Beyond the Boundary

Chapters

Chapter 1: Gateway reopening
Chapter 2: Cunning Investigator
Chapter 3: Work for it
Chapter 4: Mech Savvy
Chapter 5: A Mystery in The Shadows (1/2)

Chapter 1: Gateway reopening

Author's Note

This is my first ever fanfic. All criticism is welcomed.

Chapter 1: Gateway reopening

“No...That can't be right,” said an Irritated Twilight Sparkle, using her magic to examine a large book for the fifth time, checking for any indication that she might have missed something.

"Why? What's wrong? What's in it?" asked a confused Rainbow Dash.

“Nothing...” Twilight sank on the chair she was sitting in, the large book still in her magical grasp.

"Nothing's wrong? Or nothing's in it?" Daring Do asked.

"It's blank!" Twilight dropped the book onto the table out of frustration. “All that effort, and for nothing...”

The three of them were in the middle of the library in Twilight's castle. Rainbow Dash and Daring Do intended to check up on whatever Twilight found out about the book they entrusted with her for research, and Twilight sat in front of them at a study table, having spent days studying the book that was given to her by the treasure hunting duo.

“Are you sure? Check again, maybe there's a hidden pocket section in the hard cover, or text so small you might've missed it,” suggested Daring Do.

“Yes, I'm sure. I triple checked,” Twilight replied, whilst thoroughly examining the book. “And now I just quadruple checked,” She added, dropping the book again in annoyance.

“Well, what do those... weird green things say?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You said you deciphered it or whatever, right?”

“First of all, these weird green things are runic symbols. They're archaic letters that possibly date back to ancient times,” Twilight explained, pointing a hoof to the aforementioned symbols. "And second: It took painful hours of translation for just the front cover itself! It isn't exactly clock's work deciphering an ancient language for the first time you know, especially without any prior knowledge of this book's origin.”

“Do you think it might have any magical properties? Or historical value atleast?” asked a hopeful Daring Do, not wanting Twilight's efforts to be all to waste. She herself didn't really care what happens after she's done getting the ancient artifact away from the hands of the bad guys, so the book having no value didn't matter to her as much as she's sure it did to the one who actually did all the research.

“Not sure, but—” Twilight starts tidying up her desk, and picking up scattered books off of the floor, "—this translates to The Tome of Encantasia," she said, tapping a hoof to two specific symbols that seemed to implicate that it was the book's title—if you take into consideration the fact that they were in much bigger font, or that they occupy the middle of the cover page. "It's old Abyssinian. I combined a couple of language dating spells and symbol deciphering spells and somehow managed to get a pretty accurate translation into Equestrian..." She finished, a look of worry settling on her face.

"But...?" Rainbow Dash said, sensing the upcoming conjunction.

“But I couldn't translate the other symbols,” Twilight sighed.

Rainbow Dash and Daring Do looked to each other. "What do you mean?" Daring Do asked.

“Whenever I tried the same spells on them, they seem to be—” Twilight looked up wistfully “—blocked by some type of magic I can't understand.”

"Some type of magic you can't understand...?" Daring Do repeated. "You mean like something you haven't learned yet?"

Twilight shook her head. "It's more like... a kind of magic that's too advanced for me," she struggled to explain, finding it hard to put the sensation of magic into words. At this point she was starting to pace and mumble to herself, not able to keep the theoretical ramblings in any longer.

“Is she, uh, always like this...?” Daring Do asked Rainbow Dash, leaning towards her as Twilight continued going on about how she was so sure something as simple as translating a book shouldn't be too hard for her given that she's already mastered so many other factors in magic that were far more advanced.

"Pretty much," Rainbow Dash answered.

Twilight's hair was disheveled, and strands of purple and pink poked out from her head as they refuse to line up with the rest of her hair in a traitorous act of apostasy. She also had bags under her eyes from lack of rest, and the wrinkles in her face were more obvious than Daring Do and Rainbow Dash liked to admit. "She looks like she's had five minutes of sleep," commented Daring Do.

“Six! actually,” Twilight instantly defended, taking a small break from her incoherent rambling.

“So let me get this straight,” Rainbow Dash cuts in, “you found absolutely nothing about this book other than what it's called?” she asked, giving Twilight a somewhat disappointed look.

Twilight defended, "I took a trip to the Canterlot Archives and even they had nothing on The Tome of Encatasia.” The idea of an ancient artifact not being recorded in the Canterlot Archives just didn't seem right to her. Although, if it was something that hasn't actually been discovered yet, it would make sense if it wasn't in any historical book at all, she thought. “On the bright side I did get to take a trip to the Canterlot Archives, so that was one little rainbow to my unproductive week," she happily added, causing Rainbow Dash to roll her eyes. After a few seconds, Twilight sighed. “And in the end, I didn't get to really find out much. I thought that I'd atleast spend the whole night trying to find a spell that could open the book to compensate for the lack of any significant results, but then it turns out to be blank..."

After seeing the look on Twilight's face Rainbow Dash felt a bit sorry, and decided to console, "H-hey, it's no big deal. Look, we didn't even have to make you do this, so don't get so bummed out that you didn't find anything." It was true. When asked for help, Twilight was more than eager to do anything if it meant she would be of any assistance to Daring Do's adventure, and added to that, Twilight would have helped regardless. So Rainbow Dash felt a bit guilty for somewhat causing Twilight to feel like she was useless in their whole endeavor despite the fact that she helped out of pure willingness, disregarding the lack of results. “Who knows? Maybe this book's just a scam and we're overthinking things. It might not even have value at all!" At that point, it was obvious that Rainbow Dash was already exaggerating, and even Twilight wasn't convinced.

“Then why would it be six hundred hooves underground in some old ruins? with dangerous puzzles and traps, gaurded by two manticores?” Daring Do suggested, causing Rainbow Dash to rub a bruise she had on her left forearm, and take her point into consideration.

“I guess that wouldn't make sense...” Rainbow Dash answered.

"But Dash has a point," Daring Do immediately added after a few seconds, turning to Twilight as she started pacing again. "You're stressing yourself way too much over this, princess. We may have asked for your help on this, but it's not like you're running on any deadlines here. It's a request," she emphasized. "And you're sacrificing way too much of your time on it." She saw a circular mirror on the desk, then decided to show Twilight her reflection. "Including sleep."

It had been quite some time since Twilight had last seen the sun, and she can't say she likes the allicorn princess staring back at her from that incidently hideous desk mirror. "Oh dear," she said, seeing the sleep deprived wrinkles worming its way into her princess face, and making it look unprincessy—although, she didn't really have much concern for physical appearances to begin with so that was one problem she could overlook. "You may be right... this book is starting to get to me."

"Starting." Daring Do flatly echoed. "You mean this is just you starting to stress out?"

Twilight sighs, her shoulders sag as she visibly calms down. "Sorry, girls," she apologizes, sitting down, "but I don't think I can be of much more help..." She passes the book over to Rainbow Dash.

"Just like that...?" Rainbow Dash said, taking the book.

Twilight let out a defeated sigh. “I really wish I could've done more, but I'm afraid I'm at my wits end this time."

"So... what now?" Rainbow Dash said after a while, awkwardly holding the book between her hooves and not really knowing what to do with it.

Twilight answered, "If you're still planning on finding more about it, you're gonna have to ask help from the Princesses themselves. This kind of ancient magic is more their area of expertise, and I'm sure they'll be of much more help."

"Are... you gonna come with us?” Rainbow Dash asked, thinking that if Twilight were to come she might find some form of closure for the matter if nothing else.

“I can't," Twilight answered, sighing into a bookshelf she was organizing. "I have to reorganize the library today and Spike's looking after the CMC's.” Twilight felt somewhat conflicted between possibly knowing the outcome of this little—or possibly big—mystery that got her so baffled and riled up for the past torturous days and reorganizing her gigantic library, both of which were things she would very much enjoy doing right away.

"Can't you just reschedule?" Rainbow Dash suggested; however the look on Twilight's face was enough to remind her of how Twilight felt about the whole idea of rescheduling. It's a waste of precious time, and it messes with the balance of my entire week, she would say. “Right, right. That's not your thing," Rainbow Dash decided to say, then made for the door with the book held between her forearm and side. "I guess we'll look for Spike and send word to the Princess. Thanks, Twilight.”

"Make sure to mention that I translated the title for them!" Twilight called out to the door.

"Yeah, yeah sure," Rainbow Dash called back, clutching the book tightly before taking off, and creating a gust of wind that was strong enough to scatter a bunch of stacked books and causing Twilight to groan and pick them up.

“Thanks for the help, princess," Daring Do said, making her way out of the room as well.

Twilight nodded. “It was a pleasure.”

"I'm sure it wasn't."

"No, it wasn't," Twilight replied, deciding to be honest to herself.

Daring Do followed after Rainbow Dash, and left Twilight to her own reorganizing fun.

"Huh... princess." Twilight said to herself the second she was out of earshot. "I'm never getting used to that, am I?"

Whenever ponies used the P word on Twilight, it would still catch her by suprise to this day even if she doesn't show it.

She looks back to the time she was just Unicorn Prodigy Twilight Sparkle, Eccentric Librarian of the townsfolk of TroublesomeVille, home to the perpetually pillaged and their knack for attracting all of Equestria's most dangerous and murderously intentful species. Now she gets to call herself the Weilder of the Element of Magic, Allicorn Princess to the ponies of still TroublesomeVille. It was a title that she held with much pride.

She has no idea what value the tome posseses and what adventures it might possibly entail if it even actually turns out to contain something, but she has a strong feeling that it was gonna be a long day for Rainbow Dash and Daring Do were that the case.

A wooden bucket thuds to the ground, its apples scattering across the grass in all directions as they make a frantic escape from their very pink and very menacing captor whom stood tall on two back legs.

"Woopsie!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, falling out of her ridiculous, bipedal pose as she struggles to chase after each rolling produce to put them back in their respective bucket. "That wasn't the plan now was it." Pinkie loads the apples on a wagon that has already been previously filled with other mounds of apples, then comes back to her original spot, under the tree that Applejack was just about ready to buck.

“Hold it like a normal pony, why don'tcha,” sarcastically said a reprimanding Applejack, hoof-facing herself.

“But it's so much more fun balancing on my head! You should try it!” Pinkie answered, bouncing enthusiastically.

Applejack rolled her eyes, then reared back, her back legs facing the apple tree that was about to be just a tree in a second. “You said you'd help me. Just make sure you don't drop the apples for cryin' out loud. We don't want them to get damaged.” She released full force and bucked the tree, its remaining apples falling off.

"Okie! Dokie! Lokie!" Pinkie caught each apple with the bucket that was now held between her hooves, curtesy of the farm pony's advice, and made sure to turn to Applejack with a cheerful proud smile to show off her success in a childlike manner.

“G'job,” Applejack said simply, walking to the front of the wagon and getting ready to mount its wagon mounty thingies onto herself (a/n: Don't even with me) then said, “Now fill 'em on up. This here's the last batch.”

Pinkie gracefully bounced towards the wagon with the bucket of apples atop her head once again despite prior warnings. Applejack cringed with every jump, fearing for the same outcome and causing her to regret her decisions in accepting Pinkie Pie's help. "You knew better than this, AJ," she sighed to herself.

To Applejack's relief, Pinkie Pie successfully made it over to the wagon without a hitch then did as she was told, giggling at Applejack's expression with a teasing glee.

“Don't worry, silly. I told you I'd help you with your chores. I'm the element of honesty, remember?” Pinkie joked.

Applejack shook her head, but couldn't help a smile. “I know, yer helpin me an' all, but ya done slowed me down more than ya sped the process, to be honest.” Pinkie laughed sheepishly at that. “Now let's get goin' before Granny gives us an earful,” she says then, mumbling, adds, “Mostly me anyways.”

Before Applejack could get far, however, she gets tackled by a flying, blue blur of feathers sporting a rainbow trail in a speed that had no concern for anything within its path. She and her assailant tumble across the grass in a painful cloud of smoke before stopping a few feet away from their original spot.

“Oof,” Pinkie Pie cringes, one of her eyes tightly closed in sympathetic pain.

“What in tarnation!?” Applejack exclaims. The resilient farm pony picks herself off the ground and begins ridding herself of dust, unscathed.

“Ow... Not a good idea,” Rainbow Dash groans from the ground, rubbing at some old and new bruises. While being the faster out of the two, she wasn't anywhere near as strong as the tree bucking farmer whom sustained less damage.

“Ya think?” Applejack retorts.

Daring Do finally catches up, saying, “Did you find your friend?” to a bruised and groaning Rainbow Dash lying on the grass. She finds herself not questioning the predicament the brash and reckless pegasus was in from either lack of concern or spite for being left behind.

“Oh hey, Daring Do! I'm Pinkie Pie. Remember me? Long time!" Pinkie greeted, jumping up and down with glee. "It's been a while! *gasp* Are you moving to ponyville? 'cause I could throw you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party!”

“Now, now. We don't want to jump to any conclusions. For all we know she might just be passin' by,” Applejack says then turns to Rainbow Dash, her expression turning furious. “Now what the hay were you thinkin' flyin' into me like that! Ya could've hurt yerself,” she looks her up and down, noticing that she did indeed hurt herself, then added "or worse!".

“This stupid book's just so heavy; made me misjudge my landing,” Rainbow Dash reasoned. "I was supposed to just suprise you, but I guess this book had other plans."

"Like attemptin' to break my bones?” Applejack retorted with a raised eyebrow. Attempting was a key word there.

"Broke my bones..." Rainbow Dash mumbled.

"What the hay are ya doin' with that big a book anyways? Ya plannin' on droppin' it on somepony's head?"

“It's an ancient tome,” Daring Do cuts in, shooting Rainbow Dash a reprimanding glare as she yanks the book from her reckless hooves, “and you're supposed to handle it with care because they don't usually come with an extra copy.” She puts the book in one of her saddlebags, making sure it doesn't get destroyed before they even get to ask the princesses what to do with it.

Applejack looks to Daring Do then back to Rainbow Dash. "Looks like ya found yoursleves another treasure hunt adventure," she said. "You guys have been goin on a lot of adventurin' pretty often lately."

“Yeah—uhh... actually, we're kinda in a hurry right now.” Rainbow Dash said, then looked to Daring Do and back to Applejack. “We're lookin for Spike. You guys seen him?”

"Well, last I've seen 'em they were headin' to Carousel Boutique—prolly to get Sweetiebelle, since it was only Spike and the two fillies. I don't know what those girls are up to, but if Spike's there to supervise them, I'm sure it ain't somethin' safe or smart."

"Yeah, Twilight mentioned something about Spike looking after them or something."

"Why you lookin' for him anyways? you gonna send a message to the princess or somethin'?"

"Actually, yeah. How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess," she shrugged. "Well, we need to head back ourselves anyways. Right, Pinkie?"

"That's right!" Pinkie answered, nodding vigorously.

“We were just harvestin' for this week's cider shipment, and since Big Mac couldn't come 'cause of his dentist appointment—"

"I volunteered to help!" Pinkie answered for her.

Applejack sighed. "Which I wouldn't say did much considerin' the fact that we're already behind schedule," she added, using her farmer skills to determine the relative time by judging the angle of the sun.

Pinkie laughed sheepishly, scratching her head.

