I dragged my feet out of the World of Mystery. I didn't usually get this much activity before, and I was becoming well acquainted with the effects: My body's exhaustion dragging the mind down into the dust with it. But what to do but press on?

"Maxis, are you feeling alright?"

I swung my head to face the source of the voice. My eyelids moved off-beat from each other as I blinked. Slowly a name came to me as I stared at this person. This woman. With blonde hair. And green eyes. Shhherna. Shherena. Sharena. …Was that it? "Mwuh?"

"He seems to be over-tired," another voice spoke.

I turned slowly again. A man. Bald. Robes. Who…?

"Ah! I have not yet introduced myself to you. I am Wrys, a humble curate. I have something to cure your exhaustion in my robes. Let me find it for you."

"…Oghey."

"Maxis, do you think you have enough energy to summon some Heroes at least?" Anna asked as she turned me toward her.

I feebly raised my hand to grab the bag of orbs. "G've… G've… G've me that…" I managed to claw it from her on the third attempt. "Gun…"

"Ah, here it is!" Wrys exclaimed as he pulled out a small vial. "A potent energy potion. Good for long marches and such. Here, try it."

I took it from him and drank it without a thought passing from my mind. I gagged loudly and shriveled my body up. "Ohhaaah! Ehhegh! Ehhehegh! Ugh! What is that? Actually, I don' wanna know," I said, my lips starting to move faster than my mind. "Unless it's all plant-based. Which it usually is. Good medicine tastes bitter, as they say. Are my hands shaking? Yes, they are, strange." I glanced over at Anna and saw her shocked expression. "How d'ya calm down? How d'ya calm down?! Frank Pizza of the Boston Celtics! How d'ya calm down?! AHAHAHA! The walls melt, and my mind fractures!" A stinging pain appeared on my cheek. "Ow! Wha' was zhat?!"

"Snap out of it!" Anna shouted in my face.

"What?! Snap outta what?!"

"Your—! Whatever the hell it was you were doing!"

"Anna, I'm jus' pretending," I explained a little calmly. "I pretend; it's what I do. I get a li'l bit o' sugar in me, an' I go a li'l coo-coo, I go a li'l crazy, know wha' I'm sayin'? I'm high energy! I'm excited! I'm excitable! Are you excited?! Are you pumped up right now, you wan' t' pump you up, le's ge' pumped up!" I rambled as I pretended to sock her.

"Stop it. We were all genuinely concerned!"

"Why?"

"'Why?!' Because—! How could someone not be concerned!"

I glanced away, then back at her. "Yeah, I guess I drank a magic potion an' then started dying, or going evil, or whatever."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, more or less. Don't do that again."

A large grin spread across my face. "No promises," I said in an obviously suspicious voice.

She shook her head before thrusting the bag orbs into my chest. "Start summoning."

"Sure." I unscrewed the faux magazine well and filled the weapon. I tried spinning it on my finger but dropped it right away. Anna shouted at me, then I got down to business. My hands were still shaking a bit, but I don't think that mattered firing a magic gun.

A red light shot into the air, and across the summoning stone appeared a red-haired man attending to a white horse. He turned around and said, "What? What's going on?"

A smiled a sort of used car salesman look at him, saying, "Please save all questions until the very end. Thank you!" then gestured for him to go stand with the others. After him, came a burly, blue-haired hatchetman of lacking import, a white-haired tactician carrying a blue tome and wearing a large, heavy, black coat, a Japanese-looking woman with blue hair and a spear, and an orange-haired thief with a bandana. They each were able to find a face they recognized, and I learned their names and a little about them. Eliwood, the first one, was a noble from the World of Blazing. Barst, the second, was a mercenary from the World of Mystery. Robin, the third, was a tactician from the World of Awakening. Oboro, the fourth, was a retainer from the World of Birthright. And Gaius, the last, was a thief from the World of Awakening, as well. We explained to them where they were and why they were now here. And then, we started for home.

