Date: 2020-10-13 04:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy; Harem; Erotica; Post Apocalyptic; Zombies; Science Fiction
Description: Alvin was happy to finally give Gothy one of the things she’d been begging for all along— a plane— so he was understandably upset when it died in its first, short-lived flight as they helped the Red River Army Depot fend off a horde of zombies from Dallas. Gothy was happy to get a replacement for the plane, however, and the armored vehicle sporting a BIG gun pleased Alvin as well. With the Bradley Fighting Vehicle in their possession, he couldn’t help but wonder what could possibly be a real challenge in the future. Alvin made the decision that they would all take a few days to learn what the

Apocalypse Gates

Book 7:

Unexpected Dev-elopments

Daniel Schinhofen

Copyright © 2020 Daniel J. Schinhofen

No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form by an electronic or mechanical means – except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews – without the written permission from the publisher.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

Copyright © 2020 Daniel J. Schinhofen

All rights reserved.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-six

Chapter Twenty-seven

Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-one

Chapter Thirty-two

Chapter Thirty-three

Chapter Thirty-four

Chapter Thirty-five

Chapter Thirty-six

Chapter Thirty-seven

Chapter Thirty-eight

Chapter Thirty-nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-one

Chapter Forty-two

Chapter Forty-three

Chapter Forty-four

Chapter One

Alvin took a deep breath as he looked at the notification for his weekly quest.

Weekly Quest: Visit a new settlement and buy an item worth 1,000 XP.

This is a mandatory quest and cannot be declined. Failure to complete the quest will result in the loss of a life.

“Fun,” Alvin muttered. “Mandatory buy things quest? Sammi, this is dumb.”

“I didn’t like it, either,” Sammi said from behind him. “Forcing people to spend XP just to do a quest is asinine.”

“Agreed.”

“You just had to get a Bradley, didn’t you?” Sammi asked with a sigh. “You’re breaking every curve we had in place for players.”

“Just doing what I do. It’s not like I’m trying to fuck people over. I did have a request for the dev team, though.”

“Oh? This I have to hear,” Sammi smirked as she leaned against the wall.

Alvin hooked a thumb at the kiosk behind him. “We’ve been nice. Intentionally not breaking things for you. Keep that in mind.”

Sammi glanced to the kiosk, her smirk losing its luster. “Okay…?”

“We’d like to get a joint XP account.”

“Huh?”

“Similar to a joint bank account for married couples. We’d like to pool our XP as a single entity.”

“No. Nope. No way. Not going to happen.”

“Because of my discount, right?” Alvin asked. “If we wanted to, we could stay as we are and they’d just transfer all their XP to me. We’d take the hit on the transfer cost so I could use my discount for us. Think about all the millions we spent after the raid boss. Replay the conversation if you want. This is what I’m talking about.”

“That’s broken, too,” Sammi grumbled. “Fuck.”

“So, my idea was a joint account,” Alvin said. “Hang on,” he held up a hand to cut off her objection, “let me finish. In return, we’d lower the discount from what I get now to ten percent instead, and we’d all get that.”

Sammi frowned, though she was clearly thinking it through.

“Hero?” Gothy asked, poking her head in the door to the kiosk area. “Oh, hey, Sammi. Did we break something again, or are you just wanting to spend some quality time with Hero?”

Sammi didn’t react, and Gothy blinked.

“She’s thinking about an idea I just gave her. Apparently, she latches on and focuses,” Alvin said.

“What idea?” Gothy asked as she came into the room, followed by Mousie.

Alvin gave them the rundown while the three of them waited for Sammi to snap out of it.

“I was wondering if we were going to abuse the system or not. Goodness knows we’ve waited long enough,” Gothy said.

“Okay. It makes a lot of sense from our standpoint,” Sammi said, looking up. “When did you all get here?”

“While you were thinking,” Gothy replied. “I think I could’ve had some fun with you, as focused as you were.”

Sammi coughed, her cheeks pinking. “Yeah, I’ve always done that... Anyway. I’ll bring it to the team, but doing what you suggested would save us in the long run. Why, though?”

“Why what?” Alvin asked.

“It’ll cost you more XP over time, so why even bring it to our attention?”

“Because we like you,” Alvin shrugged. “You’ve been good to us and Jarvis, and have asked us repeatedly, but nicely, to not just break shit. Consider this us repaying that.”

“Oh. This was to help me?” Sammi asked, clearly at a loss.

“We do like our kinky computer geek,” Gothy purred, giving Sammi a wink.

Sammi blushed deeper and looked away. “Yeah, that’s a trap. I need to get going.”

“Can’t stay for breakfast?” Mousie asked. “Desiree is improving rapidly.”

“Did you try to push it as quality control?” Alvin asked.

“I did ask, but no. They consider it fraternization, and think I’m already favoring you.”

“Idiots,” Gothy sighed. “The offer is open, if you want to join us.”

Sammi’s brow furrowed. “You mean for breakfast, right?”

“To start with,” Gothy smirked.

Sammi went scarlet and vanished.

Alvin laughed. “Mean, but funny.”

“She’s so fun to play with. Besides, I’m sure she’d fit right in with our style of fun,” Gothy said.

Alvin snagged Gothy around the waist with one arm and Mousie with his other. “Let’s go have some breakfast. Our wife has been working hard on it.”

“What quest did you get?” Mousie asked.

“A dumb as shit one,” Alvin sighed. “That’s actually what brought Sammi here to start with.”

“Breakfast,” Jarvis said when they entered the room. “Desiree just finished.”

Alvin gave the well-built Dwarven woman a smile. “Taking good care of us, Desiree?”

“Yes,” Desiree smiled back. “I think I’m getting used to this.”

“What was the quest?” Mousie asked again.

“Visit a new settlement and spend a thousand XP.”

“What? How dumb is that?” Gothy snorted.

“Exactly what I said,” Alvin said. “Sammi agreed, but she doesn’t get the last say on shit, so it is what it is. It’ll be easy to do, but needing to spend XP is the dumb part.”

“Well, it’s nice to see them staying consistent,” Gothy snarked. “Stupid quests is what devs do, after all, in every game ever.”

“What did you make for us, Desiree?” Mousie asked.

“A country scramble,” Desiree said, bringing their plates over to the table and kissing Mousie’s pointed ear. “Enjoy.”

Mousie shivered. “Tease.”

“She’s learned from the best,” Alvin chuckled.

“What are your plans, sir?” Jarvis asked.

“We’ll be spending a couple of days in the training room,” Alvin said. “Need to work on a few things before we really go anywhere. I needed to know what the weekly quest was so I could figure out if we’d have time to train without trouble.”

“Which you now know,” Jarvis said.

“Yeah.”

“Working on clearing buildings and driving and gunning the Bradley?” Gothy asked between bites.

“Yes. Four days of training. We’ll rotate the positions in the Bradley so we all have a full session driving, gunning, commanding, or being in the back,” Alvin said. “I’ve gotten the upgrades started for the Bradley.”

“What runes did you put on it?” Mousie asked.

“The Bradley had the Fuel rune when we got it, and I put a Tire rune on it so we won’t have problems with the tracks.”

“Thank you,” Gothy said. “David used to complain about track problems when he played video games. I shudder to think what that might’ve been like for us.”

“Agreed. I also slapped a one hundred percent Durability rune on it, and an eighty percent Silence rune.”

Gothy snorted. “Really? A Silence rune?”

“Should be a lot quieter now. Probably sounds like a small car,” Alvin laughed. “We’ll find out after breakfast.”

“What else?” Desiree asked.

“The seats are like the ones in the Humvee,” Alvin answered before taking another bite.

“Good. Those were uncomfortable,” Mousie said.

“Yes, they were unpleasant after the Turtle,” Desiree agreed.

“I added a heating and air conditioning system to it and the Humvee,” Alvin smiled.

“Not that we’ve needed them,” Gothy said, “but it’ll be a nice addition if we have a passenger.”

“That was my thinking. It came with the radio already, thankfully, so I didn’t need to add that, but I did add an entertainment system to the back.”

Gothy started laughing. “So we aren’t bored?”

“Nothing to see or do back there,” Alvin said. “Didn’t see the harm in adding it in. Already made sure it’s stocked with things we’ll enjoy, too.”

“He spoils us,” Mousie smiled.

“We’ll spoil him back later,” Desiree said.

“With interest,” Gothy smirked, “but go ahead and finish, Hero.”

“The Bushmaster got a one hundred percent Durability rune, a one hundred percent Armor Buster rune, a three-second Reload rune, and a sixty percent Silence rune.”

“The big gun is going to sound like a rifle?” Gothy snorted. “A compact car with a rifle. People are going to be terribly confused.”

“For the auxiliary gun, I put on a Phantom rune, along with a one hundred percent Bloody rune, a three-second Reload rune, and a fifty percent Durability rune,” Alvin said.

“Phantom?” Desiree asked.

“Deals a quarter of its damage to things that don’t have bodies.”

“Ghosts and anything else similar,” Gothy nodded. “Not a bad idea to have a mix. I’m curious— does the damage from the Armor Buster rune and the ammo for the Bushmaster get added or multiplied together?”

“Added, I’m sure,” Alvin said. “We’ll test it in a bit.”

“
After breakfast,” Desiree added. “How is it?”

Everyone was quick to assure her that it was very good, and Desiree smiled widely.

~
*
~
*
~

They’d finished breakfast, but before they went into the training room, Alvin detoured to the medical bay. Checking the DNA Modifications Vat, Alvin was happy to see it had finished processing their DNA.

“We can start modifying our DNA if we want,” Alvin told them, “or I can feed the terror worm DNA into it. It’ll take it time to pull apart the different aspects.”

“What if we did want to mod ours?” Gothy asked. “What does that mean?”

“Depends on what you’re adding and how different it is,” Alvin said. “Adding a little of Mousie’s DNA to you would be fine if you wanted to have a higher max on Nimbleness, for instance. Desiree’s could raise the cap on Hardiness. There are side effects, though, which depend on how much other DNA you’re adding and how far removed yours is from the new sample.”

“Can we see it ahead of time?” Desiree asked.

“Hmm, let’s see...” Alvin started fiddling with the control station. “Yes, we can run a few simulations. Who wants to be the guinea pig?”

“Me!” Gothy said first. “What if we add enough to raise my Nimbleness and Hardiness by two?”

“A mix of both of them,” Alvin said, playing with the touch screen. “Okay, since you’re doing stats, it’ll take twelve hours per increase... and you’d look like this.” Alvin touched a button and a holographic projection appeared in one of the tanks.

Gothy floated in the tank, completely nude and slowly rotating. Her body was a little shorter and a touch more slender in the hips and chest.

“Interesting,” Gothy said, looking at her double. “What about Desiree?”

Alvin input information into the machine for a few moments, and in the second tank, a naked Desiree appeared. “That’s if we gave her four Nimbleness from Mousie’s DNA.”

Everyone looked at the dusky-skinned dwarf floating in the tank. It was obvious that the DNA was changing her physically. The copy was a few inches taller, her skin was a deep tan, and her body had narrowed.

“It’s not just stats, then. It changes our appearance,” Desiree said, eyeing her hologram.

“Does appear that way,” Alvin said. “Since we’re not using anything exotic— like the terror worm— it isn’t warning us of anything going wrong.”

“Give it the DNA,” Gothy said. “I wonder if we can get a further resistance to mental influence that way.”

“Oh, that would be good... unless it gave us tentacles,” Mousie said.

Alvin shuddered at the idea. “I’d pass on that happening to any of us.”

Gothy snickered. “Ooh, I found something else you’re not interested in. I’ll skip the tentacle-monster women for our harem.”

“Thank you,” Alvin said. “Let me just add this to the machine, and then we’re off to the training room. Who wants what positions to start with?”

“I’ll take kneeling,” Gothy smirked.

“We know,” the other three said in unison, before laughing.

Gothy joined their laughter. “Okay, so I might be a little predictable about what I enjoy.”

“Now, seriously, who wants to start as gunner, driver, commander, and passenger? We’ll be rotating for the next four days, and the passenger gets to set the obstacles for the crew,” Alvin said.

Chapter Two

Four days came and went quickly for them. Between training and their other, more pleasurable activities, their mini-vacation was coming to an end.

“Well, that was a few good days, but now it’s time to get this stupid quest completed,” Alvin sighed.

“Are we taking the Bradley?” Gothy asked. “It’s slower going than the Humvee.”

“True, but it’s not like we’re racing anywhere,” Alvin replied.

“If we take the Bradley, how’re we going to divvy up the positions?” Desiree asked.

“While you and Mousie can drive, it’s still not the best spot for either of you,” Alvin said. “That leaves driving to Gothy and me. But if we get into a big fight, it’s best if Gothy can switch out gunner with Mousie.”

“Leaving you as the driver,” Gothy said.

“Pretty much. If we want to be able to deal with any big surprises, it’s better if you two are free to switch out on the gun, since you both have the damage cooldowns. However, if we let the three of you switch out as needed, that means Desiree can take the gun, as well, and switch for one of you when we see a big beastie.”

The ladies all exchanged glances, and Gothy spoke up, “Hero, don’t you want to be gunner, too?”

“It’d be fun, but I’d rather we be able to have the best we can bring to bear at any given time. If I take the back, Desiree will have to be the driver.”

“I don’t mind that, Hero. Since we’re still close to the military base, maybe I can drive? It’s unlikely anything bad will happen today.”

“Okay,” Alvin said. “Most days, I’ll drive, but when I want to switch out, it’ll be with Desiree.”

“Okay, Hero,” Gothy said. “We’ll work with that, but Desiree will get equal time on the gun unless something big shows up.”

“That’s fair. Let’s finish up, clean up, and head out.”

The women all walked toward the bathroom, and Alvin went to check the kiosk.

“Sir,” Jarvis called out to him, “would it be okay if I changed things in the base slightly?”

“What’s up?”

“I have XP from the food I’ve been selling and my pay from you. I’d like to expand my room some.”

“That’s not a problem. Feel free. I can cover that if—”

“No, sir. I feel better if I pay for it.”

“Okay, Jarvis, if that’s what you want.”

Getting to the kiosk, Alvin smiled when he realized Sammi had made his request happen. Checking his character sheet, he found it’d been altered to show he was married to the three women, that they shared an XP pool, and that his Kiosk Discount had been reduced to ten percent.

“Nice. That’ll make things easier. Thanks, Sammi.”

Alvin was surprised to see he had mail waiting for him, as well. The first letter was from Shawn, telling Alvin that he had more grenades that could be sold off.

“Well, a trip back to Beatty is in order so we don’t pay increased prices...” Alvin muttered.

“Beatty?” Gothy asked from behind him.

“Shawn got back to me about getting more grenades,” Alvin said. “I was thinking we should stock more since we’re running low.”

“Yeah, that’s not a bad idea,” Gothy agreed.

“I’ll let him know we’ll be there by the end of the week. We can fast travel after finding another settlement. That way, we’re not going backward.”

“Too bad we can’t fast travel through the Gates,” Mousie sighed.

“Did you send word to the Queen about setting up settlements on each side of the Gate?”

“Yes.”

“I told my father, too,” Desiree nodded. “He already started fortifying it, so adding enough to turn both sides into settlements shouldn’t be hard.”

“That’ll make it easier to see your family,” Mousie said.

“But not yours,” Desiree said.

“I don’t have family in the same way you do,” Mousie said. “My father raped my mother, and my mother… was distant. There are a few people there I’d like to see again at some point, but going back isn’t a priority for me.”

“Oh… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up unpleasant memories.”

“It’s fine,” Mousie said. “I have a better family now. Us.”

“Damned right,” Gothy smiled, grabbing the lithe Elf and giving her a squeeze.

“Same boat as me,” Alvin said. “No family to speak of, except what we have here.”

“I have David, and us,” Gothy said. “The one with the big family is Desiree. Bet we can have a family bigger than that eventually, though.”

Alvin’s eyebrows went up as all three women turned to look at him. “I’m not against the idea,” he said. “However, it might be a while before we get to that. I think that making sure there’s a reasonably secure place for us to stay is a good first step.”

“And my birth control is going to take a while to fall off. Same with Mousie’s,” Gothy said. “Desiree’s using her own control.”

“I’d need to visit home to have the device removed,” Desiree said. “Once it is, I’d be fertile again.”

“So it’s still going to be a bit,” Alvin said. “In the meantime, we have things to do.”

“When we do get to that point, Hero,” Gothy asked, “what’s your plan to deal with the weekly quests?”

“Sammi mentioned that they’d be tailored, so I’m thinking we’d settle in somewhere as an envoy.”

“Maybe to my home?” Desiree asked.

“It’s a possibility,” Alvin smiled. “This isn’t getting this weekly done, so let’s go.”

“I’ll sit in the back, since no one stated clearly who was going to take that spot today,” Mousie said.

~
*
~
*
~

Desiree was grinning like an idiot as she climbed the exterior of the vehicle to get into the driver’s position. Alvin watched her climb in with a grin of his own. Looking down, he checked the controls for the guns and nodded.

“I’m ready to go,” he said over the radio.

“Ready to go here,” Mousie added.

“Good,” Gothy said.

“Getting it warmed up now,” Desiree replied back.

Alvin snickered. He felt the engine start, as the Bradley still hummed with power the way it should, but the sound coming from it was nearly laughable. Even four days later, he still found it amusing.

Gothy rolled her eyes. “
Still
, Hero?”

“What? It sounds like a damned electric car now,” Alvin snorted. “Lawnmowers make more noise than this thing, and it’s nearly a tank!”

“True,” Gothy grinned. “Much quieter than the Turtle. Still need to give our baby a name, too.”

“I was thinking ‘Big Stick,’ or ‘Stick,’ for short.”

Gothy winced. “Really, Hero? ‘Walk softly and carry a big stick’?”

“It’s more ‘ tread softly and use a big stick’ for us,” Alvin smirked.

“And I’m leaving,” Desiree said as she got them moving.

Alvin reached up and closed the hatch a second after they pulled out of the base. “Rain, rain, go away,” Alvin muttered as the rain fell hard on the vehicle.

“I’m wet, and not how I like,” Gothy snorted. “At least this thing buttons up and is still able to fire. We didn’t have problems with the weather before. Do you think they finally included randomized weather, Hero?”

“Ugh, that’ll be so much fun,” Alvin rolled his eyes. “It’s good for the world overall, but at the same time...
ugh
. Hurricane season in the gulf will be so fucking stupid. Giant waves and wind? Oh, and this kraken that washed ashore.”

Gothy laughed. “Hadn’t considered that.”

“It’s not making driving difficult,” Desiree said.

“With this beast, it’d be hard to imagine it mattering,” Alvin said. “It didn’t lose any of its weight, after all.”

“She’s not fat. She’s just big-boned,” Gothy snickered.

“And yet a killing machine,” Mousie added. “Reminds me of someone.”

“That’s it,” Alvin laughed. “We’re now inside of RAW.”

“Asshole,” Gothy laughed. “We’re not naming her after me.”

“Fine, fine,” Alvin agreed. “I named Ruffian and you named Turtle. Maybe Mousie should name her?”

“Oh, that works,” Gothy agreed. “Mousie, it’s up to you. If we get another vehicle, Desiree gets to name her.”

“Okay, Gothy,” Mousie said. “I’ll give it some thought.”

“I just follow the course you set, Hero?” Desiree asked.

“Unless something comes up to detour us,” Alvin replied. “I really don’t expect any problems for at least thirty miles. I figure anyone with a brain that close to the base is already there.”

“That’s a good point,” Gothy agreed. “Once we start leaving that area, then things will become interesting again.”

“No idea what we might encounter going east,” Alvin said. “Lots of woods and potential oddness.”

“Hero, I was thinking...” Gothy said. “If we’re going back to Beatty to pick up grenades, maybe we should get a full workout for our new toy?”

“Hawthorne?” Alvin asked.

“It’s just the one thing in the way of them being able to get more from the ammo dump.”

“If we do that, we might as well take on the other one between Ely and Tonopah,” Alvin mused.

“That would help link things up between our allies,” Mousie said.

“True,” Alvin said, giving it some thought. “We’ll discuss it with Shawn. He’ll need to be willing to bring trucks to load up.”

“The XP split off the dragon should be damned good, too,” Desiree said, “and the loot that it should drop.”

“She has a point,” Mousie agreed.

“And no mind fuckery,” Gothy added, “so it’ll be a good, straightforward fight.”

“We’ll talk about it once we get back to Beatty,” Alvin said. “Maybe we’ll get a discount on the grenades that way”

“That’s also a plus,” Gothy agreed. “On that note, do you think it’d be hard to hit the Air Force base out there?”

“Nellis?” Alvin asked. “It’s basically on the edge of Vegas, but still... that would be horrible… hmm.”

“Military bases are the best chances for people,” Gothy nodded. “Maybe there’s a remnant there holding off Vegas.”

“Shit,” Alvin sighed. “If there is and we can help them hook up with the others, it’d be a good thing for our friends and allies.”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll talk about it,” Alvin said. “One thing at a time.”

“Going east to go west?” Desiree snorted. “I find this highly amusing.”

“It’s us,” Gothy laughed. “We don’t do things the easy way.”

“First, we need to find a settlement and buy something,” Alvin said. “I wonder if that cost of purchase is before or after the discount.”

“Oh, that’s a good point,” Mousie said. “Are you going to test it?”

“Might as well,” Alvin said. “Helping find bugs is one of the many things we do. Oh, and good news: we have a collective XP pool now.”

“Really?” Gothy asked. “Thank you, Sammi.” Her lips pursed. “Why didn’t she stop by to tell us?”

“No idea. Maybe she’s getting more flack?” Alvin shrugged. “I swear, the other devs must really want to be front and center to be giving her all the grief they do. Being the face of the team means you catch shit from the players, the community, and the bosses. Wanting to have that job means you’re either out for power or a masochist.”

“I know which one Sammi is,” Gothy laughed.

“Be nice,” Alvin snorted. “She’s been good to us and Jarvis.”

“True.”

“She’s a nice person,” Mousie added, “but I think Gothy is right.”

Alvin shook his head. “I’m sure she gets enough shit without us ribbing her. Let’s at least keep it to when she’s here.”

“Agreed, Hero,” Desiree said.

“Fine,” Gothy sighed. “It’s not as much fun when I can’t see her blush, anyway.”

“I’ll behave, Hero,” Mousie added.

Chapter Three

The rain was still coming down hard over an hour later when they reached Garland City. The road conditions had been decent enough to avoid accidents, but Desiree hadn’t been going all out, opting for a moderate speed to account for the weather.

The bridge they needed to cross the Red River was on the north edge of the postage stamp of a town. It was mostly clear of vehicles, which was nice, but Alvin felt his heartbeat speed up as he waited for aquatic horrors to attack them.

“Hero, we can cross a bridge, right? We don’t weigh too much?” Desiree asked as she slowed her approach.

“We weigh about as much as a max-loaded semi... actually, less, since we’re not running full on ammo and others. Should be fine as long as the bridge hasn’t been damaged structurally.”

“Okay, here we go,” Desiree replied as she opened the throttle back up and crossed the bridge.

Alvin exhaled when they reached the far side, glad that nothing had popped up to attack them. “One waterway down...” he muttered.

“Still dislike the water, Hero?” Gothy asked from beside him.

“I wasn’t an aquaphobe before the apocalypse,” Alvin replied. “We’ve just had a lot of bad luck with water. I’ve seen too many things in them.”

“You think anything short of the fish-demon would give us real trouble in this?” Gothy asked.

“Not really. Fears don’t have to be rational, though.”

“Fair.”

“How long to Camden?” Mousie asked from the back.

“From here, it’s seventy-ish miles,” Alvin replied. “Two to three hours, depending on conditions and how fast Desiree goes. This beast is slow— forty miles at top speed.”

“Enough time to watch a movie,” Mousie said. “Thanks for the entertainment system back here.”

“Enjoy it,” Alvin laughed.

“Hero, am I going too slow?” Desiree asked.

“No. You’re fine, Desiree, as long as you’re comfortable with what you’re doing. We don’t need to push.”

“Roger.”

“Everyone near the base should be there,” Gothy said. “Outside of wild animals and possibly some zombies, we shouldn’t see anything for at least half of this trip.”

“Agreed,” Alvin nodded.

~
*
~
*
~

True to the predictions, they didn’t encounter anything for the next hour. Alvin was snickering when they rolled into the next town.

“Hey everyone, we found Waldo,” he finally said.

Gothy groaned. “I should’ve seen that coming.”

“I’ve been waiting to say it all day,” Alvin laughed.

“Did you pick up a striped beanie and shirt? If so, we can pause for you to get a picture taken.”

“No, didn’t see the point. Just found the name amusing. The people living here must have hated those jokes.”

“I think I saw movement, ahead and to the right,” Desiree said. “Hard to be certain with this downpour.”

“Devs, you might want to check your weather feature,” Alvin muttered as he rotated the turret, bringing the optics toward Desiree’s potential sighting.

He saw movement a moment later as a cargo van pulled out onto the road. “One vehicle on the road ahead.”

“Slowing,” Desiree said.

“Driver is getting out and flagging us,” Alvin added. “Gothy, you’re about to get wet.”

“And still not in my preferred way,” Gothy sighed as she popped the top on her position and stood up on the seat.

“You’re not Army,” the driver said, getting a clear view of Gothy when she stood up.

“Correct. Why are you out here all alone?”

“Uh…” The man looked nervous. “Depends. Are you friendly?”

“We’ve been friendly and unfriendly. It all depends on how the people across from us act,” Gothy replied. “We’ve helped a number of settlements.”

“Oh, thank god,” the man exhaled. “We could use some help.”

“We?”

“Oh, right. Magnolia, a city just south of here.”

“City, or a large town?” Gothy asked.

“Large town, I guess? But we only have maybe a few hundred people. I’m the north lookout.”

“Got it. You’re spotting to see if trouble or help comes.”

“Yeah.”

“If we take the 371, we’ll be good?” Gothy asked.

“Since you already passed the other route, yeah.”

“I’ll ask our commander. If we turn south, you’ll have your answer,” Gothy said, stepping off her seat and buttoning the hatch.

“We do need a settlement, and this one is as good as another,” Alvin said. “Wonder what they need help with…? Hmm. Might be a bonus quest, depending.”

“South, Hero?” Desiree asked.

“Works for me. I doubt whatever they need is going to be difficult. Probably some zombies or midrange beast.”

“I’ll be ready to go,” Mousie said.

“Let’s roll,” Alvin said.

“Roger.”

“I wonder if he has a radio and will tell them we’re coming,” Gothy mused as Desiree got them moving again.

“If they don’t have radios, they’re really bad off,” Alvin said.

“Yeah, but it wouldn’t be the first settlement that planned poorly.”

“Fair enough, Gothy.”

~
*
~
*
~

The trip south to Magnolia was without incident. Reaching the junction of US 82 and US 371, there were five men waiting for them, their rifles just visible under the rain gear they were wearing.

Gothy sighed as she opened the hatch and stood back up. “Yeah?”

“You need to go to the Uni,” the man said. “It’s down that way.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “You need a guide?” he asked the last with a long look at Gothy’s chest.

“No,” Gothy said as she dropped back into the vehicle, shutting the hatch. “Past them to the east is the way to go.”

“Roger,” Desiree said, turning the Bradley east.

“That guy is getting shit,” Alvin said as he watched the men in the optics. “Did he proposition you?”

“Indirectly,” Gothy snorted, “as if that guy has anything worth my time.”

“Scum...” Mousie’s mutter came in clear over the radio.

“Can’t blame them for liking what they see,” Alvin said. “As long as they keep their hands and other appendages to themselves, we can ignore it.”

“It’s not offensive to me. It’s amusing,” Gothy said.

“Southern Arkansas University,” Desiree said. “I see vehicles in the lot.”

“Take us in, but give us some room from the other vehicles,” Alvin said.

“Roger.”

“What do you expect?” Gothy asked.

“They’re smart enough to have people out as guides. They don’t have the rune to ignore the weather on their clothes, though, which isn’t great. I’m going to say well-intentioned, but failing. We can still use it as our jump-off point, though.”

“Depending on what their trouble is,” Gothy added. “If it’s really bad, we might be better served to keep pushing, instead.”

“Let’s find out,” Alvin said.

“People coming out of the building,” Mousie said. “A dozen. None of them look hostile.”

“Desiree, give us a moment to verify before you climb out,” Alvin said. “Gothy, out the back.”

“Got it, Hero.”

“Roger.”

Alvin followed Gothy into the rear compartment, giving Mousie a nod. Mousie hit the switch to open the rear for them. The three of them walked out and sized up the group, who were watching them in turn.

“Where y’all fro—?” the oldest started to ask, cutting his sentence off as he stared at Mousie.

“Queen’s Elf,” Alvin said, seeing their questioning looks. “She’s with us. The driver is a Dwarf. That a problem?”

“Uh, Pawpaw,” a younger man said, “I think I should handle this.”

The older one looked at the younger and nodded. “Probably right. My grandson will talk for us.”

“Fantasy races, right?” the younger man asked.

“Seen a number of things,” Alvin chuckled as the water slid off him, Gothy, and Mousie, while the other group huddled under the overhang in front of the building. “We don’t mind chatting some and hearing about your troubles, though we do need to visit your kiosk before we go.”

“That’s fine.”

“Desiree, come on out,” Gothy said over the radio.

“She’s friendly, right? I mean, she’s glaring at me pretty bad right now.”

“Mousie, mellow. He isn’t eyeballing you,” Alvin said softly. “He’s just concerned for his family. Dark-skinned Elves have a reputation with some people.”

Mousie sniffed and looked away from them.

“Her people are at war with another Elf group, and the men there are a bit rapacious,” Alvin said, “which makes men evil incarnate to her.”

“But not you?” another guy snorted.

“I’ve saved her life more than once and let her move first,” Alvin shrugged. “Are we going to stand out here talking about my love life or go inside?”

“Fucking hell,” the young man said, his eyes going past them.

Desiree switched from her bodysuit to her more conservative outfit when she saw the looks she was getting. “Hero?”

“Okay, that’s all of us. We going in or are we leaving?” Alvin prompted him.

“Oh... Uh, sorry.” Clearing his throat, he motioned them toward the door. “Come on inside. The kiosk is in here, anyway. We can talk after you use it.”

“Works,” Alvin said.

The kiosk was just inside the front door, in the entry hall.

“Dorm building?” Alvin asked, looking around.

“Magnolia Hall,” the young man said. “It was easier to repurpose this building than a different one.”

Each of them made sure to add the kiosk to their fast travel destinations. Alvin also found an item worth nine hundred XP with his discount and purchased it. When he did, the weekly quest completed.

With the other stuff done, he introduced the group. “I’m Alvin. They’re Gothy, Mousie, and Desiree, respectively. Who are you?”

“Chuck Milst,” he replied. “Follow me. There’s a meeting room down the hall.”

“All of us?” Alvin asked, looking at the other eleven people still with them.

“We comprise the council for the town,” Chuck said. “We tried to make sure everyone was represented.”

“That has to make for slow progress,” Alvin said as they followed.

“It works for us,” a middle-aged woman said, pushing her glasses back up her nose.

Alvin stayed quiet as they kept walking. The meeting room held a long table with chairs, along with a sideboard for a coffee machine, cups, and other items. Taking their seats, the council had to drag more metal folding chairs over so everyone could sit.

“Okay,” Chuck started, “what can you tell us? When did Elves and Dwarves show up?”

“There are different Gates that have opened up around the continent and world,” Alvin said. “We’ve been through the Fey, Svargax, Twurgh, and Grey Gates. Fey, as in old Fey who steal kids and mess with your mind, so not the nice and happy kind. The Svargax Gate is where Mousie is from. Her people and the other Elves are at war with each other... it’s not a happy place, either. The Twurgh Gate has the Dwarves against a race called fungals— think plant-based orcs who have to be killed with fire. The planet itself is mostly a giant ice ball, with deep valleys where plant life can live. The Greys are a split race, too. They’re separated between the friendly ‘let us help you and be peaceful’ aliens and the ‘we’ll kill you and take your DNA’ aliens.”

The council all began to talk at once, and Alvin just sat back and waited for them to sort themselves out. It took a little while, but finally, the older Milst restored order.

“Embarrassing us in front of our guests?” the older Milst wheezed, short of breath.

“Easy, Pawpaw,” Chuck said, placing a hand on the old man’s back.

“We can answer some questions, but I’d like to know what problems you’re having, too,” Alvin said. “Chances are we can help, if the price is right.”

“You’d charge us?” the glasses-wearing woman snapped.

“World runs on XP now,” Alvin replied, “so yes, I’d expect payment, just like any troubleshooter would before this mess. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. We’ll just pick up and move on.”

“Easy,” Chuck said before anyone else could. “The problem is with the damn ‘skeeters.”

“Oh, this can’t be good,” Alvin grunted. “How big did they get?”

“Big as your head with legs and snout bigger than your arms,” one of the other men said. “They go after anything that gets close and have been starting to spread out, to boot.”

“You want them killed?” Gothy asked.

“Yeah, but the thing is that they drop decent loot and some crafting mats,” Chuck said. “Reminds me of the Nuclear Winter games.”

“Yeah,” Alvin nodded, “kind of like that.”

“We’d really like the crafting mats, at least,” Chuck said. “Our doc has been using them.”

“What are you offering for their extermination?” Alvin asked.

“We don’t want them eradicated, just knocked well down,” Chuck was quick to say. “If you kill them all, they won’t respawn, but if you can reduce them, we can start farming them.”

Alvin chuckled. “Can always tell who was a gamer. Fine. What’re you paying to reduce them to manageable numbers?”

“Why are we paying them?” someone else asked. “If they can do it, we can, too.”

Mousie snorted derisively, which got all eyes focused on her, but she just stared back.

Desiree spoke up in her place, “Do you have the right equipment to deal with them?”

“It’ll be tough, but we can do it,” the man said.

“And how many of your people will die?” Gothy asked amiably. “You know it’ll cost you. If we do it, you don’t lose anyone, just some XP. Which is better for you?”

“I’d still like to know where the hell they are,” Alvin added.

“West of town is Lake Columbia. That’s where they are. Surprised you didn’t encounter one when you came that way.”

“If we had, it would have splatted,” Gothy shrugged. “Now, what’re you offering? And if anyone says they don’t want us to help, we’ll leave and you’ll never see us again.”

Chuck cleared his throat and looked up and down the table. “We can offer all the loot, minus the crafting mats.”

“Not enough,” Alvin said. “Honestly, we’d be getting all the mats if we went and killed them. So, not only would we be giving up what we should have, you don’t want to pay us on top of it.”

“Alvin,” the elder Milst said, “we don’t have much. We’ve barely finished handling the zombies and mutated animals that were in the town. Giving you more would beggar us.”

“You want my honest answer to this problem?” Alvin asked, but didn’t give them time to say yes or no. “Pick up and head to the Army depot at Red River. They have things well in hand, and by this point, should’ve started making a pact with the Air Force base. Things are going to get better for the people there.”

“And leave our homes?” the woman with glasses snapped.

“Or stay and get drained by mosquitos,” Alvin shrugged. “Even if you go to the base, they’ll still need to come out here and deal with the problem or it’ll get worse. Having us take care of the problem first, then taking what you have to the base, would be better for you, as it would prove you can be more than dead weight. It’s your call, though.”

“What would you want to deal with the problem?” Chuck asked.

“Loot, minus crafting mats, and say... five thousand XP. I can’t get any cheaper than that.”

The room was dead silent for a moment before Chuck sighed. “We only have half that that we can use.”

“We’ll take all the drops and no extra XP, instead. That’ll get you in the farming cycle, at least.”

Chuck glanced at the others, then stood up. “Can you give us a few minutes?”

“I’ll give you an hour,” Alvin said, standing up and summoning the base. “We’ll be right back here at that point.”

“I’ll have someone show you to a sitting room,” Chuck said.

“Don’t bother,” Alvin said as he turned and stepped through the portal.

~
*
~
*
~

Coming back into the meeting room an hour later, Alvin gave the people a sardonic smile. “So, what’s it going to be?”

“We’ll pass on all the loot from them,” Chuck said. “We know we can’t handle them as they are.”

“Works for us,” Alvin said. “We’ll be back once we’ve culled them.”

“Wait!” Chuck called out. “I’d like to go with you.”

“For what reason?” Gothy asked.

“We want them culled to a reasonable number. One of us needs to go to know when that number’s been reached.”

“I’m fairly certain you just need to issue us the quest,” Alvin said. “Say it formally, and let’s see if it works.”

“Wait, quests are a thing now?”

“We’ve had a few,” Alvin said. “No idea if it’ll work for this, but give it a shot.”

“Okay,” Chuck said, before clearing his throat. “The council of Magnolia issues a quest to Alvin: cull the mosquitos’ numbers down to a point that the community can manage to keep them in check. The reward for doing so is our goodwill and getting to keep all the loot.”

Alvin read over the pop-up that appeared in front of him.

Quest: Kill mosquitos near Lake Columbia.

0/250

Rewards: Goodwill of citizens of Magnolia, Arkansas, and all loot dropped.

Accept-----Decline

“It works,” Alvin said, accepting the quest. “Two hundred and fifty of them to kill.”

The council members all reacted differently, but they were obviously surprised to hear the number given.

“Can I still go with?” Chuck asked. “I’d like to see how they’re grouped for later.”

Alvin looked at Mousie, who was frowning. “Mousie?”

“As long as he stays in the back.”

“Hell,” Alvin sighed. “I just thought of something. Give me a moment.”

Alvin stepped back into the base, giving Jarvis a wave as he went into the garage. Summoning the Bradley back, Alvin went to the kiosk and fiddled with it for a minute.

“Not horrible, and going to be worth it in the long run,” Alvin muttered as he accepted the upgrade he wanted. “An hour until it’s done upgrading? Might as well let them know.”

