Open World: Level Up

I. Need. Passive. Skill Points!

“Did Button just doodle himself with a superhero cape?” I heard Tina asked.

“Yes…” Micheal huffed.

“Learning about that Demon Lord Lady and then Alchem’s passive Skill Points really got to him…” Gallon added.

“I know I have a stupidly high item multiplayer but fucking hell do I need passive skill points…also maybe…I like capes…”

“Or are suffering a mental breakdown…” Micheal offered.

“Or both.” Gallon added.

“Either way, they both only got those after either inheriting or obtaining a means of royalty and a population that they care for so… not much you can do about that.” Tina said.

“I know…” I sighed. “There has to be someway…”

“... Could try and be a god.” Gallon offered.

We all turned to look at him.

“... Is that even possible?” Micheal asked.

“He’s literally got the power of a Super Volcano, volcano gods exist so he’s basically there minus the followers and well, divine stuff.”

“Well…I suppose you are right.” I admitted. “Just…have no idea where to get the divinity, or where to get people who would follow me.”

“... You have a hacker that can and likely knows how…”

… I really forget Yuri is here half the time…

“That's true, but I don't want to abuse his abilities for my own personal gain, plus he's been busy with figuring out how to get rid of the Breeder code.”

“No real need really.” We all jumped, turning and seeing Midas was sitting on the couch, wearing an old hoodie with the sleeves stained and had a few holes. Town sweatpants and old slippers. “Why hello there everyone. Long time no see.”

“Uh…why are you here Midas?” I asked carefully.

“Why can’t I be here?” He asked with his head tilted slightly.

I looked at Midas like he just missed my question entirely. “Uh…what do you want?” I asked, cause apparently I needed to be more specific.

“I bring news, and cookies.” He said, a flick of his wrist and he was holding a large cloth bag. He handed them to Gallon and when he opened them, it was packed with all kinds of cookies.

“Huh…okay, what be the news?” I asked curiously, lightly pulling out one of the cookies and eating it.

“The major Chaos Guilds will be hosting tournaments soon. In the next few years anyway with all sorts of fun prizes.”

“What kind of prizes?” I asked curiously.

“Varies from guild to guild. But the ones your ex has are something worth your while.” Midas told me.

“He’s not my ex, he’s a bastard who’s causing a lot of the problems in this world.” I huffed. “But what does David have to offer for these tournaments?”

“For the public tournaments, the usual you’d expect. High end high value Breeders. For the Invite Only tournaments though, he’s offering a bottle of those Pills he developed, and five Code Keys.” Midas said.

“Code Keys?” Micheal asked.

“They undo Breeder, Slaver, and Serf programming.”

“That…mother fucker.” I growled.

“Those exist?” Gallon asked.

“They do now.” Midas said. “He made them just for this… meaning he’s up to his old games again.”

“Fantastic…I have to play this assholes games again…” I grumbled.

“He did… give me this to give to you.” Midas said, pulling out a small envelope from his pocket. “Hate being his errand boy but I’m not fighting that psychopath.”

“And I don’t blame you.” I said, taking the envelope and opening it up to see what this assclown wanted.

The second I opened it I was… not at home…

“Hello my little pony.” I wanted to rip my ears off at hearing his voice… I turned, seeing them laid across a couch, a book open in his hand as he looked up at me. “Long time no see.”

“Why the fuck did you kidnap me?” I asked carefully.

“I haven’t seen you in a while. Is it so wrong for me to want to play with my favorite toy?”

“I will burn you.” I growled.

“Kinky.” He chuckled, sitting up and closing his book. “Come on, where’s the love for your favorite man?”

“I'd rather be permanently dead then hear your bullshit.” I stated. “What do you want?”

“The fact you’re here means Midas gave you my trap letter.” He said as he stood up and began walking. “Follow me.”

I growled but did. Not like I got much choice. I followed him to a warehouse built into his house where…

Lining the walls in boxes were odd small glass like sheets that I could see sitting there.

“And the hell are these?”

“These are the Code Keys.” He said simply.

“I presume you’ve started to make these just to fuck with people?” I asked.

“I made these, well, that’s part of the reason.” He chuckled. “I also made these because of you.”

“Now is this to spite me, fuck with me, or are you somehow growing a conscience and seeing the error or your ways?” I asked, knowing the last part would probably make him laugh his ass off cause he’s a deplorable cockwaffle.

“I made them because I knew you’d want them. You’ll be one of many I’ll invite to the invite only tournaments. Thing is, out of all the people I have listed to invite, there’s only one who I’m inviting who I know will only want to win to destroy the keys. The rest, like you, have reason and drive to fight. Meaning, while you can beat one of them with a clear conscious, the rest you need to beat and deny them the chance to save their own loved ones.” He said. “And I made sure to make them immune to that little Nokori Ability you have, and that Title. Can’t have you cheating the market now can I?”

“Boo.” I frowned, but kept the fact that Yuri can most likely mass produce these damned things to myself. “Can’t make this easy can you?”

“Well, I can’t. Not that I want to anyway. So, how’s my son? His backup work?”

“...His backup worked.” I said carefully, given that the bastard knew. “And your other son, that I have been taking care of this entire time, is a happy bundle of joy that I have to wonder if I didn’t just get cloned and not have you taint their spirit.”

“Children are born innocent Button. The sins of the parents don’t taint them, even when their birth was predestined for a darker purpose.” He said, giving me a smirk. “Now then, what’s been going on with you lately?” He asked as he led me away from the storeroom of the Code Keys.

“Destiny…still a crock of shit if you ask me…” I grumbled. “Now where are you taking me?”

“Just to grab a bite to eat.” He said as we soon arrived in… a rather nice looking garden. He sat across from me at a bench and table that seemed to grow out of the nearby tree. “Now then, what’s been going on in your homelife?”

“Why in Mother’s name should I even bother telling you any of my life?” I asked.

“Well it’s less fun for me if I have to look into it personally, and more concerning for you if I do have to.”

“Okay, why do you want to know considering you don’t give a shit about me other than me being a fucking toy ?” I asked.

“It’s more fun for me. To learn everything about a person, their hopes, dreams, desires, and slowly but surely see them lose it all. Through no fault of mine either. That’s the best part, when they want to blame me but I had no part in it whatsoever.”

“Then I’m not telling you shit if it’s magically not your fault that so many people’s lives are ruined as you take away who a person is just to turn them into walking, talking fleshlight’s.” I said. “I know you are now creating Breeders in vats now but it’s still fucked.”

