Davis's POV

Davis was at the kitchen table cleaning one of his three new weapons. Charlotte had stressed the importance of maintaining these weapons she called “guns” and It was something Davis was familiar with, even if it was a little different. Maintaining your weapons and arms was a habit of his while he had been a guard of King's End.

He was almost happy to once again have this little ritual. When Jim had given him his new weapon and armor the equipment seemed to require little if no maintenance. The blade had seemed just as sharp when he had first received it. If anything it was more powerful than ever, but the reason for that was something else.

There was a thing that was well known in his world. If one struggled in a life or death battle their growth sped up faster than any training. Davis was not the same fighter as he had been when first fighting those mercenaries who attacked King's End. Every battle where he put his life on the line made him just that little bit stronger, just that little bit faster.

But just being stronger and faster was not enough. Having the right tool for the right job was always more desirable than just mindlessly using only the weapon at hand. Having these new weapons he felt that he could have easily fended off Jim's attackers from before.

Now finished with the cleaning he quickly assembled the pistol and performed the functions check to make sure everything worked properly. Satisfied he holstered the weapon and then heard the sounds of small feet on the stairs from above.

Knowing those steps he said “Hello Adam, how are you?”

The boy seemed to be sulking once he heard that Maria was going home. As far as Davis knew the boy and his family had no idea where they were from. Even for Davis it seemed far too complicated. As far as he understood it Charlotte seemed to find a way to transfer people like Jim, only it seemed a lot less convenient. She seemed to have a large limitation and was forced into battle each time she used that power.

Adam said with his eyes cast down “Do you know when Maria will be back?”

Davis shook his head saying “Sorry kid. Don't worry though, she should be back soon.”

Adam nodded and the boy disappeared to the living room to watch the TV. Poor kid. Davis talked to his father and it seemed like Maria was his only real friend.

Listening he heard the now familiar sound of a vehicle. Since the incident very few had been driving around. Davis was much more wary of the things now. Twice they had delivered combatants that he had to face.

Looking out of the window he saw a shiny large black vehicle pass by. Narrowing his eyes he realized that the same vehicle had passed by only half an hour ago.

Calling out he said “Adam, come here. Quickly”

Poking his head around the corner Adam looked back anxiously.

“Get your parents and come down here. Okay?”

“What's happening?”

“Might be nothing but just want to be safe. Please, get them.”

Nodding the boy ran back upstairs.

Davis quickly assured himself that all his weapons and accessories were accounted for on his person. This time should trouble knock on his door again he would be prepared.

Jim's POV

Jim was annoyed that his perfect plan had fell through. Now he was negotiating with an evil midget who was getting on his nerves.

“Look. I can't change it. Soon there will be an attack on this island and right now there is nothing I can do about it.”

Munchkin girl glared at him and said “I don't like battles. Way too noisy. And I like the way my island looks just fine. Can't you just do it somewhere else?”

Sighing Jim said “Look. Do you want to get past the endless storm or not?”

The disgruntled child hesitantly nodded.

“Well then these are my terms. You help us with the battle and I'll get you past there. However if you run away it's no deal.”

Scarlet quickly added “And a few of your scales in addition!”

Confused she asked “Why?”

“Umm.. because their really pretty and I want them!”

The child looked a bit bashful and said “They're nothing special. You should see my parents!”

Jim held back a sigh as he saw the greed run across Scarlet's face. However dragon girl seemed to miss it with her downcast look.

Looking back up to her she asked “You really want some?”

Scarlet gave the dragon the most eager nod Jim had ever seen. Poor soul.

“Okay. But only once we get past the storm. Is that okay?”

Scarlet yelled out in an instant “Deal!”

When did he lose control of the conversation? Shaking his head Jim turned his back on the pair. He wanted to get some sleep before the battle.

Charlotte's POV

As Charlotte saw the counter hit zero a familiar set of errors were listed in the corner of her vision.

“Error. Entity is not compatible with teleport function.”

“Error. Unable to teleport to location with additional user.”

But then the next error changed a bit.

