aircraft?"

"It's not the plane. It's the pilot," he wisely replied to Emily. "Now come on. I think we expired our cards."

He was right, both of their arcade cards were expired. Heading back to the main area, they returned the cards and headed out of the arcade.

All in all, it was a fun experience.

"So… where next?" Emily asked, once again taking his hand in hers and staying close to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Enrico nearly blushed when he saw her being so close to him again but managed to catch himself in time and answered her.

"Well… this is gonna sound cliché, but I was thinking of taking a stroll through the park," he sheepishly admitted.

She giggled at that. She found it adorable how someone that was imposing could look so sheepish.

"That's nice. There's no need to go overboard, after all," she said.

"Yeah, I suppose," he murmured.

They hailed a cab and headed to the park. Even now, late into the night, there were still people enjoying a stroll through it. It was not cloudy but the lights from the city blocked the natural lights of the moon and the stars.

Still, it provided them an opportunity for calmer moments, away from the hustle and bustle.

"I'll lead," he said to Emily, taking her hand and walking down one of the lesser-traveled routes. She said nothing, simply content with having him lead her as they strolled through the deeper areas of the park.

As they moved down the path, they started talking to pass the time.

"So… tell me about yourself? What lies behind the big man that lurks in the Mech Lab?" Emily asked.

"Heh, well, my story really isn't that exciting to begin with," Enrico responded, scratching his cheek sheepishly. Seeing that she was not going to leave the subject be, he decided to divulge a little bit about himself to make conversation.

"Well, I was born into a normal family in Cebu, Philippines. I grew up with my little brother in our barangay. It wasn't exactly the best place to grow up in, not because it was rough," he said when he noticed Emily's questioning look.

"The place wasn't really what you Americans would associate a normal neighborhood with. It was more like the favelas of South America than a neighborhood with how tightly packed the place was."

"Really now? Small alleyways and hard-to-reach places?"

"Yep, hell of a place to grow up in, that's for sure," Enrico said. "Anyways, when I was a kid, I didn't really have many aspirations in life. Then, one day, I heard them."

"Them?" Emily parroted, curious as to what changed his life at a young age.

"While playing with some friends in the barangay, we all heard it. Looking up, I saw fighter jets and Mechs just flying in formation. All of them were surplus from America's little war in Vietnam but the way they flew overhead… the rumbling of their engines… That never left me," he softly smiled in memory.

"And that's what got you interested in Mecha Design?" She asked him.

"Yep," he nodded although he sheepishly turned away from her gaze. "I… Was not exactly the best student when it came to Mechanical Design outside of Mechas and whatnot. I… flunked hard on the subject… Repeatedly…"

She giggled, the mental image of Enrico constantly flunking Mechanical Design tests providing much humor in her eyes.

"Haha, laugh it up," he grumbled halfheartedly at Emily, but smiled, nonetheless.

"Still, I persevered. Eventually, my parents decided to help me with my passion for Mechs, sending me over the Pacific to US America, and the rest, as you say, is history."

"Wow, I didn't realize you tried so hard," Emily spoke.

"Eh, it is what it is," he shrugged. "Anyway, let's talk about you now. Who exactly is Emily Simmons and how did she get to where she is right now?"

"Well, for starters," Emily began. "I never knew my real father. My mother said he died before I was born."

Well, that was one way to start a conversation. Enrico had no idea what he should say.

"Don't," she told him. "My mother had twenty years to get over it. Professor Conagher was also a big help in her healing."

"I see…" he could only say that much. He was rather fortunate in his own family's circumstances, then.

"Much like you, I had a passion for machines although I was a lot more successful on that front," she told him. "My performances in academics were unmatched, yes, but it came at a burden."

"Let me guess, nobody could consider themselves worthy of being near you?" his question made her nod.

"Right on the money," she quietly replied. "Because of that, I had no real friends for a good while. It wasn't until my Third Year that I decided to make my friends. The drones, I mean."

Right, her drones. Handy little fellows, often zipping around in the Mech Lab whenever Emily was around. Of course, those things acted like her guard dogs as well, detecting whoever was hostile to her and fending them off.

"Those guys? Pretty adorable little buggers," he admitted.

"Thanks, I try to make them look friendly," she replied, smiling softly. "Anyway, after graduating from that place, I decided to apply as an Assistant Mech Lab for Azeasany. Thankfully, Professor Conagher vouched for me when I applied."

"Lucky you, you must've been pretty happy to get in. Your mother, too," Enrico replied.

"Yeah, we were very happy that day," Emily responded. "And, like you, the rest is history."

They both shared a smile as they continued walking down the path. By now, they had made good progress, nearing whatever destination Enrico had in store for them both.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked after a minute or two of walking in silence.

"It's a surprise," he told her, pushing away a branch. Turning to her, he gestured for her to move through.

She nods and complies, passing through the opening. What she saw surprised her.

"I thought they only had one lake," Emily breathed out.

She saw a moderately sized lake before her. Whatever natural light that was not blocked by the artificial lights of the city made the surface of the water sparkle and glisten like diamonds made out of liquid.

"They don't," Enrico told her. "This is one of the more secluded lakes. You need special connections to get in here."

"And how exactly did you get those connections?" She asked, not taking her eyes off of the lake.

