Trick blinked away the black spots and stumbled out onto the sidewalk. He felt a lot warmer than he should have. Stuffier too. He grasped his arms, feeling as if they were wrapped up. They were. He was wearing tight fitting, grey and black pants, a shirt, a vest, and of course, the Cloak of Transition with its long, sable look. He even had a light scarf tied around his neck and mouth.

“Scratch that. We have become our- Woah!”

He looked over to Naomi, and where his friend had been was now a towering woman with dark green skin, spotted with curved patches of black. She had long, red hair, trimmed to be flowing mohawk. Small tusks jutted out from her lips. She turned to him and smiled, revealing jagged teeth and crinkled, dazzling blue eyes. Eyes alight with magical fire. And she was fit! Trick suspected she could crush him in half with a hug.

Well, she got her wish. She’s become her own character, he thought, taking in her exceptional, armored form.

“Why do nerds believe that all women in these games are busty and beautiful?”

“And what’s wrong with that, Trickster,” she snarled, with a dangerous glint in her eye. “I’m not complaining. At least I’m not stuck in a metal bikini.”

“Yeah, the cops would be all over us. They still might be,” Trick said.

He looked up the road, expecting something to jump out at them any second.

“It feels really good,” Naomi said happily. “I feel… Powerful!”

She drew her sword from a scabbard with a powerful gust of air. He conceded that she looked impressive.Even her hair flew up all anime-like, making that mohawk look workable.

“Stop staring Trickster,” she chided with a small grin.

“But you became a tall, sexy half-orc, half-elf warrior!”

“Paladin,” she corrected him.

Trickster was about to ask what exactly that meant when the information came to him. Of course he knew exactly what her class meant. Paladins were holy defenders of faith and the gods. They stood in defiance of evil, darkness, and the undead. Blessed with small magical abilities, healing, and powerful insight, as well as being heavy hitting tanks! Really, that worked for her. For Naomi. Who was also, well, Ru-lah.

That was right, just like with the Smash game when he experienced what it was like to be Metaknight, Trick was also Trickster. In fact, this felt even stronger than before. He figured it might have come from having made Trickster himself, and making the character an extension of himself. The backstory Ru-lah had insisted be apart of the character building became firm and clear memories. Life in the dirty streets of the eight level in the High City Erralial. How he learned from painful experiences how to snatch food and clothing to survive. He still bore the scars on his hands and back, the former he always kept covered with some kind of gloves.

But he was older and wiser now. He knew how to wield knives expertly, strangle with wire, pick any lock, and even wield a sword or axe at need. He remembered how he had joined the Blue Raven, an elite gang of thieves that made up one of the Five Fingers to the Black Fist, the rulers of Erralial’s underworld, and controlled most of the shady dealings throughout the empire.

He had betrayed them all by smuggling out a high lady’s daughter right out of a kidnapping and ransom scheme. He had his limits, but the Blue Jays and the Black Fist knew none. Trickster now lived off his wits and playing off the enemies to those who were once his friends. How did he get here then? Oh yeah, he had met Ru-lah and got to know her as they…

As Trick and Naomi. Yes, that was right.

Okay, this is weird. I have to try to keep my head on straight while we figure this whole thing out! We need to contact my mother, and hopefully get the Q Files up and running again! We need their help, because this already feels much larger than two teenagers can handle.

Almost as if she had read his mind, Ru-lah said, “Trickster, this is going to be a complicated puzzle. Stick close to me. We need to find a way to either beat this game, or escape it and contact Conturbatio.”

“You have a direct line to him,” Trickster asked incredulously.

“No, but your mom does, and you have a direct line to her,” she answered simply. “But first, I think we have another challenge out here.”

“Ru-lah? Do you also feel the merging of identities? Like we are two people rolled up into one?”

He was glad to see her nod and say, “Yes. This is really strange, but I guess it should make sense. Dungeons and Dragons is a role playing game. That means that you are supposed to act like your character as you play. This is us literally becoming them then. Thankfully, we retain enough of our original selves, it appears. This allows us to play the game with a little more understanding and keep our goals in sight. I think.”

“That is comforting,” Trickster said under his breath. “Alright, where should we go first?”