“Hmm…boo.” He said, leaning on the table to look at me. “Well, how’s about this. You tell me something, then you can ask me a question and I’ll answer honestly.”

I frowned…but nodded carefully. “Alright…currently I’m concerned about…a lot of Max/+ stated people cropping up.” I said carefully.

“Oh yeah, hard to get to there but not impossible. Now you get to ask a question.”

“...Why did you decide to become the Guild Master of Lust?”

“The prior leader, a man named Garro, was rather weak, but he was a Hacker. He was given the Breeder, Slave and Serf programming from Dark Gray, and I figured hey, what’s this weak prick running such an influential guild? So, I beat him, used Consume and took his Code and whatever said other powers he had.”

“I’m not fucking surprised Dark Gray just gave someone that horrid power…” I grumbled. “Alright…so power hungry bitch, got it.”

“Basically. In the end, he served his purpose, poorly but it was done. Now then, tell me something else.”

“...I’m not sure how the hell I’m supposed to get stronger and that’s driving me up a wall.” I sighed.

“Hm. I used Consume to increase my strength, but you don’t have that power. Voracity can also help, but that’s a Dark Skill Tree power and I doubt you’d want it.”

“Yeah, neither of those things I want…so, does Divinity or something along those lines offer up the strength I need?”

“It can. Once you have Divinity and at least a thousand Followers, you can gain the Divine Faith Title. Gives you skill points for every member born to you flock and for every person who converts to your faith, and five for every one of their prayers you answer.”

“Hmm…that helps a lot actually.” I thought to myself. “Alright, that’s good to know…so I just have to figure out how to become a god and hope for the best.”

“It’s easier than you’d think. Many people, other gods, can bestow it to you. Some people are born with it, some can gain it through fighting monsters. As you are now though, you’re already at the threshold.” He said, snapping his fingers and appearing on the table were some fruits, small sandwiches and cold sodas.

“Really?” I asked in surprise. “I mean sure, I’m a Super Volcano Phoenix but…still.”

“You’d be surprised how little it takes for a Phoenix to be a god. Add to that you’re an Alicorn. All you need is to declare your Divine Oath.”

“Divine Oath? Like some vow that gives me power or something?” I inquired.

“It’s both what solidifies you as a God, and binds you. Rules you put upon yourself that as a God you will follow. The stronger of Divine you become, the more powerful your oath. This is why most older, stronger gods off planet don’t do much. Still, it also lets you declare what kind of god you wish to be. Once you’ve done that, you’re a fully fledged god.”

“That’s…rather simple all things considered.” I admitted carefully.

“True. All you’ll need is someone to officiate and bear witness to your Oath, and it will be done.”

“Huh…” I hummed, thinking about what I could do with that cause…it would be a hell of a decision for all of this. “Going to have to think about that…”

“Alright.” He said with a shrug as he at some fruit. “So, that counted as a question.” He added.

“Yeah I know…” I muttered. “Um…hmm…” I tried to think of something that wouldn’t expose my family…”Yuri figured out there’s a…Kill Switch for Breeders…” I said, thinking David already knew this but it was something.

He chuckled. “Won’t work.” He said. “Built in override will undo whatever he tries, like a trojan virus.”

“Well…shit…” I said. “So…you can only remove a Breeder’s coding by…using the Code Key?”

“That’s right. Person they used to be won’t be brought back, but they won’t be bound by their programming, there won’t be any programming to bind them after all.”

“People still forever lost to this sick bullshit…” I growled.

“Maybe. Maybe not.” He said, making me raise a brow. “The Mother has never really been one that was… keen on Goodbyes.” He added.

“She’s a Mother…no mother is keen on Goodbyes.” I admitted.

He gave me this small smirk before offering me what looked like if a strawberry and an apple had a child.

“Next question.”

I gently took the fruit and took a bite out of it. “Are you doing all of this because you're bored or is Dark Gray got you shackled to play his game?”

“He offered me a role in it and I accepted.” He said, pulling his shirt down. There, almost branded was the image of a Queen’s Chess Piece on his collarbone. “As one of his more valuable pieces, I get benefits within reason and am free to do as I please. Still, I have a role to play and when that time comes, I’ll play my part.”

“And your part will be dying by my hands.” I stated. “Though…Dark Gray is…eager about something sadly…”

“Yes, the In Search of Heaven quest has begun. Step one has finally been taken.”

“And considering what your role is…I’m pretty sure you already know who’s the ‘chosen people’ right?” I inquired.

“You mean the seven innocents? No. I only know that the one who held the second key is Armageddon. The other six are left to fate and as long as they meet the requirements, they will be pulled into the quest. Willingly or not.”

“Right…” I said carefully. “That’s…worrying that a child would be shoved into this quest…” I admitted, feigning ignorance on having Armageddon with me and the quest and mostly just following the ‘I’ve met Armaggeddon before’.

“Children. Innocent in the grand scheme they’ll be pulled into. But Armageddon. Innocent in its purpose.”

“...What is Armageddon’s purpose? Cause being a Prison for the most insane and dangerous people and their followers doesn’t seem innocent when you think about it.”

He stayed quiet… right. Some info first…

“...I know about the quest…” I sighed. “It’s…outlandish the requirements needed to do it though…”

“Heh, yeah. Not even I’m that strong. Yet anyway.” He chuckled. His smirk then fell, catching me off guard as he… almost looked sad. “To die.” He said, and I felt my stomach drop. “Armageddon, was born to die.”

“Th-the fuck!? How in Mother’s name his Death ‘innocent’?” I asked incredulously.

“He’s innocent in his purpose. His purpose is to die. When the Main Quest of Armageddon is finished, a choice will be made. One will kill him, and end the quest, the other will let him live but damn everyone on the planet in turn. Resetting the Main Quest.”

“But…but that doesn’t make sense!” I shouted, seeing Armageddon, helping the poor kid learn to have a life…how innocent he was in everything with a feeling of joy in so much he was learning. “So… that’s how Dark Gray retaliates…he…he’d make his own son a fucking Martyr just to…to fuck with the rest of reality!?”

“I don’t know. I only know this much from pure luck if I’m honest.” David sighed. “I don’t know how the quest starts, or what it even is meant to do. All I do know is how it’s meant to end.”

I sighed. “Shit…” I grumbled, looking at David and…honestly, seeing him sad…it felt wrong , like everything that he’s done, this bastard that wanted power and to abuse others…

“I may be a horrible person…but believe it or not, even I have limits.” David admitted.