"Well, you can thank Professor Conagher for that," his answer surprised her, making her turn to him for clarification.

"He noticed that you and I were pretty cooped up in our own workshops so he pulled some strings and arranged it so that you and I can visit this private lake at any time," he explained. "This is my first time being here, so I thought I'd commemorate this moment by bringing you along."

She said nothing, looking back at the lake. Already, she was at ease, and she felt as though nothing else mattered now. Just her and the lake.

And perhaps…

"I love it," she spoke softly.

"I knew you would," he responded just as softly.

"I've never seen such a lovely sight before… Have you?" She asked, eyes glued to the lake and its majesty. He, on the other hand, was not focused on the lake. Rather, he was focused on her.

"I see a more beautiful sight before me right now," he whispered. She stilled, turning to face him.

"D… Do you mean that?" Slowly, he nodded in response to her question.

"I do," he told her. "I know, I know… Helluva cheesy line and whatnot but, eh, it gets the job done."

Emily smiled at that. They both sat down and enjoyed each other's company, listening to nature's song on the cool windy night.

It was nice, to just relax like this. But now, it was now or never.

"Hey, Enrico?"

"Yeah?" He turned to face her and was surprised by what Emily did next.

She kissed him. It was not a peck on the cheek like before. It was a true-blue lip lock, and he could feel the emotion Emily poured into it.

Enrico decided to pour some of his own emotions into the kiss, deepening it.

It did not last long, but it might as well have been an eternity for both of them before they separated for air.

Neither of them said anything. Emily softly smiled at him before resting her head on his shoulder once more.

He smiled back, bringing Emily close and wrapping an arm around her as if to shield her from whatever dangers lurked around them.

There was no such danger around them, but the thought made Emily's heart flutter.

This was nice. She hopes that they can do this again someday.

Meanwhile with the Eds and Chris, after having left Enrico and Emily at the park, they each went to where their respective dates were being held.

Ed went to a cafe with Kirbi and Adeline, Double-D went to an ice cream place with Sunset, Twilight, and Flash, while Eddy went to a five-star restaurant with Maya and Kokoe.

Chris on the other hand stayed behind at the park, ripping himself apart like fabric to reveal a full tan suit, with a red bowtie around his neck.

"As long as I've got my suit and tie, Imma leave it all on the floor tonight. Now, where is my special little Mayflower?"

"Oh, are we doing nicknames now?" May asked as she walked up to Chris.

"Eh, just felt like saying something cute. Although we COULD do nicknames if you..." Chris said as he turned to face May, but he was stunned at her appearance when he laid eyes on her.

She was wearing a pink top with saffron borders and a heart on the chest area, a lilac-purple long skirt with a pink fabric around her waist, a saffron-colored necklace with a red heart-shaped gem, and brown slip-on shoes. On her head, she was still wearing her headband, and Chris also noticed that she was wearing her bracelet and her midriff was exposed, causing multiple neurons to get set off in his brain.

"... want. Wow, you are practically a goddess with how pretty you look right now," Chris said after his brain did a reboot. May giggled at the compliment.

"Thanks. This is actually part of an outfit that I wore when I was younger, long before I ever came to Azeasany. Scaled up to fit my current size of course."

"Oh, really now? Well, if you don't mind, I would love to hear the history behind it. Shall we?" Chris said as he held up his arm, which May happily interlocked with her own before they started their walk in the park.

Ed, Kirbi, and Adeline went to a restaurant run by a guy named Kawasaki, said to be one of the greatest chefs in existence.

As the three took their seats in a booth and started looking through their menus, a waiter came up to them.

"Hello, my name is Fecto Elfilis and I shall be your waiter for the evening."

This caused Kirbi and Adeline to arch their eyebrows in confusion as they swear they've heard that name before.

"Elfilis? Now, where have I..." Adeline said as she put her menu down and got a good look at their waiter, a sharp gasp escaping from her lips as her pupils shrunk, eyes widened, and the color drained from her face.

Elfilis had similar colors to Elfilin. In fact, Elfilis was actually Elfilin in an alternate form. It's a long story. Anyways, due to this, he had bluish-green fur, but that's mostly where the similarities end. What separates his two forms apart is their anatomy, with Elflis having a slender frame, with long arms and legs attached to a very slim torso, with orange fur in the front.

His hands were also rather huge, and they each had long fingers that ended on purple claws, while his legs looked like that of a canine's hind ones. He also had an orange mane of fur around his neck, and horns on his head like a deer that resembled DNA strands with their protrusions, with the connected part of his head possessing alternately yellow and orange fur that connected up to his nose.

He also had whiskers on the side of his head that looked like axolotl gills, and his eyes had purple sclera and pupils, with blue irises. His ears were tucked into himself, having increased in size and gained a serrated pattern, making them look almost like angel wings. Speaking of, the outer edges retained the usual bluish-green fur, but they now have a few spiked tufts sticking out, and the inner ears were covered in red and yellow fur with purple blood vessels visible, and each tip of his ears was purple fading into black.

He also had on a classic white waiter vest, with a black bow tie around his neck, and was currently holding a pen and notepad.

