Authors Notes

Hi all! Managed to squeeze this one through as well! I don't have much to say for this chapter but I hope you enjoy it!

Aztec 13 - I'm glad you enjoyed it! The drunk scenes were honestly one of my favourite things to write! and B is always a lovely sight to see honestly. I do enjoy including the previous characters in it to keep the world connected together instead of just throwing characters away. Love you always Aztec and thank you for all the support so far! ^^

lorgemini - Unexpected moments are always fun. Dwayne kinda just passed out mostly for half the chapter, which is probably why he just poofed lol Glad you liked it though! and time to see if the time out was worth it :P

Fodini Cyan - I'm glad you're enjoying Geoff! Honestly, I wasn't sure how his reception would be as I'm not as familiar with him in general but I'm glad you like that characterisation. Sorry if parts came out short, it was a short chapter and honestly, I couldn't think of much for the scenes haha. Thank you though!

Guest 1 - Sorry if the chapter is too short for you for the time given ^^; You don't have to read this you know :) I sadly cannot write all day.

Guest 2 - I'm glad you found the chapter fun! Interesting ideas you got there lol. More past stuff to come!

All that could be seen was vast amounts of grey. It looked misty and smokey around. The atmosphere felt a little disorientated but also familiar.

Trent was just standing there in the middle of the vast grey void.

How did I… get here.

He blinked and looked around. All he could see was the neverending view of the grey, misty void. It was quiet. The silence was deafening. Not even the natural ambient sound of the real world could be heard.

He moved his arms and couldn't even feel any air brush against his hands. He felt a little bit of worry and fear.

Am I dreaming… this surely can't be real…

He looked down at himself and saw that he wasn't wearing anything. He wasn't nude either, his body was just a grey silhouette. His fear continued to grow.

I remember… crashing… am… am I dead?

He frowned and could feel goosebumps form. He was shaken a little.

"Hello?" He shouted in the distance. There was no answer.

He took a step and could feel that the surface was hard. He took a second step and just continued walking. No matter how far he walked, the atmosphere just felt and looked the same.

He couldn't tell how much time had passed. Everything just felt like a blur, it could've been a few seconds or even days. He just continued to roam.

Is it going to continue like this… forever?

After a while he could see a small darker blob in the distance, he perked up a bit and slowly walked towards it.

Yes… Maybe this is a way out.

As he approached, the blob slowly formed into a clearer and clearer silhouette. Trent's eyes widened.

"G-Gwen?" Trent said as he looked at a very clear image of Gwen in front of him. She stood there and stared at him.

Gwen blinked and continued to stare. "Trent…"

Suddenly everything went black and Trent could hear the sounds of beeping.

"Beep… Beep… Beep…" Trent opened his eyes and saw he was back on the infirmary bed.

"H-huh…" Trent sat up and looked around. "What…" The infirmary was empty except for Scarlett who was cleaning up. She noticed him awake and smiled.

"Ah Trent, welcome back." She smirked. "Had quite the night last night huh?"

"Eh.. well I can't remember everything, to be honest. I remember crashing and just waking up here." Trent scratched his head. He looked at his arms and saw there were bandages on him. "Oh jeez…"

"Don't worry, despite the bandages you actually didn't get hurt too bad." She smiled.

Trent was looking into the distance.

"Everything ok?" Scarlett asked.

"Eh… I just had some weird dream when I was knocked out. Gwen appeared and I feel shaken up by it. I'm not really sure what it means." Trent looked down.

"Well, it appears you miss her of course." She smiled sadly. "I'm sure you'll find her soon"

Trent nodded. "Yeah I believe we will, I just didn't realise how much I did miss her until I actually saw her in some form." He frowned.

She put her hand on his shoulder. "I know the feel don't worry" She smiled sadly. "I got two gifts for you actually."

"Two gifts?" Trent blinked.

She smiled and walked over to the corner of the room and grabbed something. It was the guitar she made. "I finally finished the guitar" She walked over and gave it to him.

"Woah, this is awesome" He looked at the guitar. It was a finely shaved guitar with a dark wood finish. There were a few carvings on the guitar which included a few stars, the name "Trent" and some swirls.

"I'm pretty proud of that actually. Never did a guitar before, really had to consult a few people on that one." Scarlett said.

