Galactic Shift Extend

by Seanzilla1988

A familiar Beastkin goes through a familiar abandoned Cauldron. However, she doesn't end up in another timeline, but Bellwood, home to a teen with a watch he wears on his arm that can change his shape to save the world from harm.

83. Dungeons & Dunces

Z0: *dressed in hooded robe* Welcome…to an interesting new chapter of our story. *the room is infact a dungeon lit by torches and candles with everyone sitting before a giant table* Mwahahahahaha~

SZ: It's a D and D chapter folks if it wasn't obvious….

DM-Z0: Ah…way to ruin the build up…I was gonna fake sacrifice this rubber chicken to misdirect the readers….*tosses rubber chicken at GT who is strapped to a chair*

SZ:...sorry…

GT: Guy steps outta the shower and ends up stepping on 20-sided die, distracting him with pain from the oncoming frying pan…*struggles in chair* Can I at least put some pants on?

DM-Z0: *whispers to the Goblins and Kobolds who kidnapped him for me* You mean he's naked over there? *both mutter and begin fighting with one another* Ah…never hire expendable grunts…Well anywho~ If anyone has seen Critical Role, Dimension 20, High Rollers, or any one else…will probably get why I went to great lengths…to make this happen. *looks at the Goblin and Kobold* Will you go get him pants! *gets nonsense* What do you mean there are no pants…how is that possible!? Why don't we have pants?...don't tell me you ate them…I said don't tell me! Well what do we have…a kilt…really? No it's not the same thing! *punts the Goblin*

GT: I'd like to roll for serenading the fluffy Kobold. …Unless that's the lizard Kobold.

DM-Z0: It…*looks down to DM Screen*Uh…undecided…wha…I guess you can roll for them to be one of the two…Roll the D6 and 1-3 fluffy, 4-6 lizard, go!

GT: I rolled the 3. Oh, and we don't own any of the franchises used for this story, folks. They belong to their respective properties.

SZ: We hope you enjoy folks…

*SMACK!*

GT: *paw print on face* Dammit. I rolled a 1.

---

"Wow. This place is quite massive for a place that is meant to marker fleas," Rook noted, looking around at multiple businesses.

"No, Rook, it's a flea market," Mai corrected, "It's where people can sell all kinds of things on the weekends, even things you don't normally find in stores anymore. When I was little, Mom used to disguise me and herself and go out to one in the city we lived in for fun." 'Of course, that disguise was me as a girl…'

"I see…fascinating," Rook noted as he looked at a few stalls.

"Ah…Sister said these have interesting finds," Lambda noted, Bluey on her head.

"Oh they do. One time, Mom found a 2056 vase made in Akibahara at it. She was not happy when Dad thought it was a regular old store-bought vase and used it for target practice," Mai recalled.

"But it is not even 201…oh, I forgot," Rook recalled.

"It's okay, Rook. We've been here so long, I think we forget sometimes, too." Mai smiled, "But it's fun, and we have so many new adventures. Which end up better than our old ones."

"True, I have also found myself having many odd adventures here on Earth. Learning countless new things, and things I wish I never learned as well…" Rook sighed.

"...adapting slowly," Lambda spoke as she patted his arm, "It was the same for me…" Bluey looked around before patting Lambda's forehead with a paw, "Bluey?" The Blupee pointed at a stall littered in boxes, figurines, and multicolored dice with differing numbers of sides, "Hm?"

"Hmm? Now what are these?" Rook pondered as the trio walked over, "It looks to be a…fantasy type of game."

"...I think I actually heard of this before," Mai muttered as she looked up at a banner hanging above the stall, "'Dungeons and Dragons'..."

"Game?" Lambda blinked.

"Yeah. A pretty big one at that," Mai replied.

"Hmm…" Rook muttered as he picked up a pamphlet and opened it, "'Welcome to the mysterious yet mythical world of Dungeons and Dragons, where you let your imagination run wild as you play against the Dungeon Master and his many minions and traps.' Interesting…"

"How play?" Lambda tilted her head in confusion as she held multiple dice in hand, "Gambling?"

"No, no," Mai shook her head, "These are for doing things in the game." she picked up one with twenty sides, "Like this. I believe they're used to determine the results of a save, action, attack, or check."

"Probabilities?" Rook asked, "Intriguing."

"Yeah…but I've heard that you need to roll these twice before you buy," Mai noted.

"Why twice?" Lambda asked.

"Because each die has a bit of a personality to them. They could be a Blorp which don't roll at all when they hit the table. They always land two spaces to the right of where you hold them in your palm before you roll and are always the dice of cheaters and thieves…so maybe pick one up," Mai noted, "Get an ugly-looking dice to roll a high number both times and you've got a Diamond-in-the-Rough, perfect for saves." she grabbed a few, "But what we need are some Fresh Die, which are the dice that don't roll too high but always above ten. They're perfect for use as Character Die."

"What if they roll small numbers twice?" Lambda asked, "Don't buy?"

"Don't lose hope there, Lambda. Roll those ten more times. If they keep going up in number, then you've got Shy Dice. If that happens, buy them immediately. They're perfect for going through a campaign in this," Mai replied, "If they were all low numbers, though, then you've got a Low n' Slow. Those are perfect for the Dungeon Master to use to build tension."

"Ahh….it's RPG at its rawest form," Lambda noted as Bluey rolled a dice and got a 20, "Ah. Lucky Blupee."

"Now hold on, Lambda. That was two twenties in a row," Mai noted, "That may be a Super Prodigy…or it may be a Traitor."

"Traitor?" Rook asked.

"The only way to know for sure is, well…buying it," Mai replied, "The first roll he does with this die when we buy it will determine its true character. 1-6? You've got a Traitor Die."

"What is bad about them?" Rook asked.

"They'll remember you for all time. Anytime this die is used, it will always, always come back to bite you, even if you give it to the DM or someone else," Mai replied, "Best way to get rid of these? Lock them in a box and hide them in the attic. Or sell them on EBay to a foreign country or another Hierarchical City so they won't come near you. But if Bluey rolls a high number? We are buying the whole set because that is a Super Prodigy right there!"

"Where did you acquire such…detailed information about dice?" Rook asked.

"...Full disclosure…I got bored while doing my paperwork my first week here, and began to randomly bite the pencil Ben lent me…turns out he and Gwen are avid fans of the game," Mai explained, "All my knowledge? That's from Ben because he used the pencil he lent me often for games. Last game was a week before Gwen and Kevin left for her college. Ben was the DM and it was a doozy. Turns out, Gwen had one of his Traitor die, too. The sneak."

"Doozy…" Lambda nodded in awe.

"So…all of your information is based on Ben and Gwen's love for this game. Which neither of them have ever brought up?" Rook blinked.

"Well…I know…and Ben and I play at a local game shop together," Mai admitted.

"Ah…your random patrol nights together!" Rook realized.

"...Anyone else involved?" Lambda questioned.

"...uh…"

"Mai?"

"Well we just never told anyone about it, is all…" Mai muttered.

"Well it does sound interesting. And like a potentially good team building experiment," Rook offered.

"I don't know, guys…you and…on the fly creativity…" Mai muttered.

"Hmm?" Lambda leaned uncomfortably close at that.

"..." Bluey poked Mai's nose with his paw.

"Oh fine…" she gave in at that, "No fair…you have a cute ghost bunny companion…" she turned back to the stall, "Let's just get a few things here and-oh! I've been looking for this set!" she gave a dark chuckle, "Ben is so in for it next session because I'm the Dungeon Mistress~!"

"Do you not mean Dungeon Master?" Rook asked.

"Ah…Lost her," Lambda noted, seeing Mai give evil snickers as she picked a few sets.

"What did Ben do?" Rook asked.

---

"Okay, in my defense…it was my first time playing a Wizard…and I got a little Fireball happy. May have started a forest fire…again," Ben sighed.

"...You play Dungeons and Dragons…with Mai!?" Makoto gasped, "What other secrets are you keeping from me?! Be honest with your Girlfriend!"

"I didn't think you'd like it…" Ben admitted, "It's not exactly fast paced at times…"

"Is this why you're such a good actor when trying to be intense and scary!?" Makoto realized.

"...I played the Rogue one time…" Ben admitted.

"...Well when Mai and Gwen get here…" Makoto began before dramatically pointing up the air, "I intend to join as well!"

"..."

"...There's more who play, isn't there?"

"...Tsubaki and Kajun….and Noel."

"What the…?! You played with my best friends and not me?!" Makoto gawked, putting a hand to her chest in shock.

"I asked them if we should invite you…" Ben muttered, "But they said you probably would fall asleep as we explained the rules…"

"Oh psh! I so would not!" Makoto defended.

"Okay…here's a character sheet," Ben held up a piece of paper with dozens of boxes that needed to be filled in, in varying different ways.

"...What is this black magic…?" Makoto asked, her eyes widening as her tail stood up straight.

"Ah…I love you so much," Ben chuckled, "I'll do it for you."

"I can do it," She pouted.

"Alright-alright, I'll just tell you how, okay?"

"...okay…" Makoto muttered as her tail swayed a bit.

"Is there anything you'd like your character to do…wait…no…I already know." Ben sighed.

"Punch stuff!" both stated in unison.

"Monk it is…"

"I'm not gonna be bald, am I?" Makoto asked.

"No, no. It's just a title," Ben chuckled, "Not like a church or Buddhist monk…but just…anyone who practices martial arts…I'm gonna have to sit down and explain a lot, aren't I?"

"Well you're my boyfriend…who went behind his lovely girlfriend's back and had a whole secret night life…with my best friends…" Makoto pointed out.

"Don't word it like that…it's just a game…" Ben groaned.

"You shall help me prove them wrong! Wrong, I say!" Makoto declared.

"Well you can do so right now," Skurd spoke up from the living room as the doorbell rang, "I do believe that is the others."

"...Oh, right. Tonight is Mai's turn to be the DM," Ben recalled.

"...Oh you know she's been waiting for this chance after the last time you were the DM," Skurd muttered.

"Don't remind me," Ben muttered as he walked over to the front door and opened it, "Hey guys."

"Sorry we're late, Ben," Gwen sighed as she and Kevin walked in, "We had a bit of trouble trying to find a babysitter for Platinum."

"Hehehe…you guys sound like parents already." Ben chuckled.

"Hey, I'm just proud Luna's managed to avoid getting detention for a straight month so far," Kevin noted.

"Wait…they're already in school?" Makoto blinked.

"Took a lot of trial and error," Kevin replied.

"But it was worth it," Gwen added.

"You guys really do sound like parents," Makoto muttered, "Next thing we know, you'll probably end up fully adopting those two."

"That's what the doc says when we go visit her for Gwen's tea," Kevin sighed a bit, "But enough talk…I'm ready to bring the heat this time."

"Wh-?! Kevin, too?!" Makoto gawked, "Babe~!"

"Gwen did it," Ben quickly blamed.

"It's true. Was a good way to do some team building," Gwen replied, "Finally told Makoto about D&D Night?"

"She found my playbook for the last game," Ben replied.

"You know Mai's gonna get back at ya somehow since this is her turn to be DM, right?" Kevin reminded.

"How many times do I have to say sorry about the homebrew for that exhaustion monster she died to?"

"Home…brew? You've been drinking in these games?!" Makoto gawked.

"...No," Ben sighed, "It's what you call original stuff that you made up for the game."

"Oh…phew. That's a relief. I don't drink as much anymore because the breath that comes from it is murder on my nose," Makoto sighed, "So…how often did you make these homebrews for your aliens?"

"He made one of Rath the time he became DM after he first got the big guy," Kevin replied, "Got beaten the same way Gwen beat Rath the first time."

"What'd she do?"

"Made a bubble that cut off his oxygen and him shouting used it all up," Gwen replied.

"...Yeah that sounds about right," Makoto muttered before the doorbell rang, "...and that's probably Mai, or Tsubaki…" she guessed as she walked over and opened the door, "Hel-JIN?!"

"For the record…" Jin began in a deadpanned tone, currently holding a few boxes as Tsubaki, Kajun, and Noel stood beside him, "I was dragged into this."

"WHEN?!"

"...Today…Tsubaki begged me to join to 'balance things out between the sexes…'"

"We tried to get Max and Naoto to join, but they and Sari have to deal with night patrol around the city," Tsubaki informed as they walked in.

"...Steel thought any monsters in D&D were SCPs?" Makoto guessed.

"He gave me a homebrew for 682," Ben replied, "That went straight out. We did keep the one for 1689, though. Good potatoes are really hard to find in these games."

"...fair," Makoto shrugged before seeing Tsubaki and Kajun carrying a few bags, "...snacks?"

"Last game became…way too real when Noel made something..and it took a life of its own," Kajun sighed.

"We don't talk about her salsa….ever," Kevin muttered.

"Hey…I put a lot of work into it," Noel pouted a bit.

"It tried to eat my face!" Kevin snapped.

"Good thing we had Mai," Ben noted.

"Things get weird," Gwen chuckled.

"Why didn't you involve me!?" Makoto shook Ben.

"You were on night patrol with Sari!" Ben replied between shakes.

"GAH~! Cursed night schedule rotation!" Makoto groaned before the doorbell rang, prompting her to open it, "He-"

"Ufufufufufu…Ben~"

"Gh?!" Makto tensed as she quickly shot behind Ben.

"Wh…?" Ben blinked as he looked towards the doorway…and saw an unsettling look on Mai's face as she held up a box, "..." he sighed, "Is it too late to say sorry?"

"Far too late," Mai replied, "For I…have found everything I need! Ufufufufufu~"

"...Next time we do a one shot, we get someone else to DM…" Ben turned to Gwen.

"...She spent too much time sharing a room with you," Jin deadpanned, looking at Kajun.

"Why…whatever do you mean, Jin?" Kajun asked innocently as Rook and Lambda entered.

"Oh even you two?!" Makoto gawked.

"Mai invited us," Rook explained.

"Bluey lucky Blupee," Lambda smiled.

"Alright. One shot…everyone plays basic characters…" Ben sighed.

"I already picked Monk!" Makoto shouted as she was already sitting at the table.

"...Bard," Lambda stated as she sat down, Bluey sliding off her head and into her lap.

"The Bard?" Kevin raised a brow.

"Never underestimate the power of music," Lambda replied.

"My head's still fuzzy at parts from that one world…" Noel muttered, rubbing the side of her head.

"...ugh…ok," Jin began as he took an empty seat, "What roles are there…"

"I have the Cleric, Noel's the Ranger, Mai's usually the Fighter but she's the DM right now, Kajun's often the Wizard, Gwen's the Druid, and Ben…" Tsubaki began as she sat down next to him, "...He often switches things up now and again."

"Makes sense," Kevin chuckled, "Ben does that in real life with the Omnitrix."

"...Well what do you usually get, Levin?" Jin questioned.

"Barbarian, baby," Kevin grinned as he flexed a muscle, "Tanky and hard hitting."

"He sets off all the traps and gets mind controlled a lot," Ben smirked.

"Intelligence is my dump stat!"

"Oi…" Jin rolled his eyes a bit before a list was presented to him, "...Paladin, Rouge, Warlock, Sorcerer, or Artificer…"

"I don't think you'd make a good caster," Ben muttered.

"Why?"

"Cause those on the list are pure charisma casters," he explained.

"...Are you saying I'm not charismatic?" Jin asked.

"Well Artificer is Intelligence…" Kajun spoke up, "I was banned from playing one after I kept trying to make nuclear weapons."

"This is fantasy, not sci-fi," Gwen reminded.

"...yes…and everyone was fine with Ben making Magical Iron Man the time he played Artificer…" Kajun argued.

"Hey…I made it work," Ben shrugged, "The mistake was letting me make all those magic items for the flight boots, blasters gauntlets, and helmet."

"Or the time you played a Storm Cleric and made Thor?" Gwen asked.

"...What…you guys got mad when I kept picking the Monster-y races for broken abilities…so if I can only use humans…I'm making a superhero…" Ben crossed his arms.

"Of course you would," Jin rolled his eyes before looking back at the list, "...Paladin."

"Wow…figured you would've gone for Rouge," Ben figured, earning a raised brow from him, "They're known for being 'moody and edgy'."

"...You're intending on harming Tennyson the most, right?" Jin asked, looking to Mai.

"Ufufufufufu…"

"Good," Jin nodded.

"I suppose I shall go for Artificer then," Rook spoke as he was the last to sit down.

"Just so you know, they are inventors, you need to really spec them for combat." Ben explained.

"Is there one that gains weaponry?" Rook asked.

"Yep…that one also gets a pet magic robot dog." Ben smiled.

"Come on!" Kajun complained.

"Enough!" Mai declared before she became a blur, the table now having a large gaming board before the others with small figures set up as Mai took the center seat…all while garbed in deep purple garbs with a large witch's hat that shadowed her eyes, "Now…announce your names, mighty warriors…so that I may put ye in thy proper place!"

"Mai, we still need to roll the new players characters." Tsubaki sighed.

"Oh right….sorry," Mai whispered as she calmed herself a bit, "Rook, La-chan, Jin, Makoto…what roles shall you each go with for your respective classes?"