While Ed was still reading through the menu upside-down, Adeline grabbed Elfilis by the bow tie and forcibly dragged him towards her, causing him to let out a small yelp in shock.

"What are you doing here, weren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on The Company or something?!" She whisper-shouted to Elfilis.

"What do you think I am, stupid? Don't worry about those guys, I brought them with me," Elfilis whispered back.

"You WHAT?!" Oh boy, there's a look of fear in her eyes, that's not a good sign.

But before anything else could come out of this, Ed put his menu down, forcing Adeline to let go of Elfilis.

"Drinks, please."

"Of course, sir, now, what would you like?" Elfilis asked, unfazed at what just transpired.

"If anything bad happens to them, I will skin you alive and wear you as a coat," Adeline whispered to Elfilis, glaring daggers at him as he wrote Ed's request down.

Ignoring her, Elfilis then proceeded to ask what Adeline and Kirbi wanted, before heading off to get Ed an Ice Magma Flows, Kirbi an Orange Ocean Juice, and Adeline a Fountain of Dreams Sparkling Cocktail.

Adeline tapped her finger against the table nervously, worried out of her mind about what might happen to The Company thanks to Elfilin bringing them here. Noticing the increasing worry on her face, Kirbi put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, everything's going to be ok. Elfilin wouldn't have come here if he wasn't sure he could keep The Company safe. He's got this," Kirbi said, trying to calm Adeline down.

While it didn't help completely, it did at least ease Adeline's worries somewhat. "Thanks, Kirbi, I really mean it."

The two were soon interrupted by Ed speaking up. "Storytime please!"

Adeline thought about it for a moment, then agreed that some talking might help pass the time.

"Alright. So, you're probably wondering how The Company came to be, correct?"

Ed did the action of moving the head up and down to express affirmation. Adeline sighed as she leaned back.

"Well, long before I came here and met Kirbi, I used to live in this small house by a lake where I would paint every now and again. One day though, a shooting star fell from the sky and hit me straight in my forehead. After that, I ended up sneezing so hard that little stars came out and landed in the nearby grass." Adeline took a sip of her drink before she continued.

"Thinking nothing of it, I went home to hang up my most recent painting. Then I started getting this weird ringing in my ears, almost like someone was telling me to go back to the lake. Eventually, I did, and what I found made my heart melt. Ten tiny creatures, with one of them trying to shield the others from the rain. I knew what I had to do, so I took them with me and, well, essentially made them a part of my life. So, yeah, that's pretty much how I got The Company."

"Awww, that's sweet," Ed gushed.

"Speaking of sweet, I'm starving. When's our waiter going to come back to take our orders?" Kirbi asked.

Suddenly an explosion from the kitchen and the shouts of Elfilin gave them their answer.

"Seriously, Odd?! Come on!"

"This was a mistake," Adeline said with resignation in her tone.

Double-D and his dates arrived at a building resembling a steamboat called Goofy Goober's, and Flash's eyes instantly lit up once he saw it.

"Oh. My gosh. I used to come to this place all the time when I was a kid! Oh ho, oh this is incredible! I wonder if my picture's still there." Flash said all giddy. Sunset couldn't help but find the childish enthusiasm of her former ex-boyfriend now back-to-being official boyfriend endearing.

Leading the four of them inside, Flash hummed the parlor's theme song as he led them over to the Nut Bar. As they took their seats, Flash noticed how glum Double-D looked and decided to help him.

"Hey man, what's got you so down in the dumps?"

Double-D sighed as he turned towards Flash.

"Flash, have you ever had those moments where you start to see your guy friends as, more than best friends? And I'm not talking as like a brother or anything, I'm talking what you and I see Twilight and Sunset as."

Flash nodded his head in understanding. "Oh yeah, loads of times. LONG before me and Sunset ever met, actually. Didn't really manage to make it work with any of them, but we broke up on good terms at the least. Why do you ask?"

Double-D was surprised at the answer he got, but his frown returned as he rested his head in his palms. "Well, the reason why I say that is because, well, I love you. Just like how you and I both love Sunset and Twilight. And I was worried that you might think of me as weird because of it."

Flash put his hand onto Double-D's shoulder and flashed him a sympathetic smile.

"Hey, if that's what's been making you so worried, it's ok. I mean, we're all weird in our own ways, and that's what makes us unique. I mean look at your friend Chris for example, the guy is practically the living definition of weird. Remember when he grew some extra arms to be a one-man band?"

Recalling that particular memory made Double-D chuckle as a smile started to form on his face.

"Thanks, Flash, I needed that."

"Anytime, DD. And hey, if you thought I was an impressive kisser before, well get ready to have your mind BLOWN, pretty boy."

This caused Double-D to blush, however the red in his face faded when the waiter put a giant stack of ice cream in front of Flash.

"Here's your Triple Gooberberry Sunrise, sir."

The ice cream got Double-D's attention once it arrived, prompting Flash to order one for him.

"Oooh!" Double-D said in admiration before he and Flash gleefully ate their ice cream.

"Flash, if I wasn't feeling better before, I certainly am now."

"Now you're talking!"

Double-D then ordered two more for him and Flash. "Oh, and can we get some for the lovely ladies over here as well please?"

What followed was pretty much what you would expect from people hanging out at a bar, getting drunk off their asses.