“Yeah…hearing how the quest ends…” I shook my head. “I…fuck…I don’t know if I should tell him this…”

“I wouldn’t.”

…

“Should I inform the other’s about this? My…other party members?” I asked vaguely. “Or should I keep them in the dark as well?”

“That’s up to you.”

I nodded, looking down bitterly and finishing up that fruit he gave me.

We ate in an odd silence after that… this guy… everything about him I hate… his motives and his actions… what he does, why he does it… but when he does shit like this? Makes me…

“...Why…are you like this, if you actually have a heart?” I asked him. “Just…your want for power, the whole…Lust shit…so much horrible things…but…this shows that’s not everything…”

“... Wasn’t always like this, I’ll admit.” He said, taking a bite from a normal apple. “Long time ago, I’d say you and I would have been a lot alike. Back when I first showed up in this reality.”

“So…Time is what caused this?” I asked. “Just…too much for too long?”

“... Time can do a lot to a person. In this reality, people have plenty of it, until they don’t.”

“...Yeah…I know that feeling…” I admitted. “Feels like you have all the time in the world…but then something happens and you realize…you don’t have as much as you really thought you had…”

“Something like that.” He said, taking a bite of his apple again. “Guess you’ll want to head back home now.”

“Yeah…gotta head home and make sure everyone knows I’m fine.” I said honestly. “...Do you think that…people that look unforgivable can actually get a second chance?” I don’t know what possessed me to ask that but…I had to given I’m talking to a man worn down and…most likely broken from time and possibly horrible shit.

“... Guess that’s up to the person if they want to take it.” He said, a flick of his hand and he was holding a small gift box. “For your time.” He said as he handed it to me.

I nodded and gently took the gift box. “Thank you…and…surprised you didn’t try to be all ‘I’m pure evil, there’s no second chance for me’ and then some super villain laugh.” I tried to joke to bring some levity to this rather…somber ending to our meeting.

“I try not to be a cliche.” He said with a chuckle. He snapped his fingers again and I was back at home.

“Sweet- fuck!” Gallon yelped as I seemed to have appeared in front of him. A bowl of whatever tossed into the air and landing on the ground with a splash and breaking on impact. “... Welcome back…” He said, trying to keep his heart in his chest and breathing deep.

“Sorry about that Gallon.” I said sheepishly. “So uh…how long was I gone?”

“Maybe an hour?” He said. “Midas left. There was a minor freak out but he said when that guy was done you’d be back safe… so, what happened?”

“I…learned quite a bit.” I said honestly, looking down at the gift. “From him putting a limit on no item multipliers, to how Yuri is going to find some Trojan Virus in his discoveries with the Breeder code, to what the Quest we got from Armageddon actually entails…and…wondering something important.”

“Huh… from how you spoke of him, half expected him to have tried to bang you again.”

“Shockingly no…as when we got to the topic of the Quest…honestly, he shocked me with how…genuinely sad he got.”

“Weird… Welp… I’m gonna clean that up then get back to Micheal, Tulip and Armageddon. We’re watching Flubber.”

“Oh really?” I inquired. “Flubber’s a fun movie.”

“Yeah. Now that the Assistant translates everything perfectly and fluently, what we see, hear and read, I’m watching a lot of movies that never had proper dubs or subs from back home. So much old American media I never got to enjoy until now.” He chuckled before heading to the broom closet.

“Exactly.” I nodded with a smile. “So while I let you clean up…I have some thinking to do.”

“Alright.” He said, pulling out the broom and dust pan and got to cleaning.

I ended up walking outside and went to the roof… What… do I do?

“I can’t save Armageddon…Armageddon is the World Soul of this planet and…I can only assume that the planet needs to die for the Quest to be fulfilled…” I thought carefully, looking down at the gift David gave me. “Even after everything he’s done…even he wouldn’t stoop this low…and yet somehow this feel’s weird considering he literally tried turning his son into a Breeder…I mean, there was the backup and he probably knew it but…still…” I thought, seeing the genuine pain and sadness in his eyes…I carefully opened up the gift to see what he gave me for ‘our time’.

At first, I thought it was empty, until I got a notification.

[David Alchem of Lust has gifted you the Following!

• 999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999 Rem
• 1,000,000,000 Skill Points
• 1 Code Key
• 1 Letter]

“Fucking…hell…” I muttered in awe at the amount of money I was given, the amount of skill points he chucked at me, the Code Key and…hmm, I pulled out the Letter to see if it was another transport Letter or if it was something else.

I pulled the letter out of my Assistant.

[ Remember, The Mother hates Goodbyes. I guess the ____ in her still hates endings. ]

… What is this? The name or whatever there was erased… I put it away, wondering what that was about.

Still… I have one code key…

Just one for now…

I know who to use it on… Guessing since I can’t duplicate it, Yuri can’t either…

Might as well give it use.

I opened my wings and made a quick flight to a building. I entered, seeing the lobby empty save for the receptionist. She looked at me and gave a small smile. “Welcome to the New Foundation Breeder Adoption Facility. Are you looking to adopt?”

“Yes…I would like to Adopt Dandelion.” I said.

“Uh… can we get a description?”

I had to look through lots of Den Mothers, recent additions, but I found her eventually. Once she was found I took her home and before I took the blindfold off, I brought out the key… When you get back Tony, you’re daughter will be waiting for you…

The key had simple instructions. Just place to her head.

I did. It shattered and code flowed over her for a moment… then just…. Evaporated off her. When it was all gone, she seemed to slump a little, that perfect posture unowned Breeders hold falting and she moved a little, on her own.

… It’s genuine…

“Oh…my god…” I muttered. “It worked…” I said, thinking this would…this would make Tony the happiest man on this planet.

I helped take her blindfold off as her large blue eyes looked at me. She seemed confused and scared.

“Hi there.” I said softly to the Zinogre Den Mother.

“... Hi… there.” She repeated.

“Oh…oh dear…” I thought to myself, as I needed to remember that this was still mentally a three year old…”It’s nice to meet you, my name is Button.” I said, making sure she understood what I was saying so she could hopefully repeat at least some of it.

“My name is… Button?”

“Your name is Dandelion.” I said softly as I did some motions to help her figure it out. “Your name is Dandelion, my name is Button.”

“Your name is… Dandelion?” She repeated… oh boy this is… gonna be- Wait Alchem said he had a school that taught Breeders how to pick up skills!

Maybe they can teach her language!