"Anyways, we gotta go," Applejack said, more to Pinkie, then got ready to rush off to the barn with the wagon full of apples in tow.

"Yeah, us too," Rainbow Dash said.

"Good luck on your adventure!" exclaimed Pinkie as Rainbow Dash and Daring Do make their way for Carousel Boutique.

Rainbow Dash kept on insisting to hurry up, and after a while, Daring Do eventually fell behind as Rainbow Dash impatiently sped towards their next destination, leaving only trails of rainbow afterimages for Daring Do to follow, which after awhile of doing so, finally made her catch up.

Daring Do saw Rainbow Dash in front of what looked like a building designed to resemble a carousel. I'm guessing that's Carousel Boutique, she thought to herself, approaching the building with a look of disdain. Rainbow Dash was grumbling and getting irritated about something Daring Do couldn't quite hear from the distance.

"Ugh, they're at Lotus & Aloe's," she heard her say as she got close.

"Who?"

"They're at the day spa." Rainbow Dash started walking towards the maintown, Daring Do falling in step beside her.

"Look who decided to finally take things slow," commented Daring Do jokingly.

"Hehe," sheepishly laughed Rainbow Dash. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Now that I think about it, I've never had this much help before," Daring Do said, looking around.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that not only do I have you tagging along to help me with this; I'm also about to ask help from the rulers of Equestria themselves—and not to mention your friends."

At this point, Rainbow Dash was used to Daring Do always showing appreciation for her help. Sometimes, she wonders if Daring Do's even aware of how much of a privilege it is to be around a hero like her. She figures she probably does, and thinks of how lucky she is to be friends with such a celebrity icon—or atleast that's how she likes to think their relationship is based on. "It's no biggie," Rainbow Dash decided to say, and smirked proudly despite her words.

"I'm counting on you to take good care of my life's biggest secret. I hope you understand the weight of that."

"Yep. Roger! Understood." Rainbow Dash saluted, her limbs going straight.

"Yeah, you don't need to do that." Rainbow Dash dropped the salute, laughing sheepishly. "Now let's go find this spike."

"Oh, I'm afraid you just missed them, dear," a heavily accented voice that could only come from Rarity said. Daring Do finally took notice of the fashionista that had been walking towards them with Fluttershy walking alongside her. "They were headed to their tree house, I believe. Perhaps you should just meet with them there if you're looking for him."

"Oh, hey Rarity. Perfect timing," Rainbow Dash greeted.

"A.K. Yearling—oh, I didn't realize it was you. Oh, it's nice to see you again, darling," Rarity said, giving her a prompt hug which Daring Do returned rather hesitantly.

"Oh, it's so nice to see you," Fluttershy greets as well, smiling. "How's your, um, career going?" she asked, her ability to small talk showing great improvement throughout the years.

"Ok," Daring Do replied flatly, causing Fluttershy to force an awkward smile. It was one thing to finally be the first to engage in social exploits, but when the person you're trying to socialize with doesn't really give you anything to work with, you're kinda just forced to throw in the towel.

"Oh, that's, um, nice," Fluttershy decided to reply after a few seconds, barely able to salvage what little conversation there was between them.

"I must say that is a lovely outfit," Rarity complemented, breaking the silence, much to Fluttershy's relief.

"Thanks. It's... the one I always wear," Daring Do answered. As much as she loved catching up with friends, she had somewhere else to be and something else to do, and she doesn't really plan on getting held hostage by anymore idle chitchat so she decided to keep her replies short and to the point.

"What brings you to Ponyville, dear? If you don't mind my asking," Rarity continued.

Daring Do took out the book from her saddlebag, and showed it to them both. "This," she stated simply, hoping to get out of their meticulously curled manes as soon as possible, but also not wanting to be rude to such well-meaning ponies.

Fluttershy peered. Rarity took a closer look, then immediately reared back for a mighty sneeze. "Oh my," she said, sniffling. "That's, um, pretty dusty." She laughed sheepishly. "I can tell it's been sitting on the shelves for a pretty long time," she added, forcing a smile and not wanting to offend the book writer were it a book she was currently writing.

"Anyways, we gotta bail," Rainbow Dash cut in, not able to take anymore awkward pauses. "We're gonna ask spike to send a letter for us. Then after that we might need to take a trip to Canterlot."

"Oh, I suppose we have to head back ourselves. We still have a lots of work to do after all. Um, do be careful, dear."

"Thanks," replied Rainbow Dash.

The two pairs part ways, one going in much more of a hurry, while the other pair simply walked.

"Oh, I wonder what they are up to," Fluttershy commented, her and Rarity out of earshot. "That book looked a pretty old."

"Oh, don't mind them, dear. You know how Rainbow Dash is when she's with her number one hero."

"I thought the Wonderbolts was her number one hero? Or was it Spitfire...?"

"The point is, Rainbow Dash has been often helping Daring Do with her adventures recently. It's probably just some long lost artifact that she retrieved in some old ruins. I would guess so, because that thing looked horrendously dreadful and the dust that was previously clinging to it is now clinging to the insides of my nose," Rarity explained/complained, making a point by making high pitched noises as she blew out puffs of air through her nose, still trying to get the dust out.

Daring Do and Rainbow Dash arrive at the tree house. They stop a few feet from the wooden stairs.

"I think I should mention something about Spike," Rainbow Dash started.

Daring Do asks, "What."

"He's kind of a dragon."

Daring Do looks back to the tree house, taking good note of its size. "And he's in there?"

"He's a baby dragon."

Princess Celestia sat at a desk in her office, because even though she ruled a monarchy and often held meetings in the throne room itself, she still had the professionalism to have one.

She was having a discussion with a light grey griffon sitting across from her.

Celestia clears her throat. "I understand that it causes a huge economical imbalance, given that it takes up a significant portion of Griffonia's trade and industry; You are known for your mead. I understand it is indigenous in your culture," she stated.

"Not just an imbalance. This could compromise our very economy," the grey griffon answered. "Ever since the appearance of Tirek, the bug bears from which we get our main source of bug bear honey have mysteriously dissapeared. We've been using what's left of the hives they left behind but we're aproaching a point where we simply cannot sustain enough bug bear honey for the next six months. It is... looking quite bleak for us, I'm afraid."

"Can't you find someplace else?"

"We have, and that's percisely why the council asks for passage through Equestria for importation. We found bug bear hives all across Minotaurian forests and they've agreed to help us. They're huge consumers of mead so they struck a deal with us in exchange for a partnership."

"Yes, but I don't understand why you can't just find any other routes for importation and exportation. You know our laws concerning alchoholic beverages, even if it's just for providing a passage; I do not allow even it's components from entering Equestrian territory."

"That's just it. There are no other routes. There were too many ravines and all kinds of uncrossable terrain that put too much of our workers at risk. Passage through Equestria is our only safest and fastest option, therefore the only viable one. You know how important this is to our economy so you must understand that refusing could cause many problems for us."

"Yes, I understand."

The griffon sighed. He leaned back on his chair and stared out the window. "I've done my research too, you know," he looks back to Celestia, "Hundreds of years in the past, you didn't use to be so strict with alcohol."

Celestia looked to the window as well. "Yes, I recall." She looked back to the griffon then said, "I also recall that they weren't exactly a very good and productive influence on my little ponies, hence its banning. For a certain time they weren't happy with my decision and it caused an uproar; riots broke out occasionally here and there."

"Exactly my point!"

"Exactly my point," Celestia firmly interjected. "As I've said: It is not a good influence on my ponies, and it causes such behaviours to manifest into their lifestyles. They eventually got used to living without it and soon lived happier and healthier lives. This proves that such depressants only causes more problems than it fixes."

"Morale and health isn't the only factor involved anymore. Like I said, there will be an economic imbalance—a disturbance if you will. Right now mead leads as a number one commodity in our industry and commerce, and its importance is too great to ignore just because it changes their lifestyle," he argues further, mockingly quoting Celestia. "Griffons will lose their jobs; Businesses will shut down. I'm sorry, princess, but the political stakes are just too high for any moral indignation to matter. The council didn't send me here all the way from Griffonia expecting to come back with nothing but good news. You see, they, uh, apparently have this misguided notion that we're really good friends, and that if there's anyone who can get your approval it would be me."

"I get where you're coming from, and we are good friends. But I hope you understand that I'm running a nation and my duty to my ponies still comes first. I wish I could say that our relationship extends as far as me being able to make an exception just this once, but I will not risk sabotaging the integrity of the peace I've had the difficulty of preserving over the past thousands of years over the wishes of another nation that has done nothing but sought for our assistance time and again throughout the extent of our very relationship."

The griffon went silent at that, then after a while, said, "...so I'm guessing that's a no."

Celestia gave him a firm glare. "My decision is final."

He leans back in his chair, letting out a defeated sigh and taking a few seconds to gather himself. He glances everywhere in the room but her eyes lest its stern glare confirm the reality of her rejection, as reasonable and harmless as he still thought his proposal was. Athough he fully understood where she was coming from; she did have responsibilities to prioritize as co-ruler of a kingdom, and he was in no position to bargain any further.

With a last sigh, he stood up from his chair and makes for the door. He stops and glances her direction. "He won't be too happy with this, you know."

Celestia sighs through her nose. After a few seconds, she asks, "How is he by the way?"

"He's doing good."

"Did he say anything?"

"He says 'loosen up.'"

Celestia shakes her head, hiding a small smile. He finally opens the door and exits the room, leaving her to her own musings (and mounds of metaphorical and real paperwork.)

As the door closes, she lets out a longsuffering sigh, followed by a hoof slowly running down her face as if doing so would somehow wipe the mentally strained look on it. Her eyes tiredly scan the room from the ceiling, to the corner plant, to the door, aimlessly inspecting its innocent interior design in a meager attempt to calm her stressed state of mind, then finally to her desk where she had lots of more boring work to be done. Groaning, she reaches for a quill when a burst of green flames interrupts her, and a letter materializes out of it, conveniently landing onto her desk. Her mood immediately lightens at the sight of the scroll.

Twilight's letters, she merrily thought, smiling. Thank Celestia. She giggled at the expression.

She grabs the parchment and quickly opens it. She wastes no time reading through the words with anticipation. A second later, and she gradually slows down with each word as she realizes it was neither a friendship letter nor from Twilight. "Gaurds!" she called out to the door.

"Ooh, I wish I could come, but my schedule's just so full today!" Twilight complained.

"Why not just postpone and finish them later or something?" suggested Rainbow Dash.

"And get behind in schedule!?" Twilight rhetorically question-shouted under the clear presumption that Rainbow Dash would realize the blasphemy in her words.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah fine. We'll just tell you wha—or I'll tell you what happens."

Twilight sighs, letting the matter go. "Are your things ready?"

Rainbow Dash patted one of her saddlebags with a hoof. "All set."

"I just hope this won't take too long. I've got somewhere to be tommorow," Daring Do cut in.

"Oh, is there another convention you'll be attending?" asked Rainbow Dash with a hopeful tone.

"No. I'm retrieving an artifact that was stolen from an ancient temple in the outskirts of San Palomino Desert."

"Can I come?"

"I'm going alone. It's a kind of stealth mission, and I can't have your... distracting colors give me away."

Rainbow Dash seemed to visibly sag with disappointment. "I can be stealthy," she grumbled to herself.

"That's you," Twilight informs as a royal carriage lands near them.

The door to the carriage opens and one of its riders call out, "Miss Dash and A.K. Yearling?"

Rainbow Dash turns to Twilight, "Wish us luck." Twilight nods, and Rainbow Dash enters the vehicle, followed by Daring Do. They close the door, and the carriage lifts off the ground as the royal gaurds flap their mighty, labor wings to freedom.

"Don't forget the detailed report on your findings!" Twilight called out.

"That wasn't the deal!" Rainbow Dash called back.

The carriage heads for Canterlot, casually disappearing into the distant, blue sky as Twilight ponders in thought, worrying about one thing or another as she stared aimlessly at the continuously shrinking dot in the sky that was her friend and her friend's friend, who which was also pretty much a celebrity heading into a city that is prominently known for being filled to the brim with social climbing snobs who only care about social power and celebrity status.

Hiding in the background, Starlight finally comes out of her eavesdropping spot and startles Twilight into a high pitched yelp. "Who was that pony with Rainbow Dash just now?" she asked nonchalantly as Twilight breathed vehemently for air.

Finally catching some crisp Co² back into her lungs, Twilight looks to Starlight in shock, but for a different reason. "You mean you didn't recognize her right away?" she asked, baffled.

"Was I supposed to...?" Starlight fearfully asked, unaware of the evident pop cultural reproof she was due to recieve.

Twilight could only gape in disbelief, making Starlight the more nervous.

"Look, if this is one of your friendship lessons where I have to be able to recognize a pony I've met, I'm just really not that good at it. I mean it's just... Some names can be really confusing and tough to memorize, and Ponyville's a big town," Starlight reasoned. "I mean, do you know that there is a Berrycrunch and a Cherrybu—"

"No, no, no," Twilight cuts off, waving her hooves about. "That pony was A.K. Yearling," she clarifies, pointing a hoof towards the direction of the now distant and barely visible carriage, all the while staring at Starlight with a silent anticipation for the sudden recognition to hit her.

Which didn't come.

"Professional book writer and author of the Daring Do series...?" Twilight added when Starlight had already been silent for an entire eight seconds, hoping it would prove fruitful in ascertaining her familiarity with the writer.

To no avail.

"The first trilogy sold over thousands of copies within the week of its release!"

"I've... never heard of her."

Twilight found herself absolutely baffled to hear such a statement. She was certain that Starlight was just as introverted and nerdy as the next pony, and figured that she would have atleast heard of the iconic book writer and her very prominent franchise.

"Look, I spent a significant portion of my life cultivating and enslaving an entire village, what do you want from me?" Starlight quite reasonably defended. Twilight gave her argument a thought, then after a while, she decided to accept its credibility with a shrug. Not much she could do about it anyways. Although nothing was stopping her from introducing Starlight to the first trilogy. So she decided that that's what she was gonna do.

Her schedule could wait...

Bored out of her mind, Rainbow Dash used her hooves and drummed a little beat onto her side of the carriage windows.

Meanwhile, Daring Do took the tome out of the saddlebag and examined its runes, closely eyeing each archaic symbol out of an innate curiosity and out of sheer boredom. She gingerly traced a hoof through them, and suddenly made it glow where she touched, causing Rainbow Dash to stop in her little drum solo ensemble to take a peek.

"Woah," Rainbow Dash said, sitting closer where she could witness the strange phenomenon better. "How are you doing that?"

"I'm just touching them." Daring Do shrugged.

They looked to each other then shrugged, and spent the next few seconds wordlessly watching the unexplainable magic show unfold before their eyes as they refuse to unglue them from the book. Neither of them knew what was going on or how it was happening, but they had no complaints as it pleased their very awkwardly boring carriage ride.

The runes glowed in accordance to where the tip of Daring Do's hoof touched, the glow at the tail end where she last touched fading in time; ending in a whimsical, ghostly chase as her hoof traced patterns in accordance to the contour of the archaic letters.

"Ok, so how come Twilight couldn't do that during the time she had it in her hooves?" Rainbow Dash questioned more to herself. Daring Do gave it a thought, then continued experimenting with the runes. "Maybe it's useless, so she didn't bother telling us...?" Rainbow Dash continued.

