Idia was half asleep after getting a data packet from his parents regarding some software update his mother was having issues with.

So you could imagine his confusion when his mother called him in a panic stating they'd been hacked. Which...was ridiculous because they had the most advanced tech in the world, for good reason.

It wasn't until he saw the image dancing on the screen that he let out an annoyed sigh. To be fair, he had put off this particular discussion for as long as humanly possible, because he was still in somewhat denial over it.

He pulled up his phone and dialed a number.

"Hey Lethe? Can you come to my room for a bit? Tonberry is up to mischief and I'm going to need your help explaining this one."

"What did he do now? If it's about the near heart attacks he's been causing in Heartsabyl, Riddle approved those once he found out that IDIA was making a proper map for the freshmen to memorize for next year since one was never made."

"No, and I could care less about that. Tonberry hacked STYX."

Dead silence.

"He did what."

"He hacked STYX, and now our parents are in damage control mode because they think someone is after their data."

"...I'll be right there with the little shit," said Ortho tiredly.

True to his word, Ortho was at his door with IDIA, who looked downright smug. He was being an absolute shit at the moment and could care less. ORTHO just snickered.

Out of mutual agreement, all four of them agreed to just call each other by their screennames out of convenience. It was simply less confusing all around.

Idia called his parents up, and saw...well assumed from the body language...the worried expression on his mother's face. His father wasn't much better.

Before either could speak, Idia took one look at the dancing figure on the screen and without hesitation, lightly bopped IDIA on the head with the closest book.

"Stop that. You've caused enough headaches already," he scolded. IDIA pouted, but the figure disappeared from the screen.

His father stared. Or Idia assumed as much since both of them were in full gear and helmets that covered their heads completely.

"Idy...what exactly is going on?" asked his mother.

Idia, rather than say anything, moved to the side to reveal Ortho and IDIA. He could only imagine the look of shock on their faces.

Ortho decided to bite the bullet and cautiously say...

"Hi mom...dad."

"Idy...what exactly is going on?"

"I think it might be easier to get Azazel in on this too, he'd know more about my condition at the time," said Ortho to Idia. Idia nodded.

It took all of five minutes to get Azazel on the screen.

"...Why is the leader of the Fallen Angel faction on the other end of this conversation?" asked their father.

"Because I'm the one who found that little shit," said Azazel.

Ortho flipped him off.

"Keep it up old man, and I'll stop editing your videos so fast," said Ortho.

To say that the conversation was beyond awkward was an understatement. However, once they found out Ortho just needed a really good visual to use his signature spell to travel, Idia supplied a complete 360 video of one of the more easily recognized STYX conference rooms. It was one that he often hid in with Ortho before the incident.

It was only natural his parents would want to confirm for themselves that their youngest son was in fact alive.

Meeting his parents in real life was even more awkward. It was clear his mother was overwhelmed, as they had to come to terms with the fact they had lost their youngest child during the incident.

Ortho had no issue having his blood taken for another DNA test. It was understandable, as the Shroud family was very influential and rich. The idea of someone trying to get into their family fortune or steal their technological advances was to be expected, if they weren't so mysterious. Especially with an example like ORTHO around. Not many people could create artificial life like him.

Ortho had to admit, he found it rather amusing introducing them to his little brother IDIA. The little Tonberry (who was briefly scolded for hacking into STYX), was soaking up the parental affection like a sponge. And that was before Ortho introduced his parents to his adopted little sister Asia. Mrs. Shroud was beside herself to have a girl to spoil rotten.

~*~*~*~*~

Vil looked at the script with an incredulous expression.

"This is..."

Ortho waited expectantly.

"The most realistic horror script I've ever seen," admitted Vil finally.

"Really?"

"The character portrayal is believable, their reactions are within range of how people would actually react in this type of situation, and the protagonist's behavior after all the nonsense is a twist no one would actually see coming if done right," said Vil.