“Hopefully this will work.” I thought to myself, trying to figure out how to bring this poor blanked girl off to Alchem’s area without it all looking weird or causing them to panic. “I’m gonna need you to trust me alright?”

“Trust… Me.” She repeated.

I sighed.

Getting her to the school wasn't as hard as I thought. As long as I held her hand she followed without issue. Getting her enrolled was fairly easy and I was just waiting for her introduction class and exam to be done. Part of me was worried but there's literally a teaching SCP teaching her so… doubt it will fail.

While I was waiting, I suddenly bowed again. Damn it this again- wait… this is where that other one lives… Hero's brother!

“So…I really hope I can get past this stupid bowing thing…but…I also hope Dandelion can see Tony as her father and not me…” I thought carefully, fearing that I’d…just take his daughter that he’s out there fighting for…

I sighed. Well, I do have eight hours to kill.

I decided to head off and find this other Phoenix. Maybe he can give me insight on my whole… godhood thing.

“Just got to find them, talk to them…and then find Tina and the rest and inform them about Dandelion…cause I really don’t want to piss off Tony to hell and back when he’s already this pissed.” I thought to myself, trying to calm myself down so I didn’t just get mad at things outside my control…again.

… I probably should work on my anger issues…

I followed that feeling to a house not all that far away. It was fair sized, and outside in the yard I saw a young girl, a sheep-like anthropomorphic body, rabbit-like ears and horns on her head. She was swinging on a swing.

“Hello?” I called out to the possible Nokori girl wanting to at least get someone’s attention.

She looked over at me. “Hi? Who are you?”

“My names Button, and I was wondering if the Galaxy Phoenix was here or if he was busy?” I asked.

“Galaxy… oh you mean dad?”

“Dad huh?” I hummed. “Well, yes, is your father in?”

“Yeah. Think he’s in the workshop. I’ll go get him.” She said, swinging off the swing with a small leap before rushing inside.

Heh… cute kid.

I chuckled at that as I waited outside, wondering who this Galaxy Phoenix was and how they’ll react to me.

After a moment, someone walked outside. He wore a simple T shirt that said ‘Generic Brand Logo’ on it, shorts and body wise he was akin to Hero, only male, not hyper sexualized and lacking the armor built into their skin. He had the avian like feet, wings, red feathers.

“Hey… so, who are you?” He asked me.

“My names Button Mash.” I introduced myself. “And…jeez, like night and day between you and Hero.”

“You know Hero?” He asked as he walked over to me. “Huh… guessing from your appearance, we have a common enemy?”

“Yes…yes we do.” I said carefully, not sure if I should tell him. “He turned me into a Super Volcano Phoenix by…using my adorable birb Mango…” I sighed.

“Hm. So… what brings you here?”

“I wanted to talk to you about somethings, ranging from Phoenix magic, to…why I keep bowing to you cause that’s just a weird thing, to…how a bunch of godhood things.”

“That… is rather odd. Don’t do that…”

I felt like… my body just listened to that, and I no longer felt the need to bow…

… this biological hierarchy is… intense.

“Uh…right, biological hierarchy is weird as shit…” I rolled my shoulders carefully to get that weird shiver out. “So…thank you for that.”

“Alright… well, in regards to Phoenix Magic… I guess I can help a bit.”

“Thank you, cause while I know how to command fire and lava…I haven’t a single clue on what Phoenix’s can really do after that.”

“Well, from what Hero told me it varies depending on the power of the Phoenix itself.” He said. “I’m Romero by the way.”

I nodded. “Alright, so like I said before, my Phoenix is that of a Super Volcano, so it’s not as special as a Sun or a freaking Galaxy, but it’s still got some strength to it.”

“Right… Hmm, well, you should still be able to Imbue bits of your power into weapons and objects. Helps since they take on your Regeneration aspect and won’t degrade and repair when they break.”

“Oh really?” I asked in surprise. “How do I do that?” I asked, cause the other’s would probably enjoy that to hell and back.

“First, we go to the lab… because I’m not setting the house on fire.” He said, walking over to the edge of his property. He motioned for me to follow and I did. “Need a ride Squeaks.” He said.

A void portal opened under us. My most primal instincts screamed danger but it was too late to escape as we fell into it… and landed safely on the ground in a large lab of sorts.

Near us was a mouse Nokori woman with blue hair wearing a pink sundress. “Hey. Who’s the chicken?” She asked.

“This is Button. He’s also a Phoenix Nokori and I’m gonna be teaching him some stuff.” Romero said. “Button, this is Squeaks.

“Uh…hi…” I said nervously. “Button Mash…and…it’s nice to meet you.”

She nodded. “Alright, try not to blow up the lab again.” Squeaks said, turning on her heel before vanishing.

“Alright come on, this way.” Romero said, leading the way.

“...Is it wrong that I was…” I trailed off as I followed along.

“Scared shitless and wanted to run? Nah, that’s just due to her Void powers.” Romero told me.

“Alright…just didn’t want to be rude is all.” I admitted.

“Not like you could escape her if you did anyway.” Romero added, making me worried.

Eventually we arrived at a large room full of items and what looked like a shooting range of sorts.

“Fancy place.” I hummed. “So, how are we going to start this?”

“Start with getting a normal object.” Romero said, walking up to all the weapons and grabbing two daggers. He tossed me one and I grabbed it. “Now, what do you know about the flow of mana with within your body and around you in the world?”

“Well…not as much as I should probably, cause I do know about the Magic’s an Earth Pony and Pegasus have, given I was an Earth Pony first then evolved into an Alicorn, so I’ve felt and understood the mana of the Earth, and the Mana of the air.” I explained.

“... Close enough. But for this we’re focusing on the mana inside you. Now, and I still can’t believe I’m quoting Anuket, the mana inside your body as a Nokori is more potent than a normal person or magical being because, like the Monsters of New Earth, our biology is reliant on magic just as much as food and water. So there is a limit to what you can exert before risking harm to your health, even death.”

“Yeah, I have been warned about MP Exhaustion and the like.” I nodded. “While I’m a fist fighter first…always been in the back of my mind how worrying it could be.”

“Well, as a Phoenix your biology allows you to regenerate the mana you use extremely fast. Often times if you practice right with it, you can feel the rate of regen and if you use your magic properly you can keep your output under your regen rate. But first you need to get a hang on how your mana feels within your body and let it flow out. So, we’re gonna start with a simple means of doing that that I managed to learn way back when I was first fused.”

“And how’s that?” I inquired. “Like, firing off a stream of fire or something?”