"Or maybe it's because of the fact that she was using her magic ninety percent of the time instead of actually using her hooves to hold it," Daring Do suggested.

"...can I try?"

Daring Do looked to Rainbow Dash for one doubtful second, before slowly and hesitantly handing it over—she instanty pulled back ("Be careful"), then finally gave it to her.

Rainbow Dash immediately tried out the same tactic, but with much more haste. "Woah," she said, getting the same outcome.

"Hmm." While Rainbow Dash played with the book, Daring Do gave it a skeptic eye. After a while, she concluded, "It seems harmless enough," then proceeds entertaining herself on a boring trip.

The rest of the relatively short ride was spent with the two of them chatting whilst still fiddling with the book. It was just them, the ancient tome, the curious glowing carriage of doom heading towards Canterlot, and its labor-laden pegasus ponies wondering what in Tartarus is going on back there.

A few minutes later and they were landing in the palace gardens with a worried looking Celestia and a sleep deprived looking Luna waiting for them by the entrance. The two sister's wasted no time letting a gaurd fetch them were the carriage to arrive, and decided to just stand there and wait for themselves.

Rainbow Dash hopped off, and Daring Do got out as well. "Looks like they're already waiting for us. This must be impotant," Rainbow Dash commented, looking back to the royal carriage and its pegasus riders who were giving them strange looks, still never really getting an explanation to what caused the royal carriage to emit such a strange, suspicionsly green glow.

Luna gave her sister an irritated glance. "Yes, this must be," she spat, not quite happy with being awoken in the middle of a very important dream tea party.

Celestia rolled her eyes. "You must be Daring Do," she said, turning to the adventure pony.

Daring Do bowed. "Princess."

"It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard plenty of your valiant adventures from Rainbow Dash; she admires you very much."

Rainbow Dash laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. She felt a bit like a little kid being embarrassingly snitched on by an over enthusiastic parent.

"That... has been made pretty clear," replied Daring Do, taking out the tome and walking over to Celestia.

"This is the book?" inquired the benevolent princess.

"Erhmm," Daring Do answered through the book in her mouth, handing it over with as much grace as she could without the help of magic.

Celestia used her magic to free the heavy book from the grasp of Daring Do's poor teeth, then made her way for the castle. "Let's discuss things inside," she said, walking.

The rest followed with no questions, except maybe for one grumbling little, sleep deprived, moon princess who looked intenesly at the back of her sister's head and imagined shooting lazer beams out of wrinkle decorated eyes.

After entering the castle doors, Daring Do takes a gander through the palace interior, giving it the meticulous, deductive obvservation of a curious explorer, which by all rights was what she technically was. "I guess this is your first time in Canterlot Castle," Rainbow Dash commented, noticing her restlessly adventurous friend's unbridled curiosity at work.

"First time in any castle," Daring Do answered. "I mean, first time being in one where I don't plan on looting its jewelries atleast," she added with a light chuckle.

They promptly arrive at the throne room, and Celestia wastes no time thoroughly examining the book with magic. "Hmm..." She made the tome glow a yellow-greenish hue and lifts it up in the air with a skeptic eye, seeming to scan its very entity for a trace of anything significant. She flips it over a couple times, before her focused expression is replaced with a hint of recognition. And then confusion.

Then terror.

"What is it, sister?" Asked Luna, her earlier peeved manner immediately replaced with worry.

Celestia looks to Luna, shock written on her face, then with a worried tone she said "Luna, this is..." She turns to Rainbow Dash then rushed to asked, "What was it that Twilight found out?"

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash said, confused.

"You mentioned in the letter that Twilight was able to translate a part of the book. What was it?"

"Oh, uh, Twilight said it was called the Tome of Encasor... or something," Rainbow Dash fumbled.

"The Tome of Ecantasia," Luna corrected, having a look of absolute dread as soon as the words escaped her mouth.

"Yeah. Wait. How'd you know?" Rainbow Dash looked between the allicorn sisters as they exchange looks of concern. "Is... something wrong?" She asked, finally noticing the unease.

Luna could only look to her sister and ask with unsure eyes whether or not they should explain the situation. Celestia nodded to her, then turned and faced the other two who were, at this point, worrying if they somehow made a mistake in taking the book in the first place.

"There exists countless of artifacts that are able to open portals to different realities," Celestia began explaining, her relatively calm demeanor causing the two to release their bated breaths and lower their tense shoulders. "These artifacts are called rifts, and they vary in different shapes and forms."

Luna chipped in, "You may remember the magic mirror that Sunset Shimmer used to get to a different dimension and back." Rainbow Dash nodded, never failing to remember the day a certain allicorn princess and her baby dragon assistant were ripped out from this reality and sent to a diffirent dimension on a magical quest to retrieve her stolen crown. Meanwhile, Daring Do never felt so deatached from a conversation and couldn't help but just listen on with interest, having nothing else to say or think other than that Rainbow Dash definitely led an interesting life. "That magic mirror is one of these rifts—"

"And it opened to the alternate dimension of Equestria," Rainbow Dash finished for her, still able to recall its weird dimensional counterpart concept.

"Yes," Luna nodded. "That is one of many realities within the Ring of Dimensions. The magic mirror itself serves as a gateway for that particular reality, and each rift has their own express purpose."

"So you're saying that the book is one of these rifts?" Daring Do said.

"One of only many that have been discovered," Celestia answered. "The magic mirror, the cane of Estrof, Padona's ring, the forbidden chalice," she lifted the book with her magic, "and finally, the Tome of Encantasia. Named after the great sorceress herself who vanquished the Reptilian Beasts during the Tenebris Era."

"The what?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused.

"The Reptilian Beasts were a race of giant monsters that pillaged towns all across Equestria thousands of years in the past. It was a great tragedy that occurred due to an unprecedented rip in the fabric of reality which opened a gateway to a dimension that let such monstrous and vile creatures into our world. They stood up to massive heights, and bore sharp claws and large jaws, lined with dangerously sharp teeth."

"That's... pretty scary," Rainbow Dash commented, trying and failing to keep up a bravado. "I mean not for me, but that could be pretty scary for others," she very quickly rectified, convincing nopony in the room.

Daring Do couldn't help but be completely obsorbed. These types of serious and ancient backstories that involved magical relics and intense, climactic tragedies always tickled the explorer's knack for sniffing out telltale signs of an adventure, and this situation, no matter how unexpected and unconventional to what she's used to, wasn't any different.

Celestia continued, "However, what made the giant beasts even more perilous, aside from their dangerous physical attributes, was their complete immunity to magic."

That got their attention. Daring Do and Rainbow Dash looked to each other, not having heard of such a thing to even be a possibility for an animal to have. Sure Rainbow Dash didn't quite read up on alot of books on animals or history or magic—or any books that made her snore for that matter—but something as noteworthy as a creature having complete resistance to magic doesn't just make it past her ungraciously stacked pile of common knowledge or anypony's for that matter, and surely Daring Do would have to agree with her considering even she looked pretty suprised, Rainbow Dash thought.

After watching their expressions change about three times, Celestia proceeded, "In fact, it was the one attribute that made unicorns and allicorns alike inaffective against them, hence Equestria became helpless for a hundred and fifty years."

"W-wait. You mean... Equestria became enslaved? For a hundred and fifty years?" Rainbow Dash was practically shrinking in on herself as she asked the question, not being able to hide her fear anymore.

"It might as well have," Celestia answered with a remorseful tone. "It is true that the Reptilian Beasts didn't quite possess intelligence in the same manner as ponies and other nations, but the ability of being magic immune alone was enough to drive an entire class of species into living in seclusion for an entire century. Ponies and other nations were forced to reside in hidden locations, away from the open spaces where chances of being spotted by the giant monsters were high. We might have found different ways of staying alive, but our living situations were very discreet. The ponies of Equestria and its neighboring countries were surviving more than they were living."

"So... even you couldn't stop them?" Rainbow Dash asked fearfully, the image of the princesses themselves being helpless against such monsters making her fear them even more.

Celestia and Luna looked to each other, then Luna turned to them then said, "We were just fillies during the time. And by the end of that dark and terrible era, we were just starting to master advanced magic ourselves." She paused then mumbled, "Or atleast I was," causing her sister to flinch in surprise. Celestia wanted so badly to redress Luna's lies and deflect her immaturity with a passive aggressive insult of her own, but professionally decided against it. She could bicker immaturely with her sister all she wants when they're alone, but now was not the time, and other ponies were in the room.

Seeing that neither Rainbow Dash nor Daring Do seemed to pick up on Luna's little side comment, Celestia decided to continue, "But thankfully, there was one unicorn by the name of Encantasia who had the heart and courage to stand up against the beasts." Rainbow Dash lit up with hope; Daring Do saw it coming. "She was a magic professor who taught advanced magic to aspiring ponies dreaming to be masters of the arts one day themselves. Ever since she swore she would free ponykind from the reign of the Reptilian Beasts, she made the decision to create a powerful spell that would reopen the gateway to the realm of the monsters, where she would
return them once and for all.

"However, such a spell was a whole lot more complex than anypony could have anticipated, and she never expected she would spend decades creating the spell which was soon to be her life's greatest work.

"Thankfully, after fifty long years of pure dedication, her research finally paid off. She developed a spell that would enchant heavily magic-influenced items and turn them into a key that could manually open the door to a different reality. She decided that she would use the very book that contained her entire research, and enchant it into this tome within my grasp," Celestia concluded, shaking the tome itself and causing Daring Do and Rainbow Dash to look at it with renewed wonder. "Using the tome, she cast a series of powerful spells that opened the gateway to their homeworld where she then sent them back. That day, she was deemed a hero and nations all across the lands were free again."

"Woah," Rainbow Dash said "Ok, she sounds pretty cool."

"She was our teacher too," Celestia informed. "Sadly, her spell took a huge toll on her, given that she was already at a late age when she performed such a powerful spell, and she passed away not too long after the week of the celebration of her courage and bravery."

"So now, her... tome was just lying around in some ruins?" asked Daring Do.

"The thing is," Luna said, "after using its powers to free us from their reign of over a hundred and fifty years, Encantasia decided she would hide the Tome someplace not a single pony could find. A place where she put up a magical barrier that made it unlocatable no matter how hard you try."

"And we found it anyways, because we're such good explorers," bragged Rainbow Dash, smiling at Daring Do and trying to make her agree.

"No," Celestia said. "You found it because the spell was broken, which only means one thing."

Rainbow Dash and Daring Do bated their breaths, preparing themselves for whatever bad news they were probably sure to hear.

"The gateway had been reopened," Luna finished.

And Rainbow Dash fainted.

Chapter 2: Cunning Investigator

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3: Work for it

Author's Note

This chapter has been edited due to a slight change in the character's dynamics.

Chapter 3: Work for it

"So, uh, what's the story with him?" asked Scott, cocking his head towards Henry, who was being shown around by Kong.

"Funny, 'cause yesterday he kept asking about you," replied Sierra.

"Well, I'm probably the first naked monkey he's ever seen so that's not too suprising."

"No, I mean he was asking about what brought you to us."

"Oh, like how I became your lord and savior?"

Sierra rolled her eyes. "Anyways, Abigail says Henry was from an orphanage, and with the help of one concerned staff member, he was able to submit in a letter requesting to be recruited. That was two days ago. He left the orphanage and came to us when we accepted his request just yesterday."

"How come I wasn't even aware of this?" Scott shook his head disappointedly. "This isn't the kind of synergy that I expect from my team of fiery furries."

"You weren't aware of it because you kept leaving the house to prepare for your 'big plan' to heist the wolfgang's hideout. You still owe us an explanation for what exactly you did inside by the way."

"So I guess bounty hunters are accepting kids now? Shouldn't that be, like, a no-no?"

"They don't necessarily have to partake in every job that requires a bit of dirty work if they don't have to. And there really isn't any dirty work, legally speaking, that bounty hunting groups actually do anyways, since it's a profession that's somewhat adjacent to the law."

"I guess that sorta makes sense. But if he somehow turns out to be one of those kids with violent tendencies hell-bent on spilling blood, I'm not gonna be the one taking him to work."

Abigail came in through the front door, and held up a slip of paper.

"Got something for me?" He says, eyeing the slip. She gave it to him and he saw that it was a home adress to a mansion, based on the cursive writing and the over-all sophisticated design.

"Madam Jouse," said Abigail. "She owns a number of properties all across Venesse and even a few estates in Abyssinia and Equestria."

"Equestria. I've been hearing that name recently."

"That's because one of their co-rulers is visiting Venesse today to meet with the queen. Some say it's probably about a diplomatic discussion, but some of the more crazies are spreading a bunch of colonization dispute conspiracies," explained Abigail.

Scott made a disgusted face. "Politics. Yuck."

"Didn't you say that you worked in one of those... what did you call it?" asked Sierra.

"Law firms, yeah I know. That's why I left. While they don't really have too much politics in them, I found out that insurance investigating was a lot more in my alley. Anyways," he turns to Abigail, ignoring the confused looks, "what's the job with this Madam Jouse? You didn't bring any entailers." He flipped over the home adress slip and looked for the nonexistent job description.

"She wants to meet you in person and discuss the details in her mansion. She asked for you specifically, but said that you could bring atleast one partner."

"Me specifically, huh?"

Kong and Henry approached the living room with Kong explaining to Henry the ins-and-outs of their everyday activities. "Now with Abigail here," he says in a slightly chippier but still as low and gravelly voice, "amongst other things, she's mostly responsible for computing and budgeting the bits that we earn from bounty hunting. Sometimes, she's also the one who goes to the bounty pot to pick out a job for the misfits. The bounty pot—"

"Is where licensed bounty hunters can pick out jobs that they want to take," Henry explained for himself.

"Right again." Kong smiled sweetly at Henry. "You seem to know a lot about bounty hunting already. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've done it before." He patted him on the head.

"Well, I know just the basics. Even while I was in the orphanage, I had already been developing an interest in the profession."

"And for an eight year old, he's pretty articulate too," commented Abigail.

"As far as I understand, bounty hunters are licensed contractors who deal with certain problems that a citizen has that the law just doesn't have the time or resource to deal with. A bounty hunter's employer could either come from a public commission or a private commision. Public commisioning is posting a job that's anyone's for the taking, whereas private commissioning is where an employer chooses a specific bounty hunter or group that's enlisted within the area. Private commissioning is very advantageous especially, since an employer could see the profile of who they're making a contract with before they establish a deal. Things like what that specific bounty hunter or group is especially good at dealing with or how high their ratings are based on past performances can be seen in the bounty pot."

"Very good, Henry. That is an impressive amount of basic knowledge on bounty hunting," said Kong, surprised and impressed as well as everyone else in the room.

"And he worded it really well too," noted Abigail. "Are you really eight years old?"

"Kong is smiling right now. Is anyone else seeing this? Why am I the only one noticing that?" Scott interjected.

"He always smiles around kids," explained Sierra as Kong continues talking to Henry about the importance of picking the right job at the right time. "That's always been a consistent thing about him. Whenever kids are around, he tends to always be in a better mood. It has something to do with the spirit of youth that always gets him smiling for some reason."

"So why the hell was he so nice to me the first time we me—"

"He thought you were a baby gorilla," explained Abigail, giggling. Sierra was smiling.