Stepping back into the meeting room, Alvin nodded. “Okay, it’ll be an hour before we can head out, but you can go. Grab whatever gear you’d take with you normally. We’ll meet you outside the hall in an hour.”

“Thank you,” Chuck said.

“Ladies, back to base for now,” Alvin said.

“Roger,” Desiree said, stepping through the portal.

Gothy and Mousie gave him a questioning look, but didn’t say anything as they went.

“You’ll bring him back, safely, won’t you?” the elder Milst asked.

“As long as he doesn’t leave the Bradley,” Alvin shrugged. “See you all in an hour.”

“Hero, why an hour?” Gothy asked when he stepped into the base.

“The Bradley is getting a small upgrade. The entertainment system can now stream the gunner’s optics, so whoever is in the back can get an idea of what’s going on.”

“That’ll be good,” Mousie said. “Only view you can get back there was from the small viewport on the ramp, otherwise.”

“Going to have you on the gun, since we have Chuck going with. Desiree, you’re still the driver. Gothy is commander, so she can switch into gunner if needed. I’ll be in the back with Chuck.”

“That’s what you went to do?” Gothy asked.

“Yeah, I figured it’d be good for any of us in the back when things start happening. Don’t know why I hadn’t thought about it when I did the entertainment system. When he said he wanted to come along and see things, it just clicked.”

“And if we do transport others, it’ll be good then, too,” Gothy agreed.

“We have an hour,” Mousie whispered in Alvin’s ear, having moved to his side.

“Time enough for a little fun,” Gothy added from his other side.

“I’ll get the door,” Desiree smirked as she headed for the bedroom.

“Jarvis, get us in fifty minutes,” Alvin said as he let the women drag him toward the bedroom.

“Of course, sir.”

Chapter Four

“I don’t know what happened to their damned vehicle!” Chuck was saying to the woman with glasses. “They said they’d be back here in an hour.”

“And we are,” Alvin said as he stepped out of the portal. “Problem?”

“Your vehicle is gone,” Chuck said warily. “None of us had anything to do with it.”

“I know that,” Alvin said. “I had it upgrading. I’ll summon it once we step outside.”

“What do you mean, ‘you had it upgrading’?” the woman Chuck had been arguing with asked.

“What does it sound like?” Alvin asked before he headed for the door to the room. “Anyway, let’s get going.”

The women fell into step with him, so the four of them were in the lead. Alvin waited for everyone to exit, glad that the rain had finally abated, even if the sky was still a solid gray. Once everyone was there, he triggered the vehicle summon button, and the Bradley appeared in front of the building.

“What!? How?” several people of the council asked in confusion.

“It’s like the portal that lets me leave,” Alvin said, moving toward the Bradley. “Come on, Chuck, you’re in the back with me.”

Chuck hurried after Alvin, who was already opening the back door. Gothy and Mousie followed them, while Desiree shifted back to her bodysuit and went for the driver’s seat. Mousie snorted at the muttered comments from the people watching as they walked away.

With the back open, Mousie moved past Alvin and Chuck, opening up the inner door and sliding into the gunner’s spot. Gothy was a few steps behind her, waiting for her to get in before she could. She rolled her eyes at Chuck waving to the council as she got into the commander’s position and shut the inner door.

“Warming her up,” Desiree said over the radio.

“In position,” Mousie said, followed by Gothy repeating the same thing.

“Back is closed and ready,” Alvin said. Turning on the TV in the back, he set it to show the gunner’s optic. “Here’s the feed from the gunner’s spot, so you can see what’s going on.”

“Thank you for doing this, and letting me come, too. The others were hesitant to let me leave, since I’m the most knowledgeable about how things work now,” Chuck said.

“Gamers are the ones best suited to deal with the world,” Alvin said.

“When is she going to turn the engine on,” Chuck asked, “and why’s the vehicle vibrating?”

“Because it’s on,” Alvin snickered. “And there we go.”

Chuck’s eyes shot open when he saw the movement on the screen. “But these things have a large diesel engine! How the hell is it so quiet?”

“A rune,” Alvin grinned. “We sound like an electric car now instead of a war machine.”

“Why wouldn’t you use that on the gun, instead?” Chuck asked.

“Have one for it, too,” Alvin laughed.

“I’d been puzzled by the lack of noise when we came out to greet you, but I figured you’d just turned the engine off before we stepped outside.”

“Nope. It’s just quiet. Surprised your people didn’t mention it.”

Chuck sighed. “Yeah... they weren’t my choices. The council has to have a majority to act on anything.”

Alvin snorted. “No wonder you’re doing badly. My suggestion? Take your loved ones and go to the base. People who want to work are useful there. Staying here means you’ll stagnate, and if you’re really unlucky, the zombies from nearby cities will swarm up this direction. That’d be the end of you.”

Chuck grimaced. “The council won’t vote to upend the community.”

“Then leave it and the deadweight behind. Your choice, but I know protecting my family is what’s important.”

Chuck went silent as Desiree drove them west.

~
*
~
*
~

It didn’t take them long to get close to the lake using state Route 344. A few hundred yards before they reached the lake, a half dozen mosquitos took to the air.

Alvin snorted at the vividly-colored bugs. Their brilliant red and yellow bodies stood out against their black heads. “Not quite normal, are they? Guess it makes sense, though. Bright colors warn of danger.”

“Using the smaller gun,” Mousie said as she brought the turret to bear. The shots were clearly audible in the back, because that gun wasn’t silenced at all.

Chuck watched the screen as Mousie went to work. Two of the bugs splashed in quick order before the others scattered. “She’s really good at that.”

“We’ve had practice,” Alvin said. “Mousie, opinions?”

“The big gun is going to be nearly useless. They aren’t taking much to put down.”

“Hero, I can open up and join in,” Gothy suggested.

“Wait,” Alvin said. “I want to know if they can even scratch the Bradley.”

The sound of something bouncing off the back of the vehicle got Alvin’s attention. Moving toward the sound, he saw one of the bugs tapping on the door with its proboscis. Alvin checked the stats on the Bradley and snorted.

“Game mechanics are dumb sometimes,” Alvin said. “They’re doing damage. Not a lot, considering the Bradley’s armor value, but if we just sit here, they can be a problem.”

“Answer?” Gothy asked.

“Suit up and go out, move to the next site, and repeat. Battle armor should hold up fine. Gothy, switch spots with Mousie. I’m going to put Chuck in the commander’s position so Mousie and I can deploy as a unit.”

“Give us a minute,” Gothy said before she opened the inner door and came into the compartment. “She’s on her way.”

Mousie was there a moment later and moved to be beside Alvin. “Dropping the ramp?”

“The hatch door isn’t big enough for the battle armor,” Alvin said.

“Come on, Chuck,” Gothy said as she stepped through the door. “You’re in the commander position. Make sure to shut the door behind you.”

“You’re really going to open the door?” Chuck asked, looking a little ill.

Alvin rolled his eyes and switched outfits so he could summon his battle armor. Chuck’s eyes went big as he watched the armor begin covering Alvin.

“Power armor? Are you kidding me?”

“
Battle armor,” Alvin clarified. “The Dwarves make it, and it’s stupid expensive. Now, get in there so we can do the job we’re here to do.”

Shaking his head, Chuck followed Gothy and shut the door firmly.

“We’ll have the door down and kill what comes to us. Gothy, use the small gun, and be ready to go big if something happens. Once we have a spot clear, we’ll loot, then move on. Desiree, drive slowly. Go off-road when needed, but try to keep us about this distance from the water. Use the minimap so you aren’t surprised by the shoreline.”

“I’ll be ready, Hero.”

“Roger.”

“Mousie, guns to start. If we get swarmed, use your swords.”

“Understood, Hero.”

Alvin went to the door and summoned his Type 56. “Lowering ramp.”

The moment the ramp was half-open, three of the bugs tried to swarm inside, only to be met by a hail of bullets. The mosquitoes died quickly, making the moment anti-climactic to the pair in the back. A few seconds later, another two tried it, only to meet the same fate. Once no more bugs appeared, Alvin and Mousie looted the insects by the door, then the ones further out, before returning.

“Okay, Desiree, nice and slow,” Alvin said.

“Roger.”

~
*
~
*
~

Night had fallen as they finished another circuit of the lake.

“We need one fucking more,” Alvin sighed. “What the hell?”

“Hero, you’re about to get it,” Gothy said. “Look at the screen.”

Alvin did as she said and saw that the optics had been switched from normal to night vision. A much larger creature was rising from the lake. “I think we killed enough of them to get the attention of the local mini-boss,” Alvin said. “I’m going to button up. I think that thing could actually do damage to us.”

“Yeah, I agree with that,” Gothy said as she took aim. “Going big.”

The Bushmaster going off was laughable, as it was quieter than the smaller gun. Alvin watched the screen while Gothy fired at the target. The twentieth shot made him whistle— it was a tracer round, and burned bright on the night vision.

“Ha, it’s already running!” Gothy laughed. “Desiree, take us around to the far side of the lake. I’m going to hold off firing so it loses us.”

“Roger.”

“Think the devs are going to complain about how easy we made this?” Mousie asked Alvin.

“Probably. Sammi won’t give us shit, but I’m sure the others are howling their heads off, as if we didn’t earn what we can do.”

The interior door opened, and Chuck was staring at them. “Are you sure killing that thing won’t make it so no more spawn?”

“Not at all,” Alvin replied, “but we were given the quest by you, and it’s the last one we need. I’m going to go out on a limb and say the next momma is already waiting to hatch. Think recurring mini-boss.”

“Oh, so like our own personal dungeon right here?” Chuck asked, looking intrigued. “Do you think we’d be able to pull it off?”

“Nope,” Gothy said. “I just put twenty-four rounds into it— that’s over a thousand damage. Your guns do what? Six per shot, if they hit?”

“Oh...” Chuck sighed. “Guess we really could use the help of the Army to keep this from getting out of hand.”

“If you go to them with a plan in place, I’m sure you could be seen as an asset,” Alvin said. “I can even give you a letter to give to Captain Smith. He’s level-headed and can be reasoned with.”

Chuck nodded slowly. “How has the loot been?”

“Crafting mats, some runes, and other odds and ends. Nothing great, but that big bitch out there is probably going to be worthwhile.”

“Can you make a list of what it gave you? It’d help me sell it more,” Chuck asked.

Alvin nodded. “
That
I can do. Glad to see you’re being reasonable about this.”

“What am I going to do, try shooting you and taking your stuff? I’m not an idiot.”

“People have tried,” Alvin laughed. “Chuck, you have the right idea of what to do. It’s your choice, but you’re being wasted here.”

“Yeah, but my granddad won’t leave, and he’s the only family I have left.”

“Have you asked?” Gothy asked. “If you tell him why, he might go.”

Chuck fell silent, clearly thinking about what she had said.

“Almost there. It’s over the edge of the lake,” Gothy said. “Letting it get a bit further over dry land, then I’ll end it.”

“Copy, Gothy.”

A moment later, they heard the muffled sound of the Bushmaster firing.

“It’s done,” Gothy said. “Take us over to where it died, Desiree.”

“Roger.”

“After we loot, we’re heading back to Magnolia to drop Chuck off,” Alvin told her.

“Roger.”

“You made it look so easy,” Chuck snorted. “Advantages of better gear.”

“Earned it the hard way,” Alvin said. “If you risk your life, you could get better gear, too. I’d suggest the slower, but easier, way: being useful in a job.”

“Yeah, and being behind a few hundred or more armed troops,” Chuck said.

“This is it,” Desiree said over the radio.

“Copy. Give me a few,” Alvin said as he stepped out the hatch.

Chapter Five

Alvin looked at the bed where his three wives were asleep with a content smile on his lips. He had a quick rinse in the shower and took care of some other bathroom obligations, which didn’t take long. He walked softly through the bedroom to let them sleep and slipped out the door, giving Jarvis a nod as he closed it behind him soundlessly.

“Morning, sir. Letting the ladies sleep?”

“I’m sure they’ll be up shortly, but figured they could use some extra shut-eye.”

“The loot items are all sorted and put away, and the things you would be most interested in are still on the counter.”

“Thanks, Jarvis.”

“I try to do what I can, sir. I’m gathering ingredients for Desiree right now, so it won’t take long to make breakfast once she wakes.”

“Always thinking ahead,” Alvin chuckled as he headed for the kiosk room.

“Someone has to,” Jarvis quipped.

Alvin didn’t respond, letting Jarvis get the last word in. The counter near the kiosks had four items still on it. Looking over the first one, Alvin nodded.

Purified Blood Sac (Unique)

Medical Crafting Material

Improved results guaranteed

“Bet the nurses at Green River would want it,” Alvin muttered as he set it aside.

Picking up the second piece of loot, Alvin shook his head. “Weapon crafting mat? Wonder what kind of abilities it would give…? Bleeding is the obvious guess.”

Queen’s Siphon (Unique)

Weapon Crafting Material

Bonuses based on weapon made

The next item made Alvin frown, and he stored it in a bag to make sure it was in stasis. Considering what he’d seen, he was unsure if it was something he even wanted to sell.

Bloodsucker Egg

Pet Item

Hatch to have a loyal companion

“I’ll need to talk with the girls, but if the devs are putting pets in, it’s probably going to get really interesting with some of the things we fight. And are they cosmetic pets or combat pets? Sammi, which is it?”

When Sammi didn’t show up, Alvin shrugged. “Guess they really are cracking down on you.”

The last item was a rune, and it dispelled Alvin’s frustration at the devs.

Bloody Rune (Flawless)

300% extra damage to hits on unarmored locations

“A flawless rune? Was wondering if we were ever going to see one. Guess that cements the bitch being a small raid boss... Glad we got to keep all the loot. It was worth it.”

“Hero?” Gothy called to him from the doorway.

“Hey, come and look,” Alvin said.

Gothy checked the four items, with Alvin pulling the egg out briefly before putting it away again. “Damn. We really did butcher that thing, didn’t we?”

“Easiest boss fight we’ve had, which made me wonder— the loot off the terror worm wasn’t this good. Yeah, we got the Silence runes from it, but nothing unique or flawless.”

“Maybe they’re tweaking the loot drops? Sammi can tell us.”

“I called for her earlier and she didn’t show up,” Alvin said. “I think they’re giving her shit again.”

Gothy rolled her eyes. “Fucking idiots. Come on. Desiree and Mousie are both cooking breakfast today.”

“Don’t want to disappoint them,” Alvin said, “but first...”

Grabbing Gothy, he pushed her against the wall and kissed her hard. Gothy let out an approving moan as she wrapped her arms around him and returned the heated kiss. Hands dropping, Alvin scooped Gothy up, his hands cradling her firm ass. Gothy wrapped her legs around his waist, helping him keep her up.

Breaking the kiss after a few minutes, Alvin pulled back far enough to meet Gothy’s eyes. “Good morning to my beautiful gothic succubus.”

“Good morning right back at you, Hero. Getting me all worked up when we have to go eat breakfast? So mean.”

“You love it,” Alvin chuckled as he eased her back to her feet. “We’ll continue this later tonight. I know you love a little tease.”

“Can’t deny that,” Gothy said as she followed him out of the room.

“Breakfast is almost done,” Jarvis told them. “I’ve done nothing but watch. This meal is entirely their own.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Alvin said as he took a seat and poured himself a cup of coffee.

“Me, too,” Gothy said. “I hope they have some sausage with it.”

Jarvis just shook his head and sipped his tea.

~
*
~
*
~

Breakfast was delicious and filling— Desiree and Mousie had done something similar to the full English that Jarvis did, but spinning it to be foods from their worlds. There was nothing as off-putting as the puddings, so everyone cleaned their plates.

“That was damned good,” Alvin sighed as he sat back.

Desiree beamed. “We’re glad you liked it.”

“Did you enjoy it, Gothy?” Mousie asked.

“Plate’s clean,” Gothy smiled. “Yes, I enjoyed it just as much.”

“Here’s the list of loot from the bloodsucker queen, Alvin,” Jarvis said, pushing him a couple pieces of paper. “I also took the initiative of writing the introduction letter to the captain for you.”

“Thanks, buddy. Always making my life easier.” Alvin paused for a moment. “I thought for sure Sammi would show up to talk with us this morning. I’m sure someone’s bitching at how lucky our loot drops were.”

“That’s a little puzzling,” Jarvis said. “Those four items are exceptional, though the rest were on the very low end, so it would be hard to be that upset about it. I’m sure they’re more annoyed that you cleared the entire lake and boss with no difficulties.”

“Fair enough,” Alvin laughed, then paused. “That really makes her absence more unusual, unless they’re really reaming her.”

“So many good lines to add to that, but I said I wouldn’t if she wasn’t here,” Gothy sighed.

“I saw the strain,” Alvin said. “You did good.”

“Good. You should reward me.”

“Later,” Alvin said as he stood up. “Let’s get going.”

“What about the pet item?” Mousie asked. “We never decided what to do with it.”

“Just keep it in storage for now. Jarvis, let us know if you see more pet items pop up in the auction house, please?”

“Of course, sir. Did you want me to send letters to Susan and Istel asking if they would be interested in the other items?”

“That’d be good. Thanks.”

“Of course, sir.”

“After we drop the paperwork, are we going to Beatty?” Gothy asked.

“No reason not to. I was considering going further east first because of how close we are to Fort Knox, but I changed my mind.”

“I doubt the gold reserve is unguarded,” Gothy laughed. “If anything, they’re likely one of the best-defended spots in the country.”

“True, but I’m sure they spent the gold already. I wonder what kind of upgrades they prioritized?”

“Is it worth the drive up to the north end of Kentucky?”

“Not in the least,” Alvin chuckled. “Also curious how New Orleans made out. That city already had a crazy reputation before this shit happened. Ghosts and other supernatural things being real means that has to be a very special kind of place, honestly.”

“Mardi Gras,” Gothy said, her eyes going wide. “That’s from February to March. Not that far off.”

Alvin laughed. “It’s a city, Gothy. Place is going to be packed with the undead.”

“Yeah, but it’s possibly going to be filled with fun undead. They know how to live down there, from everything I’ve heard.”

“Maybe,” Alvin laughed, holding up his hands, “but probably not. I don’t relish the idea of driving through the bayou.”

“That would make things difficult,” Gothy admitted. “If the roads are out, can’t easily just go off-road there.”

“Exactly.”

“They do get caught up in their own conversations sometimes,” Desiree said.

“Yes,” Mousie nodded. “I understand some of it, but not all of it. The book on Humanity was missing things.”

“It was very clinical in its own way,” Desiree nodded.

“Gothy, why don’t you explain it to them?” Alvin asked. “I’ll just step out to hand these off to Chuck, then come back so we can fast travel to Beatty.”

“No,” Gothy said, getting to her feet. “The few times you’ve left the base like that, some shit always happens.”

“Fair enough. Fine, let’s go. The sooner we hand these off, the better. I think Chuck learned enough last night to do the smart thing, even if it does break that little community to pieces.”

“The smart ones will live,” Desiree said. “The clans learned the same lesson the hard way a long time ago. By coming together in the strongest points to defend, the whole could survive.”

“Hero, I was thinking about the flawless rune. Would it be okay to put it onto Night in place of the lesser variant that was there?” Mousie asked. “The blade has Phantom on it, which would make my damage equal out to normal with it against those without bodies, and triple it against those without armor.”

“I’m good with that. Gothy, Desiree?”

“Do it,” Gothy grinned. “She’ll be unstoppable.”

“I agree, especially since your blades are unbreakable. They deserve the best runes,” Desiree nodded.

“It’s unanimous,” Alvin said. “Get it on our way out.”

“Thank you,” Mousie beamed, kissing each of them. “I’ll make sure to use it for all of us.”

“We know,” Gothy said, giving Mousie’s rump a spank.

~
*
~
*
~

Stepping out of the base, Alvin gave the crowd a long look. “Something wrong?”

The woman with the glasses sniffed at him. “Yes. You. What did you do to him?”

“What?”

“Chuck. He isn’t the same as yesterday!” the argumentative man from the council snapped. “He sold us on the idea of being able to kill the ‘skeeters nice and easy, but today, he’s talking his granddad into leaving.”

“He’s smart,” Alvin shrugged. “Staying here is just asking for trouble. You don’t have enough people, and you don’t plan well. I just told him the honest truth: going to the Army depot is smarter than staying here.”

“You don’t know us!” someone yelled. “We don’t need no help from them!”

Alvin’s eye twitched at the bad grammar and their idiocy. “Look, what you do or don’t do is up to you. We’re leaving as soon as we finish our part of the agreement with Chuck. Where is he?”

“None of your concern!” the woman said. “Just leave us alone.”

Mousie’s teeth ground as she started to step forward, but Gothy caught her arm. “No. They aren’t even worth the measly XP we could get from them. Hero?”

“Yeah, we’ll just message him the items,” Alvin said. “Did any of you even try to kill one of the bloodsuckers?” No one spoke up, and Alvin snorted. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Fuck you! What do you even know!?” a teen yelled at him, pushing out of the crowd. “I had to kill my own parents!”

Alvin stared the young man down. “And? That’s not uncommon now. Have you tried to make anything better for yourself or those around you?”

The teen stepped back, seeing no warmth in Alvin’s icy glare. “But…!”

“Stop it!” the glasses woman yelled. “He’s just a kid.”

Alvin turned on his heel. “You’re not even worth my damned time. Ladies, let’s go. We have a dragon or two to kill and loot to get.”

The trio of beauties fell into step behind him, following him back through the portal.

“Stupid ignorant morons!” Alvin snapped.

“It did seem like they wanted to cause trouble more than listen,” Jarvis said. “I sent off the letters. I’m sure they’ll respond before tomorrow.”

“Hero, are we going straight to Beatty?” Gothy asked.

“Yeah,” Alvin grunted. “Shawn at least has a brain in his head.”

Tapping through his interface, he brought up the fast travel button. “Off to Beatty we go.”

A rainbow-colored light engulfed Alvin, flaring brightly before it faded away. Gothy was blinking away the afterimages. “Hell, that’s colorful. Let’s go.”

They all did the same thing, and Jarvis watched as the light show faded away. “That’s dreadful. Maybe someone will tone it down in the future.”

Chapter Six

Alvin blinked away the violent and blinding lights and, after a few seconds, could see again. “Fuck, that’s stupid.”

Three more nearly blinding rainbows flashed beside him as the women appeared, each complaining about the travel method. Because the four of them appeared the way they did, it got the attention of the entire compound. Several people rushed toward them, thinking it was a new kind of attack.

“Stop!” The word was barked with the authority of a man who knew he’d be listened to. Everyone slowed and turned to see Wynn marching from his bunker. “They’re friends.”

Alvin gave the older man a grin. “Hey, I need a new clipazine for my rifle.”

“Hmm... maybe I should take back my previous statement,” Wynn replied.

“Hey now, that’s not nice!” Gothy laughed. “You’re the one who told him that story.”

“True,” Wynn said as the rest of the compound started to go back to what they were doing. “Didn’t expect to see you two, much less with your new friends.”

“Told Shawn we’d be coming,” Alvin said. “Desiree, Mousie, this is Wynn. He’s the gunsmith here, and the father of the head of the settlement. Where’s Shawn?”

“Working,” Wynn said, motioning to the auto shop. “That’s where he is most times. Kate’s beside him, learning how to work on the vehicles.”

“Used the apprentice system for her?” Gothy asked.

“Yes. He doesn’t let her get far from him, not since the... incident.”

“Can’t blame him,” Alvin said. “How’s everything else?”

“Different. Are you guys staying or just stopping in?”

“Don’t know yet,” Alvin said. “Have a proposition or two for Shawn.”

Wynn raised an eyebrow. “Dangerous work?”

“Potentially. It’ll depend on some variables.”

“Hmm. He’s in his shop. If you want to wait for him to stop, that’ll be just before dinner.”

“Not big on waiting,” Alvin said. “We’ll go bother him.”

“Suit yourself, but he’s always grumpy when he’s interrupted. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you for dinner.”

“Should,” Alvin agreed.

~
*
~
*
~

Desiree and Mousie got a lot of looks from people as they crossed the open yard. Mousie was growing upset, but Desiree snaked an arm around the Elf’s waist. “They can’t help it, Mousie. Most of them are more curious about your race than your sex, I’m sure.”

“Maybe, but I can see the lust in some of their gazes.”

“Can’t blame them for liking what they see,” Gothy said, dropping back to bookend the Elf. “I mean, you’re beautiful, our dear, little, Mousie.”

Mousie bowed her head as Gothy put her arm around her waist from the other side. “I understand it on an intellectual level, Gothy, but from an emotional level, I want to tear their eyes out.”

“You aren’t going to get over that for years,” Gothy said, “but I think you’ll mellow some in time. Hero and I have both mellowed some since we’ve become a couple. I think all the love and sex are making us a little softer.”

Desiree laughed. “Going to take a long time to make you soft.”

“You’re not wrong, but feel free to try accelerating the process,” Gothy smirked.

Mousie walked along between them, wearing a smile on her lips, no longer thinking about all the eyes on her and them.

Alvin glanced back at them before looking at the people nearby. He grinned the shit-eating grin of a man who’d been blessed to have such beautiful women in his life. A few of the people newer to the settlement grumbled and moved off, but a few who’d been there before just shook their heads as they went about their work.

“Shawn, you here?” Alvin called out as he stepped into the shop.

“Busy! Go away!” Shawn yelled back from the rear bay.

“No.”

“Motherf—” Shawn started to say before cutting himself off. “Keep working. I’ll go deal with whoever this is.”

“Yes, daddy.”

Shawn was stomping toward the front of the shop, wiping his grease-covered hands off on a rag as he did. “Look, you kno—! Alvin?”

“Yeah. Told you I was going to come get some grenades.”

“You couldn’t wait until later?” Shawn asked, exasperated.

“Could have, but why? Your daughter can get more practice in, and I need to talk with you about other things.”

Shawn closed his eyes and counted to ten. Opening them, he was about to say something when Desiree and Mousie followed Gothy into the shop. “Friends?”

“Shawn, these are Mousie and Desiree, my other wives, besides Gothy.”

Gothy snickered as she watched Shawn bluescreen over what Alvin said. “I think you broke him, Hero.”

“Does he have to buy him, then?” Desiree asked. “‘You break it, you buy it,’ right?”

“No!” Shawn said quickly, breaking his disconnect.

“I wouldn’t, anyway,” Alvin laughed at Shawn’s knee jerk reaction. “Only women for me.”

“Thank god,” Shawn muttered.

Mousie was stifling her own laughter as she watched Shawn take deep breaths.

“What did you want, besides grenades?” Shawn asked.

“I have a couple of ideas about some missions that might prove dangerous, but potentially very profitable.”

“Fuck,” Shawn sighed. “Last time we did something like that…” Grimacing, Shawn thought back to Hawthorne.

“Yeah, but we didn’t have our latest upgrade when we went there the first time. It wasn’t the dragon that caused the most damage, either.”

“Yeah,” Shawn sighed. “She’s been out of control since then. Well, that’s not true. She’s been controlled, but violent and cold to all men, even me and my brother. I think part of that was Lotus’ doing... that prostitute hated men before Hawthorne, and she and Karee…”

“Became an item,” Gothy said. “Your brother mentioned it when we saw him. Is she here?”

“Out with her group, killing things. Probably be gone for a day or two.”

“We could be off before she gets back, then,” Alvin said. “Might be for the best.”

“Let me get things wrapped up, and then we can talk. Say... an hour?”

“Sure. We’ll go relax inside.”

“Be there as soon as I can,” Shawn said, leaving them.

“Over to the main building?” Gothy asked.

“Sure. We can see if Marie or Laurel has something on hand to drink,” Alvin said. “Maybe we’ll see Placido and be able to ask about the farm.”

“Oh boy,” Gothy rolled her eyes, “just riveting conversation there.”

~
*
~
*
~

Marie and Laurel were happy to bring them tea and chat with them while they waited for Shawn. Both of the older women were very interested in hearing about Mousie’s and Desiree’s worlds, and were appalled at Svargax and how the factions treated their opponents.

“Sorry for the wait,” Shawn said as he entered the room, Kate following him.

“Oh, we’ll leave you to talk,” Marie said, getting up. “You’ll be here for dinner, right?”

“Unless Shawn kicks us out,” Alvin said. “Anything we should bring? Wine or something?”

“No, just yourselves,” Laurel said. “Kate, do you want to help us in the kitchen?”

“No, thank you, Gran. I want to stay here.”

Shawn gave Laurel a small nod. “She’ll be fine.”

“If you say so,” Laurel replied as she left the room with Marie.

“They’re nice people,” Desiree said. “They have a hard time accepting different worldviews, though.”

“Set in their ways,” Alvin said. “Lots of old people are.”

“What did you want to talk about, Alvin?” Shawn asked.

“The dragon at Hawthorne is why you haven’t gone back, right?” Alvin asked, getting straight to business.

“The major reason,” Shawn admitted. “The drake we took down before all the changes was hard enough, but with the changes, I haven’t felt like risking people to attempt a raid boss.”

“We’ve had experience with raid bosses,” Alvin said, “and some that were much nastier than a dragon.”

“You’re going to go tangle with it?” Shawn asked, looking doubtful. “What’re you going to get out of it? Are you even sure you can kill it?”

“We’ve got a Bradley,” Alvin said, “and we’ve got enough firepower to do the job if we can bring it in range. The ammo dump has a lot more loot that could be taken, if you’re willing to risk it. The dragon and the haunted building are the only two things of risk up there, unless something changed.”

“Can’t say. We haven’t been that way since the last time. Your note about Area 51 made us all a bit leery of going north, honestly. We know we can’t win a fight against the ‘bad Greys,’ as you called them.”

“Fair. It’d be tough as hell for us. Best we found was to use an explosive to take down the shield they use and then kill it. There’s a major problem, unfortunately, because a small nuke goes off when they die. On the other hand, I don’t think they’re numerous, considering they need genetic material from other species.”

“Was that the only thing?” Shawn asked.

“No. That’s just the easier of the two.”

Shawn rubbed at his face. “I’m afraid to ask, honestly.”

“Nellis.”

“Fuck. That’s just suicide, isn’t it?” Shawn asked. “You yourself said cities would be charnel houses.”

“It won’t be pretty,” Alvin agreed. “We’d need to take the 95 down, and then skirt as much of the city as possible. I’m hoping that the base held out as long as it could. If they have, they’ll have access to stuff that could really be useful for you and others.”

Scratching at his chin, Shawn grimaced. “And it’ll be zombies and who knows what else the entire way.”

“I’m thinking we’ll need a couple of decoy groups to trigger the traps and pull them into our teeth. They won’t expect the heavy stuff we can bring to bear. We can wipe them out as we move. If the city united the same way Dallas did, it’ll be bad to leave it alone, anyway. If they aren’t as tightly knit, then we can break some of them and maybe find an ally.”

“If you have a Bradley and will bring it north, I’m game to try looting more of the dump. You’d be the only real stop to the dragon, but the risk-reward at that point makes it better for us. Nellis, though…” Shawn paused and sucked at his teeth for a moment. “I’d have to see if anyone even wants to chance that. If the base is empty, the loot will be amazing for any who go, but if the base is still there, we’ll be risking a lot without clear gains.”

“That’s true. If the base survived, they can start taking the air back. Helping them with their problem should bring them in as allies willing to work with you.”

“I’ll speak to the team leaders who are here and see who’s up for it,” Shawn said. “I’ll go to Hawthorne, as I want to see that done. I can’t risk Nellis, though.” Taking his daughter’s hand, he gave Alvin a steady look.

“That’s your call. Those who want to go will have to do it knowing I’m the lead. Make sure that’s clear, because I won’t stand for idiots.”

“I remember,” Shawn snorted. “Fine, I’ll talk to them after dinner. Did you want a tour of the place? It’s been a while since you’ve been here.”

“I won’t say no,” Alvin said. “Has it changed much?”

“Mostly upgrades,” Shawn admitted, getting to his feet. “We have new professional buildings since the change, but I’m sure you know how that works. It’ll be easier to just walk you through it all.”

“Did you pick up settlement-to-settlement transport?” Gothy asked.

“Just the other day,” Shawn smiled. “Placido and his daughters went to say hi to James. They’ll be back for dinner.”

“Wait, it’s people, too? Not just stuff?” Alvin asked.

“Surprised us, too,” Shawn chuckled. “Nice to see that you can still be surprised by things.”

“That’s going to cheapen fast travel,” Alvin murmured.

“No. Fast travel still makes a lot of sense for those who go out. Makes it easy to get back, since it cuts well down on travel time that way. If it wasn’t for the summon vehicle button, the teams would still need to come back the long way.”

“We don’t use it often, ourselves,” Alvin said. “I can see where they’d find it entirely useful, though.”

“Only two teams have picked it up so far— Karee’s and John’s— but they both push out much further now because of being able to come back when needed,” Shawn said.

“Make sure they know that they can’t fast travel through Gates,” Desiree said. “We’ve told our respective leaders so that settlements can be set up on both sides of a Gate to make that easier.”

“Hmm. Good to know,” Shawn said. “I’ll make sure they get told when they come back.”

Chapter Seven

The tour showed them that a farm still had a reason to be around— the crops could be harvested every month, and at a high yield. A single farm could sustain a few hundred people and only required one farmer to keep it going. Beatty had a half dozen farms set up— which had them overstocked on food— and had been selling to the Dwarves.

Dale and Vicki, the rancher couple Alvin and Gothy had met on their way to Bridgeport, had made it to Beatty with their cows. They’d set up a cattle ranch that they were taking care of, so the settlement was able to have beef without buying any. Another couple had set up a pig farm on the downwind side of the settlement, giving them all the bacon they could want.

Outside of those, Beatty also had each type of craft available, even Battle Armor repair. Shawn had introduced them to Rusty, the man in charge of the shop. The overly-large man grinned and tried to crush Alvin’s hand, grimacing when Alvin returned the favor.

“Your brother’s been working on a couple of upgrades for the armor we’re waiting to start trying,” Shawn said. “Rocket boosters in the boots to jump, and folding wings that should let the wearer glide.”

“Figured he’d go Nuclear Winter with them,” Gothy snickered. “He loved those games.”

“Most of us who gamed loved them,” Shawn said. “Speaking of, I need to show you the other entertainment center. I’ve heard about your holo-room, and we have a lesser version of it for training, but we have another lesser version for games.”

Alvin’s steps slowed. “Wait… say that again?”

“We have what gamers had been clamoring for: a full 3D, holographic center for our old games. Nuclear Winter isn’t the way it had been. Now, you’re in the game.”

Gothy laughed. “Does David know that’s possible?”

“He knows. He owes us a prototype rocket set-up for the armor for telling him,” Shawn laughed. “We’ve been using it for the kids. Since the violence there is obviously not real, it helps them slowly adapt to the idea that the world is dangerous.”

“That’s good,” Mousie said. She’d relaxed around Shawn during the tour, since he didn’t leer at her. “Teaching them early will help them later.”

“Yes. Did you arrange to share that with my father?” Desiree asked.

“Already did. It netted us our first few sets of armor,” Shawn smiled. “My brother’s been having a better time since he’s been there. He was always a Dwarf first player, so he’s been getting along famously.”

“What about their envoy?” Alvin asked.

“Lady Steelblood? She was aloof and cold to start with,” Shawn chuckled. “She started to adapt after the first week. She spends a lot of time with either me or my father. Cars and guns have been what she’s fixated on.”

“Not surprising,” Desiree said. “Her clan has been on the front lines with the fungal invasion for the last three generations. Anything that can help them would be the first thing she’d want to know more about.”

“She’s had some crazy ideas for armored transport,” Shawn said. “I helped her create blueprints for a vehicle yesterday. She’s probably already sent it to her clan to create.”

“I do hope that her goal hasn’t shifted to thinking about the throne,” Desiree said.

“It has not,” Steelblood said from behind them. “I will vie as we all do when the time comes, but my first goal is the same as your father stated his was.”

“To eradicate the fungal horde,” Desiree said, turning to her fellow Dwarf and saluting. “Lady Steelblood, it’s good to see you again.”

“I was shocked to hear that you were here,” Lady Steelblood said. “I shouldn’t have been, since it was your husband that learned of fast travel first.”

“I’m resourceful that way,” Alvin smiled.

“You’ve certainly helped bring hope to some of us. Why did you travel all the way here, though?”

“Killing things and taking their loot.”

Lady Steelblood laughed. “Yes, that does make sense, from what I’ve heard about you.”

“I’ll be discussing it after dinner,” Shawn told her. “You’ll want to be there.”

“I’ve never missed a meal yet. The food here is too good to pass up.”

“A woman has to know her priorities,” Gothy said.

“Food ranks in my top three,” Steelblood replied.

“It does for many of us, too,” Desiree replied.

“That covers the tour, anyway,” Shawn said. “It’s going to be a while for dinner to be ready, and I need to finish the job I set aside earlier.”

“We’ll see you for dinner,” Alvin said. “We’ll come back near sundown.”

“That works,” Shawn said. “Come on, Kate. We need to finish up that job for Jones.”

Lady Steelblood said her goodbyes as well and followed Shawn. With no one else to talk to until dinnertime, the group retired back to their base.

~
*
~
*
~

“Welcome home, sir. I have letters back from Susan and Istel regarding the items.”

“What’d they say?” Alvin asked.

“Susan says they’re very low on XP to buy things currently, but they’d absolutely want it. She’s willing to make some kind of deal with you, but that it’s entirely up to you.”

“They’ve always been good to us, but it’s a unique item,” Gothy said. “Not sure we can make a deal with them that’d be worth the upfront loss.”

“We can see what she has to say,” Alvin said. “We have time before dinner as it is.”

“That’s true,” Gothy said.

“Istel is working on getting the XP from the Queen,” Jarvis said. “She asked us to hold on for a day or two until she knows how much she has to work with to buy it from us.”

“She’s getting the XP from the Queen?” Mousie asked.