"...support," Lambda spoke after a moment of thought.

"Good…and what is your character's name and backstory~?" Mai questioned as she went back into her role.

"...Phoenix Bard Feira," Lambda replied as she looked at her figure representing a bard, "I am…accompanied by my pet Azura to spread the Phoenix's song throughout the land and assist my comrades." Bluey clapped his paws and earned a head pat from Lambda.

"..." Mai looked at the handbook, "Ben…get the homebrew subclasses…" she whispered.

"I figured…" Ben sighed, walking off.

"Subclasses?" Makoto blinked.

"Well each main class also has a subclass…IE what specific powers or things you'd like to do as the class…to make it your own." Gwen explained, "Unless you want to play that abomination of a Multi-class Ben made one time 'cause he was out of ideas."

"Hey…It was an experiment and it would have worked!" Ben argued as he walked back with a few notebooks, "Wow…no one made a Bard College for that…" he flipped through.

"College?" Lambda blinked.

"That's what Bard Subclasses are called," Ben explained.

"Ahh…soka," Lambda noted.

"I mean Glamour kinda fits…but that's more…siren singing to make people obey you stuff…" Ben muttered.

"...Do I get a magic pet?" Lambda asked.

"...We can give you the ability to have a spell that lets you summon a magic pet." Mai muttered.

"Yay," Lambda smiled, Bluey clapping his paws.

"Hmm…this will be tricker than I thought…" Makoto muttered as she scratched her head a bit, "...Definitely wanna go for damage of course…"

"So DPS," Mai noted, "And your character's name and backstory?"

"Mmm…Oh! Makotus the Brave!" Makoto beamed, "A traveling monk out to make a name for herself in the world!"

"Well now for subclass…which I mean I figure you either want to be hit stuff 'till you learn the exploding heart technique from Kill Bill part 2…" Ben muttered.

"Wait…I can do that?!" Makoto gasped.

"...Or you could shoot energy blasts and turn Super Saiyan…"

"Really?!"

"...or do you want to be the Avatar and punch fire and wind blasts?"

"Ahh~" Makoto awed at that, "...so many good ones to choose from…" '...Wait…Yang would go 'Super' when she activated her Semblance….what if…' "Option 2! But…" she held up a finger as she grinned a bit, "When I go 'Super Saiyan', I hit the enemy with as much damage as I've taken previously."

"Tha..." Mai began…before adopting a deadpanned stare, "You got that from Yang, didn't you?"

"Well technically you're surrounded by solar energy so if anything gets close…they will be burned by your radiant aura," Ben explained, "But I mean…you are literally Undead Kryptonite."

"...Super Saiyan….with the power of Hamon…?" Makoto whispered as stars appeared in her eyes, "Yes….so much yes!"

"What level is this one shot…?" Tsubaki asked.

"10!" Mai called out, "So Makoto doesn't ruin each combat with the spirit bomb like attack!"

"That's a thing!?" Makoto shouted, "And you deny me that!?"

"...You can shoot fire from your hands like a kamehameha…" Ben whispered.

"...fair enough…"

"Now then..!" Mai declared before pointing at Rook and Jin, "Your roles, character's name and backstory!"

"...attack….but…" Jin paused as he looked away.

"Just pretend it's drama-class, Jin," Tsubaki whispered to him.

"...fine…" Jin nodded before standing up, "My name…is Sir Julius…I was once part of an order that did god's will as he slayed the darkness in his name…One day my order was utterly destroyed…by the Dark Lord's most faithful servant, Scarlet Fang…It is my duty, nay….thy will to defeat them in order to avenge my fallen comrades so that I may know peace!"

"...Oath of Vengeance…" Ben, Tsubaki, Mai, Noel and Kajun all nodded.

"Hmph," Jin scoffed as he sat down.

"...well… I suppose for my Role…" Rook began as he looked at the list, "Support, but I attack from a long range with my inventions…as for my character…" he paused as he scratched his chin in thought, "...ahh…I am Koro, a simple inventor from a far off kingdom…with possibly too much time on his hands as I often like to craft various types of far range weapons to provide any visiting kingdoms."

"At least you got the hang of it really fast, Rook," Ben smiled, "I guess if range is your thing you'd rather be an Artillerist; it lets you summon a magic cannon!"

"Ooh…that does sound fun," Rook smirked.

"And what of you, Ben…?" Mai questioned as she turned her gaze towards Ben, "Ufufufu…what class shall you fall under this time…?"

"Well I guess I can look at my list of characters I made but never got to play…" Ben pulled out a notebook and began flipping pages, "No…no can't be another Paladin…no, not the druid; that's a tree robot…probably not the best place to test that gunslinger class from Pathfinder…uh…guess I'll go with…nope. Probably shouldn't play the Tortle Monk….uh…oh! Half-Elf Rogue…who doesn't have an edgy backstory! He's just a chaotic neutral nonsense starter! " he smiled.

"Good…" Mai smiled, reaching into her cloak before setting a device on the table, "Then let's…"

"Wait...isn't that my experimental…?" Kajun began just as Mai pressed down on a button on the device.

"Begin…" Mai whispered as a dome soon appeared around the group.

"What th-?!" Ben began before the lights suddenly shut off, "...guys? Girls? ...Babe? Anyone?"

"I'm coming, Ben-kun!" Makoto shouted, "Wait a minute…this isn't my boyfriend's broad chest…these…nope…yep…these are boobs…Gwen? That you?"

"Hey!" Kevin complained.

"I ask 'cause…I can't tell in the dark…" Makoto spoke, "Also…this could be Tsubaki…"

"No…I'm right here, Makoto…" Tsubaki's voice sighed.

"Wh-What's going on?" Noel nervously asked.

"Don't worry…hopefully, there should be some lights in three…two…one…" Kajun counted down before light filled the area…and they soon found themselves in what looked like a large medieval town, "There we go."

"Wow! These got bigger!" Makoto shouted.

"Off!" Gwen barked.

"YIPE!" Makoto yelped as she was tossed into Ben's arms…currently dressed in an orange and black chinese dress inspired martial arts attire with the upper half showing off a generous amount of underboob, a pair of black short-shorts that hugged her legs, and a pair of orange and black fingerless gauntlets. She looked up and gawked, "T-Tall…"

Gwen was, however, radically different. Now standing over six feet tall, she was a satyr woman with spiraling horns, sea-foam green hair, large fluffy ears with green tinted fur, which also appeared on her goat legs, a long flowy dress decorated with countless flowers and a large staff.

"Oh wow…Gwen, you look just like the Mini for your character…" Kevin's voice awed as Makoto turned to see a dwarf with long black hair, dressed in mostly black leather attire, and a full beard. It was clearly just a shorter version of Kevin with a luxurious beard, "Wait a minute…does that mean I'm a Dwarf now?"

"...yep." Gwen looked down, "I kinda like this switch of dynamics."

"Pfft…" Makoto snickered, "Ah~This I like." she wrapped her arms around Ben's neck and nuzzled his cheek, "This I like a lot! Does this always happen at these games?"

"Actually…no," Ben admitted, currently dressed in a green hooded cloak while sporting a pair of elf ears, "This…normally doesn't happen."

"...Kajun, care to explain?" Tsubaki asked, currently dressed in silver and cream-ish white Full Plate armor, that overlapped with a long segmented skirt with two long slits along the sides to reveal her legs.

"W-Well…It appears Mai took something I was building with Blukic and Driba and a few Galvans on a message board involving Dungeons and Dragons that those two introduced the game to," Kajun explained while looking away from the others and poking her pointer fingers together, currently dressed in a lilac and white dress with a few scrolls wrapped around her hands and wrists and a small lilac witch's hat on top of her head, a few bottles hanging off the belt around her waist.

"...So you mean….we're actually our characters in the game?" Noel blinked, currently dressed up in an outfit consisting of a midriff bearing shirt and pleated miniskirt, with half-plate armor covering her body, with two feathered hair ornaments giving her the appearance of bunny-like ears.

"Yes. It's experimental for now, but basically it's to help make the game feel more accurate," Kajun nodded.

"Like the VR Arcade Ben took me on for our anniversary date?" Makoto asked.

"Exactly."

"What is this nonsense…why are my ears so…pointy?!" Jin looked at himself in a window as he was dressed in black and blue full plate armor, a helmet discarded on the ground, with his sword attached to his side. His hair was still blond…but he now had very long elf ears.

"Oh right…given your attitude, I made you a High Elf," Ben chuckled, "Oh don't be huffy…at least you get one free spell and are smarter. Thankfully, you got enough good roles to pull off the armor…be tanky, and have decent charisma for magic."

"Why are yours shorter?" Jin asked.

"I'm a half elf…in retrospect best of both human and elf," he shrugged.

"Then why do Makoto and I…look like ourselves?" Rook asked, dressed in a leather armor attire that looked very cowboy/western, even the hat, "Ooh…nice hat." he smiled.

"Oh, I made you guys Shifters…basically people who have Were-animal DNA," Ben explained.

"...You mean if you hadn't, I was gonna be tailless and earless again? And probably have to wear Vroon's glasses I forgot to give back to him?" Makoto asked.

"Probably not the glasses…but for sure no ears or tail…" Ben nodded.

"..."

"Hey, hey, hey! Not in the program you!" Kajun scolded, pointing at the Beastkin.

"I wasn't gonna do anything!" Makoto defended.

"You were thinking it," Kajun accused.

"...I don't like this. She's got mind-reading spells," Makoto whispered.

"...I like," Lambda noted, dressed up in a white button shirt beneath a thick leather armored vest, a puffy hat with several large phoenix feathers on the right side of it, a lute on her back, and a skirt and cape of leather dyed in the colors of fire…with Bluey on her shoulder in a tiny fez.

"Wait…did we spec Bluey as a Familiar?" Tsubaki blinked.

"I assumed Mai would just pull up a familiar stat that works…" Ben muttered, "Lambda, Bluey is fragile as heck…keep him out of combat; spy missions only."

"No hurting Bluey," Lambda frowned before tilting her head, "Spy Missions?"

"Close your eyes and focus on Bluey…and then you can see through his eyes." Ben explained.

"?" Lambda closed her eyes for a few moments as Bluey's glowed the same color as her's before she opened them again, "That's how you see?" Bluey nodded, "Very green." she giggled as she scratched under Bluey's chin, "Cute."

"Wait…Bluey sees in green?"

"Tinted green. It seems to make green things look red," Lambda replied.

'So basically, Bluey sees me as looking like I'm wearing Albedo's colors…' Ben thought, a drop of sweat going down the back of his head.

"This is awesome…wait…where's Mai?" Makoto blinked.

"Well, she's the Dungeon Master," Ben pointed out.

"Essentially, she's the narrator of the story." Gwen explained, "I imagine we only hear her when she wants us to."

"Come hold and gather round…" Mai's voice echoed throughout the area, earning the group's attention, "Today, we begin the tale of a rather…interesting…group of adventurers as they set forth to defeat the Dark Lord Ima Tanmuse and their endless hordes of minions!"

"Like that!" Gwen smiled.

"Get ready for every NPC and Enemy to talk in Mai's voice," Ben chuckled.

"Well despite what I can only assume is her sending anti-rogue enemies for Ben, it's a one shot and should be straightforward," Kevin spoke, lifting a battle axe over his shoulder.

"Very well…" Jin began as he unsheathed a sword and rose it into the air, "If I am to face off against hte Dark Lord and their servant Scarlet Fang…then I suppose I shall align myself with ye!"

"...uh…" Ben began.

"Jin takes drama class VERY seriously," Tsubaki explained…before bolting right next to Jin and rose her own weapon up, "And I shall help thee in your quest, my lord!"

"And she's gone too much into her role again…" Noel sighed.

"This happens a lot?" Makoto asked.

"Practically all the time." Ben nodded.

"She's really dedicated to her role…" Kevin muttered.

"Well she and Jin were part of the Drama Club at the academy…" Kajun spoke.

"Alright, normally it is around the time we either get into a bar fight…" Ben looked down at Kevin.

"Hehehehe…" Kevin laughed while stroking his beard.

"Or the first mission hook drops." Ben finished.

"Desperate to find information, the unlikely band of heroes make their way to the bar," Mai narrated as the area changed into a fairly large pub with various patrons inside, "Perhaps here they will find what they need to find the Dark Lord…"

"Okay…that is creepy when it's not in a video game…" Makoto admitted.

"Come on." Ben sighed holding his arm out for Makoto, "M'lady~"

"...oh thank you, kind sir," Makoto giggled a bit before hugging his arm, "Lead the way."

"Like I said, not in the program!" Kajun snapped, startling the two.

"Party pooper…"

"Come on…this is literally half the fun of playing with your actual significant other…" Ben complained, "Letting your PCs also date!"

"...d'oh fine…" Kajun sighed a bit, "...but keep it PG-13 at best…this is a regular game…not a more untamed version of it."

"Yes, 'mom'," Makoto rolled her eyes as the couple walked off.

"By the way, thanks for the virtual drinks!" Ben laughed holding several coin purses.

"Wh-?!" Kajun gawked as she patted herself, "...oh Ben you sneaky git.."

"Expertise Stealth and Sleight of hands!" Ben cheered.

"Damn you, thief!" Jin shouted as he shook a fist, "Least you suspect it...I will have vengeance on you."

"Is that why you picked this one?" Makoto whispered.

"Actually no, it's because this class is able to become an uber skill monkey that can never fail at things." Ben whispered back.

"Nice~" Makoto grinned as her tail wrapped around herself and Ben.

"...information," Lambda spoke, catching the others attention as she looked around, "Who to speak to…"

"Perhaps the owner of this pub will know," rook suggested as he walked over to the counter, "Excuse me, I need some infor…" he began as the owner turned…and saw it was Grandpa Max dressed as a Bartender, "?!"

"...Kajun…" Gwen began.

"Most of the NPCs will be based on people that Dungeon Master-IE Mai-knows," Kajun quickly explained.

"This is so trippy…" Ben muttered.

"Good evening good sir. We are a humble group of adventurers seeking information." Rook spoke up, deciding to go with it.

"Ahh….then you've come to the right place, weary travelers," 'Grandpa Max' smiled a bit, "I am the fine owner of this establishment, Thempl Umbers. Need a place to stay, food for thy stomach, or for some local information, then your first choice was obvious. So…" he began as he turned to serve up some drinks, "What can I help you kids with?"

"We were hoping to ask about information on the Dark Lord," Rook questioned before everyone in the pub stopped what they were doing, the group swearing they heard the sound of a needle scratching a record.

"...son, are you sure you wish to do that?" Thempl frowned a bit, "No one has gone and faced Dark Lord Ima…and lived."

"Well we're just looking for some good info," Ben spoke up as he walked up to the counter, "We tend to get in trouble, trust me, good trouble is always a good time." he winked, "But…we're not dumb enough to risk our necks over something like a death wish. No no…we just want to know what to avoid."

At that, all the NPCs seemingly paused for a moment to let the game go on mechanically.

"Roll Deception or Persuasion."

"Okay…and…Nat 20…" Ben blinked.

"Is that good?" Makoto asked.

"I also have Expertise Deception and a plus 3 Charisma…so that all rounds to 32…"

"T-the check was 15…"

"...What build are you using?!" Kajun demanded.

"Swashbuckler…" Ben muttered.

"Of course. Of course you are…!" Kajun complained as she walked off to find a place to sit.

"Wait…you're a pirate?" Makoto blinked.

"Basically. The idea was to make him into a Captain Jack Sparrow type…but I never made the mini." Ben whispered.

"Aww man…" Makoto pouted a bit.

"I know…I wanted the hat…" Ben sighed, "I think Mai's still processing the broken roll I got."

"Ehem…with your Deception roll, the Bartender…totally and undeniably believes your words and sees no reason to doubt you whatsoever."

"Well why didn't you kids say so!" he laughed as the NPCs began moving again, "You kids sure are bad at asking, but if that's all you need to know, sure."

"Amazing…" Lambda awed.

"This is why the Charisma players tend to be the party's Face…" Ben sighed looking at Lambda and Jin, "...Lambda you be the face. You're nice, have higher charisma and won't stab people."

"I will end you, thief," Jin narrowed his eyes.

"With what sword?" Ben asked, pointing to his roll of 13+5+8 for a 26 sleight of hand to steal it.

"?!" Jin's eyes widened as he looked at his now empty hand, "..."

"What can I say…I'm an agent of chaos," Ben smirked, giving it back.

"..." Tsubaki said nothing…before lightly tapping Ben on the head with the handle of her club.

"Ow…" Ben grunted as he lost 5 health, "Not cool…"

"You know you deserved that, thief," Tsubaki huffed.

"Pirate…" Ben corrected.

"Semantics."

"...wait. I just thought of something," Kevin spoke up, earning the others' attention, "If we lose all of our HP while we're playing the the actual game…what'll happen to us?"

"?!" most of the others tensed up at that.

"...Kajun…I swear if this ends up as a Jumanji situation…!" Makoto began as she raised a shaky fist at the wizard.

"No no no no!" Kajun quickly shook her hands up in defense, "All you get is booted out of the game and wait for the others to finish! That's it!"