Trent smiled and suddenly grabbed her into a hug. "Thank you so much!"

"P-please, you're hugging tight." Scarlett tried to get him off.

"Oh, sorry, I just love it" he let go and strummed the guitar. "Eugh" he tightened the guitar strings and strummed again. "Much better" He smiled. "I'm going to go and test this baby out" he got up and started to walk out.

"Hey hey. You can do that some other time. I got another gift for you." Scarlett said.

Trent stopped. "Oh yeah, the second gift. What is it?" he looked back.

She walked over and gave him a letter.

Trent read through it. "C-community service?"

"Yeah, you caused quite a bit of destruction last night, so time to go and clean it up" She giggled. "Give me the guitar for now, the rest of the boys should be in town cleaning up the area."

"So that explains them not being here…" Trent said and gave her his guitar.

"Mhm" She nodded and started waving. "Good luck!" She chuckled.

Trent groaned a little before he walked out.

Dwayne was sweeping glass from the street. "Well, this is fun. Mhm.. " He held his head.

"Ghhh my head…" Leonard said as he struggled to pick up oranges. "What is this…"

"It's called a hangover dude, gh…" Geoff held his head as well. "I wasn't even that drunk and I have one, so unfair." He picked up some oranges and juggled them a little.

"Remind me never to drink again," Leonard said as he continued to slowly collect oranges. "Perhaps an elixir can help with my hangover curse…"

"Usually water helps" Dwayne smiled. "Water is my go-to whenever I have a hangover, I remember one time I was so bad that I could barely stand up and water pretty much made my day sooo much better." He smiled.

"Eh usually I just go find painkillers for such things," Geoff said. "Does well for a headache."

"Hey, guys" Trent could be seen walking over.

"Oh, he finally arrives, hey dude!" Geoff smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Weirdly ok, I don't have a hangover." Trent blinked.

"Ghhh… lucky" Leonard groaned. "Please save me from this curse…"

"Sorry dude… Only time can help you there." He looked at the three. "So what is there left to do?" He smiled.

"Oh, there's a few holes in some buildings that need boarding up, there are some nails and a hammer over there" Dwayne pointed.

"Would be good for you as well because you aren't distracted by a hangover" Geoff said.

"Alright then, I'll get onto that" He walked and grabbed the nails and hammer. He started boarding up the area with the leftover wood. "By the way, where is Noah? I haven't seen him today."

"He's apparently getting some stuff for himself and me to prepare for some dragon thing," Dwayne said.

"Dragon thing?" Trent accidentally hit his hand and dropped some nails. "Ow! Gh..."

"We're going to be slaying a dragon for some scales!" Leonard expressed excitement. "A new quest for us!"

"P-please don't shout" Geoff groaned.

"Ah, my apologies." Leonard held his head. "Oof… looks like I damaged myself"

"I wonder what he's getting…" Trent said.

Noah was in the market and looking around.

Of course due to the guy's night out, i'm the one stuck getting everything…

He groaned a little and walked around.

You'd think that I would be used to all this exercise now… but its just as painful as it was in the forest…

He saw the bald man at his stand. Noah eyed at the weapons.

If i can use the weapon along with my powers, it can be a big boost to my possible power...

"See something you like young man?" The bald man said.

"Hm. what would you suggest for a person with my stature." Noah said.

The man put his hand on his chin and thought for a moment. "Hmm stand with your arms out for me."

Noah did as instructed.

"You're quite a lanky fellow aren't you. Not much muscle or anything." The man said.

"No need to chastise me." Noah rolled his eyes. "Exercise isn't my forte."

"I can see that" The man laughed. "Well you'll need a light but effective weapon."

"Such as?" Noah raised an eyebrow.

"Hmmm what exactly are you looking to fight? Is it just for defense or hunting or what?" The man asked.

"Eh, a kinda mix of both." Noah said.

"I see… hmmm I suggest an edged weapon then. They are lovely weapons which are usually light and good jack of all trades." The man smiled and eyed at his own weapons. "Hmmm."

Noah simply watched as the man went into deep thought.

"Here" the man grabbed one of the blades and offered it to him. "This is a rapier. A light one handed sword. It provides a good range which also being relatively light weight."

