I woke up this morning feeling… hungry… like… SO hungry!
"Food~!" I cried as I got out of bed and headed to the kitchen where Micheal was making something for Gallon, Tulip and himself.
"Morning." Micheal said as he saw me.
"Food~!" I groaned. "Please…"
"Yikes, you're hungry today." Micheal said as he gave me a waffle I immediately started eating.
"Babies must need the sustenance." Gallon said with a chuckle.
"Yes…babies need food badly." I chuckled at my own game reference there.
"Clearly. I guess today is your munching day." Micheal chuckled.
I nodded, Micheal handing me another waffle.
"I am Munchy, Destroyer of Pantries." I joked as I munched on my next waffle.
"Yeesh. Might have also been all that stress you usually put yourself under." Gallon added.
"True, you weren't eating right and when Pregnant that wasn't a good thing at all." Micheal said, handing me beans on toast.
Huh… I know I did eat but I ate high calorie quick meals so… yeah. Guess now with that talk from Tiara and I'm finally gonna relax some, my body is like 'Good, I'm starving!'
"Well…Tiara also came to me and was being a bit rude…" I grumbled. "But also said somethings I needed to hear…even if she was vague about some things…"
"Wow, someone actually managed to talk sense into you? I might just have to cook a whole buffet to celebrate." Micheal chuckled.
"More like she's trying to make me trust her so I don't have to choose…" I said bitterly. "Choose between family, or playing this dumbass game of Dark Gray's that's only takes and takes…all because she cares about me…"
"Still, if it means you'll stop trying to fight pregnancy, I think everyone will consider this a win."
"Yeah yeah…" I grumbled, finishing my waffle. "More." I said as I began eating the beans on toast next.
"Yes mother hen." Micheal chuckled. "I'm making some fried potatoes so that's gonna take a bit, alright?"
"Alright alright." I said with a raised hand. "I'll try to just be hungry, not hangry."
I sat at the table next to Gallon. I noticed he was looking over… applications?
"Why are you looking up applications?"
"I posted the job positions in the New Foundation Hiring Department a little after you left yesterday and I woke up to all this in the mail." Gallon sighed. "Got a lot of people willing to do either basic office work or even help explore and map out the zone."
"That's cool." I nodded. "Will help take some of the work off of us."
"That's the idea. Most of these people are teenagers with only some vague prior apprenticeships or older people looking for a job to get out of the house."
"That's not a bad thing though." Micheal said, placing before me a place full of fried potato slices, eggs and a second small plate of beans on toast, a bowl of oatmeal, a bowl of mixed fruit with a scoop of collage cheese, and a small bowl of grits with butter. I immediately started digging in.
"True, just means we'll have to train them though…" Gallon sighed as he and Tulip got identical servings and plates.
"Yeah…and considering I'm out of commission for a while…" I frowned.
"There was an american sitcom show you made me watch that I feel best describes this." Micheal chuckled as he sat with his own food.
"The Office, and yes. Only hopefully not that chaotic… though it would make the daily work more interesting." Gallon chuckled as he started eating.
"More interesting?" I inquired.
"Watch it… the humor is really good." Gallon smirked.
"Well, I suppose that's fair." I shrugged.
"Welp, guess that puts Tina and I on the Scouting teams… christ, that brings back memories." Micheal chuckled.
"Well, if it ain't broke, right?" Gallon asked with a chuckle.
"Fair." I said. "Would love to join but…can't."
"Really shouldn't until you give birth. Have you even been to the doctors to get an ultrasound?"
… Huh. Kind of… forgot about that…
"I…should probably get it checked out…" I said carefully.
"I'm sure one of your partners can more than help you with that." Micheal said.
Huh. True.
I greedily ate my breakfast before getting myself seconds in the form of leftovers.
Once everyone else got up and was heading out, I got Cream to take Cheat and I to the doctors for this.
"I can not believe I forgot to recommend you guys get a check up." Cream said. "Crap you two are what? Almost three months along?"
"About." Cheat nodded.
"Alright you're both rather big for that, so odds are you both have… multiples. Not sure how many, so the Ultrasound is gonna tell us that." Cream hummed as she seemed to be thinking things over.
"Well, hopefully it won't be…too many." I said carefully.
"How many can we even have?" Cheat asked.
"As ponies the normal maximum is about three, four is pushing it." Cream said.
Makes sense. If I remember, Pinkie Pie was born to a very rare quintuplet of sisters.
"But I don't know if your new Nokori biology changed anything." Cream added.
After a while, we were called and… oh come on!
"I see the family is still growing." Alex said, a small chuckle as Cream and Cheat semi-pushed me in.
"Yes, hello Doctor. Button and Cheat need checkups and ultrasounds." Cream said.
"Yes…the family is still growing…" I said carefully. "And I'm sure you are having a blast being the 'good doctor'…"
"I try. So, just a normal check up and ultrasound then?" Alex asked Cream, either not picking up on or ignoring my sarcasm there.
"Yes." Cream nodded.
"Very well. Either of you want to be first to get it over with?" Alex asked Cheat and I.
"I'll go first…" I said carefully.
"Alright. Up here on the exam table." He motioned.
I got up, sitting on it as he grabbed a few devices. Most I actually recognized from the last time I saw a doctor, way back when I first got here from Equis…
He then brought out the syringes and it took a lot not to flinch as he started drawing out blood into vials.
"...I still know you're involved with all this stuff somehow…" I openly admitted, as I just needed to get that off my chest as I still feel…scared around him…
"Button Mash, your sex life is most definitely not any of my business." He said in a matter of factly manner that made Cheat laugh and Cream giggle.
… Right…
"Wrong wording…but you know what I mean…" I grumbled, glaring at the bitch playing coy.
"Your opinion of me aside, I take my job as a pediatrician very seriously. I've tended to your children and many since they've been in diapers. Their health is my top priority. My responsibility. As long as I'm here I can guarantee they'll be healthy. If that's alright with you?"
I felt… my blood run cold…
[Alex Pitcher.
Relationship Status: -155
He finds you annoying.]
…
"Well, when he is still a prime suspect in a cold case, I wonder why…" I thought carefully as I glared at the bastard. "I'm…thankful for you helping our kids, I'm sorry my…hormones are acting up and I'm having trouble keeping my anger in check…more so than usual." I said, which was true as I backed off from that damnable threat.