He raised his hand up, and snapped his fingers. The explosion at the end of the firing range, made me jump. The thick concrete wall and floor was turned to molten slag. “Remote Detonation. Pooling your mana into an area outside your body while keeping it linked, then lighting that link like a fuse and letting it blow.”

“Huh…kinda like Roy Mustang from FullMetal Alchemist right?” I asked.

“... Thank you! My god Alchem just went off on most of my powers but no, my simple understandable explanation just made them go on a rant.” He sighed. “Anyway, first you need to get a feel for the magic inside you first. So, you need to get a sense for the source of your magic.”

“Well, this is so far the only bit that is reminding me of Fullmetal.” I said, closing my eyes and trying to feel out the magic in me and trying to follow his directions.

“The source of your magic as a Phoenix is the spark, the fire that birthed you. So, take deep breaths and feel. Feel, in your case, for the eruption. The pressure, the power, the heat, feel it all.”

I nodded, focusing hard on finding my ‘inner volcano’, the pressure, the power, the heat…but when I looked into it, it felt… so much more than I thought it would be, even for a Super Volcano this felt…different…like all my anger and rage was being poured into this thing and threatening to erupt onto anything and everything it could. “Whoa-kay…that’s…just to make sure, can mana like this be influenced by emotions?”

“For being like us, yes.” Romero said. “That and uh, every cell in our bodies holds this spark and flame and generates more over time with each cell division so…”

… wat?

“Uh…excuse me? I think I misheard you on that last part…are you saying that each and every cell holds the same potential?”

“No, you heard me right. Frankly I was surprised when I learned too but that’s life.” He shrugged. “Think Marrienne said we can’t normally access it though due to biological limiters.”

“Well, it would be insane to hold the powers of untold numbers of super volcanoes, suns, or even galaxies at our fingertips.” I admitted. “That's just…an insane level of power.”

“Yup. But in any case now that you’ve felt the magic and the source inside you, you have to learn to move it as you would your own limbs.”

“R-right…” I said carefully, raising a hand and trying to move the magic along with it.

I took a deep breath… move it… flow it… It was easier than I expected. Like when I controle magma or even use my unicorn magic. Reach it out… let it pool… and snap .

The explosion of magma covered Romero and I… Thankfully neither of us were affected by it.

“Next time, pool it further away…” Romero said.

“Yeah, sorry.” I said sheepishly. “But…that was a lot easier than I thought.”

“You’d be amazed how easy it is once you have a connection to your spark. Now that you’ve done that, time to test your Imbuement.” He said, shaking off the magma. He held up the dagger. It then glowed bright before changing into a blade of pure flame and plasma, looking more akin to a short sword of pure energy and radiated power.

“So…is it the same logic but putting it into an item?” I inquired, brushing off the magma on myself and shaping it into an obsidian dagger.

“Sort of… Ugh. To quote an old friend, it’s imagining your mana like water and giving the item a form of magic baptism. Let it soak in the magic and coat everything. Tip to handle, atom to atom. Only then will the imbuement take hold properly and bond with your magic, and become its own.”

“Okay, now this is starting to sound like the godhood stuff I was expecting.” I admitted, looking at the obsidian dagger.

Romero gagged. “Don’t… I have so many bad experiences with gods and religion in general…”

“Sorry…just…this.” I said carefully, as I tried to do exactly as he explained to imbue this weapon.

I managed to let my mana coat the weapon in my hand. It was working pretty well. I felt It slowly absorbing my magic. It felt like… filling in an empty space…

Eventually, I felt it slow and… now.

The obsidian dagger erupted, cracking along the blade and seemed to drip small bits of magma. Woah. It was different from Romero’s, but this was… mine.

“Neat.” Romero smirked.

“Yeah, this is pretty neat.” I said honestly, looking at the cracks as they became more like magma veins than looking like it was about to shatter.

“You can do this with basically anything. Armor, weapons, fire arms, explosives. It’s really neat.”

“Agreed.” I nodded. “This will definitely give some extra power to all our stuff.”

“Well, now that that’s done, anything else?”

“Well…is there anything else you can teach me?” I inquired. “Or is this all you think I can do and the rest is just up to me to figure out?”

“Well that’s hard to say. It’s a start, that’s for sure. But I’m not an expert in everything about Phoenix’s. That’s more Hero’s territory since they actually have the memories of their Phoenix. My best guess, over time you’ll be able to do more. Still, you know what they say, the master of one can best someone who knows much but is a master of none.”

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “Well, this will help immensely, and I should probably talk to Hero about learning some other thing’s a Phoenix can do.”

“Probably. Well, that aside, you should easily be able to perform all types of pyromancy… not sure about the Soul Ash Pyromancy though…”

“Soul Ash Pyromancy?” I inquired.

“Yeah, I can burn a soul to ash with the body. Pretty sure Hero can too. Not sure if you can though… oh and apparently I can also make Souls and Hearts…”

… He… Can… Perma… Kill…

“...I’mma be real, with what you just said, if that’s not Divine in someway shape or form than I have no fucking idea what is.” I said carefully. “I know you hate talking about it but…come on dude…”

“... I’m gonna throw up…”

“Sorry, sorry, I know you probably went through a lot of shit because…as I’ve learned from this Reality, religion can range from ‘oh that’s nice’ to ‘I need like three liters of brain bleach’...”

“More or less with no real in between.” Romero nodded.

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “Well, this was all informative and I should probably test this out with my different Phoenix Forms…” I hummed, wondering if they all worked on the same principle. “Hmm…” I hummed, making another Obsidian Dagger and shifting to my Void Phoenix form. “Uh…be prepared cause I’m not sure if this works the same way.” I said, taking a deep breath and trying to use the same logic behind the Fire with Void.

… Come on, come-

“Huh, that’s different.”

AH!

I spun around… and plunged the dagger into Squeak’s side.

“... Huh. Been a while since someone stabbed me.” Squeaks said.

“Oh god I am so sorry!” I yelped and let go of the blade, cause I didn’t know if she could regenerate and the knife was, ironically, better to keep inside to keep the wound closed. “I didn’t mean to…”

“Meh. It happens.” She shrugged, pulling it out of her. There wasn’t a wound left behind… or blood on the dagger. “Don’t worry about it. My brand of immortality basically tells death to piss off.”

“Didn’t know you could do that…” Romero hummed looking at my now black wings. “I mean, I got an electric one. Same as Squeaks. Hm.”

“We really need to experiment with the other Elemental Gems and such. These other forms could prove very useful.” Squeaks added.