"I feel like that's too good to be true…" Kevin muttered.

"Wanna test that theory, dwarf?" Kajun countered as she shot her head towards him, "Need I remind you last we played…you died not one minute into the water temple."

"Oh right you're a Zealot…you can revive infinitely for free!" Ben remembered.

"I keep dying, sue me!" Kevin complained.

"Also…we can't waste an entire diamond to revive each time." Noel muttered, "It was an…economic choice."

"Which is why I and my comrade keep hold of our currency," Tsubaki reminded as she stood next to Gwen, only to blink when she was gone.

"Ooh…" Gwen smiled, looking at someone's long golden ear-chain. Everyone who knew Gwen paled as she stole it with a lucky roll, "What?" she asked as she walked back.

"...did…Gwen Tennyson…probably the biggest rule follower and top student at her school…steal something?" Makoto blinked in surprise.

"But…I'm not Gwen here." she smiled, her ears flickering.

"...yeah Gwen and Ben both play chaotic…" Kevin sighed.

"What? Ben did it, so don't get on my tail about it." Gwen pouted.

"...fair enough," Makoto shrugged, "Now..let's see abo-"

"Map," Lambda spoke up, Bluey holding up a rolled up map, "Barmaster Thempl gave me a map that will lead us to where the dark lord is."

"See…the face." Ben smiled, "Lambda's character is literally all about using charm to get people to like her and do as she wants. It's why Bards are really helpful when used properly."

"He's right," Gwen nodded as she took the offered map and opened it, "Hmm…okay, so to reach the Dark Lord's castle…we need to go through the Hopeless Iron Forest, then travel through the Fangmire Swamp leading to the bandit city of El Torado…and past that after a long boat ride is the Fallen Land of the Dragonkin…"

"...I'll go get some horses and a cart…" Ben walked off.

"Don't steal them!" Tsubaki and Jin snapped.

"I WON'T! Gosh…it was just your guys money pouches…" Ben sighed.

"I'll go with him." Gwen smiled.

"Okay co-NO Not cool!" Kevin panicked.

"Oh not again…!" Noel squeaked as she, Kajun and Kevin ran off after teh two, "NO~!"

"...I was not aware how…energetic this game was," Rook blinked a bit.

"Ehem…" Tsubaki coughed into her hand as if to imply she was speaking out of character, "It actually is, the roleplay aspect can allow for on the fly idea thinking, problem solving with limited resources, and remembering what resources you have to take advantage of timing. Plus the fun of acting like somebody unlike yourself, or an…exaggerated characiature allows for some fun, and practice for improvised acting and deception."

"Amazing! No wonder Ben can be so dramatic and animated." Rook smiled.

'Personally I think that's how he always acts,' Jin mentally snarked.

"RUN!" Kevin shouted.

"WE STOLE IT!" the Tennyson cousins cheered racing up in a horse drawn cart big enough for everyone to comfortably sit in.

"Gwen!? WHY!?" Kevin panicked, "You burned down a building! And set all the horses free!"

"...they asked to be set free." Gwen blinked.

"Ben, what did you do?" Makoto asked.

"I stole the cart…and the salesman's pants…" Ben muttered.

"...where has this fun been all my life?!" Makoto grinned as she ran out, "WAIT UP, BABE!"

"WHY!?" Tsubaki shouted both in and out of character somehow.

"Well…this is happening," Rook nodded, "Roll with it, yeehaw~" he cheered jumping in.

"The guards are coming!" Noel panicked.

"Go go go!" Kajun shouted.

"Are you mad we're…" Jin began before yelping when Gwen morphed into a Bear and tossed him into the cart followed by Tsubaki.

"You were saying?" she asked while morphing back to normal.

"We ride!" Lambda cheered sitting in the front with Ben.

"La-chan!?" Noel asked.

"I am chaotic good, it's okay." Lambda replied as Bluey was riding on the horse's back.

"Wait for me! I'm slower than you long legged jerks!" Kevin shouted.

"You shouldn't be…" Ben muttered.

"I got you!" Noel shouted as sh reached out and grabbed his outstretched arm…and struggled to try and pull him into the cart.

"Noel you're a Dex build!" Kajun shouted while grabbing Noel and trying to help pull Kevin in, "Tsubaki help us!"

"I'm still processing!"

"I got him!" Gwen smiled as a thorny vine wrapped around Kevin's arm.

"AH!" he panicked as he was yanked in, "Thanks babe…now go!"

"Let's go!" Ben laughed as he cracked the reigns, causing the horse to carry them off just as a bunch of guards came running into the area.

"Ah!" the others panicked.

"Uh…oh!" Kajun gasped as she had an idea, "Spiderweb!" she shouted as giant spider webs sprayed from her hands and covered the ground, trapping and slowing down the guards.

"...how did…" Rook began as he blinked a few times.

"One of many spells I know," Kajun replied as she turned back around.

"It also lights on fire." Gwen smiled, forming a little flickering flame in her hand.

"NO!" Kevin slapped her hand, "Not again!"

"Spoil sport…"

"The last time we let you light any trap spell on fire, you gave the guest DM nightmares!" Kevin complained.

"They recovered."

"Why did we have to lose Gwen!?" Noel complained.

"Hey do you know how hard it is to be the mature one, and raise a kid while attending college?" Gwen argued, "I am allowed to have fun here." she huffed, crossing her arms under her chest.

"Also you gotta take care of Kevin." Ben added.

"Wha…I am not that much trouble…anymore…" Kevin mumbled. Before noticing the deadpanned look Gwen gave him, "...as much…"

"..."

"...Not my fault that scruffy ninja's stupid glue nails blew up," Kevin muttered.

"Nails?" Rook blinked.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you about what happened!" Gwen realized, "See? I am stressed! This is why I play chaotic."

"...Well while we're heading to our next destination, may as well chat," Ben shrugged as he put the map away.

"Begin the quick travel!" Kajun declared.

And so the Adventuring party of random heroes began their first trip together. What exactly happened on the road was…inconsequential as it was mostly a lot of catching up on past adventures.

"And that is why we agree to never get involved in other people's love drama." Gwen finished.

"...I don't buy it…" Ben crossed his arms, "You say Hex is a teacher…?" he arched an eyebrow, "Nah…I'm still gonna kick him in the face for all the trouble he put me through…"

"He's said he honestly expects it next time you meet," Kevin noted before chuckling, "He's pretty good with Luna."

"I don't know…" Ben muttered, "Kevin, I believe…but we just got done dealing with Phil and…"

"Phil was back!?" Gwen gasped.

"Oh right…my turn!" Ben smiled.

"...We told her about Merlin, right?" Makoto muttered out of sheer honesty given how much they seemed to forget to update one another.

---

Well it seemed like story time was most assuredly not over, given this simulation seemed to make them actually travel distance, it was likely this wasn't gonna stop 'till the next misadventure the Dungeon Mistress had planned for them. Whatever or whenever that was…was beginning to concern some of those who knew Mai best. Primarily given how excited she was. Whatever could she be planning…or did all the story time catch up put her to sleep.

"Wait a minute…" Ben spoke up, "I think I saw something up ahead."

"Hmm?" Kajun blinked as they looked ahead, seeing what looked like…a forest completely made of metal, "...Well…that's ominous…"

"So…ten gold we go in…we get jumped and enter our first combat encounter," Ben spoke.

"I'll join you on that action." Kevin muttered, ax at the ready.

"So…we're totally triggering it, right?" Makoto asked.

"Eeyup," Gwen smiled, holding up her staff as fire formed at the tip.

"Can we not…and say we did?" Noel asked.

"Leader?" Ben looked to Lambda.

"Hmm…" Lambda frowned a bit, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the map, "'Hopeless Iron Forest: Once home to an alchemist that crafted iron golems and attempted to create gold…however, the incident made the entire forest and wildlife completely metal…the only ones that 'live' there are the metal golem Beasts…and the three Guardians the Alchemist created to protect himself…abandon all hope for all that remains here…is despair.'"

"Mai, I'm gonna punch you in the nose after this..." Makoto muttered, the last part of that…kind of triggering her.

"Eep!" Mai's voice yelped before she cleared her throat, "I-indeed! If our heroes are to approach the Dark Lord's Castle…they must go through the Hopeless Iron Forest and complete the Iron Guardians' challenge!"

"S-Surely there must be another way around…" Noel muttered.

"Forward!" Lambda pointed.

"La-chan why~?!" Noel sobbed.

"Adventure~" she stated with sparkling eyes, Bluey clapping his paws happily.

"...I advise we stay close," Tsubaki spoke as the cart began to move once more, "If we are attacked, the far ranged fighters will propel any incoming threats while those that can fight close combat will defend the far ranged fighters."

"Babe?" Makoto asked.

"Bunch up, tanks in front, dex fighters waiting for a chance to hit what gets close, let everyone else snipe," Ben summed up, "Also given I can't trust Jin, I will need you to help me flank things…while I stab them in the ribs with this short sword."

"So like normal," Makoto noted before pounding her fist together, "Fair enough, so let's…"

"Hold!" Mai's voice declared as the cart stopped, the metal bushes ruffling as a rather large figure began to step out, "As soon as our heroes travel into the forest, they encounter a mysterious beast…but what matter of beast is it? The ever elusive King Metal Slime…or a Mercurius Lycanthrope?"

"King Metal Slime?" Rook repeated.

"In terms of RPGs….rare enemies that often give massive amounts of Experience," Lambda explained, "Very high defense, but can be beaten with critical hits."

"A-And the second thing?" Makoto asked.

"Must be her own creation, my guess…metallic werewolf." Ben summed up, "Probably super powerful, normal werewolf's take half damage from any attack that's not magical…or silver…but I'm willing to bet the silver but no longer applies." he looked at Lambda and Gwen, "One of you made sure to learn the Heat Metal spell, right?"

"Oh not Cook & Book…" Kevin groaned.

"I did~" Gwen smiled deviously.

"Cook…and…Book?" Makoto asked, "What? Are you gonna give 'em Noellie's cooking and then smack 'em with a dictionary?"

"Hey~" Noel complained.

"Heat Metal is a spell that makes any metal you target…well…begin glowing red hot," Gwen explained, "Like say someone's metal weapons…or…the full body metal armor they are wearing…which is strapped down and takes minutes to get off…while rounds of combat mechanically last 6 seconds~" she rubbed her hands together, forming fire in her palms.

"..." Jin looked down at his full plate body armor, "Do not anger the Fey creature…" he whispered to Tsubaki who also had full plate armor.

"Indeed, my lord…" Tsubaki whispered.

"Roll for chance…will you encounter the Metal King Slime…or the Mercurious Lycanthrope?"

"Oh! I'll roll this time!" Makoto beamed a bit as she closed her eyes, "And….1…? Is…Is that good?"

"Oh….a shame…" Mai sighed a bit as the shadows on the figure vanished…revealing it to be a large steampunk robotic version of Rahzar, "You encounter the Mercurious Lycanthrope, a truly terrifying monster!"

"What in the…?!" Kajun gawked.

"Oh god! It's a Metal Rahzar!" Makoto yelped, jumping up and landing in Ben's arms, "The normal one was scary enough as it is!"

"Normal one?!" Tsubaki and Kajun asked.

"MOVE!" Jin shouted as the group quickly jumped out, letting the monster's claws slam into the cart as it was shattered into pieces.

"A lucky dodge…had they got hit by the monster's claws, they'd be infected by a form of poison which if not healed in time…will result in that person being turned into a robotic zombie."

"Okay, now you're just making this stuff up!" Makoto snapped as she hugged Ben tighter.

"Well, in game, Lycanthropy is an actual virus you can get…but…given she called it Mercurious…ten gold on what metal it's based on…" Ben muttered as he moved his arm around Makoto and began digging around his cloak.

"Light it up!" Kevin shouted, pulling out a hand ax he tossed at the Monster…Only for it to bounce off, making him look at his roll, "Ah…Nat 1?" his ax rebounded and bonked him on the head.

"That wasn't magic! It would have done bupkis!" Ben grunted, "Ladies, light it up!" he pulled out a vial before tossing it at the Monster's feet, causing it to crack and spill oil all along the ground.

"Wait…where did you…oh…you stole it, didn't you!?" Mai realized.

"Sticky fingers! Never fails!"

"Gwen…" Kajun began as she held her hand out, forming a large fireball in it, "Shall we light it up?"

"Yes…we shall." she smirked.

"Make sure you aim the radius to not hit us!" Ben panicked.

"Eh…" both girls shrugged before launching their spells. A concentrated stream of fire washed over the Lycanthrope, setting the oil ablaze before the fireball shot past it…before exploding behind the beast and enveloping it within an explosion of fire.

"Ooh boy…that's gonna be a lot of dice rolls…" Ben muttered.

"We up cast to." Both girls spoke.

"Up what?" Makoto muttered.

"Use a lower level spell, with a higher spell slot…imagine it's like loading a normal bullet…into a gun with ten times the power." Ben explained.

"Ooh~" Makoto awed.

"...c…critical…hit…twice…" Mai whispered as the burning form of the metal monster began to melt, the beast howling as it began to dissolve into a metal puddle, "The monster was defeated with a power combination of fire and a trap to reduce their resistance…leaving our heroes victorious…"

"To be fair that's probably gonna bite us in the butt…because we wasted a few of their strongest spells…and this is a one shot…" Ben sighed.

"So…we can't just nuke each fight?" Makoto asked.

"Well we can try…if you want us to have no more nuke spells for the last boss…" Ben muttered.

"True…but better to waste an attack spell then waste a healing spell." Gwen spoke.

"Hey…" Kevin muttered, "Do you hate healing that much?"

"First game I was the cleric healer…and Ben played the fighter…So imagine how that went…" Gwen sighed.

"I walked into a lot of acid traps…" Ben chuckled.

"Idiot," Jin deadpanned before noticing something glowing within the liquid metal puddle, "Hmm?" he raised a brow as he approached it, kneeling down and picked up what looked like half of a topaz-colored core, "Hmm…what is this now?"

"The High Elf Paladin Julius has discovered half of a mysterious gem…" Mai's voice spoke once more, "He could feel a sort of...Earthly feel to it, yet it feels…incomplete."

"Earthly?" Jin repeated, narrowing his eyes on the half-core, "I'm guessing I'll need to keep this for later."

"Eeyup," Ben replied.

"Hmm…where to next…" Lambda pondered as she looked around the area.

"The bard has begun to look through the different paths that surround them...and one will help lead them to the Alchemist's old home where his guardians protect…perhaps there they shall find a way out and possibly the other half of that orb….However, if they choose the wrong path, they will lead themselves into a trap that can and will result in them...being infected by the very metal that infects the animals of this forests."

"Enough with the metal zombie bit!" Makoto snapped as she shook a fist in the air.

"Hmm?" Lambda muttered, looking over the map, "I assume I make a roll and figure it out?" she asked, honestly unsure.

"Yep," Ben smiled.

"Either make an Investigation using your Intelligence, or Survival using Wisdom." Mai offered.

"Mmm…Bluey, left ear for Intelligence, right ear for Wisdom," Lambda spoke.

Bluey tilted his head before smiling. His left ear rose up and waggled. Lambda smiled and patted his head.

"Roll for Investigation please," Lambda spoke.

"You sure?" Ben asked.

"Yes. Bluey picked, so I roll," Lambda replied, "...Ten."

"Our heroes decide to take the upper left path."

"Okay, that narrating is starting to get annoying…" Makoto muttered.

"SILENCE, FOOL!" Mai snapped, making Makoto flinch in surprise, "...Okay that…that was weird…"

"Mai?" Noel blinked.

"...j…just go take your path…"

"...Kajun…" Gwen whispered.

"I think she's been repressing how much she was annoyed with Benjamin over the last time he was the DM," Kajun quietly replied, "...or…and this is a big 'or'…it's a glitch in the programming."

"...What…kind of glitch?"

"You...end up THINKING you're your actual character. It's about a five percent chance, about as much as rolling a 20 on a D20."

"...Well, we can agree that this is Mai's fault this time since you clearly were as surprised as the rest of us," Gwen sighed.

"Agreed," Kajun nodded.

"Ah, and it's not like I can really fix much," Ben sighed, "I doubt I can activate the Omnitrix from here." he chuckled, slapping his wrist, "Wow…" he now spoke in Rath's voice, "That was weird!"

"Wait. Is Ben transformed in the real world!?" Kevin gawked.

"Let me tell you something Kevin E. Levin! Rath doesn't know what that means!? But why am I short and less macho!?" Ben/Rath shouted as he jumped back and tackled Kevin into a fight cloud.

"...ok…so…it would seem while we're playing the game itself…" Kajun began as the others looked at her, "You end up using…your actual powers in the real world…"

"..."

"...I did say it was experimental for a reason."

"WHY DOES IT HURT LIKE THE REAL RATH!?" Kevin cried.

"More than likely…he's actually hitting you in reality…" Kajun muttered.

"So that's why your HP isn't dropping…" Gwen nodded.

"Babe~!" Makoto called, "Let the dwarf down!"

