Brandy's Bizarre Adventure

by Von Reivanon

Brandy the Bandit lives happily with her king Oticat, her best friend Dan the Knight, and the rest of her fellow troops. But when the dark machinations of an evil King and an evil Clan start to tumble into motion, her life is thrown into chaos. Rated T for intense action, peril, heavy themes, and slightly suggestive content. And yes, there are lots and lots of JoJokes.

11. Chapter 11

Nearly three weeks had passed.

Song: Cheerful Journey

Three weeks since the final battle with Ryusei_Nakao69 went down, securing Oticat and all his Troops a spot in the world's memory forever.

Well, not quite forever. The attention span of the continent of Royale was short, and what had happened during the first battle of the third Season had already faded from most of the public consciousness. However, it had been enough to bring Oticat some fairly neat royalties- and that's what he was doing now, counting his bonus Gold.

"11006, 11007…", Oticat muttered to himself, selecting another piece of Gold and pushing it aside. He sat alone in his counting house, with only Brave the Baby Dragon curled up at his feet in front of the fireplace for company. The lights were low, and Oticat steadily felt his eyes begin to slowly flutter close. "11008, yawn, 11009…"

The fire snapped a large spark into the air, and Brave awoke with a huff. Oticat's eyelids snapped open, awakening him from his field of boredom-induced stupor.

"Hey, uh, Oticat?", came the voice of Brandy, as a small side door creaked open. "Are you awake?"

"Uh, I think so.", said Oticat, rubbing his eyes. "What is it, Brandy?"

"Me and Dan and some others were thinking of going down to Electro Valley this afternoon. You know, see the sights, do some shopping, catch a battle, maybe go to a movie later. Mind, uh, lending us some Gold?"

Oticat stared blearily at the mountain of Gold in front of him, still looming huge compared to how much he had already spent. "Sure, Brandy.", he said. "Take as much as you need."

"Yay!", said Brandy, and Dashed over. She scooped up a whole pile of Gold in her arms, and walked backwards out the door. "Thanks, Oticat. You're the best."

Oticat just waved his hand, and massaged his forehead. "Don't mention it."

Brandy, with a well aimed kick, closed the door shut behind her. She giggled maniacally to herself as she looked at the Gold's lustrous shine. Her brain worked fast, the special senses of a Bandit telling her that she now held no less than 2,478 Gold.

I can work with that, she thought to herself. That can definitely buy some things.

"Hey, Brandy.", said Dan, as Brandy rounded the corner and into a large room. "You got the Gold?"

"I do, honey.", Brandy said, and nodded her head. "2478 of it."

"Nice.", said Dan, and stood up. "Here, let me hold it."

Brandy held out her arms, grunting from the effort, and Dan scooped up the Gold into one massive hand. "Thanks, Dan.", she said. "That was getting kind of hard to hold."

Brandy affectionately rubbed Dan's hand. He didn't actually wear his metal gloves most of the time- they got in the way of everything but battling. As he responded with a tiny bolt of Star that ran around the edges of her ears, Brandy could not help but smile. The last few weeks, living with Dan, had been beyond wonderful. She had heard many things about life with love, but she had never imagined that it would be anything like this.

"Say, did you look at the news this morning?", Dan asked.

"No.", Brandy said, neglecting to mention the fact that it still was this morning. She hated to offend.

"There's something about an entire village going missing on the Continent of the Clans.", said Dan worryingly. He unfolded a massive newspaper, and pointed to an article somewhere on the back front page. "See, right there."

"Hmmm…", said Brandy, leaning through Dan's arm in order to take a look. "Think it has anything to do with that explosion a few weeks ago?"

"The one in the Clashcrush mountains?", Dan asked. "Hm. Maybe…"

There was a rush of movement from the side of the room, and Brandy instantly turned her head around to look. But it was just Bowza, rummaging through the fridge and combing down his hair at the same time.

"No, no, don't mind me.", he said, trying to conceal his grin. "You kids go back to whatever you were doing."

He put his hand all the way back in the fridge, and grabbed what he was looking for- a bottle of 3-year Elixir. He stood straight back up, and hurried back up the stairs, already beginning to unbutton his coat again.

"So, we going on patrol?", said Webert, scratching his enormous belly as he walked into the room. "Hear we're all going out somewhere or something."

"What's good, fellas?", Kars shouted, stretching out his arms from the couch where he sat. His axe and Rage magically appeared in his hands, as he rolled and popped his neck.

"Hold up.", said Dan, pulling his arms up behind his head. "Where's your pose at?"

Kars blinked, then arranged his hand into a fan in front of his face. "Apologies, boys. Let's get to work."

The three all bumped fists, then posed once again. Brandy cracked a grin, as she watched them revel in their manhood for no other reason than to do it.

At first, it was just going to be Dan and Brandy's date. But one thing had apparently led to another, and now many people were coming on what was sure to be a group excursion.

"11025, 11026..", Oticat said, and glanced up at the clock. It was only 9:00 in the morning, yes, but Oticat had been counting since 3. Perhaps he should have taken a break, or gotten up to rest his eyes. But a knock at the outside door changed all that.

Oticat, grateful for at least some interruption, stood up and staggered over to the door, swinging it open with all the grace and enthusiasm of a dead man.

There he saw SpaceKrakenX, who seemed to be fiddling with some sort of small multicolored cube. Once he saw Oticat staring, he tucked it behind his back and stood straight up.

"Ah, good morning Oticat.", he said. "I was wondering if you could help me with something, even in your clearly exhausted state."

Oticat just sighed, and blinked his tired eyes. "What is it, Space?"

Only then did SpaceKrakenX move aside, revealing a huge line of Troops from behind him. A few gave small waves, and Oticat's eyes widened in fear.

"I sold my Castle to buy a mountain and then I sold my mountain to buy a village.", said SpaceKrakenX, without even missing a beat. "Can I- we, stay here please?"

"Wh…", Oticat said, struggling to form words. "What?"

"It's a long story, but I basically don't have a Castle anymore.", said SpaceKrakenX, scratching the side of his beard. "And I need someplace to stay. We all do."

Oticat put his hand on the doorknob, contemplating on whether or not to just shut it and resume his counting. But his close friendship with SpaceKrakenX won out, and he opened the door further with a sigh. "Sure.", he said. "Now, we'll have to work together to find places where everyone can stay-"

"Yeah, yeah.", said SpaceKrakenX, as he hurried inside. He turned to his troops, raising his hands.

"You guys go through the other way!", he shouted. "This is a small room, there's nowhere for you guys to fit!"

Not waiting to hear what his troops had to say, he slammed the door shut and propped himself against it.

"Okay.", he said. "Now that we're alone, there's something I'd like to talk to you about. Alone."

"Uh… okay.", said Oticat, not quite sure what it was that SpaceKrakenX was getting at. "What?"

SpaceKrakenX unfolded a rolled up newspaper from his pocket and held it up in front of his face, pointing to a story on the back page. It was the same one that Dan had showed Brandy.

"Does this seem, I don't know… just a little bit suspicious to you?"

Oticat took a closer look, and saw something in the upper right corner of the grainy, black and white picture that had been provided. He wasn't quite sure what it was- but to him, it looked an awful lot like the tail of a Dragon.

"Okay, so who's going?", Brandy asked, spinning around to look at the entire room. "Me and Dan, of course, and then there's Kars and Webert…"

"Can I come?", Brandy heard Chloe ask from the far side of the room. She turned to see her arrive at the bottom of the stairs, her hair still a tangled mess underneath her tiny crown.

"Sure, Chloe.", Brandy said. "You just need to do your hair first."

"Let me do it.", said Dan, and held up his hands. "I think I could."

Brandy stared, noting without words how each of Dan's fingers was almost as thick as Chloe's forearm. "Uh ... okay.", she said. "If you really think so."

There was the ring of a doorbell, and Brandy's head instantly turned. "I got it!", she yelled, Dashing to the door and almost tripping over a random Skeleton.

As she reached the door, she could hear a strange commotion coming from the other side of it. It sounded like there were a great many Troops on the other side, for whatever reason. Perhaps they were early Clashoween carolers, or they were trying to sell something. Or maybe…

Brandy grabbed the doorknob, and threw open the door. Her heart jumped, as she saw over a hundred Troops all standing there in what could sort of be considered a rough line, if your definition of line meant "more or less some form of group."

"Sup, Bandit.", Jessie said, with a raised hand. She didn't know Brandy, so she was using the acceptable honorific for the situation. "Is Sadie around?"

"Uh… I don't know.", said Brandy, trying to make sense of the situation. "What's going on? Why are you all here?"

"Yeah…", Jessie said, scratching the back of her neck. "Dad sold his castle for some reason, and now we don't have a place to live. So we figured that you guys could take us in."

"He… sold… his castle.", Brandy repeated. "Why?"

Jessie just shrugged. "Dad does a lot of weird things. Most of them don't make sense until later. But we really need to get in, so if you don't mind…"

She gestured at Brandy's feet.

"Oh, sorry.", Brandy said, and hopped backwards to let in the flow of Troops.

"Are you really gonna do my hair?", Chloe asked, looking up at the massive form of Dan with more than just a hint of trepidation.

"Yep.", said Dan, getting down on his knees. He still towered over Chloe by a good 9 feet, but it was better than nothing. "Now just hold still…"

Chloe nervously complied, and Dan put his hands around her head. Golden Star concentrated in between his palms, snaking into Chloe's frazzled hair and jerking it around.

"Straightening Overdrive!", Dan said, and shot a stronger bolt. It jet through Chloe's hair, smoothing it into a straight style within moments.

Chloe gasped in shock, and felt her hair. "Uncle Dan! What did you do?"

Dan just laughed, and stood back up. "Just a little Star, Chloe.", he said. "That's all."

But inwardly, he smiled. Uncle Dan... , he thought. I like the sound of that.

"Hey, Jessie!", came the voice of Sadie from across the room, Princess running towards Princess with an enthusiastic wave. They met in a friendly hug, and immediately headed for the stairs.

"Good morning.", said Marc the Giant Skeleton, ducking to avoid the top of the door. At a monstrous 27 feet, Giant Skeletons were the tallest of any Troop.

"What's happenin?", rasped a Dart Goblin, sprinting past the entryway and into a side hallway.

"Good to see you all.", said Avaya the Witch, floating just barely an inch off of the floor. She continued off in some random direction, hoping she could find a sink. "I hope you're ready."

"Hey, Brandy.", said Brenda, as she slid stylishly into view. "How you've been?"

"Wassup, Bre-", Brandy said, and stopped. The edges of her friend's skirt seemed different, shining under the interior light. Her bat looked polished, and the edges of her mask glowed with a deep blue light. A wingtip rose from the back of her shoes, sparkling with gold dust.

"Don't tell me...", Brandy said, leaning down to feel the material. It was, indeed, different. It felt far richer and smoother than normal, flecks of light falling off of and around it with every movement.

Brandy stood back up again, and spread out her arms. "You're maxed?"

"Star level 2!", Brenda shouted back, and raised her hand. Brandy met her in a high-five, a diminutive shockwave spreading out from the force of the meet.

"But… when?", Brandy asked. "How? The last time I saw you, you were still 12 cards away!"
"A lot can happen in three weeks.", said Brenda. "That last challenge really helped. Very nice rewards. Trade Tokens are pretty nice, no?"

"Brenda?", said Meg from somewhere behind. "Where are we?"

Brandy looked behind her, trying to see where Meg was, but she couldn't see anyone.

"Uh, Brenda?", she asked, much to Brenda's confusion. "Where's Meg?"

Brenda looked a little worried for a second, before she mentally slapped herself on the forehead and waved her hand. An ethereal curtain rose behind her, revealing Meg in midair.
"She was just taking a nap.", she said, as Meg put one foot on the stone floor. "Still tired from last night."

"Why?", Brandy asked. "What happened last night?"

Brenda merely raised her eyebrows, and gave a low whistle. Brandy blinked, trying not to think about the implications of that too much.
"I thought you said we were going somewhere…", said Meg, looking around. "Does this really count?"

"No, no, we're definitely going somewhere.", Brenda said. "Electro Valley, right?"