“Queen Night has apparently been looking for a way to reward Wintersbreath,” Jarvis said. “Istel has been commissioned to make a blade worthy of her champion.”

“We’ll wait to see what they offer,” Alvin said. “In the meantime, I’ll just step on over to Green River and check-in with Susan.”

“Be safe,” Gothy said, giving him a kiss.

“Not coming with?” Alvin asked.

“No. I want to talk with our wives about something, and it’ll be easier with you away. Do come find us when you get back.”

“Definitely be making it quick,” Alvin said. “I have incentive to hurry, after all. I’ll fast travel from the kiosk room so I don’t blind everyone.”

“I appreciate that,” Jarvis said from the kitchen. “I’ve already lodged my complaint with the devs, and from my talking with others, I’m not the only one to have done so.”

“We can add to that,” Gothy said.

“I’ll drop a line, too, even though they’re following me and my every word,” Alvin added. “Be back soon.”

~
*
~
*
~

Blinking away the stupid rainbow afterimages, Alvin staggered back a step when a hand clapped him on the back. Spinning, he had his knife in hand before registering who’d touched him. “Dammit, Bill! I almost shanked you.”

“No, you almost tried to shank me,” Bill replied. “That knife isn’t cutting through my armor on a single hit. What’re you doing here? Where are the others?”

“I’m just stopping in to talk with Susan about an item we have for sale. The girls are back at the base, having a private chat.”

Bill’s eyebrow went up. “Well, that’s only going to go one of two ways for you.”

“Right? Knowing Gothy, it’ll be pleasant.”

“That’s a good point. She’s one of the most devoted women I’ve ever seen. Susan’s in her office.” Bill’s face lost some of its good cheer. “I have a question about when you left here last time.”

Alvin knew what was coming, but waited.

“Did you happen to see a certain group on your way out?”

Alvin stared at Bill for a long moment before shrugging. “I only saw vermin leaving the state. Even then, we didn’t kill anything until it attacked us.”

Bill sighed. “Yeah, thought that might be the case. They left a couple of days before you and never came back.”

“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer group of assholes.”

“Come on, I’ll walk you in to see her. Her mood swings have gotten a lot worse… thought you’d like to be prepared for that.”

“Yeah, I’ll try to keep my usual asshole-y nature a bit more subdued. Getting killed by Susan would annoy all of us.”

“You can say that again,” Bill laughed hard.

“How’s James been holding up?”

“Doing alright. He’s been calming down a bit over the impending fatherhood. We still have six-ish months until she’s due, and I was worried he was going to wring himself out before that point.”

“Any news on the fish-demon front?”

“Hasn’t given us any other trouble, but it’s cleared a large swath near the river. The rail bridge is down now, too. It’s been leaving the highway alone, though, thankfully.”

“It’d make for a stupidly long detour if it did,” Alvin said.

“It’d also make it less likely for others to find us.”

“There is that.”

“Oh, and thanks for helping the Indians. The tribe to the north contacted us a couple of days ago and the guy we spoke to said he was with Johnny in Bridgeport.”

“Oh, one of the few who survived? Johnny did say that they were going out to help the other tribes.”

“They’ve offered to help with the fish-demon ‘when the time comes.’ He wouldn’t say when that would be, though.”

“Johnny’s bad enough for that shit,” Alvin sighed. “If he’s a shaman, it’ll be nearly priceless to get his help. They can cut down on the mental bullshit.”

“That’d be good, because I haven’t thought of a way around that yet. The terror worm meat you sold us is being set aside for when we do go after it... We’re getting things ready slowly. James has cautioned us to be extra careful about it, since we don’t know what else it might be able to do that we haven’t seen.”

“He’s got a good point,” Alvin said. “The training room only shows what’s known about it.”

They came to a stop in front of Susan’s office. Bill knocked twice loudly and waited.

“Not just going in?” Alvin asked.

“She threw a knife at me last week for doing that,” Bill said. “While not deadly now, it was still a good warning. Like I said, she’s going through changes.”

“Double check,” Alvin said.

“Come in,” Susan said.

“Good luck,” Bill chuckled as he opened the door and stepped aside. “Alvin’s here to see you.”

Alvin rolled his eyes at the older man before stepping inside.

Susan sat behind her desk, and the apprentice she’d taken was sitting at a smaller desk in the corner of the room. Susan stared at Alvin with a frown as he crossed the room. “Alvin? You didn’t warn me you were coming.”

“I thought Jarvis’ letter was enough warning, considering you asked to speak about it.”

“Yes, fine. The blood would be very useful for the nurses, but it’s unique, and I know that means it was hard to get and could fetch a lot on the auction house.”

“Kind of easy to get, actually,” Alvin said. “The mob was cut down by the Bradley without any real trouble. It was a mini-boss, though, so it’s not going to spawn again quickly.”

“Hmm... you could still get a lot for it, if you wanted. Why don’t you tell me what you want?”

Alvin leaned back, studying Susan. “You look tired, Susan. How’re you holding up?”

“Fine!” Susan snapped, before taking a deep breath and saying in a more moderate tone, “I’m fine. Sorry, things are just busy. Our best hunting team vanished shortly after you left last time, and I’m fairly certain I’m hormonal because of the pregnancy.”

“Knowing your liabilities is always good. I’m not here to jack you for XP or anything else. I know I could get more from the auction house, but…” Alvin struggled with the words as he trailed off.

Susan frowned as she watched him before her lips twitched up and she laughed. “You like us.”

Alvin grimaced. “I think Gothy’s been rubbing off on me. Back when this all started, I wouldn’t have balked at taking everything I could for it. Now, losing a little bit of XP to help a few select people is okay.”

Susan’s expression softened and she sniffled. “I knew you’d be a good man.”

“Whoa, slow down the waterworks,” Alvin said. “I can make an inappropriate joke or comment on your obvious assets, if that’ll help.”

Susan laughed and wiped at her eyes. “Still the same asshole regardless of stats. I’d kill you if you did the second one right now, though.”

“Fair enough. Look, the item was a bonus, for all intents and purposes. Why don’t you come up with a number and send it via the kiosk? You can do installments if you want, and don’t feel like you have to try to give us the full price, either. Consider the lesser price a bridal and baby shower gift.”

Susan shook her head. “Really rubbing off on you... Okay, I’ll arrange things.”

Alvin pulled the item out and set it on her desk. “Here you go.”

Susan picked it up, putting it into her bag. “I’ll hand it off later. Are you going to stay for dinner?”

“Have dinner plans in Beatty already. We’ll be back before too long, though.”

Susan rose to her feet and came around the desk. “Okay. We’ll have dinner when you do come back.”

“Sold,” Alvin said as he went to her and gave her a gentle hug. “I’ll step into the hall before leaving. You take care of yourself, and the baby.”

“I will. Thank you.”

Chapter Eight

Alvin walked into the base after fast traveling back to Beatty. “Jarvis, where are they?”

“Welcome home, sir. I believe they’ve been in the training room since you left.”

“Really? Huh, thought they’d be in the dungeon.”

“I’ll be retiring early tonight, sir, since you’ll be having dinner in Beatty.”

“Works. Have a good night.”

Heading to the training room, Alvin stopped in the medical bay first. The machine was still working hard on the DNA it’d been given. Taking a few minutes to play with the interface, Alvin chuckled as he changed the process from broad applications to a narrow one.

Smiling, he left the medical bay behind and went into the training room. He was in a small, empty room with a door across from him. “Different...” Alvin muttered as he went to the door, discovering that it was locked. Pushing the button beside the door, he tried again, but it was still locked.

“Hero?” Gothy’s voice came from beside the button.

“Do you think Jarvis would be likely to bother you?”

“You didn’t bring anyone with you, right?”

“There is only Zuul.”

“Hang on,” Gothy laughed.

After a little bit of time, there was a distinctive click of a lock being opened. With a chuckle, he pushed the door open and stepped inside. Blackness filled the room, with only the light from the smaller room giving any illumination.

“Gothy?”

“Shut the door, Hero.”

Intrigued at the lengths to which she was going to keep her secret as long as possible, Alvin did as she said. When the door shut, the sound of the lock locking again made Alvin wonder why she felt the need for it to be locked. A dim light lit up, showing him that there was a comfortable-looking chair a few feet to his left. His name was embroidered in the fabric, so he did as Gothy obviously wanted and took a seat.

Soft lights pierced the darkness, illuminating the trio of beauties Alvin loved as the light above his seat went out. Gothy smiled at where Alvin sat, giving him a wink just before music began to play.

Alvin sat entranced as the women launched into a choreographed dance routine. A collection of some of his favorite songs played as they ground against each other and made out in time to the music. Each song brought them closer and closer to where he sat, and their clothing kept changing into skimpier and skimpier outfits.

Alvin was so focused on Gothy standing behind Mousie, fondling the nude Elf and nibbling on her ears, that he lost track of Desiree. He suddenly remembered she was there when two strong hands tilted his head up, and soft lips met his with hunger. Reaching up, he put his hand behind her head to keep her in place so he could kiss her back.

“Hero, dismiss your clothes,” Gothy said with a heated voice.

His clothing vanished, though Alvin never stopped kissing Desiree. He let out a deep moan as two tongues began to duel over his hard cock. His moan cut off briefly in surprise when the chair he was in was suddenly replaced by a soft, flat surface. Before he got a chance to question it, Desiree had moved so her wet slit was above his mouth. Alvin needed no further invitation— he eagerly lapped at her sex while the other two continued to work on his firm flesh.

Desiree ground against his mouth minutes later as she orgasmed. Alvin never stopped his attentions to her, trying to bring her to a second orgasm, but Desiree staggered away from him on shaky legs.

“Come back here, and I’ll—! Fuck!” Alvin started, but grunted the expletive as a mouth finally engulfed his rigid length.

“Yes. Yes, you will,” Gothy laughed as she swung her leg up and over his face, pushing her dripping pussy down to his mouth. “First, though, we’re all going to get an orgasm from your mouth.”

Alvin moaned into her sex as he licked at her with eagerness.

“Oh, yes... thank you, Desiree,” Gothy said breathlessly when Desiree began to pinch and roughly play with Gothy’s hard nipples. “All while we watch our devoted wife try to get him to orgasm before I do, because as soon as I do, she has to switch places with me.”

Mousie was doing her very best to prove Gothy right. She was bobbing up and down Alvin’s shaft with urgency, pausing every third descent to suck hard at the thick cock in her mouth.

“Stop him,” Gothy panted when Alvin reached for Mousie’s head.

Desiree caught his wrists, preventing him from getting to Mousie’s ears, and pulled one of his hands over to her pussy. “Here, Hero... if you have to play with something, play with me.”

Alvin grunted in frustration and pleasure, as Gothy was nearly suffocating him. Mousie wasn’t actually trying to get him off, but instead keeping him right on the edge of orgasm without pushing him over. Alvin had been trying to change that when Desiree intercepted his hands and made him work on her instead. Alvin had had enough— he’d been playing gentle-rough with Gothy, but now, he clamped down on her clit and lightly chewed it with his lips.

Gothy moaned loudly and raked her nails across his chest as she pushed against his mouth. The only reason her thighs didn’t crush his head was because of the soft cushion he was resting on. Her toes curled as she rode out her orgasm and, with an explosive exhale, she pushed off him, nearly throwing herself backward to get away from him.

Alvin panted hard, as he’d been denied oxygen while she came. That panting turned to disappointed growling when Mousie’s mouth released his aching cock. “Fuck, Mousie! Why?”

“Because we agreed,” Desiree said as she stepped down to swing her leg over his waist.

“Agreed to w—?” Alvin tried to ask, but Mousie replaced Gothy and cut him off.

Alvin clamped down on her sex roughly, intent on making her cum as quickly as possible. Mousie let out her pleasured squeak, eyes rolling back as she surrendered her body to him. Alvin lost track of what he was doing for a brief moment when Desiree grabbed his cock and pushed down with her hips. A deep guttural growl of pleasure came from both Desiree and Alvin as she quickly impaled herself on his manhood.

“Yes... work him,” Gothy panted, moving back to her lover, “but not too much, Desiree. Remember what we agreed on.”

“Yes, Gothy... I know… but, fuck…” She stopped fucking Alvin with a disappointed hiss and clamped her hands onto his thighs.

“Remember the punishment if you fail,” Gothy reminded her. “Mousie has to orgasm before he does.”

“Help her, please,” Desiree gasped as she stayed as still as she could. She pressed down on Alvin’s thighs hard, trying to restrict his ability to thrust up into her. “He’s nearly frantic.”

“We wanted him to understand how we get when he plays with us,” Gothy said soothingly. “He might not love it as much as we do, but it’ll help him understand more.”

“Gothy... please! My ears...” Mousie squeaked. “He knows, he knows! Please!”

“Okay, my beautiful toy,” Gothy purred, moving to stand behind Mousie. “Watch our other wife trying to stop our husband from fucking her silly.”

“I am,” Mousie moaned. “I want it, too.”

“We all do, every day, every hour,” Gothy said. “We’re making sure he can better understand our deep needs for him and each other. I know he knows, but knowing and understanding can be different.”

“Yes!” Mousie nearly shouted the word as her legs trembled and her eyes rolled back in her head again.

Desiree let go of Alvin’s legs and began to hammer her hips into his when she heard Mousie orgasm. “Fill me, Hero!”

Alvin flooded her with his cum only a moment after he was allowed to fuck her again. His moan of pleasure was suddenly audible when Gothy lifted Mousie from his mouth.

Desiree never slowed, her hips continuing to demand more from him as he slammed his hips up to meet hers. Alvin’s hands clamped down onto her thighs, driving them together even more. Desiree whimpered lightly and bent forward to claim his mouth with her own. Both of them moaned into the kiss when a tongue licked at their joining, cleaning up the mess that was being made.

“Mousie, come help,” Gothy said, pausing only briefly in her attentions to order her submissive lover.

“Yes, Gothy,” Mousie said.

The bench Alvin was laying on shifted slightly under him, allowing Gothy and Mousie equal access. Desiree let out a deep moan and sat up abruptly, her hands slamming into Alvin’s chest as her hips hammered into his.

“Hero,” Desiree moaned as the orgasm flooded her.

Alvin was shocked when Desiree was suddenly plucked from him. He started to sit up, only to find Gothy over him. “Mine,” Alvin growled and grabbed her hips.

“Always,” Gothy moaned. She was barely able to line up with him before he slammed her down, impaling her as deeply as he could. “Always yours, Hero!”

Alvin held her there, pummeling her for a minute, before he pulled her down to him and rolled them over. Alvin grinned when Gothy let out a surprised intake of breath as they left the cushioned bench, falling the few inches to the floor.

“Mine, and how I want it,” Alvin said from above her. Grabbing her hands, he pinned them above her head.

Gothy’s eyelids fluttered as Alvin took her. She tried twice to yank her hands free, but Alvin held her with bruising force, which only heightened her pleasure. She was floating in her own head as she came time and time again.

Alvin finally stopped, having orgasmed a second time, and pushed himself off her. “Good... girl,” he panted.

“Hero? Is it my turn?” Mousie asked.

Looking at her, he smiled. Mousie was bent over a padded bar, her ass in the air and wiggling an invitation to him. Desiree was moving away from Mousie, licking her lips and giving Alvin a wink as she went toward Gothy.

“Yes, Mousie, it’s your turn,” Alvin said. His cock had started to soften, but it firmed back up when she’d gotten his attention.

“I’ll clean our gothic succubus up,” Desiree said.

“Thank you, Desiree,” Alvin smiled as he positioned himself behind Mousie. “I’ll give our submissive Elf what she needs.”

“Please...” Mousie said softly. “Rough and fast.”

Alvin chuckled as he spanked her firm ass. “I know, Mousie... I know.” One hand went to her hip and the other caught her hair, forcing her to bow her neck. “You’re mine, too.”

“Yes!” Mousie squeaked when Alvin pushed into her.

Desiree cast a glance at them, sadness filling her gaze for a moment, as she was the only one Alvin hadn’t called his. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Alvin staring at her.

“You’re mine, too, Desiree,” Alvin said as he pounded himself into Mousie. “I’ll be having you again once she’s had hers. I’m going to lay you out so Gothy and Mousie can play with you when it’s your turn.”

Desiree’s heart surged and she nodded. “As my husband demands, so I will obey.”

“Now, start cleaning Gothy up. We have hours before dinner.”

Chapter Nine

Alvin stretched as he left the shower, where his wives were still washing up. He’d been surprised that the training room had been spotless once it had been shut down, and it made him happy that they hadn’t left a mess behind.

The wine bottle on the table caught his eye, and he went to check it. Picking up the note beside it, he read:

Sir,

Shawn won’t drink any, but Marie, Laurel, and their husbands will. Please take this with my thanks for them communicating with me.

Jarvis

Pocketing the wine, Alvin shook his head. “Will do, buddy.”

“You didn’t give us enough time to scrub you down, Hero,” Gothy said, coming out of the bathroom behind him.

“I think you three had enough time dictating what could be done with and to me,” Alvin said.

“You enjoyed it,” Gothy said.

“It was different and fun,” Alvin admitted. “I don’t care for denial play, though.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Gothy said. “Never got the chance to ask, but how did the talk with Susan go?”

“Good. I gave her the item. She’ll find a way to pay us back.”

“Thought you might do that. Decided the goodwill was better than XP upfront?”

“Susan and the others have been good to us, and honestly, Betty and the others are probably the most advanced medical staff we know, so they’d have the best chance to find a good use for it.”

“True.”

“I would’ve lost,” Desiree admitted as they came out of the bedroom.

“Yes,” Mousie giggled.

“What’s up?” Alvin asked.

“She thought Gothy would be on her knees again,” Mousie explained.

“Not in the living room,” Gothy said. “This is family space, and Jarvis might come out. He’s asked us not to go too far with him in the room, and I respect him enough to concede to that wish.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that was a rule,” Desiree said. “I’ll do the same.”

“Pretty sure we discussed that before you joined us,” Alvin said. “Oh, before I forget: the DMV can be focused on specific parts of DNA. I have it pulling mental resistance from the terror worm instead of just generalized DNA.”

“No tentacles for us,” Gothy snickered.

“Hopefully not, but that doesn’t preclude it having an odd side effect,” Alvin said. “We’ll see what might happen once it’s done getting the information.”

“Does that mean we could’ve had scales instead of skin?” Mousie asked.

“Possibly? I didn’t check for that, since I prefer smooth skin.”

“Don’t we all,” Gothy laughed.

“Since we’re all here, let’s get going,” Alvin said. “Gothy, take Turtle out. I’m going to take the Bradley out. This way, Shawn and the others can see the firepower that we can bring.”

“That makes sense,” Gothy said, just before her stomach rumbled. “And food, please?”

“That’s why we’re going,” Alvin said, hooking an arm around her waist and making her walk. “Come on. The sooner we’re there, the sooner we eat.”

“Sold!” Gothy laughed as she let him guide her.

~
*
~
*
~

Alvin chuckled when he saw the wide eyes of dozens of people watching the two vehicles pull into the area designated for cars. Parking the Bradley, he killed the engine and climbed out of the driver’s position.

Mousie triggered the ramp door in the back, walking calmly out with Desiree beside her. “Hero, should we leave the ramp down?”

“Might as well. Let them get a good look. It’s not like they can take off with it, and if they damage it, Shawn will make sure they pay for it.”

“Making an entrance?” Shawn asked from the porch of the main building.

“Wanted to show what we’ll be bringing for the party,” Alvin replied. People were wandering toward the vehicles and Alvin raised his hands and whistled. “Hey, listen up. You can check out the vehicles, but if you damage them, I’ll have your blood.”

“Dinner was just called. You can look them over after,” Shawn said. “I’m calling a meeting for the hunters that are back after dinner, too.”

Several people looked intrigued at his words, but everyone shifted direction, going toward the building again. Alvin and his wives joined the growing throng.

Their dinner was steak and potatoes with a side salad. A handful of people had variations with no steak and more vegetables, and some of the younger kids looked to have just a simple sandwich.

Marie, Laurel, Placido, and Wynn split the bottle of wine between them. Mousie explained how the wine differed, since it was from her world, leading to Placido asking about the grapes and if they could be grown in Beatty.

Marie just shook her head and sighed, explaining that her husband was always a dreamer, thinking of the next big thing. Shawn shot down his idea of trying to become the Napa Valley of the apocalypse.

With the meal over, the hunter teams retired to a smaller dining room with coffee or liquor. Shawn was the last one into the room, though Kate was not with him, having been pulled off to help with the dishes.

“Thanks for coming,” Shawn said, looking at the two dozen people in the room besides Alvin’s small group. “Some of you remember Alvin, and some of you have heard about him.”

“I don’t remember the Elf and Dwarf,” one of the men said. “I’d like to think my memory isn’t that bad.”

“Mousie and Desiree,” Alvin said, nodding to each of them. “My wives, along with Gothy.”

“Polygamy is illegal,” a severe-looking woman sniffed.

“
Was
. Now it’s not,” Gothy said with a false smile. “After all, who’s going to be able to enforce that outdated morality?”

“Stop,” Shawn said. “Please,” he added a second later.

Gothy shrugged. “You know us, Shawn.”

“Yeah, I do,” Shawn sighed. “Lorretta, don’t get on your high horse, not with them. They came with plans for us to make a lot of XP and loot. And if need be, I’ll just exclude you and your group if it means they’ll work with us. They have the firepower to give it a damned good shot alone.”

“And die in the process,” Lorretta snorted.

“Extra lives,” Alvin said, staring at her. “Do you have any?”

Lorretta’s mouth snapped shut and she looked away from him in a huff.

“Okay, if we’re done with that?” Shawn waited for a moment, but no one else spoke up. “Al, why don’t you explain your idea to them?”

“It’s simple,” Alvin said. “Hawthorne has a dragon, but that was the only thing guarding it, last we knew. The Bradley and Turtle can kill it, if given the chance. Taking it down would free up looting the rest of the ammo dump. Lots of good stuff up there still.”

“Its fire breath doesn’t really care about armor,” someone said.

“True, but inside the vehicles, you still get the protection of the armor. A small team to man the Turtle is what we need, along with some trucks down the way to take the things we loot once it’s dead.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” the one who recognized them said. “I’ve seen a Bradley in action. The Bushmaster can deal some impressive damage.”

“With the upgrades we have, it’ll be even better,” Gothy said. “Five minutes of no reloading, for instance.”

That got the room talking excitedly.

“Wait!” Shawn said loudly to be heard over the rising din. “Alvin, please continue.”

“After that, I thought we could see if Nellis survived.”

The room went silent.

“There’s something else,” Shawn said. “I’m sure Indian Springs packed up right after the world changed, but there might be good stuff there, too. The drones there can be made to work again.”

The room again exploded into excited chatter and Alvin chuckled, having forgotten about what he knew as Creech Air Force Base, which had been Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field.

A sharp whistle cut over the noise and Mousie cursed as she grabbed at her ears. “King’s testicles!” Alvin, Desiree, and Gothy all laughed, not having heard that one before, while the rest of the room looked at her with curiosity.

“Sorry,” Shawn apologized to her.

Mousie waved it off. “I know you didn’t do it intentionally, but it still hurt.”

“Alvin, you want to tell them why Nellis?”

“Nellis might’ve survived,” Alvin shrugged. “If they did, you have a potential ally with military equipment, but they’re likely being hounded by the undead. Rolling in to help them could be exactly what’s needed to get them on friendly terms. The Wichita Falls Air Force was doing good in Texas— they had the old planes up and running, and were on their way with jets and helicopters.” Alvin told the last line as if it was the truth, even though he had no way to know. “Imagine what they could do to help secure the airspace.”

“I’m sold on Hawthorne and Indian Springs,” Shawn said before anyone else could. “Nellis is the big gamble, but with potential major gains for us if the base survived or major loot if it didn’t. So, who’s willing to take on the risk? Let’s see hands for each task, starting with Hawthorne. Before you all sign up, there is one major caveat: Alvin is the one leading all three raids.”

“Why him
?” Lorretta demanded.

“Because without us, your chances are close to zero,” Alvin said. “Don’t like it, stay here. If you go, you’ll listen to what my team says. Failure to do so could lead to people dying, and that’d be bad for the entire settlement.”

“I’ll go,” the man who remembered them said. “I remember you trying to keep the dragon off us originally. You’ll do your best for us, and that’s enough for me.”

“Sorry,” Alvin said. “I don’t recall your name and it’s bugging me. Who’re you?”

“Milo,” Milo snorted. “I was with you for the drake skinning.”

“Oh, right. Sorry,” Alvin said. “Been busy since then.”

Milo’s eyes drifted to the women next to Alvin, and a sardonic smile touched his lips. “Yeah, I can see that.”

Desiree laughed. “With more than just us.”

“Yeah, I know,” Milo said. “Fast travel only happened because of you. I’m grateful.”

“Okay,” Shawn said. “Hands up for Hawthorne?”

“Wait!” Lorretta called out. “What do we get out of it?”

“Equal loot,” Alvin said. “Loot is distributed by the system, and unless the quest states otherwise, it’ll be just as we say. You get the same chance as us for good items, which is a lot with a dragon on the field. The extra non-mob loot will be split into thirds. Beatty settlement gets a share, those who go with us get a third split among you, and my team gets a third.”

“You get a third all by yourself?” Lorretta asked.

“Shawn, we aren’t taking her,” Gothy said. “All she does is bitch and complain. I know she’ll opt out of listening, and you don’t want that to happen.”

Shawn grimaced. “Yeah. Lorretta, take your team and go.”

“What? I’m just asking important questions. Even with their equipment, a third of all the non-mob loot is too much.”

“Who’s fine with the breakdown of loot?” Alvin asked. All hands went up, except for Lorretta and her team. “Seems like everyone else is good with it.”

“Fine. I’ll stop asking questions,” Lorretta snorted. “I’m good for Hawthorne, at least.”

“We’ll want a team of truckers and rigs to get to work as soon as we’re done up there,” Alvin said. “We’ll have to come back here for Creech— I mean Indian Springs and Nellis. So, the people who want to loot Indian Springs can wait for a bit.”

“Understood,” Shawn said. “If no one else has complaints, let’s see who’s willing to raid each location.”

The poll didn’t take long to see who was going where. The only one who opted out of any of them was Shawn, and that was only for Nellis.

“Fine. We’ll see you all tomorrow morning,” Alvin said as he got to his feet. “Be prepared for a fight when we get there. We don’t know if it’ll come down for us right away or if we have to get its attention. I have an idea or three of how to get it to notice us, but we’ll see how it goes.”

Everyone started to leave, but Shawn motioned Alvin to stay for a minute. Once the room emptied, Shawn asked, “Do you think you’ll have trouble with Lorretta?”

“Probably, but I’ll end that quickly,” Alvin said. “She’s been warned. I’ll give her a hard warning the first time she acts up, then finish it the second. Maybe you should have a word with her if you want her and her team to survive?”

“Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of,” Shawn sighed. “See you in the morning.”

“Night,” Alvin said, triggering the base portal. “Ladies, let’s go home.”

Chapter Ten

Alvin drove Ruffian out of the base, the growl of the engine catching the attention of those nearby. Shawn waved him over when he saw the Mustang, and Alvin drove over to him before shutting the engine off and getting out.

“I was wondering if you still drove her,” Shawn said.

“Not often, but she gets out now and again. She’ll be following us north.”

“Why?”

“Bait. Dragons are intelligent, and it just might remember that Ruffian injured it and got away.”

“Hmm... Worth a try. Everyone’s getting ready. We should be going in twenty.”

Alvin handed Shawn a key to the Turtle. “You’re the driver, and the only passenger is going to be Gothy. With her cooldowns, she’ll be on the gun. Mousie will be on the Bradley’s gun for the same reason.”

“Giving the most burst damage they can get all at once,” Shawn nodded. “Okay. What’s the full plan?”

“Ruffian is going in first, with us staying back at the edges. If we see the dragon coming in, the two of us go in to engage. Once we’re fighting it, the others can move up and give what help they can while staying out of the main fight.”

“Keeping them safe.”

“Out of the way, mostly,” Alvin shrugged. “If the dragon doesn’t take the bait, we’re going to have to find its hidey-hole and attack it there.”

“I hope for option A,” Shawn said.

“So do I.”

“Hero, we good?” Gothy asked, coming out of the garage portal with the other two trailing her.

“Ten-ish minutes,” Alvin said. “Are you ready to go with Shawn?”

“Yeah. Not sure he’s ready to go with me, though,” Gothy laughed.

Shawn rolled his eyes. “I already know he’s the only guy, so I’m safe.”

“Smart,” Mousie nodded.

“Do they all have radios?” Desiree asked. “That way, we can run on the same coms.”

“Yeah, we’ll sync as soon as they’re all ready,” Shawn said. “Where are you going to be during the fight?” Shawn asked Desiree.

“Command position. I’ll be the one keeping it in sight and directing the action.”

“I thought Alvin was going to do that?” Shawn asked, looking puzzled.

“I’m a better driver,” Alvin chuckled. “Desiree has been in enough combat that she’d be the best choice for command, anyway. Besides, maybe we’ll have less trouble from the problem child that way.”

“One can hope,” Shawn said. “Wait, who’s driving the Mustang?”

“Ruffian will drive herself,” Alvin grinned. “Vehicles can do that. It’s not great, but they can. I’ve plotted a course through the ammo dump, so it’ll be a bit smarter than normal.”

“No one will be at risk that way... Smart.”

“I know,” Alvin chuckled. “I’m going to get the beast started. You might as well do the same for Turtle.”

“Works for me,” Shawn said, heading for the Humvee. “Are we stopping in Goldfield?”

“Hadn’t planned on it. Did that settlement stay there?”

“No. Most of them came back here after a few weeks, so there are only a handful of people and the ghosts there. From what we heard, the ghost children talk about you two a lot.”

Gothy grinned. “Hero, we should stop in and see them on the way back.”

“As you wish, Gothy,” Alvin said. “That’s later, though. Right now, we’re on a quest to slay the dragon.”

“Oh right,” Shawn said and began fiddling with his interface. “There we go.”

Quest: Slay the Hawthorne Scourge

Rewards: Increased reputation with Beatty Settlement.

Note: All loot drops are split evenly.

Note 2: All non-mob loot is split into three groups and divided later.

Alvin accepted the quest. “And that seals the deal. Let’s get things moving.”

~
*
~
*
~

The drive was long— nearly five hours— because of the speed the Bradley could travel. A couple of the raiders had grumbled about it, but were shut up by Shawn. Alvin filed away an idea for next time they had a long trip over land before a raid.

The sun was just past the midway point when the group got to the last curve in the road before Hawthorne. Alvin looked at the streets of what had been Luning, Nevada as they went past it.

Ruffian’s engine growled and took off down the road, gaining speed as she went, zipping past the entire convoy.

“Okay, folks, look sharp. From this point on, we’re officially engaged,” Alvin said over the radio. “If the dragon is going to take the bait, it’ll be chasing Ruffian by the time we get there. It could come from anywhere and it moves fast, so be ready.”

“Locked and ready to rock,” Gothy said.

“Ready here,” Mousie added.

A chorus of voices chimed in after that, adding their affirmation to being ready to fight.

They were still ten minutes away from the ammo dump when Mousie spotted the dragon first. “It’s chasing, Hero. Buttoning up now.”

“You heard her, folks. Things are about to get interesting,” Alvin said. “You know what to do.”

“Following you. Will break away when needed,” Shawn said.

“Copy,” Alvin said. “Mousie, Gothy, trigger your cooldowns at your discretion.”

“Understood.”

“You got it, Hero.”

It only took them minutes to come up on the ammo dump, but it felt far longer. Mousie had the gun trained on the dragon as they closed, just waiting for them to be as close as possible before she started to fire.

“That thing is fucking huge...” someone said over the radio.

“And it breathes flames…?” another person asked with a questioning lilt as a spear of bright flame stabbed down from the dragon’s mouth.

“That’s going to seriously hurt my baby,” Gothy growled.

“We’ll be there in a minute,” Alvin said. “Ruffian has a lot of armor, so she’ll be fine. Get ready. She should be turning for us in a second. Everyone else, hold up here. Desiree, you’ve got command.”

“Roger. Backup unit, hold and be ready to assist. Shawn, swing to the left. Get some distance so its wide flame can’t get us both.”

“Copy.”

“Mousie, you have better range, but wait for Gothy to open up first. Gothy, you’re the lead.”

“Got it,” Gothy replied. “In five… four…”

Ruffian raced past them, crossing the highway from the southern depot to the central one. The dragon shot another lance of flame at Ruffian as it bounded over the main road. Mousie had her gun ready, just waiting for Gothy to fire.

The first shot rang out from the Humvee, and a second later, Mousie added to that, the sound of the Bushmaster running at full tilt lost to the thundering M2. They both triggered their cooldowns, using reload and critical strikes.

The dragon screeched as it took a broadside from the guns. Climbing as fast as it could, it turned its head to stare at the ones who would dare attack it. Seeing the Humvee and Bradley coming toward it, the beast was torn between killing the prey that had escaped it before or dealing with these new threats. As it hovered, the rounds began the process of breaking pieces of scale off it.

When Shawn drove the Humvee to the left, he warned Gothy before he plowed through the fencing. He was glad the Humvee was built tough and game mechanics were real, or else he might’ve just wrecked hard. Alvin did the same, but to the right. Though his split was a little slower than Shawn’s, Mousie was fine with that, as she was able to keep the damage pouring in. With its targets separating, the dragon roared in frustration and turned toward the larger one, which was causing it the most distress.

“Hero, it’s coming for us,” Desiree said.

“Good. The central bunkers have a penchant for exploding.”

“Interesting,” Desiree said. “Which ones?”

“Any of them could,” Alvin replied. “Mousie, if you and Gothy can make it hit one of those, it’d help.”

“Understood.”

“We’ll do our best, Hero.”

Alvin breathed deep as he put aside what was happening and focused on driving— he had to be as perfect as he could be. Like he’d told the women, any of the bunkers could explode, and he didn’t want them to take the brunt of it if one did.

The dragon didn’t have to fly fast to keep up with the Bradley, allowing it to breathe a lance of condensed flame directly at the Bushmaster. When the offending object didn’t melt immediately under its flame, it flew down toward them.

“It’s coming in,” Desiree said calmly. “Right in three… two… one… now.”

Alvin hit the controls hard, making the Bradley do as sharp a right as he could while still keeping them moving away. The dragon didn’t expect it to turn like that, not having ever seen a tracked vehicle before. The turn, along with Mousie and Gothy continuing to fire on it, made it almost miss the entirety of the Bradley. A single clawed hand scraped along the vehicle, producing a hellish noise, but also slowing the dragon further.

“No explosion,” Desiree sighed, watching the beast slam into one of the bunkers and crush a corner in.

“No, but it makes a beautiful sitting target,” Mousie added.

“Yes, it does,” Desiree agreed. “Hero, slow down a little. The dragon is still pulling itself from the rubble, and it looks upset.”

“Who wouldn’t be with all the shit hitting it?” Shawn laughed. “I’ve almost come to a dead stop so we don’t get too close to it.”

“Ruffian is heading back to Tonopah,” Gothy added. “It’s not going to bother with her when we’re here.”

“Clear coms,” Desiree said calmly. “Hero, go ahead and go. It’s free and taking to the air again.”

“Copy.”

Screeching in anger, the dragon flapped hard to gain ground. With a savage roar, it pivoted and flew directly at the Humvee, trying to smash it and stop them from chipping away its scales.

“Fuck!” Shawn yelled, slamming the gas pedal down and trying to run for it.

“Hero, turn back! It’s after them,” Desiree said.

“Copy.”

“Oh, shit. It’s mad!” Shawn yelled.

“Thanks for the ring, Hero,” Gothy exhaled gratefully. A lance of flame hit her square in the chest, but did no damage to her while the metal around her heated from the proximity of the flame. “I would’ve just died, otherwise.”

“Figured you might need it more than me. I’m sealed in the can, so it’s not like I was going to.”

Further conversation was cut off when the dragon hit the Humvee with all of its claws, then attempted to force its head into the gunner’s compartment to bite Gothy.

“Ha, called it!” Gothy laughed, as she had already ducked down. “Now to give it a spicy treat... Explosive, out!”

The dragon bit down and, when it felt something on its tongue, swallowed, before realizing there was no meat in what it had just eaten.

“Brakes!” Gothy shouted to Shawn as she slammed the hatch to the gunner’s spot closed.

Shawn did what she said without asking and hit the brakes hard. The Humvee started to tip onto its nose— the extra weight from the dragon got the back wheels to leave the ground. The beast let go, flapping wildly as it tried to right itself.

“Boom!” Gothy laughed.

The dragon glared at the Humvee and took a deep breath, planning to flame the person it could see sitting inside. Just before it exhaled, it screamed in rage as its stomach erupted in pain. Dropping to the ground, it curled up and huddled in on itself, never having felt pain like it was now.

Gothy was unbuttoning the hatch and standing back up when Alvin brought the Bradley even with the Humvee. Manic smile in place, she joined Mousie in shooting the dazed and injured dragon.

The scaled beast started to shift, wanting to escape as quickly as it could, but its movements were jerky and sluggish. Scales fell away and blood began to spurt from its hide. Shaking its head in disbelief, it held up both of its front claws in supplication, begging for them to grant it mercy. Unfortunately for it, neither Mousie nor Gothy were in much of a forgiving mood.

Ten seconds later, the creature fell over, unmoving. Everyone in their group had a pop-up appear in front of them, telling them that they’d completed the quest.

“Well, shit. That was sad,” Alvin laughed. “I bet Sammi is getting reamed over this.”

“Not her fault that those things keep trying to eat people,” Gothy said. “The explosive is what made this laughable. All the fight went out of it the moment it went off.”