"Oh, Mr. Waiter. Four more, please," Double-D said with a beard of ice cream on his face while Flash wore a bowl as a hat.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~!"

Once they got their servings, they tore through it all over again, splattering more of it onto the waiter.

"Waiter!"

The waiter is completely covered in ice cream by this point.

"Oh, waiter~!" Double-D said while Flash and Sunset were licking away on the inside of their bowls.

"Waiter~!" Double-D called out in a singsong voice, while Twilight, Sunset, and Flash had bowls on their faces like masks.

"Waiiii-Thoooooooorrrr~!" Double-D slurred, one arm wrapped across Flash's shoulders and the other on Sunset's shoulders.

"WAITER!" Double-D shouted as he slammed the table, causing the makeshift Jenga tower of spoons and bowls to bounce a bit, his eyes having gone bloodshot.

"Why do I always get the nuts?" The waiter asked as he put a scoop of ice cream onto a sundae. He was not getting paid enough to deal with this bullshit.

Eventually, the four lovebirds ended up on stage with Goofy Goober himself.

"All right, folks, this one goes out to my three bestest significant others and bestest friend in the whole world: Flash, Twilight, and Sunset, and this big peanut guy!" Double-D called into a microphone while he and the others were lined up like can-can line dancers. "It's a little ditty called..."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRR~!" The four called out in unison, before falling flat on their backs and passing out.

Hidden within the shadows, however, unbeknownst to everyone there was Gamma, who had been observing everything ever since they entered.

Eddy brought Maya and Kokoe to this fancy-looking restaurant called La Ratatouille, said to put unique twists onto any dish out there, including the one that gave the restaurant its name, the ratatouille.

Eddy, despite his outward confidence, was sweating bullets on the inside as he and his dates were escorted over to a table, with Maya and Kokoe opposite of him. He wiped the sweat off his forehead as he started looking through the menu.

"So uh," Eddy said as he cleared his throat. "You two come here often?"

Maya and Kokoe looked at each other as Eddy started sweating harder than before.

"Know what, forget it," Eddy said before either of them could answer, placing his menu down as he turned to fiddle with one of the forks on the table.

"So do you two have any sort of hobbies or..." Suddenly the fork slipped out of his hands and fell to the floor. "Oops. Let me just, uhh..."

Eddy reached down under the table to grab the fork, accidentally bumping his head against the table. While the act did cause Kokoe to giggle, Eddy knew that if he continued to act like an idiot in front of these two, he was going to be in for a long night.

"You know, it's really nice you actually offered to take us out on a date," Kokoe giggled. "Normally, people just see us as friends or make fun of us for being fat."

Maya scoffed. "Yeah, bunch of body-shaming assholes. We're just naturally born fat. All the women in our family are like that."

"Well, to me, that just means there's more of you to love," Eddy blurted out before coughing into his fist as he realized what he said.

Kokoe covered her mouth with her pudgy hand, giggling while Maya smirked.

"You've got some pretty big balls for such a little man. Who taught you how to treat ladies right?"

"Heh, blame my dad, I guess," Eddy shrugged. "My mom doesn't really fit the standards of beauty either, but dad loves her to pieces, and I love her as my mom. Wish I could say the same about my brother..."

"Yikes, not a good relationship with your bro, huh?" Kokoe winced.

"You could say that. He's a total dick! He always bullied me and pushed me around when I was little. Heck, Mom and Dad had to kick him out of the house because he wouldn't learn his lesson!" Eddy growled before sighing. "For the longest time, I wanted to be like him, thinking that if I emulated him, I could be cool and make a bunch of friends... but all I got was nothing but scorn and rejection."

"Geez..." Maya sighed. "Are you... okay?"

"I'm fine. In the end, Ed and Double-D saved me from myself and it took a whole trip to find my brother while running from our angry neighbors for me to realize that I don't need to be like him to be cool. I should just be cool all by myself."

"Awww, poor baby..." Kokoe cooed sympathetically as she got out of her chair, waddled over, and picked Eddy up in a soft, comforting hug.

"Dang, Mom was right! Talking does make you feel better!" Eddy thought to himself while enjoying Kokoe's plush softness.

As Chris and May were walking down the sidewalk after they left the park, they did a little bit of small talk.

"Wow, did you see the shine in Enrico's eyes? That tells me that the plan to win Emily's heart was a success. So, just to refresh my memory here, you're saying that this dress of yours was first made for a competition called the Wallace Cup?"

May nodded her head yes.

"Yep, ended up getting second place as well. Was really hoping to win but, well, can't all be winners."

As they walked, Chris made a mental note to check out the Survive Bar that they passed by as they went to Chris's intended destination, Stardust.

"Welp, here we are. You ready to shake what your momma gave ya?"

"Oh, you know it." May replied.

Holding the door open for May like the gentleman that he is, Chris and May entered the club and were met with bright lights and gossip, with their first destination being the dance floor in the middle.

May was the first to start dancing, shaking her hips like a Middle Eastern belly dancer, causing Chris's neurons to go into overdrive. But even with his brain going on the fritz, Chris was still able to dance, moving his body in random yet fluid movements, mixing various dancing styles into one spectacular performance.

After what felt like hours of dancing, Chris went over to the bar to grab a drink.