"Wha…but…" Ben/Rath muttered before jumping over and sitting next to her, "Fine…" she hugged him, "..." he pulled her closer, "I'm doin' this 'cause I wanna."

"Good boy," Makoto smiled.

"Perhaps we sh-" Rook began before the area changed, showing a large clearing with what looked like an old, worn-down house with a large metal kettle attached to the side, "...nevermind."

"Our heroes have arrived at the Alchemist's house…or rather what remained of it," Mai spoke before various metal statues suddenly popped up around the group, "They will need to be careful…three of these 'statues' are in fact the Alchemist's former guardians…and if they are unlucky to encounter one of them…or worst all three of them, they must best them in their challenge to proceed."

"Sit!" Makoto stopped Ben/Rath from moving.

"Yes dear…" he grumbled.

"Okay….we need to think of this carefully," Tsubaki spoke as she held her chin in thought, "...Chances are the statues work on the same rule as the Weeping Angels from Dr. Who….so we need to keep an eye on them at all times and not blink…meaning most of us will need to stay out here while one of us…goes into the house."

"Oh, I hate those things!" Makoto cringed before sniffling, "Especially with how we lost two of the best darn traveling companions to the Doctor to them!"

"Aw, c'mon, Makoto Nanaya," Ben/Rath patted her head.

"This happen often?" Kevin asked.

"It was very emotional! As much as when the Tenth became the Eleventh!" Makoto declared.

"...right. Lambda?" Gwen spoke.

"Will begin searching," Lambda nodded as she walked towards the house…backwards so as to not look away from the metal statues while the others quickly gathered up into one big circle.

"Okay…once Lambda gets the info...and possibly the other half of that orb Jin found, we immediately bolt out of this forest," Tsubaki spoke up.

"But the question is…" Jin began as he looked around, "Which of the statues are fake…and which are the guardians?"

"...or rather…who the guardians are…" Rook suggested, earning the group's attention, "As Kajun said, most of the NPCs we've encountered so far are people she knows and have met...the barmaster being Magister Tennyson and that monster we encountered being Rahzar…"

"Metal Rahzar!" Makoto corrected before blinking, "...wait…where are you going with this Rook?"

"Think about it…which three 'metal people' do we all know?"

"...Oh! That would be Jenny, Kibo and Robot…boy…" Noel trailed off once it began to click, "...oh…"

"There's also Max and Steel, but…that's complicated," Makoto added, "...wait. Guys….how tough are robot-like enemies in D&D?"

"That depends," Gwen replied.

"There aren't exactly…robots…but there are Golems…Metal Golems," Kajun added, "Unless you play Warforged."

"Okay, and how dangerous are they?" Jin asked.

"Tanky, hit hard, a TON of HP…" Kajun surmised.

"...We should've kept Lambda Vermillion here for Cook & Book," Ben/Rath grumbled.

"Seriously, what is that and should I be worried it involves Noellie?" Makoto asked.

"Wouldn't work, Metal golems are immune to fire damage," Kajun sighed.

"Hey…that's meta gaming…"

"New players!" Kajun complained, shaking a hand to the sky.

"Oh, right. They all seem so natural at this…"

"To be fair, we're not playing like normal. We're not taking the time to roll like normal, and aren't as distracted since your word becomes law without us interrupting you." Tsubaki pointed out.

"But it is this chaotic, right?" Makoto asked.

"Undeniably…" Tsubaki sighed.

"You think you're tough, statues! Well Rath is even tougher! I'm gonna look at you!" Ben/Rath growled as he strained to keep his eyes open, "EYE CONTACT!-!-!-!"

"Oh goody! A Critical Fail," Mai giggled in glee.

"Critical Fail?" Makoto asked.

"It's something a DM can declare if you roll a 1 on your die, regardless of your other modifiers," Kajun explained, "Basically, it means a roll that is so bad that extra negative events are triggered." she paused, "I guess he didn't remember his other Rogue abilities."

"Got dang it…Ben!" Makoto called out.

"Sorry, Babe…" he mumbled sheepishly before three 'statues' moved before the group...these ones resembling Jenny, Kibo, and Robotboy in his Super Activated Mode, "..." he tensed when their eyes lit up…and narrowed, "Rrr…Lemme tell ya somethin', metal statues based on my friends and the boyfriend of one of them! Rath will smash you!" Makoto slapped his chest and he blinked, "Oof…Uh, thanks. Though…I think I'm Blitzwolfer right now." he tapped his mouth, "Yep. Felt the mouth split open."

"Well l-" Makoto began before Jin got before her and Ben, using his shield to block the strike of one of the metal golems, "Ahh!"

"Focus and fight!" Jin shouted before swinging his sword to quickly block a strike one another of the golems.

"So how does combat work in this?" Rook asked.

"20-sided dice rolls, Rook," Kajun reminded, prepping a spell before she quickly rolled out of the way of a strike from the third metal golem.

"Oh right," Rook recalled before jumping back from the golem's fist

"Well at least we have…" Makoto began.

"STAB!" Ben shouted, rushing forward with two swords in hand.

"Some of us know how to play," Makoto frowned, "He's not even Rath or Blitzwolfer in body…"

"I REGRET NOTHING!" He shouted, going flying over their heads…only to stick the landing and slide across the ground.

"Wait, wha?" Jin blinked.

"He's got like three different types of dodge…" Kevin sighed.

"Alright, here goes something!" Makoto called as she charged at the Kibo golem and threw a punch, only to have her fist caught by him, "Uh…"

"You rolled a 3," Mai informed before the Kibo golem threw her away.

"Whoa!" Makoto yelped, barely managing to stick the landing, "So I gotta roll big or no good…Well, that's good to know."

"Right. Ben probably didn't explain Armor Class. You see, Makoto, defense is decided by the Armor Class stat, which can typically be at a base of 10 and raises based on how strong your armor around you is or if you're really agile." Kajun explained.

"Metal skin makes for high AC," Gwen added, "Also no fire if these are metal Golems."

"Why look at me?" Makoto blinked.

"One of your abilities is literally shooting fire from your hand!" Gwen snapped.

"I thought it was light!"

"Well, yeah. The normal energy bullet kind, yeah," Gwen replied, "But stick to the light blasts! Just punch and shoot a laser!"

"...punch..and shoot a laser…" Makoto muttered, her mind immediately going back to a certain blonde friend of hers from that multidimensional trip….as a grin grew on her face, "Simple enough…" she quickly reeled her fist back just as the Jenny Golem leapt at her, only to be sent flying when Makoto punched out at her, sending a literal shotgun blast of light at her, "BOO YAH!"

"Huh…she got advantage, attack of opportunity…and Sentinel…why…BEN!"

"Wait, wha?" Makoto blinked.

"Ben gave you a special ability that lets you stop enemies from moving if they provoke an attack of opportunity. Essentially taking away their ability to move for the turn," Kajun explained, "Or…close to your friends…and…you have ranged attacks…and you hit them while in the air…so…they dropped down."

"In short, you hit things that move…they lose the ability to move…" Gwen summed up, "And given things work a little differently here…it seems that ability has become much more broken."

"...oh that's so cool," Makoto whispered in awe before yelping, quickly leaning back when the Kibo Golem threw a punch at her, the Beastkin quickly flipping away as the golem ran over to check on the Jenny one.

"...aww~. Even if it's not them, they still care for eachother," Noel quietly cooed as the Kibo Golem helped up the Jenny Golem. She then yelped as the Robotboy Golem tackled her from behind, making her crash into Makoto as the two fell over.

"And now you're both pinned and can't do anything." Mai laughed.

"Ah boo!" Makoto complained.

"Sorry…" Noel cried.

"Lambda better hurry up!" Kevin shouted as he used his axe to block a punch from the Robotboy Golem.

---

"...Dusty…" Lambda whispered, walking through an abandoned lab with cobwebs covering various tools and beakers.

Bluey sneezed, sending up a cloud of dust.

"...Really dusty…" Lambda deadpanned at that, "I guess I make another roll to find important things?"

"The bard has begun her search in the abandoned lab of the Alchemist, possibly to find a means of defeating the golems…and find the other half of that mysterious gem Julius had found," Mai narrated, "She will need to be careful though…there may be some creepy things hidden within the shadows…"

"Oh I did not like that…" Lambda muttered, her first instinct was to scoop up Bluey and place him on her shoulder, "You look behind me, I look ahead…first to spot the spooky thing, warn the other." Bluey nodded before looking around.

"Okay, and the roll is…Super Critical Success?!" Mai gawked in disbelief, "...So that dice Bluey rolled two twenties on was a Super Prodigy…"

"Hmm…" Lambda smiled as she gently patted Bluey on the head while stepping to a decaying table...with various small plants growing around a half of what looked like a bigger chunk of the gem Jin found, "Good Blupee."

Bluey's earked perked up in happiness as Lambda picked up the orb.

"Now...let us hurry back to the others…oh…and roll again."

"Result i-20?! AHH, YOU BLASTED BARD! I WILL END YOU IN THE NAME OF DRAGONKIN!" Mai roared out, "...I swear I had no intention of saying that."

"There, there," Lambda patted a shivering Bluey that had hid in her top before looking up at the ceiling, "I will end you in the name of Bluey the Blupee."

"...I am both cooing and giggling over that declaration…and shivering because I know what you've done in the name of that ghost bunny."

"Hmm…" Lambda huffed a bit as she walked off, carrying the other gem half.

---

"Ugh…Now who am I?" Ben groaned in his normal voice, "Oh no wait…I sound normal…"

"Normal being the operative word…why am I not included in this dramatic die rolling delusion?" Skurd's voice complained.

"Well you don't have a character…normally you just mess with my dice rolls and eat all the snacks…" Ben muttered.

"Did that already…" Skurd sighed.

"Wait…AH! He did!" Mai complained.

"OH YOU LITTLE BOOGER!" Makoto snapped as she pointed at the air, "You've been making my rolls bad on purpose!"

"Heavens no…only Ben's. But…his darn stupid skill build makes it impossible…you, my dear girl are just playing with a bad die. A Traitor Die, I believe…I would suggest you take a new one from Noel's giant bag of sparkly dice."

"You have a giant bag of sparkly dice?" Makoto blinked, looking at a blushing Noel.

"They're so sparkly and pretty…I couldn't stop…" Noel muttered.

"She's a dice goblin." Gwen chuckled.

"Hah?! N-no I'm not!"

"You kinda are," Kajun muttered before Kevin was tossed into her, "Kya!"

"Ah great! Now we're pinned!"

"I mostly prepared Fire spells for combat and support spells…but it seems they rolled well to resist…" Kajun grunted.

"I only have fire…" Gwen chuckled sheepishly.

"Why!?" Kevin snapped.

"I wanted to burn stuff down!" she huffed.

"Some assistance here!" Jin shouted, using his shield to deflect back the Jenny and Kibo Golems' punch before slashing out at them, only for the Robotboy Golem to catch it, "Tch!"

"Oof…Your counter failed," Skurd winced.

"Well, all we need is Lambda and we'll all be together to die," Kevin muttered.

"I vote we use the Dwarf as a meat shield…" Jin muttered.

"Ooh~We could enchant him and let him soak up damage with rage!" Gwen smiled.

"Seriously?!" Kevin snapped.

"You are very tanky," Ben pointed out.

"I made sure to have a few healing spells," Kajun added.

"Oh you guys suck," Kevin frowned, "Seriously, what have I done recently to annoy everyone?"

"The Parent-Teacher conference," Gwen replied.

"So I had Zed shove a potato into her tailpipe. What? She kept calling Sena a 'she' when he's clearly a 'he,'" Kevin argued.

"Okay yes, I get that…but to be the devil's advocate, they share a body…and most signs point to it maybe being Luna's body…"

"It still matters, Gwen!"

"Hahaha…ah…you two are already super parents…" Ben chuckled.

"...Next time you're a tank character, you are being our shield," Kevin muttered as both blushed.

"I tease because you're family," Ben snickered before rolling out of the way of the fake Robotboy's kick aimed at his face, "Whoa now! Bad foot!"

"Come on, Lambda. Where are you?" Tsubaki whispered before using her mace to block a strike, "Gh!"

"Kisaragi-san," everyone looked over to see her rushing out of the house, holding up the other half of the gem, "Your half…please."

"What…how do you even?" Jin began.

"I got it!" Ben held it up in his hand.

"Tennyson!" Jin shook a fist at him.

"Stop swearing vengeance against me and smite the enemy!" Ben complained.

"Smite?"

"Hit them and declare smite!" Ben ordered.

"..." Jin slashed at the Jenny-based enemy, "Smite." sure enough, a surge of bright energy came off his blade as the golem was sent flying back a few steps.

"Wow! You max damaged that smite…"

"You can imbue your attacks with holy energy!" Ben explained, "You're a tank and crit focused class!"

"...huh…useful," Jin whispered before blocking a strike from the Kibo-based enemy, "SMITE!"

"Dude, be careful! You can only do that for however many spell slots you have!" Ben shouted, "If you use them up, no magic and no smite!"

"What kind of system is this?!" Jin demanded.

"You know you can heal people, right?" Ben blinked, "You just have to touch them."

"OH NOW YOU TELL ME?!" Jin snapped before he was piled on by all three golems, "GAH!"

"La-chan, whatever you're planning, do it now!" Makoto shouted.

"Hai," Lambda nodded once she took the smaller piece from Ben, placing it on the section the gem was missing before it started to give off an earth-ish green/topaz glow, "?!"

The three golems stopped in their attacks when they noticed the glow, seeing the light washing away the metal covering the floor as grass and dirt took its place. The light then washed over the three, making them wince a bit in thinking they'd be terminated. Instead what took their place…was what appeared to be elf versions of their robotic friends as flesh replaced metal.

"...La-chan….what did you just do?" Makoto slowly asked.

"Fixed," Lambda replied as the light died down, showing the entire forest was now back to being a fully lush green.

"Secret rule of D&D…solving the puzzle…is just as important to winning…" Ben groaned.

"Otherwise...it's gonna bite you in the butt later…" Gwen added.

"So…They'll stop throwing us around?" Makoto asked, "Huh…Jenny's reminds me of when she wears her ID Mask."

"...Thank you..for freeing us," the Jenny look-a-like smiled at the group as they looked at her, "For so long, the Forest of Hope has been plagued by that metal virus created by the Alchemist."

"And had broken our most sacred stone," the Kibo look-a-like added, "But now that you have fixed it, the forest is back to its old self once again."

"...But…did the alchemist not…create you?" Rook questioned.

"Oh Gaia no…She was driven out of her hometown because she was insane," 'Kibo' explained sa 'Robotboy' frowned a bit, "We tried to convince her to stop, but she was clamoring on about how she had to do it for her lord."

"...wait…Forest of hopelessness…turned a once beautiful place into a despair-filled wasteland…was crazy…" Makoto whispered before her eye twitched, "...Mai…!"

"I needed a twist to the story I had placed! You know how hard it was to think of a full story to explain how a forest kingdom of elves and animal-people had their kingdom destroyed because of a mad woman's insane knowledge and her devotion for ME?!" Mai snapped.

"...You mean your dark lord character….right?" Skurd asked.

"...yes….yes, of course…"

"...oh dear…" Kajun whispered, "It would seem Mai's slowly starting to turn into her character…she ended up with the 5%..."

"Ah…Traitor dice," Lambda nodded.

"Either that or she touched a possessed one," Ben grimaced.

"I hate those," Gwen groaned, "The only way to not be haunted by those is to pass the curse to someone else."

"Then let's hurry and finish the game," Tsubaki spoke before she felt 'Robotboy' tugging at her legging, making her look down.

"...'Take stone...needed for important quest,'" he explained as he gave her a few hand signs, "'Part of four...needed to access Dark Lord's castle."

'...Even when he can't speak, he's so adorable~!' Tsubaki couldn't help but mentally squeal.

'Ahh~! Elf Robotboy is adorable~!' Noel cooed before she looked at Kajun.

"Because it's a prototype, every use of it is recorded," Kajun sighed, "Yes, I'll make screenshots for you when I review the data later. But I demand the usual from you."

"Okay!" Noel cheered, hugging the scientist.

"Well…all's well that ends well…oh wait, right. There's still more…" Ben grunted.

"Our young prince wants you to take the Earth Gem with you," 'Jenny' explained as she picked up 'Robotboy', "You will need to gain access to the Dark Lord's Castle."

"But we advise you to be careful," 'Kibo' added as he walked up next to her, "The Fangmire Swamp is a dangerous place, especially against the orcs that guard the Water Gem."

"Would Goblins not make more sense?" Rook couldn't help but question.

"...No…God/Gaia no…" Was the response of the three elves…and almost every other girl in the area.

"Two things happen with Goblins…" Ben sighed, "A: They are creepy and disgusting little things that you want to kill like fodder for exp…not in this game, babe." Ben cut off Makoto.

"Aw…"

"Or B: The chaotic players adopt a harmless, almost adorable, Goblin as the pet…" Ben sighed.

"...One time…" Gwen muttered.

"Two! Two times!" Mai reminded, "One in my first game and one in Noel's."

"Well it's not my fault the DM really hated creepy things and made the Goblin minis so cute!" Gwen complained.