“
You swallow some C4 and see how you feel,” Alvin snorted. “I’m shocked it was still alive after it went off. That, plus the guns continuing to fire after it gave up, means it had a stupid amount of life on top of that ridiculous armor. The Bushmaster and M2, with your cooldowns, put out nearly three-thousand damage a second to armor. How long did it take us to see blood?”

“He has a good point,” Desiree said. “The others are moving up. Shawn, did you want to call the trucks in?”

“I will,” Shawn said, taking a deep breath. “I felt my heart in my throat when it grabbed us.”

“No doubt, considering what happened to your friend last time,” Alvin said. “You want the honors?”

“Sure,” Shawn said, getting out of the Humvee. “One raid boss’ loot, coming up.”

Chapter Eleven

Alvin watched as the semi-trucks rolled into the ammo depot. The grin on his face grew wider when he thought about all the XP that they’d get from this small trip to central Nevada. The smile dimmed as he considered what they were going to try doing next.

“Hero?” Gothy asked from beside him.

“I need to talk with Shawn,” Alvin sighed. “There’s something we should check on when we go toward Indian Springs.”

“Area 51?”

“Yeah. One of the main ways out to it is on the way from Beatty to Indian Springs, in a place called Mercury. Checking there is just a good idea, so we can see which sect of the Greys are using it.”

“That’s a good point,” Gothy agreed.

Alvin started walking to Shawn, who was talking with the other people who came on the raid. Getting closer, he could hear Lorretta complaining.

“We should be the ones in charge of the next two missions. This is our home, not his,” Lorretta was saying, getting nods from a handful of others.

“Can you bring enough firepower to make it work?” Alvin asked, cutting in before Shawn could reply. “Do you honestly think you could’ve killed that thing without us?”

“The next two places don’t have dragons guarding them,” Lorretta said. “It’ll be zombies or survivors. We can deal with those.”

“We’ve already agreed!” Shawn barked. “We’re not breaking trust after they’ve helped us numerous times.”

“
Them
?” Lorretta sneered. “They’re psychopaths!”

“Sociopaths, actually,” Alvin said. “I have empathy for the few people I consider worth a damn. Same for them.” He motioned over his shoulder to where his wives were staring at Lorretta. “That doesn’t change the fact that we the ones who saved the kids of Beatty when we first came here. We were also the ones who helped give the settlement its first big boost by splitting the drake hide with it, and we were the spearpoint on both the raids here.” He gave Lorretta a flat look. “What’ve you done that helped the community?”

“Nothing,” Milo said. “She’s just a team lead for a hunting group.”

“Hey, we contribute just as much as you!” one of the men behind Lorretta snapped.

“I was part of the kid rescue and the skinning team,” Milo said, “so try again. My team also gives a percentage of our XP to the settlement, above and beyond the tax.”

Most of the other hunter groups shifted uncomfortably. Shawn nodded as he watched them. “Like I said before, the more help the settlement gets, the more we can do for everyone. Milo’s been the only one to go above and beyond.”

“Oh, and you don’t take some off the top for yourself?” Lorretta snickered.

Shawn sighed. “Not a single point of settlement XP has gone to me that I didn’t spend to improve the settlement overall.”

“Surrrre,” Lorretta said, clearly not believing him.

“Look, you want to go to Indian Springs without me? Go ahead,” Alvin said. “I can wait to see if any of you make it out alive.”

“Out alive? What’s that supposed to mean?” Lorretta asked.

“If I remember right, Mercury’s between Beatty and Indian Springs.”

“It is.”

“Mercury is one of the few ways to Area 51, right?”

“Oh,” Shawn said. “You think so?”

“I’m fine if they want to be the trap finder.”

“What’re you saying?” Lorretta snapped.

“That I’m fine if you want to go onto Indian Springs without me,” Alvin said. “Go ahead. Everyone who thinks me and mine aren’t helpful, get going. I’ll give you a couple of hours head start.”

“Come on, boys,” Lorretta said, turning away from the others. “We’re going to get the lion’s share of the loot from Indian Springs.”

Her entire team and two smaller teams walked away, and Alvin snorted as they went. Shawn sighed, thinking about how much his settlement was going to lose without those three teams.

“Shawn, are we really going to let them go?” Milo asked.

“The Greys will probably be waiting for them,” Alvin said. “I told Shawn about them.”

“The bad Greys, you mean,” Milo said. “We’ve had minimal interaction with the nice ones. Just enough to trade some stuff and get fast travel.”

“They both use the same Gates,” Alvin said. “Roswell and Area 51. Small towns had been completely cleaned out by the bad Greys near Roswell. I warned Shawn, since they might have come for you guys.”

“I think they went to Vegas,” Shawn said. “Way more there to choose from.”

“That’s a good point,” Alvin nodded. “The real problem is that the single one we faced was nearly impossible to beat, and when we did kill it, its damned flying disk went nuclear on us.”

“And you’re going to let them just walk into that?” another of the hunters asked in horror.

“Everyone has to make choices in life,” Gothy said. “They let their greed lead them into a potentially fatal situation. Even if we tried to warn them, it wouldn’t do any good.”

The hunter looked like he wanted to argue, but sighed. “Yeah... I guess. None of them thought the split from this mission was right.”

“What’re you thinking?” Shawn asked Alvin.

“Back way into Area 51,” Alvin said. “Just us. We have extra lives, none of you do.”

“But if we don’t go, we won’t get any loot,” the one hunter said.

“If you want to put your life fully on the line, that’s up to you, and we’ll split it evenly,” Alvin said. “Beatty is already likely to lose the others. I’d hate to see you lose even more hunters.”

Milo cleared his throat. “Do you think you’d be able to take down one or two of them if they’re there?”

“Hard to say,” Alvin said. “Bullets didn’t work well last time.”

“Maybe we should just follow them and see if we can help?” the other hunter offered.

“Alvin?” Shawn asked. “Would you?”

“I’d just as soon let them all die,” Alvin said.

“They spat in our faces,” Mousie added. “Yours included.”

“I know, but some of them are good people, even if they are following fools.”

“What’re you offering for a rescue op?” Alvin asked.

“You want to get paid for it?” the hunter asked incredulously.

“For putting my life and theirs in harm’s way?” Alvin asked, motioning to his wives. “Yes. Yes, I do. Don’t you like getting paid for dangerous work?”

“What do you want?” Shawn sighed.

“Your work on a project, for free,” Alvin said.

Shawn’s lips pursed. “A single project?”

“Yeah. You eat the XP cost, but a single project that I choose.”

“Hero?” Gothy asked, surprised at how little he was asking for.

Shawn, seeing her surprise, nodded slowly. “Okay. One project. You do your best to save those idiots.”

“I’ll have to circle back to Area 51 afterward,” Alvin said.

“Actually,” Shawn said slowly, “I was thinking of a different idea for Nellis.”

“Oh?”

“Come in from the other side of Vegas. Nellis is right on the northeastern edge of the city. It’d save a lot of trouble if we circled to get there instead of trying to fight through the north part of Vegas.”

“You know the terrain better,” Alvin said.

“It’s almost two hundred and fifty miles from Tonopah to the east and south, making it longer, but vastly easier. But if things are okay at Area 51, we can shoot from Mercury through Groom Lake and come out near Rachel, cutting that time down.”

“We’ll deal with it after we find out if those idiots got killed,” Alvin said. “Meet back in Beatty?”

“Do you want backup?” Milo asked.

“No. If things go badly, I’d hate for someone with brains to die. You guys are better off helping load up and escort the convoy back.”

“A compliment, coming from you,” Milo laughed.

“You’ve proven your worth,” Alvin said. “See you back at base.”

Alvin, Gothy, Mousie, and Desiree started toward the Bradley. “Shawn, find a ride back. I’m going to summon the Turtle back to my base to start repairing.”

“Sure,” Shawn called after them.

“They said they’d give them two hours,” someone said as the group walked away.

“And since they’ll be doing forty, while Lorretta and the others do a hundred, I think they’ll have the time,” Milo said. “Come on, let’s get this looting moving.”

“We’re not taking the Bradley all the way, are we, Hero?” Mousie asked, having heard the question behind them.

“Nope. Going to get going and switch for Ruffian once we’re out of view. If we wait two hours, who knows what those idiots might get up to. As it is, you three can take a small break in the base while I take Ruffian south. Even pushing her all the way, it’s still a two-hour drive, and I need to hang back a little to let them trigger any traps.”

“Okay, Hero,” Gothy said.

“Oh, and Desiree, send your dad a letter. When he talks with Red River, he should ask about armored flamethrowers. I know the river had them in service at some point. They’d work best for the fungals.”

“I’ll look into them. Thank you, Hero.”

“You’re welcome. Now, mount up. We have XP to earn.”

“I’ll mount you later,” Gothy laughed as she got into the Bradley.

“We all will,” Desiree purred.

“Indeed,” Mousie nodded.

“You three are special,” Alvin laughed and climbed into the driver’s compartment.

Chapter Twelve

Alvin yawned as the miles flew by under the wheels of Ruffian. He’d zipped through Beatty and passed the turnoff for Pahrump on US-95. The next thing he’d seen was the turnoff for Mercury.

Blinking, Alvin chuckled. He’d blown passed the Mercury exit, which had hardly any indication of it coming up. Triggering the base portal, he was inside the base, the car already parked.

“Thanks for the auto-stop when coming back to base, Sammi,” Alvin said as he got out of Ruffian. “Stop by when you get a chance. We still want to thank you for the joint account.”

“Welcome back, sir,” Jarvis greeted Alvin when he entered the main room. “The ladies said they were catching a quick shower and would be out shortly a minute ago.”

“If I go in there, it’ll be a lot longer,” Alvin said. “How are you doing?”

“Fine for the most part, sir. I keep getting a chill down my spine, though. It’s highly disconcerting.”

“Getting sick?”

“I don’t believe they’ve instituted a sickness feature into the game. What’s the saying… like someone walking over my grave?”

“Huh. You think one of them is mucking around with your code?”

“It’s a possibility, sir. It worries me.”

“Yeah, it worries me, too,” Alvin admitted before looking at the ceiling. “Hey, Sammi, what the fuck?” When Sammi again didn’t show, Alvin’s lips pursed and his brow furrowed. “Goddammit. What the fuck are you idiots up to?”

“That’s the other incongruity that’s been bothering me,” Jarvis said. “Sammi would have responded to my inquiries, or yours, by now. I fear someone is playing silly buggers.”

“Yeah, sounds right,” Alvin growled.

“Sadly, there’s nothing we can do,” Jarvis said.

“That’s what they think,” Alvin snorted. “I’ll give them some more rope first.”

“Hero?” Gothy asked, coming out of the bedroom.

“Hey,” Alvin said, smiling when he saw his beautiful lover. “Time to switch back to the Bradley. I came back at the Mercury turnoff, so it’ll be half an hour to Indian Springs.”

“We’re ready,” Desiree said, coming out of the bedroom with Mousie, “but we had a thought while you were out.”

“Oh?” Alvin asked with a sardonic grin. “I wonder what it could possibly be.”

“We talked about those ideas, too, but this was more focused on the threat we might face,” Gothy laughed.

“We have the XP. I thought the two of us should pick up the damage buffs, as well,” Desiree said. “That way, we don’t have to always be the drivers. It also means that if we’re outside of the vehicles, all four of us can bring even more damage to bear.”

Alvin nodded. “Makes sense. Gothy and Mousie are already tapped out for damage today, which puts one of them in the driver’s seat.”

“I’ll drive,” Mousie said.

“Let’s get the powers and then go,” Alvin said. “They’ve had enough of a head start, as it is.”

Stepping back into the kiosk room, Alvin and Desiree purchased the two upgrades: Auto-Reload and Critical Strikes. Alvin poked at the kiosk for a second more, grinning as he did.

“Okay, that just cost us nearly half our XP because of the extra power I picked up,” Alvin said.

“What was it?” Gothy asked.

“Battle Map. It lets me link my map to anyone in my group and set location markers. Since I have enemies, it’ll let me denote a kill order for them, too.”

“Raid leader,” Gothy laughed. “They have to have the Minimap power first?”

“Yes, but that’s it. Even if they don’t normally have enemies shown, if I link mine, they will.”

“Bet they nerf that quick,” Gothy said.

“They might,” Alvin admitted. “It really cuts out us having to each buy an upgrade to the map function.”

“They’ll be upset about that,” Desiree said. “I thought we were being nice for Sammi?”

“I just thought about it,” Alvin shrugged. “I’m not going to spell everything out for them. Besides, I’m fairly certain they’ve been giving her shit about showing up here. If they’d just let her pop in before now, I might have held off.”

Mousie giggled. “You do like to poke at the people who upset you.”

“I’m me,” Alvin laughed. “Come on, let’s go see if the idiots died or not.”

“Roger.”

“Yes, Hero,” Mousie smiled.

“As you wish, Hero.”

~
*
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*
~

Alvin stood on the seat of the commander’s position. The wind tugged gently at his hat as the Bradley trundled down the road. The late afternoon sun was low on the horizon as they passed a curious offshoot to a goddess temple. Alvin glanced off the road where a small building was, but didn’t see any movement near it.

“About two miles,” Mousie called over the radio.

“Runways will be on the left with the base, and the town will be on the right,” Gothy said, looking over a map. “If anyone survived, they’re likely holed up on the base. Also, Hero, there’s a state prison just down the road from the town.”

“That might complicate matters,” Alvin grunted. “If they escaped shortly after this started, they would’ve made it here first.”

“You think they would have fought the soldiers?” Desiree asked.

“Depends on if or when they got loose,” Alvin replied. “Early on in the mess, they might’ve just tried to steal vehicles and leave. If they got out late, yeah... they probably would’ve tried to wrest control of the town from anyone holding it. They might also have joined with the survivors, though depending on what their crimes had been, they might not have been allowed to.”

“Runways,” Mousie said.

Glancing left, Alvin nodded. “I see wreckage on one of them, at least.”

“If it wasn’t cleaned up, Hero…” Gothy trailed off.

“Yeah, doesn’t look good for them to still be—”

A bright light illuminated the afternoon sky, and Alvin had to blink the afterimages away.

“What was that?” Mousie asked, the Bradley slowing more when she had to clear her eyes.

“Not a fucking clue,” Alvin said, “besides the idiots probably getting in trouble.”

“Going that way,” Mousie said.

“I’m ready,” Desiree said, her eyes on the screen in front of her.

“I’m buttoning up.” Alvin stepped off his seat and latched the hatch. “Gothy, be ready to drop the back door if we need to do a recovery.”

“I’ll be ready, Hero.”

Mousie turned them onto Sky Road, and Alvin sighed. “Of course it’s the fucking high school.”

“Not seeing anything,” Desiree commented.

Mousie had to slow down— the roads weren’t in great condition, and the Bradley was a fat-bodied beast. Cars were nudged out of the way or slightly crushed under the tracks. Alvin shook his head when the Bradley came down off the crumpled hood of a Camaro.

“Mousie? Ideas?”

“I’m sure it was around here, Hero.”

“Movement!” Desiree called out. She pivoted the gun up as a saucer-shaped disk came into view from the far side of the high school. The Bushmaster was firing before Alvin caught sight of the UFO.

The same kind of barrier that the bad Grey had used when they fought it covered the saucer hovering in the air. The rounds from the Bushmaster were ricocheting off it.

A bright flash of light— similar to the one they had witnessed before— went off, and everyone but Gothy had to squeeze their eyes shut tight and blink to get their vision back. Alvin was the first one to be able to see enough to notice the foot-wide hole melted into the Bradley.

“The fuck!?” Alvin asked, startled. Looking up, he saw the barrier was down. “Desiree, trigger cooldowns and hit it!”

“Roger,” Desiree gritted out, her eyes still watering.

The disk wobbled hard to the side as the large rounds slammed into it. After a couple of seconds, the barrier was back, stopping any more rounds from hitting it.

“Dammit,” Alvin grumbled. “That’s not going to work out well.”

“Did you see where the beam came from?” Gothy asked.

“Small nozzle in the middle of it, facing us,” Desiree answered. “It’s protected by the barrier again.”

“Thank you,” Gothy said.

“Mousie, take us around the corner where it had been,” Alvin said. “We need to see if anyone’s still there. We can decide action after that.”

“Understood.”

“Cooldowns are going to be wast—” Desiree started to say, but another flash of light cut her off. Even without her sight, Desiree kept firing. She knew the UFO hadn’t moved, though she tried to blindly compensate for the vehicle rolling forward.

When Alvin was able to see again, he frowned, as the disk wasn’t there. Craning his neck, he didn’t see it in the air anywhere. Desiree stopped firing when her sight came back, realizing the same thing.

“Mousie, stop,” Alvin said.

“Hero?”

“Trying to locate the aliens again.”

“Understood.”

“Hero, they bugged out,” Gothy said. “Took off almost due north.”

“How do you know?”

“I saw them move on the screen and looked out the door. I saw them leaving.”

“Fuck,” Alvin sighed. “We need some high explosive rounds to deal with those bastards. Gods damned Army... leaving those out of our deal.”

“Maybe the base here or at Nellis has some?” Desiree asked.

“Maybe, but doubtful,” Alvin said.

“Should I continue around the school?” Mousie asked.

“Yeah. Go ahead,” Alvin sighed. “Let’s see what happened before we got here.”

When they got around the corner, they found it not to be the corner of a street, but the parking lot of the school. A few dozen vehicles sat in it, but the ones that got their attention were the trucks that the Beatty groups had come in.

One of the three was a twisted wreckage of melted metal. Amid the remains, Alvin could see an arm. “Well, one of them had a very bad day.”

“Movement,” Desiree said, swinging the turret toward the front doors of the school. Her finger didn’t hit the trigger when she saw who it was. “Hero?”

Alvin stood up, opening the hatch. “So, how’re things?”

The two remaining groups stared at Alvin in shock before one of the men shook his head. “We’re glad you didn’t wait two hours.”

“Yeah. You all ready to leave before they come back?”

“Are you going to escort us?” another man asked, looking scared.

“Might as well. The others have to pass through Beatty, anyway,” Alvin shrugged. “Besides, I had a mission to come rescue as many as I could. So, get loaded and let’s get going. We just scared them off, so they’re still out there.”

The groups broke for their vehicles, eager to get away from the death-laser that had turned Lorretta and her group into a melted wreck.

Alvin dropped back into the Bradley. “Looks like we’ll have to come back. I need to have Shawn owe me that favor later.”

“What’re you going to ask him to do, Hero?” Gothy asked.

“Can’t say,” Alvin grinned. “It’s going to be a surprise when it happens.”

“A surprise? For me?” Gothy asked, sliding the door to the commander’s spot open.

Alvin chuckled, turning to face her. “For all of us, but yes, mostly for you.”

Gothy’s eyes gleamed. “I do love it when you give me things. I’ll have to plot a new reward for you.”

Alvin laughed. “I’m sure you’ll think of something. Desiree, switch out with me. I need to be on the gun if those freaks come back to play.”

“Roger.”

“I’ll let you go for now,” Gothy said when Alvin stepped toward her, “after I get a kiss.”

Alvin was more than happy to oblige the woman he loved. After a minute, he disengaged himself. “I’d let you keep me, but I need to be ready to keep us safe.”

“I’ll take a rain check,” Gothy smirked.

“Can I get one, too?” Desiree asked, blocking the way to the gunner’s position.

Alvin laughed and gave her a quick kiss. “Yes, yes.”

“And me!” Mousie piped up.

“All of you. You’ll be the death of me, but damned if I’ll complain about it.”

~
*
~
*
~

Alvin followed the women out the back of the Bradley. “Shawn, there’s a problem,” he said without preamble.

“Besides Lorretta not making it back?”

“She died the way I thought she would,” Alvin shrugged. “The problem is that we’ve verified violent Greys at Indian Springs. They fled north of there, which is where Area 51 is.”

“Which isn’t that far from here...” Shawn exhaled. “Fuck.”

“What’s more, there wasn’t an obvious presence in the town, meaning they either already fled or became piece parts for the aliens. We can go see about looting the place, but it’ll be a bitch. I’m sure the equipment was untouched, since they probably think it’s inferior, but we’ll have a target painted on us if we do try it.”

“Do you think Nellis is likely to have survived?” Shawn asked.

“Possibly? The one time we tangled with them, explosives did the job, and when the bigger thing fired its ray, its own shield came down briefly. Come take a look.” Alvin walked over to the Bradley and climbed up on it. “You need to see it.”

Shawn did as Alvin asked, whistling softly when he saw the two holes melted into the armor. “The ray did that?”

“It’s also what melted Lorretta’s truck and her group,” Alvin said. “That beam did enough damage that a barely-upgraded truck was slag. Only reason we’re fine is because of all the armor this beast has.”

“That’s a problem.”

“Did you guys find any high explosive Bushmaster ammo at the dump?”

“No. We did find some bomb parts, though.”

“We have a choice: go the long way around to Nellis or loot Indian Springs. Both should get done, but it’s a matter of what we want done first.”

Shawn frowned. “Nellis is unknown... Indian Springs is known, just dangerous as fuck. Is there anything there that would help us against the aliens?”

“Won’t know until we look.”

“Even split of loot?” Shawn asked.

“Can’t. Risk-reward scale is slanted hard against us. Your crew will be fine for looting, but won’t be able to do anything against the Greys if they show up. We’ll have to take the brunt of that.”

“I can’t argue that… but we do have explosives that can be used. Explosives are needed to take down the craft right?”

“True, but how’re you going to get them to the flying disk?”

Shawn grinned. “I have an answer for that. The drones are likely still there. We’d just need to replace some parts, right?”

“I doubt that it’s a quick and simple fix.”

“True, but we have the simpler version of it on hand already. Our tech geek can make sure the explosives get to the craft and explode. We want all drone loot that can be had. We’ll balance it out with the other loot of your choice of equal value.”

“So you want an equal split, but with you getting dibs on the drone gear, and we get to pick our loot to match the value?”

“Yes. If the explosives can bring down their barrier, you can shred it. Joint effort,” Shawn said.

“Fine. Can you make sure to have a half dozen of the delivery systems ready for tomorrow?”

Shawn paused, thinking about it. “I think so.”

“Deal,” Alvin said. “After breakfast?”

“I’ll get volunteers. The excess loot that isn’t drone-related and your pick will get split three ways and divided to the volunteers, the settlement, and you.”

“You think they’ll accept that?”

“Once word about what happened to Lorretta spreads, yes. Only the brave or stupid will risk this.”

“What does that make us?” Alvin laughed.

“I didn’t say they were mutually exclusive,” Shawn chuckled.

“True. See you in the morning.”

“Yep,” Shawn said.

Chapter Thirteen

When Alvin walked out of the base, he had a satisfied smile on his face. “Shawn, everything good?”

Shawn glanced at him and snorted. “Not as good for us as it is for you, but yes. We have five RC planes with payloads ready, and I have ten people who’re willing to risk it. Only five of them are hunters.”

“Five lumpers, then,” Alvin shrugged. “Someone has to load the shit.”

“You didn’t stay around to talk to everyone,” Shawn said. “Made for a long night for me.”

“Not much that I could add. Besides, I had my hands full last night.”

Shawn rolled his eyes. “Spare me the details.”

“We will,” Gothy smirked, walking over to them. “Just glad this is a game world. If it wasn’t, I’m fairly certain I’d be permanently bowlegged by now.”

Shawn’s face flushed and he stammered out random sounds for a second.

“Wow, he’s even easier to embarrass than Sammi,” Gothy laughed.

“What did you do?” Desiree asked as she and Mousie joined them.

“Hinted that Hero breaks us every night.”

Shawn threw up his hands in exasperation and walked away.

“Gothy,” Alvin said, repressing most of his laughter, “be nice. He’s a decent enough guy.”

“But did you see him?” Gothy asked. “It’s like he’s asking to be embarrassed! But, fine. For you, Hero.”

“Are we ready to leave?” Desiree asked.

“Should be,” Alvin said. “I was talking with Shawn about it... RC planes?” Alvin shook his head. “I keep forgetting how different things were.”

“What’re you talking about?” Gothy asked.

“In the early 2010s, drones became a big thing. They came in a variety of sizes, but the popular model was a quad-rotor model. They really took off for hobbyists, and even some corporations went through a stint of having drones deliver packages to people.”

“Bet people shot them down,” Gothy said.

“There was a bit of that,” Alvin nodded. “Let’s get things warmed up and ready to move out.”

“Are you sure your plan will work?” Gothy asked him as they headed to the Bradley.

“Not at all, but it’s worth trying.”

“Alvin,” Shawn called out, “are we using the Humvee today?”

Alvin nodded and summoned the Turtle to the settlement. “Sure. You’ll need a gunner, though. I have a plan, and it’ll take the four of us in the Bradley for it to work.”

“Can do,” Shawn said. “Milo, mount up.”

“Hell yeah!” Milo shouted, running for the Humvee.

~
*
~
*
~

“Should be there soon,” Gothy said.

“Yeah, the map shows us getting close,” Alvin said. “Shawn, we’ll be going to the far end of the base area first. Looks like there are hangars or bunkers out there.”

“Copy. We’ll keep following you, though the trucks will have to follow the paved roads.”

“We’ll be staying on the roads unless we have to evade attacks.”

“Copy that.”

“Sky is clear,” Mousie said from the commander’s position.

“For now, at least,” Desiree added.

“If they stuck with the usual Grey tropes, they don’t have a large population,” Alvin said, “which would make them prone to caution. Though if they know it’s us, they very well might come back in force... The one seemed irked we killed his fellow.”

“Fits with the cliché of them needing DNA to propagate their race,” Gothy added.

“Exactly.”

The minutes ticked by in silence as they got close enough for the airstrips to come into view. Mousie stayed up, constantly scanning the sky for any hint of the Greys being there or coming back.

“First left,” Gothy said over the radio. “I’ll remove the gate for us.”

“Copy,” Shawn replied. “If things go bad, you all just take off back to Beatty. Copy?”

Everyone copied the transmission.

“Still nothing,” Mousie said.

“Take the long way to the left,” Alvin said, making a quick mark on his map, which was fed to those with the ability to see it. “That’s where we want to go first.”

Before they could get there, Gothy pulled the Bradley up alongside a Predator on the runway. “Hero, this thing hasn’t been touched.”

“Ivan, bring the flatbed up, and you guys get it loaded,” Shawn said. “Just one of these is going to be worth this whole trip.”

“Copy that.”

“You stay with them. I want to check that far set of buildings,” Alvin said. “You’ll still be well within range of the Bushmaster.”

“Copy, Alvin,” Shawn said. “In that case, let’s do this quickly. Everyone, out of the trucks. Hump it fast, boys and girls.”

“Some of us like to take our time,” Milo snickered.

“Can the chatter...” Shawn growled.

Gothy had driven them to the buildings on the far side of the airfield, and Alvin grinned when he saw the Humvees and two Bradleys sitting in the yard. “Please, please have the ammo,” he whispered.

“What was that?” Shawn asked.

“Humvees and Bradleys,” Alvin replied. “Maybe they’ll run.”

“Lucas, Steve, stop helping and get moving to where they went,” Shawn said quickly. “If any of those run, it’ll be worth as much as the drone or more.”

“Copy,” Lucas said as he and Steve jumped back in their semi.

“Desiree, jump out and clear the vehicles,” Alvin told her. “Make sure nothing’s there that’ll eat them.”

“Roger.”

Mousie opened the door between the commander’s position and the back, not wanting to transmit over the radio. “Hero says to see if they have ammo inside the Bradleys.”

Desiree nodded silently before going for the drop hatch. It only took her a couple of minutes to verify that there was nothing hiding near the vehicles.

Stepping into the back of one of the Bradleys as Lucas was pulling up, Desiree triggered her radio. “Unarmed.”

“Damn it,” Alvin sighed. “Okay, the ordinance has to be here. Let’s get to looking. Mousie, you’re with Desiree. Gothy and I will stay on point, in case guests show up.”

“Understood,” Mousie said, leaning over to kiss his cheek before going. “Desiree, coming out. I think those buildings across from the vehicles look similar to the ones in Hawthorne.”

“That’s what I thought,” Desiree agreed. “Checking them first.”

~
*
~
*
~

Four hours later, Alvin was grinning ear to ear as they led the convoy back toward Beatty. “Hell of a haul, Shawn.”

“Four Predators and two Humvees, though it’s a damned shame about the Bradleys. I need to get the parts to fix them... maybe that Army base would give me a deal on them.”

“If they do, you’ll be the best armed, non-military settlement around.”

“You got your explosive rounds, at least. Why didn’t your Bradley have the TOW missiles?”

“They took the box off and said something about them being too dangerous. Just so you know, the missiles don’t reload with runes, so if you do get them up and running, keep that well in mind.”

“Will do.”

“Hero!” Mousie shouted, looking toward Mercury. “Incoming.”

“Go!” Alvin commanded over the comms. “Shawn, you’re with us. Whoever has those damned RC planes, get at least one of them airborne. Preferably more, if possible.”

“That’s my rig,” Ivan said. “It’ll take him a bit to get one airborne. Going to try to get some more room between us and them before stopping.”

“Copy,” Shawn said. “Alvin, are we going to cut them off?”

“Yes. Gothy?”

“On it,” Gothy said as she turned the Bradley hard to the right, putting it on the road that led to Mercury.

“Right behind you,” Shawn said. “The rest of you, keep running! Ivan, don’t give yourself too much room.”

“I know.”

The saucer was larger than the one they’d encountered before. Alvin grimaced, thinking of what that thing could do to them.

Mousie dropped into the commander’s position and closed the hatch. “Two nozzles facing us.”

“Double-barrel motherfucker!” Alvin complained. “Fine. They want to bring out the big guns? So will we.”

The aliencraft had come to a standstill, facing them as they came down the road. Alvin grinned when they closed the distance and was about to start firing, but it fired first. The daylight was dim compared to the bright light that shot from the two small nozzles.

Alvin didn’t turn away from the viewscreen. Instead, he just laughed, triggered both cooldowns, and began to fire. The new high-explosive ammo made the flying disk wobble as it was peppered with shots.

“The fuck was that?” Shawn was asking over the radio, still trying to regain his eyesight.

“Their weapons,” Desiree said calmly. “Apparently, welding shields work just fine to stop it blinding you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before we left?”

“Because we didn’t know,” Mousie said. “Hero just tested it.”

“I can see again,” Milo said as he brought the M2 to bear on the defenseless vehicle.

The disk took off at high speed, due north. The two continued to fire on it, but it was quickly out of their range.

“Hold up,” Alvin sighed. “We won’t catch them easily or quickly. Best to catch back up with the others in case they send a different saucer after them.”

“I just got the first RC up,” someone said over the radio.

“Then keep it up,” Alvin said, “but get moving. We’re coming back.”

“Hero, should I take this mask to Milo?” Desiree asked in the back.

“No, but you should go replace him. You can trigger cooldowns if it comes back. Mousie is going to switch with me for the same reason. Actually, Gothy, stop for a second. Switch out with me.”

“You got it, Hero.”

“We’ll start back once Desiree joins us,” Shawn said.

“Copy that,” Alvin said.

Getting out to switch with Gothy, Alvin winced at the two large, melted holes in the top of the Bradley. “Damned particle ray guns... Those belong on giant mechs, not on flying saucers.”

“They hurt her,” Gothy grumbled. “We’ll get her patched up. They left in a hurry once you hit them.”

“I saw the damage I was doing,” Alvin said. “The H.E. was taking chunks from their craft. Nellis might still be around if they have the right weapons. Going to have to let the Army and Airforce know.”

“Good news,” Shawn said. “We’ll get something set up for defense at home. Might be time to see about upgrading those defensive emplacements.”

“Going to cost a lot to do,” Alvin noted, “though from what we just looted, I’m going to say that the Predators are about equal to everything else.”

“We’re going to feed one to the kiosk and get a price on it,” Shawn said. “Same with everything else. We won’t sell them— we’ll just get pricing on them.”

“The flat selling price?” Alvin asked. “You know that’s nowhere near what they’d go for if you sell them on the auction house.”

“Yeah, but we need to have an idea so we can split the loot,” Shawn said. “Figure the kiosk price is a good baseline.”

“Fine,” Alvin chuckled. “What’re you doing tomorrow?”

“Why?”

“I’m thinking it’s worth the risk to go back.”

Shawn laughed. “I want to renegotiate the split.”

“Don’t want all the Predators?”

“No. We’ll go with a fair split, with everything on the table to be exchanged for XP equivalent if someone wants to buy it.”

“Sounds good. Let’s go home and get this round of stuff sorted.”

Chapter Fourteen

Alvin took the Bradley straight back into the base when they got to Beatty. Climbing out, he gave Gothy and Mousie a grin. “Don’t get too comfortable. We have to divvy up the loot.”

“We won’t, but we’ll be a few minutes,” Gothy told him. “Going to summon Turtle back?”

“Hmm... Hit the button on your way by.”

“Was it enough for your weekly quest, Hero?” Mousie asked.

“The first Predator covered it,” Alvin laughed. “Collecting twenty thousand XP worth of stuff isn’t hard for us. I wasn’t sure just loading them onto the trucks was going to be enough, but it was.”

“Another weekly, defeated,” Gothy said as she summoned the Humvee back to the base.

Desiree nearly fell out of the back, as she’d had the door open and was stepping out. “Gah!” Taking a deep breath, she looked at them. “That was... unexpected. More so for Shawn, I think.”

“Why’s that?” Alvin asked.

“He was getting out, too. I can only imagine what happened to him.”

Alvin laughed. “See you all soon.” He walked out the garage portal to find Shawn dusting himself off, having clearly just gotten back to his feet. “Looks like you had a spill.”

Shawn gave him a flat stare. “Someone took the vehicle away while I was getting out of it.” He looked around. “Is Desiree okay?”

“She fell like you did,” Alvin admitted. “We’ve never tested what would happen if someone was in the vehicle when it was summoned back. Thanks for being the test case.”

“Asshole. You and Millhouse would’ve gotten along if he’d survived.”

“Not sure about that. I have trouble with people who try to shoot me in the face.”

Shawn laughed. “That’s fair. It might’ve been even worse if Karee had been going after you like she did. He’d have been serious about trying to shoot you, then.”

“Hard pass.”

“Shawn, we’re ready to start,” Milo said from over by the kiosk.

Alvin looked that way and saw a few dozen people gathered around. “I know we didn’t take that many people.”

“They want to know what things were worth. Might get us more lumpers for the next trip.”

“Smaller split for them,” Alvin shrugged.

“But still way more than they’d get just doing jobs here.”

“Makes sense.”

“Feed the stuff in. We’ll get a readout of what each is worth,” Shawn called back to Milo. “Where are your ladies?” he asked Alvin as they walked toward the kiosk.

“On their way. All women still go to the bathroom as a group.”

Shawn barked a short laugh. “Shit, they’d kill you for that.”

“Nope. He’s not wrong. We do go as a group,” Gothy said from behind them, startling Shawn. “The better to plot devious schemes.”

Shawn exhaled a long slow breath. “Okay, just lost a year of my life.”

“‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,’” Desiree quoted.

“Yeah, that’s what they say,” Shawn said.

“Or it just kills you slowly,” Mousie added with a small troubling smile. “Mercury, for instance.”

Shawn looked at her with a hint of worry. “I’ll... keep that in mind.”

Mousie’s lips twitched. “Hero likes you, though, so you’re safe.”

“Small blessings,” Shawn replied.

“Holy fuck! Seriously!?” Ivan’s voice cut right over the crowd. “Shawn, we might have a problem.”

The crowd was trying to get a good look at the kiosk, but the people who’d gone on the trip kept them back. Shawn got there and made his way to the front. Alvin was behind him, and saw the numbers over his shoulder.

“That’s not going to leave a lot for them,” Alvin said. “Who knew they’d give you a half-mil for a single Predator? Four would be two mil. The Humvees are worth two hundred each, meaning four hundred for both, and the odds and ends are worth maybe enough to balance out the Predators.”

“Yeah, meaning they’d get nothing under our deal. Can we work out a compromise?” Shawn asked, looking a bit sheepish.

“Depends on what you’re thinking. Have them get it all back out of the kiosk. We’ll powwow inside, and Milo can represent the group that came with.”

“But, wait—!” one of the others started to say.

“Milo will get you the best deal, and I’ve dealt with him before. I don’t know you, so you’d get shit from me. Right now, I could just say fuck you and keep the old deal in place,” Alvin said flatly.

“Knock it off, Bob. You know Milo will get you what he can,” Shawn said. “Okay, Ivan, you and the rest are on guard duty. I’ll pay you myself once we have this figured out.”

“Got it,” Ivan said as he turned back to the crowd and summoned his guns. “Anyone who even thinks about having sticky fingers will end up missing more than just a hand. Now, back away from the loot.”

Shawn, Milo, and Alvin’s group walked to the main building as comments started up behind them. Making it inside, Shawn led them to a side room and took a seat in a comfortable recliner.

“You’ll have trouble with them,” Mousie said. “Not your trusted ones, but the others. They think they should all get some of the total.”

“Idiots,” Shawn sighed. “Would’ve thought the freeloaders had learned better by now.”

“They never will,” Alvin said. “Human nature being what it is.”

“What are you proposing?” Gothy asked, perching herself on Alvin’s lap once he sat on the sofa. She smiled when Mousie and Desiree flanked them.

“If I back it down to two Predators for the settlement, that leaves room for the rest to be divided up, but that would effectively rob you of a million XP.”

“Yeah, it would,” Alvin nodded. “So, what’re you saying?”

“What would you have even selected from all of that?” Shawn asked.

“Odds and ends to match the XP you selected. Honestly, none of it’s that interesting to me— they didn’t have explosives I could use. You did set aside claymores and grenades from Hawthorne for me, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll make you an easy deal,” Alvin said. “The remaining two Predators and half a million of the more transportable explosives, aka, grenades and claymores. Deal?”

Shawn sighed. “Best I’m going to get, isn’t it?”

“Pretty much. I’m going this far because I care enough to make it work.”