"Hit me with whatever you got, bartender," Chris said as he handed the guy behind the bar some money.

Next to him was a rather menacing looking man who just finished downing a glass of alcohol, and just let loose a huge burp.

"Whoo, that's some good shit right there," the guy coughed out, before turning to Chris and glaring at him. "Hey, punk."

"Yes?" Chris said as he turned to the man.

"Were you giving me the stink-eye just now?" The guy accused.

"No. Sir, I think you've had a bit too much to drink, why don't you put the glass down and let escort you out and call an Uber to take you home, sound good?"

"Don't fucking lie to me you son of a bitch!" The guy yelled as he swung his beer glass onto Chris.

He dodged the attack, letting it smash against the counter as the guy got up and started swinging his fists to try and hurt Chris.

"Whoa, dude, let's just talk this out like civilized people!" Chris said to try and defuse the situation.

"Like I give a rat's ass about what you have to say! Like do you even know who you're talking to?! I am a proud member of the Tojo Clan, patriarch of the-!" But before the guy could continue, Chris interrupted him.

"Wait, the Tojo Clan? Didn't those guys disband or something?"

"Don't mock me you piece of shit!" The drunk yakuza suddenly pulled out a gun and fired at Chris's feet, causing the patrons to all run out of the club in fear of getting pumped full of lead. All of them except for May.

"Jesus Christ!" Chris called out as he tap-danced around the bullets. He was actually doing pretty well until the yakuza's goons suddenly showed up and began to beat him to the ground.

After getting the tar beat out of him, the yakuza ordered his goons to take Chris's shirt off and hold him up, allowing the guy to slash an X onto Chris's torso with a tantō.

"Shit, that's probably gonna leave a scar. Ahh," Chris said in nonchalant pain as the yakuza held the blade up to his neck.

"I'm going to enjoy making you gush blood like a fountain."

Chris could only chuckle at the threat.

"Well, hate to break to you dude, but you're going to be waiting a long time before the last of my blood splurts out of my body. Because you can rip me in two, force me to wear concrete shoes and toss me into the ocean, crush my skull like a sparrow's egg between your thighs, tear my heart from my chest, boil me in oil in a Goemon bath, and every time I'll just come back like it's nothing. I'll put myself back together like a puzzle, I'll clomp across the ocean floor until I hit land, I'll pull a new head out of my neck, I'll put my heart back into my chest cavity, and I'll walk on out of the tub with a towel around my waist after I've had a good simmer."

Chris then gained a more confident grin, daring the yakuza to try and top his taunts.

"And in case the message isn't somehow getting through your thick skull, let me put it this way. I'm like a cockroach, no matter how many times you think you've gotten rid of me, I'll always come back."

The yakuza growled as he lowered the tantō. "Well, if that's the case, then I'm going to take my sweet time finding whatever it is that puts you down for good."

But before he could swing his blade, May jumped in and held onto his arm to try and stop him.

"Leave him alone, asshole!" Unfortunately, the guy tossed her away and turned towards her.

"Stay out of this, bitch! Once I've got this punk locked away nice and tight, I'll have plenty of "fun" with you on the side." If the way he said fun wasn't enough to clue May in on what he meant by that, then the evil chuckle he had afterward certainly did.

But all she did was glare at the guy as he turned back to Chris and she stood up, holding her left arm in front of her like she was pumping her fist before pressing her finger onto the marble in her bracelet. Once that happened, May ended up getting engulfed in bright light as energy swirled around her, and once the orb shattered apart like a shell, May came out of it looking much, MUCH different than before.

May's appearance now resembled that of a Mega Lopunny, with her hair having grown to resemble its ears and the fringe in front of her forehead turning into their signature butterfly crest. Her feet and wrists had yellowish-gold fur formed in the shape of kickboxing socks and fingerless kickboxing gloves respectively. Her clothes disappeared and were replaced with a black tube top that much like her other outfit, left her midriff exposed and showed that she had gained six-pack abs, while on her legs were ripped pantyhose, with bits of brown fur poking out of the holes. Her arm and leg muscles had grown and were now twice as big as they were before, about as big or possibly even bigger than the average female kickboxer, especially her legs.

The goons pointed in shock at May, prompting the yakuza to turn around and have his tantō kicked out of his hands by her before she grabbed the guy and tossed him with a tomoe nage after they rolled away like a wheel.

Once that was done, she immediately slammed a foot into each of the goons holding Chris and helped him up.

"You ok?" She asked in worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Also, this, while awesome, is definitely going to need some explaining done." Chris replied.

He then turned to the DJ, who was currently cowering behind his booth. "Hey yo DJ, give us one with a beat."

The DJ complied with a thumbs-up before starting up an electronic track.

"Oh baby, now we're talking. Oh, and for those who are curious, the music playing is Theory of Beauty. Now, with that out of the way, let's do this!" Chris said as he whipped out his Duel Disk and loaded some shells in.

As the music was building up for the drop, the yakuza got back up and yelled "Come on, you want a piece of me?!" at Chris and May, who charged toward him once the intro beat finally dropped.