"That is correct!", boomed Dan, and Meg stumbled a bit. "We're all going, as a group. Guys and girls."

"Right, guys and girls-", Brandy said, then looked up. "Wait, what?"

"That's… what I said.", said Dan with a nod. "This was supposed to be a girl's and guy's day out, right?"

"I thought this was gonna be a date.", said Brandy quietly. "With us together."

"It was.", said Dan. "But that changed once more people came along. But Brandy, we'll get some time to ourselves. Very, very, soon."

Brandy rubbed her head against Dan's arm, hoping that they would get to spend some time together soon. It had been two days since their last date- far, far too long for her. "Hopefully."

"Alright, everyone ready?", Brenda asked. Looking around the room, there was nothing but affirmative nods.

"Well then.", she said, pulling her hood closer over her face. She pointed to the northeast as the last of the Troops trickled in, and struck a dynamic pose. "Let's go!"

It was a fairly typical day at Electro Valley, for the most part. The rain had been unusually heavy over the past few couple of weeks, leading to the rocks looking slightly more blue than usual. There had also been a slight dip in the number of battles taking place in that particular Arena, for whatever reason. But the bustling economy of the area had remained unchanged- and that's what mattered. Electro Valley was famed for its sprawling, state of the art entertainment complexes, housing shops, restaurants, skating rinks, movie theaters, and more.

As the group approached the landing site of one such complex in their Balloons- guys in one and girls in the other, Brandy noticed something just a bit odd. It seemed as though one of the cacti that grew in the area far down below was moving, almost walking. She couldn't help but think of how little she still knew about the world that she lived in, despite all of her experiences. She really would have to find out more.

"Brenda?", asked Chloe. "Why does Meg have her arms around you?"

Meg's cheeks turned a shade redder, but Brenda wasn't even fazed.

"It's just cause we love each other.", she said with a wiggle of her eyebrows. "That's all."

"I thought girls couldn't do that.", Chloe said with a tip of her head. "I thought it had to be a boy and a girl."

"That happened all the time in the old castle.", Meg said, remembering the brief days she had spent underneath LeChris. "Didn't you see any of that?"

"No.", Chloe said. "I just stayed in my room all day. Mostly."

"Oh, that's right.", said Meg. "I guess you did."

She was silent for a moment, before perking up. "But those days are-"

There was a flash of blue and green movement, and Meg suddenly found that she and Brenda had switched places. She gasped silently as she felt one of Brenda's hands on her shoulder and the other on her chest.

Chloe took another look, scratching the bottom of her chin in thought. "Why are you holding her there like that-"

"Aaand we're here!", Brandy said as loudly as she could without shouting, and stood up. Gesturing out from the front of the Balloon, she pointed to the landing station that was even now opening up its doors. "Conversation over."

"You can know once you're older.", Brandy said, as she stepped out of the Balloon. "Now come along, we don't want to leave anyone behind."

"Wait, I think I know!", Chloe said, a sly smile creeping across her little face. "I think I heard it a few times. Are you guys hav-"

An invisible hand slapped across her mouth, and Brenda sighed. "We'll tell you eventually. Now let's go."

Dan leapt out of the Balloon with a mighty crash, breaking the concrete where he landed. Kars let out a loud whoop and beat his chest, in stark contrast to the exasperated sigh of the Bomber attendant.
"Sir, could you not?", he drawled, wanting nothing more than to go home and jump off of the roof. "We have to fix that, you know."

Dan stood up, and noticed for the first time the Bomber that stood there. "Oh. Sorry about that man. I didn't really mean anything by it."

He saw Brandy waving over to him, and he pointed in three directions at once. "I gotta go now. Hope you can get if fixed soon."

Kars and Webert slowly exited the Balloon on their own, as Dan ran over to his wife.

"So, where are we going first?", Brandy asked, taking a pair of sunglasses out of her pocket. "I was thinking we should get some food."

"Yeah, a nice sandwich should just about hit the spot right now.", said Brenda, trying to smear some sunblock on a squirming Chloe. "Look, if you just hold still, this won't take as long!"
"Didn't we come here to shop?", Meg asked, looking in her purse. "I mean, if you guys want to. We don't have to, or anything."

Brandy felt the ground quake next to her, and looked up to see Dan.

"Oh, there you are.", she said. "What's up?"
Dan looked confused. "Didn't you just call me over?"

"Uh…", Brandy said, trying to think. "No."

"Huh.", Dan said, and hopped from one foot to the other. "Could of sworn you did."

He felt Kars and Webert coming up from behind him, and leaned down. "Hey, uh, listen. Me and the boys are gonna go catch a movie together."

"I thought we were gonna stick together.", Brandy said with an arch of her eyebrow.

"Yeah.", said Dan. "We were. But that all changed when-"

"When we invited everyone else, yeah.", Brandy said. "Okay then, have fun with the boys!"

She turned around, and put a hand on Brenda's shoulder. "Me and the girls are gonna go have some fun too."

Song: Limit Break X Survivor- Relaxed Version

As the two groups walked away from each other, Brenda snickered a little bit. "You know, the way you said that made it sound pretty gay."

"Brenda, you are gay.", Brandy said, arching an eyebrow. "And… so is Meg."

"No, I'm actually bi.", Brenda said, pointing a finger into the air. "Remember that Hunter I went out with once and it didn't work because he couldn't hold even a simple conversation to save his life?"

"Oh right…", said Brandy, then came to a sudden realization. "Hey, wait a minute. Am I the only straight one here?"
"I'm straight!", Chloe said with a smile, then stopped. "What does that mean?"

Brandy forced an awkward smile. "You're… too young to be worrying about that kind of stuff, Chloe. But I bet that- oooph!"

Brandy stopped, and looked up at what she had run into while she had been distracted. There was a Giant sitting in a very odd position, most likely in order not to disturb the vast array of decorative spikes that hung on his back.

"Sorry.", Brandy said automatically, but the Giant had hardly even felt the blow. "Just gotta move past ya there-"
Brandy grabbed Chloe and hopped past the Giant, then ran to catch up with Brenda and Meg. The Giant briefly looked up from his book to watch them pass, staring with a cold hard eye. Once they had vanished around a corner, he unrolled an old, faded poster and ran his eyes across it. Come see the mighty Bonoome!, it read. In season now!

Brandy jumped around a small bush, still holding Chloe by the hand, looking around in a circle for Brenda and Meg. There was a small sandwich shop nearby- but it was closed.

"Tell me if you see them, okay Chloe?", she asked, and the Princess in her arms saluted.

Brandy turned around again, jumping into the air to see through the small crowd that had assembled in the clearing. "Hey? Brenda? Meg? Where'd you guys go?"

Chloe turned her head in a random direction, then pointed with vigor. "Brandy, I see them!"

Brandy turned, and saw two familiar Troops sitting down underneath an umbrella near a small stand. "Oh, thank goodness."

"Yeah, I'll have a two-and-a-half scoop bresstrucci with no beans, two shots of caramel, and a dollop of whipped cream.", said Brenda, flipping through the small menu that the waiter had given her. "Meg, what do you want?"

"Uh…", Meg said underneath her breath, trying to decide on what would be easiest for the Barbarian who ran the shop to prepare. "Just a black? I guess?"

"Miss Bandit?", the waiter, a Builder, said. "You said no beans?"

"Yeah.", said Brenda.

"That'll cost you extra."

"Why?", Brenda asked. "You're not adding in anything. You're just taking stuff out."

The waiter tried not to scream, just gripping his clipboard tighter in coping. "Don't… don't ask me why.", he finally said. "But it just does."

"Brenda!", Brandy said, sliding onto the bench next to her, the third at the round table. Chloe landed somewhere on the fourth bench, her hair and crown slightly disheveled from the run.

"Don't leave me behind like that."

"Okay, okay.", said Brenda, flicking the edges of her sunglasses with one finger. "What do you want?"

Brandy took a quick glance at the menu, poring over the options with lightning speed. "Uh… I'll just have a chocolate caramel michacili. With three shots of whipped cream and a dose of added sugar."

Brenda took one of her Elixir bottles from her pack, and took a deep swig. Refreshed, she handed the bottle to Chloe. "Here. You'll get dehydrated."

Then she turned to address Brandy. "Why not just order straight sugar at that point?"

"Well, I'm sorry if I have a bit of a sweet tooth.", said Brandy. "But that's what I want."

Brenda's Elixir bottle rolled across the table, and Chloe slapped her hands onto the metal. "What are you guys talking about? Can I have some?"

"Uh… no.", said Brenda. "I don't think you should have any caffeine."

"Caffeine?", Chloe asked excitedly. "Is that like candy?"

"No.", Brandy said. "It's what grownups drink when they're feeling tired. Not for-"

"But I want some!", Chloe begged, clasping her hands together. She stared upwards with big wet eyes, silently pleading for a taste.

"Here.", said Meg. "Have some of mine."

Chloe instantly grabbed the cup from Meg's outstretched hand and took a quick gulp, before anyone had time to respond.
Brenda slowly turned her head to face Meg, her hand reaching for her pocket.

"Meg?", she asked calmly. "Why did you do that?"

"She wanted some.", Meg said. "So I gave it to her."

"Yes.", Brenda continued. "You gave her, a small Princess, some of your black coffee."

"Was that…bad?", Meg asked, scratching the back of her hand with nervous energy.

"Well…", Brandy said, and stood up. "Take a look at that."

She pointed towards the edge of the courtyard, where all three of them could see Chloe vanish around a corner.

"Bandits, your drinks are ready-", said the waiter, emerging from the coffee shop with a tray and two steaming drinks in hand. But even as he did so, they both jumped up from their seats and Dashed off, seemingly in pursuit of something.
"Where are they going?", he asked, and Meg sighed.

"Our little Princess ran away.", she said. "They went to go catch her."

"Oh.", said the waiter. "So you're alone, then."

"Uh, yeah.", said Meg, feeling a strange chill run over her. "I guess that I am."

"Fortunately, you've got me.", said the waiter. "And just me."

He took a seat next to Meg, who automatically scooted farther away. Upon closer inspection, she could see that his hair was very greasy, and stubble dotted his fatty chin.

"Yeah…", she said, turning her face away. Her fingers began to tremble from the stress of the situation, even as the Builder scooted a bit closer.

"Hey, uh…", she said. "Shouldn't you be going back to your job?"

"This is my job.", he said with an oily grin. "Protecting young, innocent, fragile girls such as yourself from any, erm, unsavory characters that might be wandering about."

Meg didn't want to mention that she thought he was one of those characters. She just kept her mouth shut and looked away, searching for Brandy and Brenda.

"Hey.", said the Builder, and grabbed Meg by the cheeks. He yanked her head around to face him, and she yelped. "Look at me when I'm talking to you-"

There was a bright, sudden flash of blue. The tip of Meg's gun, which had been lying on the ground nearby, jumped up into the air, a sapphire streak jumping from it to somewhere right behind the Builder's chest.

He gasped, and staggered back. There was a violent cough, and a splatter of blood that hit the ground. He put one hand over his chest, bits of red dripping out from between his fingers.

"What… the…", he muttered, and coughed up again. "What did you do to me?"

"Nothing.", said Meg, more in wonderment that apology. She just stared at her gun, still smoking from the blast. How did it do that?

"But whatever happened…", Meg said, staring the Builder down with uncharacteristic fierceness. "Clearly did so because of you. Now go away."

The Builder staggered back, seeing no other choice than to retreat back into the shop and get some help for her injuries. Meg narrowed her eyes. "You're bothering me."

Chloe sprinted through the square, feeling the sheer rush of the caffeine flowing through her. She let out a yelp, jumping over a sleeping Giant, and landing on the other side with a show-offy slide. Bounding to her feet again, Chloe flipped onto her side, jumped into a cartwheel, and-

And she stopped in midair, feeling herself get grabbed by something. She shrieked and looked, to see Brandy holding her by the foot.

"Chloe?", she asked, and Chloe began to regret her little adventure. "Just where do you think you're going?"

Chloe squirmed out of Brandy's grip, coming to a still seat on the floor. She looked down, fiddling with the fabric of her dress. "Nowhere."

"No, you're not going nowhere.", Brandy said, hoisting Chloe to her feet. "You're coming back with us."