“Calculating for acceptable outcome. Calculating. Acceptable outcome found. Discrepancy found. Too many allied forces gathered. Tuning encounter to match projected allied forces strength. Teleporting!”

Her vision faded as the jarring sensation made it hard for her to keep the contents of her stomach down. Closing her eyes she gritted through the pain. As the sensation dissipated she opened her eyes and looked around.

First she checked to make sure her extra passengers were okay. Charlotte had tried to convince Gwen that her coming along was a bad idea but she sighed as she recalled the encounter.

“You are my friend and if it is in our power we will not let you fight alone. My daughter might be young but she is more than capable of making her own decisions. Not only has she shown her strength time and time again but overall our culture seems to be different from yours.”

“What do you mean?”

“The walls of our town are always manned. Always. The very young know that if they were to run off alone they might not come back. However my daughter has experienced even more than that.”

Why did she have to be so stubborn? As her eyes saw that Maria and Gwen were safe she realized there seemed to be a problem. Three additional people were also standing there. What in the world?

She knew Officer Brady. It didn't take her too much thought to realize what happened. With Gwen rushing downstairs he must have followed behind her. He was a good guy. Charlotte really hoped he would be okay.

However who in the world were these other two? Looking at the man carrying an expensive looking camera she got a sneaking suspicion.

“Who in the world are you two?”

The woman looked around with large eyes at her surroundings. Now that she thought about it she realized they were not on the airship. That worried her. She had hoped to be able to let the mother daughter pair stay on the ship.

However they seemed to be on an island. Then she realized she had not seen Jim yet. Scanning around she still didn't see him. Then she heard a snoring noise below her.

Looking down she saw his sleeping form using her armored boot as a pillow. As she started nudging his head the woman said “Where in the world are we? What happened?”

Charlotte shot back “No. Who are you and why were you in my house?”

Gwen cleared her throat and then said apologetically “I let her in. I didn't realize we were going so soon. I myself just barely made it.”

Officer Brady said “Gwen what happened? Where are we? Is this your home?”

Charlotte felt a headache coming on. Way too much explaining to do. Figuring it was a good idea to burn some of that frustration she started putting some more pressure on Jim's skull and he finally sleepily said “What?”

Jim's POV

Feeling an uncomfortable pressure on his head Jim woke up. Opening his eye he saw a familiar armored woman glaring down at him. Why did she seem so angry?

Before he could ask she said “Where is the airship! You said you had a plan!”

Getting to his feet he brushed himself off and said “Well.. yeah… about that plan…”

“Jim! So help me you better tell me what's going on!”

Sighing Jim was about to recount his story when he looked at the gaggle of people behind her. It seemed obvious at least a couple of them had no idea what was going on.

Figuring it was better to dish shots out than take them he said “Well, looks to me like you already have a plan. So if you want I can just take my leave.”

Jim saw Charlotte wince and said “Most of them are stowaways. Didn't mean to bring them.”

Arching an eyebrow he said with feigned awe “You mean a plan of yours didn't work out! Oh no! Why that never happens to anyone who makes a plan ever!"

Scanning over the party he realized that he saw a woman and child that matched the descriptions of people he had supposedly met before.

Then the one that he thought was Maria said with hopeful eyes “Where is Princess and Fluffy?”

Ah, that was right. According to Forrest she had been quite fond of the dogs. Regretfully he said “Sorry Maria, they will be here in a few hours after the battle.”

The disappointment was clear on her face. Jim was about to apologize but then he noticed the heavy looking black clouds spreading out in the sky. The sounds of thunder reverberated repeatedly and then flashes of lightning could be seen in the distance.

As they were watching the display he overheard Charlotte say “Oh no…”

“What's happening?”

“This is how the final boss fight is set. It looked exactly like this and then…”

Irritated Jim prompted “And then…?”

April’s POV

The man that had woken up seemed oddly familiar. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but she felt almost certain that she had seen him before. The mannerisms seemed like something she had seen recently. Who was he?

Putting it to the back of her mind she whispered to her cameraman “Can we go live? Something big is about to happen, I can just feel it.”