The two slammed into the yakuza with flying kicks, knocking him back as Chris followed up by swinging his Duel Disk like nunchucks, ending it with a shotgun blast that knocked him into May, who proceeded to launch a flurry of kicks into the guy's face, before sending him back towards his goons with a dropkick.

The yakuza got back up and glared at his goons. "What are you two doing sitting on your asses for, KILL these arrogant motherfuckers!"

The goons got up as May touched the marble in her bracelet again, this time transforming to resemble Mega Swampert. Her upper body was now much bulkier, with three orange pads appearing on each wrist, with another appearing on each of her shoulders. She also gained facial markings that resembled its gills in its Mega state. The hair on top of her head grew and turned black to resemble its fins, which much like the original, extended past her shoulders. She also grew a tail fin, which resembled an upward-turned fan that had a ridge going up her back and extending up to her forehead, flanked on either side by her "head-fins". Some parts of her skin also turned bluish white, with a light blue sleeveless t-shirt in place of the tube top from before, and the pantyhose were replaced with light blue pants.

May immediately threw a left and right hook at the goons, knocking them aside as she charged towards the yakuza and hit the marble again, this time turning into a fusion between her Mega Lopunny and Mega Swampert forms. Once she got close to the guy, she threw a barrage of punches and kicks like something straight out of Jojo, ending it off by slamming her fists into the sides of the guy's head, knocking him out once and for all as the song ended.

As the yakuza fell to the ground, May reverted back to her original form and turned towards Chris, panting after everything that happened.

"Oh, I am so pumping you like a balloon during our honeymoon," Chris said out loud.

"Eh?!" May cried out as her face turned an atomic red, causing Chris to realize what he just said.

"Did I say that out loud?! Shit, crap, uhhhh..." Chris started stammering as May tried to process what she just heard.

Eventually, the two calmed down enough to leave the club, with Chris having put his suit back on.

"So, that was an... interesting, first date. You turned out to be some sort of human-Pokémon hybrid, we kicked ass together, and I blurted out loud how I wanted to pump you full of jizz. Which totally doesn't make me want to die because I said that, nope, mm-mm, no sir," Chris said, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he said that last part.

"Although, speaking of that first thing I mentioned, what's up with that? Did you or somebody else decide to partake in the dark arts or something, like what's up with that?"

May sighed as she knew she was going to have to explain this eventually, just didn't think it would be now.

"Honestly, I'm not sure myself, to be honest. All I know is that when I first got my Key Stone and Mega Bracelet, and I first tried to Mega Evolve my Blaziken once I was able to, that's when, IT, happened."

*Begin Flashback*

A 10-year-old May looked at her Blaziken and her Mega Bracelet with excitement shining in her eyes.

"You ready, Blaziken?" She asked the fiery chicken.

"Blaziken!" It cried out in its signature Pokémon speak.

May held her arm up in front of her and tapped the Stone, causing an orb of light to envelop Blaziken. Unbeknownst to her though, she too ended up getting enveloped in light.

Once the light burst open, Blaziken was in his Mega form and started checking himself out.

"Haha, it worked!" May cried out in excitement.

However, once she noticed Blaziken's surprised face, she got confused.

"What? Is there something on my face?" May asked as she brought up a hand to touch her face.

However, instead of just her normal skin, she felt a claw touching her face, causing her eyes to widen as she slowly pulled her hand back and immediately started to slowly panic once she saw that it looked like a human version of a Blaziken's hand.

Her fear only grew as she looked down to see that she had black markings on her upper legs and chest area of her now red tunic and that she had grown beige, hair-like feathers around her chest and abdomen, with the chest portion being rough around her shoulders.

She also had shaggy, red feathers on the bottom of her legs, which concealed three clawed toes attached to each leg, and her hair grew and turned beige into a wing-like shape that pointed upwards, and her fringe was morphed into a flat horn curving backward. On each wrist were two streamers of fire.

As May started taking it all in, her breathing worsened as her panic started getting worse.

"What's happening to me, what's going on?!" May cried out.

"Hey, is someone over there? You okay?"

Shit, people. May couldn't let anyone else see her like this, so she quickly put Blaziken back in its Poké Ball and tried to cover her face.

"Stay away from me, I'm a freak!" She cried out as she turned and ran, with tears falling drop by drop.

*End Flashback*

"After that, once I turned back to normal, I refrained from ever Mega Evolving any of my Pokémon ever again, even if it would give me an advantage. At the time, I didn't want anyone to see me as some sort of horrific abomination like Frankenstein's monster, and it wasn't until after I became champion that I showed it to my parents," May explained.

"What happened?"

"Well, they were surprised at first, and honestly, who wouldn't be. But then, after I explained how it happened and why I kept it a secret for so long they... they hugged me." May said as she wiped away a sniffle.

"They told me that, no matter what form I took, I would always be their daughter and that they would love me no matter what. They then told me not to look at what I was capable of as a curse, but as a gift that could help people," tears began to form in May's eyes as she thought back to that particular moment of her childhood.

"Ah, the classic "With great power comes great responsibility" moment. So, what happened after that?" Chris questioned.

"I started training. Made my powers easier to control, found out what exactly I was capable of, that kind of thing. Eventually, I revealed my powers to the region, and much like my parents, they loved me. I was like Superman to them, helping people out whenever I could, plus it gave my performances as a Coordinator a very unique flair. Then one day everything turned out peaceful and I felt, bored. So, I packed my things and moved here, started taking classes at Azeasany and, I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

Chris was amazed.