"...Th-They kinda were…" Noel agreed, blushing.

"Quest?" Lambda reminded.

"Oh right...well it sh-" Ben began before the area changed…and the group fell into a puddle of mud, "Bleaugh!"

"After a night of rest and a full feast from the Elf King and Animus Queen, our heroes have arrived in the Fangmire swamp…full of thieving orcs and traps…and mud that makes you move really slow."

"Ah come on…not another stupid mud area!" Kevin complained as his beard was covered in mud, "I hate these places!"

"What happened?!" Makoto gawked.

"We skipped over the content we'd do if this was a multi-part campaign." Ben sighed, "On with the story! One night only!"

"Of course…ahem! Our heroes must find the Sacred WaterGem..which was stolen from the Lamia tribe by the Orc duo known as Boomer and Stonecutter," Mai narrated, "Our heroes must be careful as not only are they tough…but are experts in laying traps that cause different status effects."

"ARE YOU SHITTING ME RIGHT NOW?!" Kevin snapped, "WHY MAKE THE MUD AREA EVEN WORSE FOR ME?!"

"SILENCE DWARF OR ELSE I WILL CUT THY TONGUE!" Mai snapped.

"Yep. We're losing her. After this is done, I'll get the salt water, the bell of a closed down game shop, and the chalk. Noel, get the sage and candles. Ben, get the cup and a Fresh Die," Gwen ordered.

"Oh n-not again…" Noel gulped.

"At least it's not me this time with the ghost dice…" Kevin muttered.

"...wait," Rook spoke just as Ben was about to take a step, kneeling down as he narrowed his eyes a bit, "...tripwire rope…probably to alert these orcs…" he reached into his pouch before pulling out a pair of wirecutters before cutting there, "There…"

"..probably the Artificier class in him," Jin muttered as he began to walk past him.

"Wait stop! There is a…!" Rook began before Jin suddenly fell into the ground, "...Trap hole further ahead…"

"...We're gonna need rope…" Ben muttered.

"...oh! I think I might have some…" Noel whispered as she looked into her bag.

"Roll for item in question…also Sir Julius is infected with the confused status."

"What's that sup….woah…so trippy…" Jin whispered in awe inside the hole, "...hey Tsuki…mud is just wet dirt…"

"J-Jin?" Tsubaki blinked as Makoto sniffed the air a bit…and flinched a bit.

"Eck…it smells like cheap alcohol in there.." Makoto gagged.

"I think the Orc's ferment stuff for alcohol down there…" Ben muttered, "Not knowing how the process really works."

"Well…" Noel began as she pulled out a bundle of rope, "Let's hurry and get him out."

"Nah guys..I'm good~" Jin chuckled a bit as Noel began to lower the rope into the hole, "...oh hey...you remind me of the snake I used to scare nee-san on halloween…he thought it was a ghost."

---

"...What's wrong?" Bullet asked, pausing in eating her chicken sandwich as she looked at Ragna.

"...I don't know why, but I feel like punching Jin's face tomorrow…"

"Why?" Celica asked, "That doesn't seem very nice."

"I can't put it into words…but…it's a brother thing…" he muttered, cracking his knuckles.

"...eh," Bullet shrugged before she resumed eating.

---

"...You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Tsubaki sighed to Ben as they carefully treaded through the swamp...with Kevin having a goofy-faced Jin over his shoulder.

"...More than I should be probably," Ben chuckled.

"Hey Ben…" Jin drunkenly chuckled as he pointed at Ben, "Y…y-you're my bessht friend..ya's knows that…?"

"I love you too, buddy!" Ben smiled before turning to Kajun, "Please…tell me it recorded all of this?"

"Yes…all of it." she rolled her eyes.

"...Blackmail? Really, Benjamin?" Tsubaki deadpanned.

"Want me to bring up the Reese's Ice Cream tub I found in your room in a hidden freezer after a certain incident?" he smirked, making her flinch, "Besides…it's not blackmail…I just want to enjoy watching it on loop…again…and again…and again~"

"I shall be the one blackmailing here," Skurd chuckled.

"You better not…" Makoto muttered before Rook stopped her, "...another trap?"

"Yes," Rook nodded as he pointed ahead, letting the group see a perfectly clean treasure chest in the middle of the road.

"Oh ho…oh your poor souls…" Mai chuckled a bit, "Our heroes have encountered a mysterious chest….but is it a treasure chest…or is it a trap? Or worse….is it a mimic?"

"...Mimic?" Rook repeated.

"Think Cousin Lucy and her abilities," Ben explained, "Except in this case, they're not nice."

"Mimics…They can become anything?" Noel asked.

"...Yeah…" Ben replied.

"I saw we send Bluey over to check it," Kevin spoke.

"I say we don't," Lambda scowled, hugging the Blupee and turning him away from Kevin's vicinity.

"Ohh~! S-shuh…uh…sparkles!" Jin exclaimed as he looked at the chest.

"..." Ben and Makoto struggled hard to not laugh.

"Ben, Makoto…" Tsubaki frowned before she heard Gwen snickering, "..."

"Sorry…but he's so…silly. Is he like this with actual alcohol?" Gwen asked.

"Oh he totally is!" Makoto laughed, "We attended this one hot springs resort second to last year at the academy…and he got loopy after one cup of sake! ...Still not as bad as Tsubaki th-" she began before Tsubaki smacked her upside the head with her paperfan, "YEOW! EVEN HERE?!"

"Uh no babe…she's sitting next to you in the real world…" Ben muttered.

"She also rolled for attacking Makoto and got an 18 and took 5 damage from the hit," Mai added.

"I tried, babe, but it took a lot of work to get you an AC of 17…" Ben added.

"Aw, you're so sweet," Makoto noted, leaning against him.

"Still doesn't solve the chest issue," Gwen noted.

"Open!" Jin declared, bonking the lid of the chest with his shield.

"JIN!" everyone barked.

"The hell?! Drunk and he rolled an 18?!" Mai snapped.

"I gave him a strength score of 20 so he can actually hit stuff," Ben explained, "I kinda sucked all his dex away so he can do stuff without dying." he leaned towards Tsubaki, "Keep him away from AOE attacks or he is dead…"

"...noted," Tsubaki whispered.

"Oh hey guys look!" Jin laughed as he reached in, pulling out a blue gem from the chest, "I found the thing!"

"WHAT THE FUCK?! WHERE ARE THOSE ORCS!? THEY…!" Mai began before a pair of bushes ruffled, letting a pair of orcs that...HEAVILY resembled Bebop and Rocksteady fell out…completely drunk and snoozing, "...Y…You sons of…gh…gah…oof…"

"...Did you forget to lock up your Traitor dice from your purchases again?" Gwen asked.

"..."

"Oh, I hate when that happens," Ben cringed.

"Ben, why are you all talking about dice like that?" Makoto whispered.

"That's because D&D dice have personalities and a Traitor dice is the worst thing to have. They always roll bad on needed rolls and then go high on needless rolls," Ben whispered back.

"..." Mai could be heard taking in a deep inhale before exhaling, "Okay…heh heh heh…so our…heroes…got two of the four gems needed to access My…er…Dark Lord Ima's castle! But…can they keep a hold of them in the thief city of El Torado?! Home of bandits, thieves, pirates…and the occasional bounty hunter…"

"Heh heh….she said bounty…" Jin snickered.

"...Is there a spell for making him not drunk anymore?" Lambda asked.

"...Purify," Tsubaki spoke as she held her hand out, letting a light come off it as it washed over Jin.

"!?" Jin tensed as he suddenly had a clear head, "...Tsubaki?"

"Yes Jin?"

"Did I….do anything embarrassing?"

"...um…"

"I have blackmail for years, my good swordsman!" Skurd cackled, "You shall have no quenching of your fears from me for well over several months! My demands will be left upon your pillow later on! Excuse me while I get my writer. Oh, Mari~!"

"Oh…I can feel her on my shoulder…" Noel muttered, "Wait…Why do you want Mari-chan?!"

"She has the best penmanship out of all of your pets...and most of you, as well. I'm looking at you, Benjamin with your chicken scratch," Skurd replied, "Now onwards, Mari! We must write my demands and lay them upon Kisaragi's pillow!"

"...I blame you, Tennyson," Jin scowled at Ben.

"Why me?"

"You came home with the living slime."

"You know, I just wanted to enjoy it for fun…but now…I'm joining in the blackmail…and you know I will tell Ragna…" Ben crossed his arms.

"...ugh…what do you want?" Jin sighed.

"Oh…you'll learn." Ben walked away, "You'll learn soon enough. You see…I need to think a long, long time about just what I'm going to do with you. I don't know, it might come to me, pff, in the middle of the night…or maybe next week…or a few years from now. In the meantime…why don't you worry about it?"

"...That's not funny," Jin spoke as he began to chase him, "That's not funny, Tennyson!"

"Be afraid, Jinny, be veeeery afraid," Ben added with a chuckle.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm the one who's supposed to be the one making evil threats here!" Mai complained.

"Mmmm…" Noel gulped, hugging Makoto's tail with wide eyes as Makoto hugged Noel in return.

"Babe…You are both scaring and arousing me here," Makoto admitted.

"Okay, moving on!" Gwen declared.

"R…Right…" Mai muttered as the scenery changed, the group now standing in a large yet rather…seedy looking marketplace with various boats and ships parked at the harbor, "The city of El Torado. Here the group must be on high alert as…without notice, they might end up losing their stuff to oen of the three clans that oversee the guild. Due to some info they picked up along the way, they learned that the guild possesses the Wind Gem needed…question is how shall they convince the leaders of each of the guild's clans to lend them the gem?"

A thief city, eh?" Kevin noted, "..heh. My kind of place…"

"But I'm the thief here." Ben argued.

"Hey, yeah. That's right!" Makoto nodded.

"So can you get us in?" Kajun asked.

"I could try…should be simple enough," Ben shrugged.

"...I suggest we stay close to one another though," Rook spoke up, "Less chance of us getting m-"

"Your gems were snatched," Skurd deadpanned, "...Along with your weapons."

"Wait, what?" Jin looked down, "...What in the…?" his pants fell, "..."

"Oh, and some of your belts, too, it seems. Nice touch, madam DM."

"What…Oh come on!" Makoto sighed.

"Wait…Where's Ben?" Gwen blinked.

"AH! My boyfriend has been taken!"

"Ben?! BEN! Did you ditch us!?" Kevin panicked.

"Ben! Ben, this isn't funny!" Tsubaki shouted.

"..." Lambda slowly looked around before she noticed a thief…that heavily resembled Argit trying to sneak off, "...Rat."

"I would like to rage!" Kevin roared, running after him, "LEEROY JENKINS!"

"Ooh~" Gwen muttered as she saw the carnage that ensued.

"Great, my boyfriend vanished and Kevin stole Rath's favorite bit…" Makoto sighed, "What else could happen?"

---

"...'What else could happen?' She says… " Jin deadpanned...him and the guys locked up in small cages.

"Hey, you got off lucky!" Makoto snapped…while motioning to the barmaid outfits she and the girls were wearing, "We gotta serve these guys!"

"Mmm~" Noel whined a bit as she was curled up in a small ball.

"You just had to beat up someone from the guild…" Rook muttered to Kevin.

"How was I supposed to know?!" Kevin snapped, "It's freaking Argit!"

"Hey hey! Keep it down over there!" 'Argit' shouted from a table, "Oh and, uh, ladies? I need a refill~"

"Oh I'll refill you ya little…!" Makoto fumed as she began to step up to him, only for Noel, Tsubaki, Gwen, and Lambda to hold her back, "L-Let go!" Noel reached up and scratched her ear, "?! Mmm…no fair~"

"How come you can get away with that?" Gwen asked.

"Oh, I had to do this a few times at the academy actually," Noel admitted, "It was only for emergencies though."

"And I only trust Noellie if Ben-kun isn't there~"

"Right…I'll go give the refill," Lambda noted, "Sister has this."

"In the meantime…Let's think of how to get our stuff back…and hopefully find Ben," Tsubaki sighed as Lambda walked off, "...Kevin, did you learn anything?"

"I'm pretty sure I blanked out the moment I started punching Argit," Kevin replied.

"...Right," she sighed before looking at Gwen, "Any possible ideas where he could've gone?"

"My guess…he probably went to sneak off into the guild to find the Wind Gem," Gwen replied.

"So we will need to figure out how to escape," Rook noted.

"Agreed," Jin nodded a bit before looking around the guild hall, "Question is…which one of these drunken idiots has the keys?"

"...Huh…quite a few look like people we've met during our away trip," Noel noted.

"I think I see a few of Ben's enemies in here as well," Tsubaki added, "...should be simple enough. Maybe if we can get the info…"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU TWIG?!"

"GAH~!" a Psyphon lookalike screamed as he ran by…running away from a livid bandit that had a heavy resemblance to Bakugo, "I MEAN NO OFFENSE!"

"OH NO! I HEARD YOU TALKING SHIT CLEAR AS DAY!"

"Oh boy…Dynamo's lost it again…" a bartender resembling Bolo muttered.

"...Ahem. Excuse me," Tsubaki whispered to him, earning his attention, "By any chance is there a way me and my friends can earn our freedoms…and get our stuff returned?"

"..." 'Bolo' looked around carefully before whispering, "There is…but you're probably gonna have to convince the three clan leaders to let ya do that…"

"And where are they usually?" Rook pondered.

"Over there," he replied as he pointed at the top floor of the guild hall, pointing to the purple-skinned woman that looked like Risky, "That's Captain Sabre of the Fatale Pirates, the only female Pirate crew in the sea that sends fears down all men's spines," he then pointed to a mercenary that looked like Ragna, "That's SF…he likes to be called that and not talk about his past…but he showed up one day and rose up the ranks. And finally…" he pointed to a mean dressed up in a suit with bits of gold on his figure…and looked a LOT like Tsukasa, "And that's Cade, leader and headmaster of the El Torado Guild."

"...Seriously, Mai?" Makoto whispered, having overheard the Bolo-lookalike, while discreetly gesturing to Cade.

"Yes," Mai replied, amusement in her tone.

"...I am so getting back at you later for this…"

"Granted you can, monk…" Mai grinned.

"Okay…now you are officially starting to worry me," Skurd muttered, "Me and the Mink that is."

"Anyone worried Ben is still missing?" Gwen asked.

"I'm sure he's fine. He's done this before…ah…oh we're doomed." Kevin groaned.

"I am going to haunt Tennyson if we die," Jin muttered.

"Hey. My boyfriend has been doing good so far," Makoto argued, "Besides he's an expert at the game, so I'm sure…"

"Hey boss!"

"?!" Makoto tensed as she looked back over, seeing a female Pirate resembling Yang stepping out...while carrying Ben by his cloak, "...no way…"

"Found this guy trying to snatch the Wind Gem," 'Yang' explained as she held Ben up, "What should we do with him?"

"Hmm…" Sabre frowned as she examined Ben, "...eh. You can keep him…We've been needing a new swabmonkey…not since the last one ran off…honestly, he acts like he's never seen a woman before."

"Maybe it's the fact your ship is filled with a lot of tomboys?" SF countered.

"Hey. We're an all female crew…that doesn't mean we have to soil our hands with cleaning our own ship," Sabre countered.

"I feel like she's making this worse for me on purpose…" Ben mumbled to himself as he then looked to the others, "Hey guys!"

"Don't lump us in with you!" Kevin barked.

"Oh?" Sabre raised a brow before looking at Ben's friends, "So you're friends with our new…employees…"

"Ahh Kevin…" Gwen facepalmed.

"...So it's just cool that I can take this guy for myself then?" 'Yang' asked as she held Ben up again, "Not every day I find a cute guy."

"Wh-?! HEY!" Makoto barked as she stomped a foot on a table, knocking its contents off, "YOU BACK OFF MY BOYFRIEND, YA COPYCAT OF MY BEST PUNNY GAL PAL!"

"...Mind if I take the squirrel girl, too?"

"I'm not your mom, Stella. Do whatever the fuck you want."

"Mai, you better hope Robotboy didn't hear that!" Noel shouted, only to earn silence in response, "...M….Mai?"

"Huh? Oh oh…r-right…ahem. Our heroes have been stolen themselves…so they need to think of a wager with Guildmaster Cade to not only free themselves, but get their gems back," Mai narrated, "However, they must choose their words carefully…he is not known as the king of thieves and swindlers for nothing."

"D'oh! You're enjoying this, aren't you?! If I didn't think this was kind of hot, I'd be angrier!" Makoto complained.

"...Wait, what?" Ben blinked at that.

"...I have a thing for female blondes, okay?" Makoto whispered, blushing, "Bi here, remember?"

"I do. Just…uh…what have you been fantasizing about recently that I may or may not need to take you to Alf for?" Ben whispered.

"You will do no such thing," Makoto argued, "'Cause you're always part of those fantasies."

"...Can we stop playing right now?" Ben asked, a bit of blood trickling down from his left nostril.

"Prototype, remember? Won't shut off until the game ends," Kajun reminded.

"I hate this all of a sudden…" Ben muttered.