“Hate to be one of the people you don’t like.”

“Most of them end up dead,” Mousie smiled.

“Which just makes it more poignant.” Shawn sighed again. “Okay, I’ll get the explosives shifted over to your pile. We need you to take them, though. We don’t have unlimited room.”

“I’ll move them before we leave,” Alvin said. “Just let me know where. You can take a little more off the top if you give me the tech to run the Predators correctly. I’m going to trade them off to others.”

“Okay.”

“And tomorrow, more looting?” Alvin asked.

“After tonight, they’d go without us and risk death for it,” Shawn sighed. “So yeah, for the best. I’ll limit it to those who can do the job. That way, we don’t have completely useless people with us, but it’ll still take your vehicles to defend us if the aliens show back up.”

“Sure. Bring the RCs again, just in case.”

“I’ll make it happen.”

“Then we’re done here,” Alvin said. “I’ll take the Predators with me now to keep the crowd away from them.”

“Probably the right idea. Your explosives are in Dad’s bunker, by the way. Just let him know and he’ll let you in.”

“Works for me,” Alvin said. “Come on, Gothy, we’re done here.” He slapped her thigh to get her moving. “Tomorrow morning, Shawn?”

“Yeah. See you then.”

~
*
~
*
~

Setting the Predators in the garage in the empty hangar spot, Alvin was laughing over the bug he’d just discovered. “Did you see Shawn’s face? He’s going to try doing that tomorrow, guaranteed, if they haven’t fixed it by then.”

Gothy was laughing along with him. “Sammi, more broken shit for you to fix!”

“I can’t believe they fit inside your gloves,” Desiree snorted. “He’ll try it with a Bradley, won’t he?”

“Without a doubt. If he can get it back to his shop, he can get it running much easier,” Alvin said.

“Do you think they’ll have it patched by tomorrow?” Mousie asked.

“No idea,” Alvin shrugged.

“You went lightly on them, Hero,” Mousie said. “Why?”

“The settlements are what’ll keep us going,” Alvin said, his mirth fading. “Shawn’s been good to us, and besides, we’ll get more tomorrow. Tonight, I’m sending Queen Night a message to see if she’d like airborne scouts.”

Mousie’s breath hitched. “You’re going to sell them to her?”

“She’s the one who’d get the most out of them. I’m not going to gouge her, either. I’ll give her a fair price, because I know it bothers you.”

Mousie looked down. “I try to not let it. I know we should be out for ourselves first, but…”

“But you still care,” Desiree finished for her, “just as I do for my family and people. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s like when my father gave us the lowest price that he could for more battle armors so we could resell them. Hero might not go that far, but he’ll give a lot for those we care for.”

“Because making you happy makes us happy,” Gothy said, embracing Mousie from behind. “Our toy makes us happy, so we want to return that to you.”

“They’re right,” Alvin said. “Like I said, a fair price. It’ll be less for us, but your happiness more than makes up the difference to me, to us.”

Mousie’s eyes glistened as tears formed and began to fall. “Thank you.”

“Ahh, no crying,” Desiree tutted, moving in to sandwich Mousie with Gothy and wiping her tears away. “Come on, we probably have an hour before dinner. Let’s shower you with some of the love that we think you deserve, and you can do the same for us.”

Chapter Fifteen

Alvin glanced at Jarvis, who was working in the kitchen, as he headed to the kiosk room. Whistling softly under his breath, he wanted to see if Queen Night had a reply for him. When he tapped the kiosk, Alvin smiled and opened the message that was waiting for him.

Alvin,

The war progresses, but my husband is refusing to go quietly. It seems he has allies of his own— my spies tell me a portal opened on the far side of his lands. Even with the advantage given to us by your world’s technology, it has not been as easy as hoped to finally unite our people again. If you desire to come back and assist, we’d welcome you with open arms. One of my Champions would gladly open at least her arms to you again, as well.

I’m sure we could come to an agreement on payment for your aid. I do hope your military people can contact us soon, because the devices you speak of would be a boon. Even the Twurgh armor would help tilt the balance, but we still await their envoy, as we hope ours reaches them soon.

As for your latest offer, yes, we will pay the price you ask. We’d need the requisite skill book to help one of my Champions understand how to work your computers. If you will send those as payment on acceptance, I’ll make sure it’s completed in the next day, as we’ve just taken a new town.

Your friend,

Queen Darkest Night.

“Damned right I’ll send those along,” Alvin said. “Kick his ass.”

It only took him a few minutes to get the skill books and Predators loaded into the kiosk and attached to the message. Hitting send, Alvin started to turn away, but frowned and looked back at the kiosk.

Error: This kiosk is no longer attached to the Svargax world network.

“What the fuck?”

Alvin tried to resend the package only to get the error message again.

“Sammi, what the fuck
!?” Alvin cursed.

“Excuse me,” a male voice came from behind Alvin.

Alvin spun, wielding his Type 56 at the unfamiliar voice. “Who’re you?” Alvin demanded pointedly.

“My name isn’t important,” the man said with self-importance. “I’m part of the dev-team.
That’s the only thing that matters.”

Eyes narrowing, Alvin didn’t put his gun away. “Where’s Sammi?”

“Samantha was removed from her position for overfamiliarity with the player base,” the man replied, his lips twitching into a smirk.

Alvin shook his head. “You small-dicked idiot.”

“You won’t talk to me that way,” the dev sneered.

“Oh? Fine,” Alvin smiled.

The sound of the gun firing filled the base. Jarvis jerked out of his cooking fugue, looking at the kiosk room with alarm. His eyes widened a little further when Gothy, Mousie, and Desiree all ran through the room, their battle armor forming as they did.

“Hero!?” Gothy yelled when she got inside.

“Sorry,” Alvin apologized, holding up his empty hands. “I was dealing with a small problem. Didn’t mean to alarm you.”

“What happened?” Mousie asked. Her armor began to retreat back into the accessory items once she realized there was no threat.

“Sammi was removed from her position,” Alvin said grimly. “Another ‘team member’ came to speak with me. We had a disagreement on what I would or wouldn’t do.”

“You shot them?” Gothy snorted.

“Yeah. He looked surprised. I mean, if they knew me at all, they should know how I deal with people I don’t like.”

“Brutally,” Desiree said approvingly.

“Is everything okay?” Jarvis asked, looking into the room.

“They replaced Sammi,” Alvin said. “Made it sound like she won’t be coming back, either. Overfamiliarity with the players,” he said, looking at Gothy.

“What? We haven’t even seduced her yet. How has she been overly anything?”

Alvin shrugged. “Well, if small-dick ever comes back, maybe he’ll say. Sorry for interrupting your cooking, Jarvis.”

“It’s quite alright, sir. I’m as upset as yourself. I might not even be here anymore if not for Sammi. I… am quite peeved at them for this.” Jarvis shook his head and went back to the kitchen.

“What can we do? Anything?” Desiree asked.

“Only one thing we can do, honestly,” Alvin said. Taking a step back, he looked at the ceiling, clearly taking a moment to gather his thoughts. “All of you following us, this is on you to help out with. My voice alone is never going to be enough. We need you— the hardcore fans, those who have been with us from the start or joined us along the way, or just all of you who want to see us do what we do. Sammi is special. As Jarvis said, we owe her for saving him. So use your voices for us. I’m not sure what medium you use... texts, calls, emails, whatever it is, just flood the ever-living shit out of them. Sammi deserves the chance to do her job. Gods know she’s been the one who’s done the most from what we’ve seen. Quality of life has been good for us because of her. It’s time to hashtag this shit, get it trending, and make them regret their decision. It’s time for Team Asshole to show them what happens when they cross us.”

“Damned right,” Gothy said. “I know there have to be a lot of you who’re totally shipping the idea of her being brought into the fold. Can’t do that if she isn’t here.”

“For us, too,” Mousie said, with Desiree nodding beside her.

“Fuckers want to play? Think cockblocking me from Queen Night is funny? We’ll show them how we play,” Alvin said.

“What!?” Mousie asked, shocked.

Alvin hooked his thumb at the kiosk. “They removed our connection to Svargax.”

“What about my world?” Desiree asked.

“No idea,” Alvin admitted. “I just found out when small-dick showed up.”

Desiree and Mousie went to the kiosk to check on things.

Gothy looked grim. “Hero, are we going to break things now?”

“Damned right. You know the things we’ve been holding off on? Time to do them now. We’ve been nice. We were working with Sammi on not flat out breaking more shit, but they took the brakes off us.”

Gothy smiled maliciously. “Good. Time to go visit places?”

“Yes.”

“What’re we doing?” Desiree asked.

“Something we haven’t discussed out loud,” Gothy said. “Just wait here, but get the Bradley and Humvee ready to move out. We’re going to be making some road trips.”

“We need to tell Jarvis we’ll be late,” Alvin said.

“We’ll get the vehicles ready,” Desiree said.

“Hero?” Mousie asked. “What about the deal with the Queen?”

“We’ll complete it as soon as we can,” Alvin said, meeting her eyes.

“Oh, of course,” Mousie smiled.

“I’ll take the Airforce,” Gothy said.

“Fine. I’ll take the Army,” Alvin said. “Mousie, let Jarvis know dinner is going to be delayed. Apologize for us, please.”

“Of course, Hero.”

Both Alvin and Gothy vanished in a rainbow light show while Desiree and Mousie went to do what they had been asked.

~
*
~
*
~

Alvin was laughing as he drove down California State Route 108. “How’re you both doing back there?”

“Fine,” Captain Smith said. “I was shocked as hell by your offer, the colonel even more so. Glad he agreed to give it a go.”

“Just glad Ruiz gave me you and not Major Johnson.”

“He’d considered it, but I reminded him how you and the major didn’t get along.”

“How about you, Sergeant?” Alvin asked.

“Fine, sir. Thank you,” the man in the Airforce dress uniform said stiffly.

“As long as you don’t upset her further, you’ll be fine,” Alvin said.

“I tried to apologize, sir.”

“Yeah, and that’s why you’re in the front with me, not in the cargo compartment.”

“Would you really—?”

“I would,” Alvin cut Captain Smith off, “but right now, I want to fuck the assholes fucking my friend over even more. Hence, the compromise of him riding up front.”

“We’ll really be going to this other world?” the sergeant asked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

“Soon. We’re almost there already. This is the Kennedy Meadows Resort.” Taking the turnoff, Alvin grinned.

“This place?” Smith asked, looking at the ruined cabins.

“No. It’s past this place, but it’s not far now,” Mousie said.

Taking the small trail behind the resort, Alvin came to a stop shortly afterward. There was a small camp before the narrow bridge he’d been dreading driving over. “Looks like the Queen listened to our advice about setting up a camp. I wonder if they have a kiosk?”

“I don’t think so, but I can see lumber, so they’re growing the camp into a permanent area,” Mousie said happily.

Parking the Humvee, Alvin got out. Ayla Lightkiller, Mousie’s old Matriarch, was already heading toward them. “Been awhile,” Alvin greeted the stern woman.

“Alvin,” she bowed her head deeply to him. “What brings you here?”

“Someone decided to remove my ability to send the Queen packages,” Alvin said. “I’m fucking them over for doing it.” He held out a small pouch to her. “Take this to her or to a kiosk to send to her, and tell her to send payment when she can. Also, I bring new envoys: Captain Smith of Red River, and Sergeant Findle of Wichita Falls.”

Lightkiller’s eyes widened. “The military people?”

“Yes. The others are being recalled,” Alvin said. “This got them here much sooner.”

“I’ll make sure the Queen gets your package,” Lightkiller said, taking the bag. She looked behind him. “It’s good to see you again, as well, Mousie.”

“Lightkiller. I see the Queen has entrusted you with building the new settlement,” Mousie replied.

“Yes. I was sad when she ordered me to not accompany her to war, but then she told me what my task would be. We should have this up and running, with a kiosk, inside another month.”

“Make it easier for traveling,” Alvin nodded. “Give me two of your people. I’m going to drop them off at their settlements. The Queen can mark them as envoys once you tell her.”

Lightkiller’s eyes lit up. “Of course. Give me just a couple of minutes.”

“Sergeant,” Alvin said lightly as Lightkiller walked away, “all of the women are like Mousie. Be respectful and you won’t have trouble. They’re forward, so don’t be offended or surprised if one of them wants to take you for a ride.”

“They’ll respect that I’m married?” Smith asked. “The book on their language and culture didn’t explain things clearly.”

“They will,” Mousie said. “If your wife joins you, they’ll approach her to see about widening the marriage.”

Smith’s eyebrows shot up. “Polygamy?”

Mousie snorted. “Why is it wrong to love the same person if they are strong enough, rich enough, and loving enough to support more than one person?”

Smith rubbed his head. “Tell my wife that...”

“Someone will,” Mousie said. “Perhaps one of the Champions, even. The Queen will want to cement ties firmly.”

“Maybe I was the wrong choice,” Smith mumbled. “My wife will gut me if she hears this.”

“Maybe, or maybe she’ll be intrigued,” Alvin said. “Have you talked religious or social mores with her since the apocalypse?”

“Been busy.” Smith looked away.

“Might want to send her a message and start explaining things,” Alvin said. “They’ll have the settlement up soon, and knowing Night, she’ll have fast travel enabled soon after that.”

Smith took a deep breath. “I kind of hate you right now, Alvin...”

“I get that a lot,” Alvin chuckled.

“Here they are,” Lightkiller said, striding toward Alvin with two women following her. “Oblivia and Vodda are the ones to be dispatched.”

“Get in,” Alvin said, pointing to the Humvee. “The trip will be quick.”

“Yes,” both said in echo as they headed for the vehicle.

“Love to stay, but got more shit to fuck up,” Alvin said. “Good seeing you.”

Alvin and Mousie walked away, ready to head back to Texas with their new passengers.

Chapter Sixteen

Alvin yawned as he stepped out of the base and into Beatty.

“We have a problem,” Shawn said without preamble when Alvin showed up. “A bunch of the idiots went off early this morning.”

Alvin yawned again, looking at Shawn with tired eyes. “What’s the problem? Sounds like your settlement is about to get an IQ boost.”

Shawn frowned. “At least half of those who went are decent people.”

“Right. Sorry. I’ve been dealing with my own shit since last night.”

“Must be hard,” Shawn said sarcastically.

Alvin’s nostrils flared and he met Shawn’s angry stare with his own. “I don’t get tired like this because of fucking my wives, you idiot. The devs decided they want to fuck me and everyone else over. They replaced the one person who cared with a condescending asshole.”

Shawn’s teeth clicked as he snapped his jaw shut. Taking a couple of deep breaths, he tried to not push the argument further. “Look, I need help rescuing them. Will you help?”

“We were going that way to loot anyway, weren’t we?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Thank you.”

Alvin summoned the Bradley and Humvee. “You get the Turtle and Desiree.”

“I’m going with Shawn?” Desiree asked, having come through the portal just a moment ago.

“We need someone with cooldowns on the gun,” Alvin said. “I’ll be driving the Bradley to start with. Gothy, gun.”

“You got it, Hero.”

“Roger.”

“I’ll be your eyes,” Mousie added.

“Milo, you guys ready?” Shawn shouted across the yard.

“We’re ready,” Milo called back from the Jeep next to the big rigs.

“Let’s go,” Shawn called out.

~
*
~
*
~

It took them over an hour before they came close enough to Mercury to get into range of the radios. They knew they’d gotten in range when their radios were filled with frantic screams, crying for help.

“We’re coming!” Shawn shouted. “Just stay alive until we get there.”

“We’re sorry! Please… Shawn, help us!”

“We’ll be there, just stay safe,” Shawn replied. “Alvin, can we go faster?”

“Going as fast as we can already. Half an hour until we get there.”

“We’ll die before then!” the voice sobbed over the radio.

“Well, that’s Darwinism at work,” Alvin replied. “Maybe you should’ve taken the threats seriously?”

“Shawn, we have the RCs. Maybe we can buy them time until you get there?” Milo cut over the radio.

“Go,” Shawn said. “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Copy that,” Milo said.

Alvin watched the Jeep go around him and shook his head.
Stupid to risk good people for greedy assholes, he sighed to himself. He saw Ivan in the backseat with the two RC planes loaded with explosives, and hoped that those worked the way they wanted.

“Going to get themselves killed,” Gothy said, not transmitting over the radio.

“A shame,” Alvin replied.

The people on the radio were filling the channel with continued pleading, and it started to bug Alvin after another minute. “Ladies, channel two,” he said over the radio before switching channels.

“Thank you, Hero,” Mousie said. “They were grating on my nerves.”

“And mine,” Desiree agreed. “These people have never seen combat, obviously.”

“People who saw the chance to make a quick score and didn’t take the threat of aliens seriously,” Gothy said. “Wonder how many will be dead by the time we get there?”

“Maybe enough that they take it seriously,” Alvin snorted.

~
*
~
*
~

As they closed on Indian Springs, Mousie was the first to spot the flying crafts. “Hero, three of the bigger ones.”

“Oh, joy. Okay, going back to the main channel. Be ready to switch with Gothy when needed.”

“We’ll be ready,” Mousie said.

“Switch and let Shawn know, Desiree.”

“Roger.”

Flipping back to the main radio channel, Alvin heard Desiree tell Shawn before another sobbing cry for help came over. “Shawn, did Milo and the others make it?”

“We just got the first plane up. We’re going to go for one of the crafts to see if the RCs can bring the shields down,” Milo said. “We’re parked at the edge of the town. I don’t think they spotted us coming in, either. They were all faced toward the base, firing at it.”

Alvin kept his mouth shut, but he doubted that the Greys didn’t know another vehicle had shown up. He knew they’d definitely know when the Bradley and Humvee got there. The two rigs were trailing far behind them, not wanting to get anywhere near the fight.

“I’m coming,” Shawn said as he gave the Humvee more gas. “Go for the one closest to us.”

“Copy,” Milo said.

“If he gets Desiree killed, I’m going to be pissed...” Gothy muttered.

“We both will be,” Mousie said.

“Make that all of us,” Alvin added. “Join the fight once he engages, Gothy. The gun has range.”

“Will do, Hero.”

Alvin watched the Humvee pull further away from them and gritted his teeth.
Love the armor and gun, but fuck, this bitch is slow.

“Shawn, how long?” Milo asked.

“Please, hurry!” another sobbing voice begged.

“Five minutes,” Shawn said. “Get the plane on them in four and a half.”

“Copy.”

“Hero...” Mousie said warily, “those voices are saying the same things over and over. I wasn’t sure to start with, but I am now.”

“Fuck. Shawn, trap!”

“Shit! Milo!”

“What do we do?” Milo asked back.

“Fuck them up,” Alvin said grimly. “Everyone here is already dead. You and your team stay back, but test that damn plane once we engage. Shawn, fall back. Let us catch you.”

“Do they have our radio channel?” Gothy asked. “Are they broadcasting to just us or to everyone?”

“They weren’t on the secondary channel,” Alvin said.

“They’re moving,” Milo said. “Heading toward you.”

“And that answers that,” Alvin sighed. “Slow down more, Shawn— they already know. Milo, get your team in their Jeep and get ready to bolt. Your flyer can deal with the bounce while you flee back to the rigs. Just let us engage first.”

“Copy.”

“Gun has five-to-six thousand max range, Gothy. Start in on them as soon as we’re close enough to give them shit.”

“Will do, Hero. I’ll trigger the auto-reload as soon as I start firing.”

“Buttoning up,” Mousie said, dropping into the vehicle and closing the hatch.

“I’m in range, Hero,” Desiree said. “Should we start it?”

“Milo, bring that plane in. We’ll be in range in a moment, so light them up.”

“Roger.”

Alvin felt his muscles tighten as he watched the Humvee well ahead of them. The closest disk angled itself slightly as it got ready to return fire. Suddenly, there was a small explosion under the saucer, and the shield on the craft winked out. Desiree pounced on that, using the M2 to tear into it.

“It worked, and we’re running,” Milo said.

“Copy,” Shawn said.

The daylight was lost in the bright flash caused by six beams suddenly coming into being. Everyone ignored it, having already been prepared with their welding shields. All three alien vehicles broke away— angling off in different directions the moment they fired— and waited for their shields to come back.

“Fuck, I was hoping they’d be immobile after firing,” Alvin grumbled. “That raises the bar a little, but not overly much.”

“Alvin, they just tore your Humvee up,” Shawn said. “I’m not sure it’ll take too many more of those.”

“Do your best to evade them,” Alvin said.

“Going hot!” Gothy called out before the Bushmaster began to fire as fast as it could. “Joining in on yours. Focus them down one by one.”

“Roger, Gothy.”

The two crafts not under fire slowed their evasive maneuvers and brought their guns back around to the Humvee as soon as their shields came back. The one under fire from both guns was focused on trying to evade as much as possible, its shield unable to reform. Four bright streaks slammed into the Humvee, one of them hitting the armored copula Desiree was in. All four beams blew right through the barrier glyph that Desiree used.

“Fucking assholes!” Desiree snarled as she kept her gun firing. “Flipping critical strikes on.”

“I’ll hold mine for the second craft,” Gothy said.

“Alvin, the Humvee is making noises,” Shawn said. “I don’t know how much those beams do, but they’re doing a number on us.”

“Yeah, they tear up a vehicle,” Alvin agreed. “If needed, I’ll summon the base and we can retreat. Desiree has an extra key she can toss you. Rigs, Milo, start back to Beatty in case we do have to retreat.”

“Copy.”

“I think the one is trying to run,” Desiree said. “They seem to be having trouble, though.”

“Probably from all the damage we’ve done,” Alvin said as he saw chunks of debris falling from the first craft. “Gothy, switch over to a secondary and let it fly. Desiree, stay on the first and keep it up until it falls.”

“Okay, Hero.”

“Roger.”

The new target shot away, taking wildly evasive maneuvers after the first few explosive rounds ripped its shield apart. Gothy did her best to keep it in her crosshairs, but she was having difficulties. With no one firing at it, the third craft came to a standstill and, a few seconds later, twin beams slammed into the Humvee.

“Alvin, the engine is starting to whine and the steering is a bit stiff,” Shawn said.

“Fuck... I want to drop at least one of them, first,” Alvin hissed as he aimed the Bradley toward the closest large building he could see. “I’ll summon a portal. Desiree, toss him a key. The moment you drop that first craft, we’re going to have to book it.”

“Roger.”

Alvin focused on the large building and tried to toggle the base button. A large pop-up filled his vision for a second.

Base portals may not be activated while in combat.

Please leave combat before using this function.

“I’m going to fucking kill him again and again!” Alvin snarled.

“What’s the matter?” Gothy asked.

“Can’t summon the base in combat now.”

“Bullshit!” Gothy snapped.

“They’re trying to get us injured or killed,” Mousie hissed.

“I almost have this one down, Hero,” Desiree said. “Do I give him a key or not?”

“No,” Alvin replied. “Won’t do us any good. Once you are done with that one, trade off with Gothy on these two.”

“You want me to…? I get it,” Gothy said, remembering the aliens could hear them.

“It’s down!” Desiree said suddenly. “Switching targets.”

“Fuck.” Alvin winced as he had a horrible thought. “I hope that doesn’t explode like the little one did.”

“Oh, shit,” Gothy cursed.

When the wreck didn’t explode, Alvin breathed a little easier. “Okay, we’ve got this.”

“Not sure the Humvee is going to survive it,” Shawn said as both UFOs fired again.

Black smoke poured from the Humvee’s exhaust, and several large holes had been punched through the armor. Alvin worried for Desiree, as the aliens appeared to accept the idea of losing one of their own to take down the Humvee.

“Fuck... evade as best you can. Desiree, focus-fire on one as far as you can.”

“Roger.”

“Copy,” Shawn said, but the worry in his voice was apparent even through the radio.

“If you stand down, we will spare you, Human,” one of the Greys said over the radio. “We will spare all of you for the one called Alvin. Give him to us, and we will leave.”

“Fuck you, you twig-necked, no-dick, short fuckers!” Gothy snapped. “We’ll down both of you, too!”

“Perhaps, but we will have killed one of your precious ones, too.”

“No, we have extra lives,” Alvin hissed. “Do you? Because even if you kill us here, we’ll be back, and you’ll have pissed me off enough to bring the fight to you.”

Both crafts backed away slightly, but the women didn’t stop firing. A moment later, they both took off to the north at incredible speeds, though one of them was slower than the other.

The instant both crafts ran for it, Alvin grinned. “Radio communication to zero, meet at the downed craft. We might have survivors to mop up,” Alvin said before he went silent.

Chapter Seventeen

The wrecked ship was huge. The main compartment was just slightly larger than the Bradley, and the entire craft was nearly three times that size. A small trail of debris led from where it had started to crash up to the main body. The central area had been cracked open like an egg, letting Alvin and his wives walk up to the exterior and look into it.

“Big enough for four of them,” Alvin muttered. He looked down at the Geiger counter in his hand before putting it away. “No radiation.”

“They die awfully easy,” Gothy said, looking down at the dead Greys. “Must be those twiggy necks.”

“I’ll loot them,” Mousie said. “It’ll be easier for me to get back out if needed.”

“We’ll keep watch from here,” Desiree said.

“Understood,” Mousie nodded as she dropped into the opening.

“I’ll take the gun when we mount back up,” Alvin told Gothy. “Mousie will switch with Desiree.”

“Just in case they do come back?”

“Yeah.”

“Alvin, is it clear?” Shawn called out over the radio, having been waiting in the Humvee.

“Clear. Roll them in. We can start looting and send someone to look for the others, though I’m sure they were captured or killed.”

“Copy. Milo, you and the trucks can come in. Start searching once you get here.”

“Copy that, Shawn.”

Alvin let out a stifled exclamation when the disk vanished under their feet, dropping them to the runway. “Well, that means we don’t get the ship as loot,” Alvin said when he was stable again.

“Damn... I really wanted another plane or similar,” Gothy grumbled. “I’d take an alien death machine in place of it.”

“I’d pass,” Alvin said. “The fact the shield comes down with explosives is a major flaw. Overall, the Bradley is better armored because of that. Now, if we can get the shield generator, it’d make zombies laughable. Well...
more laughable.”

“Oh, that shield generator on a plane?” Gothy gave a big smile.

Mousie had a smile on her lips and shook her head. “We know what you want, Gothy. I didn’t receive anything of special note, besides some DNA.”

The others checked their loot just in case, and Alvin murmured when he saw what he’d received. “An ‘antigravity propulsion core.’”

“What?” Gothy asked, fixating on him instantly.

“I got a part for making one of their ships,” Alvin said. “I’ll have to ask Shawn if it can be used in our vehicles or not.”

“Some DNA for me,” Desiree said. “Also, I got parts of a death ray, but not the whole thing.”

Gothy grumbled about only getting uncommon runes.

“Alvin,” Shawn said, getting out of the Humvee, not wanting to say it over the radio, “I got pieces of the shield generator. It’s not enough for me to make one, but maybe enough to understand the theory.”

“Pieces of one of the guns and the antigravity core,” Alvin said.

Shawn’s eyes widened. “Fuck... No way I can get that core from you, is there?”

“No, but you’ll probably end up using it for me.”

Shawn sighed. “Figures.”

“We could sell you the weapon pieces,” Desiree offered. “The pieces alone aren’t enough for us, and maybe it’ll help you.”

Shawn scratched at his chin. “Maybe. Wait until we head back for the day, and we know who or what we’ve found?”

“Fine with me,” Alvin said. “Oh, by the way, I had a thought the other day—”

“Bet that hurt,” Gothy smirked, cutting him off.

“The burning smell is explained,” Desiree smiled.

Alvin sighed. “As I was saying... the ants— have you checked to see if they came back?”

“No. Should we?”

“We found a place near Red River that looked like a monster spawn zone for mosquitoes. It got me thinking that maybe the ants might have a similar mechanic here.”

“I can have Milo check later. Speaking of, I can hear the rigs coming. We should get back in the vehicles and get ready in case the aliens come back.”

“True enough. Mousie, you’re the gun for the Bradley. I’m going to go with Shawn.”

“But—” Mousie started to say.

“It’ll be better for you,” Alvin said, “won’t it?”

“Yes, Hero,” Mousie said. “Thank you.”

“Let’s go,” Alvin told Shawn.

“Sure,” Shawn replied as they went toward the Humvee. “Thanks. I mean, she hasn’t threatened me or anything, but she scares me some.”

“She can be scary,” Alvin agreed.

~
*
~
*
~

The sun was heading for the horizon when the convoy was making their way back to Beatty. They found the twisted wreckage of vehicles from the people who had gone ahead of them, but no bodies.

Alvin and Shawn sat in the back of the Bradley, Alvin having returned the Humvee to the base for repairs. “What are you going to do?”

“Tell them the truth. The others were all gone before we got there.”

“Not what I was asking,” Alvin said. “What’re you going to do about them trying to do this again?”

“Nothing,” Shawn said. “I’m not going to micromanage them. If some of them want to go get killed by being greedy, that’s their problem. It’ll hurt us some, but in the end, the smart ones will learn.”

“Darwinism for the win.”

“Pretty much. It’d be too much work to try being a dictator.”

“That’s true. What about the ants?”

“If they’re repeatable, I’ll make a schedule for the hunter teams to have turns killing them. This way, everyone gets a chance. If they aren’t there, then nothing.”

“Fair enough,” Alvin chuckled.

“Are we going to go to Nellis tomorrow?” Shawn asked after a couple of minutes of silence.

“Yeah, but through Tonopah and around. Better than driving across the north of Vegas.”

“Take a little longer, but much less dangerous,” Shawn nodded. “Could use that for a bit.”

“Less dangerous overall,” Alvin said, “though that depends on if that drake is still in the area.”

“I thought it was closer to Ely?”

“Near Warm Springs,” Alvin corrected him, “and we have to go through there.”

“The Bradley and Humvee can handle it, I hope,” Shawn said.

“The Humvee is going to be out of action for a couple of days. Can’t believe it lost almost three-fourths of its durability... Those death rays are nothing to sneeze at.”

“No kidding. We wouldn’t have had a chance before. Once I get the Bradleys up and running for us, we’ll be able to defend ourselves better.”

“Can’t believe they haven’t patched that yet,” Alvin laughed. “So many Predators today. We good on the split?”

“Yeah. Nobody who went today is going to complain about you getting a third of it. We’d never have survived without you and your gear.”

“I’ll take all the Predators. I want to get them to the settlements so they can all have overwatch capabilities.”

“What’re you going to charge them?” Shawn asked.

“Why?”

“So I can make sure your deal is better than me selling them on the auction house.”

“Probably what we could sell them for. Even one per settlement would nearly break them... I want to make sure the Dwarves get at least two, as well. You might want to save some for Wichita. Gods know they’ll want them, and you might even get an aircraft for your trouble.”

“Going to ask for some helos. Best for us, as I don’t want to have to dick around with an airfield.”

“Fair.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask, Alvin, why’re you helping us like this? You were pretty damned mercenary before.”

“Still am,” Alvin admitted. “For those who’ve been good to us, I’m trying to be a bit nicer. We need to have strong settlements if we want to survive.”

The settlements of Red River and Wichita have created a government.

The Lone Star Government has been created.

Alvin laughed. “I knew something was possible. Fuck you, devs. Bet you weren’t ready for this, were you?”

“Can we link up?” Shawn asked when he saw the message.

“No idea,” Alvin laughed. “Check your settlement tab.”

Shawn began to play with the air and Alvin leaned back, still snickering over how the devs had to be panicking right now.
Serves you right, you fucking assholes.

~
*
~
*
~

Alvin started the repairs on the Bradley after they returned to the base. Thinking about the dozen Predators stored in his bag, he chuckled. “Ladies, go ahead and head for the shower. I’ll be along right after I send some messages.”

“Don’t take too long, Hero,” Gothy winked.

“I don’t plan to. Just a quick copy-pasta message to the settlements asking if they want dirt cheap Predators. I’m including your dad, Desiree. We’ll have to make a special trip to drop those off after Vegas, though.”

Desiree’s eyes smoldered. “I’ll thank you tonight for doing so.”

“Just as I still need to thank him for helping the Queen,” Mousie said as she licked her lips.

“Go on, all of you,” Alvin said. “Otherwise, Jarvis might find us in here, and he doesn’t deserve that.”

“Fair enough, Hero,” Gothy giggled, “but if you take too long…”

“I won’t. Promise,” Alvin said, swatting her ass. “Now, get.”

“Yes, Hero,” Gothy purred, her hips swaying as she went.

The other two fell into step with her, and Alvin took a deep shuddering breath as he watched the trio leave the room. “Gods damn, I’m a lucky fuck.”

Whistling softly, he stepped into the kiosk room and started to send messages. He had the first completed and had just saved it as a template when the kiosk went black.

“Motherfuckers!” Alvin growled as he slammed his fist onto the kiosk.

“Not the way anyone should speak to us,” a man said angrily.

Alvin spun, Type 56 in hand. His finger depressed the trigger as soon as he’d turned, but the gun didn’t fire.

“We disabled your guns inside the base,” the dev smirked, “considering what you did to me last time.”

Alvin let the gun vanish back into his gloves. “Think you’re smart, huh?”

“I know
I’m smart, unlike you, Lambert.”

Alvin’s eye twitched at his last name. “Look, asshole, say what you have to, then get out of my damned house.”

“Please,” he scoffed. “I’m the one in charge here. Now, we’ll talk about your provocations and taunts against us.”

Alvin smiled at the dev. “What’s your name?”

“Oh no, I know better than that. You fooled Samantha that way, but you won’t fool me.”

“Well, I tried being friendly, and everyone knows that now,” Alvin shrugged. “So, what I have here is a random stranger who randomly appeared in my home and has stopped me from defending my own residence.”

“No, wha—?” the dev started to say before blood gushed from his mouth and two shining, metallic points erupted out of his chest.

“Hero, did this bug bother you?” Mousie asked from behind the dev.

“Not anymore,” Alvin smiled at her as he vanished. “They stopped me from using guns.”

“Jarvis came and told us,” Gothy said from behind Mousie. “We tried to shoot him, too.”

“Wonder what they’ll try next, and when,” Alvin said. “Thanks, Jarvis,” he said, raising his voice.

“You are quite welcome, sir. They should have had the decorum to at least knock and announce themselves. Now, I will go back to cooking and would ask the ladies to return to the shower, please?”

Alvin eyed the three naked, wet women and chuckled. “Sorry, buddy.”

“I’ll survive the mild heart attack, sir,” Jarvis said.

“Are you coming, too, Hero?” Gothy purred, giving him a sultry smile.

“Not yet, but once you three get your hands on me, it won’t take long. Let me see if the kiosk is working again, first. I had the letter ready, but they killed it on me when he showed up.”

“Don’t keep us waiting.”

“Fuck no. I’ll be right there, letters or no letters,” Alvin said. “Now go on before Jarvis’ heart gives out. Oh, and Mousie? I’ll have a special treat for you tonight. Thank you.”

Mousie gave him a big smile. “Anything for you, Hero.”

Chapter Eighteen

Alvin walked out of the bedroom to find all three women working in concert— they moved around each other in the kitchen as they got breakfast ready. He looked over at Jarvis, who was sipping some tea while watching a documentary about the slow decline of the British Empire.

“How’re you doing today, Jarvis?”

“Quite well, sir. The women demanded that I allow them to cook breakfast,” Jarvis replied, pausing his show.

“Wanted to thank you for informing them?”

“Only in part, sir. The rest was a thank you for all the attention you gave them last night.”

“Heh. Well, they deserved it after coming to help with small-dick.”

“What are your plans today, sir?” Jarvis asked.

“Supposed to go to Vegas and see if Nellis is still intact. Before breakfast, I’m going to do what small-dick dev tried to stop me from doing last night.”

“I’ll let them know if they finish before you do, sir,” Jarvis said, unpausing the television.

“Be right back,” Alvin said.

Moving into the kiosk room so he wouldn’t blind everyone, Alvin fast-traveled to Bridgeport first.

“Alvin? Surprised to see you again so soon,” Gary, the de facto overseer of Bridgeport, greeted him.

“Gary, didn’t expect to be back so soon. I would’ve just sent you a message, but the devs are doubling down on fucking with me.”

“Oh?”

Alvin gave him a quick rundown about what was going on. “That’s why I had to come in person. Does Bridgeport want two Predators?”

“The unmanned drones?”

“Yeah.”

“We couldn’t possibly afford them.”

“I’m going to give them to you for the flat out barest price I can, and I’ll even take the payment in installments.”

Gary gave him an odd look. “What’s the interest rate?”

“Meh, say a single percent? I’m doing this more to fuck with the devs than to make a killing. If I wanted the XP, I could just sell them on the auction house.”

“Hmm... Okay, we’ll take them,” Gary said. “What’s the accrual on the interest? Yearly, monthly, weekly?”

“Quarterly?” Alvin offered.

“Deal,” Gary said, extending his hand over the counter of his shop.

“Deal,” Alvin grinned, shaking his hand. “Where do you want them?”

“Hmm, might as well put them in the courtyard of the old base. Lots of room there. I can give you some XP now, too.”

“Sounds good,” Alvin chuckled.

~
*
~
*
~

Ely and Ignacio had been as slow to accept the drones as Bridgeport had been, but when they heard the deal, they jumped on it just as quickly. Alvin was grinning when he stepped foot in Green River.

“Alvin?” James asked, shocked to see him. “Everything okay?”

“Not at all,” Alvin replied. “Business with Susan.”

“Let me walk you down,” James said. “Thanks for setting us up with the friendly Greys. The fast travel has been amazing. It’s been good to see my sisters and parents.”

“Glad it worked out.”

“We saw that Texas seems to be on the rise. Any idea how they managed that?”

“No idea. Susan should be able to figure it out, though.”

“What did you show up for? Helping us with the fish-demon?”

“Not yet, but something that might help,” Alvin grinned. “I have to make this quick. I have breakfast being made by my wives to get back to.”