"I'll probably never learn how and why I can Mega Evolve, but honestly, at this point, I don't really care. This ability is now a part of me, now and forever. So, there you have it. That's how I'm capable of turning into those Mega forms."

Chris struggled to find the words that he wanted to say.

"Wow, that must have been pretty tough having to keep that ability of yours a secret from the general populace. ESPECIALLY at the age of ten," Chris finally got out.

"Honestly, it kind of was. But it is what it is. And hey, I wouldn't even be here if I didn't finally get the guts to reveal my secret." May replied.

"Yeah. Well, it's getting pretty late, we should probably do the responsible thing and head back." Chris said as he pulled his phone out to check the time.

"Yeah, yeah we probably should. Or..." May said, with a certain "look" in her eyes.

Over sideways and under
On a
Take my horse to the old town road
I'm gonna
Close my eyes
I don't want to

Yep, they went to a karaoke club to get absolutely HAMMERED. And honestly, they deserve to have some fun every once in a while.

Ed, Kirbi, and Adeline walked out of Kawasaki's restaurant, The Company resting in their usual nooks and crannies of Adeline's clothes.

"Well, we're most likely banned from this place," Adeline said as she turned to see Kawasaki using a fire extinguisher in his kitchen.

"Eh, even if that's the case, I can always just whip out my trump card and convince him to lift the ban," Elfilis said as he removed his vest and bow tie.

Adeline just shook her head in annoyance. He meant well, but aside from a few tricks that she taught him, Elfilin just isn't as capable as her when it came to taking care of The Company.

"Do you have another story for Ed?" Ed asked.

Adeline thought for a moment, before deciding on one.

"Alright. This is the story of how I met Kirbi. When I first arrived at Azeasany, I already knew what I was going to study: Art. So, during my first day of class, I had just created a group portrait of The Company referencing some famous paintings, like the Mona Lisa and whatnot, 'til all of a sudden I felt something soft pressing against the back of my head."

Kirbi raised her hand as if to say, "Guilty as charged."

"Then I was told my painting would look better if I added some shading to it, and lo and behold they were right. When I turned to thank them, they had their back to me, and it looked like they were making something. As I got up to get their attention, they immediately turned around to show a drawing of me and them holding hands under a rainbow. It was honestly pretty cute, and once I got a good look at who was holding the paper, I could tell that we were going to be pretty good friends."

"And after we introduced ourselves, Adeline here asked if I wanted to join her in doing a landscape painting. I said yes, made our pictures, and the rest is history," Kirbi continued.

"Yeah. Anyways, be seeing you around, Ed," Adeline said as she, Kirbi, and Elfilis turned to walk away as Ed waved goodbye.

"Be seeing you, paint girl."

And with that, Ed took his leave back to Azeasany.

Eddy didn't know how it happened, but he managed to make it through his date with the Twins went rather well, despite his screw-ups.

As he walked back to Azeasany with a big grin on his face, he looked at the slip of paper Kokoe handed him that had her and her sister's phone numbers on it.

"Boy howdy, as if my luck couldn't get any better."

Ben let out a sigh of contentment as he spun into his personal bedroom and flopped onto his bed on his back, looking at the sky while putting his hands to his chest, feeling his heart beating to a steady rhythm like a jazz drum. The date with Penny and Mukuro had gone over quite well, and Penny even gave him a kiss on the cheek. Mukuro was a little more distant, but she admitted she enjoyed her time.

"That was amazing..." His cheeks felt warm as he let out a content sigh, laying against his pillow as he felt his body relax and soon went to sleep, pleasant and warm dreams bringing peace of mind to him.

Double-D slowly opened his eyes as one of the waiters told him to get up.

"Come on, pal."

"Ugh. Oh, my head." Double-D said as he clutched his noggin.

"Listen to me, it's Eight in the morning. Go scrape up your friends and get going." The waiter said in an annoyed tone.

"My... Friends?" Double-D groaned before noticing Flash, Twilight, and Sunset in a pile nearby.

"Flash, Twilight, Sunset. Hey, what's up, you guys?" Double-D said before he faceplanted. He then got back up as he realized something.

"Wait, you said Eight O'Clock. Oh, good lord, we're gonna be late for class!"

As Double-D grabbed his boyfriend and girlfriends and struggled to carry them back to school, Gamma thought about what she just witnessed.

"So, this is what love is. It's complicated, oftentimes crazy. But at the end of the day, so long as you have affection towards someone and they show the same level in return, it doesn't matter how you express your love to them. I think I'll file this away for future reference."

Chris groaned as he sat up. Definitely going to cut back on the alcohol a little bit, don't you bud?

"Oy, you said it. Any more of these puppies and I feel like I would have turned into a black, Scottish cyclops or something. Hmm?" Chris noticed that his clothes weren't properly on, and once he realized he was naked and saw May lying next to him, his mind immediately assumed the worst.

"Oh, fuck!" Chris yelled, causing May to wake up and notice that she too was naked. Thankfully she had the decency to hold her clothes up to her like a makeshift censor, even as she shrieked in surprise.