“Yeah. Fair. Anyway yeah, don’t worry about her Button. The only thing that’s made Squeaks feel pain in this reality is Code and Nothingness. And her Rise From Nothing Keyblade helps negate the effect.”

“Huh…that’s good to know.” I said simply. “So…I shifted to my Void Phoenix form thinking it would work similar…which I’m guessing doesn’t given that Fire and Void are vastly different.”

“I never actually gave Imbuement a try before…” Squeaks hummed.

“Well, first time for everything.” I said, deciding to double check what my ‘spark’ was with the Void.

… It felt like… a hole. A hole that ate and ate and ate and reached out, grabbing everything around it to consume and devour and what managed to escape its maw was… ungodly. Twisted and corrupted beyond salvation.

…

“He good?” Romero asked.

“Think he’s peering into his darkness.” Squeaks said. “Not many can really… see that and be alright after…”

“So…you ever…just kinda…see some deplorable shit and some stupid non-sequitur comes to mind?” I asked slowly, seeing the two nod. “Yeah…uh…for some reason, my brain went ‘So that’s where my pregnancy cravings went’.”

“Huh. Well that’s different from mine.” Squeaks said.

“Like…I did see a hole that was constantly eating anything and everything and what managed to escape was…horrifying…but what did your’s look like?” I inquired to Squeaks.

“Took a while but I realized I was the hole and contained the emptiness.” She shrugged.

“Given Marrianne said she’s an Alpha Void being, makes sense.” Romero hummed.

“Yeah…that makes sense.” I nodded, trying to focus on imbuing the dagger again, cause it couldn’t just be all take, take, and take.

I tried and tried… damn it… what am I missing? It doesn’t respond like my magic does… unless… am I missing something?

“Hmm…am I missing something with Void or something?” I asked. “I…know I haven’t used it all that much but how does it work?” I asked, looking at Squeaks as they were the resident Void user here.

“Hm. It naturally obey’s me… but that might be because I’m an Alpha…” She hummed. “Actually…” She looked at me, putting a thumb to my head. “Hmm… It’s similar to Gaster… No, slightly less…”

“What do you mean?” I inquired.

“Well, similar to Phoenix’s have an inborn Hierarchy, Gaster theorized that Void beings have a similar hierarchy. I’m an Alpha, that much was confirmed by Marrianne who helped a lot in this. Gaster is an Omega, that one below me. You must be a Beta, the tier below that.”

“Well…I suppose that’s fair, but what does that have to do with my powers?” I inquired, cause while it would make sense with the normal fires cause obvious, I didn’t know much about Void stuff to understand.

“At my rank, the Void obeys me because I’m one with it. Between me and the raw primal energy there is little to no difference. With Gaster, there is a noticeable difference. Think of it like… having a natural affinity for something. You can use it like second nature but there’s still the risk of harm to oneself. In your case, the Void is stronger than you because it views you as an entity trying to use its power for yourself, which you are, but you need an exchange for it to willingly listen. The void is an ever empty space that craves to be filled. You need to feed it to use its power.”

“So…what do I need to do for it to listen?” I asked.

“Feed it.” Squeaks said simply.

“Feed it with what?” I asked, cause while I could probably feed it an ass ton of MP due to how much I had, the regeneration of my Phoenix form, and Loop…but I’m not sure.

“Hm, flesh works best. Your own or another's. Some powerful object. Animals. You can try and feed it your mana but it might take near all and you won’t want that.”

“Well, with the amount of MP I have, Loop and my Phoenix Regeneration it… should be fine…” I admitted.

“I wouldn’t risk it.” Romero said.

“Really?” I inquired.

“When it comes to this Null, Void shit, I’ll leave it to Squeaks and would prefer to avoid it. Shit I’ve seen her do used to give me nightmares. Like Glub Glub.”

“Why does everyone say that about my fish?” Squeaks asked.

“Because fish can be anywhere from cute like a goldfish, to something horrifying like a female angler fish.” I pointed out. “And Romero is making it sound like it’s a scarier version of a female angler fish.”

“See for yourself.” Squeaks said, a small Void Portal opening in front of me. “He’s a little cutie pie.” She said with a pout.

I… hesitated… but peeked in…

…

…

…

…

“HEllO lItTle oNe.”

…

…

…

…

I pulled my head out, the small portal closed… I then vomited, then curled up into a ball and cried.

“Ah shit… that hasn’t happened in a while…” Romero said.

“He’s cute I swear!” Squeaks argued.

“No!” I cried. “What’s ‘cute’, would be something like…fucking… this !” I smacked the ground with my wing, not knowing what would really happen but a portal opened up…and out popped out a weird, but oddly cute feline-octopus like creature that blinked and looked around. “ That is cute!” I countered, even though I had absolutely no idea how I managed to summon it or if the Void was just fucking with me in my moment of pain.

“Meh.” She shrugged.

“Let’s uh… get you some ice cream and happy things alright bud.” Romero said as he picked me up, patting my back as he carried me off.

“Thank you…” I said weakly.

Romero ended up taking me back to his place where I was giving a whole pint of orange sherbet ice cream, covered in a weighted blanket and Wreck it Wralph was playing.

“So, first time seeing Glub Glub huh?” Shift said. “I remember when they popped out… that was a day…”

“I avoided your place for the whole month that fish was with you guys. I don’t scare easy, but that fish just hits something primal in me.” The moth woman, Holy, I learned, said.

“Yeah… But Squeaks loves them so, we accept it.” Romero said.

“I was in my Void Phoenix form…that wasn’t a fish , that was some abomination against all life…” I shuddered in fear. “And…in my moment of panic, I spawned in some weird cat-octopus creature…that was also a Void creature but it wasn’t horrifying …”

“Well whatever it was it’s Squeaks now.” Romero shrugged. “Just enjoy the movie and… much like we don’t question Meg’s shenanigans, we don’t question Squeaks and the things she’s capable of.”

“Fact of life here in the BOW crew.” Shift chuckled.

“Right…” I muttered. “Today has…not gone entirely how I wanted it but either way…” I said, shoveling more ice cream into my mouth.

“Well, either way, welcome to the family.” Romero chuckled.

“Really feeling the love.” I managed to chuckle.

“We got trama, we got issues, we got support, and we got T-shirts in the making.” He added with a laugh.

“Considering Alex is here and there are others of his… creation, finding them might be for the best.” Shift sighed. “Those that can be helped, we help… those that can’t… keep them safe.”