"Wait a minute, is that a smile I see?" Scott said to Sierra. "Wow, what a sight. It's like lightning and a rainbow at the same time."

"So what's the pay for this job?" Sierra asked Abigail, getting back on the topic.

"500k bits," Abigail answered as Kong and Henry finish talking. They all appeared surprised except for Scott who still doesn't have a complete understanding of the currency system.

"Isn't that, like, twice what Winston paid us?" asked Scott.

"I'm guessing that's why you took it even without a job entailer," Sierra said.

"Yep. Plus, I know Scotty can handle whatever it is she wants him to do anyways, so it wasn't that big a risk to take," Abigail explained, smiling confidently at their human breadwinner.

"That's a lot of bits," commented Henry. "Are you always getting high paying requests this easy?"

"Ever since he arrived," Kong said, pointing a finger to their human.

Scott smiled at the seven-foot dog. "That's the first nice thing you've ever said to me since you found out that I wasn't actually a baby gorilla," he said.

"It wasn't a compliment. I was merely stating a fact," explained Kong, returning to his low, gravelly voice that carried no life or enthusiasm whatsoever, a jarring contrast to Abigail's excitableness but a close relative to Sierra's cold objectivity.

"Ok. anyways, I guess I'll bring one of you with me," Scott said, panning his head around the room of diverse creatures.

Abigail perked up. "I could— "

"Henry," he called, pointing a finger to the green and yellow parrot.

"Yes?" Answered Henry.

"C'mon. You're coming with me." Henry marched over to the human, his feet clacking lightly on the floorboards.

"But I'm still briefing him," said Kong.

"I got it from here, big guy," Scott answered, patting the large dog on his equally large bicep, which to note was a lot thicker than the human's head. "You're gonna see me work, okay?" he told Henry as they leave through the door.

"Should we stop them...?" Abigail asked.

Sierra shook her head. "Madam Jouse was it?" Abigail nodded. "If she asked for Scott specifically, then this probably doesn't invlove much violence. If I'm reading the situation right, I'm guessing she's heard about him from someone else. Plus the kid could learn a thing or two from him if nothing else. He's a got a brain up his head; maybe Scott can make it a bit bigger."

Scott and Henry leave the misfits group hideout, which incidently was leaning a little towards more on the secluded side of Venesse, having a bit of an open space between the actually house and a lining of trees surrounding it.

The whole area itself was situated on a lower level of ground (kind of like a zoo enclosure) and once they reached the wall on the edge, they had to climb up a wooden staircase into a modest cluster of trees.

The entire establishment, including the lower and upper ground, seemed to have been made for an amusement park or a place where sports-related events would take place were it actually finished, but is now just functioning as a moderately covert hideout for the bounty hunting group. Whatever it was made for, it was definitely huge in terms of land to be just used as a place to reside in.

At the end of the mini garden/forest where they walk through a cobble path, they open a gate leading to the town. Once outside, they begin their walk to the designated home address with Scott occasionally taking a peak at the slip.

"So I guess this'll be your first mission as a bounty hunter since you left the orphanage, huh?" said Scott. "If you ask me, I honestly didn't expect kids to be allowed in such a bussiness."

"I hope I can be of some help to you, Mr. Scott. Even if you probably might not even need me for anything at all."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" He craned his neck down to him.

"Well, they said that you were very smart and good at solving mysteries, and that you always find a way to surprise them on your own."

"Really? What else did they say about me?"

"That you were also annoying enough to balance it out."

Scott chuckled. "I'm guessing the meany with the scarf made that particular comment, didn't she?" Henry smiled as a way of saying yes. "Listen here, Henry. She may seem like a little grumpy kitty on the outside, but deep down in her fluffy core, she's just a softy that needs to be given tons of hugs and attention. So remember to make sure that she always feels loved no matter how she acts, alright?"

Henry didn't know what to say, and decided to just nod. He could already tell that he was going to have to get some getting used to when it comes to the human's forthcoming personality, but was also very glad that he submitted his request to join the misfits. Leaving the orphanage was the right choice, and he had a colorful future ahead of him with his new found family.

"Alright, that's two days in a row that Scotty's gotten us more than we earn in a month. At this rate, we might even be able to go on a vacation," Abigail said.

"Hold on just a second. They haven't even left the house for more than ten minutes and you're already thinking about what we can do with the bits," Sierra reprimands. "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. In case you've forgotten, the mortgage is due next week."

"Yeah, I know, but with yesterday's mission and today's 500k bits, we'll be covered for the next..." she computes, "five months! Including the mortgage."

"If he succeeds. I don't care how smart Hyde is; you should never overlook the possibility of failure."

"But Scotty's never failed us..."

"Yet. You have to think of the possibility that he could actually come walking in through that door without a bag of bits to tell us how easy it was. Unless you don't want to pay off your grandfather's debt, we have to remember that putting trust on the idea that everything will work out eventually never works. You and I both know that that's not gonna change no matter how hopeful he makes you feel."

Sierra seemed to get through to her as Abigail slightly sags in shame, her earlier enthusiasm and confidence in the abilities of their human boy wonder seeming to be replaced with the bitter memory of the life they had to endure as kids and the tough lessons that came with it. "You're right, I get it..." Abigail replied weakly.

"In the meantime, you and I are going to the bounty pot," Sierra continues as she grabs Abigail by the shirt, dragging her to the door.

"Wha- what for?!" asked Abigail, caught by surprise.

"We're taking a job for ourselves. I'm in the mood to hurt something."

"Maybe direct that urge towards something else?" She pulls at the colar of her shirt to prevent herself from choking as she gets dragged out of the house.

As soon as they leave, Kong comes down from the stairs. He looks around the empty room, before going back up with a shrug.

The street makes way for the palanquin. Citizens of all kinds are pushed back by royal pony gaurds as they gawk at the majestic ruler of the ponies of Equestria.

Celestia waved with a smile, her hair billowing with an extra regality. She sighs as she looks around the streets of the 'less fortunate' side of the country which was still notably more impressive compared to the 'slums' of other nations. Less fortunate my flank. Celestia took note of the way the streets were well paved and mostly uncracked. He really went overboard with the management, huh. If this is the least wealthy city, then I'm afraid to see what the capital looks like.

"She is the epitome of fabulous horses. I really can't believe I'm actually staring at a real allicorn with rainbow hair. Wow," commented Scott, he and Henry pausing on the road to watch the seen from afar.

"She's Princess Celestia. She and her sister rule the pony nation of Equestria. This is the first time I've seen her this close," Henry explained, staring in wonder at their world's most famous diarch.

Scott stared down at Henry, and gave him an inquisitive look. "You sure you're a parrot? 'Cause I'm getting the feeling that you're actually a walking encyclopedia masquerading as a cute bird all this time." He stares at his watch. "Anyways, we gotta get going. Just a few blocks left to go so let's hurry before Madam Goose gets impatient."

They resumed their walk.

A few blocks later and they arrive at the Hamilton Residence. Scott surveys the entrance and garden before pressing the doorbell, which still astounded him.

"What the hell even powers this thing?" he asks.

"Magic. Only the fortunate few who can afford magic appliances and devices usually have them, unless you live in a place populated with a lot of unicorns where they are less pricy. Why? Are there other alternatives from where you're from that operates doorbells?"

Scott shook his head and waved Henry's question off. "Discussion for a different time."

A pig butler opens the gate for them, and gestures a hand inside. "Scott Hyde and... company, Madam Jouse is waiting for you," said the butler.

"Lead the way, porky." The butler made no reaction as he led them through the walkway to the large house. "Wait, was that racist?" Scott whispers to Henry. "Should I not be saying stuff like that? 'Cause with his facial expressions, it's really hard to tell." Henry rolled his eyes, an expression that looked really funny on a parrot, Scott thought.

They arrive at the large double doors which was quickly opened by the butler, making way for the first room of the mansion.

Scott looked up as a female pig came down from the right side of the twin staircase, her body just a bit fatter than the already fat butler, he thought. It's probably from the excessive wealthiness.

"Ah, Mr. Hyde. It seems you're finally here," greeted Madam Jouse, seeming to have trouble coming down without breaking a sweat.

They waited patiently for her to finish her supposed fashionable entrance as Scott pretended to cough in his fist in an attempt to mitigate the awkward silence. The large room held no sound other than the clacking of her heels for each step she took.

"This is painful to watch," Scott comments, the butler ever so slightly showing a hint of an amused smile. "I think by the time she reaches us, my people will have already found a way to bring me home."

Finally reaching the bottom of the stairs, Madam Jouse greets them with a smile, the mole on her right cheek perking up with the stretch of her skin. "Welcome to my abode. Let us discuss matters in the living room shall we?" She walks further into the mansion as Scott and Henry follow. "I'm aware that you've done a job for Winston as of recently," continued Madam Jouse as they proceed to the living room, where three sofas face a table in front of a fireplace.

The curator?, thought Scott. So he's where she's heard me from.

"He tells me you've helped retrieve the Jade Medallion from the wolfgang, which I must say, is anything but a simple task. People usually stray away from anything wolfgang related as much as they can. Even bounty hunters have ignored Winston's public request to retrieve his precious medallion, which had already been stolen for three years. His commission sheet had been sitting on the public board all this time up until you decided to pick it up, which is nothing short of a bold move." More like a clueless one, Scott thought.

"I'm aware about the wolfgang. Sierra and the rest of my team made sure of that," Scott answered with a chuckle.

"Ah, Sierra. The ex Abyssinian wolfgang member. That's a name that's pretty famous amongst bounty hunters. I heard she set the record for highest success rate in the bounty pot. Did you know that she used to work alone before she decided to create a team?"

"Oh really? She didn't say."

"Honestly, no one knows what made her suddenly change her mind. She once thought that being alone was the most efficient way, because she had no one to share her earnings with. She used to absolutely despise bounty groups until just six years ago."

So the misfits is just six years old, huh? "How would anyone know that it was me specifically that took Winston's commission anyways?"

"Simple enough. As mentioned, Winston's request had long been posted in the public board, so everyone in the bounty pot is talking about the strange creature that had suddenly taken it out of its rightful spot."

Scott nodded around, taking in the details of the room under unsuspecting eyes and never failing to mask his deductive curiosity with a seemingly ingenuous expression. "So does that make me a celebrity now?" he continued.

Madam Jouse frowned. "Not so much. You must know that there are many skilled bounty hunters out there who definitely have the ability to do what you did. What scares them, however, is the ramifications."

"No one wants to mess with the wolfgang."

"Precisely. On a different note, while Venesse isn't a stranger to diversity, you seem to take the cake on being one of a kind as far as rare species go," she comments.

"Strangely enough, I don't really get direct questions about that as often as I expected to be honest. I guess there are still certain boundaries when it comes to racial matters no matter how curious people get, huh?" He claps his hands together, "So, uh, what seems to be bothering you, Madam Jouse?" he asks, sitting down on one of the couches. He decides to take a look at the family photos that sat on the table as Henry takes a seat next to him. So they have magic powered cameras too, huh? Duly noted.

"It's about a particular statue in my mansion. Two days ago, it was stolen."

"How'd you know it was stolen?" He picks up two, wooden framed photos. In both contained what he assumed was the whole piggy family.

"Well, when something you own goes missing without your consent or knowledge, that's usually the implication, isn't it?"

"Fair enough. But why a statue? Wouldn't a burglar usually go for something more lucrative?" He flipped the photo around to look at the back. "And I'd imagine it'd be hard to transport something like a statue as opposed to maybe a luxury lamp or even a few jewelries."

"That's because the statue isn't made out of ordinary stone. The statue, you see, is a family memorabilia, and it's made out of a very rare material. If someone else took a look at it, all they'd see is a piece of sculptured rock, but give an expert a chance to examine it and they'd know that it's worth more than this entire house."

"Hmm. Interesting." Scott put the the two photos beside each other on the table. He takes closer look at the first one as Henry observed everything he did with a curiosity.

"What are you doing?" Whispered Henry.

"Taking a peak," he replied. The first photo was taken in front of the mansion. It had Madam Jouse in it, as well as a male pig in a suit—probably her husband—a slightly smaller pig—son maybe?—and a much smaller little girl pig—There's the one and only peppa. The butler was in it as well, and every member in the photo had smiles except for the butler and the son. The second photo had the same people in it, except for an extra member, a slim looking sheep guy in a polo shirt and slacks who had the biggest smile in the photo. "Um, just out of curiosity, when was this taken?" He raised the first one.

"As I recall..." she squinted at the photo, "about probably a year ago."

Scott returned it, and raised the second one. "And this one?"

"That one's pretty recent. Just a week ago after my son's birthday." She points to each member, "This is my husband Anthony, my son Michael, and my daughter Irene." Scott pointed to the sheep. "Oh, that's Michael's friend Thomas."

"Wait, what was that?" Scott asked, looking her in the eyes.

"What was what," replied Madam Jouse, confused.

"Why'd you not mention him right away? Is there something about him not worth mentioning?" Scott pried.

"I don't see why it would be relevant to this."

"Fair enough," he gestured for her to continue, standing up. He walked over to a pair of glass doors and peered out into a playground.

"I want you to find out who stole my statue and return it to me in one piece. The lady in the bounty pot said that your ratings on mystery solving were high so I hope that you live up to your expectations. As I've told your rabbit friend, I will be paying you five hundred thousand bits if you succeed, and I hope you do; that statue has been in my family for generations and I absolutely hate being the one to have lost it."

"You have a playground. That's cute." Scott opens the glass doors and walks out, the grass scrunching under his shoes.

"Yes, we had a tree removed there to make way for a playground seven years ago when Irene was born. Although she never actually played in it; her attention was mostly on her dolls so it sort of just sat there.

Henry watched as Scott circled the playground, eyeing the swings and slides with squinted eyes. What's he doing now?, thought Henry. Scott crouched down onto the sandbox and pinched the sand with his fingertips. "Hmm."

"Why don't I show you the room of the statue before it went missing?"

"Sure." Scott stood up and dusted off his hands.

Madam Jouse led the way up the stairs as they followed from behind with Scott looking around.

"Is this really how it usually goes?" whispered Henry to Scott.

"What do you mean?" Whispered Scott back as they begin climbing up the stairs.

"I mean, this all seems like investigation work. Aren't the authorities supposed to be responsible for dealing with stuff like this?"

"Some nine year old you are, you know that?" Seeing the confused look on Henry, Scott answered his question, "I don't know. I mean, I guess they could be."

"So why don't you?"

"Why don't I what?"

"Be a part of the queen's justice enforcers. You could catch criminals by doing this stuff, can't you?"

"Well, I could, but the question to that is would I rather catch bad guys for the sake of justice and earn enough to make a living or catch bad guys for five hundred thousand bits?" Still not completely sure of how that amounts to in US dollars, Scott figured that using it as an example would prove his point in some way, and the look on Henry's face when he seemed to not have an answer told him that he was probably right to do so.

Arriving on the second floor, they walk to the left hallway and stop at a door at the very far end. "This is it," said Madam Jouse.

She opens the door with a key and shows an empty room with a large, flat, square thing in the middle. "I'm guessing that's where the statue was perched on," said Scott.

"It is," answered Madam Jouse as they enter the room.

"Where's the rest of the family anyways?" asked Scott. "It seems like it's just you and pork Alfred in the house."