As if to answer him, an orange and flashing arrow appeared just over the pavement and directed them towards the beach. That was about a mile and a half away, but looking down the street, it seemed to be a direct, unobstructed shot to the waterfront. That smelled of danger and traps to Trickster.

“Let’s go the opposite direction,” he said, and turned around.

He took five steps and came across an unseen barrier. It was a very thick kind of air. It didn;t obstruct his vision or breath, but it resisted his every move forward. No matter how hard he shoved, he could not gain an inch.

“It’s like a classic video game,” Ru-lah grumbled. “We are forced to go in the direction the game wants. We have no choice.”

“Crap! I was afraid of that,” Trickster spat, whirling around. “And I think I know exactly what kind of game this is.”

Taking a step onto the road, the arrow moved ahead a little bit, and items started appearing on the asphalt. A lead pipe. A pizza box, a dented can, and a trash can. He went over and picked up the pipe. Ru-lah snickered at him.

Trickster struck his most heroic looking pose, slapping the pipe against an open palm, and said, “Let’s do this!”

Ru-lah heaved the trash can over head with one hand and said, “No need to tell me!”

He noted the gleam of excitement in her eyes and they started down the road. As they walked forward, Trickster could feel the air barrier move behind them, hedging them ahead and blocking off any kind of retreat. So much for going back to the apartment. Very quickly, things got dicey on the road.

Two ninjas and three guys with ripped jeans vests and classic 80s attire jumped out from the shadows, an ally, and out from a dumpster. They all bobbed to some kind of unheard music. They also shouted the occasional, ”Hi-yah!”

Trickster sauntered forward to one of the thugs. The man with a wispy, blonde beard dropped low and kicked out as his feet. The life-long thief knew exactly what to do. This was child’s play! He leaped over the clumsy attack and brought the lead pipe down hard. The thug bounced backwards from the hit and and flashed brightly, an classic video game BOOP sounding. There was a great crash, and one of the ninjas went flying after the trash can slammed into him. He winked out and disappeared.

A thug pulled out a knife and thrust it at Trickster.

Now is as good as time as any to try this thing out, Trickster thought.

He held up the Cloak of Transition, and he felt himself blur and become one with the wind. The knife passed through him. The thug barely registered what happened. He only grunted and thrust again. Trickster sidestepped him and clubbed him over the head with the pipe. He bounced and flashed white the same as the previous guy, just as said previous guy leaped to his feet.

One man cried out and Trickster caught out of the corner of his eye a thug go down with the word COMBO rising over his disappearing body. The second ninja vanished in a flash of smoke and reappeared behind Ru-lah. Trickster yelped and covered himself completely with his cloak as both thugs jumped him.

He flew on the air, unseen, and reappeared right behind the ninja, just as he has wished. The cloak worked even more easily than he had hoped! It was incredible! He celebrated by thumping the ninja hard across the back with the lead pipe. Ru-lah spun about and slashed the ninja’s torso, sending him back at Trickster.

“I knew he was there! Take care of your guys!”

“Thanks for helping me Trick! I’m ever so grateful,” the thief shot back, whacking the ninja over the head.

“As you can see, I’m doing just fine on my own,” the irate paladin scoffed, battering the ninja right back.

Trickster clobbered the ninja, sending him crashing back at her. “That’s not the point! Never look a gifted horse in the mouth!”

“I’m impressed you know that saying,” Ru-lah replied, cutting the ninja yet again.

“Why do you think so little of me,” Trickster growled, slamming the ninja with a homerun smash.

TEAM COMBO!

“Well, you do have that idiot aura about you,” Ru-lah said, bringing her fist lazily over her should, punching one of the thugs in the face. “Like, all the time!”

Trickster barreled around her and swung the lead pipe into the gut of the last assailant. The thug went down hard, and Ru-lah laid into her opponent. The two thugs did not stand a chance as the two friends took them apart with vicious blows from lead pipe and sword. As the the last thug vanished, a katana flashed into existence. Before Ru-lah could grab it, Trickster snatched it up.

“And this is why I added a dual wielding ability to my character,” he said happily.

Ru-lah lifted an eyebrow and said, “A lead pipe and a katana. You’re definitely going to get a disadvantage with your attacks.”