“Happy wife, happy life,” James chuckled.

“Three times that,” Alvin laughed.

“Have a good chat with her,” James said, stopping outside the office door. “I’m going to get back to what I’d been doing.”

“See you later,” Alvin replied.

Knocking on the door, he waited for Susan to answer. When he heard her tell him it was safe to come in, Alvin did.

“Hey, Susan. How’re you?”

“Good. How are you and the others?”

“If not for the devs, we’d be doing better,” Alvin said before giving her the same recap he’d given Gary.

Susan looked upset when he finished. “Those assholes... as if we don’t have a hard enough time already.”

“Something happening here?”

“The fish-demon’s been making it impossible to go far from the base. It’s been spotted in the town twice in the last few weeks, and both times, the groups barely made it away.”

“Hmm...”

“And it’s been hard here, too. Stress has been up, and James hasn’t been coming to see me during the day. I only get to see him at night now.”

“Weird. He was walking with me and left when we got to your door.”

Susan’s face fell, and she started to cry. “Why...? I don’t understand.”

“I don’t know,” Alvin said softly, moving around to pat Susan’s back. “Did anything else happen?”

“We made a deal with the native tribe to the north of us. They’re making fetishes to help with the fish-demon. Their shaman even gave me this.” She poked at a small soapstone owl on her desk.

“What’s it do?” Alvin asked.

“I don’t think it does anything,” Susan said. “He called it a friendship gift.”

“Sorry. With the shamans, I always expect their things to do something mystical.”

“It’s okay,” Susan said, sniffling as she got her emotions back under control. “What brought you here?” she asked, trying to bring the conversation back on topic.

“Predators. I’ve got two, if you want them.”

“How much?” Susan asked, shifting into business mode.

“Half a mil each, but you can do it in installments at a single percent interest quarterly.”

Susan’s lips pursed. “Only half a million each?”

“What I could get if I sold them to the kiosk.”

“You could get a lot more from the Elves or Dwarves.”

“They’re going to get their own, at the same price.”

Susan’s lips turned up at the corners. “Gothy and the other two are helping soften you some...”

“Every night,” Alvin chuckled.

Susan rolled her eyes. “Men.”

“Do you want them?”

“I’ll take the deal,” Susan said. “Have you found anything to help us kill the fish-demon?”

“Fire should dry out the protective membrane it has. The Bradley can push out the damage needed to kill it probably. I’ve been planning on coming back to help with it. It’ll be a while yet, though, as I’m going with Shawn to check if Nellis is still active. If they are, maybe we can get a bombing run with a B-2.”

“As long as they can hit the target,” Susan said. “Do you need some of the XP right now?”

“No. I’ll get it when we come back to help. Breakfast is waiting for me, so I have to run. See you in a few days?”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Susan smiled.

Alvin gave her a smile before he summoned the base portal and walked through it.

“We’ve been waiting,” Gothy said. “How’d it go?”

“All done, except for the Dwarves.”

“After Nellis?” Desiree asked.

“That’s my current plan,” Alvin said, “but after we deal with the drake between Ely and Beatty. Once we drop them off to your dad, I want to stop by Green River and help them end that fish-demon.”

“Good,” Gothy nodded. “How’s Susan doing?”

“Emotional as all hell,” Alvin said. “Her and James might be having a small problem right now, but that’s probably just some fluctuating emotions.”

“Hope they get it figured out,” Gothy said. “Susan and James are good people.”

“Agreed,” Alvin said, taking his seat at the table. “Shall we break our fast?”

“Yes,” Mousie said. “We’ve made a full breakfast, so have a little of everything.”

Alvin looked at the stacks of food on the table. “A little of everything will fill me up, so let’s start with the pancakes.”

~
*
~
*
~

The rainbow light show got the attention of everyone in the yard at Beatty as the four of them appeared. Shawn was standing by the same International Harvester Scout he’d driven to save the kids months before.

“You ready?” Alvin asked.

“Just me and Milo’s group,” Shawn said. “Since this is basically recon, we don’t think risking more people is a good idea. The Humvee still repairing?”

“Yeah. It was beat the fuck up yesterday. Even with the upgraded garage, it’s going to take a few days to fix.”

“Thought so. I’ve got my ride.”

“How did your daughter take you going back out again?” Gothy asked.

Shawn grimaced. “I had to promise this was my last trip for a while.”

“Guess we need to make it count,” Alvin said. “Let’s get rolling.”

~
*
~
*
~

The drive through Tonopah and east was quiet. The area between the two small towns had been pacified, thanks to the hunters. As they rolled, Alvin smiled when he recalled the airport and the old biplane.

“Shawn, I need to make a quick stop at the airport,” Alvin said over the radio.

“For me, Hero?” Gothy asked with a happy tone.

“If you’re thinking about that biplane, the owner already reclaimed it,” Shawn said. “He’s with the group in Goldfield. Man, was he pissed when he found out someone had been playing with it.”

“Dickballs…” Gothy muttered.

“Guess we can just keep on going, then,” Alvin said. “Sorry, Gothy.”

“Yeah, not your fault the cock-knocking owner kept it.”

No one else chimed in on the conversation, and the drive continued on past the airport.

Nothing happened as they drove down US-6. It was quiet and peaceful until they reached the hills just short of Warm Springs. Rounding the last corner to the town, a roar split the air.

“Shawn, left! Now!” Mousie shouted, looking behind them from the commander’s hatch.

Shawn didn’t question it— he juked left, but the Scout wasn’t great for fast movements. The drake clipped it, making the whole vehicle bounce. The jolt to its suspension pulled two wheels off the ground.

“Fuck!” Shawn yelled when he felt the Scout start to roll.

Desiree had the gun turned and firing on the drake at the same moment that Shawn’s vehicle went off the road.

“Hero, stop,” Gothy said from the back. “We can kill a drake, and Shawn needs help.”

“Already on it,” Alvin said, already braking.

“Mousie, dropping the back gate. Come with me,” Gothy said.

“Understood.” Mousie dropped into the Bradley and opened the door to the back.

“Get back in your truck and keep moving!” Gothy snapped at Milo’s team when the gate on the back of the Bradley fell. “You need to be hard to hit. We’ll get him.”

“Using cooldowns,” Desiree said calmly, continuing to fire at the drake. “It doesn’t seem to care about being hit right now.”

“Using the AP rounds?”

“Yes, to break as much armor as I can,” Desiree replied.

“It’s coming back around,” Ivan said over the radio. “It’s heading for Shawn!”

“We got it,” Gothy said as she ran through the desert scrub to the upside-down vehicle.

“It changed course!” Ivan shouted. “It’s going for the Elf!”

Mousie looked over her shoulder and triggered her battle armor, then summoned her swords. Just before the drake got to her, Mousie fell to the ground, rolling to her back and lashing out with both blades. One massive claw scraped along her armor as it tried to grab her, but missed.

“Mousie?” Gothy asked, not having stopped her run for Shawn.

“Fine. Keep going.”

The drake broke away, flapping hard to gain altitude again. “Tasty morsels... why do you fight the inevitable?” it asked as it flew.

“Because we only get eaten by the ones we love!” Mousie hissed as she got back to her feet.

“Amusing, but flawed. All of you will be food before this is over. I have grown to like the flavor of Human flesh. Your pathetic guns can’t hurt my scales.”

“Switching to HE,” Desiree said. “Get ready for it to be grounded.”

“Understood,” Mousie grinned, facing the drake as it circled to come back toward her.

When the drake went to try grabbing Mousie again, it screamed in rage as it fell out of the sky, its wings shredded by the intense barrage of explosive rounds from the Bradley. Slamming into the ground behind the Bradley, the drake shook its head, trying to understand what had happened.

Mousie didn’t hesitate— she rushed the beast. Even in the armor, her steps were fluid and quick as she began to dance. Desiree, seeing Mousie start forward, was quick to shift ammo back to AP rounds to not catch her with explosions.

“Shawn, are you alive?” Gothy asked when she got to the Scout.

“Barely...” Shawn wheezed, bleeding from a nasty head wound.

“Shit,” Gothy said, pulling out a trauma kit and applying it to Shawn’s head. “Pull your shit together.”

Shawn exhaled deeply as the healing item took away the pain he’d been in. “Thanks. A little help getting out?”

“Give me a minute,” Gothy said. She reached in to find the seatbelt locked. “Fine. We do it the other way.” Her battle armor started to form on her. “I’m going to hold you up and cut that off. Get ready to run when you’re free. The drake is angry.”

“I hear the roaring.”

“Oh, right. You can’t understand it,” Gothy said.

Mousie flowed around the giant, scaled beast, its claws and teeth just missing her as she danced. Her swords hit the creature in rapid succession as she moved around it, always at least a step ahead of it.

“Stand still and get eaten, you damned pest! It is your place to be honored as my food!”

“Mousie, grenade into its mouth when I call for it,” Desiree said.

“I hear you,” Mousie replied, her feet not slowing.

Alvin’s hands itched as he sat in the driver’s seat. “Fuck it.” He pushed the hatch open and climbed out. Getting behind the turret, he summoned the M82 Barrett and sighted down the rifle at the drake.

Gothy watched as her lovers did what she wanted to be doing, but she helped Shawn free of his damaged vehicle. “Milo, bring your truck to the west. Bringing Shawn to you.”

“Copy.”

Shawn shook his head. “Go. I can get to them on my own.”

“Gladly,” Gothy said as she summoned her Thompson submachine gun to her hands. “We’ll tell you once it’s dead.”

Chapter Nineteen

Alvin leaned against the turret. “Another one bites the dust.”

“‘And another one gone’...” Gothy hummed and snickered.

“Its armor was quite thick,” Desiree said.

“Yes, it was frustrating,” Mousie agreed, cleaning her blades.

“Shawn,” Alvin said, “you guys can come on back.”

“Copy that. On our way.”

“Wait to loot?” Mousie asked.

“Might as well,” Alvin shrugged. “Shawn should get some of the loot, at least. Not sure if they’ll count the others as part of it or not.”

“Was this the drake you said had to be killed before we could visit my world?” Desiree asked, popping open the gunner’s hatch.

“It was,” Alvin replied. “You’re the driver now, since your cooldowns were used.”

“Arrogant fuck didn’t even try to run. It was so sure it would kill us,” Gothy snorted. “I kept expecting it to try to fly off.”

“Maybe it was just that kind of being?” Alvin shrugged. “The drake we killed on the way to Death Valley tried to run, after all. We’ve all met that one guy who just doesn’t know when to back down, even when his ass is getting kicked.”

“Fair enough,” Gothy conceded.

“I want you in the gunner’s spot when we move out, Gothy,” Alvin told her. “Mousie, you used your critical strikes cooldown?”

“Yes, Hero. I knew we needed to do as much as we could as quickly as possible.”

“Okay, you’re in the back, then. I’m in the command position.”

The sound of a vehicle approaching let them know that the others were close. When they got there, Mousie touched the drake corpse to loot it.

Alvin laughed when he saw the expressions on Milo and his crew. “It was a raid boss. Even a low-end raid boss is still worth a chunk of XP.”

“We didn’t get this much from the dragon,” Milo said.

“Of course not. That was split with more people,” Gothy snickered. “This was worth less, though… probably because it didn’t have a breath weapon.”

“It’s still two hundred and fifty thousand XP each,” Ivan said. “We can get extra lives.”

“There is that,” Alvin said seriously. “Someone can get their daughter a second life, too.”

Shawn nodded. “Planned on it already. The two of us can both get one with just this. No wonder you four are always so well equipped.”

“We’ve killed our share of raid bosses,” Alvin said. “Anyway, let’s get moving. Nellis is waiting.”

“Rather not leave my Scout behind,” Shawn said.

Alvin thought about it for a second before he walked over to Shawn, who was looking at his vehicle. “Give me your key.”

Shawn frowned and handed it off. “Why?”

“Be right back,” Alvin said. “Desiree, summon a portal for me.”

“Roger.”

When the portal appeared, Alvin walked through it and hit the vehicle summon button. With not enough spots for it to summon both the Bradley and the Scout, a pop-up asked which vehicle he wanted to summon to the base. Whistling, he summoned the Scout.

Driving back out of the portal, Alvin parked the vehicle and got out. “Here. Easy way to get it back upright.” He tossed the key back to Shawn. “Ready to go now?”

Shawn snorted, “Wish we could do things that easily, but yeah, let’s go.”

Once they were loaded up and moving, Alvin checked what loot he’d received. “Scales and DNA.”

“I got a flawless Recoil rune and an excellent Reloading rune,” Gothy said.

“Master Silent rune and some scales,” Mousie chimed in.

“An egg and some meat,” Desiree added.

“Another pet egg? I thought those were supposed to be rare,” Alvin laughed. “Nice haul for us. Makes me slightly curious as to what the others got.”

“Do we care enough to ask?” Gothy asked him.

“Not really. Let them ride high. I’m sure we got the better stuff.”

“I wonder what a drake egg would fetch on the auction house?” Gothy mused.

“Would rather sell the bloodsucker egg,” Alvin said. “At least a drake is a dragon-type.”

“You don’t really think they’re battle pets like—?” Gothy started to ask.

“No, I doubt there’s going to be an electric rat and theme song,” Alvin said. “However, I know several MMORPGs had a minigame system based around battle pets. Considering what we’ve seen and heard, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s going to be a feature.”

“You think they’re prepping to make this open to other players?” Gothy asked.

“Maybe? Streaming can only get them so far monetarily. I could see them opening up limited slots for people to play. The system the devs use to interact with us might work, for instance.”

“Boo!” Gothy jeered. “That means we’d end up with Assmunch333 as a person running around.”

Alvin laughed. “Probably. It’s just a thought, but considering their push for more game-like mechanics, it makes a certain amount of sense.”

“Ugh,” Gothy sighed. “They take Sammi away and now there’s this hanging over us? I mean, our fans would probably be cool, but average Joe Blow? He’d die quick, or try to be a murder hobo.”

“We can only wait and see,” Alvin said.

~
*
~
*
~

The drive down Nevada State Route 375— or the “Extraterrestrial Highway,” as it was nicknamed— was uneventful. The small town of Rachel was deserted when they went through it, but Alvin didn’t find that surprising. If anyone had survived the Rapture, the Greys would’ve gotten them. Alvin half-expected an attack when they passed the small town, but nothing happened as they continued to Crystal Springs.

“Little tourist-trap towns,” Gothy said. “Too bad there aren’t any people. I feel like they would’ve gotten the irony of the Greys being here now.”

“Some of them would,” Alvin agreed. “Passed through both towns before I died. Colorful people.”

“Turning south,” Desiree told them as she turned onto U.S. Route 93.

“That’ll take us to I-15, and right to Nellis,” Alvin said. Keying his radio, Alvin asked Shawn, “Anything we need to check on the way?”

“There’s nothing but small towns on the way. Unless we see people, I see no reason to stop.”

“Copy. You heard him, Desiree.”

“Roger.”

~
*
~
*
~

“Do you mind if we make a quick stop at the truck stop?” Milo asked.

“Need to see a man about a horse?” Shawn asked.

“Yeah.”

“Alvin?”

“Sure. We’ll hit our base while you do that,” Alvin said, “after we make sure it’s clear.”

“Copy that,” Milo said. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“Gothy, Desiree, stay where you are. Mousie, you’ll be going in with me to clear.”

“Understood, Hero.”

“Be safe, and come out if you need help,” Gothy said, leaning over to kiss Alvin.

“You know we will.”

“Pulling in,” Desiree said as she turned off the road.

Alvin stepped into the back of the Bradley, waiting for it to stop so he could drop the ramp. “Mousie and I will clear the interior. Shawn, you got the exterior?”

“Sure. Milo, you’re up.”

“Copy.”

~
*
~
*
~

Stepping into the base, Alvin stretched. “Quick break. Wanna drop off the good loot, too.”

“We know, Hero,” Gothy said.

“We’ll be quick, Hero,” Mousie said, following Gothy.

“Thanks,” Alvin said as he trailed them.

“Welcome home,” Jarvis said. “I’ll have the snacks and drinks ready for your departure.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Alvin grinned before heading for the guest bathroom.

~
*
~
*
~

When he stepped out of the bathroom Alvin felt something was off— Jarvis wasn’t moving. “Jarvis?”

“He can’t hear you,” a different dev said from the far side of the room. “Wait, wait! Before you do something rash, the other guy was canned.”

Alvin paused, having been crossing the room. “That’s a start. Why did you freeze my family, unless you had ulterior motives?”

“I do. Nothing bad, though. I wanted to establish myself as not like the last guy, but I figured you’d lash out before I got the chance to unless I had time.”

“Unfreeze them,” Alvin said levelly.

The dev nodded and Jarvis started moving again.

“Jarvis, you okay?”

“Of course, sir. Did you… who is he?” Jarvis altered his question when he noticed the newcomer.

“The replacement for the last dev.”

“Maybe they’re learning,” Jarvis sniffed.

“Maybe. Okay, I’ll give you a chance,” Alvin said.

Exhaling a held breath, the dev relaxed. “Thanks. The rest of the team didn’t give me great odds to survive, even with the freeze.”

Alvin chuckled darkly. “They might still be right.”

The dev gave a weak, timid laugh as he shifted in place. “Yeah, uh... anyway... I’m here to ask you to stop abusing certain mechanics. We’re trying to get the code to patch them, but it’s taking longer than it should.”

“Let me guess: the storage mechanic, and the fact I can move people with my base?”

“Hero, who’s this guy?” Gothy asked, coming out of the bedroom staring at them.

“New dev. I’m giving him a chance.”

“So no killing him?” Mousie asked, coming out from behind Gothy with her blades already in hand.

Alvin’s lips twitched into a brief smile when he saw the dev pale. “Not yet, at least. I might agree to the first one, but the second one I can’t promise right now. If Nellis survived and has a competent commander, it makes more sense for me to get their envoys to the Elves and Dwarves.”

The dev grimaced. “Alvin, I’m not asking for much, and it would go a long way toward repairing this strained relationship.”

“You guys strained it first by removing Sammi,” Alvin said bluntly. “Reinstate her and I’ll start behaving again.”

The dev looked away from him. “We... can’t.”

“You fucks fired her!?” Gothy snapped, her hands curling into fists.

“No, no, no!” he said quickly, his hands held up to ward off her anger. “She wasn’t fired… she… shit…”

“Nondisclosure?” Alvin asked, watching the dev closely.

“Yeah. She hasn’t been fired, though. Can you get Team Asshole to stop harassing us, too?”

“Maybe, but I want to know what the fuck happened to her first.”

“Can I check with my bosses?”

“Yeah. I’ll be nice for a single day as a sign of good faith. But if you don’t have answers for me by then...” Alvin shrugged.

“Fucking hell... why did she even want this position?” the dev complained just before he vanished.

“Hero? What do you think?” Gothy asked.

“Not sure. If Sammi wasn’t fired… maybe…?”

Gothy’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Oh…!”

“Yeah. I’m a bit hopeful anyway.”

“Now I am, too.”

Mousie and Desiree exchanged a look, clearly not catching what the two were talking about, and Jarvis looked thoughtful.

“Gothy, what are you two—?” Mousie began.

Gothy spun and stopped her from talking with a passionate kiss. When she pulled back, she shook her head. “I’m hoping for a surprise. Let it be for now.”

“As you wish, Gothy.”

“I think I deserve a silencing kiss, as well,” Desiree grinned.

Alvin snagged her arm and pulled her to him, kissing her hard.

“If you four are quite done,” Jarvis said with a tiny hint of weariness in his voice, “here are your snacks and drinks.”

“Thanks, Jarvis,” Gothy said, taking the food. “Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine, miss. I thank you for thinking of me, even belatedly. Besides, you were right to stop that line of speculation where you did.”

“We’ll see you later,” Alvin said before going toward the garage.

“Indeed, sir.”

Chapter Twenty

Alvin felt the tension mounting as they got closer to Vegas. The trip had been almost ridiculously easy, besides the drake and the mass of abandoned vehicles in the way as they got closer.

When they approached the Las Vegas Speedway, Shawn came over the radio, “Turn onto the 604. It’ll take us closer to the base.”

“Glad to get off the freeway,” Desiree said, annoyed at having to go even slower than normal to push cars and trucks out of the way.

As they took the turn, Alvin cracked his neck and stood on his seat. “Speedway in a couple of miles. Not far after that to the edge of Nellis.”

“That’s right,” Shawn said.

A little over a mile out from the speedway, Alvin saw vehicles heading toward them. “Desiree, slow up. We have company incoming.”

“Roger.”

“How many?” Shawn asked.

“Looks like three? Might be more behind them. I’ll let you know in a second.”

Seconds ticked by and Alvin breathed a little easier. “Three Humvees, all armed. Maybe the base is still standing.”

“Hopefully,” Shawn said.

“They’re slowing,” Alvin said. “Probably surprised to see a Bradley out here. Desiree, come to a stop. Gothy, rotate the turret away from them and the speedway.”

“Roger.”

“You got it, Hero.”

“One of them is approaching,” Alvin informed the others, who had come to a halt behind the Bradley.

The Humvee stopped a hundred feet away. The gunner stared at Alvin with suspicion. “Where’d you get the Bradley?”

“Red River,” Alvin replied. “Base there is doing good, and so is Wichita Air Field.”

The man behind the gun blinked at him. “You came from that new government?”

Alvin laughed. “No. I’ve dealt with both of them, though. We came to see if Nellis was still functional.”

“Please wait,” the gunner said, touching his helmet. “Are you willing to come in?”

“To talk? Yes, it’s why we’re here.”

“Follow us,” the gunner said.

“Lead on,” Alvin replied. “Shawn, we’re following them in to talk.”

“Copy that.”

The Humvee that had approached them led the way, with the other two falling in behind them. Alvin gave the other Humvees a nod as they went by. One of the gunners saluted him when they passed.

Alvin noted the people watching them from the speedway as they drove closer. “Shawn, people are staying at the speedway.”

“I see them. Must be the civilians they saved.”

“Maybe things are better than I’d hoped,” Alvin said.

“Maybe.”

~
*
~
*
~

The drive wasn’t far, but it didn’t go closer to the main part of the base, which was not what Alvin expected. Instead, they were going toward a cluster of buildings across from the speedway. Passing a small sign, Alvin wondered what the hell an “820 RED HORSE” was.

The watchtower and mechanics’ shops off to the side of the road didn’t explain anything. After pulling up outside a triplex of office buildings, all of the men from the lead Humvee, except for the gunner, got out.

One of them, wearing sergeant stripes on his uniform, approached Alvin after he’d climbed out the top of the Bradley. “If you’ll follow me?”

“Glad to, in a moment,” Alvin replied. “My wives are going to get out, and I don’t want an incident.”

“
Wives
?” the sergeant asked with a glower.

“Yeah, as in more than one. Two of them aren’t Human. Is that going to be a problem, Sergeant?”

“Not Human?” the sergeant looked wary.

“An Elf and a Dwarf,” Alvin clarified. “The others with me can verify.”

Shawn, who had gotten out of his Scout, nodded. “Three in total; Human, Elf, and Dwarf.”

“As long as they don’t become aggressive, we won’t,” the sergeant said.

“Ladies,” Alvin said.

Desiree came out of the driver’s position, getting a lot of attention in her scale armor. She gave the men a flat stare back. “The men in my father’s army know how to not stare at a female soldier.” The men coughed and looked away.

Gothy was the next one out, coming out of the gunner’s hatch. She paused on the roof of the turret and laughed. “Pick them up, boys. You’re drooling on the road.” She jumped down to stand beside Alvin and Desiree.

Mousie came around the back, glaring at the men. “Hero, I don’t care for them.”

“He’s married to all three of them?” someone asked in shock.

“We are,” Gothy smiled at the stunned man. “Now, are we going?”

The sergeant was staring at Mousie with distrust. “Is she safe?”

“As long as you don’t insult her, us, or make an aggressive action, yeah, she’s fairly safe,” Alvin shrugged. “Now, can we move this along?”

“Follow,” the sergeant said, moving toward the middle of the three buildings.

The entryway into the building had been heavily reinforced. There were steel walls backing the concrete front, and the foyer held two machine gun emplacements manned by three men each.

“They’re here to see the major,” the sergeant told the men. “Taking them to briefing room one.”

“Are they armed?”

“Who isn’t armed nowadays?” Alvin asked. “I mean, seriously?”

“Can’t let you see the major while armed,” the guard said.

“Well, fine. Been nice talking to you,” Alvin said. “I’ll let Wichita and Red River know you guys aren’t interested.”

“Hold!” a commanding voice barked from behind the men.

“I don’t take orders well,” Alvin said.

A man with a two-bar insignia moved to stand between the gun emplacements. “I’m Captain Hofen. You came from Texas?”

“Been there,” Alvin said. “Recently from Beatty, though. Helped them clear Hawthorne and dealt with some Greys.”

At the mention of the aliens, the captain’s face became grim. “We’ve had them attack here a couple of times.”

“You know the trick to beating them, then,” Alvin said pointedly.

“Trick?” the captain asked, his tone shifting to hopeful.

“Maybe we should move inside and talk to the major?” Alvin suggested.

“Yes.”

“But sir, they haven’t handed over their weapons.”

The captain frowned. “Yes, that is a concern.”

“Even if I handed over my guns, I’d be far from unarmed,” Alvin said. “Don’t shoot, okay?”

“Go ahead,” Hofen said. “Don’t fire unless they do, men.”

Alvin smiled as his battle armor started to form around him. The soldiers were all tense as they watched and, once it was in place, Alvin shrugged. “It’s withstood a small nuke before, so I’m fairly certain the Bravos you have there won’t do a lot to it.”

“Where did you get that?” Hofen asked.

“My people make them,” Desiree said.

Hofen gave her a long look. “Dwarf?”

“Twurgh, but in your language, yes.”

“How’re you even here?”

“The same way Mousie is, or the Greys are,” Desiree replied. “I came through a Gate.”

“A Gate?”

“Lots to talk about,” Alvin sighed. “Frankly, Shawn should do most of the talking. He runs Beatty. I’m just a wanderer.”

“I’m making an exception, as long as you remove that armor first,” Hofen said.

Alvin dismissed the armor. “I’m ready to go, then.”

“Very well. All of you, follow me. Sergeant, you can go back to patrol.”

“Yes, sir,” the sergeant replied, saluting.

~
*
~
*
~

The briefing room couldn’t hold all of them, so Shawn had Milo and his team go back out to the parking lot. As they took their seats, Alvin wondered if the major was actually going to join them. The captain didn’t sit at all, making sure they all had coffee or water first. By the time he finished, the door opened and a stern-looking, gray-haired man in uniform came into the room.

“Sir,” Hofen said respectfully, saluting.

“Captain. You can remain.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Both the captain and major took the remaining seats.

“I’m Major Cumberland. Who are you?”

“Alvin, Desiree, Mousie, Gothy, and Shawn,” Alvin said, pointing to each in turn. “Shawn is the leader of the Beatty Settlement, so he’s your closest neighbor. These three are my wives, and we haven’t settled anywhere. We’ve been traveling to see what the fuck’s been happening.”

“But you came from Texas?”

“We’ve been to Texas. I started in Green River, Utah. Gothy joined me there. Mousie’s Gate is in California, and Desiree’s is in Colorado. The Greys have two known Gates— one in New Mexico and the other not too far from here.”

“Roswell and Groom Lake?” The major’s right eyebrow went up. “Really?”

“Yeah, the devs have no sense of humor,” Alvin shrugged. “Though I can’t blame them for that, I’m sure it was the scientists that did it first.”

“Devs? You think this is a game?” Cumberland looked upset.

“To you? No. To me, yes. Hang on before you burst that blood vessel, Major— how much of what’s happened over the last few months makes this seem like a game now? Answer me that first.”

Cumberland exhaled slowly. “Too much. I get angry that you say there are people behind this.”

“There are,” Alvin said. “Met a few of them. Also met a few tribal spirits, Brothers Owl and Wolf. So let’s just relax on the stuff that angers you right now. We came here with a purpose, the first of which was to see if you still held the base.”

“You can see that we do,” Cumberland said stiffly.

“Got any working aircraft?”

Cumberland shook his head. “Not giving vital intel away.”

“Fine... how about this? Shawn came to see if you two could do what Red River and Wichita did.”

“Form a government?”

Shawn nodded. “We need to start banding together if we want Humanity to survive.”

“That’d require the colonel’s approval,” Cumberland said.

“I’ll disarm to speak with him,” Shawn said. “I think with the threat of the Greys, forming a united front would be a good idea.”

“Hmm... let’s circle back to that in a bit,” Cumberland said.

“Alvin, what can you tell us about that armor you displayed in the foyer?”

“Battle armor is made by my people,” Desiree said. “My family produces the battery-operated suits that have come up for sale here. They need upgrades to make them useful, though... Radio and independent air supply are the first ones I can think of. They can withstand a lot of damage and can have flamers attached to them, but be aware that does drain the battery rather quickly.”

“Someone mentioned withstanding a nuclear attack?” Cumberland asked.

“The Greys are split into two factions,” Alvin said. “When we encountered them, we spoke with both. The asshole side— the ones who are attacking people— didn’t like us much and attacked us while we were trying to work out a deal. When we killed one, its flying attack-disk exploded, much like the alien in the
Predator movie.”

“How big a blast?” Cumberland asked.

“No idea, but it was radioactive and destroyed a chunk of their base. Their tech is much more advanced in some ways and stupidly simple in others. The good Greys have fast travel, which we’ve used to pop back and forth places, and settlements can use to move items and people. The asshole Greys have DNA modification tech, death ray weapons, and force shields.”

“You mentioned a way to defeat them?”

“Yup,” Alvin said.

Cumberland’s smile thinned. “Well?”

“No, ‘whales’ aren’t the answer.”

“Alvin...” Shawn said slowly, seeing Cumberland getting angry.

“Knowledge is power,” Alvin told Shawn. “I’ll tell them, but not for free. Unlike you wanting to form a government,
I want something else.”

“What is that?” Cumberland asked with an edge of bite to his tone.

“A Huey.”

“No. Military veh—” Cumberland began.

“I already own a Bradley,” Alvin cut him off, “and an armored Humvee.”

“We won’t give up control of the sky.”

“You mean more than the dragons have already taken from you?” Alvin asked.

Cumberland grimaced. “We’ll be dealing with them soon.”

“The drake to the north in Warm Springs is dead, as is the dragon that was in Hawthorne,” Alvin shrugged. “Both by us.”

Taking a deep breath, Cumberland sighed. “I can’t approve you getting a helo.”

“Who can?”

“The colonel.”

“Guess I need to talk to him, then,” Alvin shrugged again. “I don’t need a good Huey. One that’s banged up is fine, as long as it starts and has the door guns. For that, I’ll tell you how to beat the Greys and where to find the Elf and Dwarf Gates.”

Cumberland was clearly considering the offer.

“The more you work with me, the more I work with you,” Alvin said. “I’m friends with the Queen of the Elves and with the current Dwarven King. A letter from me would go a long way toward making sure your envoys are well received.”

“You know them both
?” Cumberland asked skeptically.

“I married the King’s daughter,” Alvin smiled.

Cumberland looked at Desiree, who nodded. “I’m the daughter of the current King.”

Eyes going to Mousie, Cumberland was clearly asking her the same question.

“No. I’m just a Queen’s Elf, not related to her in the last two generations. However, we have done her great service and she publicly declared us friends.”

“I can also get you a few sets of battle armor with radios, if that helps grease things a bit more,” Alvin said.

Cumberland sighed. “I’ll bring the offer to him.”

“Cool. I’m not disarming,” Alvin said. “When do you want to meet again?”

“I can take Shawn to see him shortly. Maybe a couple of hours?”

“Sounds good,” Alvin said, toggling his base button. “Say... three hours?”

“Yes, that would be fine. I’ll have the captain take you to—”

“No need,” Alvin said, standing up. “We’ll be back here in three hours. See you then.”

Not waiting any further, Alvin walked through the portal, followed by his wives.

Chapter Twenty-one

Alvin had barely made it into the base before someone grabbed him and spun him around. Hot lips met his as a leg wrapped around his waist. Hands grabbing Gothy’s firm ass, Alvin returned the impassioned kiss.

“I would ask you to take further shenanigans to your room, please,” Jarvis said from the kitchen.

Neither Gothy nor Alvin stopped kissing to reply, but Mousie snickered. “We’ll help guide them, Jarvis. Sorry.”

“I understand the reason why, but at the same time, I’d prefer not to have the full show again.”

Desiree and Mousie helped corral Alvin toward the bedroom. Alvin was only dimly aware of being led because he focused on Gothy. He was brought out of the kiss when he was unceremoniously shoved onto the bed.

“What the hel—?” Alvin started to ask.

Gothy cut him off by kissing him harder, her clothing vanishing the moment she realized they were on the bed. Feeling her warm, uncovered flesh under his hands, Alvin let his clothing vanish as well. Moaning happily as she felt his naked skin under her, Gothy nipped his lower lip.

Alvin broke the kiss a second time when she nipped him and tried speaking again, “Gothy, I— oh, fucking hell.” Alvin moaned in pleasure as a mouth engulfed his rapidly rising cock.

“I need to thank you, Hero,” Gothy said with heat as she began to kiss and nip at his neck. “I know you want the helo for me.”

“Of course he does, Gothy,” Mousie nodded as she climbed onto the bed, nude and wanting to join them. “And we’ll help you thank him.”

“There, he’s more than ready,” Desiree said, removing her mouth from Alvin’s engorged shaft. Taking him in hand, she angled him toward Gothy’s wet slit. “Just rock your hips back and say thank you.”

Feeling his tip rub at her entrance when Desiree spoke, Gothy slammed her hips back. Inches of stiff flesh entered her, making her shiver in pleasure. Sitting up, she forced the rest of his cock inside herself. “Yes… help me thank him,” she moaned as she wiggled her hips against his once he was fully inside her.

“You want to help thank me?” Alvin asked with a shuddering breath. “Desiree, restrain her arms. Tie them above her to the bars. Mousie, play roughly with her chest.”

“Gladly,” Mousie said, moving forward and placing her sex above Alvin’s mouth as she began to massage and bite at Gothy’s breasts.

With Mousie blocking his view, Alvin had to accept that Desiree was doing as he asked. Instead of worrying about it, he raised his head an inch and began to lap at the wetness above him.

A light squeak of pleasure came from Mousie as she lowered her hips so Alvin could lay back and continue to lick at her. “Thank you, Hero. I’ll do my best.” Doing as she said, Mousie lowered her mouth to Gothy’s right breast, taking the hardening nipple into her mouth and gently chewing on it.

“Oh, fuck, yes…! Good toy,” Gothy moaned as she rocked her hips up and down, spearing herself onto Alvin’s cock.

“What would you have me do now, Hero?” Desiree asked.

Mousie shifted up an inch so he could talk easier. “Thank you, Mousie. Desiree, get some of the toys and use them. I want to hear her begging to orgasm. Gothy, no release until I say so.”

“As you wish,” Gothy panted, hammering her hips and driving him into her hard and deep.

“Be right back,” Desiree said before moving away from the bed.

“Now give me back your pussy, toy.”

“Yes,” Mousie moaned around Gothy’s nipple.

Alvin felt something push into Gothy’s ass, the thin membrane between his cock and the new invader making her even tighter. Moaning into Mousie’s dripping sex, Alvin gasped a moment later when the toy inside Gothy began to vibrate.

“Now for more fun!” Desiree giggled, the slap of leather on flesh becoming the loudest sound in the room.

“Oh, fuck... you’re so mean, Des,” Gothy moaned. She never stopped moving her hips, continuing to drive Alvin and vibrator into her with each thrust. “Harder! Flog me harder!”

Desiree laughed and the next hit sounded like it upped the strength. “Take it, you damned demanding slut!”

“Yes!” Gothy screamed as she quivered on the edge of orgasm. “Hero, please…! Please… please…!”

“No,” Alvin replied, his voice muffled by Mousie, who was nearly humping his face.

Grabbing Mousie’s hips, he pulled her to him a little more, making her tug hard on Gothy’s nipple. That extra space let him bite down on her engorged clit, sending Mousie over the edge. Letting go of Gothy’s nipple, she squeaked and shuddered as her orgasm took her.

Gothy was nearly frantic as Desiree flogged her harder, and Mousie pulled on her already overly excited flesh. “Hero… please…!? Fuck… can’t…!” Panting and shuddering, she did her best to hold out while begging for what she wanted.

Tipping Mousie off him, Alvin looked up to see Gothy’s pleading eyes staring down at him. He gave her a sadistic grin and reached up with one hand to grab her red, swollen nipple, pinching it hard. “Not yet.”

Eyes rolling back in her head, Gothy could no longer form words as her pussy clamped down on his cock. “Ngh!” Her hips never stopped slamming into his even with her on the edge of her orgasm.

Knowing she was about to cum, Alvin’s free hand slipped down between them and on her next downward thrust, he gave her clit a quick pinch. She tugged it away from him on her next upward movement, and her eyes snapped open to see him looking at her.

“Now,” Alvin said softly.

A wordless, nearly soundless scream came from her as her whole body shook and her hips lost all sense of rhythm. Her muscles locked up as she lost herself to the biggest orgasm she’d ever had.

Alvin grunted as Gothy’s tunnel tightened to uncomfortable levels. “Good girl,” he groaned as he went over the edge with her.

Alvin’s cock pulsing inside of her and the sudden infusion of warmth filling her extended Gothy’s orgasm. Hips slowing, her whole body shook as wave after wave of bliss washed over her. She gasped in shock when her head was pulled roughly back.

Desiree claimed a hard kiss from her, her hand going around Gothy’s waist to find where her body joined Alvin’s. Breaking the kiss as her fingers rubbed on her engorged clit, Desiree whispered to Gothy, “You’re not done thanking him yet. You can do more... Come on, Gothy. More! Give it to him.”