"We did not need to know how horny you are!" Kevin complained.

"Why? You always did it…" Ben deadpanned.

"I did no such thing…"

"I'd follow you anywhere…" Ben spoke in his best mimicry of Kevin's voice.

"Nah…He's more attracted to his car," Gwen chuckled, "I've found him sleeping in it for no reason sometimes."

"Hey to be fair…Luna locked me out of the house those times," Kevin argued, "Hell one time…she pulled a freakin' Flintstones on me."

"Seriously?" Kajun asked in surprise.

"Wait…you replaced your car?" Makoto blinked, "I thought Ben cannibalized the old one to make his motorcycle?"

"Oh yeah right…Kevin has a car made of taydenite. He more or less has infinite money," Ben muttered.

"Anyone messes with it, they get popped," Kevin stated.

"And yet I popped you back when we spared," Ben countered before he was carried off, "...uh, guys…help!"

"...Challenge," Lambda spoke, making everyone in the guild stop as Cade raised a brow, "Challenge…for freedom and the Gems you have."

"...Is she serious?" Sabre questioned with a raised brow.

"I'm interested by this little lady," a voice spoke up as everyone looked at Cade, "Also the brass on the scrawny one. He's either the bravest thief…or the dumbest. Sides, we thieves are always at the mercy of Mistress Luck. So…let's see if she favors these…weirdos." he looked them over, "Alright…the gems and the twig are on the table!"

"Hah?!" Sabre and SF gawked a bit at that.

"Oi, oi, oi…Are you serious?" SF asked.

"Yes…" he smiled.

"...oh she got him down perfectly…" Makoto nodded.

"Are we sure that's not actually Tsukasa invading our dimension?" Ben whispered.

"I am starting to ponder the same thing…" Rook muttered.

"Alright, little lady," Cade grinned as he looked at Lambda, "What challenge do you have in mind…? Keep in mind...I am an expert at cards."

"..." Lambda looked at Bluey for a moment before looking back at him, "Poker."

"Fantastic!" he clapped his hands, "I know. Everyone…let's all play!" he spoke to the two leaders, "I figure this twiggy little sneak must have some skill to get that far to only be captured at the tail end of your ship? I'm sure I can…abuse…I mean use his talents."

"...heh. Know what? Fine," Sabre grinned as she stood up, "I'll play her little game."

"Wait…am I a prize in this?" Ben blinked.

"You're collateral," Cade taunted, slapping Ben's face gently but mockingly.

"I bet her to go to whoever wins the twig," Lambda added, pushing Makoto over.

"What the wha?!" Makoto gawked.

"Deal," Cade grinned.

"Lambda/La-chan?!" the others gawked at that.

"Our champion," Lambda informed…before putting Bluey in the chair brought over.

"...Y-You're kidding, right?" Kevin asked.

"Is…Is she serious?" Gwen whispered to Tsubaki…who was looking away with a blush.

"Tsubaki-chan and I still owe Bluey fifteen carrots each from the last food bets-only Poker Night we had a girls only night when the boys all went on night patrol," Noel muttered, looking down at her feet.

"Oh this is too rich." Cade smiled, snapping his fingers as a grunt walked up with a bundle of weapons, "Okay, you look like you have some annoying…holy folk…" he looked at Tsubaki and Jin, "So here…" he pulled out an ornate blade handle and guard but…it had no blade.

"A…swordless sword?" Makoto blinked before flinching as a blade of light ignited from it.

"Not many can make good use of this thing…but I offer it up along with other weird weapons like this…" he paused, pulling out an ornate angelic blade, "This…weird sword that doesn't even work…something about needing to swear by an oath to power it."

"...Fine then," Lambda nodded as she sat down, "I accept."

"...Little lady is crazy," SF chuckled as he stood up, "Screw it. I'm in, too."

"Perfect!" Cade grinned, "Oh and to sweeten the deal…Sabre's gotta give you one of her ships."

"OH WHAT THE HELL?!" Sabre snapped.

"Correct me if I'm wrong…but…I am still paying off certain debts of yours from Waterdeep, am I not?" Cade smiled.

"We agreed to never speak of that!" she hissed.

"Then all is settled!" he clapped his hands, causing a magic circle to surround everyone.

"It is at this point they realize Cade isn't a Rogue…but a master Wizard." Mai giggled.

"Oh shoot," Gwen whispered, looking at the circle, "...Kajun…why are there actual runic arrays in this circle?"

"Well…I needed to study more on magic…so I borrowed your old spell book that you lent to us," she muttered, "Also, this field taps into the players' minds to fill in gaps, etc and etc…"

"..." her eyes turned magenta for a moment, "...There's no real mana fueling it, so count yourself lucky, Kajun. Several of those runes, if this was truly being powered by mana, would've made this a legit Spellcrafters Vow Array. And using fake things like this thing produces for it would not have gone well for us." she tapped her cheek, "But this does give me something to use for lessons with Sena and Luna on what to be careful of with runic arrays."

"Ahh….g-good to know…" Kajun whispered….while mentality sweating.

"Alright, Cade…which deck we using?" SF questioned the Guildmaster.

"Hmm…Argent!" Cade called out as the rat thief ran up to him, holding a tray with multiple different card decks on it, "Hmm…not this one…not this one…oh definitely not this one…stupid cult ruined this one…" he muttered before pulling one which looked brand new, "Hmmm?" he sniffed it a few times, "Oh this should suffice…no magic, no hexes, 0 curses…and freshly made." he put it on the table, "Let the game begin!"

"...You sure they've got this?" Kevin whispered.

"If there's one thing that many of us that live in this house agree on, it's not to play Poker with Bluey and La-chan unless Ben-kun is there as well and vice-versa," Makoto whispered, "His luck with card games counters their luck and makes games last much longer."

"MMM!" a gagged Ben called out as he was hung upside down over the table.

"Just making sure he doesn't slip off," Cade smiled.

"...And you're not doing the same to me because…?" Makoto asked.

"Eh, you seem to be a package deal and will follow wherever that one goes," Cade shrugged.

"D'oh! Curses…hoisted by my love of this goof," Makoto complained, snapping her fingers in defeat, 'And Mai is really good at remembering how a person acts! Feels just like Tsukasa!'

"Alright…" Cade began as they each drew cards, "Let's play."

"...Ahh damn it. Not again," SF muttered to himself as he looked at his hand.

"..." Lambda calmly looked at her cards as Bluey pretended to clean his face with a paw.

"Tch," Sabre scowled.

'Welp…at least I am not actually upside down…' Ben sighed in his head.

'Wow. No signs of anything from them…' Kevin thought as Lambda discarded a card and was given a replacement.

'This is always the slower part of the game…' Gwen sighed as Bluey discarded all but two cards and was given his replacements, 'And this isn't even the strangest game of Poker I've seen.'

"...you think you're clever...huh, little girl?" Sabre taunted as she smirked at Lambda, "You must truly have a death wish to take on all three of us."

"..."

"...You know it's common courtesy to respond to someone," Sabre deadpanned, only to earn more silence.

"La-chan?" Noel asked, "Oh dear…she's hyper focused…this has only ever happened during her games…mostly to unlock a special collectible…"

"..."

"...know what? Fine," Sabre grinned a bit, "Since Cade offered one of my ships…I'll throw in one of the newer ones I had made...completely stocked with food and healing potions if needed."

"...alright….bet," Lambda spoke, reaching into her pocket before pulling out a bright red feather that bled into a brilliant golden-yellow.

"?! A…A Phoenix Feather…?" Sabre whispered in disbelief, "But…how? Those only come from…"

"I am a bard of the Phoenix," Lambda responded, "We travel across the land to spread its song." Bluey sneezed and a purple Rupee popped out of him, clattering down beside the feather, "...My Familiar."

"Wait, what…?" Kevin blinked.

"We…homebrewed in a lot of new stuff for the new players…" Tsubaki explained.

"We didn't want to overwhelm them with the strictness of the normal game. That's far too much for a first time player," Kajun added.

"That's not a fake bet, either. Bluey just sneezed one and hit Jin in the face," Skurd informed.

"That explains why my face feels sore after he sneezed…" Jin muttered.

"Mmmm…Mmmmm!" Ben muttered.

"He's saying: Why can he do that if this is all virtual? Does his body react like he thinks it's real?"

"He said all that?" Gwen blinked.

"Well…not as elegantly…but more or less." Skurd replied.

"Magic bunny," Lambda replied, petting Bluey on the head.

"...Alright fine….you wanna go in? I'll go in as well," SF grinned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a dragon's scale, "Got this from my encounter with the dragon king himself…heh. Nearly died when he bit into my side, too."

"..."

"...ok, this kid's good," SF muttered a bit.

"...fine…counter…" Lambda began as she pointed at Jin, "A battle between you and Julius…Scarlet Fang."

"?!" SF tensed at that as everyone in the guild hall looked at him, "...How…"

"Your name is SF…Julius mentioned that his former order was killed by someone by that name," Lambda surmised as Jin scowled a bit, "Plus a scale of the dragon king…and lived to tell the tale is not something easy to brag about."

"..."

"Told you someone was gonna find out eventually," Cade whispered to him.

"Shut up…" SF…or rather Scarlet Fang muttered, "...fine….you win, I'll personally lead you to my former boss' footsteps….need to pay her back anyway for nearly feeding me to the Demigorgon."

"..." Lambda stayed silent as Bluey gave a small yawn.

"...psst. What's a Demigorgon?" Makoto whispered to Gwen.

"Oh…creepy tentacled faced monster…psychic powers…mind control others…infect them with Old One parasites…feed peoples' brains to the giant brain that powers their hivemind…typically serve a Mind Flayer." she listed, "Literally the worst monster you can ever face in the game…next to its boss…or its boss…"

"Gh…" Makoto cringed, "Okay, that sounds so creepy…and we're probably gonna have to fight it, huh?"

"Most likely."

"Wonderful…"

"Any last bets before we get this show on the road?" Cade asked, discarding only one card and receiving a new one in return.

"...no."

"You sure? Really tempting~"

"I am, yes."

"...hmm…you are a tough one, I will give you that," Cade muttered, "...but so am I…"

"Who first to show their hand?" Lambda asked.

"This is weirdly intense…" Makoto noted.

"Heh…" Scarlet Fang played his hand, "Three Kings of the Diamonds, Clubs, and Hearts and two Queens of Hearts and Diamonds."

"Tch," Sabre scowled as she showed her, "Two Jacks of Diamonds and Hearts, an Ace of Diamonds, and two Sixes of Hearts and Diamonds."

Bluey showed his hand and the two gawked on seeing the 9, 8, 7, 6, and 5 of Diamonds, "A Straight of Diamonds?!"

"Huh…Not bad," Cade noted before showing his hand of 8, 9, 10, Jack, and Queen of Clubs, "But not good enough." he looked to Lambda, "Well…What of your hand, Bard of the Phoenix?"

"..." carefully, Lambda laid out the 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of Spades, "Royal Straight Flush."

"?!" Cade nearly stepped back in shock at that.

"...Your familiar gave you his Super Prodigy, didn't he?"

"My Bluey," Lambda replied, hugging her Blupee.

"Curse you, Bluey the Blupee! Curse you~!" Mai cursed, causing Bluey to tilt his head and felt like he wanted a fedora.

"How the…I…wha?" Sabre gawked.

"Holy shit," Scarlet Fang whispered in shock and surprise, "What kinda luck does she have?"

"..." Cade chuckled, "Well…How about that? Seems Lady Luck smiles upon you and your group." he snapped his fingers and his men let Ben drop into Makoto's arms while unlocking the cages, "To the victor, the spoils."

"Phwa…to be fair…I figured it would be cruel of me to take the Lucky feat…so I gave it to Lambda," Ben explained.

"So we've won quite a bit, haven't we?" Tsubaki asked, looking at the physical prizes.

"Indeed," Rook added.

"Least we c-" Makoto began before Stella walked up to her and Ben, "..."

"...A shame. We could've made some nice flames together," Stella shrugged as she handed Ben the two gems they had, along with an emerald-green colored gem, "Here ya go...like the bosses promised." she kissed his cheek along with Makoto's, "And a little extra."

"Thanks…" Ben muttered, handing them to Tsubaki, "Excuse me…" he walked out, "CURSE YOU, MAI!-!-!-!" he cried out.

"You know admitting that fantasy thing might have caused more torture to him then Mai intended…" Tsubaki looked to Makoto.

"...Excuse me for a moment," Makoto said as she walked out, "...GOD DAMN IT, MAI!-!-!-!-!"

"Suggest one thing…and I magic you into an actual dwarf." Gwen smiled at Kevin.

"Yes dear…" he yelped.

"Heh heh…I love these kids!" Cade laughed before slapping Scarlet Fang's shoulder, "Well…deal's a deal, buddy…You gotta go with 'em."

"...yeah…..joy," he muttered, noticing Jin giving him a scowling glare, "A lot of joy…"

"...Let us be off…" Jin whispered as he began to walk off.

"...ahem. Ano…Mai?" Noel spoke up.

"Yes….of course…" Mai whispered in a rather…calm tone as the scenery changed, the group now standing within the remains of what used to be a village, the ground beneath them scorched and covered in red dirt, "With assistance of the….traitorous Scarlet Fang, the group has arrived in the Fallen Land of the Dragonkin….my people's home before a lich and his army besieged it…"

"Should we even point it out or just let it be?" Skurd asked.

"Silence, slime…"

"Yeah, no. She's fully gone now," Kajun sighed, "Only way to snap her out of it is beating her game."

"...right," Jin spoke as he looked over at Scarlet Fang, "Where is the Red Gem?"

"Buried somewhere in here…" Scarlet Fang answered, "Ima wanted to keep it preserved…as a reminder of what her people once had…and represent its fall."

"So it's literally buried somewhere here," Kevin noted.

"Probably explains…why it's so hot…" Makoto panted a bit as she fanned herself, "Hoo…Anyone know any cooling spells?"

"Well it's not much, but…" Kajun waved her hand as Makoto's clothing began cooling, "I can only do that so many times before it stops having an effect…"

"It works…" she sighed.

"So…how do we find it…we can't just dig up everything…that'd take hours…and we'd probably work ourselves to a point of exhaustion."

"True. She may have very well hid it in a place of importance to her," Scarlet Fang noted.

"...Like maybe her old home or an old spot she used to visit," Noel suggested.

"Someone good at history should make a history check to see if they read about that once," Ben sighed.

"It's a good idea, so…we may need to be careful…" Tsubaki whispered, cautiously eying the area as she kept her weapon ready, "We're close to enemy territory…"

"Meaning Ima's minions could be lurking nearby," Jin stated before looking at Scarlet Fang, "..."

"...If this is about what happened to the Order…"

"You killed everyone…brother."

"I had no choice…Ima had…"

"You could've saved them and yet you slaughtered them!"

"Are we really doing this now?" Gwen sighed.

"SILENCE!" Jin snapped, making her yelp in surprise, "Brother…you and I were amongst the knights of the highest order…and yet you threw it away!"

"Oh I'm sorry! Would you rather have suffered the same fate as our allies by that damn curse?!"

"Like how you abandoned our sister?!" Jin snapped before he was suddenly punched, "?!"

"You mean the same sister…you let get kidnapped?" Scarlet Fang scowled.

"?!" Jin tensed.

"Wow…She is really good at this while she thinks she's the final boss," Kevin whispered.

"I…don't think this is all just playing into Jin's character profile…" Ben muttered, "Skurd, can you hear me?"

"Yes…I had to slap Mai's hand a few times as she tried to snag me. Mari bit her finger by the way…I told her not to…she doesn't know where that thing has been…"

"Hey…Mari is a clean and healthy girl." Noel pouted.

"Hmm…oh no. I meant I told Mari not to…"

"Oh…sorry, Skurd." Noel nodded.

"It's fine…ahem. Anyways, what do you need?"

"We think Mai's gone total loco and now she's treating the game as reality…as in she herself believes so," Ben sighed.

"Mmm…Yes, I see that. Hmm…I may need to be careful then…one wrong move and she may end up sealing me into a bottle."

"...Skurd, you're not intending on cheating are you?" Makoto asked.

"Are there any better options at the moment?"

"I'd rather not deal with her if you get caught, Skurd," Gwen advised.

"Yes, that's fine…I suppose you can all live in this virtual facsimile of life while your actual bodies slowly starve and dehydrate, well except for Ben…the Omnitrix will likely change him into an alien that does not need food. But the rest of you…you're doomed." Skurd rambled on, and then stopped as if waiting to hear something from them.

"...that's not funny," Lambda frowned.

"Well sorry…well i-"

"BUT HOLD! What is this…?" Mai whispered as a figure walked out of the shadows, "A mysterious being has appeared before the group..but is it ally…or foe?"

"...hey," the figure began as they approached Rook, who tensed as he reached for something, "come on….why not give a hand?" it said as it reached its hand out to him.

"Roll for outcome."

"...Ulp…" Rook gulped and he reached out, "I…roll…"

"Result…is ten…"

"...th…that is good…r-" Rook began as he grabbed the figure's hand…and a fart noise came from it, "..."