That was an admission… all my kids… and others are all at his mercy… he's got them hostage and if I or anyone does anything… god… what will happen to them…
When Alex was done with me, I got off the exam table and he began examining Cheat.
This mother fucker…
"I don't know what Tiara want's with this fucker…he's holding the entire Cities children hostage and all the adults are completely enamored with his work and actions…" I thought to myself, wanting to be pissed, enraged…but I just sagged my shoulders as there wasn't a damn thing I could do…and I saw the fucker give me a quick look of knowing he's won…bastard.
With Cheat's exam done, we waited a bit and he returned with an ultrasound machine. "Alright, Button do you want to go first again?" Alex asked me.
"Yes please…" I said, walking over. "I'm…sorry…" I sighed, leaving that apology vague enough that only he would know what I meant.
"It's alright. Now lay on your back please, and don't mind the gel, it's always cold." He said as I laid on my back. He then placed the gel… the chill I felt wasn't from the gel… I was disgusted at his touch.
Once that was on he turned the machine on and placed the one end to my stomach.
"Now…let's see how many kids I have…" I said, hoping they were all okay in there.
"Alright… looks like… one, two… three. Triplets." Alex said.
"Called it!" Cheat said.
"They appear fine. Nothing abnormal that I can see at least. You both are the… parents of each others children right? And from the documents Cream filled out beforehand… biologically identical?"
"Heh, yeah Button and I are kinky like that." Cream said with a huge grin and blush.
"Yes…it was…strange, as we are…technically two halves of one person." I admitted carefully.
"Hm, well in that case, the children will all be born basically as you are. Physically and sex wise. But power wise. Hm… not sure." Alex hummed.
"Why's that important?" Cream asked.
"When it comes to Nokori they are all born with an inborn magical power. Usually this is a combination of their parents or can even be an improved or weaker version of one of their parent's existing powers. In rare cases it can be something else entirely. Add to the fact that things like Abilities and some level of Stats can be passed down to the child from the parents, your children could all be born Super Volcano Phoenixes like you, stronger, weaker, or as some other phoenix variation entirely."
"Woah… cool." Cheat said.
Oh boy does that mean my kids all… oh… actually… that explains a lot… my rage build comes back to bite me in my ass with my kids teeth…
"Children with even bigger anger issues…fan-fucking-tastic…" I groaned.
"It makes a lot of sense they get it from you." Cream chuckled.
"Yes, it makes a lot of sense and now the kids are going to suffer because of it, thanks for the laughter Cream." I frowned.
"Oh please, like you, some anger management therapy will do wonders for your and their wellbeing."
"NEVER!" I shouted, sitting up and pointing a finger to the sky.
"... what was that?" Cream asked.
"...I don't know…and I'm concerned…" I said carefully. "Cause…the kids shouldn't have to suffer massive anger issues because of me…"
"You can negate it by deactivating abilities, but that has to be done before conception." Alex said.
Huh… well at least that's good to know.
Once the gel was cleaned off me, Cheat got up, gel applied and he checked her as well. "Looks like… triplets also… oh, this is interesting." Alex said.
"What up?" I inquired, looking at the ultrasound screen as well to see what was 'interesting'.
"Well, she's having Triplets as well, however technically I'd argue it's quintuplets. One of these fetuses has what looks to be two heads growing."
"How?!" Cheat asked.
"Most likely, it's a Birth Mutation. Likely as result from the cell splitting to form twins but was incomplete, so your Phoenix Biology and the natural way cells work developed them as having one body, two heads." Alex explained. "It has happened before, but this is my first time seeing it. This is interesting."
"Uh…okay…" I said carefully. "I kinda thought that the fourth would have been somehow a Symbiote that bonded with one of their siblings as Cheat here used to be a Symbiote…as she was apart of me when I became Nokori…"
"Well, that's the thing with Birth Mutations, they're just random. You could get a child that was born a whole different species or even one that's born a synthetic. It won't affect them as they grow though, so no need to worry about it."
"Huh, that's interesting." I said honestly. "Biology is one hell of a thing."
With that done, we were told our blood tests would come in the mail, though given Cheat and I's Phoenix Biology there likely wasn't gonna be anything and it's more a formanity.
I was glad to be out of that hospital-
Grruuuggg-girgle!
"Someone's hungry." Cheat chuckled at my stomach's rather vocal demand for food.
"Yeah…I am…rather hungry." I said sheepishly.
"Wow, that whole platter this morning wasn't enough?" Cheat asked. "Well, might as well get something to eat while we're out."
"Well, I am eating for four at the moment." I admitted. "And yeah, getting something to eat sounds good."
"Heh, well what are you feeling then?"
Hmm… Right now, I'm actually craving some meat. That breakfast Micheal made was good… but I threw my Equestrian diet standards in the trash more or less day one arriving here. Steak is just too damn good!
"I need a nice juicy steak right now." I said honestly.
"There's an all you can eat beastrow I know. We go there usually for a major celebration, but since you got all the cash in the world, we can spoil ourselves." Cream said.
"Huzzah!" I said readily. "Off to the beastrow!"
We quickly headed there, the smells of various roasting meats and seasonings made my mouth water. We paid then went inside where I began to fill my plate with basically everything.
"Wow you really are hungry." Cream said, looking at my plate towering with various meats.
"Damn. I know we're pregnant but not even I'm that hungry when I am." Cheat added.
"Meh." I shrugged as I kept getting more food for me.
I came back with three more full plates and began eating.
"... I've eaten whole people before… are you like Starving or something?" Cheat asked me.
"No, if I was starving then this place would be closed due to being out of stock." I joked as I started to eat my four plates of food.
"Still, this is… a lot." Cream said.
"Again, eating for four here." I pointed out.
"Well whatever the case, at least you have an appetite. And if after the birth you… perhaps gained some chub, well that's just more to grope in bed!" Cheat said.
I almost choked.
"C-c-can you not please!" I coughed.
"I dunno, a chubby hubby does sound very appealing." Cream added.
"Dad-bod Button with the flanks of a mom-bod sounds oh so juicy." Cheat chuckled.
"And that's going to be what you two will focus on for a week…" I groaned as I kept up my eating.
"Love you to Button." Cream chuckled as she and Cheat began eating.
… heh. This was the most normal conversation I've had in… years…
Christ. I needed this.
"Damn it!" I huffed.
"You should really stop camping dad." Jada said.
I sighed as I died again in this game. Damn it… TF2 is fun but not easy…
"But it's so easy most of the time." I groaned. "Like come on…killing the tunnel vision scout is hilarious."