“That probably would be for the best.” Holy nodded.

“Yeah…Alex is an asshole.” I said, which was true as I really didn’t want to mention it to these people cause…well, if Squeaks was anything to go by just on Glub Glub…them nuking my city wouldn’t be a good idea.

“So what brought you here anyway?” Holy asked.

“Well, first part is to get Dandelion into School so she can learn things after I used a Code Key on her.” I started. “Two…was to ask for help figuring out my Phoenix Powers and some godhood stuff cause…well you people would know more about god’s and the like as you’ve probably fist fought a few of them.”

“Well when it comes to godly stuff we don’t know much. Also, Code Key? There’s a cure for Breeders?”

“Yeah, so there’s going to be Tournaments, Open and Invite Only, and Lust’s Invite Only gives you Code Key’s, basically special key’s that can remove Breeder, Slave and Serf programming…but sadly it doesn’t bring back the previous person, and no item multipliers will work as the boss made sure of that.” I explained.

Romero whistled. “Tony is… not going to be happy that while he was off, his daughter got cured and he wasn’t here for it…”

“It’s what the mutt gets for acting on rage.” Holy said. “Let him regret. Might learn something.”

“Should we try and tell him once we take out more Welcoming Committee ships?” Shift asked.

“I mean… that would be the right thing to do…” Romero said.

“Well, didn’t know we were now hunting those fuckers.” I admitted. “And also, good to know you’re the kind and sensitive type there Holy.” I said sarcastically, as hearing Holy basically try to rip into a father that’s in extreme pain saying ‘well, fucker should have just sat there and suffered’ is just…dumb.

“He walked out after just getting his family back. You think I’m gonna be nice about it?” Holy asked. “People who leave their families regardless of the reason are scum to me…” She said… there was a… venom in her tone I could tell spoke from personal experience.

I shook my head. “Anyways, we should get Tony to know this as soon as possible, he deserves to know his family, all his family is back.”

“Once we can find and take out the next ship and hopefully he’s within range, we will.” Romero said.

“Still, Tina is missing her family and partners… Didn’t Alchem say there was a message or something he tried to give them?” Shift asked.

“Yeah, but he was too far out and it’s all jumbled. Sums up to ‘Find Protectors’ or something along those lines.” Holy said. “At least that’s what’s understandable.”

“Right…” I sighed. “How high are the Welcoming Committee’s ships?” I asked, as I’m pretty sure they were also stated in Midas’s ‘gifts’.

“Just below the outer atmosphere.” Romero said.

Oh… from what I learned… that’s… high…

“They’re also invisible and the only reason we found it was because Meg sensed it gave off some Gravitational anomalies.” He added.

“Was the invisibility magic or mechanical?” I inquired. “Cause Tina might be able to sense it due to both her mechanical adaptation she has and her lightning powers.”

“Mechanical.” Holy said. “Was purely technical. Only magic on the ships were in the jammers themselves. They also contain a radius of one hundred thousand lightyears they both jam and have the area map data for, so if you raid one, copy the data for the geographical data.”

I nodded. “Alright, going to need Tina’s help then if that’s the case…” I sighed. “Well, at least it’s something to do instead of just twiddling my thumbs for the most part.”

“You sound like Alchem and you aren’t even royalty.” Holy said with an eye roll.

“Well, the more that goes down the better.” Romero shrugged.

“Which is fair, the more we take down the Chaos Guilds the better.” I said. “Though…be on the lookout for The Majority…those are some insane fuckers.”

“The who?”

“A Chaos Guild themed Death Cult that are in groups of, as I was told, the ‘majority’ of a specific individual, like how there was an Izuku Midoriya and someone else that came out and demolished my city because they were after Yuri…I couldn’t do a damn thing against a fucking tallyman …”

“...” Romero pulled out a notebook and pen from his Assistant and flipped it open to about several pages in… I could see a lot was written in it. He then wrote something down, put it away and folded his arms.

“Uh…and what was that about?” I inquired.

“That was my shit list. You gave me a group and a specific name so I added both.” Romero said.

“Ah the old shit-hit list… good times.” Holy chuckled.

“You guys gave that judge a heart attack.” Shift said.

“And he deserved it.” Holy and Romero said simultaneously.

“And the stroke he had on the table.” Holy added.

…

“...Okay…” I said carefully. “But I will need you to be careful…when they said the ‘majority’, it’s pretty much some weird thing with them that it’s ‘the majority of the people are evil’ or some shit like that, I have no idea why a Midoriya would be there when I read My Hero Academia and the poor bastard is not majority evil.”

“AU.” Shift said. “Lot of Villain Deku AU’s. Some get very dark.”

“Eh…Majority means that Izuku was practically destined to be a Villain, when his story isn’t that.” I pointed out.

“It both is and isn’t. In the multiverse there is no singular truth or cannon, just alternatives and what ifs made alive.” Shift said.

“That Philosophy degree at work.” Romero chuckled.

“Killed a good ten years.” Shift shrugged.

“Fair.” I nodded. “Let’s just hope this all doesn’t go sideways then…”

“... Jinx…” Holy sighed.

“Best to keep your expectations low so you won’t be surprised when shit hits the fan.” I stated. “Helps when you’ve had to play zombie survivor for ten years straight.”

“Oh that reminds me we heading out to that?” Holy asked.

“I got my guns if you do.” Romero said.

“Be back later shift.” Holy said as she and Romero ran out faster than I expected.

Shift just chuckled.

“Uh…what?”

“Long story short, back when they were dating in Leto, a BOW Nokori of Alex’s could create zombies. Was a whole thing… Romero held the lady hostage telling her that if she didn’t let him and Holy kill all those undead she created, he would personally kill her in the slowest most agonizing method Holy taught him. One of their best dates ever and they traumatized that woman bad enough she never used her powers again and willingly turned herself in.”

“...What the fuck?”

“Eh. That’s not even the craziest. Back in the Nokori war, Meg did things that had to be added to the Geneva Convention. Squeaks used her neat skeleton limbs to turn oil tankers into grenades during the war too, after the Volatile Nokori got out at least. Romero nuked North Korea, not with an actual nuke, personally with his fire. Holy shot the former brazilian president for helping fund and hide the Y Labs facilities… Then there’s me. I’m not only a cannibal but also back in the day my shapeshifting forms let me take on biological abilities of my forms, so needless to say I got to be both Godzilla, Mothra, and some other fun things a time or two back then.”

…

“The only one of us to never do anything insane is Bigs. He just kept to the kitchen and served food to the refugees and injured/ran his restaurant.”