"Clearly you've never played Dungeons and Dragons before. I modeled the protagonist after 'fed up Dungeon Master who has had it with the players bullshit'," laughed Ortho.

Vil snorted.

"Is that why you made a comment about..." he squinted at the script... "'Murder Hobos'?"

"Again, if you've ever played a D and D campaign you would understand. This is a horror movie where I'm appealing to everyone's inner nerd and trying to show someone with actual common sense instead of movie logic."

Vil was openly smirking now.

"Are you kidding? This sounds like it would be highly entertaining to make," said Vil.

"Imagine the fun we could have tossing Neige into the mix," said Ortho.

"Why him?"

"Can you think of a better time to express your honest dislike of his personality? The guys practically a perfect victim for a gangbang who can only sit there and take it until he loses it," said Ortho dismissively.

Vil choked, just a bit.

"A gangbang, really?"

"I edit way too much porn," sighed Ortho. "That's honestly not the weirdest fetish I've seen."

Vil looked honestly tempted.

"The real question is where this should be placed."

"Good point. I mean there has to be a good reason for a group of teenagers to want to go to a relatively isolated area where a monster or killer is on the loose. Especially if we do rope Neige into this," said Ortho.

Vil was honestly looking forward to this. Ortho's method of filming involved real reactions to the horror. Sure, the footage he shot after the chase scene needed a bit of work, but it was solid. And knowing him, he wouldn't warn Neige at all.

He knew for a fact Ortho had Ruggie on a part-time contract to run minor errands during filming, partially as an apology for the scare he had gotten during the chase...and because Ruggie was the only survivor.

"So any idea when the film is going to be produced?" asked Vil.

"Azazel said that it just needs a few minor touch ups, and the department is really, really eager to edit something that isn't porn related for once. But the actual film has to survive test audiences before it'll be in theaters," said Ortho cheerfully.

"I'm honestly interested in how it turns out," said Vil. It was rare for a movie to catch his interest like this.

"It's nice...having someone who knows what they're doing to collaborate with. I mean Idy's good with special effects, but he's better with behind the scenes work. And IDIA prefers to watch movies than produce them," said Ortho.

"I know exactly what you mean," admitted Vil. "It's nice to have a professional that I can actual talk to without it coming back to haunt me later. And the quality of the short films we've been making in the club have gone up exponentially since you joined us."

"Weird that my robotic little brother has the same passion for movies," laughed Ortho.

"How are you handling that?" asked Vil.

"My parents are still adjusting to the fact I'm alive and back...and that I've brought some extras with me. They took IDIA in stride, even if they did scold him for hacking their software. However they were more shocked at the fact I have multiple girlfriends who are okay with sharing."

Shocked was an understatement. Mrs. Shroud had been very unhappy, until she realized the important thing...namely that the number of grandbabies she'd be able to spoil later had gone up significantly.

And the less said about how quickly they took to Asia, the better.

Ortho felt it said a lot that they had integrated themselves with Azazel within twenty minutes of seeing his labs, and his mother was delighted that her youngest had a chance to truly flourish and embrace his talents.

"How is Idia taking all this?"

"He's starting to get over the shock. My apparent 'death' hit him hard, turning him into a massive recluse. Learning I had survived without my memories caught him off guard. Meeting his robotic double really threw him off though," said Ortho with a laugh.

Repairing their relationship was going slowly, as Idia had withdrawn into himself greatly over his death. He blamed himself for the incident, when it was just incredibly bad luck all around. He had built ORTHO as a way to cope with his guilt.

Being confronted with his living brother had brought all those horrible memories to the front, and it didn't help that Ortho had lost his own memories of the incident except for bits and pieces.

Fortunately, Ortho had several therapists on speed dial. He would happily drag Idia into sessions, or at least coax him into doing video calls if he had to.

"So...what exactly is Dungeons and Dragons?" asked Vil.