“No… no signal at all. That shouldn't be possible…”

Her cameraman seemed really worried but then he spotted someone approaching the group in red armor. Her cameraman’s jaw dropped and he whispered “Scarlet…”

April had a feeling she knew where this was going. Not a second after he had said the name he picked up his expensive camera and pointed it in her direction.

“Do I really want to know?”

“You have no idea how popular she is! The photo set of the new red scaled armor was a hit! You know there is a ten thousand dollar bounty on anyone who can get high quality footage of her!”

Perking up April said “Wow, really?”

“Yeah. Her photos are top rated on all of the cosplay boards. There are even people looking to recruit her for modeling! She is massively popular! Oh my she is holding a little girl that also has red scaled armor! That's so cute! I'm gonna be rich! People are going to love this!”

And then she lost interest. April interviewed way too many bubbly headed model wannabes back in her college paper days.

There was also a man in green that seemed to be wearing a similar style of armor. The trio were headed over to Jim and Charlotte.

April thought maybe she could call someone back at the station and they could figure out why the signal from the camera was not going through. Maybe teleportation magic messed with electronics? But if that was the case why did the camera work?

Grabbing her cell phone she looked at the signal strength readout sadly. They must be in the middle of nowhere. Looking around at the bare island she realized there was only one way back, so she better play nice. If there was no signal tower nearby then she would probably starve to death before finding civilization.

Keeping a respectful distance she watched the two groups talk. The weather seemed to be kicking up a bit and it seemed like it was going to rain soon. If only she could just go back to the news van, she had an umbrella there.

But then her stomach dropped as she saw a massive green swirling vortex in the center of the island. Then a lovecraftian amalgamation of horror stepped through.

It's frame was whip thin but it seemed as tall as two men. It had a multitude of tentacle like appendages that came from the center of its back that seemed to be tipped with massive talons. Bat like wings protruded from its thickly muscled shoulders.

It's face was devoid of all features except for two black pitted eyes. And the final icing on the cake was what seemed to be a machine gun grafted on to one arm with a sword the length of the creature in another.

It took her a couple tries to get it out but she said “Are you getting this?”

A quavering voice replied “Yeah… what… what is it?”

Then she saw the thing turn to Charlotte and with a screech it started to charge at her with incredible speed. She was terrified but in the back of her mind she was thinking “How in the world can it make that sound without a mouth?”

Charlotte's POV

Jim had just started explaining to her that the little girl held by the woman named Scarlet would be a powerful ally for the fight. Looking at the waif she could only wonder how.

Why in the world were there so many little girls running around with so much power? But before he could give a full explanation a massive green portal opened and out came a creature of nightmares.

She was at a complete loss for words. Before she had only seen the first two types of minions in the game. They were simple things and easily overpowered by her arsenal. However what she was facing now was no minor minion. This thing was the final boss of the game. The fight was not going to be safe at all.

Then she remembered back to the error message that said it was tuning the encounter. How in the world had it skipped over two thirds of the game just because she had a couple extra people? Another reason to kick Jim's corpse when she got back. Charlotte was not going to be in a position to be able to protect anyone in this fight.

To beat the final boss she was going to have to go all out. Turning to Gwen she said “Can you protect them? Please?”

Reluctantly Gwen nodded but then contradicted it by saying “I will come if it seems you are in danger. No words will sway me from that.”

Damn stubborn woman. Jim mirrored her request to Forrest and Scarlet. It seemed he had a lot of confidence in the fighting capabilities of this little girl.

Then they heard the creature from hell make a fear inducing screech that would turn most people's resolve to nothing. Charlotte was about to charge the creature when the little girl seemed to distort and change. In her place stood a massive dragon who immediately gave a bellowing roar that seemed close to matching the creature.

Gulping she was looking at her ally in a much better light. The roar shook the earth and made the demonic creature slow its charge. It gave the red dragon a once over and then started charging at the beast.

Charlotte knew the creatures speed would be insane. Any slow projectile gun would be useless against it. But there was nothing faster than light. Pulling out a powerful energy weapon she prepared for battle.