"Until you get backstabbed by the Spy." Jada chuckled.
"Yeah yeah, shush you." I pouted.
Jada chuckled as she and I were playing games. I'm trying to make it a point to hang out with them even a little as often as I can. Jada has been helping me both get back into gaming and finding new games.
I'm also still mad she called my games antiques…
"So, any specific hat or cosmetic you're looking at?" She asked.
"Eh, not really anything specific." I shrugged. "I'd rather not fall into a loot box rut…"
"Heh, fair. So, what's this I heard about you eating an elephant?"
"I was hungry and needed to eat a lot…" I grumbled. "Like…really hungry…"
"Heh. Still hungry or are you finally satisfied?"
"Satisfied for now." I said simply. "Who knows when my next good binge is."
"Heh, well at least you enjoyed the food right?"
"I enjoyed the meal immensely." I nodded.
"That's good. So, anything else you want to play?"
"Hmm…well, heard Vampire Survivors got Co-Op." I brought up.
"Alright. Shall we download it and get started?"
"Sure." I nodded, closing out of TF2 and heading to download Vampire Survivors. "Heard it's a really fun game too."
"Look at you keeping up with game news." Jada said with a chuckle.
"I'm getting back into my old habits, I know how to keep up." I admitted with a smile.
"Well, any ideas on what you'll be doing in regards to your work?"
"No idea…cause we're hiring a bunch of people to help with the office work and at a certain point…I might have to stop working all together for the kids…"
Jada gave me this look of 'What the fuck did you just say?' complete with checking my forehead.
"Oh stop it." I huffed and lightly batted her hand away. "I'm talking about your new siblings…"
"Yeah but, what about your workaholic syndrome! You might explode!" Jada said, raising her hands into the air dramatically.
I bopped her head with a pillow I levitated off her bed.
"Shush you." I huffed. "I don't have a workaholic syndrome, cause if I did then I wouldn'twouldn't be here."
"... Would you like me to bring up past incidents?"
I bopped her again with the pillow.
"Do you want to get bopped a third time?"
"Pfft, heh." She laughed. "Just surprising is all. Honestly the idea of you being at home all day being a house mom/dad is… different." Jada said.
I sighed. Can't blame her. She and all her siblings her age all…
I pat her on the head.
"From the bottom of my heart, know that I love you and all your siblings." I said softly.
"... I know. I just… I dunno. Having you here now is nice, and it's nice to bond with you, you and mom. I just… guess part of me is expecting you to leave again. Say it's for the good of everyone, the family and just… then what? Ten more years? Twenty? I'm just worried you'll decide you have to leave again and we'll never see you again." Jada said.
[Jada has admitted to you her biggest fear about you to you. This fear is shared by many of her siblings. They all finally feel happy you're here, and are scared you won't be someday.]
"I know…I know…" I sighed. "And I don't want to leave for that long again, and I don't want you all to feel like I abandoned you…I'm…" I sighed. "I'm scared that I won't have a choice in the matter, that I'll be taken to do stuff when I want to be with all of you…even though Tiara is working hard to make sure I stay here…she's only one person, even Time Walker's can only do so much…" I shook my head. "You all mean the world to me…and I don't want to lose that…"
"I don't want you to go either… None of us do." Jada said, leaning against me. "Can't you just say no?"
"We'll see." I admitted. "But right now, let's not worry about all that nonsense, we got video games to play." I said with a smile. "There's still a long time before any of that work or such things need to be worried about."
"You seem a tad distracted my lovely birdy." Ginger said as he and I were in our usual room at his motel next to his club. Sheets over us and one of his arms over my upper torso. "Worried about your bundles of joy?"
[Ginger
Relationship Status: 20
He genuinely has feelings for you, which is a first for him.]
"Just…worried about a lot of things." I sighed. "But how've you been doing Ginger?"
"Better now that you visited. Have to say, seeing this new look on you is rather… appealing~." He said, gently moving a hand atop my stomach and gently caressing it. "It gives me ideas~ If you're willing later on~"
"Really eager to see me with another baby bump huh?" I giggled.
"Well it would be my first with you, and frankly, the look suits you~" He said, kissing my cheek as he did. "I've been thinking, should I meet your other partners? Or is our little get togethers your dirty little secret~"
"My partners would be more than happy to see you." I said honestly.
"I'd like to meet them. You do talk about them often during our meetups."
"Then sooner or later we should get a meeting with my partners." I said readily.
"Sounds like a plan, though later might be the better option. After all, we're only three rounds in and you don't seem like you want to end it anytime soon~"
"You know it." I chuckled. "I'll admit, being really horny is a bit better than being really hungry."
"Both are a form of craving." Ginger chuckled as he leaned in and kissed me on the lips.
"But why do they all die?!" Barb huffed. I came over to her place for a date and to binge watch some anime. We watched Devilman Crybaby. She did not like the ending.
"Because Satan is in a forever loop of not understanding what Love is until everything he has is dead and God steps in to fix his fuck up cause that worlds god is a petty as shit." I said honestly.
"It's so stupid…" Barb sighed. "Let's watch something more wholesome next. That put a bad taste in my mouth."
"Yeah, I understand." I nodded. "A story of love and loss can be pretty rough…hmm, well, what would you prefer, Spy X Family or Ascendance of a Bookworm? While both can be a silly serious here and there, both are cute fun."
"Spy X Family. Anya's adorableness is like a sweet treat all it's own." Barb chuckled.
"Yeah, that is true." I chuckled.
We quickly put the next show on and Barb and I got comfy again. Since I'm a bit… large at the moment, she was the big spoon… which was easy for her since she's also much taller than me.
"So, this is your second time pregnant right?"
"Third actually." I said.
"Really?"
"Yeah, first time was when Cheat fuzed with me to get me to relax the first batch of time we were here before everyone else showed up…and second was when I had to have a kid with Lust's Leader to get Yuri, Kara's mother, and those Hacker pills." I said honestly.
"Huh. So this is just your first time with triplets then." Barb said.
"Yeah." I nodded. "It's gonna be a new feeling that's for sure."
"Heh. So, how's the office?"
"It's office work." I shrugged. "How goes the teaching?"
"It's teaching. So long as I don't go home dumbstruck at a child's stupidity or a parent's entitlement, it's a good day."
"That means you're doing a good job so that children aren't so breathtakingly stupid." I chuckled.