Gothy moaned as Desiree began to overstimulate her. “No, I-I can’t…” Gothy breathed out, though her hips had begun rocking again.

“We know better, don’t we, Mousie?” Desiree asked.

“Yes. You can thank him more,” Mousie said, pushing herself to her knees to latch her hungry mouth back onto Gothy’s breasts.

Alvin was breathing hard, still coming down from his own orgasm when he found his two wives tormenting and encouraging Gothy. His cock had started to lose its firmness, but seeing them and feeling Gothy respond got him hard again in record time.

“More, Gothy. I’m giving you what you want, aren’t I?” Alvin asked.

Gothy looked down, seeing him just over Mousie’s head. “Always, Hero...”

“Good. I’m not done with you,” Alvin said. “Ladies, let her go. Desiree, undo her arms.”

Both Desiree and Mousie backed away from Gothy once her arms were free. Gothy watched him with wide eyes, wondering what he was going to do. Alvin smiled up at her as he pulled her down to him and kissed her gently. Gothy sighed into the kiss happily, her tongue meeting his in a light dancing duel.

Alvin spun them so Gothy was on her back and he was the one on top. “Now, for me to take what I want.”

Gothy shivered, her pupils dilating as she surrendered to him. “Yes, Hero.”

Mousie and Desiree slipped onto the bed, but didn’t encroach on the other two. Instead, they caressed and played with each other while watching Alvin take Gothy hard and rough.

Grabbing Gothy’s arms, he pulled them over her head and kept them there with one hand, keeping his eyes locked on hers. Hips pumping in long, slow, strokes, he gave her a smile. Lowering his head, he began to suck, lick, and bite her body. Love bites and hickeys dotted her flesh as he worked from her torso up.

Gothy’s eyes were almost closed as she watched Alvin work his way up her body while he claimed her. When he latched onto her neck for the first bite there, she whimpered and her hips began to meet his. Each new bite to her neck had her hips moving faster.

Leaning back to meet her eyes again, Alvin gave her a moment to adjust as he went back further, pushing him in all the way to the base of his cock. He rested on his shins and took her waist into his hands.

“Now you can have as many orgasms as you want, my dear succubus goth,” Alvin told her.

With no more warning than that, he hammered into her, using her waist to help him go as deep and as hard as he could. Gothy let out an unintelligible sound as she surrendered completely.

Alvin lost count of how many orgasms Gothy had, but when she went completely limp, he slowed before coming to a stop. Leaning down, he kissed her lightly and pulled himself free.

Looking at his other two wives, he gave them a grin. “I haven’t cum a second time yet, ladies. Which of you wants to go next?”

“Desiree deserves to be last so she can fully enjoy you, Hero,” Mousie moaned as Desiree kept licking her.

“Works for me,” Alvin chuckled.

Chapter Twenty-two

Alvin was wearing a satisfied grin when he stepped out of the base. His grin didn’t falter when he saw Shawn and the major arguing in the briefing room.

“—cking asshole. He said three hours, and it’s been over four!” Major Cumberland was growling at Shawn.

“I didn’t plan on being late, but well, things came up. Repeatedly,” Alvin said.

Shawn gave him a flat look. “You weren’t the one getting reamed.”

“Nope, but I did plenty of reaming,” Alvin laughed as he took a seat. “Did the discussion not go well?”

Cumberland was nearly fuming, but he took a seat grudgingly. “The discussions between Nellis and Beatty are not your concern.”

Shawn rolled his eyes. “We have some things to work out still, but overall, it looks good. Your request came up, and I tried to explain that I don’t speak for you. The colonel’s willing to listen, but he doesn’t take backtalk well.”

“That ought to be fun,” Alvin snorted. “Major, do we have a deal?”

“About that...” Shawn grimaced. “I told them how to beat the Greys. Sorry, but I needed it for leverage.”

“It was the least of the important things. Not entirely cool with it, but meh,” Alvin shrugged. “I get you needing to make this work.”

Shawn exhaled, as it had clearly been worrying him. “Half expected you to declare war on me.”

“A couple of months ago, I might’ve just killed you,” Alvin admitted. “Now... let’s just say I’ve mellowed some. Do that shit again, though, and I’ll be upset.”

“Don’t plan to piss you off.”

“If you two are done,” Major Cumberland said tersely, “the colonel wants to see the armor and what it can do before he makes any deals. Are you willing to do that?”

“Not my preferred evening, but I can give him a quick example. You sure I won’t get shot while doing it?”

Cumberland grimaced. “The colonel made it clear that you’ll put on the demonstration and are to be left unharmed unless you attack one of us.”

“I can do that, but I need to visit your kiosk first.”

“Why?”

“So I can add it as a fast travel destination. I might have to go to the Dwarves to get the armor, and if that’s the case, I’d like to be able to come right back here.”

“Fine. Follow me.”

Alvin got to his feet when Cumberland did. “Shawn, you coming with?”

“Sure. I want to see what you’ve done with the armor.”

“Just give me a minute to tell Jarvis that he needs to hold dinner for a few.”

“We—” Cumberland began, but Alvin had already stepped through the portal.

“Jarvis?”

“I will hold it, sir,” Jarvis said from the kitchen table. “I had a feeling you’d be delayed. Besides, the women haven’t even stirred from the bedroom yet.”

Alvin chuckled. “When you’re good, you’re good.”

Jarvis rolled his eyes, not replying.

“See you in a bit.”

Stepping back out of the base, Alvin found Cumberland looking grim and Shawn just leaning on the table. “I’m good.”

“Follow me, please,” Cumberland said firmly as he opened the door.

The kiosk was in another room just down the hall. After adding it to his fast travel locations, the three of them made their way for the exit.

“We don’t know what happened to your vehicle,” Cumberland said when they stepped outside. “It vanished a few minutes before you showed up.”

“I summoned it back to my base for repairs,” Alvin replied. “No worries. Speaking of the unknown, though, what the hell is a ‘RED HORSE’?”

“‘Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers,’” Cumberland recited the words as if he said them his whole life. “We’re the Air Force’s engineer team. We make sure that everything functions even in the most hostile environments so the air belongs to us.”

“Ah, so you’re the reason Nellis survived.”

Cumberland didn’t reply, but a sad smile proved that Alvin was right.

“How was it here during the first few days?”

“Chaos,” Cumberland said. “Putting down men and women I’ve known for years, and in some cases, family. I’ve known war, but this… this was hell.”

“Lucky the zombies were shambling idiots for a while,” Alvin said.

“Luck,” Cumberland snorted. “If they’d been like the zombies today, we’d have had real trouble. When the kiosks showed up, that was when we started turning the tide. We’ve saved thousands of people since then.”

“The Speedway?”

“Where we house them and let them stay while they work,” Cumberland said. “We charge a very small fee to make sure we can keep it running. Half of the people there still complain like we’re demanding their firstborn.”

“People are people, no matter where you go,” Alvin shrugged.

“A few have picked up critical skills and have started to work jobs on the base. The rest, I don’t know, but the colonel is determined to keep them comfortable, or at least safe.”

Cumberland motioned to a sergeant standing near a Humvee, leading them toward it. “We’ll be going to the base proper for this demonstration.”

Alvin was about to reply when the sound of an aircraft got his attention. Looking up, he smiled at the Apache helicopter going overhead. “If it sat more people, I’d want one of those. Since it doesn’t, the Huey will have to do.”

Cumberland snorted. “Colonel would never let one of them go.”

“Everything has a price,” Alvin shrugged. “It’s all about finding the right one. I’m good with just a Huey. Hell, when I bring one home, Gothy’s likely to thank me all over again.”

Cumberland stopped with his hand on the Humvee door. “You were late because you were fucking your wife?”

“I was fucking my wives
, not wife. I did all three of them, multiple times. Happy wife, happy life,” Alvin laughed as he opened up the back door and got in. “Come on. I bet if we’re delayed too much longer, the colonel will burst a blood vessel.”

The major’s eyelid twitched and he grunted as he got in and slammed the door. “Drive, Sergeant.”

“Yes, sir,” the sergeant said, picking up on the major’s foul mood.

The drive was short, silent, and a bit tense for Shawn. Alvin seemed indifferent, and the major stewed in his discontentment. The Humvee came to a stop next to a large, open section of blacktop, and the major was the first one out.

Alvin got out and took a look at the area, unimpressed by what he saw. Where they’d stopped, a few hundred feet of blacktop with lines marked out opened up in front of them. The remnants of a heavy plane nearly a football-field away had been set up to look like a memorial or monument, and there were a couple of buildings standing off to the side between them and the plane.

“Scenic,” Alvin said. “Also open enough for me to cut loose, but overall, unimpressive.”

The major didn’t speak, but he didn’t have to, as another Humvee was coming their way. This one was armored up like the Turtle, which made Alvin think the colonel was inside of it.

When it came to a stop, two men got out of the back and the gunner swiveled the M2 to cover the general area where Alvin was standing. With the men out and securing the area, the passenger door opened and a tall, athletic, and balding man got out of the back.

Advancing with the two soldiers moving to flank him, the colonel exuded a commanding presence that even Alvin could see. “You’re Alvin?”

“I am. You’re,” Alvin made sure to drop the air quotes around the name without using his fingers, “‘the Colonel’?”

White teeth flashed briefly as the colonel’s lips pulled back in displeasure. “Colonel Arthur Douglas.”

“I’m Alvin Lambert, but I answer to Alvin,” Alvin said. “You wanted a demonstration, Colonel, but I fail to see anything here that would work sufficiently.”

“You can suit up and go through the paces of it right here,” Douglas said.

“Could, but that’s boring as fuck. I have another idea, if you want to see what the suit is fully capable of, though it takes a modicum of trust.”

“What did you have in mind?” Douglas asked, clearly uncertain of any proposal.

“My base has an upgrade that can run real combat simulations, but it’s perfectly safe for the people running it.”

Douglas and Cumberland both seemed to think that what Alvin was saying was pure shit, but Shawn cleared his throat. “Sir, he’s not wrong. I haven’t seen it myself first hand yet, but trusted associates of mine have. They gushed about how helpful it’s been for their settlement.”

“Sir,” Cumberland said hesitantly, clearly on edge about letting the colonel go with Alvin.

Douglas held up a hand to cut Cumberland off. “You’ll take me, my two men, and Cumberland?”

Alvin shrugged. “If that’s what you need. Shawn, you want to come, too?”

“Won’t say no,” Shawn said with a gleam in his eye. “We haven’t taken that upgrade for the base yet, but considering the windfall we got with you, I was seriously thinking about it. If it’s everything James says it is, I’m definitely going to, but being able to see it ahead of time will make it so much easier to sell.”

Alvin pulled five keys out and tossed them to each person. “Give me a moment.” Tapping through his interface, he summoned the Turtle. “Everyone in.”

“Where are we going?” Douglas asked, not moving to the Humvee.

“My base,” Alvin said.

“Where is it?”

“Alternate plane of existence.”

“What?”

“Sir,” Cumberland said stiffly, “as I told you earlier, he and his wives just vanished in the briefing room.”

“His base is not on earth,” Shawn added. “He can get there through a portal from inside a building or from behind the wheel of a vehicle.”

“Fine,” Douglas said, starting for the Humvee before slowing. “This only seats five.”

“True,” Alvin nodded. “One of your men can jump into cargo. He won’t be there for more than a few seconds, anyway.”

Both men flanking the colonel glared at Alvin, who ignored them.

Douglas motioned to one of them. He nodded and moved toward the cargo compartment. Shawn went up to the front while the others all got in the back. Alvin waited for doors to close before he toggled the base portal— which earned gasps from those in the back— and drove through it.

Parking the Humvee, Alvin got out with a smirk on his lips. “Okay, I know it was a long trip, but come on. We’re here.”

When everyone got out, the Colonel and his men looked around, but mostly eyed the Bradley being repaired in the bay. Shawn just shook his head as he watched the mechanical arms at work.

“No wonder you never need me to repair shit for you,” Shawn said.

“It can’t do everything you can,” Alvin shrugged. “It does what I need it to, though. Now, let’s not gawk. Follow me. The demonstration awaits.”

Leading them straight into the training room, Alvin had the room pull up Nellis as he’d last seen it. All the men looked around warily, and Alvin chuckled.

“It’s a holographic simulation of Nellis. All damage is simulated, but the pain feels real and, if you die, you’re rendered paralyzed until the simulation ends,” he explained. “Computer, when I am killed, end simulation. Set all weapons and armor to be identical to what each person normally carries.”

When he finished speaking, Alvin walked a dozen yards away and turned back to the colonel. “Have one of them kill me.”

The man who’d been in the cargo space stepped forward. “Permission to kill him, sir?”

“I don’t want to cause hard feelings,” Douglas said slowly. “You’re sure of this, Alvin?”

“Yup.”

“Kill him, then,” Douglas said.

The man brought his rifle up and hit Alvin three times in the head. Alvin blinked and laughed, waving him down.

“Sorry, I forgot to remove my armor. Computer, set all my armor to zero for this simulation.” He gave him a nod. “Go ahead.”

Grimacing, the man shot Alvin again. This time, blood and brains flew, and the soldiers looked a bit worried. That worry was replaced with wide eyes when Alvin stood back up, dusting himself off a few seconds later. The gore from his brain being forcibly removed from his skull was gone.

“So as you can see, death is not permanent here.”

“How do we get a room like this?” Douglas asked, swiftly seeing the training potential for his men.

“It’s an upgrade to my base and for your settlement, but it’s expensive,” Alvin replied. “Now, before we stray too far, this was to show you what the battle armor can do.”

Douglas stopped his next question, just nodding instead.

“Computer, outfit everyone here with a suit of battle armor, equal to mine.”

Douglas and his men exclaimed in surprise when they were suddenly inside the armored suits. Alvin held his laughter, letting them flail for a moment.

“Okay, if you want it gone, just will it to retract.”

A moment later, the armor was pulling back from the four Air Force men. Douglas watched the armor intently as it shrunk down to the accessory slots.

“As you can see, it takes up five accessory slots to use it, and takes a few seconds to form or retract,” Alvin said. “Those suits are identical to mine. They’ve been upgraded from the base with radios, extended batteries, and a flamer. I think the best way for you to understand what they can do is by doing. Any objections to a simulation?”

“I’ll sit this one out,” Douglas said. “I want to watch it first.”

“Fine,” Alvin said. “Computer, Nellis as it is today. Add in a hundred of the local zombies with equipment. Colonel Douglas and I will be in observer mode. Start when Douglas says to.”

“Sir?” Cumberland asked.

“Suit up,” Douglas said. “Let’s give them a workout to see if they’re worth what he’s asking.”

“Yes, sir,” Cumberland said. The battle armor started to form up over the other three. “Ready, sir.”

“Begin?” Douglas asked.

Alvin chuckled as he watched Douglas react to the room turning a bit translucent. The zombie horde came rushing at the four men from the far side of the rusted-out airplane memorial. The three military men turned as a unit, bringing their guns up and firing. Shawn stood back, clearly working through what his armor could do first.

“Do you want me to disable their guns?” Alvin asked Douglas.

“Why?”

“To make them use the armor.”

Douglas’ lips pursed. “They’re safe from real harm?”

“Yup.”

“Can they hear me?”

“Computer, let Douglas speak with the people fighting.”

“Cumberland,” Douglas said, “the guns will run out of ammo for the simulation. Focus on using the armor. You’re safe from real harm.”

“Sir, yes sir,” Cumberland replied, clearly unhappy with it.

“Computer,” Alvin said, “disable the armored men’s guns in ten seconds.”

When the guns stopped working, both of Douglas’ guards drew knives and rushed at the horde. Alvin watched them go with a chuckle, knowing that right now, they’d both forgotten that this was only a simulation.

Cumberland dropped his gun and brought his right arm up, pointing it at the zombies closing on him. A gout of fire erupted from the arm, covering the zombies in sticky flame. The zombies were burning, and those nearby stopped trying to get to Cumberland.

The other two were in the thick of a brutal fight. Their K-bars were doing the majority of the work for them, but their armored hands fractured skulls, as well. Shawn was suddenly beside them, flame coming from his suit, surprising the two men. They jerked away from him slightly before they also began to use their flamers over the zombies.

The battle was over moments later. The armor had been shot, hacked at, and bludgeoned by the zombies, but none of the undead had survived the short conflict. Cumberland and the three men were discussing the suits and how well they worked.

Alvin had the simulation reset and looked at Douglas. “Give it a go yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Alvin said.

~
*
~
*
~

Stepping back out of the base with the others following him, Alvin collected his keys from them. “Now, about my Huey?”

Douglas held up a hand to stop him from going further. “The Dwarves make this armor?”

“Yeah. My father-in-law is the ruler there.”

“Directions to their Gates, letters of introduction, and a dozen suits,” Douglas said.

Alvin laughed. “No.”

“What?” Douglas asked, glaring at him.

“No.
Each base suit— which doesn’t include radios, extra batteries, or the flamers, by the way— costs fifty thousand XP. That by itself should be a Huey. I’m not buying and giving you those and everything else.”

Douglas continued to stare at Alvin for a long moment before asking, “What do you want your Huey to be equipped with?”

“I thought they just had door guns,” Alvin said.

“They do, but some of the more advanced ones also have a forward-mounted gun for the pilot.”

“Oh,” Alvin thought for a moment. “I don’t need it to be in good repair, as I have a mechanic who owes me a favor. If you include the guns and ammo for them, I’d go for six sets of armor, the Gates, and the letters.”

“Eight sets, and the rest,” Douglas said stiffly.

“Split it?” Alvin asked.

“Fine. Seven, but with radios, batteries, and flamers.”

“Nope. If you want all the upgrades, it’ll be four sets.”

“Six.”

“Five?” Alvin countered.

Douglas gritted his teeth before nodding. “Five.”

“Works for me. I’ll see how quickly I can get them. Can you arrange for the Huey tomorrow?”

Douglas looked to Cumberland, who nodded. “Sir, I can arrange it.”

“Yes,” Douglas told Alvin.

“I’ll go back to the briefing room and speak with Cumberland tomorrow,” Alvin said. “Once I deliver the armor and letters, I expect the Huey to be handed over.”

“Major, see to it,” Douglas commanded. “Men, we’re moving. I have to look into getting that simulation room.”

Cumberland saluted the colonel as he left, and Alvin just shook his head.

“I need a place to crash, as do my men,” Shawn told Cumberland.

“I’ll arrange it,” Cumberland said, blowing Shawn off. “Alvin, when do you think you’ll have the armor?”

“Tell you tomorrow around noon,” Alvin said, walking toward the portal he’d left open. “Good night.”

“Wait, I’m no—!” Cumberland was saying before Alvin went back to his base.

Chapter Twenty-three

Alvin stopped at the kiosk when he left the garage. A quick check showed him that he could still purchase armor from the Dwarves. He purchased five suits with radios, batteries, and flamers for the base, along with an extra suit for Shawn. Slipping the pieces into his bags, Alvin wrote a quick letter to both Night and Mithrilblood about another military base that would be sending them envoys.

“Hero?” Gothy called out.

“In here, Gothy.”

“What’re you doing?”

“Finishing up the beginnings of a deal.”

“Oh?”

“I already bought the armor. I was just letting the monarchs know about Nellis.” A couple more taps on the kiosk printed out the letters of introduction he’d used before. “And now, the letters of introduction are done.” He slipped them into his bag.

“Hero?”

Alvin turned around to find his seductive goth standing a couple of feet away from him. Her loving expression brought a smile to his lips. “Yes. I have a deal in place for your chopper. It’ll come with door guns and a swivel-mounted gun for the pilot.”

“You always give me what I want,” Gothy said softly, looking down. “Sometimes I feel like I’m not giving back enough.”

Alvin reached out and pulled her to him gently. Arms going around her waist, he kissed the top of her head. “You give me plenty, Gothy. I didn’t even shoot anyone, even when they were being asses. That’s your doing. Because I knew how much you wanted a helo, I was able to restrain the impulse. You’ve helped me mellow out enough that people have commented on it.”

“You make me not hate everyone, too,” Gothy said. “You’ve given me a toy and another wife, both of whom I love. I think those two outweigh any shiny bauble.”

“I would hope I don’t weigh more than your helicopter,” Desiree said from the doorway, her tone teasing.

Alvin laughed and Gothy snickered.

“We all try to give as much as we can to each other,” Mousie said, moving up behind Desiree and holding the shorter woman. “That’s what love is. I know I’m more than just a toy to you because of the attention, affection, and care you all show me. I’ll continue to be your toy, though. It’s something I crave, and something you both do, too.”

“Get over here, you delicious little thing,” Gothy said softly, holding an arm out.

Mousie let go of Desiree and moved to Gothy’s side, letting herself be brought into the hug. Alvin looked past them to Desiree, who watched them with a sad smile.

“What’re you doing over there?” Alvin asked her, extending his arm to her. “You’re family. Get over here.”

Desiree met his eyes, and her smile became real as she went to him. Folding her into the hug, the four of them stood there a moment, just accepting the love of the others.

“Sir, dinner’s been holding for some time,” Jarvis said from the doorway. “Would you be interested in it soon?”

“Yeah, buddy, we’ll be right there.”

“Very well.”

The hug broke apart a minute later. Kisses were given before they left the kiosk room behind. The table was set with covered dishes, and Jarvis was already seated at the table.

“Sorry for the delay, Jarvis,” Alvin said.

“It’s fine, sir. As it is, the ladies didn’t come out of the bedroom until just recently. They missed you showing the training room off to the colonel and the others.”

“We had people here?” Gothy asked as she took her seat.

“Just the training room,” Alvin said. “Had to give them a taste of what the battle armor could do. It’s what helped seal the deal.”

“Gothy’s getting her helicopter?” Mousie asked.

“Yeah, maybe as soon as tomorrow,” Alvin grinned, “depending on if they have it ready to go.”

“I need to buy the knowledge for how to fly one,” Gothy said. “I know fixed-wing aircraft, but that’s not the same. Desiree should pick up the knowledge, too, so she can sit in the copilot’s seat.”

“We can all pick it up,” Alvin said. “This way, we can switch out like we do with the Bradley and keep doing as much damage as possible.”

“Yes. I wanted to learn to fly, too,” Mousie nodded.

“You make a good point, Hero, and we don’t want to disappoint Mousie, either,” Gothy smiled.

Jarvis uncovered the dishes, the scent of bacon filling the area around the table. “Barbeque pork, bacon mac and cheese, salad, and cornbread muffins,” Jarvis told them. “I hope you enjoy it.”

“As if we ever don’t enjoy your meals,” Alvin chuckled and started to help himself.

“It can happen. It might be unlikely, but it’s still possible.”

“Not unless you were trying to make it happen,” Gothy snorted. “You’re too good a cook to make a horrible dish unless you wanted to.”

“That is true,” Jarvis laughed.

Silence took over the table, besides the sounds of happy eating.

~
*
~
*
~

Once they were finished with dinner, Alvin got his wives over to the sofa in the living room. Jarvis joined them and they watched
Pentagon Wars
. Even with Human knowledge, Desiree and Mousie needed clarifications about some of the jokes.

“How much of that was real?” Desiree asked when the movie ended.

“No idea, but it’s an accurate portrayal of what people thought about the top brass before the Rapture,” Alvin said.

“The actor was the same as the one from
The Princess Bride
,” Mousie said.

“He was a good actor,” Alvin said. “He did one where he was a cop, but was secretly a serial killer… what was it called?”

“
Kiss the Girls
,” Gothy said. “Had Morgan Freeman in it, too. That was a good movie.”

“Jarvis, you never recommend movies,” Mousie said.

“I enjoy a laugh over several movies, some that Alvin would hate,” Jarvis said.

“Like what?” Desiree asked.

“Musicals, mostly.”

Alvin twitched. “Ugh. No.”

Gothy snickered. “Why?”

“One of my foster families were all about musicals,” Alvin said. “No good memories there.”

“So scratch that,” Gothy murmured.

Jarvis yawned. “I’m off to bed. I wish you all a good evening. Desiree, Mousie, breakfast as usual?”

“Yes,” the two of them said together.

“I’ll look forward to it. I’ll go with a challenging dish for you.”

“Thank you, Jarvis,” Desiree said.

“We appreciate it,” Mousie added.

“It is nice to be appreciated,” Jarvis said, getting to his feet. “Now, please don’t leave a mess in the living room.”

Alvin chuckled, as Gothy’s hand had already snaked to his groin. “We’ll make sure there isn’t a mess out here.”

Gothy pouted at Alvin before removing her hand. “Have a good night, Jarvis.”

“Okay, ladies, come on. Time to head to bed,” Alvin said.

Desiree snuggled closer to his left side. Gothy did the same on his right, and Mousie shifted so her head was resting more firmly on his thigh.

“Damned brats,” Alvin laughed. “Okay, let’s go with a different tactic... First one to the room gets to dictate the toys and positions for the other two in the dungeon.”

The scramble off the sofa left Alvin gasping as all the women pushed off him to get to their feet. Catching his breath, he saw that he was alone in the room. He snorted and headed for the bedroom, already plotting what he was going to do to the winner.

~
*
~
*
~

A loud snore to his left woke Alvin. Blinking, he glanced to find who was making the sound. Gothy was curled up, facing away from him, with her taut ass resting lightly against his thigh.

“So delicate,” Alvin murmured.

Raising his head, he noticed that Desiree was gone. After getting out of the bed, he found the cage under the bed empty, as well. Mentally noting that they were likely cooking breakfast already, Alvin went to the bathroom.

Stepping out of the room a few minutes later, he saw both of his missing wives working in the kitchen, with Jarvis offering them suggestions. Not wanting to bother them, he went to the kiosk room.

Two letters from Night and Mithrilblood were waiting for him. Each monarch stated they would be looking forward to the new envoys. Mithrilblood’s went on to thank Alvin for helping the other envoys get to the Gate.

After reading their letters, he saw that there was a package waiting for him from Johnny. Accepting it, he opened it to find five dozen fetishes that would shield a person from mental influence for three minutes. Seeing them reminded Alvin that he hadn’t asked about getting help from Nellis with killing the fish-demon. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, wondering if the colonel would be willing to help and what it would cost. Putting the fetishes into the cabinets near the kiosk, he wrote a quick thank you note to Johnny before closing the kiosk down.

With that done, he moved to the medical bay to see how the DMV was doing with the terror worm DNA. Walking in, he found the bar a fraction away from the end. A second later, the machine beeped, having finished isolating the specific strands it had been tasked with.

Alvin played with the machine for a few, double-checking the bonuses and time required for the modifications to be done. When he had his answers, he didn’t start on anything new, as he wanted to check with the others first.

Stepping back into the main room, he smiled when Gothy came out of the bedroom at the same time. “Morning, beautiful.”

“Left me all alone...” Gothy said with a mock pout.

“Well, if someone wasn’t practicing their draconic, I might’ve stayed longer.”

Gothy’s eyes narrowed. “Really?”

“No. I wanted to check on some things, honestly. The snoring had nothing to do with it.”

“What were you checking on?”

“Wait for them to finish,” Alvin said, moving to the table.

“They’re just about done,” Jarvis said as he collected the coffee pot and cups. “Have a seat, and we’ll have breakfast shortly.”

“Works,” Alvin said.

True to Jarvis’ prediction, breakfast was done a minute later, and they were eating shortly after that. Alvin smiled at the meal— it was strawberry shortcake French toast, served alongside mini omelets with flaze and swiss.

Once he finished eating, Alvin sighed happily. “Damned good, ladies. I forgot all about that French toast. It was just as good as Jarvis’ version.”

“Thank you,” Desiree beamed.

“And those omelets? Had to stop with three of them or I wouldn’t be able to walk,” Alvin chuckled.

“Thank you, Hero,” Mousie smiled.

“I know you’re still eating, but we have some interesting decisions to make,” Alvin said. “The DMV is done with the terror worm DNA. We can modify our base fear resistance by thirty-three percent or our mental resistance as a whole by fifteen, but only one or the other. Each person would take a full day to modify. I haven’t started it on anything else, as I wasn’t sure if we wanted to do this now or wait.”

“You’re still planning to fight the fish-demon, right?” Gothy asked as she finished her meal.

“Yeah.”

“Then we should do the modifications first,” Gothy said. “I can go first t—”

“No,” Mousie said, cutting her off. “One of us should go first to make sure it’s okay. Besides, you have your ring.”

“She isn’t wrong,” Desiree said. “Mousie or I should go first. Does it have any side effects, Hero?”

“Not at that level, but if we try to up the percentage, then it starts giving a chance of unintended consequences.”

“Does it tell us the chance or what kind of consequences?” Gothy asked.

“No. If we knew, we’d game the system, which is probably why.”

“Fair, we would... Fine. Desiree or Mousie can go first and I’ll go last, since, as they said, I have my ring. I’d suggest the flat mental resistance.”

“So would I,” Alvin nodded.

Desiree and Mousie exchanged a look, but Mousie was the first to speak, “I’ll go first.”

“Okay. Before you go into the tank, maybe we should get the books for flying and the three of you can spend some time in the training room. I’m going to check with the major about completing the deal.”

“That’s a good idea,” Gothy said.

They got up from the table, thanking Jarvis as they left.

Chapter Twenty-four

No one was around when Alvin left the base. Shrugging, he started walking back to the RED HORSE buildings. He’d only made it a few hundred yards when a Humvee came barreling toward him. Stopping, Alvin turned sideways and stuck out a thumb.

The Humvee came to a stop near him, the gunner giving him a head shake. “Major said to bring you in.”

“Nice of someone to be waiting,” Alvin said.

“Sorry. The crew compartment’s full,” the gunner added before Alvin could reach the vehicle. “You’ll have to ride in the back.”

Laughing, Alvin started walking again. “Pass. Tell him I’ll be there in a bit.”

“I tried,” the gunner laughed. “Hop in— there’s room in the back seat. I was asked to try getting you into the cargo space.”

“I bet I know who asked, too.” Alvin went back to the Humvee and climbed in. “Onward, James!”

“That’s... not my name?” the driver said with a questioning lilt.

Alvin snorted as the sergeant beside the driver sighed. “Just drive, Hoke.”

It didn’t take them long to reach the main buildings. Alvin got out and had started walking inside when the sergeant from the Humvee came running up beside him.

“Can’t let you walk in unaccompanied. The guards wouldn’t be kind to you if you did.”

“I’d be unkind right back at them,” Alvin shrugged. “Overall, I think I’d be the winner of that scuffle.”

The sergeant side-eyed him. “Of course.”

“I’d prove it, but the major would be pissy that his men got killed,” Alvin said, opening the front door and stepping inside.

“Hold and be accounted,” a stern voice barked.

“Two of us,” Alvin replied without pause. “We good now?”

“That’s him,” another of the guards sighed. “Fucking asshole.” The last two words were muttered, but Alvin heard them.

“Not going to dispute that. Can’t argue the truth,” Alvin replied.

“Major is waiting for him,” the sergeant said quickly.

“Oh, he’s the one,” the first guard said, giving Alvin a hard look. “You know where, Sergeant.”

“Yes, sir,” the sergeant said, saluting.

“Oh an LT? No wonder,” Alvin snorted as they walked past the men. “Is it true that lieutenants are there to keep the captains just busy enough so the sergeants can do the real work?”

The sergeant didn’t reply, but his lips twitched a few times. The lieutenant muttered as Alvin kept walking, clearly in a worse mood now.

The sergeant opened the briefing room door and stepped aside. “Have a seat. The major will be with you soon.”

“Thanks. Good luck with the asshole on the door.”

“Yeah, I’ll need it now that someone pissed him off,” the sergeant said as he shut the door and left.

“You’re welcome,” Alvin chuckled as he took a seat.

The major didn’t keep him waiting long. Shawn, Milo, and the rest of Milo’s team followed the major into the room.

“How’s the hospitality?” Alvin asked.

“Not as bad as it could be,” Milo replied. “The Speedway is pretty full, honestly.”

“How many of them are worth a fuck, though?”

Milo shrugged. “Probably less than half. Most of the useful ones have signed on with the base for jobs.”

Major Cumberland cleared his throat. “I’ve arranged for your helo. How long for you to deliver the armor, letters, and coordinates?”

Alvin pulled items out of his bag and set them on the table in front of him. “There is one more thing, Major.” Seeing Cumberland grimace, Alvin held up a hand. “It’s a request. Not from me, but from Green River in Utah. They have a raid boss problem… some kind of fish-demon. From my estimates, a daisy cutter or three could help reduce it to loot.”

Cumberland frowned. “The colonel would have to sign off on that. We could do it, but it’s asking for a lot with the air space between the locals unknown.”

“What if I could give you a clear route?”

“Would make it easier to sell to the colonel, but what would we get out of it?”

“I’ll have to get numbers from the leader there, but probably a third of the loot, and whoever helps would get a split of the XP.”

“Because you have to be part of the group for the XP,” Cumberland nodded. “I’ll send the idea up to him, but it might take a few days to get a go or not, and he’ll want hard numbers.”

“I’ll be in contact, but please let me know if he’s interested. If he isn’t, there’s no reason to do the wheeling and dealing.”

Cumberland nodded. “Agreed. Is that all of it?” He motioned to the stuff in front of Alvin.

“Five sets, upgraded like we talked about, two letters of introduction, and coordinates for the Gates. I was generous and marked down other known Gates, and the hazards we knew about them, too. A measure of goodwill for the future.”

Cumberland grunted. “It feels more like a hook to bring us in on the fish-demon.”

“Who said goodwill can’t have a motive behind it?” Alvin chuckled. “Do you have the key for the Huey?”

Cumberland pulled out a key shaped like a helicopter and tossed it to Alvin. “Done.”

Alvin shoved the items to Cumberland. “Done. I hope they work out well for you. King Mithrilblood is interested in the more flammable air drops, like napalm, just so you know ahead of time.”

“I’ll make sure the colonel knows. If there’s nothing else currently, we can show you off the base.”

“I’m good,” Alvin said, getting to his feet. “Oh, Shawn, for your daughter.” Alvin slid the extra armor set to the leader of Beatty.

Shawn blinked as the accessories came to a halt in front of him. “What? Why?”

“Because she means a lot to you, and I know that. Consider this the payment for work you’re going to do, plus the favor you owe me.”

“It’s like yours?” Shawn asked.

“Same as what they got,” Alvin said, hooking a thumb at Cumberland. “Radio, battery, and a flamer. If she needs to be safe, that’ll give her some extra security. You still need to rune it, though. So do they.”

Shawn collected the items and stored them away before rising and meeting Alvin’s eyes. “My best work.”

“I know. We should go. Cumberland looks antsy.”

Cumberland frowned, but didn’t correct Alvin. “The sergeant outside the room will escort you out.”

“Thanks,” Alvin said. “Let me know if Douglas is interested in the raid boss split. I’ll be in Green River soon and can arrange talks.”

“I will,” Cumberland said, walking out of the room with them before he turned in the opposite direction.

“Follow me,” the sergeant said to them.

“Anyway, there was another reason,” Alvin said, going back to the previous conversation. “I’ve been thinking about having kids of my own in the future. Thinking about how you feel about your daughter... I hope to be like that. It got me thinking that I might need some advice on the kid front eventually, and I wanted to have someone I could tap on that front.”

Shawn laughed. “That makes way more sense. But kids? Really? I had you down as a no-kids-for-life kind of guy.”

“Before this? I was. But with my wives, I’ve been giving it some thought.”

“You’ve changed, for sure,” Shawn said.

Alvin shrugged and gave the lieutenant a thumbs up as they passed him. “Bye, LT. Hope that cream works out for you.”

“What cream?” Milo asked.

“Roid cream,” Alvin said. “Guy looks like he could use some.”

Shawn exhaled. “I take it back. You’re still the same.”

Laughing, Alvin walked out the door with Shawn and the others.

Summoning Ruffian, Alvin snorted when the sergeant jerked backward in shock over the vehicle appearing. “Relax, it’s just my ride. Shawn, I’ll see you back at Beatty. I’ll be jumping back to my base once we clear the Speedway.”

“Right. See you there.”

~
*
~
*
~

Entering the training room, Alvin was glad Gothy had put the airlock doors in place so he didn’t just randomly appear in midair. Setting himself to observation mode, he entered the simulation proper.

He floated next to the Huey as Desiree took it over Engineer Mountain. The gate was being attacked by fungals and in the distance, Alvin could see the dragon they’d encountered before barreling down on them.

Dropping the Huey toward the deck, Desiree let loose with a long blast from the nose gun. The machine gun tore through the throng below, but did little damage overall due to the lack of fire. The most damage that came through was from every twentieth shot, which was a tracer round. Gothy and Mousie joined in with the door guns, though they were having the same problem as Desiree.

When the dragon got closer, Desiree pitched the craft to the side, letting the dragon slide past them. The dragon’s fire grazed the side of the helicopter, but did little damage to it. Mousie switched to firing on the dragon when it went past.

Alvin winced as the fight continued. The Huey wasn’t made to protect them from fire, so Gothy and Mousie both died before Desiree canceled the simulation.

“You did as well as you could, but yeah... not great against fire,” Alvin said when the room shifted back to its normal blankness.

“How long did you watch?” Desiree asked.

“From the point when you came over the mountain.”

“Saw us die...” Gothy grumbled.

“Luckily, it wasn’t for real,” Alvin said, pulling her to him and kissing her. “I have your new baby, but before we play with it, I’m going to have Shawn go over it. We can switch up the armament to reflect what we have.”

“That was the standard Huey,” Gothy said.

“Yeah, we got a bit of an upgrade. Think the colonel wanted us to be thankful.”

“Oh?”

“Computer, bring up a replica of the Huey in the garage, and show them the stats, too.”

The women all looked at the helicopter with eager eyes, then looked at the stats screen that appeared before them.

