A/N: Edited 12/26


There was something to be said for how cathartic it was to beat the hell out of something online. Sephiroth had played a variety of swordsmen and mages over the years, always kept at least one character in reserve for that specific release. Some of his favorite RPGs were sweeping high fantasy tales where he got a little of both. And he'd started playing MMOs the same way, falling into the familiar pattern of DPS without a second thought.

That had changed fairly quickly once he'd gotten competitive, around the time he'd started playing Calamity Strikes. As much as he loved playing DPS, the wait time to get into raids was ridiculous, and while there had been plenty of good tanks, having to rely on a healer he didn't know to keep him alive rankled. It honestly felt like there were never enough to go around, and not all of them were particularly good at it. The thought of taking over the job himself had crossed his mind plenty of times, but it wasn't until his brothers started playing that he committed to it, the trio immediately taking up DPS positions and needing someone to keep an eye on them.

Being a healer took away getting to wail on enemies the way he'd gotten used to, but there was something intensely satisfying over literally controlling who lived or died. If there was a player dragging them down or causing trouble, he'd just let them die and no one would have to worry about it anymore. And because there was still a shortage of healers, there was almost no wait time getting into raids anymore.

He'd met Zack - still going by Wolfe even back then - not long after his brothers had started playing, and the charismatic tank had been quick to team up with them to create the core of what would become a regular raid group and eventually one of the largest and most sought-after guilds. They'd played together for a solid seven years before Gaiaforsaken had been announced, deciding that they'd give it a try together and forming one of the first guilds on their server, Sons of Calamity.

Under Zack's leadership, they'd flourished, and Loz had even taken up off tanking for them while Kadaj and Yazoo continued to be solid DPS alongside Zack's friend Infodump, and occasional collaboration with the Turks guild, which was almost entirely made of rogues. But he hadn't truly clicked with anyone else like he had with Zack until he'd met Firagan and Valerian.

The red mage insisted he'd been away from playing MMOs for quite some time, but it was clear his skills were coming back to him quickly, adding another reliable DPS to the group. While he could be more than a little snarky, he never let his attitude interfere with doing his job, and that was appreciated. And there was a certain charm to it, when his sharpness wasn't aimed at you, as well as the benefit that he'd say what the rest of them were thinking; he wasn't afraid to be the 'bad guy' if it meant pulling someone back in line, or calling out idiots.

Given his general impatience with anyone who wasn't doing what they should be doing, it was a surprise to learn that Firagan had been the one to spot Valerian first. The Paladin was definitely behind the curve when they'd gotten to him, but after a few days of patient work, it seemed things finally sunk in and he started making some real progress. Once he'd gotten some momentum going, in fact, all that slowed him down was the insistence on doing literally every available quest. He couldn't truly complain, though; he'd done the same thing, it wasn't Valerian's fault he'd already reached endgame. At least he was finally getting around to leveling his Ancient. It wasn't the endgame content he'd been used to, but he still found it relaxing to come home and click on Discord to talk to them before finding something to do.

Zack was almost invariably on by the time he got there, given he usually worked mornings or afternoons, and was always the first one to greet him. "SERAPH! My man, welcome home."

"Evening, Seraph," Valerian said.

"Friday evening, best one!" Zack said. "Got a whole weekend ahead, and I am ready to kick some ass."

"Let me finish dinner and turn in my quests," Valerian said.

"Yeah sure, but then I have got some world bosses I really want to tackle," Zack said. "And maybe a raid. Your brothers around, Ser?"

"They're home, certainly, I can ask them to join us if we need the ranks fuller," Sephiroth said.

"Or we can ask around and see if any of the Turks are available," Valerian pointed out.

"True. I just want a few more DPS. Val can handle off tanking now, but some of these guys are big and we could use some firepower," Zack said.

"Did someone say fire power?" Firagan asked.

"Heeeeyyyy, Fira man, good timing! Just deciding on our objectives for tonight," Zack said. "Got anything you need to do first?"

"I am in desperate need of food and water, but after that I'm all yours for the evening," Firagan said. "Looks like the team's all here."

"Yeah. Might add Seraph's brothers after a bit, or some of the Turks. Get us a solid group," Zack said. "Oh hey, I was also hanging out with this herald earlier, and this guy kicks ass. He's great for buffs and I bet he'd be a good off heal too."

"Well, the more the merrier as far as I'm concerned," Valerian said. "If we're getting a big enough group together, another healer wouldn't be a bad idea."

"One healer per tank is always a good idea," Firagan said. "You're good, Seraph, but you shouldn't have to watch all of us."

"We can see how he does," Sephiroth agreed; he certainly wouldn't mind a little help if Zack was going to pull off another one of his massive groups. "There's always the Ancient you know, too."

"This is true, she's in the right ballpark for it," Zack said. "But Lily isn't a big fan of PvP or running dungeons. Says it makes her nervous."

"I can appreciate that," Valerian said. "It used to make me nervous."

"You're good now though, right?" Zack said. "We got your back."

"So long as you give me a warning before you start the raid, yeah."

"It was one time!" Zack protested, laughing. "Soooo… boss fight?"