"Some days are better than others. Other times they're too damn smart." She chuckled. "And other times I just feel old around them."
"Oh god, feeling old around kids is awful." I groaned.
"I know. I was a child once too! It was only… oh no It was forever ago!" Barb said with a laugh.
"And while I haven't lived for a 'long' time…it sure as shit feels like an eternity." I chuckled.
"Oh trust me, it only gets worse with time." Barb chuckled as she wrapped her arms around me and gave me a hug. "I guess that's why a lot of people keep having kids. Reminds them of when they were that old."
"Yeah…" I sighed. "Just wish the kids could be on the 'outside', not stuck on this planet."
"Well, if they ever get that chance I don't know if they'd even take it. At the end of the day, Armageddon is their home. They were born here and sure, they're stuck here but home is home."
"Some people would argue home is where the heart is, not this place." I said honestly.
"Maybe, but it's where your kids call home. That's got to be worth something."
"It should…" I sighed. "Just…wish they could have something more ya know?"
"Well, that's what New Foundation tries to do. Help make it better for them, safer. You aren't the only person on the planet with that goal you know."
"I know I know…at least everyone is safe and sound for the moment." I admitted.
"Well, there's a lot of other Zones you can travel to. Maybe visit one, meet some people with the same goals as you. Might put some of your worries to rest." Barb offered.
"Hmm…yeah, getting a change of scenery might do me some good." I admitted.
"Yeah, just a break to sight see and such."
"Doom! Doom! Doom!" Gallon cheered.
"You keep saying that and it's sounding wrong." Micheal said.
"We're literally going to a Zone that is the Demons from Doom, I am so excited!"
"This is where that new influx of Demon Meat has been coming from I think?" Tina hummed.
"Yeah, that would make sense given there is a nonstop supply of the bastards." I admitted. "Plus, I can go for some monster murder that isn't just more zombies, and yes I can kill things and make sure I don't stress myself." I was quick to add the last bit to stop some worry my way.
"Finally learned how to make ranged weapons huh?" Micheal asked.
"And ranged attacks." I said simply. "So come on, let's get going, really eager to see somewhere else."
"Don't forget your oversized flash camera and Hawaiian shirt." Tina said with a chuckle as we entered the New Foundation Portal Hub.
"Oh shush you." I pouted. "Wonder if we'll meet the people who made the Invasion zone a safe place?"
"Considering the Portal Hub entrance/exit on their end is in their backyard… maybe?" Micheal shrugged.
Arriving through the portal to the Demonic Invasion Zone, I was greeted by a sight I wasn't expecting. A huge farm running up and down a massive walled off mountain covered by a magic barrier.
"Woah, now these are Attack on Titan walls." Gallon said.
"Doubt they have Colossal Titans hiding in them." Tina hummed.
"Well there are probably demon's as big as Colossal Titans right?" I asked.
"Oh yes, and bigger!" Gallon said with glee.
"As you can see, Doom was his favorite game series." Micheal chuckled.
"Yes, I can clearly see that." I chuckled.
"Well come on, before Gallon takes all the demon murder from us." Tina said as Gallon already had a shotgun out and was loading shells.
"Alright alright, slow your horses Gallon." I said. "Remember, I'm carrying three with me here."
"Then fly you fiery blimp!" Gallon said, already rushing towards the exit to the walls.
"Pfft! Why do I feel like Gallon just called you the Hindenburg?" Tina asked.
"Intentional or not… he's just very excited." Micheal said, smirking with an eye roll.
… What's a Hindenburg?
"Uh…what's a Hindenburg?" I asked.
"A blimp that crashed and burned killing everyone aboard." Tina said.
"Well, less 'crashed' and more 'exploded'." Micheal said.
"How?" I asked in worry.
"Hydrogen for it's fuel and the people practically making the skin of the blimp out of Thermite." Tina explained.
"...Who the hell thought that was a good idea!?" I asked incredulously.
"To be fair, flying machines were still new and the concept of safety features was very much in Its infancy still. Shit weren't kids still able to work on factories and coal mines back then?" Micheal asked.
"WHAT!?"
"Well, it was actually because back in the Thirties there was a Helium restriction against the Nazi Germany." Tina pointed out. "Zeppelins were actually used quite a bit before the Hindenburg did its massive fireball impression."
"Hm. Well either way. Come on let's catch up to Gallon before he gets too far." Micheal said as he started to run after his husband.
"Alright." I nodded, flying off while Tina ran as well.
We exited the walls through one of the gates and began to look around. There wasn't much around the walls themselves, which makes sense as there were so many high tech mounted guns all around here that anything that got too close was likely blasted into Hamburger meat. Which makes me wonder that the four Big Fucking Guns mounted/built into the massive walls themselves were built to shoot down…
Eventually we walked far enough away to find some demons.
[Imp Demons (Necrotic Bio Engineered)
Rank: F
HP: 250
MP: 100
ATT: 47
DEF: 25
Resistance: 10]
With stats like that it's a Rank F? Yikes.
"Jeez, an F rank with those stats?" I asked. "Though…Necrotic Bio Engineered is a tad worrying."
"Well yeah, in the 2016 Doom it's revealed the bodies of the people the demons kill are collected, brought to hell and pumped full of demonic hell energy until they mutate and form new demons." Gallon said.
"Huh, that's interesting." I said honestly.
"Well either way, their blood tastes like shit…" Tina spat, a half torn imp Demon being tossed out her maw.
"And what about the rest of it?" I inquired. "Does the meat taste fine?"
"They taste alright… oddly, the blood tastes nasty, but the meat is fine." Tina commented, spitting out a bit more of the imp blood.
"Oh man look at the ammo drops!" Gallon said as he picked up- How the fuck is that a bullet?! "Oh, oh if I was to shoot this I'd break my whole arm." He said with a grin.
"Your love of firearms never ceases to scare me." Micheal said as he eyed the bullet with a raised brow.
"That's not a bullet…" I said weakly. "The fuck is that?"
"This Button is a fifteen millimeter 'fuck you and everything in your general direction' round. Smaller than the bullets the Bloody Blasters use but this is chambered in Rifle Rounds meaning this baby gets shot out of a gun that makes a fifty caliber look like a .22." Gallon explained, still grinning. He then picked up a… okay that looks like a shotgun shell but… it can't be… "And this… oh this is a 6 gauge shotgun slug round. Say goodbye to your shoulders when shooting this monster."
"Now I'm scared." Tina winced.
"That is…not okay…" I said carefully.