“Just you wait and see! I make this look good! A thief like myself survives on the streets by using everything that comes into our hands.”

And so it went, the two unlikely friends making their way down the road. At regular intervals, various thugs, ninjas, and dirty cops would come out of the woodworks and attack them. Everything was so arcade game cheesy. Even the bullets fired by the cops moved slow enough to dodge. As more and more assailants emerged, Trickster was very happy for his cloak, which made him nearly impossible to hit. Ru-lah was a tank, taking all of the hits and dealing them out even harder. At times, guys would drop shakes and pizza, which would heal them of their wounds. Trickster also picked up some dynamite, a dagger, and a broken bottle (which didn’t last long), while Ru-lah passed over most things except for a pair of gold brass knuckles.

Following the arrows, Ru-lah and Trickster did not make it all the way to the beach. Twice, they took turns that lead back into the city and deeper among the high buildings. They had no idea exactly where they were going, but it was clear that they were getting to their destination as the different assaults became increasingly difficult.

Finally, a fancy, black car rounded the corner and five burly men in suits clambered out. They all hefted swords and bats with nails. Two cop cars came from behind, pointlessly blocking off retreat. Four men emerged with guns. Then came seven ninjas and eight thugs.

Trickster bellowed, “Seriously!? This is just getting ridiculous!”

“It’s the nature of older video games,” Ru-lah said with a shrug. “They always get harder and harder as you advance through the levels. They’re supposed to get to a point where only someone with thousands of hours of practice could possibly hope to survive.”

“We aren't shooting for that level, are we?”

“We’ll see,” the paladin growled, and stepped for the the fancy car.

“I’ll watch our back,” Trickster said, taking out the dynamite.

He walked slowly, but moved fast enough to dodge the bullets fired at him. Four ninjas and three thugs converged on his position. He jumped up to the two cars and pulled up his cloak right as the cops pulled out their night sticks. Eleven enemies surrounded him and pummeled at him, but their attacks were ineffective. He tapped the dynamite, lighting it, and then swirled away in his cloak.

As Trickster reappeared between the gathering of opponents and Ru-lah, he swooshed his Cloak of Transition over his shoulders dramatically as the dynamite ignited. Everything blew up behind him in a perfect movie poster moment.

The fancy car charged Ru-lah, trying to run her over. She sidestepped and swept her sword across the tires. The wheels ruptured and the car flipped over head. She then charged into the suits and started swinging gracefully and wildly to take them all on at once. Trickster pulled out his katana and pipe and started taking on the rest of th thugs.

The two friends maneuvered their way towards one another, giving the enemy as much pressure as they could. Both Trickster and Ru-lah took a lot of damage, and started flashing dangerously with their low health. A handful of thugs and ninjas went down, as did two suits, but it was not enough.

Once they came back to back, Ru-lah shouted, “Trick! Throw that cloak over us both and take us to that car!”

“Okay,” he shouted back, and di so, teleporting them. “Why did you have me do that though? It’s a bit difficult to escape in this cramped space. And we can't leave until we have defeated the enemy.”

“Just watch,” she grunted, as she picked up the car and heaved it over head.

“Your strength modifier is over 9,000,” Trickster said with awe.

“This is a video game. Everything is like a natural 20,” the paladin replied with a grin, and tossed the car at the cluster of enemies.

It landed with a massive CRASH. The car flattened two more suits, and injured most of their foes, sending them to the ground and momentarily vulnerable. A shake and a pizza popped up. The friends rushed for the extra health before slaughtering their down enemies. Soon, only one more suit was left standing, and the two worked together to TEAM COMBO him as they had with the ninja so many fights back.

With the final opponent dead, the arrow popped up again. A large bag of gold coins also appeared. Ru-lah was quicker this tim and pocketed them. The arrow lead them around another corner where they came face to face with a two story, dingy tavern. It had a swinging sign hanging over the misshapen door. It read, “The Spilled Goblet.” The arrow lead them right to the door.

“Well, I was not expecting that,” Trickster said.

“It looks like we are returning to the D&D aesthetic,” Ru-lah observed. “Considering we just went through a lot of fighting, this is probably a character development stage in the campaign, as well as a time for exposition and advancing the plot. Come on, let go on in.”