Ortho gained a rather worrying gleam in his eyes.

"I thought you'd never ask..." he said, trying not to cackle.

Three days later...

"Why are Rook Hunt and Vil Schoenhiet here?" asked Azul, pushing up his glasses.

"I shared a script with Vil recently which makes a lot of D and D references. He wanted a better understanding of what they were," said Ortho smirking.

"What sort of script?" asked Idia.

"I'll share it with you later. Let's just say any real nerd would recognize that one of their own wrote it."

Vil was too busy making a proper character sheet with Ortho. It was an unspoken fact that D and D often became an impromptu therapy session for players, allowing them to vent their true feelings without worry of it getting out. After all, they were merely acting.

"That good huh?" asked Idia.

"Let me put it this way...the protagonist is a DM who's just as tired with his companions bullshit as a real one is with the general murder hobos that gravitate to the game," said Ortho with a laugh. Idia snickered at that.

Rook, amusingly enough, had opted to choose bard as his character. Considering how flamboyant he was, it suited him. Then again he was a bit more aware of the stereotypes regarding D and D classes, and this would allow him to flirt outrageously with Vil and damn near anything else without being called out on it.

Unsurprisingly, Vil opted to be an elf.

Ortho was acting as the DM, and settled in for a long game.

Several hours later...

Vil had to admit, he was thoroughly enjoying himself. He never thought he would be able to use his acting skills for fun instead of profit, and his actions were dictated by the roll of some dice. However he found himself drawn into the addiction that was Dungeons and Dragons. Rook was positively beaming at him, because he could see Vil relax while getting into the game.

Idia was clearly relaxing as well, as he became more animated the longer the game went on. Ortho had to hide his grin, as Azul and Idia were flirting half the time which was hilarious to watch.

When they ended the session, Ortho felt pretty happy. Even if the odds of them being able to get together anytime soon were next to nill. It was just the nature of trying to organize D and D night.

However there was one thing bugging him. He would swear he'd seen Azul before, despite the fact this was his first time being properly introduced to the Octomer. It wasn't until he saw a message from Issei profusely thanking him for introducing him to that succubus and her partner that it hit him.

"Oh! He must be Prim's cousin! That's why he's so familiar!" said Ortho brightly.

A few days later...

Ortho observed Azul closely for a bit when he went to have lunch at the Monstro Lounge. Now he was certain of it.

"Enjoying your meal?" asked Azul.

"It's rather good. Also, I'm glad to see you finally grew into your adult body, considering what an adorable kid you were," said Ortho.

Azul had a slight alarmed look on his face.

"I'm sorry?"

Ortho grinned and pulled up a very old photo. One that Azul knew damn well should not have been in the hands of some random person.

"Where did you get this?!"

"Prim shared it when I told her that I was attending the same school as her favorite baby cousin," said Ortho. "She had quite a few stories to tell."

"Prim?" said Azul, his eyes furious. He had done everything in his power to hide what he considered his shameful past.

"Those in the industry call her Prim, which is short for 'prim and proper'...two things that Priscilla is not when working," said Ortho.

Azul's brain short circuited for several moments.

"Wait...are you telling me you got this photo from my uptight cousin Priscilla?" said Azul. "The one who never goes anywhere in anything short of full work attire and her hair done up?"

Sensing blackmail, the tweels sauntered over.

Ortho snorted.

"Yeah, there's a reason we joke about her being prim and proper like Professor Trein when not on the job. She's one of the best Madams we have that work in the S and M scene, along with her life partner Eliza who's a literal succubus."

Azul was having trouble equating his rather uptight cousin...with what Ortho was telling him.

It only got worse when Ortho casually brought up several photos of what was clearly Priscilla in full fetish gear and her true octomermaid form. Each tentacle had a different 'toy' to administer 'punishment' to paying clients. Beside her was a clear succubus in similar attire showing more skin than leather, with a clear look of adoration towards his cousin on her face.