"If anyone finds the guns that shoot them keep them away from Gallon I'd like to keep him out of the hospital." Micheal asked.
"Noted." Tina nodded.
"On it." I said, raising my hand and a jet of lava shot out and covered an Imp as it started to burn and scream to death.
"Still weird they literally come from hell and they aren't fire or lava proof." Gallon said as he picked up the loot."
"Well, these are weak demons so… maybe that's why?" Micheal offered.
"Maybe." Gallon shrugged, taking out his Blood Blaster and shooting an imp's torso in half. "Oh man! They even blow up like from the games!"
"It's definitely a change of pace from the zombie slaughter back home."
"This is the change of pace I was looking for. Ten years of Zombie murder can get boring at times." I admitted, cause ten years of just Zombies can be boring as shit, even with any of their strange mutations or mixing's, variety is the spice of life after all.
Tina nodded, taking another bite out of another Imp.
"So we gonna look for anything specific Gallon?" Micheal asked.
"I figure we can just enjoy the fun and loot anything beat. Maybe one of these things will have better tasting blood huh Tina?"
Tina nodded. "Be cool as hell to get a crucible though. Huh Button? That would so fit your berserker theme."
"Yes, it would be awesome to get one of those." I stated simply. "And did you gain any nifty abilities from the Demon's Tina?" I asked, wondering if any of the Demon's she consumed gave her any stats or abilities.
"Nothing much. See anything neat I didn't on my skill trees Micheal?"
"Nothing new. Just EXP and such." Micheal shrugged. "Tanks to Button's loot multiplier stuff though we are getting a lot of neat med packs and ammo… and these shield energy things I think we need some kind of special armor or something to use." Micheal said, holding one of the energy armor items in hand. It was like a green metallic plate or scale that looked almost like glass.
"Yeah, most likely need the armor for the Shield Energy to work." I shrugged.
"At least we can stock up on it then." Gallon smirked.
"Does anyone else smell Ram?" Tina asked.
"Sure that's not just me?" Micheal asked.
"No, you smell like Lamb, this smells like Ram and… electronic?" Tina said.
I was confused at what Tina said. I sniffed the air, not smelling anything myself-
"Hello." Suddenly there was a small ram child in between us all.
Gallon yelped and jumped into Micheal's arms and I did the same, giving a flap in surprise that Tina caught me before I could drop.
The fuck did this kid come from?!
"Uh…hi there…" I said carefully. "And who are you?"
"My name is Mantis." The ram child said. I got a good look at them now and… woah. His right arm was more like a dragon, ending in ice like claws, four sets of wings. Two feathered ones, and two dragon like ones. He even had two sets of horns. Two ram like ones that were small and starting out, and two jagged ice looking ones.
"Uh, are you like, a Kid?" Gallon asked as Micheal put him down.
"Physically, I'm seven, technically I'm fifteen. Most consider me my physical age." Mantis said.
Tina carefully put me down, leaning in towards Mantis and sniffing them. "Are you a Cyborg or an Android? Cause I'm smelling a lot of electronics in your body but you smell organic."
"I'm a Stalker. Technically." Mantis answered.
"Uh… you sure?" Micheal asked. "The Stalkers we saw back in the Y Labs facility on our world looked a lot… different."
"I changed due to unexpected variables."
"It's magic, don't gotta explain shit." I said simply.
"Mind if I ask some questions?" Mantis asked.
Go right ahead." Tina nodded. "What's are your questions since you most likely heard our names."
"What's your species?" Mantis asked, addressing Tina first. "You appear to be some form of canine, wyvern and cybernetic but your cybernetics appear almost natural and your genetic scan shows no artificial tampering or forced mutations."
"I am what's known as a Zinogre, a Brute Wyvern that uses the power of Electricity to do powerful attacks." Tina answered. "And the Cybernetics is due to an ability of mine that lets me interface with electronics."
Mantis seemed to humm a bit at that. After a moment I did see Tina's eyes widen before her expression became plane.
"Hm, interesting. You might want to work on increasing your internal security." Mantis and Tina said simultaneously.
What the?!
After a moment, Tina seemed to shake and I saw Mantis, whatever he did, end it.
Mantis shook his head then turned to me. "You're a Nokori. What species were you originally and what were you fused with?" He asked me.
"I was an Equestrian Earth Pony that…turned into an Alicorn through certain means." I answered.
"And the fusion animal?"
"A Volcano Phoenix." I answered. "Just…just a chick, poor Mango…" I sighed bitterly, hating how I forgot my adorable birb for so long…
"Understood." Mantis said, making me blink a bit at the bluntness as he now turned to Micheal. You seem to have the weakest magic signature."
"Heh… yeah…" Micheal sighed.
"What is your power as a Nokori?"
"I can blow out storm clouds. Small ones, like, the size of a basket ball."
"Understood. And you?" He asked Gallon.
"Chaos and I boost other people's magic. They need to eat like hair or spit or blood of mine for a temporary boost but a powerful one." Gallon stated.
"Understood."
"What other questions would you like to ask?" Tina inquired.
"Should I be asking more questions?" Mantis asked her. He sounded genuinely confused.
"Well, you had several questions and I doubt it was only about our races and powers." Tina pointed out.
"What else should I be asking then?"
"Well, mind if I ask some questions?" Tina asked.
"You can ask what you wish." Mantis stated.
"Well, what powers do you have?" Tina inquired.
"None that are my own as a Nokori. I am capable of all the Stalker technological capabilities and any magic that I can do came from an… upgrade, I received giving me Regeneration and Perception Cloaking."
"Hmm, that's fair." Tina nodded. "Well…I don't believe I was told what a Stalker is capable of, what are they able to do?"
"Stalkers are classified into three main types that each are meant to serve a purpose. Mantis, which is what I was, are for Reconnaissance, target recognition and identification, and surveillance. Cage, which are sent after the identified targets for capture, re-containment and return of Nokori Subjects to Y Labs facilities. Then, Rinousurus, made to break through all physical defenses and tank heavy hitting physical attacks either from high caliber artillery fire or Nokori Magic."
"Well, that makes sense why you would have Perception Cloaking, makes it easier to do said Reconnaissance if people are looking for you." Tina pointed out. "Hmm…where is the settlement of this area if I may ask? Cause we were told that there was a settlement here and…well there's not much here." Tina said, which was correct as ever since Heather moved everything into the Pocket Dimension it didn't look like there was anyone here.