Noah took the rapier and almost dropped it. "W-woah. That's still heavy"

The man laughed. "Wow you really need to work out a bit. I can assure you, once you get used to it, you'll do great with it" the man smiled.

Noah blinked and tried to swing it around. "This is a little rough…"

"Have you ever actually used a sword before?" The man asked.

"Uh… no." Noah blinked. "I just assume you swing it?"

The man frowned. "You really should get yourself a bit of training first."

"From where exactly?" Noah blinked.

"There's one on the east side of town. It shouldn't be too hard to find," the man said.

Noah nodded. "Alright. Thanks. So how much is this rapier?"

"Two gold pieces." The man said.

Noah frowned. "That's the true price right…?"

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" The man tilted his head.

"... no reason" Noah inspected the weapons one more time. "Hm…"

I should really get Dwayne something. He really can't do much on his own.

Noah looked and saw one of the nearby stands was selling apples.

Apples huh… oh! I got an idea. He can aim very well… He could use a bow, RPG knowledge really helping me here.

Noah looked at the man. "Can i have a bow and some arrows?"

"Sorry mate, I don't sell bows and arrows. There's a few places that do though. I believe one of the market stalls sells them" The man said.

Noah nodded and gave the two pieces. "Well. Thanks for the help anyway."

"Of course! Do come back soon!" The man smiled.

Noah nodded and walked off.

He found himself a stall for bows.

Something I'm a bit familiar with. Thank you MMORPGs.

He walked over and looked at the clerk. "Can I have a bow?"

The clerk looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "What kind?"

Noah thought for a moment. "Eh. A shortbow will be fine, iron arrows included."

"How many arrows?" The clerk asked.

"What do you suggest?" Noah blinked.

"Eh. 10 I guess." The clerk replied.

Jeez, this guy is even less talkative than I am. It's like talking to me.

"Sure we can go with 10."

The clerk nodded and grabbed the bow and arrows and gave them to him. "1 gp please."

Noah handed the money over and held onto the bow and arrows. He looked a bit strained.

Gh... ok this is getting heavy now...

"you'll probably want a quiver as well." The man stated.

"So now you tell me" Noah blinked.

The man shrugged.

Noah frowned. "How much..."

"10 sp," The man blinked.

Noah groaned and paid. The man handed him a quiver to put the arrows in.

"Thanks, I guess." Noah rolled his eyes and walked.

Noah was about to head back when he had a little realisation.

Wait.. at least to keep me in check I should probably get something defensive…

He looked at a market stall which sold armour.

Eh… I don't think I'd be able to carry armour. I'm not exactly strong…

He stood there and stared at the stall.

Though… I could go for a shield at least.

He walked over. "Hey."

A woman glanced at him from the stall. "Arighttt? What do ye need?"

Noah was taken aback a bit from her accent but tried his best to ignore it. "I'm looking for a shield."

"Hmm" The woman thought. "Well, I ave dis" She showed him a wooden round shield.

Eh.. Wood would just burn from the dragon.

"How about something metal?" Noah suggested.

She nodded and showed him a second shield. It was a metal kite shield. "Madof pure steel dis baby."

"Can I try it on?" He asked.

"Aight" She said as she passed it over.

Noah grabbed onto it and instantly flopped to the ground. "Ghh! Too heavy!"

The woman frowned. "I could try a round shield wid yew"

"P-please…" Noah coughed.

The woman nodded and grabbed a steel round shield for him. "Here." She gave it to him.

Noah still struggled but could at least stand. "B-better… s-still heavy though. But… I'll take it."

The woman nodded. "1 gp and 50 sp."

Noah nodded back and gave it. "T-thanks…" He walked away struggling to carry the rapier, bow and shield.

W-why did I get all this on my own…

"Annnnd… there we go" Geoff smirked and finished putting the oranges back. "There we go"

"Huzahh! The quest of the oranges has been complete!" Leonard shouted in joy.

"Gah! Dude, please don't shout…" Geoff groaned and held his head.

"Oh, sorry" Leonard laughed a little.

Geoff looked over at the others. "Hey dudes, how is it going there?"

"Almost done…" Dwayne was sweeping the last of the glass and destruction in the area.