"Okay, fine.", Chloe said, looking somewhere behind her. If she could yank herself away at the last possible moment, then maybe she could get away in the crowd. She was nowhere near the speed of a Bandit, but maybe-

The feeling of a lock of cool metal slapping onto her wrist knocked her out of her thoughts. She looked down at her hand to see that it was now handcuffed to Brenda's. "Hey!"

"Don't run away again.", Brenda said. "Or I'll see to it that you're a lot more than handcuffed."

"Okay, fine.", Chloe sighed, admitting defeat. "I won't run away again… today."

"That's acceptable.", Brenda said. Brandy grabbed Chloe's other hand, and the three walked back to join Meg.

"So.", Kars burped as he, Dan, and Webert strode manly strides through the middle of the path. They were surrounded by food and souvenir vendors- but they were not there for that. Although they had gotten food. But they had eaten it within mere moments. "What movie are we seeing?"

"Yeah, about that.", Dan said, and stopped. "We're not seeing one. I have a better idea."

"What?", Webert asked, suspiciously tapping the sides of his boulder.

"Here's my idea.", Dan said, and leaned in. He whispered a Star-enhanced thought, and Kar's and Webert's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Really?", Webert asked. "You know a place where we can-"

"Only the finest.", Dan said with a smile. "Now let's go enjoy ourselves. Like real men."

"Brenda!", shouted Meg, as she saw her girlfriend approach. She stood up, and folded herself into a hug. "Why did you take so long?"
"We were just catching Chloe.", Brenda said. "Why, what happened?"

"This creepy old Builder came and sat next to me.", Meg said with a shudder. "And then he grabbed me, and…"

Brandy's eyes widened, and she started looking around for where the Builder could be now.

"And then my gun shot him.", Meg finished, much to everyone else's surprise. "I didn't do anything- it was all the gun."

"Huh.", Brenda said. "Interesting…"

Then she looked upwards, her attention turned to the complex's upper levels. "Maybe we should go somewhere else. "I didn't even really want coffee all that much, anyway."

"Hey, this would look good on me.", Meg said, several minutes later. The group had gone to the upper levels of the shopping district, to a small, quaint store called Deluxe & Dragon Armor.

Meg held up a shining golden helmet, its distinctive feather a brilliant silver. She tapped on the store's counter, getting the attention of the ancient Goblin tending it. "Excuse me, how much is thi-"

"Level 13's only." the Goblin croaked out, her makeup-encrusted eyes not even moving. "You gotta be at least level 13 to use Star equipment like that."

She cast a disapproving look at Meg, her age-sharpened gaze running all over her. "And you're… what? Level 7? Level 6?"

"I'm level 8.", Meg grumbled, and put the helmet aside. "Maybe I'll just find something else."

"Hey, hey, look at this!", Chloe yelled, causing some other patrons of the store to look up in annoyance. "I found a really cool thing!"

She proudly held up a long, flowing dress, shining a deep sapphire blue. "And I want it."

"How much is it?", Meg asked. "If it's not too much, maybe we can get it-"

"It's 7500 Gold.", Chloe said proudly, pointing to the price tag. "That's how much it is."

Meg gulped, and turned around. "Hey, Brenda?", she asked. "Can we-"

"Yeah, sure.", Brenda said, reclining on a bench next to Brandy, taking a sip of a fruit juice smoothie that she had bought earlier. Two Goblins knelt before them, setting up a foot massage. "And I can buy you that helmet, too."

"Thanks, Brenda.", Meg said, and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "I love you."

Brenda sneaked an ethereal arm behind Meg, giving her a small pinch on the thigh. "And I love you too."

"Hey, Meg.", said Chloe, who had suddenly appeared behind her. "Can you come and help me try this on?"

"Sure.", said Meg. "Let's go."

The two walked away towards the changing rooms, laughing and talking about something unrelated, leaving Brenda and Brandy alone.

"So, how have things been going with Dan?", Brenda asked, finishing the last of her smoothie in one long, straw-enhanced sip.

"They're amazing!", Brandy said. "I never knew that it would be like this!"

"Good, good.", said Brenda, and snapped her fingers. In an instant, a random Goblin appeared by her side. She dropped the empty smoothie cup into his hands, even though he wasn't actually working there. He just shrugged, ate it, and wandered off to do whatever Goblins do when there's nobody looking.

"He's not, uh… too big for you, is he?", Brenda asked. "Everything… works out on that end?"

Brandy's face slightly reddened, but she waved her hand. "Yeah, yeah. Everything works. Just don't ask how, I don't want to say why."

"Okay, now I'm curious.", Brenda asked, after a moment's thought. "I kind of want to know."

"I said, it just works.", Brandy said. "That's all I need to say about that."

Brenda arched a single brow. "You want to talk about it, though… don't you?"

"No, I don't.", said Brandy. "I'll just say that my body was experimented upon and modified, and so I can actually survive it when Dan-"

She blinked, and put her hands on her hips. She glared at Brenda, who just whistled like nothing was happening.

"I told you.", Brenda said with a wink.

Brandy sat back down again in a huff, and decided to pressure Brenda for a change.

"What about you and Meg?", Brandy asked. "Is that working out alright for you?"

"Yeah, we're happy together.", said Brenda. "Everything's going just smooth on our end."

"And… the handcuffs?", Brandy asked. "Please tell me that's not for-"
"Oh, no, it is.", Brenda said slyly. "Turns out shy little Meg's actually really into that kind of stuff. Who knew, right?"

"Yeah…", Brandy said, a hint of a reminiscent chill running up her spine. "Who knew."

Now that she thought about it, there had seemed to be the bulge of a collar underneath Meg's cape tie.

"So… everything's going great with Dan? Absolutely no problems at all?", Brenda asked.

"Yeah.", Brandy said, taking a small trinket of a Giant off the shelf and inspecting it. "That is what I said."

"Really.", Brenda said. It wasn't a question. "Because I've been hearing some… ah… rumors."

Brandy's heart skipped a beat, and she sat up straight. "What? What rumors?"
"Well, they're nothing really that substantial.", said Brenda with a wave of her hand. "Just voices on the wind, really."

"Brenda?", Brandy said, trying to keep her voice slow and calm. "I need you to tell me what they are. Right. Now."

Brenda calmly removed her sunglasses, and folded them into her front pocket. She took a deep breath, and turned to face Brandy eye-to-eye.

"He's cheating on you."

Song: Himeru Omai

"WHAT?", Brandy screamed, standing right up from where she sat. Her knees slammed into the forehead of a massage Goblin, sending him sprawling across the floor and down for the count.

Brandy's face grew red, and she gestured frantically with her hands. "But- but- but- how? Why?"

"I don't know.", said Brenda, her face etched with worry. "That's just what I heard."

"Heard from who?", Brandy almost shouted. "Who said that?"

"I heard it from Gus.", Brenda said, referring to her King's Giant. "And he said that he heard it from Gunther, who heard it from Valia, who heard it from Dave, who apparently caught Dan in the act."

Brandy stared down at the floor, trying desperately to stop from breaking into tears. "Who is he doing it with?", she asked quietly.

"Now, there's no guarantee.'' Brenda said quickly, trying to calm Brandy down. "You know the thing about rumors, they-"

"Tell me, Brenda.", Brandy asked, and faint purple steam began to rise off of her body. "Who. Is. It."

Brenda coughed, and looked down. "A Valkyrie, apparently.", she said quietly.

Brandy let out all the breath she had been holding, feeling her face scrunch up. "A Valkyrie.", she said. "Of course. Because what am I? All those times he told me how cute I was, how absolutely adorable I looked today- but he wanted more than just cute, didn't he? He wanted sexy. I could have been that. I could of-"

"Hey. Hey.", Brenda said, flicking Brandy on the nose. "It's a rumor, alright? That's all it is. Just a rumor."

"Yeah, but…", Brandy said, and swallowed hard. "What if it's not?"

She stared up at the ceiling, trying not to cry.

"Why don't you use your Stand?", Brenda asked, after taking a quick look around to see that no one was listening. "You've gotten more precise with it."

Brandy had been training over the last few weeks with The Dreamer, and was getting close to using it on command, sometimes even being able to alter the future by consciously changing her premonitions. But her mind was too swirling with confusion to do that today.

"I can't.", she said. "Not right now."

"My, it sounds like you've got yourself a problem.", said a creaky old voice from behind them, and Brandy craned her head to look. She saw an ancient, wrinkly Goblin, her voice just as dusty and fragile as her. "Mind if old Aunty Grug takes a look at it?"

Song: The Stardust Man Appears

"Uh…", Brandy said, and shot a sideways look at Brenda. She merely shrugged, and shot back a look of her own that seemed to say, "Hey, it's your problem."

"Sure.", Brandy found herself saying. "Although it's not much of a physical problem, more of a-"

"Hush, dearie.", Aunty Grug said, and took a shining multi-tool from her pocket. She grabbed Brandy's shoulder with a shockingly strong grip, waving a magnifying glass of blue crystal all around.

"Hmmm…", she croaked, and squinted one of her eyes. The other three stayed open, all moving in different directions at once. The effect was quite disorienting for anyone watching- which, of course, both Brandy and Brenda were.

Finally, Aunty Grug put away her tools and tucked them into one of her hundreds of pockets. She closed her bottom pair of eyes, and affixed Brandy with the others in a kind look. "You've got a bit of a relationship problem going on there, don't you? Or perhaps you think that you do."

"I-", Brandy said. "I do. How did you know?"

"Auntie Grug always knows.", said the Goblin. "Now tell me, what is it?"

"I… think that my husband is cheating on me.", Brandy said sadly. "Or at least, that's what I've heard."

"Oh, that's very sad.", said Auntie Grug with a frown. The arm growing out of her back reached into the backpack she wore, far larger than she was, and pulled out a small pink vial.

"Here.", she said kindly, shoving the bottle into Brandy's face. "Take it. Only 5.99."

"What is it?", Brandy asked with just a hint of suspicion.

"What is it?", Grug gasped, and held it closer to her chest. "What is it? Why, this is my specialty patented lover's poultice! Such a finer potion of luck in love you will find nowhere else. As I already said, it's only 5.99, and satisfaction guaranteed."

"Huh.", said Brandy, and dug into her pocket. She might as well buy it- this Auntie Grug, whoever she was, had been nothing but nice to her. And even if it didn't work, it was only 6 Gold. 6 Gold was nothing.

"Okay, here you go.", said Brandy, and dropped the Gold into Grug's waiting hand. She chuckled a bit, and handed the bottle of pink potion back to Brandy.

"Pleasure doing business with you, dearie.", she said, and turned around. Taking a quick left into the complex maze of aisles that made up the store, she was gone within moments.

"Brandy?", said Brenda, even as the bottle was unscrewed by said Bandit. "I think you've been scammed."

"Eh, whatever.", Brandy said, holding the bottle of potion up to her mouth. "It was only 6 Gold."

She was just about to take a swig, when she heard Chloe yell right in her ear.

She brought the bottle back down, not noticing the soft curses that flew from the back of the store as she did so. Brandy turned around, to see Chloe with a huge blue dress over her shoulder and a beaming smile on her face. Meg stood behind her, with a more reserved expression of joy.

"The dress fits!", Chloe yelled, causing several customers to look up in dissatisfaction. "It fits! I wanna get it!"

"We can get it.", said Brandy. "Brenda, you're buying, right?"

Brenda didn't even say a word. She just reached into her pockets and flipped her platinum card.

"So… can we check out now?", Meg asked, almost hopping from one foot to the other. "I found a really nice new-"

"Yeah, let's go.", Brenda said, instinctively knowing to cut Meg off before she said something that wouldn't be appropriate in front of Chloe. "Just to the front of the store."

As the four maneuvered their way through the front end of the store, passing exotic treasures and random crap alike, a single glittering display happened to catch Brandy's eye. It was a curious display of jewelry, all hanging from the branch of the same miniature tree.

"Brandy, what are you doing?", Brenda asked, stopping to see. "We gotta go."

Brandy held out her hand, leaning in closer to the jewelry. "Just a second. I want to look at this first."