"My Operator recently received the Title of Demon Lord from my mentor and was given access to a Pocket Dimension only she and those she allows to access. She does keep one physical portal hidden but I'm not at liability to say its location."
"Huh, that's cool." I said. "And yeah that's fair, best to keep everyone safe and not let your front door's location slip."
"If you're a kid, should you even be out and around here?" Micheal asked.
"I can take care of myself." Mantis stated flatly.
"Unless you're somehow really stupid powerful, I don't think you should cause there's… bad things out here…" I said, as I was rather familiar with all the stupid shit this world had to 'offer'.
"Would you like to test how strong I am to ease your worries?"
"Well…a simple Scan should do the trick but if you want to demonstrate your strength that is also fine." Tina admitted.
"Alright." Mantis said, walking some distance from Tina and the two stood roughly twenty feet from one another. Micheal, Gallon and I standing off to the side.
"Ready?" Tina asked.
"You can attack first if you wish."
"Alright." Tina nodded, as I noticed her fur starting to stand up, electricity sparking from her fur as she dug her feet into the ground and lunged at Mantis with claw's at the ready.
Is she really gonna-
Mantis grabbed her hands at the wrists. The impact cracking he ground under him and pushing him in a little as the electricity sparked and danced over him to zero effect!
He tanked that?!
"You did turn my hack on me, did you not read my system data?" Mantis asked her.
"I didn't want to be rude." Tina admitted. "Cause reading your system data without permission would be a moment of distrust…but I don't need System Data to tell how strong you are." She told Mantis, as a quick look showed a subtle, barely noticeable twinge.
A twinge of Instinctual Fear.
"You are…very strong…" Tina admitted.
"So people tell me… Hm…" Mantis hummed.
I did notice Tina's skin around where Mantis was grabbing her… crack, she pulled away from him when that happened.
"Right…" Tina muttered, as I noticed her eyes flashed Green…and her jaw dropped. "Hu-bu-fu-fucking WHAT!?" Tina shouted incredulously.
"What's up?" Gallon asked.
"That was quite the… shout." Micheal added.
"Uh…I didn't think Stats could go that high…" Tina said carefully. "Guys…uh…use Scan on him…"
"Uh…sure…" I said carefully as I used Scan on Mantis.
…
…
"I…I didn't know numbers could go that high…"
[Mantis
HP: 15,000,000,000 (5,000,000,000 Base)
MP: 30,000,000,000 (10,000,000,000 Base)
ATT: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
DEF: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
PR: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
MR: 15/Max+9(5/Max+3 Base)
ER: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
Status R: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
Poison R: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
Fear R: 15/Max+12 (5/Max+4 Base)
Bleed R: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
Acid R: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
Psychic R: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
Disease R: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
—
Strength: 102/Max+9 (34/Max+3 Base)
Agility: 240/Max+9 (80/Max+3 Base)
Vitality: 150/Max+9 (50/Max+3 Base)
Vigor: 120/Max+9 (40/Max+3 Base)
Intelligence: 3,000/Max+9 (1,000/Max+3 Base)
Endurance: 300/Max+9 (100/Max+3 Base)
Dexterity: 210/Max+9 (70/Max+3 Base)]
Just… FUCKING HOW?!
"How?" Micheal asked with a dead fish look.
"The stats were a gift from my mentor." Mantis said.
"And…who the hell's your mentor?" I asked, not believing how one person could just…give someone this much fucking power…
"Urus."
"Know who that is?" I asked the other's as I had no idea who that was.
"I…don't know." Tina admitted.
"I got nothing." Gallon said.
"Me neither." Micheal said.
"Well, regardless what zone did you four come from? You mentioned Zombies." Mantis asked.
"We came from the Infection zone." I answered. "Every Zombie Apocalypse rolled into one ranging from the undead, viruses and fungi."
"Alright. Enjoy your tourism I suppose." Mantis said as he started walking back towards the settlement.
… Wait what?!
"That's it? Not going to show us around or inform your…'Operator' we're here?" I asked in confusion.
"Why would I?"
"...Never mind…" I sighed,.
With that, Mantis left… as in just vanished in a blink and a gust of wind.
"... Well that happened…" Micheal said.
"Yup…" Gallon nodded.
"Now I'm glad he didn't get mad when I used Transpite to turn his hack against him…" Tina said.
"Wait, he hacked into you?" I asked in surprise and shock.
"Yeah. Remember when I repeated what he said. He hacked me. I used Transpite to turn it on him and he cut it off then… really glad that didn't piss him off…"
"Yeah…really glad it didn't piss him off…" I said worriedly.
"So… now we know there is a… very overpowered child of sorts in this zone… well, that's uh… reassuring… I think?" Micheal asked. More to himself than anyone of us.
"I…am now scared about what the mother is like…" I said nervously.
"He said he was a Stalker formerly so… I don't think he has one… not in a normal sense." Micheal said.
"Either way, there's clearly strong people here. That's a good thing. Means getting strong is possible and that you can have your numbers say 'fuck you' to basically anything." Gallon said.
"That is very true." I nodded. "So, how's about we distract ourselves with some demon murder?"
"Sure…" Tina said.
We began to walk off, I did notice Tina seemed… still rather shaken up about the whole ordeal.
"You okay Tina?" I asked nervously.
"Yeah. Just… still. My animalistic side feels like I just escaped the jaws of something I didn't realize was a predator greater than me until It was almost too late… primal instincts can be a bitch when they act up."
"Yeah…that tracks…" I sighed. "Which means there's monsters and enemies that are that strong…"
"Guess so." Tina nodded. "Kind of makes you wonder though."
"Wonder about what specifically?" I inquired.
"I mean, the why of it I guess." Tina said. "Why can stats get that high, why can monsters have stats on par with that, why the sudden increases in dungeon levels and therefore danger? I mean 'just because' is kind of a lazy answer and well, aside from a power trip or to keep something safe or a challenge… why have all this power just be able to exist?"
"I suppose a combination of some people who are this strong can understand what a challenge is after a long time, some people wanted new shit and the Family decided to humor them finally, or just like Dark Gray, whoever was in charge of the updates is a cock who enjoys messing with people." I shrugged.
"... I dunno." She said, making me look up at her. "Just feels… weird, I guess."
"Eh." I shrugged. "Just something we have to get used to…and besides, I'm pretty sure that Mantis got that strong before the Update happened…"
"That's another thing… why the fuck wait so long to add something as simple as an EXP feature when it comes to creating a reality off of JRPG logic? That should have been a thing from the beginning but no, it's a recent addition? It just… it's bugging me."