April's POV

April was in awe when she saw the little girl transform into a dragon. It was beautiful. In a worshipful voice she whispered “Are you getting this?”

“Yes yes yes! We are going to be rich! Filthy filthy rich!”

Shaking her head she watched the battle and decided to earn her pay by commenting on the fight.

“The alien horror is attacking the dragon viciously however it is taking its blows without even flinching! Here comes Charlotte with a barrage of energy weapon shots but oh! Look at its body contort to dodge the shots! The speed is incredible folks! How is that possible?”

“And now here comes Jim however he is forced to retreat from the massive blade swing! But wait he isn't fleeing! He is pushing forward! Oh no what are those tentacles doing? He dodges a few but many of them hit home!”

After those strikes the battle shifted. Instead of trying to attack the dragon it started ignoring the beast and focused on defeating Jim. The few times it had struck Charlotte she instantly seemed to heal after a few seconds. However little by little Jim seemed to be accumulating damage.

The monster seemed to be doing more damage to Jim then it was receiving however with a red glass vial the battle changed once more. Jim seemed to fully heal and the creature became a bit more cautious. Running away it started running circles around the three and it seemed to examine them. With the monster running so fast none of the trio seemed to be able to catch the horror.

It's gaze seemed to lock on to Charlotte and it screeched as it ran at her full force with no hint of evasion. Charlotte landed hit after hit while starting to retreat. The monster's gun started firing and several shots landed on her weapon a second before the creature was in melee range.

April watched in shock as Charlotte's weapon exploded and the thing was on top of her. The weapon's explosion made it impossible for Charlotte to evade and the thing ruthlessly took advantage of that fact. The thing dropped it's sword and held Charlotte to it like she was a child’s doll. And then all the tentacles struck at once towards her helmet.

But in a flash Jim was in between the two and the strikes hit his forearms. Many of the shots pierced through and met flesh. It was then that April wondered if they were all going to die on this island.

As those thoughts ran through her head Charlotte recovered and pulled out another energy weapon that seemed to be less powerful. Jim backed off and then the dragon charged forward.

Then another odd thing happened. In the blink of an eye there was an earthen dome that stood where the party of four had just been. What happened?

Jim's POV

Jim didn't know what happened. He had just backed off when everything turned dark. On the verge of panic he tried to open his eyes wider. Then he was relieved when he saw light emanate from behind him.

Charlotte had a weapon that seemed to pour out flames. Now able to take in his surroundings he looked at the walls that trapped them. As he watched he noticed the walls slowly seemed to be inching closer inward.

Then he heard a scratching noise from the other end of the cavern. The monster seemed to be trying to break out of their newly formed cage.

The massive red dragon said in a little girl's voice “I've cornered the creature. My walls will keep closing in clipping it's mobility. Let's finish this, I want to go home.”

Jim asked “What in the world did you do?”

The dragon looked back at him and said dully “Do you not have walls where you're from?”

Abashed Jim stammered “What! This isn't even close to that!”

A little girl laugh followed and she said “Earth magic is my specialty. I'm a bit of a misfit. I can't even breath fire. But my earth magic is unmatched.”

A dragon that specialized in earth magic? Jim didn't have much of a memory but that seemed really weird, but now that he thought about it the island seemed a bit too perfect. A perfect circle with completely level ground? Obviously that wasn't natural.

He realized he was thinking too much and they had a job to finish. The creature seemed to also come to the conclusion that it wasn't getting out of its cage. With sword drawn Jim charged at the creature.

April's POV

It seemed the show was over. She could still hear the sounds of fighting but it seemed like her commentary had come to an end. Disappointed she started looking around the island to see if there was anything else of interest.

That's when her eye fell on a smaller green portal at the other end of the island. As she was watching another popped up. And then another. In a daze she watched as it seemed like an endless number of red demons seemed to pour out from the ever increasing number of portals.

Then she heard someone say “Yes! We are so lucky! They won't be able to hog them all while in that dome!”

Confounded she looked over to Scarlet who seemed to have a smile that was reserved for only the mentally insane. Then the others drew their weapons as well. She was surrounded by crazy people. Absolute crazy people.