"Okay…", Brenda said, and glanced at her watch. "But hurry."

"I'll be quick.", Brandy said, running her fingers through the long, golden chains. "Don't you worry."

Brandy's gaze wandered slow and long over the display, taking in the strange designs. One of the rings had the image of a Fisherman's Card emblazoned on it, with a bronze shine. There was a necklace of what looked to be the tentacle of a squid. A small hand mirror was etched with a design of a green coiled snake. A miniature championship belt hung from the branch, etched with designs of silver and gold. A shining platinum mask, not unlike Brandy's own, dangled from a long sapphire chain. A small shield, etched with a stylized arrow and claw, glittered a sickly green. A solid jade sculpture of a chameleon hung upside down from the display, its long fingers wrapped around an ivory gun. Nearby it was the equally exquisite form of a large snake, gazing at the chameleon with the distinct mark of a predator. A baseball bat hung from underneath the two, still swinging. And lastly, a small, bronze stick of bubble gum sat at the very bottom of the display, still faintly spinning.

"Okay, you've looked long enough.", Brenda said. "Are you gonna buy anything or not?"

"Uh…", Brandy said, and grabbed something at random. It was the platinum mask, which now seemed to have slightly shifted in both size and shape. "Yeah. This."

"Great.", Brenda said, and dragged Brandy to the cash register. "Alright, this is everyone.", she said. "Now let's pay."

The Villager working the register swiftly ran her eyes across the group's purchases, adding up the tax and change in her head. She held out one hand, and spoke with utter boredom.

"That'll be 8300 Gold.", she said. "What'll it be."

"Here's my card.", said Brenda, and deposited her platinum card into the Villager's waiting hand. Without waiting even a moment, she ran the card across her register. She didn't even blink as it beeped orange.

"Was that… bad?", Brenda asked, and the Villager looked at her sarcastically.

"Your card was declined.", she said.

"What?", Brenda stammered, as the Villager dropped the card back into her hand. "But how?"

"There wasn't all that much cash on it.", the Villager explained. "Looks like you spent the last of it on that smoothie you were drinking earlier."

"Uh…", Brenda said, digging through her pockets for cash. She found some, but it wasn't nearly enough. "Anyone got 8175 Gold?"

But just a quick look from the group told her that even between them, they could not come up with even close to that number.

"Well, I'm sorry for wasting your time.", said Brenda, and flicked her eyes towards Brandy.

Get ready, she said. We only got one shot.

Brandy grinned, and bent at the knees. Understood.

"Does that mean we can't get my dress?", Chloe said, still running her hands through the soft blue fabric. Her lips began to quaver, mere seconds before a cry.

"Not at all, Chloe.", Brandy said, and the Villager's bored expression vanished off her face. "We're just gonna have to resort to… other means."

"Wait, what-", said the Villager, Chloe, and Meg all at the same time. Brandy and Brenda both knew, from their shared Bandit instincts, that now was the time to act.

The arms of the Phantom appeared around Brenda, grabbing Meg by the waist and hoisting her up into the air. Brandy grabbed Chloe and her dress with both hands, holding them to her side.

"Run away!", both Bandits yelled in unison, and Dashed out the side of the shop, purchases, girlfriend, and regular friend in tow. Two Dash trails, one blue and one golden, followed them as they went.

The Villager thought about going after them, but decided against it. They were Bandits, after all. And while their theft had gone over the legal limit, it would be awfully hard to prove it in court.

And besides…, the Villager thought as she saw Auntie Grug emerge from the back of the shop, I just got all the information I needed.

She slowly withdrew a small, ancient handheld radio from beneath the counter, and pressed the button to turn it on. It would be a while before the old, outdated mechanism booted up- but by then, Auntie Grug would have arrived at the desk.

"That's two more Stand users.", the Villager muttered to herself. "The discovery of every one counts…"

As the radio finally turned on, the screen became the stylized figure of a great red dragon. The Villager's eyes lit up with the promise of Gold beyond her wildest dreams, and slowly reached to the Talk button. "When you're building a perfect world."

Both Brandy and Brenda landed on the elevated platform outside of the shop, immediately ducking into a tuck and roll. They fell the three stories to the ground, their still active Dash shields protecting both them and the ones they carried from any harm.

"That was way too close.", Brandy breathed, as she stood up from the small crater she had created. "Maybe check your card next time, huh Brenda?"

"Yeah…", Brenda muttered as she got up, pressing one hand to the small of her back. "It's so weird, though. I could have sworn that I still had at least 15000 Gold left on it."

"Why did we run away?", Chloe asked, still hanging upside down in Brandy's firm grip.

"Uh…", Brandy said, thinking quickly. "For… fun.", she said.

"Oh.", said Chloe thoughtfully. "I thought it was because you decided to just steal the things we got instead of paying for them, which you can do legally because you're Bandits."

"That's what I said.", said Brandy. "For fun."

Meg slid off of Brenda's back, and tapped her fingers together. Brenda rolled her eyes, and reached inside of her bag. After fishing around for a few seconds, she pulled out the Star Level Musketeer helmet. "Here you go."

"Can I have my dress?", Chloe asked, as Meg put on her new helmet and smiled with joy.

"Wait until we get home.", Brandy said. "If you wear it now, it'll get dirty."

"But I wanna wear it now!", Chloe whined, falling to her knees around Brandy's legs. "Please? Please please please please please-"

"Okay, okay, you can wear it.", Brandy said with a chuckle. "Just as long as you can figure out some way so that it doesn't get dirty, alright?"

Chloe thought for a moment, then looked up. Her eyes lit up with an idea, and she jumped to her feet. "Can Brenda air-carry me?"

"Air-carr-", Brenda muttered, then realized what Chloe was trying to say. She couldn't see The Phantom, and so she assumed that Brenda was doing something with the air whenever he was out.

"Sure.", Brenda said, and mentally snapped her fingers. In an instant, The Phantom appeared behind her, hovering just above her head. He scooped up Chloe by the armpits, and she squealed with excitement.

"Right, we should go home.", Meg said. "It's been a bit."

"Really?", Brandy asked. "How long has it been-"

There was a flash of time, too fast for anyone there to notice. But in the fraction of a fraction of a second that it was out for, Brandy saw something.

At first, it just looked like a vague green shape, surrounded by more multicolored blobs. But it soon solidified, into what seemed to be a mysterious young man.

Brandy's vision cleared up again, to see that almost no time had passed. No one else had even responded to The Dreamer's activation.

"About…", Brenda said, and glanced at her watch. "70 minutes. So yeah, a bit. Why?"

"I don't think that we should go home just yet.", Brandy said.

"There something you want to do first?", Brenda asked, with a bit of a sly smile.

"Yes.", Brandy said, and looked out over the whole entertainment district. "I'm going to go check on Dan."

The Information Desk located at the center of the Electro Valley Entertainment and Eating complex was quite a busy place. Dozens of Troops came and went every minute, asking questions about where certain shops and attractions could be found, which way it was to the Arena itself, what time it was, where did their friend Harry go, how to tie their shoe, etc.

It was for one of those features that Brandy approached the desk, and it wasn't for help on how to tie her shoe. The boots she wore didn't even have laces.

"Information Desk, how may I help you?", the Archer at the front asked, spinning around in her swivel chair as she saw the group arrive.

"Uh, I'm looking for a specific person.", Brandy said, trying to contain her nervousness. She felt a single bead of sweat crawl down her back, meeting the shivers on the way up.

"Yes, we can do that.", the Archer said, rather brightly.. "Who is this person that you're looking for?"

"A Mega Knight.", said Brandy. "Blue, goes by the name of Dan. He should be easy to spot, because he's always got gold energy somewhere on him. And…", she added, with a narrow of her eyes, "He's my husband."

While Brandy had been describing Dan, Anne the Archer thought she could handle it. But when she mentioned Dan's Star, Anne found her knowledge at a loss.

"Uh, yeah…", she said, and leaned back into a microphone. "I'm gonna have to talk to my supervisor about that one."

She put her mouth to the microphone and gave a furious whisper. "Tabitha! I need some help!"

She waited a few seconds, before the other end was picked up. "Yeah, hello.", came the chipper voice of a Princess on the other side. "What is it?"
"I got a Bandit out here looking for a Mega Knight.", Anne whispered, taking a quick glance back at the group. They were still there, so she continued onwards. "Says he's got gold energy or something."

"Hmmm…", Tabitha hummed, picking at her lip. She idly reclined her feet on the desk, and picked up another phone. "I don't know about that one. I think I'll have to talk to my supervisor. If you'll just stay on the line, I think I can be with you in a moment."

Anne set the phone down, making sure not to hang it up. She knit her fingers together and affixed the group with an overly polite stare. "Sorry, but it looks like it's going to be a while. Chain of command, and all that."

"No, no, that's fine.", Brandy said. "We can't wait, or anything."

"What's so important?", Anne asked. "If- if you don't mind me asking."

Brandy sighed, and looked down. "I'm looking for my husband.", she said. Then her voice lessened significantly, and a faint fleck of purple wound around her hands. "I think he's cheating on me."

Anne frowned, and let her elbows fall to the table. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Why?", asked Brandy. "It's not your fault. You didn't do anything."

Anne sat up straight again. "I didn't mean it like that-"

But Brandy said nothing, merely choosing to sit down at a nearby bench. She took a look at the magazines that were arranged there, but there was nothing really to choose from. Just some back-order issues of Strategy with OJ and a single, faded volume of Goblin Society. So seeing no other options, Brandy pulled her hood closer over her face and tried not to fall asleep.

Anne, staring forward in that manner that could be so mastered only by receptionist, security guards, and retail workers, noticed out of the corner of her vision a small pair of hands sneaking their way onto her desk. There was a tiny grunt of effort, and Chloe appeared over the edge.

Anne saw Chloe's eyes wander across the desktop, finally coming to rest on a small bowl of hard candies. Chloe looked up eagerly, asking Anne without so much as a single word or sound.

"Sure, go ahead kid.", Anne said. "But just take-"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Chloe had already grabbed a large handful and scampered off, landing on the bench right next to Brandy. Anne winced, and finished her words. "One."

Meg, sitting on the bench aside from Brandy and Chloe, suddenly felt something touch her leg. She looked up, and saw Brenda slowly walking towards her, hips swaying as she did so.

"I've always wondered…", Meg asked. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?", Brenda asked, as she sat down on Meg's lap. She grinned, as Meg's face reddened.

"Oh, Brenda, not in public…", she whispered, looking around to see all the Troops passing by.

Brenda closed one eye, and moved herself off. "Oh, fine.", she said.

"But how do you do that?", Meg asked again. "Touch me- from a distance?"

"You mean like this?", Brenda asked, and the Phantom's arms shot out of her. They tapped Meg on either shoulder, and she gasped- but not before managing to catch a quick glimpse of black sleeved hands.

"What were those?", Meg asked in shock. "Were those- arms?"

Brenda's wry smile stopped. She hadn't ordered The Phantom to become visible. And he didn't ever do it on his own. But Meg had seen his arms- that was obvious. And if Meg had seen his arms, then that meant-

"Meg?", Brenda whispered in shock. "You're a Stand user?"

"A what?", Meg whispered back, before they both heard Anne shouting at them from across the patio.

"Hey, you there!", she yelled, waving her arms. "I think we found him!"

Brandy Dashed over to the desk in an instant, not even waiting for the rest of the group to catch up. She slammed her hands onto the hard tile, staring Anne right in the face.

"Where is he?", she asked intently.

"Well, uh, I don't…", Anne said, and handed the phone line to Brandy. "I don't know. But whoever's on the other line does."

Brandy slapped the phone to her ear. "Hello?", she said. "Who is this?"

It took a few seconds for whoever was on the other line to answer, a dull rhythmic thump and the crashing of objects the only sounds to come through. But soon enough, answer they did.

"Hello, this is Valia.", said the other end of the line. "Current phone answerer of the world famous Club Royale, how may I help you?"

"Valia?", Brandy hissed. "Do you know where Dan is?"

Valia sat back in her spinning chair, and slapped her hand against her desk.

"Brandy?", she asked. "Is that you?"

"Yeah.", came Brandy's voice through the phone. "I need to find Dan. Is he… at Club Royale?"

