In the dark recesses of an underground chamber, the blue backlighting of a computer monitor shined brightly against a lone watcher. Clad in scarlet robes, head hooded and face masked by equally red cloth, the watcher's only visible features narrowed. Baleful yellow eyes gazed at the information on the screen in serpentine fashion.

On the screen there played out a scene most unwelcome. An explosion of solar-infused friendship destroyed everything that their cabal worked for in that sector to date. The final fate of Waldo was revealed to be one most pitiful.

A sibilant hiss split the air, its quality almost seeming to be auto-tuned. A red gloved hand rose up and then dismissed the images shown on screen.

A quiet moment of contemplation passed before a disturbing sound echoed through the room. At first it bore resemblance to the cackle of a mad hen crossed with the hissing of a serpent, but soon it became the insane raving of a maniacal fiend.

"Master Voice," said a soft masculine voice.

The laughter stopped with almost absurd abruptness. The figure seated on the throne of skulls and tentacles raised up its hand, but did not turn toward the sound of the speaker. A moment later, a forward point gesture was made which indicated that the new arrival was allowed to speak.

The new arrival stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself to be yet another red robed figure whose face was covered by cloth. "The champion has not reappeared in any network that we are associated with since the incident, though it is speculated that he has appeared in an instance of Fear Rune that we do monitor."

Master Voice said nothing, but dark pupils narrowed into angry serpentine slits. This was not good news.

"We are no longer able to send an agent into the 'Dead Men Walking' setting. The gods have banished all outside influences other than their champions," continued the new arrival.

The hand of the master curled tightly into a fist, the leather glove making a noticeable tightening noise in the process. The new arrival nodded once. "No matter the time that it takes, your will be done, master."

There was no need for further words to be spoken. The master's will was law. The fist signified one thing, and only one thing. Find the champion, no matter how long it might take, and show him the true meaning of despair.

***

In another place, another time, but in an equally dark and depressing locale, the champion in question looked thoughtfully to his friends and companions. They each looked to him in kind, as well.

Scott took a breath then spoke in as clear and concise a tone as possible, "We smell like dead, warmed-over ass."

"Language!" exclaimed Vita, though she offered a tenuous smile.

"Really?" asked Kitty. "I smell alright, and you smell like you want to pet me..."

"Ok, everyone else smells like rotten undead ass," agreed Scott.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Samantha, her plasma cannon rising up for emphasis.

Scott grinned at her. "Actually, it was me saying that it might be a good idea for us to go get cleaned up before we take Chaine and the princess home."

Chaine began to speak, but Vita hopped forward and excitedly asked, "You have a bathing area?"

Her eyes practically began to sparkle at the idea of a bath. Scott, was forced to take a step back due to the sheer adorableness of it all. "Yeah... and maybe a change of clothes... Especially for you, princess."

Vita looked down at her outfit, only now remembering that she basically wore nothing but her underwear, and those were practically in tatters. She held the good graces necessary to blush and try to cover herself with her hands.

In all honesty, it was an impossible task. Whichever god of character design decided to model her body chose one of the lewd hentai versions of Zelda that populate fan sites. She was every bit the beautiful princess of Hyrule, rather of Ha-Ruul, but she also bore a striking resemblance to his youthful fantasies.

Scott stared at her briefly then muttered, "At least we know why Gannon likes to kidnap her."

"Gannon?" asked the princess, her eyes wide and her expression slightly confused.

"Uh, never mind... It's a discussion for another day," said Scott.

"What is?" she asked a moment later. "Did you say something?"

He glanced at the others, but they did not seem to have noticed that he did say something. Whatever changes to how things worked that Daedra intended to make had not happened, yet.

"We could bathe back at the palace," said Chaine, as though none of the previous conversation had occurred.

Scott looked to him, a sly grin rising up of his lips. "Feel free to explain to the rest of the kingdom just why your princess came back to them filthy, her face flush, and her only outfit nothing more than tattered underwear covered in all manner of vile liquids."

"Goodness!" exclaimed Vita. She rounded quickly on Chaine in an excited and quite bouncy manner. "Questions are to be expected, but some should be avoided at all cost!"

"Fine, princess," said Chaine, lightly. "It's not like I'm going to argue about taking a bath, or a change of clothes."

"Excellent!" exclaimed the princess. She marched over to Scott then held her hand out to him. "We'll be in your care, good champion."

Scott took her hand then shook it. Vita blinked then looked down at their clasped hands then back up at Scott. A slightly disappointed expression crossed her face while Chaine snickered.