"Did we...?!" May asked.

"Oh God, I hope not!"

The two turned towards someone chuckling and realized it was the guy who let them in.

"Don't worry, once you two passed out I checked around with a UV light. The whole room is clean. You're not the first couple that partook in passionate intercourse, you know. Even if you didn't get to that point. Trust me, you guys are good."

Sighing in relief as the man walked away, Chris immediately started putting his clothes back on, while May did the same.

At the very least, the two got the first of some very interesting stories that they can share with their future kids.

Elsewhere, some rather malicious events were transpiring at the HQ of SOL Technologies.

A masked man was being chased through the halls, having stolen something very important that would change how people interacted with and developed artificial intelligence.

The Knights of Hanoi, a group of hackers that SOL partnered up with in order to improve the security of their products, guarded the entrance as their leader, Roken Kogami, also known as Varis, chased the masked thief.

Once they arrived, Varis fired his revolver, grazing the thief's cheek and causing him to stagger.

"This is going to be your first and final warning! Put your hands in the air and turn around, SLOWLY. Then, give back what you stole from us," Varis ordered.

The masked man did as he was told, revealing his mask to be pure white with only a dollar symbol in the middle of it, and reached into his pocket to hand something to Varis.

As the masked man walked towards the exit, Varis opened his palm, only to see that the guy gave him a primed flashbang, which immediately went off, blinding everyone in the room.

Once Varis's vision returned, the thief was gone.

"Damn it! This isn't good. Find him, we can't let them fall into the wrong hands!" Varis ordered.

Once he was a good enough distance away from the building, the thief removed his mask as he pulled out a hard drive with a blue, irregularly shaped symbol.

"Hmph, suckers. Once I take care of business with you, I'll be setting my sights on another prize," the thief said as he tossed away his mask and pulled out a picture... of MAY?!

A demonic eye had been spying on the whole thing, glaring in annoyance at the lovey-dovey mush going on before disappearing in flames and appearing before the clawed hand of Velhallen Beo, who sighed as he shook his head.

"I think I just threw up in my mouth a little..." The Dark Lord stood up before folding his arms. "And that petulant brat is making its move... that Enrico boy seems to be its primary target... well then, old friend, let the games begin..."

The Razgriz shook their head. It had sensed malicious intent from Velhallen Beo. While they could not pinpoint his location, they can sense his thoughts and intercept them similar to wiretapping a phone line as done by intelligence agencies across the globe.

It was disappointed, to say the least. He was busy focusing on his two offspring and neglecting the fact that he had an army. This neglect shall be taken advantage of by the Razgriz. Someday soon, but not today.

Today, it shall, in a sense, corrupt one of the metal titans made by the humans. It was called a Quanta, whatever that meant. It saw another design on one of the computer terminals, as the humans called it. This design was referred to as a 'Reversible Gundam.'

Judging by the documents, it had not been built, but instead kept as a virtual model, a testbed for various weapons and systems in a digital world.

Fascinating to see how far the humans have come since the beginning of their species.

Not to mention the upgrades. Upgrades that the Quanta can take advantage of. The Razgriz was sure nobody would mind if they added a few upgrades of their own to the virtual testbed and to the potential upgrade kits of the Quanta. Or perhaps the reverse could happen, Razgriz supposed.

After all, any advantage is a good advantage when used right. Either way, it was another piece to their side of the fence. The Razgriz can already see it.

Their previous host flew through the skies with a plethora of Fighter Jets, raining death upon their enemies to the point that three superpowers had teamed up to destroy them. Now, their current host shall fly through the skies with these Mechanical Titans. And they will usher forth a new age.

When the time comes, the Razgriz and their host shall be ready, alongside their offspring and allies.

That Golden Age shall come and this time the Razgriz will make sure it is a long-lasting one.

Next Time: Helping Gamma!

Devil Dragon Stand Knight A/N:

Well, this chapter was a real doozy to work on. Next chapter will focus not just on Gamma learning about her magic capabilities but on Ben learning about the power that dwells within him.

Also, I was seriously not expecting Caw to just go full Spongebob Squarepants Movie with Double-D, Flash, Twilight, and Sunset's date. Like, seriously. No offense, I'm just surprised.

Enriks-Da-Writer's A/N:

Well, I had tons of fun writing my parts of the chapter. Once again, I went a little overboard with certain scenes (y'all motherfuckers already know which ones I'm talking about) and I'm glad they turned out that way.

This might be the longest chapter so far. Hopefully not too long, though, because some folks don't exactly like reading through walls upon walls of text.

Once more, battle plans are made, lines are drawn in the sand, and two Great Daemons rise to war against the other. Who will win and decide what is right? Well, you are going to have to wait a while because that inevitable conflict shall take a long time to arrive.

See you guys when the next chapter comes rolling in!

Caw-zrs6's A/N:

So, there you have it, folks. Told you there was going to be some revelations. So, turns out May can shapeshift with that Key Stone of hers, and it looks like somebody aside from Chris has an interest in her. Although something tells me that it's not in the least bit romantic. Either way, who is this guy, and what does he want with her? And what the heck is in that hard drive that's so important? Well, you'll just have to wait until the Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament Arc comes around to find out.