"Hmmm, lemme check…", said Valia, thumbing through the guest list. She scrolled back a few pages, then tapped the book with one long fingernail. "Yeah he is, honey. Came in here… I'd say about an hour and a half ago."

"Okay.", Brandy said. "Thank you for your help."

She had been about to hang up, but Valia wasn't done talking. "So, how are you Brandy? It feels like we haven't even spoken for weeks!"

"We haven't.", Brandy said. "I really need to find Dan."

Valia applied a second coat of nail polish, and looked out over the crowd. "Oh, honey, can't you find him later? I'm sure he's fine. I wanna talk."

"I think he's cheating on me.", Brandy said. "I need to talk to him now."

"Oh.", said Valia, all previous manner dropped. "Well then. He's in the back, in room U-I. I hope that you find him. See ya…"

"See ya.", Brandy said, and hung up the phone. She turned around, spreading out her hands as she talked.

"He's at Club Royale.", she said. "In a room marked UI."

"Okay.", Brenda said, pulling out a map that she had grabbed. "It looks like the place is…"

She squinted at the paper, and turned it around in her hands. "Only about 15 minutes walk from here. Hey, nice."

"So, are you going to go and look for him?", Meg asked. "I think me and Chloe should stay somewhere else."

"Why?", Brandy asked. "You could help us."

"Yeah, but…", Meg said a bit quieter than normal. "I'm not sure how I'd do in such a large, crowded, badly lit place like a club. And I'm not sure it's all that appropriate for Chloe."

"I see.", Brandy said. "Gotcha."

"So, you stay here with Chloe.", said Brenda, throwing the map up into the air. It was caught between The Phantom's fingers, and held at eye level. "Find something to do. And Brandy?"

The two Bandits Dashed away, in the direction of Club Royale. "Let's move."

The Bowler Bouncer in front of the Club was not having a particularly good day. He had woken up 3 minutes late, and had managed to somehow arrive to work 15 minutes after he was supposed to be there. This had resulted in what he thought was a rather ridiculous pay cut of 25%, which was not nearly enough to pay for all of the Dark Elixir that he had to drink every day. Strictly for medical purposes, of course.

He ponderously rocked from one foot to the other, and tugged at the collar of his thick black suit. The heavy beats of Club Royale behind him only added to his headache. He looked forwards, and frowned at the sight of a pair of Blue Bandits Dashing towards him.

"Aw, shoot.", he whispered under his breath. "Here we go again."

Brandy and Brenda both skidded to a stop in front of the Bowler, and looked up. They couldn't quite judge his stare underneath the inky black sunglasses that he wore, but his frown said quite enough.

"Hey, uh, we're here to get in.", Brandy said. "To the Club, I mean."

The Bowler withdrew a small pad of paper from his chest pocket, and flipped through it. He tipped the edge of his sunglasses down, staring the two down with an expression of pure boredom. "What are your names?"

"Brenda.", said Brenda, before Brandy could respond. "And this is my friend Brandy."

"Hmmm…", said the Bowler, and tucked the list back into his pocket. "I'm sorry, you're not on the list."

Brandy took a step forward, and pointed a finger towards the Bowler's chin. "Excuse me? My husband is in there, and I need to see him."

"I don't care.", the Bowler said, and leaned back on the stained glass window. "Names not on the list?"

He idly flicked a piece of rock off the wall and across the street, just in case the two though about trying to start anything. "You're not getting in."

"Really?", said Brenda, and crossed her arms. She jutted out one foot, and The Phantom appeared above her head. "Just watch."

The Bowler's hand slowly went for his ball, which had been stashed just behind him. His other hand slowly crept towards his radio communicator, just in case he, for some reason, needed help.

"Miss, I'd advise you not to try anything.", he rumbled, intimidating as possible. "I don't want that I should hurt anyone."

"Don't worry.", Brenda said, and flicked her finger forward. "You won't."

Before the Bowler could react, The Phantom flew inside his head. Grabbing hold of his brain, the parts that regulated sleep were quickly seized. The Phantom channeled raw magical and musical energy into the Bowler's head, and his eyes closed. As The Phantom flew back into Brenda, the Bowler collapsed onto the street, asleep before he had even hit the ground.

Brenda dusted off her hands, throwing her cape behind her. "Well, that's one obstacle taken care of.", she said. "Now let's go."

Brandy nodded, and Brenda threw open the heavy Gem door with a grunt of effort. The two Dashed inside, the door slamming shut behind them.

Meg sat on a bench next to Chloe, calmly licking her ice cream. They were perched above an overpass, watching the flow of Troops go by. They could see the Arena of Electro Valley not far up ahead, glowing with the thunder of ongoing combat.

"Meg?", Chloe asked, and set her cone down by her side.

"Yeah?", Meg said, and looked down at Chloe.
"Will they ever fix me?", Chloe asked, and Meg froze.

"Fix?", she asked nervously. "But… you're not broken."

"I mean make me older.", said Chloe, and crossed her arms. "Brenda's King said I used to be a big Princess, and then Dadd- I mean, Ryusei_Nakao69, made me small again."

"Maybe.", Meg said. "Maybe once I get my hands to stop shaking."

She looked over the Arena, and her fingers began to twitch. "And maybe once more people start being nice to each other for a change. And maybe once there's no more evil in the world. And maybe once everyone's treated as equals, instead of having limits placed upon them. Maybe once those things start happening, then maybe we can be fixed."

"Then let's do that.", Chloe said, with another lick of her ice cream. "Let's do what you just said."

Meg smiled, and patted Chloe on the head. "Yeah.", she said. "Let's."

Song: Cash Cash- Overtime

The interior of Club Royale was hazy and dark, the rhythmic thud-thud of the music seeming to send a pulse straight through the heart of everyone there. Troops staggered by, raging drunk on Party Elixir. A fight broke out approximately every 3.6 seconds, as citizens of a society based entirely around ritual combat would tend to do.

But despite the chaos, the general atmosphere was one of celebration, and of casual relaxation. The Wizards working the bar did tricks with every drink, sometimes even combining the two. Circles of Troops sat around and sang, off key but in tune with each other's hearts. There was dancing throughout, and two disoriented Bandits trying to cut through the crowd.

"You ever- cough- been here before, Brandy?", Brenda said, jumping over the shoulder of a Golem and onto an empty bench.

"No.", Brandy said, throwing up her cloak in order to shield herself from a cloud of smoke released from a burping Baby Dragon. "This place is weird."

"Yeah.", said Brenda, as they both walked over the shoulders of a Giant. "Fun, though."

"I don't know.", Brandy said. "This place is kind of-"

She never finished her sentence. Brandy's eyes suddenly fluttered closed, and she lost consciousness. Brenda's hand lashed out on instinct as she saw Brandy stumble off the shoulder of the Giant, catching her just before she fell.

Brenda yanked Brandy up into her arms, and Dashed onto the floor.

"Hey!", she shouted, but struggled to be heard over the general roar of the vicinity. "Hey! Brandy! Wake up!"

But Brandy did not respond. Her fingers twitched rapidly, and her eyes moved behind their lids, but she made no other movement. There were no floating blue lights behind her head that signaled the use of The Dreamer, either. She had suddenly fallen dead asleep, and Brenda did not know why.

"Hey!", she yelled, and slapped Brandy across the face. "Brandy! Wake the frick up!"

But Brandy still did not respond. She was limp in Brenda's arms, her arm hanging all the way to the floor.

"Why?", Brenda muttered under her breath, even though no one could hear her anyway. "Why can't we all just go out all together, and have nothing bad happen?"

"I would rather lead an interesting life.", said The Phantom, as he materialized behind her. "Normal, I find, more than not tends to be rather boring."

"Eh, you're right.", Brenda said, then her head snapped upwards. "Wait! Phantom! Of course!"

She turned around, presenting Brandy's unconscious form. "You can wake her up, can't you?"
The Phantom put an ear to Brandy's chest, and furrowed his eyebrows. "I could, but…"

He straightened up again, and folded his arms. "I shouldn't. She's having a flashback at the moment, and it would be dangerous to wake her."

"Well, when is she gonna wake up?", Brenda asked.

"It won't be long.", The Phantom said. "Probably just a few-"

Brandy groaned, and her eyes fluttered open. Brenda gasped in relief, and set her down on the floor.

"Sorry.", Brandy said, and rubbed the back of her head. "I was just, uh, having a bad dream."

The two stared at each other for a second, neither wanting to mention just what had happened.

"So…", Brenda said. "We should go."

"Right.", said Brandy, and looked around. "Do we know where room UI is?"

"No.", Brenda said, and hopped up onto a table. "Not yet, anyway."

She cupped her hands around her mouth, and yelled as loud as she could. "Hey! Does anyone know where room UI is?"

A couple dozen patrons all looked up from their respective drinks, nodded, and pointed in a couple dozen different directions.

Brenda threw her head back, groaned, and jumped down off of the table.

"Well, that didn't work.", she said. "Brandy, do you have any-"

But Brandy wasn't listening. She could only see herself, albeit as a thin blue line, flying away to the left, taking a sharp turn down a hallway, and stopping in front of a door marked UI.

She snapped back to reality, and stumbled a bit on the uneven ground as the floating blue lights of The Dreamer faded behind her.

"I know where it is.", she said. "Room UI. My Stand told me."

"Okay, great.", Brenda said. "Lead the way."

Brandy turned around, ready to go, and sucked in a harsh breath. There, right in front of her, was Dan, his arm around a Valkyrie.

Brandy couldn't breathe for a moment. A thin strip of purple wound its way around her fingers, and an even smaller flash of silver was reflected in her eyes. "You-"

But then, to her immense relief, she noticed something. The Troop that she had seen was not, in fact, Dan. He was merely another Mega Knight, with somewhat similar facial features. But he didn't have quite the same chiseled face, or quite the same scruffy beard. And most importantly, he didn't have the near-constant aura of the Star crackling around his body.

"Brandy, let's go.", said Brenda, tugging at her arm. "Do you have something else keeping you busy?"

Brandy shook herself, and started to run. "No.", she said. "Sorry, I… just got distracted for a moment there."

Then they ran, down a hallway and into the path that The Dreamer had set forth.

As they approached room UI, Brandy's heart beat faster inside of her chest. The other rooms that they passed seemed to be in use, for something that Brandy desperately hoped that she had not been correct in guessing. Brandy feared that when she reached UI, the consequences wouldn't be more than her heart could handle.

"Nervous, Brandy?", Brenda asked, and stopped.

"Yeah.", Brandy said. "Aren't you coming with me?"

"No.", said Brenda. "In fact, I'm not going to take another step."
"Wha-", Brandy said in shock. "Why not?"

"Because.", Brenda said, and pointed upwards. "We're here."

Brandy followed Brenda's finger, and could see that the blank white door in front of them indeed read UI above it, in shining silver letters.

"Okay.", Brandy said, and took a deep breath. She spread her arms open wide, and clapped them back together again. "I'm going in alone. Right wait- I mean, wait right here."

Brenda gave a single thumbs up, and leaned against the wall. Brandy spread her arms open wide, and flattened herself against the door. Pressing one ear to the thick wood, she could hear sounds coming from within.

"Oh… oh… oh…", she could hear, with the rhythmic rocking of furniture.

Brenda's eyes narrowed, and her lips pulled back in a furious snarl. A faint purple light built around her fist, as she pulled it back.

"Brandy?", Brenda asked, but she already knew the truth.

"He is.", Brandy said, and threw her fist forward.

The door exploded in a massive burst of force, an enraged "Dorra!" echoing from the impact point. Brandy stepped over the wooden rubble, and pulled one hand together into a fist.

"Hey!", she shouted in rage. "Who the frick do you think you are, taking my Dan like that-"

But as the smoke cleared, her eyes only widened in shock.

"OH SHOOT!", Dan roared, and leapt up from the couch that he was sitting at. His fists crashed into the ceiling, but thankfully didn't break much. He yelled again, and posed.

Kars, sitting next to him, threw his popcorn down onto the ground and stood up. "Come on, Mike!", he shouted at the TV that they had been sitting in front of. "All you had to do was throw the dang bomb!"