"..." the others gave a deadpanned expression at that.

"...Oh great…you…" Scarlet Fang groaned, seeing that the figure…was a skeleton in a blue robe, "Really? That shit again?"

"what can i say? i make a grand entrance," the skeleton joked as he let go of Rook's hand…who quickly began to wipe it, "oh relax. it's a simple sound spell. great for parties."

"Blast it…they encountered one of the Lich's former men…" Mai scowled, "Their outcome is good…and now they can ask him for where the Fire Gem is…and I will surely await them at my castle…"

"...Pfft…" Makoto snorted before she went into a giggle fit, "H-He got ya good, Rook! You sure you didn't eat that serving of beans, man? Because that was a gas!"

"...yes...I am most certainly sure…" Rook muttered, still trying to wipe his hand a bit.

"Seriously, Makoto?" Tsubaki groaned.

"What? It's funny!" Makoto argued as the skeleton chuckled.

"oh, a fellow punster, eh? hope you can keep up with me on 'em. i'm skele-ton of fun when it comes to 'em."

*BADUM TST!*

"...And now there's two again…" Noel groaned, facepalming.

"Skele-Ton…Skurd, write that down!" Ben ordered, earning more facepalmings from the others.

"We're looking for the fire gem," Lambda spoke, "May we ask for help, mister…um…?"

"call me 'nass.' but just don't call me 'late for dinner.'"

"Where did Mai come up with this guy?!" Makoto laughed, holding her arms over her stomach.

"I don't know. It looks like she's drawing off all the people she knows…and/or has absorbed memories from…which…includes you…" Ben muttered to Makoto, "Haven't you locked lips with her several times?"

"Yep. Eh…she could use some work on her technique," Makoto shrugged.

"I'LL SHOW YOU 'TECHNIQUE,' YOU PERVERTED MONK!"

"Probably not the best of times for that, huh?" Ben muttered holding Makoto as she lept into his arms.

"Mmm mm…" Makoto shook her head, her tail sticking straight up.

"L-let's see what we can ask him…" Gwen spoke up once she regained her composure, "Uh….Nass? You by any chance know where the Fire Gem is?"

"hmm….maybe. but….you're gonna have to give me your best puns," Nass grinned as he held up three boney fingers, "three max…i enjoy 'em? i'll tell ya where it is."

"...great…more puns…" Jin groaned.

"My time has come," Ben spoke, cutting in front of Jin.

"How do you keep doing that?" Jin asked.

"Stealth boosted to insane, sneaking magic gear, and your perception is trash…" Ben spoke, "Good berry?" He held up a magic fruit.

"..."

"Oh relax. It's like a senzu bean. Only…less effective."

"...mm," Jin frowned as he took it and ate it, causing his bruised cheek to heal, "...eck…sour."

"Well hey…no need to be in a sour mood," Ben grinned.

*BADUM-TST!*

"...I hate you."

"Ah come on buddy, we share blood…you're an Elf and I'm Half-elf…hey for all I know you had a wild early 100's…for all you know…you could be my daddy~" Ben smirked.

"Like hell!" Jin snapped, "You being my son would be like trying to tune a piano with a tuna fish!"

*BADUM-TST!*

"Y-You turned me into part of your bit…I'm your straight man!?" Jin realized.

"Yup."

"ALL OF MY HATE!" Jin snapped as Makoto was rolling around the ground and laughing.

"Just need one more pun," Kevin spoke up before grinning, "No worries…I got this."

"You sure?" Noel asked.

"I've hung out with Tennyson a lot…I've had to bear through his bad puns, so I can think up something on the fly," Kevin grinned.

"...eto...isn't that a little…short sighted?" Noel asked.

*BADUM-TST!*

"AH! Noellie did the final pun! She joined the Dark side! One of us! One of us!" Makoto cheered.

"Eh?!" Noel exclaimed before looking at Lambda, who shook her head in disapproval, "L-La-chan?!"

"Disappointed, sister…" Lambda deadpanned as Bluey shook his head.

"GH!" Noel flinched before pouting, "Mmm…"

"heh heh…hey those were good….though be careful with your elf paladin friend there. you guys might end up driving him to…high heaven," Nass punned.

*BADUM-TST!*

"Kill him! I swear I'm gonna kill him…!" Jin seethed as Tsubaki held him back.

"My lord, we need him!" Tsubaki shouted.

"Hahahaha…get it 'cause he's a holy knight…" Ben laughed, hunched over from the fit, "Ah…buddy, you sure you're not the Grim Reaper? …'Cause you kill me!"

"I'm not sure…but I think I see actual smoke coming from Jin's ears…also Mai…I think they are overloaded…" Skurd mumbled.

"Gh…SILENCE!" Mai snapped.

"Mari, my sweet fellow intelligent life form…get her…" Skurd chuckled darkly.

"Wh-GAH! MY FACE!"

"That's right~! We're the smart ones of this home! Don't you forget it! Now win the game!"

"Right!" Rook nodded before looking at Nass, "Where is the Fire Gem?"

"oh right. i owe you that for the pun fest," Nass recalled as he reached into his cloak's cleeve..before pulling out the Fire Gem, "here ya go."

"...He had it this entire time…" Jin whispered, his eyes twitching violently.

"was keeping it safe for the little lady…owed her pops that much since he was the previous king," Nass shrugged before tossing the gem to Kajun, "i wish ya luck…though i suggest ya be careful…you've probably ticked off ima at this point…"

"So long as we can finally leave…" Tsubaki sighed…before glaring at Kajun, "And berate a certain someone…"

"...I keep telling you it was experimental…and I didn't know Mai took it!"

"Even still…!"

"...Did Mai do anything funny with you today?" Noel asked.

"Hm? Funny? Mmm…No, she came by for our usual lunch together before going out to the flea market with Rook and Lambda," Kajun replied, "Though, I did have to leave for a moment because Driba hit the self-destruct on our newest defense system prototype and…" she paused, "...That clever girl. She most likely licked the spoon I was using to get enough information to bypass the security for that device."

"Yeah…Noel, you give me as big a list as you can write for ingredients when we're out of here," Ben informed, cringing, "I'm gonna need a big feast for her to help apologize."

"Ahhh~!" Noel squealed happily at that while hugging him, "You never do that for me! Okay! Don't worry, I'll make sure to have everything ready for you to go out and get them by tomorrow morning!"

"...Oh my poor stomach…" Kajun slumped.

"I'll be in the same boat," Ben replied, patting her shoulder.

"But now that we have all the orbs, we can hopefully finish th-" Rook began before the scene changed, the group now standing before a large ornate door of a massive black castle-like construct, "...and scene transition once again…"

"After traversing through the burning wastelands of my homeland…our heroes have arrived at my castle, where I eagerly await them inside…" Mai narrated, "All they need to do..is simply put the orbs into the slots in the door."

"...This seems too easy," Gwen frowned a bit.

"Yeah….way too easy," Makoto added with her own frown, "Mai, what are ya scheming!?" Silence was her only response, "...MAI!"

"We're near the end of the game, Makoto…it's obvious she wants to keep us in suspense," Tsubaki pointed out.

"Hah…alright. Let's get it done…" Ben sighed.

"..." Lambda looked at Kevin.

"...I wasn't gonna suggest using the bunny to put the stones into the slots," Kevin denied.

"Strongest defenses should," Lambda suggested.

"...Oh fine…" Kevin muttered as Noel handed him the gems, "But I swear…if I get bisected by something…you better heal me…" he walked up to the door and carefully placed the gems in the opened slots, "...ok now wh-" he tensed when the doors began to open, a dark mist seeping out as it swept past the group.

"I've awaited you…fools…" Mai's voice echoed from the darkness, teh group faintly seeing a pair of slit eyes looking at them, "Enter…and accept your deaths…"

"...I think she's looking specifically at you, Ben," Gwen whispered.

"No, no…she's looking at me and Bluey," Ben replied, pointing down at the Blupee peeking out from behind his legs.

"...welp. May as well confront her then a-" Kevin began as he stepped in, "..." he looked back at the rest of Team Remix Hearts, "Okay…legit question…do all you future girls wear super revealing clothing just to look intimidating?"

"Who told you about my old uniform?" Makoto demanded.

"Old uni-I was talking about the picture Noel sent Gwen about that alien outfit Ben can turn into!" Kevin argued, "And I'm not talking about that now!" he pointed inside, "I'm referring to her!"

"Her? What are you talking a…bout…?" Tsubaki trailed off as she and the others walked inside…and saw Mai sitting in a bloodred crystal throne. However…she seemed to be VASTLY different.

Her skin had become an ashen gray in color with glowing red patterns covering her cheekbones. She had a pair of horns growing out of her head, taking the shape of a headdress of sorts for her long purple hair pulled into its normal ponytail. Her outfit was rather risque. She was donned in a backless black and red halter top which had a large cut down the middle, revealing her impressive cleavage. The top had a collar with large red feathers and a white cape attached. Her black and red pants were cut at the hips and had red feathers around the inner thigh, armored up to look as if the pants were made of demonic scales or obsidian with red glowing designs going down them, all while a long slender tail with a blade at the tip swayed behind her. She lightly swirled a blood red drink in a chalice made of a skull in one of her hands, the limbs engulfed to the shoulders in the same material as her pants, while gazing upon them with red demonic eyes.

"...Well…" Makoto whispered under her breath, "Congrats, Mai…you've made another fantasy dream pop up in my noggin."

"...oh my," Noel blushed a bit as Lambda put her hands over her eyes…while keeping her own eyes shut.

"Seriously, do all you future girls wear skimpy outfits when you wanna be serious in a fight?" Kevin asked, "Because I worry for the next girl that does it being in even less."

"If Noel is the next one and she has the most revealing one yet, I will stay on one of the pets and not the Omnitrix for a month," Skurd declared.

"Eh?! W-Why me?!" Noel asked, blushing at the thoughts in her head that were being formed.

"Noel, I think they are just messing around, we all know you'd never willingly do something like that," Ben chuckled, patting her head, "Keep your head in the game."

"...R-Right…" Noel nodded as she brought her weapon out.

"...I blame Nanaya," Jin deadpanned to Tsubaki.

"...M…MAI!" Tsubaki snapped as she pointed at her, "Wh-what are you even wearing?!"

"Mai?" Mai questioned before scoffing, "I haven't the foggiest idea who you speak of, cleric…I am the Dark Lord Ima…and you now stand within my castle, fools…"

"...Skurd, can you take Mari out to Funkfreed and start getting the salt water, the cup, and some sage and candles?" Ben asked.

"One issue…we can't get out of the barrier Kajun's device set up."

"Then how did you…"

"We slipped in just before it closed."

"Great…" Ben sighed.

"I must admit…not many have come far to this point," Mai…or rather…Ima spoke as she stood up from her throne, "To get the four gems and make it to my castle alive? Heh…I'd be impressed if it weren't so pitiful…regardless…" she gripped her chalice before it shattered in her hand, "I eagerly awaited this…the day I end you all…especially the half-elf rogue…"

"She really wants to beat Ben that badly…" Gwen whispered.

"...And the Familiar of the Phoenix's Bard."

"...One too many 20s, huh?" Kevin muttered, looking down at Bluey…who was hiding behind Lambda and covering his face with his paws and his ears.

"Wow…and I thought my Rogues gallery was spiteful…" Ben muttered.

"...She is not alone," Rook frowned as he stood ready, "I sense something here…"

"Quite apt of you, Artificer…" Ima grinned before four figures appeared next to her…each one taking a HEAVY resemblance to Ganon's Blights, "Behold…my Guardians...and your little playmates while I…" she flicked her hand and a twisted blood red and obsidian spear formed in her right hand, a curved ax blade attached to the bulkier end of the spear, "...fight the Rogue personally…"

"Oh…well me without my one thing that made me a threat…" Ben sighed as he slumped his head, "Ow…I hit my head on the table…"

"That was me, you idiot…" Skurd groaned, "Also you activated the Omnitrix again…would you like me to turn you into Way Big to bust free?"

"Wait…this is all VR…" Ben blinked, "Quick find the special playlist I labeled 'Powerhouse' and find ReBoot!"

"For once, you had a genius idea, my boy!" Skurd declared, "It will take a little bit for me to find. Going silent!"

Ima snapped her fingers and the orbs shot out of the slots of the doors and towards each of her Guardians, sliding into a slot on their faces and became their eyes. The Guardians roared as their weapons formed before adopting intimidating stances.

"...Rook, you and Makoto provide Ben with some cover," Tsubaki quickly ordered as she readied her weapon, "We'll hold back Mai…er…Ima's guardians."

"Understood," Rook nodded, "Just be careful…"

"These things are NOT to be taken lightly," Makoto added as she banged her fist together.

"Oh please...what can they do t-" Kevin began before he quickly leaned back, his beard cut short as the Thunder Guardian became a blur, "Ahh! My beard!"

"One's fast and can control lightning, one's fire and hits hard, one's water and can create ice, and one's wind and…" Ben paused before he quickly ducked under a beam from the Wind Guardian, "...can fire lasers while in the air."

"How did you beat these things!?" Jin complained.

"Uh…technically…we didn't…" Makoto muttered, "We had four superhuman weirdos with super armor and a lot of anger issues to fight 'em…"

"And before they fought 'em, it was done by Link on his own for Windblight and Fireblight," Ben added before facepalming, "...And Mai knows more about them than us because of that accidental kiss she got on Link." he yelped as he barely avoided the spear hitting where he had been, "Hoh geez!"

"Come, Half-Elf…Let the 'dance' begin," Ima grinned, bloodlust heavy in her smirk and eyes, as she pulled her weapon out of the ground, "Then when I finish with you, I go after the Bard's Familiar."

"Just so you know…I'm half sure Lambda's gonna punch you when the game's over!" Ben grunted, pulling out the sword handle before it projected the blade of light.

"Wait, I thought…" Jin blinked.

"It has the finesse property, so I can use it!" Ben argued.

"Oh right. We got those special weapons from Cade," Tsubaki recalled.

"Well 'till Skurd finds ReBoot…en garde crazy half naked dragon lady!" Ben challenged.

"Hot…half naked Dragon lady!" Makoto corrected.

"Babe, now is not the time for that fantasy!" Ben yelped, barely dodging a swing aimed at him.

"Hora hora!" Ima shouted as she continuously struck him with her spear, a feral grin on her face as her weapon was practically a blur, "Come on, half-elf rogue! You were boasting about your skills not too long ago!"

'Thank the Celestialsapiens for modifiers,' Ben thought as he was able to dodge and avoid most of those save the one that did hit, but even then he could reduce the damage.

"SMITE!" Jin shouted as he slashed his at the Water Guardian, only to grunt when the Lightning Guardian stabbed him in the side before becoming a blur once more, "COWARD!"

"KYA~!" Noel screamed as she, Kajun and Gwen ran from the Fire Guardian's massive fire blade.

"Remind me to ask more about what they did on that trip," Gwen said as Kevin and her dodged the blasts of the last Guardian.

"It was a very long trip!" Noel yelped.

"Let's focus on surviving first!" Tsubaki shouted as she narrowly dodged the Water Guardian's spear, "La-chan!"

"Providing buff," Lambda spoke as she pulled out her lute, starting to play a gentle soothing melody as a faint fairy red aura surrounded her.

"No you don't!" Ima grinned as she turned, smacking Ben with her tail as she gave off a loud roar, sending a shockwave that shot past Lambda.

"..." Lambda tried to say a word once she strummed her lute, only to tense when no noise came from her mouth…not even a gasp, "?!"

"You cast Silence?!" Ben realized as he quickly got up.

"Best method to deal with pesky bards and spellcasters," Ima grinned before her tail caught Makoto's thrown fist, catching the Beastkin off guard before she was spun around and tossed right into Ben.

"Rook, now would be a good time to pull out a surprise move!" Ben shouted.

"I still do not…" Rook began before blinking as lights began forming the frame of something like his Proto-Tool before forming into a steampunk version of it over his shoulder, "Oh…that's how," he blinked as its barrel folded down and began shooting bolts of energy at Ima.

"?!" Ima tensed as she quickly turned, twirling her spear singlehandedly as she deflected the energy bolts away, "...rather sneaky of you, Artificer."

"She's really abusing legendary actions…" Ben groaned.

"Ugh…note to self…Mai should be banned from undercover missions…" Makoto muttered.

"Agreed…"

"GH!" Jin grunted as he was sent skidding back, stopping next to Kevin as the two were cornered by the Lightning Guardian and the Water Guardian, "Blast it…they're too well coordinated."

"Skurd!"

"Oh I found it forever ago I've just been waiting for a dramatic moment~" Skurd laughed.

"SKURD!" Tsubaki snapped as she quickly created a barrier to block the Wind Guardian's laser, "CHANGE BEN NOW OR ELSE I'LL HAVE JIN FREEZE YOU FOR A FEW MONTHS!"

"MONTHS?! But…my soaps…"

"JUST DO IT!" everyone else snapped.

"Now die!" Ima thrust her spear down only for Ben to vanish, "Wha…where did he go!?"