"My husband's still at work, and Irene is still at school while Michael is out with Thomas." Scott noticed that she seemed to show a bit of disdain at the mention of Thomas' name.

He decided he would prod a bit in that direction without seeming too nosy and direct. "They seem like good friends, Michael and Thomas. They kind of remind me of me and my childhood friend in the photo," he tried to small talk, circling the room and examining everything. He pokes his head out of the one window and looks down onto the playground.

Madam Jouse sighed. "That's if your childhood friend was slowly turning into a sloth," she said with a bit of bated irritation, almost cautious with her own words.

There's the passive aggressive. "Oh, so Thomas is a sloth?" Scott pried further, stepping away from the window.

Madam Jouse bit her tongue and sighed through her nose. "It's just... Thomas' family had always been close with ours. Our family fortunes were mostly what brought us together and we've always been friends throughout the years, but recently Thomas' mother had decided to cut him off the family's wealth and let him live independently."

"Let the bird fly on it's own, right?"

"Yes. He's been living on his own since, but the thing is... Every now and then, Michael would lend some bits to Thomas as a way of helping him during tough times, but it seems like it causes him to go back to his old habits of not working for his own money at all and he just ends up lazying around, sometimes in our house."

"So you think that Thomas is leeching off of your son's generosity."

She sighed and hesitated for a second. "I've known Thomas ever since he and Michael were just children. He is a good kid; honest and kind. But that is what it feels like, yes."

"Hmm. Because Thomas has always been a good kid to you, you hate to admit that he's even close to anything other than that image you've set on him." Madam Jouse nodded, a little surprised to be hearing this kind of talk from someone who's supposed to just find a missing statue. "That's understandable. So, tell me about the day the statue went missing," he smoothly brought the topic back.

"Um, well. Earlier that day, our butler Josiah had massive headaches so I had to give him the day off, and while my husband was at work, me and the kids went out for a just a few hours so no one was left in the house. Then that's when we came home to find that the statue was no where to be seen again. Here's what it looked like by the way." She showed Scott a single photograph of the statue. It was about at least six-foot tall, and it looked like a muscular pig that had a moustache and weilded a sword. He nodded at it and asked if he could have a copy. "Oh you could take this one. I had three made in case you would need it."

"Thank you." Scott pocketed it in his jacket. A butler that was sick and had to go home; a husband at work; a mother that went out with her kids, and a large mansion left to fend for itself. I wonder what Thomas was up to during that time. Still looking around the room for anything noteworthy, Scott allowed himself to feel the scruffiness of his stubble. "You wouldn't happen to remember the time you went out and returned would you?"

"It was somewhere around four thirty in the afternoon when me and my kids left the house. My husband has to be in the bank by six in the morning so he wakes up at four and prepares until then."

"You see him leave?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Did you see him leave the house?"

"Yes, I saw him out the door myself." Scott nodded. "Anyways, by the time we got home it was already seven."

"Hmm, seven."

"I remember checking the time just before I found the statue missing."

"Quick question, is Josiah really your only butler in the house? For someone of your stature, I'd imagine more people would be running around to tend to this place."

"Yes he is. Truth be told, we only really need one. Unlike most wealthy households, we don't baby ourselves with a number of helpers. If there is something that we could do ourselves, then there's no reason to hire another employee for it."

"I like that way of thinking." Weird that it came from a family of chubby piggies though.

"Furthermore, I trust him with my life, and I know that he regards me in the same way. When I took him in, he and his family were just barely squeezing by. He was just a construction worker barely able to provide for them and he's more than expressed how greatful he is to me."

"Nice origin story."

"Yes, I'm afraid he's led a tough and noble life, and he deserves the position I've given him."

All the attention was suddenly diverted to the butler, Josiah, who enters the room with a knock. "Madam, your son and Thomas are here," he announced.

"Oh. Great timing. Just the people I wanted to see," Scott said enthusiastically, clapping his hands together.

"Are you sure about that one?" asked Abigail, her and Sierra standing in front of a large bulletin board filled with public commissions. "It says we have to tie him in chains."

"I'll be in charge with the chain tying. You chase him down."

"Why can't Kong chase him? He's strong; he could tie him up too with just one hand."

"You're stronger. Besides, he's doing his laundry today. It's decided." Sierra snatched the commission slip from the public board and read the adress as they exit through the doors. Tailing behind, Abigail groans. "Stop complaining. You're acting like a child."

"But I don't want to chase some slimy frog," Abigail complained.

"We're back, mom!" exclaimed Michael, giving Scott a disdainful look the moment he saw him. "Is this the bounty hunter? What in the world even is his species?" he asked, looking Scott up and down.

"Michael. Be nice," scolded Madam Jouse.

"Jesus. He's rude," Scott comments, ignoring the offended look from Michael and the tugs of protest from an uncomfortable Henry.

"I'm telling you, mom. It's a good thing that statue's gone. You don't need to hire a bunch of uneducated bounty hunters to go look for it," Michael continued as Thomas proceeds further into the house and makes himself comfortable with Scott eyeing him the whole time with amusement.

"I'll have you know, I have a master's degree in law," defended Scott, looking back to them.

"Yeah, sure you do," said Michael, rolling his eyes and choosing to pretend to know what a master's degree is out of pride. "Where's your proof then?"

"Well, I'd shove the diploma in your face myself, but unfortunately it's within another dimension."

Michael snorts and follows after Thomas in the living room. "Knew it. Lies and excuses is all you ruffians know," he mutters while walking away.

"I'm sorry about him," apoligized Madam Jouse, shaking her head. "If there's one thing a million bits can't buy, it's a humble first born."

"Don't. It's not your fault if you have an overbearing husband and a spoiled, adult son."

"Wha— Now what would make you think that my husband is overbearing?" she asked, a bit shocked to hear such a bold and seemingly irrelevant statement.

"Oh, sorry. It's just, your son exudes so much pettiness that it's obvious he's overcompensating for a lack of attention." When only more confused looks from both Madam Jouse and Henry was recieved, Scott continued, "He didn't strike me the type to be gregarious in a way that he'd have other outside influences for his personality so I'm guessing his brash and self-obsorbed behaviour comes from something a little more close to home. You see, children closer to their blood rather than other people are usually bound to be mirrors of their parents, and seeing as you seem to appear to be as focused and indifferent as how every normal individual planning to be parents should be, that only leaves your husband to be the chief role model for your son's core behaviours. I only hope that your daughter isn't treated the same way, because I absolutely hate it when little girls are subjected to a life of petty tyranny." Shaking his head, Scott marches back into the living room, saying, "I think I'm gonna have a little chat with Thomas and Michael. I hope you don't mind me taking a gander around."

Madam Jouse was at a loss for words. She couldn't begin to pretend that she's met someone as eccentric as him, but was sure of one thing: he definitely pays more attention to his surroundings than he lets on. Way more attention than the normalcy for bounty hunting warrants.

In the living room, Thomas sat at a couch and scratched at his white, wool covered belly while Michael rifled through a jar of candies on a table in the corner, helping himself for a greedy afternoon snack which Scott regarded with a bit of distaste.

Busy fellows, Scott thought. "Where you guys been?" he asked nonchalantly, causing both heads to turn his way in surprise.

"Huh?" Michael said as Thomas craned his neck behind the couch to get a look at the human. Well this guy hasn't said shit since he got here, Scott thought.

"Where'd you guys went out to?" he clarified.

"What's it to you," retorted Michael.

"You don't like me very much, do you?"

"You got that right." He popped a piece of candy in his mouth. "Looks like you're good at pointing at the obvious. Tell me, is my mom paying you for being useless? 'Cause I can't tell what your use is other than standing around and pretending to know what you're doing."

Scott chuckles. "Oh, don't you worry. I'll find that statue. There's something I'm curious about though. Why do you think that it's good the statue's gone?"

"It's not worth anyone's time. It's just a dumb statue of our dumb ancestor who got killed by a bug bear."

"You're hiding something. There's a more specific reason you don't like that statue, isn't there." Michael couldn't help but feel a little backed up from the human's sudden directness. "You think that it's a waste of space don't you? You think that there's something else that that room could be of use to instead of just keeping a piece of rock for reasons you find unnecessary." Scott could see in Michael's face that his guesses were landing correctly and couldn't help but smile inwardly.

"So what if it is? It doesn't matter now. Mom's statue is gone, and me and Tom can use it to— you know what, I don't even need to tell you why; it's none of your bussiness, you creepy monkey."

"Fine don't tell me. I know the answer anyways." Scott walked away from Michael who couldn't tell if he was bluffing, and approached Thomas who had been watching nervously the whole time. "So, tell me. Wolf in sheep's clothing, or just silence of the lamb?"

"What?" articulately replied Thomas.

"Ah, his first words."

"Look, dude. I just want to relax for now. There's nothing that I know that would help you, I swear."

"Sure there is. I want to know what you and Michael went out for. And don't even think about lying to me; I'd know."

"Wha— we, uh— we just went bowling."

"Hmm." Scott nodded and walked away, leaving the two completely confused. "Thanks for your time," he said, not looking back.

Making his way out of the living room, he encounters the butler, who was stationed to the side of the living room doorway, patiently standing with his hands folded over each other as if waiting for him to leave. Scott stops for a second, and looks over to him.

"Is... there something wrong?" asked the butler.

"Josiah, right?"

"Uh, yes."

"Nice ring," Scott says, taking his hand to inspect it. "Looks really expensive."

"It was given to me by my grandmother just before she passed."

Scott nodded. "Oh, nice. Anyways, how would you say working for the Hamiltons is treating you?"

"I... I'm afraid I don't understa—"

"Don't you have any problems with being the only butler?" Scott elaborated. "Is the workload too much to handle, or are they really as independent as they say? Are you satisfied with how they're paying you?" he asked further, never breaking eye contact.

Being suddenly bombarded with uncomfortable questions, Josiah decided to gather himself before stating simply, "I do not think that the workload is too much."

His eyes never leaving the butler's expressions, Scott nods slowly before walking away towards where Henry and Madam Jouse were making small talk.

"Are you done talking with them?" asked Madam Jouse. "What did you talk about?"

"This and that," Scott said, gesturing to Henry for them to leave. "When's your husband and daughter coming home by the way?"

Madam Jouse looks to her watch. "In thirty minutes, I will be picking up Irene from school, and Anthony will come home an hour after that. I'll have you know, Mr. Hyde, that there is no reason for you to suspect everyone you see. I'm confident that this was done by a criminal or group of criminals, otherwise the implication that my family was somehow involved in this is simply ludicrous."

"Hmm. We'll see." They make their way to the door. "We'll be in touch."

Scott and Henry leave the mansion. Just as they were about to walk home, Henry was surprised to see that Scott walks the opposite direction. "Wait, where are we going?" he asked, running to the human's side.

Staying silent and in a hurry, Scott finds the nearest passerby and asks her a question that Henry wasn't able to hear clearly. The passerby answers his question by pointing in a certain direction, and Scott nods, thanking the passerby, before walking to who knows where.

Following the human's questionable decisions, Henry tails him before they find themselves in an alley where three, large dumpsters were backed up against a wall.

Further raising questions, Scott begins looking through the garbage as Henry stammers a question that he can't quite successfully form into words.

Scott opens the first dumpster and shakes his head. He does the same with the second one. He opens the third one and smiles. "Bingo!"

At this point, Henry was starting to get extremely worried for the human's mental health. Whether or not they forgot to mention that one of his unique traits were a fascination for dumpster diving, Henry made a mental note to ask the misfits why they felt the need to keep it from him.

Closing the dumpster and dusting his hands off, Scott makes his way out the alley. "Let's go," he said.

"Wha— wait. What did you do there?" Henry asked, hiking a thumb back to the alley.

"Just checked something out. Don't worry; I'm not a serial dumpster diver. Let's get going; I need to meet with someone."

"Oh, ok."

"Oh no," Abigail groaned, "we're here."

"Relax. This is gonna be easy money," came the unenthusiastic reply of Sierra, doing little to boost morale.

The both of them stood before a very wooden and very creaky, two-story house that was old and greying. Surrounding it was a wide area that seemed like a close imitation of the misfits hideout only without the lower level of ground and the much bigger land occupation. It appeared more like a swamp than a forest, and Abigail wished she'd brought a handkerchief.

Stepping into the creaky front porch, they knock on the door. When no response was recieved, they knock again, causing the unlocked door to creak open. "Wow. Everything creaks here, huh?" came Abigail's unhelpful comment of the day.

Looking at each other for about a full five seconds of indecision, they decided to go in.

"Hello?" Sierra called out to the long, wooden hallway. "Anyone home? We saw your commission in the public board!"

No response.

"Maybe we should come back? When it's—" Sierra walked further inside, causing Abigail's suggestion to get cut off and her face to force an inward smile.

They walk in a cautious and leisurely pace with the floorboards creaking beneath their feet. The hall stretched further into a wide doorway to a bigger room, presumably the living area.

In a low volume, Abigail says, "You know, I get that this is worth five thousand bits, but why in the world would some guy pay that much to be chased around for no reason?"

"Our job isn't to know why we're getting paid, Abigail. Like it or not, this is the highest reward we could find that doesn't take too long to accomplish."

"You mean without Scott's help?"

"Stop that."

"Just saying."

"Would you be honest with me, What's up with you lately? Are you starting to develop a crush on him or what?"

"Wha— uh— what?!" Abigail stammered, caught off gaurd. "What makes you think that?"

"All I'm saying is, you keep this up and everyone's gonna start thinking it too."

Any further response from the rabbit was put on hold as the sound of a piano being played was faintly heard from somewhere deeper within.

They both look at each other, and slowly make their way to the end where they turn left to spot a piano being played by a large frog person who was atleast just a few inches shorter than Kong but definitely twice as wide.

The frog's closed eyes opens and he stops in his solo performance to greet his guests with a smile. "Oh, I didn't hear you come in. Please, take a seat," he gestured to some chairs, his voice booming deep and from the gut.

"Um, hello, sir," said Abigail. "We, uh, we're here about the commission. It says we'll be chasing you and putting you in chains?" Although, why someone'd do that is just questionable.

"Oh! Oh no no no," the frog said, shaking his hands about as if a misunderstanding was made. "You won't be chasing me I'm afraid."

"We're... not?" asked Sierra, she and Abigail giving each other side glances of confusion.

"Oh no. I want you to chase my brother." The frog closes the piano and stands up. "My name is Gustov," he introduced. "You see, my brother has a bit of a problem up there," he points to his brain for emphasis, "and every now and then, he runs off to faust knows where, and I have to chase him down to give him his medicine."

"So what stops you from doing it yourself?" asked Abigail, recieving an elbow to the rib by her feline companion.

"Well, as of right now, he's being pretty extra slippery, and as a sweet bonus, I also kind of have a problem with my back."

"Alright, so where is he?" asked Sierra, all but ready to start.

Gustov sucked some air through his teeth and put a hand to the back of what's left of his neck, "You see, that's the thing..."

"Oh no, there's a thing. What's the thing?" groaned Abigail, making a face that said she just wanted to get things over with.

"I don't know where he is," Gustov finished. "I was really hoping that whoever was up for the task could also track him down for me."

"And you didn't feel the need to add that little detail with the job entailer?" asked Sierra, irritation oozing from her voice.