"Yeah, who won?", Dan shouted, and jumped at a Giant. "Who won?"

Their chests met in midair, sending a shockwave throughout the room that very nearly knocked Brandy clean off her feet. "Yeah, that's my boy Leon for you!"

Webert gulped down another gallon of Dark Elixir Soda, and bumped fists with a Prince. "Hey, second place isn't bad.", he said. "Figures."

Once Dan had finished spinning in a circle, he noticed that the door to the room had been destroyed. Then he noticed that Brandy was standing there in mild shock, staring up at him.

"Brandy?", he asked, and plucked an empty popcorn bucket off of his head. "What are you doing here?"

As soon as he spoke, Brandy's heart melted. Here was her Dan, who hadn't come even close to cheating on her. He had been presented with probably the best time and place to do so he would ever get, and yet here he was, watching foreign matches with the boys.

"Are you… crying?", Dan asked. "Honey, what's wrong? I told you I was just going out for a day with the boys-"

Brandy Dashed forward, slamming into Dan's waist in a full body hug. She buried her face into his waist, shaking her head back and forth. The tears still flowed.

"I love you, Dan.", she said. "I love you so, so much."

"I love you too, Brandy.", Dan said, gently rubbing her back with one massive finger. "But why did you come here? I thought you and the girls were all out shopping."

"I…", Brandy said, then stopped. She thought that it might actually be best if she didn't tell him the real reason why she had come. "I just really wanted to see you, is all."

"Oh.", Dan said, and gestured to the room. "We were all just watching some Brawl clips. Wanna join us?"

"Brawl clips?", Brandy asked, and looked up. "Like, that one place across the ocean?"

"Yeah.", Dan said. "TV Royale isn't working right now. Something with technical problems at the main studio. So we just switched to a different studio."

"Ay, I'd sure she'd love to, Dan!", said Kars, whacking at the TV's dark screen with the side of his axe. "But it looks like your last jump blew out the wiring!"

"Oh.", Dan said. He absentmindedly reached out and shoveled an entire pan of lasagna in his face, gulping down the entire thing in a single bite. "Well, never mind then."

Brenda slowly walked across the wreckage, taking care to place every footstep.

"Well, that's good.", she said. "Looks like Dan wasn't-"

In half of a second, Brandy shot her a look. Brenda saw every word of her plea, and hastily adjusted her sentence.

"I mean, looks like Dan was. Was here after all. Yeah, we weren't sure if the directions we were given were right or not."

Had Dan been paying attention, he might have investigated Brenda's words further. But because he was not, he just stood up, glancing at the clock on the side of the wall as he stretched.

"Woah, it's almost noon.", he grunted, bending low. "We had better head back."

"Yeah, Oticat might need our help moving everyone in.", Brandy said, trying not to think of how many hours of backbreaking work surely awaited the entire group. "Although, we could probably take just a little longer…"

"Is there anywhere in specific that you'd like to go?", Dan asked, and put his hand around Brandy's waist. As he lifted her up onto his shoulder, she stroked her chin with one hand and thought.

"Not particularly, no.", she said after a few seconds. "But I'm sure that if we just wander around somewhere, we'll find something."

There was, in fact, somewhere that she wanted to go to, and that was the coffee shop that they had been earlier. She was going to give that Builder that had hit on Meg a little piece of her mind, but it would be better if Dan didn't know that yet. People besides the Builder might get hurt.

"Well then, let's go!", Kars shouted, and spun his axe up onto his shoulder. "Come on Webert, old boy, we've got something to do something with or to!"

Webert slowly got up from the couch, and plucked his ball from the floor with the barest of grips. "Yep. Looks like it."

"Alright then, let's just-", Brenda said, and stopped. There, peeking through the crumbled door, was a Hunter with a broom attached to his shotgun. As soon as he saw Brenda, his eyebrows jumped up so much one could almost sort of see his eyes.

Brenda's eyes narrowed, and she crept forward. "You.", she hissed. "What are you doing here?"

The Hunter said nothing, merely backing up. But before he could escape, Brenda's hand shot out and grabbed him by the collar.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here, Otto.", she said.

"Woah, woah, hold on.", Brandy said, and Dashed down from Dan's shoulder to stand between them. "What's going on?"

"Remember how I told you I used to be with a Hunter?", Brenda said. "Before I realized he was nothing but a selfish, totally self-absorbed, narcissistic piece of trash?"

Brandy looked between them, and saw nothing but overwhelming fear and confusion on the Hunter's face. "Brenda, wait-"

Dan raised his finger, and a bolt of Star shot between all three of them. The Hunter fell on his back, and the two Bandits hopped back.

"I'm…", the Hunter groaned, and propped himself up on his gun for support. "Not named Otto. I've never seen you before in my life."

Brenda blinked, and extended her hand. "Oh. Sorry about that.", she chuckled. The Hunter chose, for the sake of his own safety, not to take her hand. "You all look alike."

"Yeah…", the Hunter laughed nervously, then turned around. He took off running down the hallway, and stopped in front of a supply closet. Quickly ducking inside of it, he sat down on a bucket and wiped his sweaty brow.

"Whew.", he said. "I'm glad she bought it. I don't know what I'd do if I ever had to face that crazy thief again."

There was a flash of white light, and a slight sound of rushing wind. Otto looked up, and his confusion turned to fear at the sight of The Phantom, sword drawn.

"You know,", he said, leaning down and scratching the tip of Otto's chin. "I don't think you're supposed to say that word."

The group of now five walked to the exit of Club Royale, one last drink clutched in each of their hands. Both Brandy and Brenda rode on Dan's shoulders, although Brandy was snuggled much closer. Kars was on Webert's shoulder, with no end of glee for him and no end of good-natured annoyance to Webert.

"We need to remember to pick up Chloe and Meg.", Brandy said. "They're still probably near the help desk somewhere."

"Right.", Brenda said with a nod. "Although to be honest, I think they would have wandered off."

"Wandered off?", Dan said before Brandy could turn it into a less than orderly discussion. "Why aren't they here?"

"They didn't feel comfortable going into a Club.", Brandy shrugged. "Makes sense, really."

Kars squinted his eyes, and leaned forward on Webert's head, obscuring his vision. He pointed forward, towards a nearby shop that was selling maps. "Hey, isn't that them right there?"

Brandy looked forward, and saw a spectacled Musketeer and a small Princess at one of the counters, engaged in conversation with a Dark Prince.

"Ah.", she said, and gently tapped on Dan's neck to tell him to go slightly faster. "So it is."

"So, you're telling me that you've charted the entire world?", Meg asked the Dark Prince in disbelief, who just brushed the dust off his gloves.

"Indeed.", he said. "I have done many things in my long lifespan. Exploring the entirety of the globe is but one of them."

"Can I have one?", Chloe asked, pulling herself up to see over the countertop. "I want one of here."

"Here, as in the continent of Royale?", the Dark Prince asked, and turned around. "Let me see… I have many of-"

"No, here.", said Chloe impatiently, swinging her little legs back and forth as she hung. "Of this shop."

Meg stared at her with amusement, but also a hint of concern. "Chloe, that's not how things work-"

Then she felt a pair of gloved hands slap over her eyes, and she squealed in surprise.

"Hey, Meg.", Brenda said, and crept around in front of her. "Anything interesting happen while we were gone?"

"Well, we got ice cream.", Meg said, letting herself fall backwards into Brenda's arms. "And we talked about life. So yeah, some interesting things did happen."

"Ice cream is always good.", said Brandy, as she slid down Dan's shoulder and landed in the middle of the shop, taking extra care not to slam into a rack of postcards. "What flavor did you get?"

"I got ice cream flavor!", Chloe shouted, holding up three fingers for some reason. "And so did Meg."

"Excuse me, but could you at least buy something if you're going to keep on taking up so much room in my shop like that?", the Dark Prince said, his hands on his hips in frustration. "I have a quota to fill, you know."

"Oh, sorry.", Brandy said, and flipped a handful of Gold from her pocket out onto the desktop. "Yeah, lemme get a…"

She looked around, and grabbed something at random. "This."

The Dark Prince took a quick look at the barcode printed on the side, and punched in some quick numbers. "A map of the Continent of the Clans?"

Brandy thought for a moment, and nodded. "Yep.", she said. "That's the one."

"Okay.", said the Dark Prince, and took the Gold. He handed back three, and nodded. "There's your purchase, enjoy. Now get out of my shop."

"Okay, okay.", said Brandy, and the group started to slowly meander out of the small store. It took some effort to pull Kars away from a display of Lumberjack statues near the front, but Webert and Dan working together managed to do it.

"So…", Meg said, sucking on a grape popsicle that she had bought. "Back to the castle?"

"Right.", Brenda and Brandy both said together, and pointed forward. "Back to the castle."

Later that evening, back at Oticat/SpaceKrakenX's new castle

"Ooohhhh…", Brandy groaned, rubbing one hand against the small of her back. She winced from the twinge of pain, and put one hand against a random couch that was standing upside down, but only on one side. "That sucked."

"Yeah.", said Dan, lying on the floor next to her. "That sucked half-eaten river rocks."

"Oh, come on.", Oticat said, standing semi-awkwardly in the middle of a bunch of Troops. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
Over the past 6 hours, all of Oticat's and SpaceKrakenX's Troops had executed the grueling task of moving in. Hundreds of furniture pieces and thousands of personal belongings had been lugged up and down stairs, scaffolding had been put up and torn down simultaneously, and the Castle's entire team of Builders had practically worked themselves into a coma constructing an entire new half of the Castle for the newest members. Even now, they all lay in the hospital wing, no longer able to even move their arms.

"Yeah.", Kars said upside down against a table, not shouting for the first time in his life. "It was."

"You weren't doing anything, Oticat.", Agatha groaned, her Skeletons even more exhausted than she was. "You wouldn't know."

"I thought it was great.", rumbled a Giant. "I like working out."

Dan sat up, looked at him indignantly, and just barely decided on not slapping him across the face. "Clarence, you only came in a half hour before we finished. You didn't do crap."

"Oh yeah asked Clarence, putting his hands on his hips. "And what did you do?"

Dan pointed upwards, to where a gigantic circuit breaker hung still sparking and open.

"I helped provide power to the entire Castle, that's what I did. Me and Nicolas. And I carried all the stone from the quarry to here to help build the new wing-"

"So did I.", said Brandy, from her new position lying on the floor. "I helped."

"Right, me and Brandy brought all the stone, and I held up the northwest tower while it was being worked on so it wouldn't collapse, and I single-handedly fended off a huge Goblin incursion that decided to attack the Castle while it was vulnerable!"

"Oh.", said Clarence, and turned around to resume roasting his marshmallows on a stick. "Well, okay then."

"You know what I'm in the mood for right now, Dad?", asked Sadie sleepily. "Some dinner and some nice, relaxing TV Royale."

Oticat was about to say something, when SpaceKrakenX poked his head out of a stack of boxes. He briefly fumbled with a strange, multi-colored cube before scowling in frustration and tossing it away. There was a crash of cardboard and the cry of Goblins, but everyone just did their best to ignore that fact.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea, Sadie.", both SpaceKrakenX and Oticat said together. "What do you guys think?"

"Let's do it.", Agatha said, aimlessly scratching at the wooden floor.

"But please, don't make us get up.", Bowza chimed in, lying right next to her.

"Alright then, it's settled.", Oticat said. "Dinner and TV it is. Max?"

Within a mere second, Max had appeared next to Oticat. No one knew how he traveled so fast, only that he would appear at unnatural speeds whenever food was involved. "Yes, sire?"

"Everyone wants some dinner.", said SpaceKrakenX. "As you might be able to tell."

"Yes…", Max said, and floated through the crowd of Troops in various states of physical and mental exhaustion upon the ground.

"What would you all like for dinner?", he said. "I've spent all morning and all afternoon cooking. So far, I've made a delightful crème de la tylanai, pâtes à l'encre de seiche, tu es tombé amoureux, nom de la nourriture de fantaisie-"

"That's wonderful, Max.", said Webert. "But right now, I think I could just go for a big ol steak. That, and a few dozen gallons of Dark."