"Let me finish my dinner," Firagan said. "Eating pasta and doing raids are not activities to try at the same time."

"This is true," Zack said. "Hey the bard's on, let me grab him okay? You guys mind if he's on the channel?"

"Go ahead." Sephiroth took a moment to get his wireless headset on, then went to see about finding something to eat himself. No telling how long whatever Zack thought up would run them, but with everybody on he was expecting a few hours.

"Okay! Guys, this is Bragi, he rolled a herald and kicks ass."

"Wolfe."

"What? You do. Let me introduce you around to the team. Firagan is our default DPS, he rolled a red mage and likes fire," Zack said. "He'll be hitting the level cap soon."

"A pleasure," Firagan said.

"And then we have Valerian, he's a Paladin but he specializes in tanking. Right now he's our off tank while he finishes leveling," Zack explained. "And then Seraph might be afk but he's our main heals."

"I've heard of Seraph, I think we might have ran together before," Bragi said.

"Probably did, he gets around." Zack laughed. "But you love us best, right Ser?"

"I must, if I let you drag me into things." Sephiroth smiled fondly; he was rather fond of their core group. Hopefully Bragi wouldn't upset the dynamic they'd settled into. "You've played heals before, Bragi?"

"Yeah actually I rolled a white mage once - tried all the different classes before I decided I'd either be a mercenary or a herald; I've actually got a mercenary about halfway to max, I just haven't played it in a while," Bragi said. "But I like the versatility I get as a bard. I can do plenty of damage solo, but still have the option for buffs and debuffs and some healing when I get in a group."

"That's what we're hoping for. We'll sit you on Val primarily for heals, he needs a partner," Zack said. "And then of course your group stuff would be great. Ser can do a lot, but that's not what he's really built for as much as straight heals."

"Yeah, no problem, I can do that," Bragi said.

"I know, you were awesome earlier against the Snow Queen." The grin was clear in Zack's voice. "We're working up to go against the Dragon King later. Just want Val to get a few more levels so he can enjoy it properly."

"You're gonna need more than two tanks for that," Bragi pointed out.

"Yeah, the Turk's guild has a few, but even without them Ser's little brother is pretty kickass too," Zack said. "We'll bring a full party, no worries. I swear I do actually know what I'm doing."

"And when he doesn't, Firagan or I have looked it up," Sephiroth added. Fond as he was of Zack, he believed it was every healer's responsibility to know what they were going into, to anticipate what sort of damages they'd have to heal. "I think something a little easier would be good to practice a new grouping on."

"Yeah… could do Snow Queen again, that's a good one and we all know it," Zack suggested.

"That works. Be right back." Going downstairs to get something to eat, Sephiroth toggled his mic off when he saw his brothers. "We're doing a run on the Snow Queen later if you want in on it."

Kadaj grinned at the offer, nodding. "Yeah sure."

"Awesome, you need another off tank?" Loz asked. "Or just more fire power?"

"I don't know that there's much preference against her. We'll see if we end up pairing with the Turks too." Sephiroth shrugged, going to the fridge to see what they had available.

"Should just order pizza. Mother and Father won't be home for another three hours," Kadaj said.

"I'd rather not wait that long, I'm getting a sandwich," Sephiroth said, getting the fixings out for a quick meal. "Just ping me when you're on."

"I'm making grilled cheese," Yazoo said. "I'll join you when I'm done."

"Fair enough." Sandwich made and plated, he grabbed a waterbottle and headed back to his room, toggling his mic again. "I'm very suspicious of how quiet you all are."

"Just warming up a little," Zack said. "Your brothers in?"

"As soon as they're done eating," Sephiroth said. "Dualhound is ready to off tank or gear for DPS if you want."

"I don't think we need more than me and Val for tanking, have him gear for DPS so we can have the three of them and Fira doing some damages. You can watch me, Fira and Souba, and Bragi can watch Val, Dualhound and Velvetnightmare," Zack said. "Good?"

"Sounds good." Sephiroth turned his settings back to push to talk and settled at his desk. "Where are we level wise now?"

"I'm at the cap," Zack said.

"Forty-six, I just need to sit down and finish," Firagan said.

"I actually just leveled up to thirty eight," Valerian said.

"WHOO! Go Val!" Zack cheered.

"Thanks." He chuckled. "I uh... I take a while. I want to do all the quests, and get the lore unlocks."

"Hey, I did the same thing, it's cool," Bragi said. "I've got a whole backstory for this guy, seriously. And I'm at forty-two."

"So not bad, overall," Zack said. "Infodump and the unholy trinity are maxed out too."

"The unholy trinity?" Bragi asked.

"My brothers," Sephiroth said. "They have a bit of a reputation for being… difficult. But they mind Wolfe and I."

"Please, they don't listen to anybody but big brother," Zack said. "They only listen to me sometimes because I'm 'big brother's tank'."

"Well, they're not wrong," Valerian pointed out.

"No, they aren't," Sephiroth agreed, chuckling. "Alright, I'm ready to log in. I'll meet you at the Northern Pole."

"Awesome! Everybody else in?" Zack asked.

"Logging in now," Firagan said. "Let's go."