"Wha— well, I thought that adding it would... somehow... discourage... you..."

"What," came the Abyssinian's very unhappy reply.

"You two, beautiful girls seem like very good trackers. I assume this should be pretty easy for you, right?" Gustov bargained poorly, frantically trying to butter the duo up with compliments.

Abigail and Sierra gave each other a look of mutual understanding, raising their eyebrows, then turned to leave.

"Wait! Ok, I'll double your pay!"

They stopped for a second to think about it, then continued walking.

"Ok, I'll triple it!"

They were nearing the hall.

"Twenty thousand bits! I'll pay you Twenty. Thousand. Bits."

Stopping by the hall, they gave each other knowing smirks, before turning to face a nervous Gustov. "Deal," nodded Sierra, making evryone happy.

Henry stood patiently outside of the cafe. Having been told to wait by Scott has left him with nothing better to do but peer inside as the human chats with a weasel.

Judging by his choice of wardrobe and mannerisms, Henry could tell that the weasel was some type of crook. He couldn't tell what Scott would need to talk to a crook with, but he was definitely going to ask.

After what felt like an hour, Scott came out.

"Let's go," he said once again as they started walking towards home.

"Who did you talk to?"

"Pep."

"Who's Pep?"

"My trusted informant."

"He looked like some kind of crook."

"Some kind. He's a pretty good person at heart, and I make sure to keep him in line."

After a while, Henry decided to say, "So is this what you do? You walk around town, gathering information and that's how you solve mysteries?"

"I guess you could put it that way. You know, the way you talk really makes me think you're not really eight years old. You're so... eloquent. I haven't actually seen an adult parrot so maybe you're just messing with me and the misfits is in on it. Is that it? Is that what's going on?"

"Well, do I sound like I'm not eight?"

Scott tore his eyes away from the road to look down at the parrot with an amused smile. "Point taken." This kid is just.., he thought himself, having a personal liking to eccentrically mature kids.

They came home to find no one in the living room and dining area.

"Hey Kong?" Scott called out, and was answered by a head poking out from the door to the laundry room just outside of the dining area. "Where's everyone?"

"Went out," Kong answered.

Scott went in, leaving the door open with Henry waiting outside. "Well, I hope you're not busy."

"Actually, I'm doing my lau—"

"I need you for something, and it's pretty urgent." Scott looked down to his watch.

"Well, I—"

"Great. We'll wait outside for you. It's a good thing you're not doing something, 'cause otherwise this could end our very career." Scott went back out.

Kong poked his head back in the room where he was sitting on a small stool on the floor, and looked down to the basin he was doing his laundry in. He sighed, pushed the large basin aside with one hand, and went to wash his soap covered hands. Despite being such a threateningly large individual, he curses himself for being such a pushover, especially when it came to the human's insufferable persistence. He tells himself that it's because Scott always has a plan that he usually ends up participating in so he couldn't really say no, but everyone knows that's not the case.

"Why, oh why did you think that that was a good idea? You know, instead of just paying someone to look for something, we could just have a new one made ourselves!"

"Anthony, how many times are we going to have this discussion? A million times?" said a very unhappy Madam Jouse to her husband. "You know very well what that statue means to me. What it means to my family."

"Our family."

"You know what I mean."

"Then why don't you just ask for one of those private investigators? I'm sure they're more qualified than some bounty hunter with a 'penchant for solving mysteries'."

"I already made my decision," Madam Jouse answered firmly. She couldn't tell what it was, but somehow she didn't doubt Scott for a second. To her, he just seemed like the first person she's met in a long time that really knew what he was doing. Something about him just sets him apart from anyone she's ever met, and despite having only met him once she finds herself defending him from her own husband.

Their heated discussion, however, didn't do much in the way of comfort for the two best friends who were apparently also in the living room. "Um," faintly squeaked a very uncomfortable Thomas, inching his way to get up the couch. "I think I'm gonna go." All heads turned to him, with Michael staying silent the whole time out of fear from his father's wrath.

"Actually, you should probably stay," said Scott, entering unannounced and causing everyone to look to him with only Madam Jouse not showing any hint of surprise.

"What's this?" asked a confused and distraught Anthony Hamilton.

"I asked Josiah to let him in when he came back. This is Scott Hyde," explained Madam Jouse.

"This is the bounty hunter?" Anthony asked with a look of disdain directed to the jauntily chipper human.

Scott, accompanied with a sheepish Henry, casually made his way further into the room as a sweating Thomas nervously went back to his seat on the couch.

"What is he? Some sort of hairless ape?" Anthony spat with more disdain.

"Apparently he's a human. He said he came from a very discreet group of people on the other side of the continent."

"Is Irene home?" Scott casually asked Madam Jouse, completely ignorant and unaffected by the venomous glare that Anthony Hamilton was directing his way.

"Yes, uh, she's upstairs."

"Good." Scott turned to everyone else in the room and said, "I know who did it."

Anthony cocked his head. "Oh, do you now? Let me guess, Is it the Wolfgang?" he asked, lightly bridling his scornful regard towards the human out of a genuine eagerness to know.

"Well, actually the culprit is within this house. Not outside."

"You mean it wasn't the wolfgang?" asked Michael.

Scott turns to Madam Jouse and said, "You persisted that no one within your family could have done it, but there was something that I noticed." When he saw that everyone's attention was hooked, Scott continued, "No one could have done it other than someone who knew what the statue was made of. It was as you said, only an expert could differentiate ordinary stone from its material."

Madam Jouse looked downwards, recalling her own words and realizing the human's point. "Yes, I did..."

"So if someone were to rob you, obviously they'd steal the first things that come to mind in terms of value, right? Everything else in this house was untouched. Whoever stole your statue knew what to prioritize, and left everything else as it is. They knew that the statue was made out of a special material, and therefore only ever really needed to steal just it." Letting his words hang a bit as to guarantee to get his logic through them, he decided to say, "The culprit..." Scott turned, "is you," he finishes, pointing his finger to a very nervous and confused Thomas.

Madam Jouse double taked, then turned to Scott again, "Thomas?"

"M-me?" the sheep asked. "But I- I didn't. I wasn't—"

While the nervous sheep stammered away excuses, Scott's eyes were busy scanning something else, and when he spotted what he was looking for, he smiled. "Actually..." he adds, causing everyone to look back to him, "Thomas may have just been a prop." He turned his attention to the butler, causing everyone to follow his gaze. "It's you, isn't it," he smiled.

"Pardon?" Josiah asked.

"Everyone else was nervous with antcipation, and when I pointed to Thomas all showed surprise except you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. With your bated breath and relaxed shoulders. When I pointed to Thomas you showed relief instead of shock. When everyone else looked his way and widened their eyes, you looked down and untensed your shoulders."

"Is this true, Josiah?" asked Madam Jouse. Her eyes showed doubt, but a hint of betrayal.

"Madam, I wouldn't—"

"Tell the truth. Look me in the eye and say it."

"I did not steal your statue, Madam," Josiah firmly said, keeping his eyes on his master.

"Ah," Scott interrupted, "he used a contraction."

"A what?" asked Anthony.

"Someone who's telling the truth would use 'didn't' when defending their innocence. A liar who feels backed up will usually say 'did not' which is usually sign of dishonesty and a lack of real conviction."

"This is ridiculous," said Josiah. "How could I have stolen it? I was sent home that morning before the crime."

"A perfect excuse if you ask me. Being the butler, you could have found a hundred different ways of getting in, and you knew their schedule and when they'd be out the house."

"Wait," said Henry. "If he did it, then how could he have taken the statue out by himself within a two and a half hour time window? Are you saying that he had help?"

"Ah, that's the interesting bit," Scott said. "The statue never actually left the premises, which I know is jarring."

Everyone eyed the human as he casually marched over to the glass doors leading outside to the playground. He opened the doors and went out.

"Where is he going?" asked Anthony.

From outside, Scott stood over the sandbox and tapped it twice with his foot. He turned his torso back to them with his hands in his jacket pockets. "Tada," he announced, perfoming a weak version of the jazz hands while they were still in his pockets, causing his jacket to be raised at the same time.

"The statue is inside the sand pit?" asked Thomas.

"The statue is the sand pit." He crouched down and took a pinch of sand. "This," he rubbed it between his fingers and caused it to fall, "isn't sand."

Evreyone was at a loss for words, including Henry who was never really informed about anything concerning the human's plan. They didn't know whether to doubt or believe it, but if it were true then it was definitely crazy for it to have been under their noses the whole time.

Madam Jouse went outside, eyeing the sandbox with an unreadable expression. "My great great great grandfather's statue is in a million pieces...?" she said.

"Maybe a trillion," Scott suggested, doing a poor job of mitigating the pig's devastation. He stood up and dusted his hands for the last time.

"This doesn't seem right," said Anthony. "Our butler being able to lift a statue out of the house by himself is already a huge improbability. Him being able to turn it into dust would just be impossible."

"Not if you had the right tools," Scott answered. "The photo in your living room had something that caught my attention. Nearly in all of them, Josiah was wearing his wedding ring that his grandmother gave to him. A ring that was definitely worth a lot."

"My ring? What does it have to do with this?" asked Josiah.

"In the latest photo, I noticed that you weren't wearing it at all. Now there are usually only a select few reasons why someone would remove their ring. Usually it's a sign of an unhappy marriage, but that photo was taken just a week ago, and you seem to be already wearing it not too long after."

"So what does this suggest? That our butler had a problem with his marriage therefore he decided to destroy the statue as a senseless retaliation?" asked Anthony. "Just where are you going with this?"

"Your butler didn't have a problem with his marriage, trust me. He sold his ring so he could buy a construction tool that he couldn't otherwise afford." Inspecting the butler's micro expressions, Scott could tell that everything he was saying was landing perfectly, so he continued, "I had a little chat with a friend of mine who knew a thing or two about construction work, which as I recall was where your butler worked at before he landed this job. He told me that there's this thing called a power tool pulverizer that construction workers normally use during their day jobs to turn any debris into dust. It's a tool small enough to be carried by one person, and it's powered by magic so it wasn't something that anyone could just afford." Scott pointed to the window from above, "That room over there is where the statue was kept in, and It's conviniently just bellow the playground."

"Wait wait wait," said Anthony, "you're not seriously saying that he took the statue and threw it out the window are you? I mean we were just talking about how one person couldn't have just carried it by themselves."

"I'm saying he didn't have to. With the power tool pulverizer, he could have changed its intensity settings and easily broken the statue into three..." reading the butler's expression, he changed his words, "no, four smaller pieces, and just as easily pushed it out the window. It would then have landed on the grass and all he had to do with the time he had left before you would come home was to completely pulverize the statue and replace the sand with it." He looked to Josiah then said to him, "Think about it. Sooner or later the experts will confirm that the sand is indeed the statue, so while you and I both know that I'm obviously right, you might as well confess now."

As Josiah's composure started to crumble, he decided to say, "You don't even have any real proof. Everything you're saying are just guesses."

"You would say that, wouldn't?" Scott smiled, every reaction the butler makes falling right into his expectations. "Instead of persisting that you didn't do it like someone who's really convicted of their innocence, you would pull at straws like the usual behaviour of a culprit."

"That... makes sense," said Henry, causing everyone to look down to him. "Someone innocent would be a lot more upset, regardless of whether or not the allegation against them is plausible. I can't believe he notices these things, he thought to himself, looking to the human detective with wonder.

"Another thing that caught my attention," Scott adds, "the leveling of the pit looked pretty weird when I first saw it. Even just for playing around, the sand is pretty lowered into the ground. I'm guessing since he couldn't take the statue out with him in one go, he decided to transport it out bit by bit, or in this case, bag by bag. Everyday he would probably take a portion of your statue with him when he goes home, and while you were too busy thinking some criminal organization was responsible, he's been gradually stealing it from under your noses. Obviously, it could have also meant that the statue's volume just wasn't enough to fill the pit completely, but since we've already established that he was smart enough to plan this far ahead, it would only be sensible for him to choose that method of stealing the statue regardless."

The butler's nervous expression had long since fell and gave way to an unreadable flat look directed to the human. While everyone else remained silent and pondered over Scott's deduction with an indecision to either doubt or believe its irrefutable credibility, the butler's lips curled up into an amused smile.

"Wow," he said, causing everyone to turn to him. "Just... wow. You got all that from your first visit here?" he said with an undeniably impressed tone, unable to stop himself from showing amusement.

"So is that it? Is this you confessing?"

"I didn't say anything of the sorts," he answered, earning narrowed eyes from the Hamiltons as they didn't take lightly to his choice of evasive words, making it the more obvious that he was the culprit in their eyes.

"Oh, come on. Quit the act, will you?"

"You know very well that you don't have any practical evidence to put me behind bars. You're just a bounty hunter."

"I know, but you are going to lose your job," Scott answered with a mischievous smile.

Without warning, Josiah sprinted away into the living room and towards the front doors. Just before anyone could chase after him, Scott held up a hand and said, "Wait."

He gestures for them to follow into the living room and out to the front yard. As they do as he asks, they are all met with a seven foot dog holding Josiah aloft with a single hand, the pig futilely squirming around the giant dog's deathly grasp.

"I caught your piggy," said Kong to the smiling human, lightly raising the butler up for emphasis.

Scott approached them and regarded the butler with a comical shake of his head. "Yeah, running away would be a nono," he said. "You still need to return the rest of the statue that you've already stolen."

"You little..." said a livid Anthony, clenching his fists and glaring at their soon-to-be-not butler. "We took you in as our own, and this is how you repay us?"

Still dangling from the hulk of a dog, Josiah scoffed. Already having given up from resisting against the impossible grip of pure strength that held him helplessly hostage, he retorted, "Took me in as your own? What a joke. While I worked my tail off every single day as your only butler, I had to watch you all live lavishly with silver spoons shoved up your rears." Scott stifled a chuckle from the choice of words. "And 'independent'? Is that what you think you are? Don't make me laugh," he added, directing his gaze to Madam Jouse this time.

Madam Jouse couldn't believe what she was hearing. The idea that the butler she knew had been keeping such a secret grudge this whole time made her feel sick to her stomach. All those times that she pitied him, and he'd been hiding his true colors.

"I don't understand... why would you do this?" she managed to say.

"It's pretty simple really." Scott said. "He feels a little underpaid for all the things he's done for you, and—you know what? the point is, he's an evil, greedy bastard; the rest is just details. When I asked him how he felt about working for you, he simply told me that he didn't find the workload too much. He avoided my other questions, and at that moment I knew he always had a distaste for working for you."

After Josiah had been escorted out of the premises, the Hamiltons have made the decision to get a new helper.

Madam Jouse approached the three bounty hunters. She turned to Scott, and said, "Well, it looks like you didn't disappoint, Mr. Hyde. Not only did you found out who stole the statue, you also did it in less than a day."

"To be honest, I kind of bet everything on being able to find the sand that Josiah threw away in the nearest dumpster. I was really lucky that he didn't throw it away someplace harder to find, otherwise everything would have been a whole lot more conplicated. Anyways, all we need is to get paid, and we'll be out of your hair."

"Eigheen... nineteen... twenty thousand. That's it," Abigail counted.

"You done?" asked Sierra.