Max pursed his lips, turned around, and headed back for the kitchen. "So.", he said with a sigh. "Simple food it is then."

"Hey, anyone wanna grab the remote?", Oticat asked, sinking deeper into the couch. "Anyone?"

He looked around, but everyone in the room was basically too exhausted to move. "Anyone?"

Brenda looked up sleepily from the ground, almost on the verge of collapse. "Phantom.", she whispered. "Turn on the TV."

The Phantom appeared behind her, and floated over to the large flat screen TV that was built into the wall. "Certainly, mistress."

"Anyone?", Oticat said. "Seriously, does anyone want to-"

The TV turned on, seemingly by itself. It wasn't to TV Royale, however- it was to what appeared to be some sort of highly elaborate musical.

"Phantom…", Brenda said in annoyance, and he shrugged.

"Oh, fine.", he said, and turned the channel to TV Royale. He vanished, and Brenda closed her eyes.

"Thank you…", she whispered, and fell asleep instantly, her arms wrapped around an already dreaming Meg.

"Good evening, everyone, and welcome to tonight's TV Royale.", the Wizard on the screen said quietly, almost as if he somehow knew who he was speaking to. "The weather remains unchanged, save for a single dark stormcloud rolling in from the center of the Continent of the Clans."

A single note of recognition and alarm dinged at the back of Brandy's mind, but she was too tired to care.

"I would normally now talk about the recent best matches of today, but there is something far more exciting going on tonight.", the Wizard continued, and stood up from his seat. He pushed in his chair, and winked at the camera. "Now excuse me, while I go fetch my associate."

"Here you are, Gorbachev.", Max said, as he re-entered the room upon a pair of roller skates. He flicked off the light with a single nod of his finger, and expertly tilted a large plate right into the waiting arms of a Goblin Giant. "It's a Cheez-n-onion Monstroburger, your favorite. Now enjoy."

Gorbachev took the burger in waiting hands, taking out a big bite. His hangers-on quickly set about with napkins, cleaning crumbs and stray sauce from the face of their master.

"It's a nice night to relax, isn't it?", Bowza whispered, pulling Agatha just a little bit closer.

"It is.", she replied, picking up another bottle of aged Elixir from a nearby cooler. "A lovely night to just sit, and relax, and be with everyone…"

"There's some real romance in the air.", Bowza said huskily, and Agatha's eyes closed. "The wind is indeed thick with-"

"HEEEEYYYY KKIIIDDDSS!", shouted the TV with a volume that had never before been achieved in history, the sheer force of it nearly shaking the TV from its foundations. Max stumbled, very nearly dropping his plate- but he suddenly righted himself without even a flash of movement. Brandy's eyes shot open from her near-sleep as she Dashed onto Dan's shoulder, wrapping herself around his neck. Brenda and Meg leaped out from behind the box they had been sleeping next to, instantly disappearing into another stack. Chloe just sort of appeared, landing in utter confusion on the seat next to Elizabeth and Sadie.

"I'm sure you've been wondering ALL MONTH what October's season them is going to be, HAVEN'T YOU?", the odd-looking figure on the TV screen screamed, pointing an oddly judgemental figure outwards. "Well, let BINKY show you!"

"Now, now, calm it down Binky.", said the Wizard, sliding into his seat with a highly forced chuckle. "We don't want to scare our viewers."

But Binky seemed not to care. He just kept screaming, his voice blasting into the ears of everyone that could hear. "It's time to do JUMPING JACKS with BINKY the CLOWN!"

To the Wizard's total astonishment, Binky the Clown pushed the entire newsdesk aside, and began to frantically do jumping jacks. "ONE TWO ONE TWO ONE TWO ONE TWO-"
"I said that's enough, Binky!", the Wizard shouted, and Binky sat down again with a devilish smile on his face. "As Binky was trying to say, the gods have decided that the theme of the season for this next month is-"

Both Binky and the Wizard gestured dramatically to a huge banner in the middle of the screen, with the name of the season proudly plastered all over it. "SHOCKTOBER!"

The Wizard motioned off-screen, and the banner rolled up. He brought up his hand, and Binky threw a whipped cream pie into his face.

Chloe laughed, as did some of the Goblins. There were some other few small chuckles, and the Wizard burned the cream away. "But before we tell you about all the Cool New Things, there are some important balance changes we'd like to address."

All the Troops in the room, which had previously been in either a state of shock and/or relaxation, suddenly straightened up. No matter what or who you were, a Balance Change was always a big deal.

"Firstly, the knockback strength of the Giant Snowball will be…", the Wizard said, and Sadie held her breath. "Reduced by 17%."

Sadie pumped her arm, and grinned. "Yes!", she whispered to herself. "I hate Giant Snowballs."

"Hunters,", the Wizard continued, "Will have their damage increased by 2%. They've all been underperforming just a little bit lately."

Both Oticat's and SpaceKrakenX's Hunters, sitting next to each other, crossed guns and mustaches, giving each other a big, leather gloved high-five. Brenda's eye twitched a little bit, even though she was fast asleep.

"The mighty, meta-defining Fisherman will have damage reduced by 6%, and HP reduced by 5%.", the Wizard said, pointing to a userates and winrates chart that had been put in front of the camera at the very last second. "They're just too good."

"Not better than me thought, right?", Brandy mumbled.

Dan smiled down at her, rubbing one hand through her hair. "No. No one is."

"And yes,", the Wizard continued, "All Wallbreakers everywhere will now have a reason to rejoice. In just one of the reworks we have planned, they will be getting -10% to damage…"

Oticat's pair of Wallbreakers, Ban and NotBan, stopped mid-cheer. They looked down at the floor in disappointment, but the changes were not done yet.

"And mass increased by 100%.", said the Wizard, looking up into the camera with a determined smile. "And their Elixir cost reduced from 3, to 2."

Ban and NotBan looked at each other, screamed in ecstatic joy, and then ran away into the upper levels of the Castle to find something to blow up.

"Night Witches, you better find some nice new names.", the Wizard said, trying to ignore Binky riding on a unicycle somewhere behind him. "Because we're adding two more Bats into your deathspawn, and your flock."

Oticat and SpaceKrakenX looked around, and shrugged. Oticat didn't have a Night Witch. SpaceKrakenX had every card, but his Night Witch was a rarely-used loner, and wasn't here right now.

"And yes, the rumors are true.", the Wizard said, and leaned forward on his elbow. He heard Binky crash somewhere in the studio behind him, and he grinned in slightly sadistic glee. "The gods are, indeed, reworking the Witch."

Bowza sat up, tapping Agatha on the forehead. "Honey, wake up.", he said. "This is important."

"I know, Bowza", Agatha said, her forehead beaded with the sweat of nervous excitement. "I know."

"As soon as these changes go live, all Witches everywhere will receive the following stat changes.", the Wizard said. He picked up a piece of paper from the ground, and began to read.

"Hitpoints. -12%. Damage. +220%. Hitspeed: -40% Splash. -45%. Skeletons spawned go from 3 to 4, so pick out a good name for the little dude. Spawn time increased from 5 to 7 seconds. And the previous deathspawn is now removed."

He took a deep breath, and looked up. "Thank you, that is all. Good night, and hey."

He gave the camera a big thumbs up, and winked- the signal to end the broadcast. "Good luck out there!"

As the camera turned off, the last thing anyone saw was a flash of pink light, Binky streaking towards the Wizard's head at unnatural speed.

Bowza felt Agatha trembling, her hands over her mouth. "Honey?", he asked, and she looked down. "I'm sorry, I-"

Agatha threw back her head, and laughed. She dropped her staff onto the ground, unexpectedly snorting as she giggled uncontrollably. Her cheeks began to hurt from smiling so much- she wasn't really used to it.

"I love it!", she squealed, most of the room staring in shock. They had never seen her act like this before. She, like all Witches, had always been so serious.

"Avaya!", Agatha shouted, turning around. "Gimme some!"

"Alright!", Avaya said, and they both summoned up a Skeleton. The two bags of bones bounded towards each other, meeting in an explosive high-five before they melted back into the floor.

"This- this is crazy!", she said, her eyes lighting up with glee. "This is everything I've ever wanted!"

Agatha stood up, and blew a kiss towards the sky. "Thank you, gods! Thank you!"

"And now,", said a Villager that had appeared on the screen, the TV turning back on with a flourish of blue, "We will return to your regularly scheduled programming."

She moved her finger across her throat, and the viewpoint on the screen changed from her to a rather infamous title card. "And now, here's the newest episode of Real Gobbowives!"

A bolt of lightning flashed out from somewhere in the audience, originating from Nicholas the Electro Wizard. It sliced into the TV with a thunderous crack, splitting it down the middle. Sparks flew out, spraying across the knees and faces of everyone in the front row.

"Booo!", Nicholas drawled, deep in the throes of drunkenness. "I hate Real Gobbowives!"

"Nicholas?", Oticat asked, trying to remain as calm as he could. "Did you just blow up the TV?"

Nicholas tried to think of something clever to say, about how it was all just a trick and that the TV was fine, but then he slowly realized that he actually had destroyed it, and everyone was now sitting in almost total darkness.

"Uh… yeah.", he said. "Yeah, I did."

"Then you're going to have to fix it.", said Oticat, Chloe sticking out her tongue from next to him.

"How?", Nicholas asked.

"Figure it out.", Oticat said, and gestured towards what he thought were the Builders. It was too dark to really tell. "Get the Builders to help you."

"The Builders are still in a coma.", Sadie said.

"Really?", Oticat asked in confusion. "Then who did I just point to?"

"That would be Mr. Wall, Dad.", said Elizabeth. Oticat squinted, and he could just barely manage to make out the form of Mr. Wall the Golem, who gave him a rocky smile and a friendly wave.

"Aha.", Oticat asked. "Hey, could someone turn on the lights-"

There was a flash of movement from the floor, and another pair of lightning bolts flew up to the circuit breaker. The room was briefly bathed in noonday sun, then again was plunged back into darkness.

Oticat massaged the bridge of his nose, and tried not to yell. "Nicholas?", he asked.

"Yes, sir.", Nicholas mumbled. "Me and the boys will get to that right away."

"See that you do-", Oticat said, then stopped. "Wait. You and… the boys?"

"Sure.", Nicholas said, and gestured around him. Oticat peered through the darkness, and was able to a bunch of Wizards around him. There were a pair of Ice Wizards and even another Electro Wizard as well. "Me and the boys."

Oticat waved his hand, and settled back further into his seat. "Well, okay then. Guess I'll be just going to bed."

"That's a good idea.", Brandy mumbled. "Dan, let's head to bed."

"You sure, honey?", Dan asked, stroking her arm with one finger. "Why don't we just sleep down here? That's what everyone else is doing."

Brandy managed to gather enough energy to look up, and saw that Dan was right. Not one of the Troops had even moved from their spot- except for a single Fire Spirit, who was dancing maniacally with Randy across the kitchen ceiling.

"Oh, but I wanna go sleep in our bed.", Brandy said. "Besides, everyone's watching..."

"Brandy…", Dan groaned. "I'm tired. Can't we-"

Brandy frowned, and grabbed Dan by the neck. She expertly run her forehead across his chin, right where he was the most sensitive. "Do you really think so?"

Dan rolled his eyes, and breathed in. Golden light began to sparkle around his body, and some of the Troops around him began to stir in confusion and annoyance. "Well, alright."

"Thanks, Dan.", Brandy said, and held on to his arm even tighter. "You're the best."

"Secret…", Dan breathed out, and both he and Brandy began to fade. "Technique… Overdrive."

The two vanished in a spark of Star, leaving behind a few dozen confused Troops. All of Oticat's knew what Dan could do by now, but it was still mostly an unknown to the majority of SpaceKrakenX's.

"Was that… Star?", SpaceKrakenX himself whispered, leaning forward with his hand on his chin. "Amazing…"

"You know about it?", Oticat asked. "How?"

SpaceKrakenX straightened back up again, and adjusted his glasses. "Well…"

Outside the castle, prowling around the bottom, was a someone. That someone was tall and thin, his weapon slung expertly around his back. He sniffed the air, searching for a very particular target.

"Find anything yet?", his radio squawked. The someone grimaced, and put the phone next to his ear.