"Um, did I do something wrong?" Robin asked out of the blue. I followed his eyes to Oboro, who was wearing a pretty scary face.

"Huh?" she started, her face changing immediately once she was caught. "Oh, no, no, sorry! I just make that face whenever I see dark clothing. It's a bad habit that I've had since I was little."

"Is it yer thinkin' face?" I asked.

"No, it—" The woman sighed. "I had a… really bad run-in with some Nohrians. It's not something I like talking about."

"'S alright. We all have secrets, I'm sure," I said, glancing at Anna.

"Thanks." Oboro chuckled. "Though, that coat you have on does have a good design. I just wish it wasn't black—no offense."

"None taken!" Robin replied with a smile. "I've had this coat longer than I can remember, and I hardly ever take it off."

"Yeah, I thought so. I'm a seamstress myself, and I could tell it's seen better days."

The man laughed. "Yes, it has. It survived an entire war, in fact!"

"Wow! You must be a mage then. Or else I can't imagine what kind of repairs it must have needed."

"Yes, I can do some sword work, but mostly I throw thunder spells from the back. I'm a tactician, too, so all the more reason to stay far away."

"Oh, I see! Yeah, that makes a lot of sense."

"I wan' a coat like that," I muttered mostly to myself but dropping a line.

"What was that, Maxis?" Robin asked.

Got 'em! "Oh, I was jus' admiring yer coat some more. I hardly leave the house without a sweatshirt on, myself."

"Do you mean that short coat you have on?"

"Yep! This one's my favorite 'cuz the hood is so deep."

"Ah, so is mine."

"Sorry to interrupt," Anna started. "But it would be good if you had a uniform to match ours as our summoner and tactician."

"You're a tactician, too?" Robin asked, his eyes widening.

"I could do that," Oboro said. "Sounds fun!"

"Excellent!" Anna exclaimed. "I'll see about getting materials for you."

"I'll send a letter to Mother if you need me to," Sharena chimed in.

"That would be helpful, thank you."

"We should play a game of chess sometime," Robin continued.

"Oh, no, I can't play chess," I said with a wave of my hand.

"Oh, don't be so modest, Maxis!" Virion chimed in.

"What? I'm not modest. I hate chess. "

"You do? Then how did you take to leading us in battle so quickly?"

"All my tactical knowledge comes from video games, and not ones that require too much thought, mind."

"What's a video game?" Robin asked.

My eyes pointed skyward. "If I tried to explain, your brain would melt in its skull," I drawled.

"Really?"

"No."

"Oh."

"Y'know, I thought you two were similar!" Sharena chimed in.

"How's that?" I asked, slipping my hands into my back pockets.

"Well, I just had this feeling."

"Maybe we share some similarities, but I doubt we're the same."

"That's not what I meant. Just that you two felt similar, that's all."

"That's a good point, though. We might be more alike than we think," Robin told me. "For example, my main hobby is reading. How about yours?"

"I partake sometimes. I mostly play video games or listen to music, though."

"Oh. There's not much chance for me to sit and listen to music for myself, and I sometimes play games as well. What books do you like?"

My eyes flicked away for a second. "The Ranger's Apprentice series. It's about a kid who becomes an archer."

"Ah! That sounds most like my exquisite self!" Virion butted in.

Before he could speak, I made sure to say, "I can't think of a single character in those books who's like you."

"Ah."

"If you're a more academic sort, however," I continued. "I recommend The Book of the New Sun. It's pretty great, even though it's not my favorite. Very unique and well written. Fantastically written."

"Really?" Robin spoke, clearly interested.

"Very complex story, worthy of many rereads, and not even the most dedicated fans have it all figured out."

"Wow! I'd love to be able to give it a shot."

"Then I'll see about lending them to you."


Remember when stamina and potions capped at 50 and quests could cost 24 stamina? Good times.