"Yep. All twenty thousand in twenty individual one thousand-worth bits. You know, I'm glad he had these kinds, 'cause I'm getting tired of counting large bags of tens and five hundreds." She hefted the conviniently smaller pouch of bits with a smile.

"Put that with the rest of the mortgage payment."

"Sure thing."

The door came open and in came the rest of the team. Scott smiled and greeted the two, "Hey guys. So you also went out on a job, huh? That's good."

"Yeah, we did," answered Sierra. "So you took Kong with you."

"I needed him for something vital."

The dog in question made his way into the house without a word, and went over to his unfinished laundry, wearing an unamused expression.

"Well, what happened? What was the job?"

Before Scott could answer, Abigail interjected, "You solved it already, didn't you Scotty?"

"Well, yeah," Scott answered.

"Haha, I knew it," Abigail replied, giving Sierra a mischievous grin, which she regarded with a roll of her eyes.

Scott continued, "Apparently, Madam Jouse had a statue of a distant relative that was made out of a very priceless material. Two days ago it went missing, and I found out that the butler was responsible."

"He stole it?" asked Abigail, still holding the bag in her hands.

"Actually, he powderized it and hid it somewhere in the house. Anyways, we weren't able to put him in jail, but he did lose his job."

"So.... where's the bits?" Sierra asked as she sees that none of them carried anything with them. Abigail just notices it as well and looks around the human, trying to find the nonexistent bag.

"We didn't get paid..." came Scott's reply.

An uncomfortable silence stretched for a second before Sierra asked, "I'm sorry, could you say that again?"

"Madam Jouse didn't pay us a single penny. Or I guess 'bit', as you call it here."

"And why is that?" Sierra dragged the question with a sarcastic tone.

"I mentioned that the statue was turned to powder, right?" Scott took Sierra's unamused stare as a yes and continued, "Her condition was to 'find out who did it' and 'bring back the statue in one piece', and seeing as—"

"It's in a million pieces, she didn't pay you," Sierra groaned into her paw, causing the words to be slightly muffled.

"Maybe a trillion," Scott took the glare from Sierra as a sign that he should probably not joke at the moment.

When Sierra calmed herself with a sigh, she said, "You know you're really lucky that I somehow saw this coming, and planned ahead."

Explaining for her, Abigail said, "We got twenty thousand bits from our job and it's luckily enough for the mortgage."

Feeling slightly relieved, Scott answered, "Phew, that's good." He looked at the rabbit with a solemn expression and apologized, "Look, Abby. I'm really sorry to let you down this time. I know how much you wanted to pay off your grandfather's debt, and I was really hoping for a win."

Abigail returned his solemn expression with one of her own and said to the human, "No, Scott, it's okay. You've already done so much for us, and we're in no position to be apologized to." She gave him a sweet smile before returning to her previous task not too long ago, "Anyways, I gotta take this to the vault." She disappeared up into the second floor.

Scott sighed, and asked Sierra, "So, uh, what did you do today?"

With what Abigail had said, Sierra felt a little sorry for how she treated the human's lack of success and decided to give her answer a less colder tone, "We, uh, hustled a mystic croak."

"Not sure what that is."

"A frog, Hyde. Our job was to subdue our employer's mentally ill brother and tie him in chains. We were only supposed to get paid five thousand bits, but when we found out late that we also had to look for him, we got him to raise the reward. I guess it wasn't really much of a hustle since he did try to scam us by feigning ignorance."

"Welp. All's well that ends well." Scott went up to his room, leaving Sierra with Henry.

"So," she said, "Did you learn something?"

Henry answered, "He has a very unique method of problem solving."

"That so?"

"Yeah. Um, he's very perceptive and good at reading through people's lies."

"Yeah, you have the right points there. Just don't let him get too excited over himself, ok? Amongst other things, he's pretty reckless too."

Chapter 4: Mech Savvy

The living room housed every member of the team, save for a particular Abyssinian who came down the stairs much later than the rest would have preffered, wearing an expression that said she was unwilling to partake in their task but couldn't argue her way against the majority of them.

It wasn't that Sierra couldn't convince them that playing a game was a waste of time; in fact, she didn't think that at all. She was practical and objective, and everyone knew that for a fact, but she was never the type of leader to let her work attitude get in the way of her subordinates having their fun (or in this case, forcing her to have fun with them.)

"C'mon, if you don't hurry up, I'll choose your avatar for you," Scott threatened in a voice that was too jovial to be threatning, wagging a pig warlock figurine at her.

She wore a sullen expression, but eyed the character. Unbeknownst to everyone, it was actually her favourite in the game.

They were all seated on the floor, surrounding a moderately wide table that was short enough to level their torsos as they loomed over the flat sheet that served as a platform for the game they were about to play, each finding their own comfortable ways of sitting.

The table itself wasn't the usual living room table that was regularly in the living room; they'd moved it out of the way to make room for the their game, curtesy of Henry's persistence when he'd discovered the Ogres and Oubliettes that Abigail hid in her room, much to her own chagrin, and told everyone to play.

Due to his size, Kong had to be slightly distanced from the table, since he couldn't tuck his indian-seated, thick legs under it, a rulebook held in his paw.

Henry chose to stand while Scott, himself, greedily stretched his legs under the table.

"You want to make a decision for me? Go ahead; I never wanted to play so you'd be doing me a favor," Sierra answered as she took her seat beside the human.

She actually liked the game all things considered. It didn't take away her stress, but it kept it at by, and for what it's worth the game was actually pretty fun. It was imaginative, and it even helps exercise team-building which was easily something she was all for.

If she had to pick, the warlock was easily her favourite in the game. He was strong, took initiative, and stroke fear in the hearts of injustice, but they didn't need to know that; as far as they were concerned, she's only forced to play, and because Scott was already going to pick him for her, things were going her way.

"Don't feel lonely. Right now, we're in this together, since this is my first time playing Dungeons and Dragons," Scott said. "You," he pointed the figurine to her chest, "who doesn't want to play, and me," he pointed it back to him, "who doesn't know how to play."

"Ogres and Oubliettes," Henry interjected, feeling like he'd corrected him for the millionth time.

"Well, as you know, I'm kind of forced to integrate into a different society against my will, so you'll forgive me if I want to preserve a little bit of my culture." Scott placed his figurine on the table. "I'm calling it Dungeons and Dragons." He scratched at his stuble, "So who should I pick for Sierra..."

If Sierra was even slightly surprised, she didn't show it through years of practice. She, instead, opted to raise an eyebrow at the human, "I thought Wardor was my character?" She made sure her voice was just curious and nothing else. She was a master of keeping her feelings to herself afterall.

Abashed, Scott pulled the warlock close to his chest and wrinkled his brows at her, "Wardor's my guy. I haven't really thought of who I'd pick for you, so you can chillax; I'm gonna atleast make it female." Scott picked the other figurine, an Abyssinian thief wearing ragged clothes, and placed it in front of Sierra. "Here, you'll be Zenari the thief; a perfect match for you." He looked to Kong then asked, "Zenari, or Zenara?"

"Ashinda," he answered, confirming just how far off Scott was.

"Alright, let's start, I guess."

Everyone got ready. Henry held his dragon knight figurine, and placed it onto the table. Abigail raised her unicorn sorceress to eye level, and smiled at it, before placing it before her on the table.

Scott sneaked a furtive glance at an internally disappointed Sierra from the corners of his eyes as he placed his figurine in front of him.

He knew.

He knew about her secret love for the game, and he knew how much she actually wanted to be Wardor despite herself, and he especially knew how much she thinks she's good at hiding it from him.

He didn't like deliberately putting her in a situation where her interests battled with her pride, but the look she gave her character was just too much.

She was obviously displeased with her character.

She was definitely looking down at Ashinda the Thief with dissatisfaction. A look that said 'you're not Wardor' with disdain, and Scott, for one, could not stop himself from smiling.

"Ok, let's start," Kong said, the DM. "Everyone ready?" He gave Henry and his dragon knight a curt nod, "Murdock the brave?" he looked over to Abigail and the unicorn sorceress she was idly playing with, "Mystica the Numinous?"

"Aye aye," she replied, not sparing a glance.

"That's not the right sound you make for—"

"It is. It's the right sound."

Kong turned to Sierra, who hasn't taken her eyes off her character yet, and asked her, "Ashinda the Thief?"

She looked up, meeting his gaze, before looking back down again. "Yeah, ready," she answered, never losing the control in her voice or the stern look in her eyes regardless of the great disappointment she felt deep down.

"Captain Wardor the Executioner?" Kong then turned to the human.

"Actually," Scott said, taking his character between his fingers and turning to Sierra, "could we change?"

She furrowed her brows at him, "You want to change characters?"

He looked down to Wardor. "This one kind of reminds me of Josiah," he pointed to her figurine, "plus I actually want to be a sneaky thief," he lied.

Scott figured he'd had enough. It was fun while it lasted, but it was time to be the good guy now.

With a paw, Sierra slid her thief over to Scott as he did the same for his warlord. Skeptic, her eyes trained on the human. She doesn't see through his act, but his last second decision slightly bemused her.

"Cool," he said as her gaze slowly drifted down to her new character. She didn't know why he suddenly changed his mind.

Does he know? Is he playing with her? It didn't matter. Because she was Wardor the Executioner again, like how she always was everytime she played the game—which was a lot more often than she'd ever admit to Scott.

"Ok, we can start now," Kong announced, causing everyone to perk up in attention. "You arrive at the Stealy Eyed tavern..."

"I'm excited," Scott said, leaning over to Sierra.

"Upon entering, you glance around the mostly empty establishment. Customers were scarce but a particular table in the far corner catches your attention. Sitting in it was a lone seer with a glowing orb floating by his side. He wore a long, hooded garment that reached up to his ankles, and he—"

"I walk up to him, and sock him right in the jaw, saying, 'That's what you get, you filthy sack o' shit.'"

Silence stretched the room.

Sierra was the first to voice a confused "what?" for everyone.

Deliberately not picking up on their bewilderment, Scott looked around with innocence as if nothing about what he did was remotely questionable.

"What—why did you do that?" Abigail asked.

Scott figured he'd explain, "Well earlier, you told me about the characters' bio, including their pasts, right?"

"We did, yeah." But why in the hell did you punch the seer? Scott could see their faces say.

He held up his figurine, then explained, "Well you said Zenari's parents were killed by a rogue wizard." They nodded. "I figured if she were to see someone that fit the description, she'd be a bit... I want to say jumpy...? While the backstories were a nice little unnecessary detail, you didn't exactly include any personality traits so I decided to get creative."

"So Zenari is a... short tempered brute?" Abigail concluded. Unlike everyone else, she was intrigued by where he was going with this.

"Well her past is pretty grim, so it wouldn't be too far fetched if she had some control issues."

"But you can't just punch the seer in the face," Henry said.

"Why can't I? I thought in Dungeons of Dragons, you could do anything. Isn't that the point of the game? The wide amount of freedom that sets it apart from any other game?"

Sierra interjected, "The point of the game is to go on a quest that will be given to us by the seer, and right now, we don't even know what that quest is since we're too busy explaining this to you. We haven't even gotten to the actual game yet, and what you're doing is unnecessary stuff we don't have time for."

Scott tightened his smile remorsefully. "Right. Sorry. I pick up the seer off the floor, because my punch was so hard he fell off his chair, and tell him I'm sorry."

"You don't need to do that. We could just start over," Sierra said, but then Kong indulged him with a response.

"The seer accepted your apology out of propriety, but decided that he didn't like you."

"That's fine," Scott answered. "So what's the quest?"

"We're getting there," Sierra told him, sick of hearing him talk.

Kong cleared his throat as he got ready for his explanation, and everyone was relieved to finally be resuming.

Without even making an effort to change his voice for dramatic purposes, the very uninspired DM briefly explained their main goal: they basically had to travel south—as ridiculously unspecific as that sounded to Scott—and find a particular amulet for the seer. When Scott had asked what value it held for the seer, he was scolded by the others again for digressing too much.

Eventually the four got to the adventuring part, and Scott decided that he liked the game. It served as a fun platform for his very creative mind, and he wondered why he never actually thought about playing this game just until it was suggested to him by close friends, and just until he'd already found himself as earth's first inter-dimensional traveler.

"The giant bat stretched its mighty wings to prepare for a powerful wind attack," said Kong as they prepare themselves for the third monster they had to fight in the dungeon they entered.

"I use a barrier to shield me and my friends," Abigail provided.

The dice left the DM's paw and rolled across the table. It landed on a 10, and the curious rabbit looked up to the DM with a questioning raise of her eyebrow. "Your shield failed to reach everyone, and you only shield yourself and Murdock," Kong explained for her.

Left open, Sierra came up with a counter of her own, "I use my giant axe to block the attack."

Kong rolled a 15 for her, and she smiled. "It succesfully blocked the attack."

Scott was the only one left to fend for himself, and had to think of a way to either evade or block the imaginative gale of wind.

He was a thief; everyone else had characters that were more competent in a battle, while his specialized in lock picking and pickpocketing. He wondered why the creators of the game even bothered including a character whose only purpose was to get the team into certain places they may or may not need to go to in a game where fighting dangerous creatures took the larger portion of events.

Running out of options and time to internally think before his prolonged silenced turned too awkward, he did the only logical thing he could think of. "I stand still and let the cool breeze hit my body."

With a questioning glance at the human, Kong continued, "The strong, cool breeze hit Mystica's shield, and it gets nulled by the magic. Wardor remained planted to the ground as his axe resiliently blocks the gale's full force. Ashinda the Thief gets blasted by the wind, and is sent careening into the dungeon's cobble wall, cracking her skull against the stone and instantly dying from blood loss."

"Shit."

"Great. Now our lockpicker's dead," Sierra said.

"No biggie. I'll just catch up with you guys after getting revived.

Everyone looked at him like he was stupid.

"What? Are you telling me there aren't any revivals in this game?"

The stares they gave spoke for itself. Scott, at that moment, had a sudden realization: within the few minutes of playing DnD for the first time, he'd already been kicked out of the game.

"Well shit. Great game, guys. That's just awesome."

"You're telling us?" Sierra said. "With you dead, we won't have comeplete access to the map. Plus, if there's a safe we might need to open, we won't be able to get to its treasures now without your lockpicking skills."

"I mean are you kidding me? Is that really it? I can't play anymore?"

"Ogres and Oubliettes is a progressive game," Henry explained, "The players are to find a way to survive and fight their way till the very end of the story. A player dies, and they can no longer progress with their comrades."

"That sucks."

"It's genius. It really makes you feel like you're in an actual adventure. The looming danger of the harsher consequences makes the struggles feel more real, and players are encouraged to be more careful with what they do and how they do it; it's the perfect family friendly game that exercises team building and decision making."

Scott thought about it. Did they really feel this way for a game? The moment he landed in this dimension, he had the impression that their world seemed to be a whole lot closer to actual fantasy. There also doesn't seem to be a shortage of exciting things you could do in terms of mythic struggles and adventure—what with all the literal mythic creatures and magical artifacts that seemed to riddle their world with what Scott assumes is in a never-ending abundance—so it was weird for them to feel the need to invent games that replicate those fundamentals.

"Hmm, I don't know," Abigail said. "That's really insightful and all, but I think there's still a good amount of winging it that doesn't necessarily make the game any less fun. I mean, it still is a game; you still have to enjoy it, and all that complicated talk about being more careful with your moves and the looming danger of harsher consequences is kind of making it more complicated that it actually is."