"No, not yet.", he sighed. "But I smell his biosignature. He can't be very far away."

"What are you doing snooping around here for?", said the voice on the other line. "Why would he be here? That doesn't make any sense."

"Yes, I know.", said the someone, taking off his hat and then flipping it back on. "And yet…"

He heard a small noise coming from the front door of the castle. He snapped back to attention, and gestured to a nearby bush. "Hide me!"

There was a movement from the bush, as both it and the someone vanished into thin air, not taking their eyes off of the Builder that had just walked outside with a big bag of trash.

Tom the Builder was the only one that hadn't been involved in construction that day- he had been helping coordinate and clean. But as he walked outside, trash over his shoulder, he could have sworn that he was not alone.

"Ello?", he asked, looking out into the dark. "Is anyone there?"

But there was no answer, only total silence. Not even the sounds of the crickets chirping, or the night birds singing as they flew by.

"Huh.", Tom grunted, as he threw the bag of trash into an Inferno pit, not noticing the suspicion of total silence. "It must have been nothing."

As Tom headed back inside, the someone and the bush both heaved a sigh of relief. "That was close-"

Have you found him yet?, the someone heard inside of his head. He shivered, and readjusted his hat.

"No, sir.", he said. "But I think I'm getting-"

Thinking and getting are two different things, hissed the voice in anger. Now go. Get him for me.

"Yes, master.", the someone sighed, and ran off into the night.

Ten minutes later, Brandy and Dan lay in their bed, both totally exhausted.

"Thanks, Dan.", Brandy said. "For that."

Dan yawned, stretching as he put his arm over her. She lay on top of him, comfortably sandwiched. Their sleeping arrangement was always like this- Dan slept like a stone, not moving even an inch throughout the entire night. That was how it had to be, or Brandy would be crushed by his tremendous 2450 pound body. "You're welcome, honey."

"It's wonderful, isn't it?", Brandy asked as she closed her eyes. "This life."

"Yeah.", said Dan after a moment of thought. "I guess it really is."

"I mean, the future…", Brandy said, grasping at the ceiling. "It's just so huge!"

In her mind, visions of stars and planets appeared, rushing across the ceiling at high speed. "The world is so big, and there's so much stuff in it. Every single person you see has a story."

She snuggled up closer to Dan, burying her face within the rock-solid muscles on his arm. "And most of all, I'm glad that I get to share it with you."

Dan smiled, and he used the smallest bit of Star he could muster to gently stroke Brandy's back and ears. "Me too, Brandy. Me too."

Then they both closed their eyes, and fell asleep.

"All will tremble.", came a rumbling voice. "Before I, the great-"

There was a burst of blue light, and Brandy found herself within a dark cave. Cursed stalagmites run up and down its entire length, only stopping before a gargantuan dark shape.

"For, in its rebirth, many will suffer.", the shape boomed, sending chills of fear running down Brandy's spine. "Many will suffer, and many will die."

A tremendous hand snaked out from the darkness where the shape lay, its fingers forming into dozens of dark silhouettes. "But none of that matters, really…"

Brandy's point of view suddenly rocketed to the shape, and she could see one massive eye open in a blood red pool. "When you're building a perfect world."

The entire scene suddenly fell away, and Brandy found herself in a forest. The area was oddly calm, considering what she had just seen.

"This is…", Brandy said, putting one hand against a tree. "The Dreamer. Right."

She looked around, searching for anything that might have been of significance. "I've got to pay attention, got to take notes…"

"Dad?", came a voice from the copse of trees behind, clearly in immense pain. "Is that really you?"

Brandy turned around, and the treeline turned with her. She spun to her right, the trees keeping pace with her every movement.

"Yes, it is.", said a voice that was both totally foreign and oddly familiar. "Now, come to papa."

There was a tremendous bolt of lightning, and the scene changed again.

This time, Brandy saw that she was in a curious sort of room. A map of the Continent of the Clans hung from a single, rotting nail. Woven images of clocks adorned the fabric walls, the only colors dark grey and muted blue. More rooms led to what seemed like tranquil offices beyond. There was a fishtank in one corner of the room, filled to the brim with the skeletons of aquatic nightmares.

"Good day, Brandy-", came a voice, but a loud alarm sound cut off the rest. "The time is now 37850. You are-"

The scene twisted again, and Brandy saw nothing. Nothing, but a glowing blue and orange light. The image was, for some odd reason, horrifying beyond belief. Brandy screamed in terror, and she jolted back into wakefulness. Brandy almost squirmed out of Dan's firm grip on instinct, before realizing what was going on.

Oh, she thought. It was a dre- no, a vision. I have to find out what it meant.

Then she yawned, and settled back into her sleeping vision again. Tomorrow...

Brandy fell asleep again, trying to shake off the feeling of unease that gnawed at her like an inescapable disease.

Song: Ancientry

The dark cave at the center of the Continent of the Clans sat high on a mountaintop, overlooking empty fields in all directions. No one dared build their village there- the danger of sudden destruction was far too great. Numerous were the tales of entire armies that passed that way, only to vanish, and never return. A terrible hum rose from it, as the night closed in and stormclouds besieged the horizon.

If one were to enter the cave, they would feel it before anything else. An inescapable aura of raw, palpable evil that blanketed the area like stone. A dark feeling that if you were to stand in front of the entrance too long, you would get sucked in, to whatever horrifying fate awaited you.

The only movement inside the blackstone monolith came from its very center, where certain plans were being made.

"Everyone.", rumbled the great Dragonlord Rakastamos, as he lounged tremendous across the entire center of the cave. He still shrouded himself in shadows, only his eyes and teeth visible to the army of otherworldly Troops that stood in awe before him. "Thank you all for coming."

He chuckled at his own joke, and several members of the audience let out a nervous laugh, before he cut them off with a single cruel stare.

"Good work on the plan so far.", he continued. "The legendary lost Blood Elixir Storage has been recovered, and so far is at 15% capacity. Tremon?"

One of the Troops made some quick calculations in his head, then looked up. "It will be full in approximately 8 days, my lord."

"Good, good.", Rakastamos said, with a nod of approval. "In the meantime…"

He flexed his massive wings, sending a shower of broken rock throughout the cave. There was a gesture from somewhere in the audience, and a magical shield appeared to protect and absorb. Rakastamos smiled, and continued his speech.

"We must allow absolutely nothing to impede my- our, progress.", he said. "So until the Blood Elixir Storage is full, here's the plan."

The army leaned in closer to listen, and Rakastamos slumped forward on giant claws.

"I'm splitting you all into groups.", he said, then thought a bit. "Well, most of you. Some of you will work better on your own."

He gestured to somewhere behind the group, to a still pool of water. He was met with the rise of the surface, and a wave of a giant tentacle.

"Until I recall you, which will be in eight days time, you are to patrol these lands. Destroy anything and anyone that might pose a threat."

He put his hand to his mighty chin, then laughed. "In fact, just destroy anything that isn't a Dragon. That's the whole point of the plan, anyway."

There was a click and a hum from one of the strange Troops, and Rakastamos looked down in curiosity.

"My lord.", came the robotic voice. "Anything that isn't a Dragon? Anything?"

Rakastamoss stroked his chin, then shrugged. "I suppose that Minions can stay. They are offshoots of the superior Dragon race, after all."

"What about Skeletons?", asked another. "Are those good?"

"I suppose I've never really minded Skeletons.", Rakastamos said, and closed his eyes. "Destroy any that attack you or resist, leave the rest alone."

"What about-", asked another, but Rakastamos stopped her with a glare. He held up his hand, addressing the entire cave at once.

"Save any Dragons, and bring them to me.", he boomed. "Minions as well. Destroy Skeletons only if you must. However, you are to slaughter without mercy anything else. And yes, that includes Goblins, Golems, Pekkas, Hogs- although actually no, bring those back alive, they taste quite nice. But…"

He narrowed his eyes, hatred striking across them in cold bolts of lightning. "Humans are the most important target."

He reared up to his full height, scraping the ceiling far overhead with his sheer size. "For once my plan is complete, and I drink the Blood Elixir, my powers will swell beyond comprehension. I battled the gods once, and that strength will be mine once again!"

The crowd roared, bowing down to their age-old master. "Yes, Dragonlord Rakastamos!"

Rakastamos grinned, and raised his clenched fist. "And once I rule the world, cleansing it of all non-Dragonkinds, you shall all rule beside me! For you are my chosen, my great!"

He pointed to a shape in the audience, that hovered with burning dark strength.

"Taklavastoss!", he roared. "When you came to me, it was because the gods deemed you too powerful to fight in the Arenas. Once they come face to face with your wrath, they will regret their every decision!"

He pointed to another shape, a hulking mass of muscle that somehow managed to stand upright underneath the weight of his armor and decoration.

"Bonoome!", Rakastamos bellowed. "Your thirst for combat was beyond what even the Arenas could provide! But I was able to provide you with all the battles you desired!"

With maniacal energy, Rakastamoss pointed around and around the cave, indicating his finest warriors. "Glissener! Tablac! Vilisteel! Bralkstrassen! All of you were rejected by the gods, and found true meaning in me!"

The crowd cheered, stamping their weapons on the floor in a terrifying display. "Yes!"

Rakastamos leaned down, putting his head next to a shining figure in white in grey.

"And then, there's you.", he purred, trying not to scare her. "New girl."

The figure took a step back in fear, but overall held her ground. "Y-yes?"

"You're certainly an interesting one.", said Rakastamos, contracting his pupil to get a better look. "Why, with some training, I think you could be one of my strongest warriors."

"Really?", she asked, pointing to herself. "Me? But I'm just a-"

"Oh, you are not just anything.", Rakastamos said. "You're mine. My chosen. You're special. You will be one of the ones to survive at the very end of the world, and look out over it as your domain."

"Oh…", the ghostly figure said in surprised happiness, and brushed her hair behind her ear.

Rakastamos reared up again, and looked around the room. "Right.", he said. "I suppose that I should assign partners…"

All across the cave, each and every Troop felt themselves drawn to another. They heard Rakastamos's voice in their head, telling them who their partner would be for the next week.

"Bralkstrassen, you're with Tremon."

"Glissener, you're with Tremaine."

"Ashnak, you're with Carvstein."

Many more assignments were made, most of them being met with excitement. High-fives and handshakes were assigned, with even the occasional friendly exchange of chaotic energy. But there were two matches which were met with trepidation.

"New girl, you're with Taklavastoss.", Rakastamos rumbled, pointing down at the two.

The girl looked at the menacing dark figure in the air in front of her, and visibly shivered. "I… don't want to be with him.", she said. "He kind of scares me."

"Come now, Taklavastoss won't hurt you.", Rakastamos said. "Why, I practically raised the boy. He's loyal to me, and thus to you, almost to a fault. You can trust him."

"Yes.", the dark figure said. "But don't hold my hand or anything. You won't have it anymore."

"I wasn't going to.", the new girl mumbled, but by then Rakastamos had already moved on.

"I refuse to partner up vith zis disguzting creature.", spat the man known as Vilisteel. "Look at it."

The thing he had been given to partner up with was a hideous sight, stumbling on two rotten legs as it swayed back on forth. Its mouth dripped with thick green spit, its eyes barely even visible underneath the helmet of rot.

"Vilisteel, you will be paired up with whoever I wish.", Rakastamos growled. "And Ugof is a fine… uh… specimen."

"He contrasts sharply vith my own skills.", Vilasteel huffed. "He is barely even functional. An animal, a beast."

The rotting, stumbling abomination known as Ugof slowly made his way to the only form of life growing in the cave, a small copse of mushrooms and other fungi that ran in a glowing line all the way up to the ceiling. It looked up, breathed in, and raised its fists.

"UBASHAAAAAAAA!", it screamed, as it launched the oozing toxins on its fists at the tower of fungus. It took only seconds for the raging infection to travel the entire length of the growth, turning the entire thing to dust that fell and scattered upon the floor. Ugof stood there in the middle of the devastation, heaving and dripping toxic slime.

Vilisteel's eyes widened, and he smirked. "On second thought…"

He slung his bowstring behind his back, taking out a pair of thick white gloves. "He will do."