Trent yawned and finished nailing the last plank. "T-there we go."

Trent got down and walked over to the rest of the group. "I'm honestly getting tired so I'm going to head back now… A shower and nap would be great for me."

"Alright, dude." Geoff smiled. "Take it easy ok? I'm going to go back and see how Bridgette is doing at the pool, I'm already kinda late for work" he laughed a bit. "I'm sure we'll see each other again." he looked at the whole gang. "See ya boys" he walked off.

"It's always lovely seeing Geoff isn't it?" Dwayne smiled and looked at Trent and Leonard.

Trent nodded. "So what are you going to do now?" He questioned.

"Oh, I'm going to go see how Noah is doing at the market" Dwayne smiled.

"Oh, can I come?" Leonard's eyes sparkled at the thought of going to the market.

"Sure thing bud!" Dwayne grinned. "So you're going back home?" Dwayne looked at Trent.

Trent nodded. "Yeah, I'm still exhausted…"

"Fair enough, see ya then!" The duo walked off.

Trent stood and watched the guys disappear in the distance.

The two strolled along.

"You really should watch out with those powers Leonard, you caused so much damage yesterday" Dwayne said.

"Eh.. Yeah sorry about that. I guess I don't truly know how grand my powers are" Leonard looked at his own hands. "Honestly, I'm not even sure how I did half of those powers…"

"Well, you definitely have potential at least" Dwayne smiled.

"Indeed," Leonard smirked. "Hopefully once this dragon is taken down I can earn enough XP to level up my magic" He smirked.

"I… I don't think that's how it works" Dwayne raised an eyebrow.

"Of course that's how it works! How do you think I've gotten far? Intense grinding." Leonard smirked.

"Well, could you teach me how to "intensely grind" then? I don't have any powers" Dwayne chuckled.

"Hmmm, sure! We will need to train though…" Leonard thought to himself.

"Hey, is that Noah over there?" Dwayne questioned and pointed in the distance.

"Oh?" Leonard looked over and saw Noah was dragging along the items, completely out of breathe.

"S-someone… anyone… ghhh.." Noah flopped to the ground.

"Noah!" Dwayne ran over. "Woah, what are these things?" Dwayne picked up the shield. "G-gh.. wow this is heavy"

"T-that's a shield.." Noah coughed. "Gah… remind me never to do heavy lifting…"

Leonard walked over. "Woah, such amazing weaponry!" He smiled and inspected the items. "A bow and arrows! Who is this for?"

"T-that's for Dwayne." Noah groaned.

Dwayne blinked. "For me?" He looked in shock.

"Y-yeah.. Y-you needed t-to defend y-yourself…" Noah blinked. "A-and y-you were good with aiming s-so… here…"

Dwayne squealed happily. "Wowwwzaa!" He suddenly grabbed and hugged Noah. "Thank you so much son!" He grinned brightly.

"P-please.. S-stop… I'm a-already d-dying" Noah coughed.

"Oh!" He dropped Noah. "S-sorry!" He chuckled.

"Ghhhh.." Noah rolled on the floor a bit.

"So you're using this for the battle against the dragon?" Leonard asked.

"Yeah… We just need training first. Otherwise, we'll just be sitting ducks…" Noah said.

"Oh! I know a place we can train!" Leonard smirked.

"Oh I already got told a place on the east side of town, apparently someone there can help us." Noah blinked.

"Exactly," Leonard smirked. "I know exactly where that is, come." he walked.

Dwayne looked down at Noah. "You need help buddy?"

"Yes." Noah groaned.

Dwayne nodded and helped him up, he grabbed the bow and arrows. "Since these are mine, I'll take it." He smirked and followed Leonard.

"H-how are you able to carry them easily." Noah followed behind, still struggling a bit.

"Dad strength duh" Dwayne smiled.

"Right…" Noah frowned.

Trent was walking home.

I can just relax for now… I can go test my guitar as well when I get the chance… I just really need a nap right now…

He walked down the path and turned a corner, suddenly bumping into someone.

"Ack!" He fell to the floor. "Gh, sorry dude."

"Ouch…"

Trent perked up at the voice and looked at who he bumped into. His eyes widened.

"Gwen?!"