"So either someone tried to get that all sorted out but they didn't have the time, or they tried to do that but everyone kept telling them to let someone else do it." I said, though for some reason, it felt like I was somehow validating someone's complaints against another with that statement…which is weird. "Sadly not everything can be done immediately I suppose, even the best games needed a tune up here and there."
"... I dunno." Tina sighed as she walked ahead a bit.
[Tina is feeling conflicted on why she wants to become stronger.]
The Estate Title notified me.
"Have you ever wanted to be stronger?" I asked.
"...Yes…I…needed to be stronger because of some shit back home…but…I suppose that bit stopped when I got to be happy with a new family…" Tina sighed.
"How strong did you want to be?"
"... Strong enough to protect my pups. I… tried. Did for a while but… in being with them and growing my family I let… so many die… and now, here I am… no idea where my pups or lovers from my Equis are and… just… lost I guess. That's something we share. We want to keep our families safe but that keeps us from them, and when we are with them, something might happen… and now… I'm not even sure I should be trying. As you saw with Mantis I'm nowhere near an apex predator here."
"I understand what you mean…" I sighed. "And we either have to choose to give up what we hold near and dear to us, or have all our choices taken away until we're forced to do something others want…" I sighed bitterly. "Either we make a choice we don't like because we have to, or everyone else just takes the choices away from us and we can't do anything about it…"
"Maybe that's what makes Armageddon so dangerous. Not the Chaos Guilds or the endless threats… the fact it takes away your free will to choose, and leaves us with nothing but bad options…"
"Tiara told me we have free will to choose, Dark Gray tells me we have free will to choose, the fucking planet itself tells me we have free will to choose, and currently I have yet to see or experience said fucking free will to choose that didn't lead to something bad." I frowned. "Even doing this, which should be a good thing for us, has the chance of yet another attack on the city cause fuck us…"
Tina and I shared a long sigh. "Maybe I should pick up smoking like Gallon?" Tina said aloud.
Never smoked before… eh. After the babies I'll give it a try.
7 Months Later
"Get back here you little-"
"They're heading for the planet room!" Jada called.
"Crap they get in there it could take days to find them… again!" Cheat huffed.
Our two headed month old and their siblings were evil incarnate. Sleep, optional. Food, vomited. Diapers… well they did poop lava rocks once… not sure how…
I heard a Boom from the planet room door only to now see a large hand block the door, stopping the flying gang of babies dead in their tracks as Cheat and I were able to grab them all again.
"Thank you." I groaned in bliss as I looked at our kids. "No." I said to the group of evil children.
They all blew me a raspberry in defiance at my 'no'.
"Welcome to what we went through." Cream chuckled as she popped a fresh binky into all the little ones' mouths. They immediately began to suckle before looking relaxed and sleepy now.
"Diaper duty was the worst." Maud added with a chuckle. "But the lava rock poop was a new one, so you get that."
"I don't like this…" I groaned. "Like…I love em all to death but…come on…"
"Each one has their quirks. Jada used to sneak out of her crib and stare at the TV for hours at night. Patrick sleep ran, often breaking his crib or running over his siblings and waking them up. That was fun…" Cream sighed but chuckled. "And these little monsters are run away artists. or, Fly Away artists."
I saw the giant hand blocking the door way to the planet room move, followed by a familiar hiss as I then saw Micheal walk out from the room. "Good you caught them. Was not looking forward to tracking them down again in there." He sighed.
"Thanks Micheal." I nodded. "If it wasn't for you blocking the door we would have had to hunt them down."
"Happy to help. No offense but your newborns are… little monsters… and not just those six…"
I sighed. My Breeder girls also gave birth and I'm trying to spend time with all my babies too… so… many… babies…
"We should consider getting a nanny… or like, fifty?" Maud asked.
"If there's even any nannies that can handle these little hellion's." I sighed.
"... No idea." Cream sighed. "At least with your Breeders actually here the work is less… still a lot though."
"Speaking of, how's Tina been?" Micheal asked.
"Still sticking to the nursery helping feed, change and putting the babies to sleep." Cheat sighed. "Says she needs the time."
"That scare with that Mantis kid really got to her huh?"
"Yes, cause it shows that she's not the strongest, that there are people that can be as strong if not stronger than even that, this world makes no sense, and we have absolutely no choice to do anything other than what others want from us." I explained simply. "So, you know, just normal thing's."
"So in other words, she's having an existential crisis?" Cheat asked.
"Most likely one of many." I said simply. "Cause reality's not fair, this planet is less fair, and we're all here just for someone's amusement as life becomes how he wants it."
"She's not the only one it seems." Cheat said, giving me a flat look.
"You wound me Cheat, wound me if you think this crisis is a new one." I said in mock betrayal.
"If it is then at least it would be something new you're focusing on…" She said with an eye roll.
"Yeah yeah." I rolled my eyes. "Just a lot of things to think about."
"Well either way you've still got a busy schedule." Cream said. "Your dad, Echo and Rom are visiting for dinner later, then tomorrow you invited Ginger over for another date with the family, and then you'll be at Barbs for a few days to check on her and your egg."
Still can't believe she laid an egg after our first time… heh… then again we uh… were not safe…
"Yeah, got a lot of things to do and worry about." I said simply.
"A super volcano Phoenix Alicorn symbiote Nokori and a dragon… that kid is gonna either become a god or remain true to their parents and remain a nerd. A super nerd." Cheat said.
"The kid can be both." I said simply.
"The God of Nerds." Micheal said.
That got a laugh out of me.
"Okay, that was a good one." I chuckled.
"Well either way, let's get these little monsters to bed before the guests arrive." Cheat said.
"Yeah, let's hope they stay asleep while the guests arrive." I said carefully as I headed off towards the nursery to put them to bed.
I collected the others from Cheat and then went inside. Here I found Tina, in her feral form laying in the middle of the heavily padded floor with most of the other infants. Some hers. Some from others. Those not sleeping against or nursing from her were in play pens or asleep in cribs.
"Hey Button." She said in a hushed tone.
"Hey Tina." I whispered back. "How you doing?"
"I'm feeling better." She said. "Less tense at least."
"That's good to hear." I nodded. "We're getting ready for the guests if you want."
"Maybe. Though, not sure they'll let me." She said, motioning to the various infants sleeping on her. "I have become mattress mom." She chuckled.