=Ah ha ha…= ReBoot chuckled as he appeared behind her =Hello~=

"?!" Ima tensed as she spun around to hit him, only for him to vanish, "COWARD!"

=One moment if you please…I need to rework a lot here…do you realize I'm like literally fighting the glitch and trying to bash it back into place…= his voice sighed, =Probably good thing this is a beta test…cause hoo boy…=

"I'm sorry, okay?!" Kajun exclaimed, "I didn't expect Mai to actually steal it!"

=Hang on I'm working here, and…just…oh there it goes…and zappity-zap-zap!=

"Ahh!" Noel yelped as she pulled the trigger of her crossbow, sending an arrow flying at the Lightning Guardian..only for it to dodge as it blurred up to her.

*BANG!*

Only to 'cry' out as it staggered back, holding its face that now sported a bullet hole. Noel blinked for a few moments before looking at her hands, seeing she was no longer holding a crossbow…but rather Bolverk.

"...Ben what did you j-" Tsubaki began before quickly turning and swinging her weapon at the attacking Fire Guardian, only for a flash to go off as Excalibur took her mace's place…and slashed through the enemies own blade, "?!"

"Wh-what devilry is this?!" Ima snapped as she looked around, "SHOW YOURSELF THIEF!"

=Ah I thought fixing the glitch would fix her…oh well…play into it= ReBoot sighed, =Hahahaha! Foolish little girl! You really thought I was just a thief!? No…I am the god of this world itself! I wanted to test your ability to be redeemed…but you have failed!=

"Oh! Evil Act Ben! He hasn't done this since the training of Plumber Rookies!" Makoto cheered.

"...of course…heh heh heh….I should've realized!" Ima chuckled a bit before going into a full blown laugh, "Very sneaky of you, foul god! But do not think I will let you best me! I am Ima, the last of the Dragonkin, the very people you abandoned years ago when the Lich came to invade!"

=Mmm…yes that does complicate things…But I will not be fighting you, that would be breaking the rules…instead I shall gift these champions…by…= he paused as everyone flinched before their character levels all began rising from 10…to 20, =Oh yes that is much better, twice the power! Oh lets see…oh Legendary actions? On goons…nope none of those…Multi-attack…nah you won't need that, oh…and lets top off everyones HP and refill their spell slots…and…hm…Temp HP buffs…oh and give everyone haste!=

"Oh…that is broken…" Gwen muttered.

"What's that?" Makoto blinked.

"Spell that doubles walking speed, lets you attack an extra time, and raises your AC." Gwen explained.

=In short Martial Classes…Sick em!=

"...with pleasure," Makoto grinned, cracking her knuckles before she suddenly vanished.

"...where…" Ima began before the Fire Guardian was suddenly sent crashing into a wall, its entire face dented up, "?!"

=Oh and for our little bard….panacea!=

"Panacea!?" Ima exclaimed before faint glow came off of Lambda.

"...Phoenix' blessing," Lambda frowned as she began to strum her Lute, sending out a fiery red wave that washed over the party, "Auto regen…and one time auto revive."

=Ooh~! That's a good one!=

"We're totally breaking the rules and game huh?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah…but given the situation…this is a lot more fun." Gwen smiled, quickly forming a sphere of mana as she shot down the Wind Guardian.

"SMITE!" Jin shouted as he struck the Water Guardian, only for his blade to shatter when it deflected it with its spear, "...Tennyson, I need my sword!"

=Just a second, some things were easier to make work then others= he chuckled as Jin's sword fell from the sky and landed in front of him, =I am a giving god indeed~=

"...Just ignore him," Jin whispered as he quickly grabbed Yukianesa, quickly unsheathing it as he froze an incoming wave of water coming straight towards him, "Perfect." He looked at the Water Guardian, "You deal with the true master of the ice, you blight! Have at you!"

"I shall assist you. My lord!" Tsubaki shouted as she jumped next to him, deflecting the laser shot of the Wind Guardian, "With my mighty blade, I shall slay all who stand in your way in the name of our lord!"

"Wait…Tsubaki your a Cleric…you can literally use your one feature that never works now…you can make a God help us!" Gwen reminded.

=Oh that's right…How did I forget that…= ReBoot muttered.

"...that's right," Tsubaki recalled before stabbing Excalibur into the ground, "Everyone stand back!"

"What is she doing?" Rook questioned, firing a few more energy shots from his weapon as he shot down the Wind Guardian, sending it crashing into the ground.

"Whatever it is…it's probably gonna be big!" Makoto shouted as she punched away the Fire Guardian.

"What?! NO!" Ima shouted as she bolted towards Tsubaki, reeling her spear back as she prepared to strike..only for her attack to be blocked by Kevin's axe, "Grr! Move dwarf!"

"Anope!" Kevin replied, "I wanna see what happens."

=Well…I still have work to do…so…how about I just give you so much power…you can do whatever you imagine?=

"I can work with that." Tsubaki smiled.

=Good…now as the lady said, EVERYONE TAKE COVER!=

"Understood," Lambda nodded as she and the others began to run for cover.

"No you don't!" Ima shouted as she threw her spear at the group, only for it to be deflected by one of Gwen's mana-infused fireballs.

"Yeah I don't think so." Gwen smiled, "I think we've had enough. How about next time we just play normally?"

"Agreed!" Noel and Kajun shouted as the group hurried outside and stood against the sides of the doorway to avoid whatever was coming.

"Cowards! You will rue this day!" Ima shouted as her eyes glowed menacingly…all while completely unaware of the light beginning to form behind her, "I will hunt you down until the end of d-"

"White feathers for innocence… Black feathers for darkest sin!" Tsubaki recited as she began to float up into the air, a pair of angel wings growing out from her back as the light began to grow and form into a massive female figure that tore through the ceiling of the castle, "We are the messengers and hammers of God, come to deliver righteous justice! Let sinners be punished! Let justice be done! Requiem Aeternam!"

The staff within the female figure's hands began to spark with energy before a blade of energy formed from the top. The blade now fully extended to long sword like size before the being of light aimed the tip down at Ima. She gasped and tried to move, only for her to suddenly be tangled in vines, trapping her in place. The next thing everyone knew the blade was thrust down…and a massive flash of light blinded all of them.

---

*BZZZT! BOOM!*

"KYA!" Mai screamed as she fell backwards in her seat, tumbling along the floor before crashing into the wall, "Gh! Itai…"

"...is…is the game done?" Noel asked, keeping her eyes shut as she and the others were back to normal and wearing their normal clothes.

"Hey Gwen's smaller again!" Makoto cheered. At that, a loud thwack filled the air, "Owie…"

"Yes I'm tall again!" Kevin cheered, "Looking up at everyone got old fast…"

"Aw…my poor prototype…" Kajun sighed, holding the now broken remains of her device in her hands, "Mai, you are banned from the lab for six months!"

"That's fine…I deserved that…" Mai groaned as her eyes were replaced with swirls, "Thanks…for snapping me out of it…"

"..." Kajun looked at it, "Oh. The data is safe. Huh…Ben, it says you died of exhaustion before you became ReBoot."

"What?" Ben asked in disbelief.

"Her spear gave 1 exhaustion for all successful hits against Rogues, regardless of dealing damage or not," Kevin explained, looking at Mai's DM stuff, "She named it Benslayer."

"Worth it…"

"Oh just you wait till my next turn…" Ben chuckled.

"We agreed to never do it that way again right?" Tsubaki sighed.

"Totally…" everyone groaned.

"Also we should probably homebrew less stuff that will break the game." Ben sighed.

"I count this as a total victory." Lambda replied before looking down at Bluey, "...Who drew on my Blupee?"

"What…ah!" Makoto gawked as she looked over at Noel, "Noellie! Someone drew glasses on you!"

"Hahaha…Jin has a Charlie Chaplin Stash!" Ben laughed.

"Your artistic talent has indeed grown, my fine mink friend." Skurd giggled, perched on the TV with Mari as the young heroes all began gawking at the art defacing them.

"SKURD!" Tsubaki snapped, her face littered in circles and X's.

"What? It was too perfect of an opportunity," Skurd chuckled before tensing when Jin pulled Yukianesa out, "...now now…let's be reasonable here."

"I am going to cut you into many tiny pieces," Jin threatened in a menacing tone.

"Well that's rude…I'm not ready to procreate thank you very much…" Skurd crossed his arms.

"Maybe…but…" Jin paused as the room started getting colder, "What about if your frozen solid?"

"Hmm…yes that would be a different story…" Skurd muttered.

"Okay okay…" Ben sighed, getting between them, "We'll put Skurd in the pickle jar of shame…"

"I hate that jar…"

"But in the meantime…can you stop causing ice and potential water damage to our living room!?" Ben complained to Jin, "I have to fix that you know…and so help me if we need to move out while its fixed…I am bunking with you…"

"...you wouldn't dare," Jin whispered as his eyes narrowed.

"..." Ben motioned his arms to the slowly forming ice.

"...tch…fine," Jin scoffed as he sheathed his sword, causing the room to turn back to its normal temperature.

"Ah…I still gotta clean this mess don't I?" Ben sighed, "I'll get the mop…your helping Skurd." he held his arm out as Skurd jumped back onto the Omnitrix.

"D'oh…and I imagine I still get the pickle jar…"

"This time with the vinegar from jalapenos…" Tsubaki sighed as she helped fix some stuff.

"Curses! My eyes itch for days!" Skurd complained.

"That's the point."

"...still…that was fun," Lambda spoke up as an exhausted Bluey rested in her arms, "Interesting game."

"Indeed it was," Rook agreed, "And that was a 'one shot'?"

"Trust me. They're usually longer," Gwen answered, "Most games tend to go on for a few days."

"But didn't want to overload you guys since you were newcomers," Ben added as he was busy mopping the floor.

"I had a lot of fun!" Makoto beamed, turning to pick up a chair and showed her back, the writing in exquisite cursive on the back reading 'Wants threesome with blonde-haired woman and her mate.'

"..." Ben whistled while looking away with a heavy blush.

"M-Mari!" Noel stammered quietly as she blushed, "No! No! Not that blunt when it comes to things like that! Bad girl!"

Mari let out a sad squeak.

"I'm just glad tonight's over with," Kevin groaned, "Though seriously Mai…top notch for a one-shot admittedly…even that little bit between Jin's character and Scarlet Fang."

"...yeah….bit…" Mai whispered as she looked away, 'I just had to drink Ragna's water by accident last time I helped him…'

"Mou...now I need to fix this a-" Kajun began as she started to walk off…only for Tsubaki to stop her and handed her a broom, "?"

"You're in as much trouble as Mai right now, Kajun…" she reminded her, "Next time…keep your inventions on better lockdown."

"Also we should never ever do that again…" Ben sighed, "It seems like it has some weird effect on inhibitions."

"Mai got totally lost in her role towards the end…and Gwen and Ben's chaotic nonsense was almost…real!" Kevin pointed out.

"Oh it wasn't that bad." Gwen huffed.

"Wh-?! You…!"

"Chill dude," Ben added, "Not like you weren't chaotic back then."

"Name one…" Kevin began before stopping, "...almost walked into that one."

"Didn't you used to be an arms dealer when Ben first got back into the hero game?" Makoto teased.

"Weren't you some sort of double agent spy girl?" Kevin countered.

"Mm yeah…but I got seduced by a handsome hero…I'm pretty much Black Widow here. Everyone loves the sexy spy girl." Makoto argued, leaning against Ben with a squirrely smile.

"It's true…I do." Ben smirked, "'Sides Kevin, by now we're just teasing. I know you're a great hero on your own. You still tease me all the time for my mistakes don't ya?"

"Am I crazy or did Ben just give me an honest compliment?" Kevin blinked.

"Both." Gwen smiled, "Now let's call it a night. We surprisingly have more free time, and no rush to head home thanks to space bridges~"

"Hey~" Kevin smiled at that.

"Well who's up for movie night?" Ben offered to the others.

"Party Leader picks!" Lambda declared.

"Ah no fair…" Noel muttered.

"Mai has no choice!" Ben laughed.

"Wah…ah that's fair…" Mai comically cried.

"...ugh. Screw it…I'm in," Jin sighed a bit, "...but nothing ridiculous."

"What should we watch?" Makoto asked before everyone tensed when they felt a tremor.

"It wasn't me…" Ben spoke as everyone looked at him.

"I can confirm…we did nothing!" Skurd held his pseudopods up.

"Then what could have caused it?" Tsubaki asked as another tremor was felt.

In an instant…not even an instant, probably less then a second, a green flash filled the room, flooding in from the window. It was an all too familiar flash. Like that of the Omnitrix. Maybe not even more time then it took to complete that second, the wall suddenly collapsed and was pulled away as if grabbed by an unseen hand. Everyone tensed as the light died down before a tall…familiar figure stood there. It was…

"Alien X?" Ben asked as his Celestialsapien transformation stood before them.

But…it was different, for starters there wasn't a single Omnitrix but…multiple, three in a triangle pattern on its chest, one on each shoulder, and three along each forearm. He looked down at Ben…before holding his left arm up and swinging his index and middle finger up, lifting Ben off the ground and dragging him closer. Alien X looked at the others…almost baffled for a long moment before holding his right arm towards them…and swinging his hand down making everyone flinch as gravity suddenly ramped up to the point everyone was pinned to the floor.

"Wh….what…the…?!" Tsubaki grunted.

"Why is there..an Alien X attacking us…?!" Makoto exclaimed as she tried to push herself up.

"Ben Tennyson of this universe…" Alien-X spoke as he grabbed Ben, "You have two choices…relinquish your Omnitrix to me...or else."

"W-who are you!?" Ben demanded as Alien X grabbed his arm, a dark black and green aura spreading over his arm, "Gh-GAH!" he cried out.

"Time is up…" Alien X spoke as he reached for the Omnitrix, only to stop as Skurd formed over it, "N-No…"

"While me and the boy argue…he is still my host…and I am a proud symbiotic organism!" Skurd declared before his entire form turned black with white glimmering specks before spreading over Ben's arm, "I am the Dollop with a Wallop!" he declared as Alien X was suddenly blasted back and slamming into a car.

"Ah!" Ben gasped as he looked at his arm, "Skurd…what did you do?!" he asked.

"You never told me Celestialsapien was in here. Oh you rude boy you…this…oh this is delectable~" he cheered, "But…as for what I did…I just asked the two floating heads to…please make this weirdo let go. Other then that…no touching the Omnitrix now~"

"Vile vermin!" Alien X growled, getting up, "The Omnitrix is mine!"

"Under who's grounds?!" Ben argued, "In fact…who even are you?!"

"Ha!" he roared as everything around them began to distort, becoming misshapen, blurry colors; the ground, even the sky seemed to blur and become misshapen as the Celestialsapien seemed to begin altering reality around them. He moved his hands as the very ground seemingly became liquid and began swallowing up Ben's friends, "Give me the Omnitrix…or they die…"

"No!" Ben called out, only to flinch as the ground turned into tentacles of matter that wrapped around him. Ben grunted as he swung his arm…which moved through it. He then looked at the Celestialsapien skin covering it, "Skurd!"

"I can only do so much my boy…I can't ask for more from them!" Skurd spoke, "But…I have something!" He formed a sword of the same Celestialsapien mass which Ben spun around and used to cut himself free.

Alien X held his arm up only to flinch as a bright flash slammed into his back and knocked him down. He growled, turning around to see…the Rustbucket? The Clestialsapien seemed even more upset…but chose to instead glare at Ben one last time before he vanished in another green Omnitrix like flash.

"...is that….the Rustbucket?" Gwen blinked before the ground suddenly spat her and the others out, "Ahh!"

"That…was unnerving…" Kajun whispered.

"Seriously, who was that evil Alien X and why was he after my man!?" Makoto exclaimed.

"Grandpa Max?" Ben blinked as the door opened and a familiar figure stepped out. It looked like Ben's Grandfather…but…his normally kind aura was…more intense. He had a full gray beard with a metal shoulder pad, connected to a bandolier-like sash across his torso, and a large rifle in hand.

"Hmph…I made it in time," he noted as he looked around, "For how long until he comes back…who knows."

"You know who that Celestialsapien is?" Rook questioned as Kevin helped him up.

"Know him? Hmph…I've been hunting him down ever since he…" the other Grandpa Max paused as his hand clenched into a fist, "..."

"What's going on here?" Ben asked.

"All you need to know, Ben…is I'm the man hunting down Alien X." this alternate version of Max Tennyson declared.

---

SZ: Oh yeah…we're going there folks.

GT: Did none of you think we wouldn't do this?

Z0: To be fair I don't think we ever really talked about the Reboot aside from admitting we like it a couple of times. By the way, just watch from season 2 onwards, it's actually a really good cartoon. Emphasis on cartoon, but these final few movie specials were the strong points for sure. Who knows…maybe a new alien can get unlocked during this trip? Or a new something…all we know is it's time to explore the Ben 10 Central Finite Curve *closes a random green portal* Yeah I'm stealing the phrase…no one called them here…

GT: Hope you're ready, Readers.

Z0: Cause it's time for a new adventure~

SZ: Indeed~ Tune in next time folks as things are going to get trippy.