The blue haired Ferakai closed his eyes then smiled slightly. She was close, far too close. Lewdly rendered Zelda clone was too close. "I'd kiss your hand or something, but... is that a thing where you're from?"

Unspoken was his true reason. She had yet to wash her hands after crossing a zombie apocalypse. Vita was dirty, dirty, princess.

"Ah!" she said, her eyes and smile both widening in kind. She looked up at him with a kind expression filled with warmth. "You did not know our customs and were being considerate toward my people."

"Uh, yes," said Scott. "Something like that."

A moment was spent there, the princess looking up at him, and he looking slightly down at the princess and meeting her gaze. The main thought which crossed his mind was, 'Don't look down more than this! You'll see more than your fanboy heart can stand.'

Kitty, lightly lashed her tail then glanced between them. From her seated position in Scott's arms, she could not help but notice how close this other princess was to her immediate petting provider. "Let a girl breathe, huh?"

Chaine snickered a little at that. "No kidding. How are we going to explain the child, when we return princess?"

"Child?" asked Vita curiously. She rounded on Chaine then noticed his smug smile, and self-satisfied eyebrow quirk. A look of mortification crossed her face. "Chaine! How vulgar!"

The hero of Ha-Ruul laughed openly at her. Vita's face turned as bright and red as a tomato just before she stomped her foot at him.

Kitty purred lightly and snuggled into Scott's arms even further. Score one point for the cat.

Saelil watched the antics of the group briefly then closed her eyes. She was tired, exhausted really. Constant life force exertion for spell casting, coupled with deep and meaningful revelations about her past could do that to a girl.

Samantha, on the other hand, decided to speak up. "Well, if we're going we should go. I'm sure their people are eager to hear from them."

"Ah, true," said Vita with a prim nod of her head. She turned toward Scott a pleasant smile upon her lips. "Which was to the bath, good sir."

He smiled at her and stroked his Kitty a little more before he answered. "This way folks."

Scott led them to a nearby door area then said, "Give me a moment and we'll go out through here."

"Here?" asked Chaine.

"Yeah, we'll be heading to my apartment to get cleaned up. I just need to grab a little money, just in case." Scott left them there, and headed off to his companion area to extra a few experience points for several thousand credits. Upon his return he tapped the door and a list of possible locations appeared before him.

"Weird, I don't see Ha-Ruul," said Scott.

"You don't?" asked Vita, her tone slightly worried. "Will there be trouble taking us home?"

"This is my companion door. I mostly use it for off-duty meandering about the multiverse," said Scott.

He walked over to his mission door then checked it. "Ah, that explains it."

"What is it?" asked Samantha.

Scott pointed to the door then said, "In order to take them home, I'll have to do a solo introductory mission in Ha-Ruul."

"A mission? Like what we just went through?" asked Chaine.

"No, it's rated as a much lower difficulty. I'll do it after our bath. If we come back here, little time should pass for you while I deal with it. If you stay at my apartment you'll have a mini-vacation, though," said Scott.

"A vacation, you say?" asked Vita curiously.

Samantha was a bit more proactive. "What sort of mission is it?"

"Nothing much. There's some sort of Skeletal Grudge infestation near the Whispering Wood. The Fairies living in the pond there can't sleep at night, and the local Ha-Ruulians are tired of hearing them complain about it," said Scott.

"Skeletal Grudge?" asked Chaine, incredulously. "They would send you out to deal with something that minor? Famers fight them off with hoes and pitchforks."

Scott shrugged at him. "Just an introductory mission to unlock the world properly so I can return there without the need for favoritism. They want me to go clear out the infestation and stay around for a few weeks to allow them to get a handle on things," said Scott.

"You'll be gone for a few weeks if we stay back where I'm from?" asked Samantha thoughtfully.

"Yeah, if that's what you all want," he said. "I think I'll be sent back to a few weeks before the princess was kidnapped in order to help with the time-differences, but my movements and communication abilities will be restricted."

"So you can't warn anyone about my kidnapping..." said Vita, her nose wrinkling in disgust.

"Yeah, it sucks but it makes sense," said Scott with a shrug. "We settled the issue and rescued you. If we screwed with the timeline somehow it would just make a mess of things, and who knows what would change."

"I see," said Vita. "Better to err on the side of caution."

"Exactly. We're all fine, and the matter was settled," said Scott.

The group discussed the situation further for a moment then Scott opened the door to his apartment. Soon the wanderers from Ha-Ruul would discover a whole new world of adventure.