"And you are an amazing mattress mom." I chuckled warmly.
"Heh. Thanks… I still think about them… all the time." Tina sighed.
"We'll find them." I promised. "If we found your brother's harem, we can find yours as well."
"... I just worry… my kids… if Chaos Guilds got a hold of them… or Tony…" She said, laying her head down. "The more I try and not think about it the more it just forces itself to the front of my mind… caring for the babies in the nursery, even if they're just nursing off me and sleeping, it helps keep those fears at bay. Not exactly therapy… Christ Lovely has been on me to get back to my therapist…"
"Isn't she your therapist?" I whispered.
"No."
"Right…well, you probably should see your therapist…I should probably see a therapist…but who knows…"
"I think if you see a therapist you might just break them." She chuckled lightly.
"Nah, too easy." I shrugged.
"Pfft. I'll watch your little monster spawns. You go get ready for dinner With your dad, Echo Dash and Rom Hack.
"Alright, thank you." I nodded, leaning down and giving her a quick peck on the forehead and heading off to dinner.
The peace the last seven months has all in all been… relaxing. Even with all my stress and worries… I've made a lot of new, happy memories.
Before I went back I was heading to the bathroom to wash up where I saw Yuri at a desk we set up for him working with Code again.
"Hey Yuri, how goes it?" I asked.
"Bad." He sighed.
"How bad?" I inquired.
"I managed to decipher part of the Breeder Coding. It's about as bad as you'd expect and… then a little worse." He sighed again.
"How bad and worse is it?" I asked worriedly.
"Well, as I knew already it's a reworked Slaver Programming created back way before the Family, ancient Code work. Archaic too. No Key Sypher and bonded to a self destruct script that if the code is forcefully removed everything about the person becomes deleted. Code, profile, cells, atoms. They basically stop existing."
"Oh that's some bullshit." I frowned. "Whoever made this really wanted their slaves…"
"Yeah. Which brings me to my current dilemma. How to get rid of it without dying or something worse than that."
"And what's worse than ceasing to exist?" I inquired.
"Triggering a Reset and it erases all but the bare minimum. Left like a freshly programmed Breeder, Slave or Serf. Agh, this bites. I can't even use their Genetic memory to pull out a backup or something because that's reset too… this leaves me with two potential solutions but I won't know if even those are applicable until I decipher the rest…"
"Well, what are the two solutions if I may ask? Since you at least have a base to work with."
"One is that I create what is called a Backup, an exact copy of them down to their soul containing all their data, down to the biological minus the Breeder Programming, let the programming destroy the original and rebuild them from the Backup. The second is that I try what's referred to as an Admin Game but for them."
"An Admin Game you say?" I inquired. "Never heard of that before."
"It's… an old game of sorts from way back when Admins ruled like gods in the old reality. They'd repress their powers, their memories, everything and put themselves in a mortal body and live amongst them as them never knowing what they really are. The only thing is I have no idea if that would even work with Breeder Programming on the person… not to mention…"
"Not to mention?"
"Well, even if it did work, the person would effectively be reincarnated. The person they used to be a past life, no real access to those memories, maybe a faint trace of deja Vu and even then, they won't be the, well, they'd be a person now, potentially but they wouldn't remember, well, you or anyone, not even their own kids it's an option but not the solution you want… I… now wait a minute…" He hummed.
"Oh? What sorta cogs did I get to moving with just listening to you explain and mildly complain about things?" I inquired.
"Well I don't know if it will fully work but I'll let you know what it is once I decipher the rest of the Breeder Programming and if it works… we might be able to straight up bypass it."
"That sounds awesome." I said with a smile. "Thanks Yuri, even if you still have a lot of work ahead, you're the best."
"Well it's more progress than not at least." He shrugged. "If this does work though… we can do a lot of damage to Lust and Nexus." He said with a grin as he got back to work.
I smiled as I headed into the bathroom finally, some good news!
I washed up and was heading to the kitchen when I heard a knock at the door.
That them already? A bit early.
I walked over to the door and opened it. "Hello?"
I didn't see anyone at first… until I looked down… I saw a very familiar brown furred Earth Pony Colt with a very light, almost orange shade of mane. His amber eyes looked into mine as he gave me a wave with his hoof and smiled at me, the propeller hat spinning lazily atop his head. "Hi Button!"
I blinked. "Uh…hi Armageddon." I said, loud enough for whoever else was near me…and the sudden thud I heard meant someone was near. "Wh-what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to say hi. It's been a while." He said as he walked into the house passed me. "And I've never been in a house before…" He said as he looked around. "Looks neat!"
"Y-yeah, this is my place, and it is neat." I said carefully, closing the door behind me. "W-well, Dinners almost ready if you want to stick around for some food."
"Oh! Never had food before… actually, how do you even eat?"
…
Uh…
"Um…" I said slowly. "I…we're gonna show you when food is done…" I said, trying to think of how this was happening and how it'll all go…
I… eventually just sat with them on the couch.
"You seem tense." Armageddon said.
"I'm just…surprised you're visiting." I said. "Not everyday the World Soul just…manifests a body and decides to visit you physically." I said sheepishly.
"Well, I didn't Manifest really. Dad said 'Get up shit's finally happening' then gave me a key and said not to lose it, then threw me into this body, forty miles east of here." Armageddon said simply.
I blinked. "Uh…I don't like the fact Dark Gray said that…" I said nervously. "And…what's happening now?"
"I dunno. I just got here." He shrugged.
"Shit…" I thought worriedly. "Okay…well it's still good to have you hear Armageddon….or do you want to go by a different name?"
"Either or." He shrugged.
"Alright… well, what about this Key?"
"Oh that? I don't have it."
…
"...Where is it?" I asked.
"Dunno. I dropped it looking at a cloud… and then a zombie with a backpack ran by and took it."
Fuck! Pack Rats! Fucking thieves but when you get them their loot is full of goodies…
"Well…shit…" I said carefully. "Gonna have to hunt down that key…what did this key look like?" I asked.
"It was gold. With a… a silver grip and the grip looked like a fancy looking gate… and the gate had seven locks on it." Armageddon said cheerfully.
"Right…so I'm going to have to hunt that thing down…" I sighed. "Crap…"
"Sorry."
"It's alright." I said, lightly patting his head. "This is your first time having a body so…you're experiencing a lot of things."
Yeesh… just when I was at least relaxed adjacent….