"I respect your opinion," Henry answered. "If that's how you interpret Ogres and Oubliettes and you enjoy it all the same, then by all means. All I care about is that I have people who I get to play it with."

Smiling, Abigail gave an approving nod. "That's right! What's more important is that we're a group of like-minded individuals who enjoy the same thing, right, Sierra?"

"Could we kill this bat now?" she flatly replied.

Abigail turned her attention back to the game, and made her move. "I drop the shield to summon a powerful lightning spell aimed towards the bat," she told Kong.

Kong rolled the dice, and it landed on a 16. "The spell was successful. You struck the bat with powerful lightning, and it goes down smoking," he said.

"Ooh yeah! Take that, bat."

"I can't believe this," Scott said. "So am I, like, stuck watching you guys play now? Atleast until you find some sort of reviving thingie majigie later in the game?"

"Oh, there's no such thing as a revival elixir in Ogres in Oubliettes, I can assure you," Henry said. He turned to Kong then asked him, "unless of course this is the Moonlit Cavern Edition that came out a few years back which didn't sell too well because people didn't care too much for the horrible map design and its even worse story line."

Kong looked down onto the rulebook he held, and read the title and description for the game. "I don't think so. It says here 'Aspect of Dusk edition'," he answered.

Scott stood up, all but ready to leave.

"Don't worry, Scotty. Next time we play, I'll make sure to prioritize shielding you against a powerful attack like wing gale," Abigail consoled.

"I guess it's kind of our fault for not telling you about the one life rule sooner. Maybe you would have come up with a more sensible strategy instead of just standing still," Henry said.

"It's fine," Scott told him.

"Why don't you go make yourself useful, and wash the dishes?" Sierra told him. "Kong has been doing most of the household chores, and ever since you got here you haven't lifted a single finger to clean anything."

"That's not true. I clean my room," he defended.

"Cut him some slack, boss," Abigail told Sierra. "I mean, hasn't he been helping us enough as it is already? Do we really have to start guilt tripping him now over some chores?"

"I'm just saying: if he's got nothing better to do since he's dead, then why shouldn't he wash the dishes."

"It's okay, boss. Washing the dishes has always been my responsibility. I could do it later," Kong provided.

"I appreciate the defense, guys, really, but your kitty leader actually has a point," Scott said, surprising Abigail and even Sierra herself. "If I'm going to be sleeping within the same four walls, I should atleast help around with cleaning it. I'll wash the dishes."

Just as he was about to approach the sink, Kong puts a paw on his shoulder, causing him to halt in his steps, look down to the paw, trail up to Kong's tree trunk of an arm, and meet his determined gaze.

With conviction, Kong told him, a lot firmer this time, "I'll do the dishes."

That seemed to be enough to convince the human. "Sure thing, chief," Scott answered.

Kong let go of Scott's terrified shoulder, and Scott clears his throat. He knows how soft Kong actually was despite his physical appearance; In reality, he could even say that if he were to compare Kong to Abigail, Abigail would probably easily floor the guy on a one-on-one fight if a heated dispute were to hypothetically arise between the two them, which incidently would be very unlikely, considering how much of an extreme pacifist Kong was. Despite all that, however, having the big scary dog grip him by the shoulder, and give him such a threateningly serious look was a first for the human in all the time he'd known him, and he couldn't really blame his internal instincts for blaring warning signs at the sudden touch.

Moving on, Scott approaches the front door, and tells everyone that he'll be 'out for a bit'. He leaves, and they resume to their game.

Moves were made, and dices were rolled, and Scott wished, from outside the house, that he'd picked a different character.

He leaned his elbows against the front porch's railings while his hands were clamped together against his mouth, in deep thought.

It's been 3 weeks.

If only this world didn't have mirrors, he would say that he was starting to forget what humans look like. Obviously that would have still been an over exaggeration for just 3 weeks, but the fact of the matter is that he's been away from home for too long. Any amount of days was too long to be honest. No one should ever be stuck in another dimension for any amount of time exceeding what was originally intended.

He looked down to his hands, and opened them to reveal a circular, black device. There was a red button in the middle. He flipped it over to reveal a crack on the unlit lense that suggested the device hadn't been working for a long time.

It was supposed to be his way back home, right before the unexpected incident that ultimately stranded him here.

He realized his head was too cloudy at the moment, and that he needed some way to clear it. Standing on the porch just wasn't gonna do so he decided he'd take a walk around town.

He pocketed the device, and left the hideout for a stroll. It was just starting to get dark out, and the sky was still blue enough to make the chill breeze of the atmosphere the more calming. The planet obviously functioned similar enough to earth for the same phenomenons to occur, and he was glad it did; he was sure if the sky was somehow green in this dimension, he would probably go mad.

He looked up more into the sky, making sure to not get even a slight glimpse of any of this world's infrastructure from his peripherals. He figured he'd tune out everything else, and focus on the one thing that actually reminded him of home, and the thought that the sky was the only thing left to have that kind of effect was kind of depressing—

"Oh! woops, sorry," Scott said to the griffon he bumped into. "Lemme help you with that."

"Watch where you're going," the griffon said, standing up.

"Sorry, I was just—" Scott shook his head, "nevermind. Here's your, uh..." He didn't know what he was looking at. It seemed like some sort of rudimentary mechanical device he couldn't pretend to know the use for. It was rectangular and metal, and he hadn't seen anything like it. Honestly, it kinda looked like a slightly larger beeper if he was being honest.

The griffon snatched the device from his hands, and examined it for any damages. "That's my alarm clock," he spat, "I just got it repaired, and you're lucky it didn't break otherwise you would have to pay for the damages, and I'm tellin' you, these things aren't easy to come by."

Scott had a thought. "Uh, repaired?"

"Yeah, I just had it repaired. Are you deaf?"

"Uh, may I ask: what's your... alarm clock powered by?"

"This one's powered by electricity."

"Electricity..."

"I wouldn't be surprised if somecreature like you didn't know of things powered by electricity; not a lot of folks can say that they've owned anything like it since most things are powered by magic nowadays. This alarm clock was a family heirloom, and I just got lucky that I happen to stumble upon a mechanic within the area that knew how to work on electric mechanisms."

An alarm clock for an heirloom? Scott mused. "Where's this mechanic?"

The griffon, much to Scott's surprise, was actually kind enough to give him the directions despite seeming like he would be unwilling after being bumped into.

Not long after, Scott arrived in front of the establishment. 'Maximum Repair' was poorly written in red ink on the sign above the door. From within, an 'open' sign was plastered against the door window, and Scott was just about to knock when he saw it. He pushed open the door, and was met with a moderately small shop. Backed up against the walls were shelves filled with mechanical parts of some kind and other miscellaneous objects that had some relation to machinery. Scott, with his lack of knowledge for engineering, couldn't tell if they were actual engineering apparatuses that could be similarly compared to those back on earth or if they worked differently and served comepletely different purposes; he wasn't even sure if the same rules of physics that governed the science behind earth's machineries applied in this dimension.

The counter of the shop seemed to be absent of its cashier, and as Scott got closer, the sound of loud hammering and sawing and other sounds of metal against metal bluring in the background became more apparent.

"Hello?" Scott loudly announced. "Any people in this joint?"

No answer.

Louder, he said, "Knock knock!" whilst knocking twice on the wooden counter.

There was yet an answer, however he noticed that the background noise had stopped.

Assuming his calls had somehow been heard, he decided he'd continue. "You know your, uh, shop is ungaurded?" he said, looking around whilst gesturing his hands around the place (as if he would be seen doing it).

"Come here!" a voice, female, beckoned from somewhere within the room of the open door behind the counter. She sounded busy, but not at all tired.

Scott raised his eyebrows, but approached the counter. Judging by where the voice was coming from, he assumed there was some type of back room workshop to the place where she was working on something. "Over there?" he asked, eyeing the counter that didn't seem to have a door to it.

"Yeah, come here." This time, she wasn't shouting. It was like she didn't care that her voice was only barely hearable—like she was busy with something, and couldn't be bothered to raise her voice twice.

"But the counter doesn't seem to have a—"

"Just jump over it."

"Jump over—" Scott looked around the counter; it was full of things, tools and a few other stuff a counter usually had including, of course, the cash register.

After a few hesitant steps backward, Scott readied himself for the jump of his life. He carefully judged the height and distance of the counter before anything, then made a sprint for it.

He leaped, positioning his hands forward to support himself against the counter for a monkey vault, and then...

He fell flat on his face.

The counter had split apart with a series of mechanical clanks and a hissing of steam to make way for his gullible self.

Through the open door and deeper within, a head peaked out from around a corner. "Actually, it opens by my command. I can't believe you actually tried jumping over it," the owner of the earlier voice said to him.

With a pained groan, Scott stood up, a hand pinching the bridge of his nose. He poked himself inside the room, looking around the messy place, before approaching the creature that had casually went back to her earlier task.

The room, as he'd suspected, was indeed some type of mechanical workshop. Heaps of mechanical parts stacked themselves ungraciously all over the floor; some tools and equipments dangled from above in chains, and Scott swatted them away as he approached closer to the girl.

She sat indian seated, and worked diligently on something he couldn't quite clearly see from where he stood. "No one's posted up front at this place; you're really gonna get your stuff stolen with this style of management," he told her. Sitting there with her back turned to him, she seemed to be using a wrench to tighten the knobs on some sort of mechanical arm which caused Scott to raise his eyebrows as he leaned slightly to the side to get a better look. "I do assume you're the owner of this place, right? I mean, seeing as you're the only one... here." He noticed she was, like he'd learned most of them were, some type of anthropomorphic mammal, a squirrel.

She spun around, looked up to him, and resituated her eye protection goggles to her head. "Yep, that's right," she answered, giving him a greasy cheeked smile. "You weren't what I was expecting," she added, gesturing her wrench to his general direction.

Her fur was matted in grime; she smelled of smoke, burnt metal, and motor oil; her engineering pants were baggy; her gray tank top was no longer just gray, and her working gloves didn't fare any better. It definitely looked like she devoted her lifestyle into all things mechanic, business or no.

He looked back to the room he came from, asking, "Are you really fine with just leaving your stuff out there unatended?"

When he'd asked the question, she'd already turned her attention back to her task, and waved him off with a paw. "Eh, no one comes here anyway. Plus, even if someone did have the guts to steal my stuff, I doubt they'd even know what to make use of it—no one's familiar with mechanics in this place."

"You seem to have already given the answer to that question a lot of thought," Scott noted. Truthfully, he didn't think it was enough of a reason to be so loose on the security of one's bussiness, but he didn't come here to counsel her on her managing skills—plus, what did he know? "So, uh," he gestured to the mechanical arm, "you buildin' a robot?"

Without sparing a glance, she nodded. "Are you my second customer for the month, or are you just feeling lonely and needed someone to talk to?"

For the month? "Actually, I was wondering if you could, uh" he fetched the device from his pocket, and brought it up just right beside her face, "fix this for me?"

She turned her head to it, stopped in her work, and resituated her goggles again. She took it from his hand for closer examination. "Hmm."

Scott didn't know if she would even be familiar with earth technology, but figured it would be worth a shot if it meant there would be even a remote chance that he could contact the lab.

"Is it, uh, something you've ever seen before?" he asked.

"Honestly, I haven't seen anything like it. I'll have to take it apart first—that's if, of course, you'll let me."

"If I let you take it apart...—"

"There's a chance I don't even know what it is, and I would've potentially stopped any chance of it ever functioning again."

But if I don't do anything at all, I'm guaranteed to never have the chance of ever enjoying Shawarma again. "Do it. Take it apart."

"Give me a two days. I can't promise I'll have it fixed by then, but I'll atleast have an answer for your question."

"Which question?"

"If I've seen anything like it."

Scott sighed in relief. It was small, but he was making progress. Up until now he hadn't had an actual plan in terms of getting back home; he wasn't even a hundred percent sure if he'd ever see his mother again, and he can't get himself to venture in the possibility that he wouldn't, but alteast now, he was a step closer to... something.

"One more thing," Scott said, before she could go back to what she was working on. "Earlier, you said I was your second costumer for the month. Also, you said that if someone were to steal your stuff, they'd most likely not be educated enough to make any use of it; now, from where I come from what usually happens is the opposite. Is all this stuff really that... unpopular?— engineering I mean."

"You know, honestly, I wasn't gonna say anything, because I didn't want to be all judgy—and I've learned that the folks in this place are sensitive to that kind of stuff—but something told me that you weren't from around here."

"Was it the beard? It's the beard isn't it," Scott humored, lightly scratching at his stuble.

"Mechanical engineering isn't too popular here because of magic, believe me I know. Crazy, right?"

"Right... so magic makes mechanical engineering unpopular? How does that make sense?"

"I know, right? Exactly my thoughts when I first came to this town. Imagine my surprise when I decided it would be a good idea to run a business in a place that barely has any technology to begin with; turns out, folks here don't care much for things too complex for their tiny brains, and my techy choice of merchendising apparently bogs their inferior minds."

"Crazy," came Scott's half-hearted but misleadingly jovial sounding reply.

"With the way things are right now, I'm barely even able to manage sustaining myself."

"So you're saying: because magic is a lot easier to grasp, people think it's the better choice over technology?"

"Pretty much. You know it's nice to finally meet someone like me in this place for once. You said, from where you come from, people were more dependent on technology—kinda like my hometown, right?"

"I guess you could put it that way."

"I'd like to go there somewhere. Where's this place located anyways?"

"Oh it's just this humble little town somewhere west."

She fished through a box she had lying on the floor, and took a piece of old, rustic paper out.

Of course she has a map. "Oh you won't easily find it on a map. Like I said, it's a humble little town in the west; we don't get too many visitors, and the terrain around it remains mostly uncharted."

She seemed to buy it instantly as she refolds her map, and places it back in her box where she kept a few other things disorderly. "Oh. That's too bad."

"Anyways, I need to head back. I'll check up on it in two days, ok?"

"I'll be here." There was nothing much she could do. She pretty much had zero plans other than finishing her project, and she loved every minute of it.

"By the way, I didn't catch your name," He asks as she goes back to her task.

"It's Rudy."

"Rudy. Great. Thanks, Rudy."

She doesn't spare a glance, and proceeds working.

And just like that, Scott leaves with even more in his mind than he'd initially had when he went out to clear his head.

To think that he'd landed in a full fledged fantasy world where it was just as modern as earth with the huge exception of magic and the absence of humans. All this time, there existed what he assumed were a race of cute little, engineer squirrels.

Scott returned to the hideout with everyone packing up the game. There seemed to be a lack of Sierra in the room, and Scott prompted to ask, "Where's boss lady?"

"Upstairs," answered Henry. There was something wrong. Henry wasn't his usual happier, eager-to-learn, self.

"And you guys are just doing all this cleaning up without her?"

"She's upset," said Abiagail.

"Oh, she's not upset cause I left, is she? I just went out for some fresh air. I promise I didn't replace you with another bounty hunting team."

"No, silly. Kong broke the Wardor figurine," Abigail explained, showing Scott the lower half of the executioner.

"Oh."

"Hence the upset," Henry said.

Chapter 5: A Mystery in The Shadows (1/2)

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