“...Uh…okay…” I said carefully.

“We’ve been through some shit.”

“I…can tell.”

“What about you? You been through some shit before?”

“Well…probably not as much as you people.” I said. “But I had to, for the most part, single handedly support my friends, spouses and ever growing children for ten years straight in The Infection, not able to get help for the vast majority of it and what few times I did manage to get help…didn’t truly help the situation, only made it a little easier for a time.” I explained.

“Hm. Sounds hard.”

“It actually is but none of you give a shit cause I can easily tell you’ve all been through much worse.” I rolled my eyes.

“I take it people have given you a hard time about it?” Shift asked, their tone still even despite my… rude remark.

“Ranging from ‘I should take a break, you work too hard’, which is…true, to ‘unless you calm down, you will never truly be with your family again’...” I sighed.

“Hm. And what about you. Do you give yourself a hard time about it?”

“How much harder can I be when I literally have a Time Walker telling me ‘you’re not apart of this fight’, when clearly everything has been forcing my hand whether I like it or not.” I frowned. “She abandoned me and is endangering her own life because she loves me…but little did she know that having to aid in the fucking ‘In Search of Heaven’ quest would throw a wrench in that.”

“Love makes people do crazy things. Things to the extreme even when they hate or know they’ll regret it. Do you feel you have to be so hard on yourself?”

“So far the only person that’s been hard on others and not just got ‘just calm down and switch it off’ is Holy, but she’s taken it rather concerning spiteful levels even though she…most likely has her reasons.”

“Holy back in Leto had a son, Luke. She had him while she was still in active duty. The father was the first man she felt genuine romance towards… but, his words were honeyed crap. Once she was pregnant and told him, he left and she never saw him again. She raised him all by herself. Did everything for that kid. Left the service, worked long hours to give them a place to call home and everything he needed and wanted.”

“Like I said, she had her reasons.” I said. “As I technically have experienced that same situation, but replace the ‘father ditched my mom’ and ‘dad was isekai’d’ so there’s that.”

“Hm. Everyone has their past, their reasons for the way they are. Regrets, mistakes. No one can live without gaining some… hell, I know I have plenty. In the end, all you can do is what you feel is right in the moment since you never know how it will effect your life later on. Maybe you grow to regret it, maybe you grow to be glad you did it. Maybe both. In the moment, you can’t stop to think about long term.”

“Well some people have personally taken offense to that and think I’m supposed to think long term about other things when there’s a lot of important things needing to be thought or done now …” I grumbled.

“Balancing life with responsibilities huh?”

“And being practically scolded for trying to.” I said honestly. “Not like I was just handed an Escort quest by this planets father so he can laugh as I have to aid in killing his fucking innocent child !” I growled. “Yes…the point of this quest is so we can destroy this planet, Dark Gray’s literal child that’s whole creation was innocent in it’s intent…cause what’s more Innocent than Death?”

“... Do you feel you have to shoulder the burden alone?”

“I have seven other groups to help me in this cause the Key he was given said one of seven…” I said. “But shouldering the burden of knowing I have to watch an innocent child…that sees me as an older sibling…have to die just so his father gets his ‘retaliation’?” I asked.

“Do you think it can be avoided?”

“...The person that informed me about this…they told me that the Mother hates Goodbyes…so maybe we can still save the poor kid’s soul and put it in a new body even as the planet has to explode…” I sighed.

“Well, maybe it’s not about the planet exploding and more about a change?”

“And that change is that Dark Gray get’s to ‘retaliate’, which is basically letting Chaos Guilds run rampant across reality cause this entire planet is apparently one giant prison.”

“Let’s focus on the child, Button.” Shift said. “What exactly is it that’s meant to happen to them?”

“To finish the quest…Armageddon has to die.” I said.

“And what is the quest?”

“In Search of Heaven.” I stated. “And…I don’t know if his soul will go to the afterlife…what if it’s pure Soul Erasure?”

“And what makes you sure it’s this quest where they are to die? It might be a different one.”

… He did say… main quest… In Search of Heaven is labeled as a Story Quest…

“He said it was a Story Quest.” I said.

“We were informed that Story Quests affect the world, if the quest that you’re worried about is the Main Quest, it means at the end of this quest he’s still going to live.”

“...Maybe…” I sighed.

“From what you’ve told me, it sounds like there is an option to save him. You said it yourself, The Mother hates goodbyes. If this is some Main Quest reality changing thing, then there’s no way she’d let it end in death only.”

“Dark Gray would, and he’s the puppet master of this entire thing, the gamemaster that’s playing with so many people’s lives for fun …”

“He still answers to The Mother. It might take time, but something tells me she doesn’t let Goodbye last forever.”

“...The person told me that there was…some part of the Mother that hates endings…so…I guess that might be the case.” I said.

“Might be cliche, but have hope. I’m sure things will work out, even if they feel like they’re not.”

“I…suppose that’s fair.” I admitted. “Just…sucks ya know?”

“Trust me, I know.” Shift said with a small chuckle. “So, odds are Holy and Romero have set… a fair chunk of your home zone on fire already.”

“The New Foundation probably isn’t going to like that if those flames hurt their stuff.” I admitted.

“Romero can be careful and surgical when he wants… Same with Holy.”

Heh… I took another bite of my ice cream… do what I feel I have to in the-

“Oh, actually there’s something else you might be interested in. I learned this literally yesterday.”

“What up?” I inquired.

“Okay so a while ago I tried and got to make use of a Mother’s Blessing Item. Tony and I were supposed to test them but… that all happened so I went and managed to get it to work so I have Admin Powers. So, here.” They said, holding their hand out as Code flowed out… and I blinked as another me plopped onto the ground.

… wat?

“Uh…excuse me wat?”

“It's something I did for Alchem and the rest of our group. I can make Code Clone copies of your bodies and they link up. Basically once you sleep you wake up in the other body.”

… I… can be with my family and do shit!!!

“Fantastic!” I cheered. “Oh Cheerilee is going to be pissed !” I laughed.

“And you're happy about that?”

“Half cause she’s adorable when she pouts, the other half cause she can’t get mad at me.” I admitted.

“If you insist. I suppose if you have a team I should do this for them too.”

That would be best…meaning we can travel and get shit done! Suck it fate, destiny, whatever the fuck you go by! I got a loophole!

“Right, I should get Gallon, Micheal and Tina here.” I said readily, getting up and out of my funk so that we can all just be able to do a lot of things.