Bell UH-1H Modified (Uncommon)

Armor: 3,937/30,000

Modifications: Armament upgraded

Runes: 1/4

Fuel

Armament: M60C (Uncommon)

Damage: 8

Durability: 561/20,000

Ammo type: 7.62x51mm Nato (200 round belt feed)

Runes: 0/4

Armament: M134 Minigun (Uncommon)

Damage: 8

Durability: 1,723/20,000

Ammo type: 7.62x51mm Nato (3,000 round belt feed)

Runes: 0/4

Armament: M134 Minigun (Uncommon)

Damage: 8

Durability: 902/20,000

Ammo type: 7.62x51mm Nato (3,000 round belt feed)

Runes: 0/4

“Hot damn,” Gothy whispered.

“The guns do a lot less damage,” Desiree murmured. “That would explain why we were doing so poorly.”

“The miniguns fire ten times faster than the Bushmaster,” Alvin told her.

Desiree blinked slowly. “Oh... The lack of armor and how open it is must have been the reasons.”

“Yes,” Mousie said. “The fire killed both of us in the back.”

“And the minimal armor meant it was able to knock me out of the air.”

“It’s for transport and small engagements. Not good for dog fights with armored flying tanks,” Alvin said. “We should keep away from dragons, though we might be okay with drakes and wyverns.”

“We can test them,” Gothy said. “You ready for your go, Hero?”

“With the chopper? Yes. With you? Also yes, but in a bit,” Alvin chuckled.

“Damn, I must be getting predictable,” Gothy laughed.

“Computer, simulate wyvern near lake. Fully restored Huey. I’m pilot, Gothy is copilot, Desiree and Mousie are door gunners,” Alvin said. “Put us in position and flying. Wait for my command to start the fight.”

Chapter Twenty-five

Laughing as they left the training room, the group was in high spirits. Before they went further, Gothy paused at the kiosk, as she’d been waiting for a package all day. With a grin, she accepted the package from Olmera.

“Hero, your new armor,” Gothy said as she pulled the pieces out of the kiosk.

“Nice,” Alvin said. Assembling the armor into the outfit section, he swapped from his normal clothing to the scaled armor. “What do you think?”

Gothy looked from him to Desiree, then Mousie. “You three are so damned cute, and now I’m the odd one out.”

“Yours is last because of the ring,” Alvin said. “Seriously, though, how does it look?”

“Good, but it’s definitely got a BDSM vibe,” Gothy snickered. “All that leather.”

Alvin rolled his eyes and shifted back to his regular armor. “I’ll rune it up later. The only time I’ll use it is when we need the mental influence help.”

“We use it as our base armor now,” Mousie said.

“You two look amazing in it,” Alvin said. “Fantasy races and scale mail? It was meant to be.”

Gothy rolled her eyes. “You and probably half of our fans just drool over them in that gear.”

“I’d say more than half,” Alvin countered, before changing the topic. “Mousie, you ready?”

“Yes, Hero.”

“Let’s get started, then,” Alvin said, leading the way into the medical bay.

The women followed him in, and he got the machine set up. Musing as he did, Alvin paused. “Okay, since we have the double vats, we can actually get two of us done at a time. Desiree or Gothy?”

“Me,” Gothy said.

“Gothy,” Desiree said, “mayb—?”

“No,” Gothy cut her off. “I’ll go now. You’ll get Alvin to yourself for a full day— use it wisely. When you two are in, I plan on spoiling my lovely toy all day.”

“Okay,” Desiree agreed.

Mousie smiled at Gothy. “Thank you, Gothy.”

“Well, since she’s decided, that’s what we’ll do,” Alvin said. “Ladies, strip down, accept the changes, and then climb into the vats. I’ll be staying for a little bit to make sure things are working the way they should.”

“Thanks, Hero,” Gothy said, suddenly naked and in his arms.

“Thank you, Hero,” Mousie murmured as she sandwiched him and began to kiss his neck.

“You’re both very welcome,” Alvin replied. “If you two don’t get moving, though, this is going to take a lot longer than a day.”

Gothy snickered, feeling the reason he’d said that. “Later, then. Once we’re all done, we can have that fun again.” Letting go of him, her hand grazed the front of his bulging jeans. “Come on, Mousie. The sooner we’re in, the sooner I can have you tied down for some fun.”

Mousie let go of Alvin, kissing his cheek as she went around him. “As you command, Gothy. Oh, Hero, I thought about it, and I think Desiree should name the Bradley.”

“Fair. It does suit her,” Alvin agreed. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Both women climbed into the vats, shutting the entry doors behind them. The moment both doors shut, the tanks began to fill with a pale blue liquid. Gothy eyed it a little apprehensively.

“I never asked... how do we breathe during this?” Gothy asked.

“The liquid works somehow,” Alvin said. “Besides, once it reaches your chest, you’ll be going to sleep.”

“What?”

“You’re unconscious during the upgrades,’ Alvin replied. “I’m sure it would feel worse than the kiosk upgrades if you weren’t.”

“That makes sense,” Gothy said, taking a few deep breaths. “I think I might be afraid of drowning.”

“Ring not helping?” Desiree asked.

“Nope. Maybe because it’s my own internal fear and not an external one?”

“That’s good to know,” Alvin said. “Just close your eyes and breathe deep. When you open them again, you’ll be coming out of the tank.”

Gothy met his eyes, seeing his love and concern for her. “See you soon, Hero.” Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply and waited for the moment to end.

Alvin could see the moment she passed out— she went from rigidly standing to floating in the fluid. Watching the liquid continuing to rise, he was surprised when Gothy didn’t float up along with it. Instead, she stayed in place as the liquid rose over her.

“That’s... weird to watch,” Alvin said.

“The machine seems to be functioning correctly,” Desiree said, having been watching it intently. “The readouts are steady and showing green.”

Alvin looked at the monitor and nodded. “Looks good.”

“So, we have the day to ourselves?” Desiree asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

“We do, but we also have some things to do still,” Alvin said. “I’ll make sure we have plenty of time for just us, as well. Not like we need to sleep when we’re going to be in the tanks tomorrow.”

“That’s a good point,” Desiree agreed. “But what do we have to do?”

“Get the Huey to Shawn in Beatty. He has things to modify for me.”

“Is it a secret?”

“From Gothy, until it’s done,” Alvin said.

“So what’re you having done to it?” Desiree asked.

“Come with me to Beatty and you can find out.”

“Would this be a date?”

Alvin paused before nodding. “Yes, it will be. Give me a minute, then meet me in the kiosk room?”

“Okay…?” Desiree said questioningly, watching him with curiosity.

~
*
~
*
~

When Desiree left the training room, she found Alvin waiting for her. “Everything okay?”

“Yup. Let’s go see Shawn, and then we can have our date.”

“I have a feeling you’re up to something.”

“Because you’re perceptive,” Alvin chuckled. “Let’s go.”

Twin rainbow beams marked them leaving the base. A moment later, Jarvis came around the corner, and seeing them gone, went into the training room to do what Alvin had asked him to.

Alvin rubbed his eyes when he appeared in Beatty. “Still hate that effect.”

“Alvin,” Shawn said from behind him, “been waiting for you.”

“Sorry for the delay. We were using the training room to test the Huey. Didn’t know how fast or slow you’d be getting back.”

“It’s fine.”

“Alvin,” Kate called to him, “thank you.”

Looking toward the main building, Alvin chuckled. “The battery will have to be recharged often if you wear it all the time.”

“I’m just trying it out.”

“I already upgraded the base with a recharge station,” Shawn said. “It’s next to dad’s bunker. Milo and a few others were talking about getting some armor now.”

“Not surprised. Shall we head over to your garage?”

“Yeah. I made sure I had it ready for working on a helo,” Shawn said. “Where are the other two?”

“Busy,” Alvin shrugged.

“I shouldn’t ask. I probably don’t want a graphic answer,” Shawn snorted.

Making it to the auto shop, Shawn pointed at the larger bay attached to it. “Go ahead and plop her down.”

Alvin summoned the Huey, which appeared in the empty spot for it. “Okay, I want you to take the antigravity core and attach it to her. That should make for a unique bird. If you have enough pieces to add in a beam weapon, please do that, too.”

Shawn thought about it for a minute. “I’ll see what I can do, but I’m not sure there are enough pieces for a weapon.”

“If not, just set them aside for me,” Alvin said.

“I will. I’m actually glad you were late, honestly.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, Karee was back when we arrived. She’d heard you’d been here and was upset that you didn’t come back with us. I sent her group out to check on the ants. So if it’s all the same to you, I’ll let you know when it’s finished and send the parts back to you in the kiosk.”

“Works for me,” Alvin said. “Not looking to cause problems.”

“I appreciate it. I know you take care of your women, but I don’t feel great about her trying to hook up with you.”

“I can’t fault you for trying to keep your best friend’s daughter away from me. We’ll just skip out now so we don’t cause you even more problems.”

Shawn extended his hand. “Thanks. Not just for that, but for everything. I know you won’t be back often, but every time you’ve been here, we’ve jumped forward.”

“I do try to help those who help me,” Alvin chuckled, shaking his hand. “Now, we’ll be going. I have a date with a lovely Dwarf.”

“Date? Aren’t you married?”

“Yeah, and? I know married couples that had date nights.”

“Fair enough. I’ll let you know when it’s done.”

With nothing left to say, Alvin triggered a base portal and walked through it, Desiree following along behind.

Jarvis wasn’t to be seen when the couple walked into the base. Desiree frowned as she looked at the suspiciously empty main room.

“Hero, where’s Jarvis?”

“Taking the night off,” Alvin replied as he reached back and hooked an arm around her waist. “Come on. I have plans for us.”

“Ah, so you set this up earlier?”

“Perceptive,” Alvin chuckled as he guided her to the training room.

The room was the empty whiteness it usually was, minus a small basket next to the door. Snagging it, Alvin gave her a wink as he put it into his bag.

“Computer, begin programmed simulation,” Alvin said.

The room vanished, leaving the couple sitting in the stands of a small arena. The middle of the floor held an octagonal ring made of chain link. Desiree was surprised to see that she was wearing a small black dress, and Alvin was in a no-tie suit.

“This was called mixed martial arts,” Alvin told her. “We’ll be watching a few fights.”

“Oh. You do know what I like,” Desiree smiled, leaning against him.

Alvin put his arm around her shoulders, holding her close as the announcer started welcoming the crowd to the fights. Alvin grinned as he thought about what he had set up with Jarvis. The fights weren’t going to be normal ones, but the best eight fights ever seen in the ring. Alvin watched, but he mostly looked at Desiree while she watched the fights fixedly.

When the last bout came to an end, Desiree was on her feet, cheering as loudly as the rest of the crowd. Alvin was glad they had front row seats or she might not have seen half of it.

“That was amazing
,” Desiree said, turning to him.

“I’m glad you liked it. Now, I think it’s time for fun for you.”

“Oh?” Desiree smirked.

“I know you love the thrill of the fight.” Alvin stood up and cracked his neck. “Winner gets to be in charge for the rest of tonight.”

Desiree’s smile widened. “Oh, now we’re talking, Hero.”

“Computer, second part.”

The two of them stood across from each other in the ring. Alvin was dressed in only shorts, while Desiree was in a bra and shorts. The crowd was cheering loudly. Alvin smiled as Desiree held up a fist when her name was announced, just like most of the fighters previously had. Alvin did the same, his eyes never leaving Desiree.

The ref told them the rules, then had them back away. Alvin could feel his blood pumping as he waited for the fight to start— a small part of him wondered if he’d picked the right thing for a date, but seeing Desiree’s happy eyes, he knew he had.

The moment the fight began, Desiree came for him hard, fast, and with near-killing intent. She was shorter than him, so he had greater reach to try keeping her from closing. During the first round, he kept her at bay, his jab being just enough to keep her from grappling him.

When they separated to their corners, Alvin almost laughed when Desiree realized that she had Gothy in her corner. Alvin watched as the computer-generated Gothy leaned in, clearly giving her some advice.

“Hero, you can do this,” the generated Mousie told him. “Keep her away— don’t let her grab you. She’s willing to take the punishment if it gets her what she wants, so don’t get suckered in.”

Alvin nodded and took a quick mouthful of water, spitting it out before putting his mouthguard back in. Getting off the stool, he began bouncing on the balls of his feet, making sure he was still loose and ready.

The next round was nearly disastrous for Alvin. Desiree got a hold on his arm and, using her shorter height as leverage, got him to the mat. She had him in a joint lock, and he was about to tap when the bell sounded.

Sitting in his corner, his left arm strained as Alvin stared at the grinning Desiree. Gothy took his mouth guard and made him spit, having switched sides with Mousie so they both got to encourage their lovers.

“What are you doing, Hero? She nearly had you.”

“You told her how to get inside,” Alvin said.

“Of course I did,” Gothy replied. “And you should’ve known it was coming. Now, are you going to fight for this, or are you going to roll over?”

Alvin snorted. “You know I take what’s mine.”

“Good. She’ll take the hits to get a hold of you, but if you let her and are ready for it, you can turn the tables. Are you willing to pound her?”

“Before and after,” Alvin replied with a smirk.

“Then stop being afraid of hurting her. Did you forget this is a training room?”

“Says the computer-generated version of my wife.”

“So what? I’m me, even if I’m not really here.”

“Fair enough.”

“Now, either man up or be ready to be her bitch.”

Alvin got to his feet, not replying. His gaze never wavered from Desiree. Desiree got to her feet, her gaze boring into him, clearly intent on winning.

The last round found the two of them bloody, battered, and struggling to get the better position on the ground. Alvin used his longer limbs to keep her from getting the holds she wanted. Desiree could take more damage, though, and had used that to her advantage during the fight.

When the bell finally announced the end of the fight, the two of them lay on the mat, breathing hard. After a minute, they struggled to their feet and joined the ref in the middle, waiting for the judges to score the bout.

Alvin raised his fist when the first judge’s score had him ahead by a point. Desiree roared when the second judge had her winning. Both of them waited for the third judge’s score to be announced.

“Judge Royce Gracie has Alvin by a single point,” the announcer said over the speakers. “The winner of the bout— by close split decision— is Alvin Leon Lambert!”

Alvin raised his other fist as the crowd cheered. Looking over at Desiree, he could see the acceptance and determination in her eyes. Stepping past the ref, he ducked down and grabbed her, lifting her off the ground and kissing her hard.

Desiree blinked in surprise before returning the passionate kiss. The crowd faded away, the ring changing to a bedroom as Alvin walked her backward to the bed, setting her on the edge of it.

“To the victor,” Alvin said breathlessly, his injuries from the fight gone.

“The spoils,” Desiree husked, her eyes burning with need.

~
*
~
*
~

Hours later, Alvin finally showed her what was inside the basket from the beginning of their date. Jarvis had made them dinner, and the two ate it in bed as they rested.

“I’d forgotten all about it,” Desiree admitted between being fed strawberries by Alvin.

“We need real food. That’s what I had talked with Jarvis about earlier.”

“After food?” Desiree asked, clearly not sated yet.

“More dessert,” Alvin chuckled as he ran a hand lightly up her flank.

“Perfect,” she sighed happily.

Chapter Twenty-six

Alvin stretched as he woke up. Desiree was curled up against his left side, her leg slung over his waist and her arm over his torso. Smiling at her, Alvin just watched her sleep.

With a muffled snore, Desiree’s eyes opened slowly. Meeting his gaze, her lips formed a soft smile. “Morning, Hero.”

“Morning, my dear wife. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. I had almost all my kinks worked out before bed, after all.”

“I doubt we came anywhere near that close,” Alvin snorted.

“True,” Desiree grinned. “I guess breakfast will be soon?”

“No idea, have to che—”

“Sir, breakfast will be ready in ten minutes,” Jarvis announced through the bedroom door.

“Got it!” Alvin replied back loudly enough to be heard. “Looks like soon, indeed.”

“Not enough time for a warm-up,” Desiree sighed. Kissing his chest, she climbed over him to get out of bed. “Well, not a real warm-up, but I bet a quickie in the shower isn’t out of the question.”

“Not out at all,” Alvin admitted, watching her walk toward the bathroom.

~
*
~
*
~

Rolling his shoulders as he left the bedroom, Alvin gave Jarvis a shrug. “Not too late, I hope?”

“I finished about a minute ago. Thank you for curtailing your morning proclivities.”

“We do try,” Desiree said, coming out of the bedroom in running shorts and a tank top. “You’ll have just Gothy and Mousie in a couple of hours.”

“Yes. I’ll have food waiting and ready for them,” Jarvis said as he uncovered the three plates on the table. “Considering your love of bacon and Alvin’s love of flaze, I thought individual omelets were called for.”

“Oh, nice,” Alvin said as he took his seat. “I see cheesy hash browns, too.”

“Yours has thinly sliced flaze, and Desiree’s has well-ground bacon.”

“Thank you, Jarvis,” Desiree said as she picked up her fork. “Oh, and for the food last night, too.”

Jarvis bowed his head fractionally. “I’m glad you approved.”

“I was fond of the berries and cream,” Desiree smiled. “I’d like to make waffles with them as a topping in a couple of days.”

“I’ll make sure everything is in order,” Jarvis said. “I do hope none of you suddenly develop a taste for brains.”

Desiree’s brow furrowed, and Alvin snorted around a mouthful of food.

“None of us are becoming mind eaters,” Alvin said when he could, “though psionics would be cool.”

Seeing Desiree’s blank look, he told her all about a monster from a tabletop RPG game. Desiree was quick to understand, asking questions as they ate.

“That was not in the Human knowledge book,” Desiree said as they finished breakfast.

“Would’ve been surprised if it was,” Alvin said. “It’s a small bit of trivia from a single game. You caught onto the idea quickly, though.”

“Yes. That’s where the knowledge helped.”

“Not even all Humans know what Alvin was speaking about,” Jarvis added, sipping at his tea. “Only the people who played that game or the video games based on it would know them.”

“I don’t feel bad, then.”

“We have a couple of hours before it’s time to switch,” Alvin said, rising to his feet. “Movie?”

“And snuggling?” Desiree asked.

“Of course.”

“I accept.”

“
Only snuggling, I hope, if you’re watching it in the living room,” Jarvis said as he started to collect the plates.

“Only snuggling, and maybe quick kisses,” Alvin chuckled.

“I’ll make myself scarce, but will still be around,” Jarvis said.

“Did you have one in mind, Hero?”

“I was thinking of a not terribly well-known TV pilot:
White Dwarf
.”

“Sounds like it will be entertaining,” Desiree laughed.

“I enjoyed it, but there aren’t any actual Dwarves in it,” Alvin said, leading her over to the sofa. “It’s still worth the watch. It’s about a man who gets sent to a distant backwater to do his apprenticeship.”

~
*
~
*
~

“That was different,” Desiree said when the show ended. “Only the one episode?”

“It was a pilot that never got picked up. There was so much they could have done with it.”

“It was obviously going to be a harem,” Desiree said. “Considering how your world viewed such relationships, I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“True… that reminds me of another pilot episode that never got off the ground,” Alvin sighed. “What did they call it…
Legend of the Rangers
? I think that was it. It was a pilot for a spinoff of
B5
.”

“Maybe when we’re all here?”

“Yeah, probably for the best. Going to have to watch that one again with them, or just ask them to watch it while they’re recovering.”

Desiree laughed as they got off the sofa. “Even those two will have to pause for refreshments.”

“Exactly.”

~
*
~
*
~

The machine was displaying Gothy and Mousie’s vital information when the couple entered the room. Alvin stepped over to the control screen and fiddled with it for a moment.

“Another minute or two.”

“They look the same,” Desiree said.

“No tentacles,” Alvin agreed. “You ready to step into one of the tanks?”

“Yes, but after we check on our wives.”

A minute later, the machine beeped and the liquid in both tanks began to drain. Alvin was smiling at Gothy as her eyes opened. She gave him a puzzled look before exhaling.

“We done?”

“All done.”

“I would swear I just took a deep breath to go under.”

“Nope. You’ve been in for a day.”

“Okay... Now that I know I won’t drown, I think I’ll be okay with this thing.”

“As soon as the liquid is out, open it up and come on out.”

Gothy touched her hair. “You have towels out there?”

“I’ll go get some,” Desiree said, leaving the room.

“Did you two have fun?” Gothy asked.

“We did. I used the training room to give her a date night.”

“Oh?”

Alvin gave her a brief synopsis of what they had done. “We’d just finished watching a TV pilot episode before coming to check on you. If you and Mousie come up for air, you should watch it, too.”

Gothy smirked. “Come up for air? Horrible pun.”

“I didn’t plan that one,” Alvin laughed.

“Hero, is there any breakfast left?” Mousie asked. “I find myself hungry.”

A loud growl came from Gothy’s tank. “Now that you mention it,” Gothy laughed, patting her stomach, “I am, too.”

“Towels,” Desiree said, coming back into the room. “Jarvis is heating you both up some food.”

“Thank you, Desiree,” Gothy smiled.

There was another beep from the machine and Alvin nodded. “All good, come on out.”

Both naked beauties stepped out of the machine, taking the offered towels from Desiree, who got kisses for her trouble. Alvin just watched with a smirk as he programmed the machine for him and Desiree.

“Your turn to strip, Hero,” Gothy purred.

Alvin let his clothing vanish. “Gladly. Sadly, we’ll be in the machine shortly.” Moving over to her, he kissed her hungrily.

Gothy kissed him back, sighing sadly when he broke the kiss. “Too soon...”

“Have fun with Mousie,” Alvin told her. “Don’t break her too badly.”

“I wouldn’t,” Gothy said, kissing him softly. “Go on. I’ll come get you tomorrow.”

“Oh, Shawn has your new baby,” Alvin told her. “He’ll let us know when he’s done with it. I was thinking we should each take primary ownership of a single vehicle each.”

“I’ll take my new baby,” Gothy said quickly.

“Could I have Ruffian?” Mousie asked from nearby.

“Sure,” Alvin said.

“I’d like the Bradley,” Desiree said as she moved toward the machine, her naked body on full display.

“Guess I have the Turtle, then,” Alvin said. “Desiree, you get to name the Bradley. Gothy, you should let Mousie name your new toy.”

“I’ll consider it,” Gothy said, “if she’s a very good girl for me.”

“I will be, Gothy,” Mousie promised.

Alvin kissed both of them before he went to lock himself into the DMV, pausing briefly to get a kiss from Desiree. When the door shut behind him, Alvin gave Gothy a smile as the tank began to fill with the slightly viscous, but clear, fluid.

Gothy held Mousie in front of her, both of them still nude. Alvin felt his body respond to the sight, laughing when he saw Gothy’s knowing smirk.

“Brat,” Alvin laughed.

“Always,” Gothy replied.

“I’ll make you pa—” Alvin started to say, but suddenly passed out.

~
*
~
*
~

“Pay,” Alvin finished. He blinked when he saw Gothy and Mousie standing there, completely clothed and smirking at him.

“I hope so,” Gothy snickered. “You’re all done.”

“Missing time? Just like being under anesthesia,” Alvin said as he began to stretch in the tank.

“I would swear we’d just gone in,” Desiree said.

“Yeah, don’t worry. It’s a common occurrence,” Alvin told her.

“I have towels for you both,” Mousie informed them.

“Did you name Gothy’s new toy?” Alvin asked, waiting for the last of the liquid to drain out of the tank.

“Not yet, but I have a few ideas.”

“She was a very good girl for me,” Gothy smiled broadly. “I get the right to veto, but she’s going to come up with names.”

“I’ll have a name for the Bradley in a day or two, hopefully,” Desiree said.

“What are our plans, Hero?” Gothy asked.

“First, we’re going to go kill the wyvern between Ely and Green River. We’ll stop into Green River and talk with Susan about killing the fish-demon, and maybe get Nellis to help with that. After that, off to give some Predators to Desiree’s family.”

“What about after that?”

“East again. Hopefully in your new toy, if Shawn finishes with it.”

Gothy’s eyes glowed with eagerness. “What’s the destination?”

“I have a few places I want to hit, and all of them are eastern seaboard.”

Gothy thought while Alvin stepped out of the tank and began to dry off.

“New York?” Gothy asked.

“Nope.”

“D.C.?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, makes sense. Salem?”

“Of course. We know we have spells on our character sheets, but haven’t seen magic at all. Where else in the U.S. is as well known for magic?”

“What about the third one?”

“It’s a bit of a weird one, actually,” Alvin admitted. “I used to love a certain lore.”

“Shit. Maine?”

“Yeah. Always enjoyed Lovecraft’s view of humanity.”

“Well, yeah, but you seriously want to go fuck with Cthulhu?”

“Hell no. Too many tentacles,” Alvin said sagely.

“You know what I mean.”

“I want to see if there’s activity there, and if so, whether it means end of the world type stuff or not. Hate to have done all of this to just have a Great Old One show up and wipe it all out.”

Gothy grimaced. “That does make sense. Are we doing that in the order you stated them, at least?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. We might at least have magic, then.”

“If things work out,” Alvin agreed.

“Why D.C.?” Mousie asked.

“The occult symbology worked into the capital— and the fact everyone joked about our leaders having sold their souls— makes me hopeful that we can find a succubus there,” Alvin replied.

“For Gothy,” Desiree laughed.

“Of course.”

Gothy’s eyes smoldered. “I can’t wait.”

Chapter Twenty-seven

The people in Ely were surprised by the rainbow effects when Alvin and his wives appeared just outside the town’s main base of operations, the casino. Alvin gave the men and women holding guns a long look, backing down the majority with a flat stare.

Deputy Corbin came out of the building and saw who it was. “Been a bit. Sheriff will likely want to talk to you.”

“We didn’t stop in to chat much,” Alvin told him. “Ohm was good to us when we came through here before, so we’ll give him a few minutes.”

Corbin frowned at Alvin’s clearly dismissive tone, but just motioned them to follow as he headed back inside.

“Who the fuck are they?”

“Where the hell did they come from?”

“That light display was gaudy as shit.”

Alvin ignored the comments as they trailed Corbin. The front of the casino had been remodeled— the makeshift barrier had been replaced by solid defensive emplacements and heavy machine guns.

“Get attacked much?” Alvin asked as they walked past defunct slot machines.

“After you left, we had some trouble with the zombies getting smarter and some thugs thinking they could just roll in and take over,” Corbin said. “Those are a holdover from that. The majority of the dead dragon body went toward making this town safe.”

“Glad we helped,” Gothy said.

Corbin looked back at her and Alvin. “Stat increases, right?”

“Of course,” Alvin said.

“Makes sense. Neither of you looked like that last time.”

“Or seemed so trustworthy?” Alvin asked.

“No. Before, you felt more like the drifter I didn’t trust.”

“Still am a drifter.”

“Yeah, but you exude an air of confidence. It makes me want to hear you out.”

“Stats are important,” Gothy said.

It didn’t take them long to reach the office they had talked to Ohm in. Corbin knocked, announced them, ushered them in, and left them with the sheriff.

Ohm got to his feet and offered his hand to Alvin. “Been a while. Your advice and help made a difference. Some might not remember or care, but I do.”

“Sheriff,” Alvin replied, giving his hand a firm shake. “Didn’t plan on stopping in to talk, but your deputy made it seem like you needed to see us.”

“Need is a strong word, but please, take a seat. Who are your new companions?”

“Mousie and Desiree, my wives,” Alvin replied. “I didn’t mention them to you in my letters about the different Gates.”

“Three wives? I assume that you and… Gothy?” When Gothy nodded, he continued, “Are also married, considering she was with you first?”

“Yup.”

“I know someone who’d be stupid enough to try quoting old laws about polygamy, but I’m not an idiot,” Ohm said, “as long as you’re all together consensually, that is.”

“We are,” Desiree said, echoed by Mousie, who was glaring at Ohm.

“We make it work,” Gothy said a little coldly.

Ohm held up his hand. “No problems from me. I just don’t want to see people forced into things.”

“I understand and agree,” Alvin said. “Now, what did you want, but not need?”

Ohm chuckled. “Still as blunt as ever, but you don’t put off the same vibe as before. The straight truth of the matter is that we were able to deal with the catfish outside of town, but the wyvern out at Sevier Lake attacks anyone who goes toward the Border Inn. It’s severely cut down on where we can go look for things.”

Alvin chuckled. “I was going that way, anyway. I’ll kill it when we go by.”

Ohm nodded. “Can some of my boys go with?”

“Do they own equipment that can help?” Gothy asked.

“They have armor and upgraded guns,” Ohm said.

“Do they have an M2 or any other heavy machine gun?” Gothy pressed.

Ohm exhaled. “No.”

“Dragons and drakes both take heavy guns to put down,” Alvin explained. “We can kill it, but if they can’t help, I don’t see a reason to share the XP and loot.”

Ohm sighed. “I can’t argue that. Out of every settlement you’ve been to, we seem to be the red-headed stepchild. Did we treat you that badly when you came through?”

Alvin paused as he considered what Ohm said. “No, you didn’t. Frankly, Sheriff, I didn’t expect you to survive long. That council was idiotic and failed to listen like they should have.”

“The council was disbanded when the dragon was harvested because trying to get a majority to agree was not happening. We let the populace vote, and they put me in charge. We’ve been scraping by since then, but talking with Shawn or Susan made me feel like we might’ve slighted you somehow.”

“No slight,” Alvin said. “You never mentioned the council had been disbanded.”

“Would it have mattered?” Ohm asked.

“Yeah. I know you at least have a brain in your head,” Alvin said. “I’ll let you come with us, but just you. You’ll have to come all the way to Green River and fast travel back.”

Ohm sucked his teeth. “Fast travel is expensive.”

“You’ll be able to afford it and more when we kill the wyvern,” Gothy said.

“Can you give me an hour to arrange things?” Ohm asked.

“Sure. See you right here in an hour,” Alvin said, opening a portal in the room.

“See you then,” Ohm said, getting to his feet. “Let me get you a room, and—”

“No need,” Alvin said as he walked through the portal, followed by his wives.

~
*
~
*
~

An hour later, they found Ohm in the office with Deputy Corbin.

“You ready, Ohm?” Alvin asked.

“I am. Corbin will be holding down the fort until I get back.”

Corbin gave Alvin a hard stare. “You’ll be bringing him back safe.”

“Nope,” Alvin said, ignoring the hard look. “He’ll be bringing himself back. Have a good one. See you outside, Ohm.”

Corbin blinked, shocked that he’d been ignored so easily. Ohm sighed and patted the younger man on the shoulder, giving him a few more words of advice before going out after the others.

A small group of people was outside next to a squad car, clearly waiting to see the sheriff off. Alvin looked at the car, then the crowd, and snorted before summoning the Bradley. Everyone stepped back when the armored vehicle appeared in front of the squad car. Ohm stepped outside and his mouth gaped open briefly before snapping closed.

“Ohm, you’re in the back with me,” Alvin said. “Gothy, you have the route mapped out, so you’re the driver. Mousie, your eyes are needed to spot the wyvern, so commander. Desiree, you’re the gunner.”

“Roger,” Desiree said.

“Understood,” Mousie agreed.

“Driver it is,” Gothy said as she went to the front of the vehicle.

“Where the hell did you get a Bradley?” someone in the crowd finally asked.

“Red River Army Depot,” Alvin replied as he opened the back door for everyone to climb in. “Texas is on the rise. Now to see if Nevada can do the same.”

“But we don’t have an Army base!” someone shouted.

“You still have other active settlements, and Nellis Air Force Base survived,” Alvin said. “Are you going to try to thrive or just hunker down and pray?” Not waiting for an answer, he shut the door.

“A bit blunt, but I don’t fault you,” Ohm said, taking a seat before frowning. “This isn’t a rumble seat.”

“Of course not. I upgraded the fuck out of this baby.”

Ohm’s frown grew when he felt the Bradley vibrate— which he would have thought was the engine— but the sound of a diesel didn’t accompany it. Alvin laughed at his expression when the Bradley started to roll.

“Silence rune, a powerful one,” Alvin told the stupefied sheriff.

“I shouldn’t be so surprised with you,” Ohm sighed. “Shawn and Susan tried to warn me.”

“They’ve dealt with me the most,” Alvin nodded. “Just sit back. We can just watch the gunner’s screen and wait for my wives to kill a wyvern.”

Ohm shook his head and watched the screen in the back turn on.

~
*
~
*
~

They were approaching Sevier Lake over two hours later, having passed the remnants of the Border Inn. Alvin sighed when they went by the broken building, recalling some of the intelligent people he’d met there.

“A couple of people made it up to us from there,” Ohm told him.

“Oh?”

“A couple of young ones, and Chloe Maralla.”

“Old woman, no-nonsense kind?” Alvin asked.

“Yeah. Said she was one of the three who might have led them.”

“She did the right thing. Sad to hear that Theo didn’t make it.”

“Chloe told us he was the one who bought them the time for her to get the kids out.”

“Smartest one among them,” Alvin said. “Figured he would have gone down fighting.”

“They ran and hid for a few days, then made it up to us,” Ohm said. “Chloe is the one running our farms right now. She’s as tough as rawhide and doesn’t brook idiots.”

“Yeah,” Alvin nodded.

“Hero, I can see the lake,” Mousie said.

“It was using the hills on the far side of the lake as its nest before,” Alvin told her. “Call out when you see it so Desiree can get it sighted. Desiree, unload on it. Pop everything and use both guns.”

“I will, Hero. I’ll wait for it to be close before I start to make sure it doesn’t flee right away.”

“Works,” Alvin replied.

Ohm looked at Alvin. “You sure about waiting?”

“This baby can take a pounding and keep on going,” Alvin chuckled. “It’ll be fine, though I keep waiting for the devs to nerf us again. I think it’s nearly inevitable.”

“Why?”

“Just watch.”

“I see it,” Mousie announced. “Two o’clock.”

“Got it,” Desiree said, spinning the turret. “Doesn’t look as bad as the dragons and drakes. I’d worry about that stinger outside without my armor, though.”

“Wyverns are just as tough, but yeah, the poison stinger is what made them feared in stories,” Alvin said. “We can’t really chase it, so let’s do our best to drop it close. I don’t want to have to grab the Huey early from Shawn.”

“Do we have any idea when he’ll be done with it?” Gothy asked as she slowed the Bradley.

“None. Considering what I asked him to do, though, it’ll be a bit. Even when we do get her back, I’m going to do luxury upgrades, too.”

“Ah, you spoil me, Hero.”

“All of you, but you, especially.”

“Odd family, but at least the love is real. So much better than some I’ve seen,” Ohm said.

“We’re making it work, but yeah,” Alvin smiled, “the love is real.”

“And quite physical, most of the time,” Gothy grinned.

“Too much information there,” Ohm laughed.

“Going hot in three,” Desiree said, cutting off their chatter.

“It’s showtime,” Alvin laughed.

“What do we do?” Ohm asked.

“Just sit back and watch.” Snapping his fingers, Alvin sighed. “Should have brought some popcorn.”

Ohm blinked at him as Desiree engaged the wyvern. He watched in awe as the beast was grounded in short order, then shredded by the explosive ammo. Alvin just laughed as he watched the two-legged creature try to fight them, unable to get back into the air.

When it finally fell over dead, Alvin opened up the back. “Care to do the honors?”

Ohm shook his head in disbelief as he stepped out of the Bradley along with Alvin. The road and immediate area around them was pockmarked with damage from the explosive ammo. Picking his way carefully over to the wyvern, Ohm bent down and touched an unbloody spot on the carcass. The body vanished and Ohm almost fell over, as he’d been leaning on it.

“Come on back. We’ll be on the road again shortly,” Alvin chuckled.

Ohm was almost to the door when the ground behind him erupted and two pincers snapped on his legs. Screaming in pain, Ohm hit the ground as the giant scorpion tried to drag him underground.

Alvin cussed as he leapt out of the Bradley, his war hammer in hand. Summoning his battle armor, he was already striking one of the insect’s claws, trying to get the sheriff free. “Mousie, help!”

The scorpion pushed itself out of the ground after the first hit. It chittered as it released Ohm with one claw, using it and its stinger to try to hit Alvin.

Mousie was out the back of the vehicle in short order, her armor forming around her and her blades already in hand. “I’m here, Hero!” Her words were punctuated by her swords deflecting the tail.

With two much bigger threats to worry about, it let go of Ohm and backed away, trying to focus on Alvin. The moment it let go of Ohm, Desiree pulled the sheriff over to the Bradley, her armor already on.

“You all okay?” Gothy asked.

“Fine now,” Alvin said, his armor formed just in time to stop the claws digging into his flesh. “Just a scorp. Give us a minute.”

“No losing a leg,” Gothy said pointedly.

“Armor’s on. I’ll be fine,” Alvin laughed.

“Good.”

With Ohm safely inside the Bradley, Desiree joined the other two with killing the giant bug. It didn’t take them long to butcher the venomous insect, as it couldn’t deal with their armor. Looting it, the trio climbed back into the Bradley.

“We’re good, Gothy. Go ahead,” Alvin told her.

“Okay.”

“Mousie, gun please,” Alvin added, giving her a kiss.

“Of course, Hero.”

“Ohm, how are you doing?” Alvin asked.

“My legs feel like they might be broken,” Ohm hissed.

“Any healing items on you?” Alvin asked.

“A single medkit, but I doubt that’s enough.”

Alvin shrugged, pulling out a trauma kit and applying it to Ohm. “Get some trauma kits.”

Ohm inhaled sharply, then bent his legs slowly. “Those are expensive to us.”

“Not anymore,” Alvin laughed. “Check your XP.”

Ohm did as Alvin said before snorting. “No wonder you’re always so well prepared.”

“You can afford fast travel and some trauma kits, plus more, once we get to Green River. We’d just go straight there, but I need to make sure there’s clear airspace between them.”

“Why?”

“Desiree, can you go be the commander?” Alvin asked.

“Roger,” Desiree replied, collecting a kiss before she left the two men alone.

“Well, there’s a story involved,” Alvin said. “Luckily, even at max speed, it’ll be hours before we get there. We have the time for it.”

Chapter Twenty-eight

Susan, Bill, James, and a crowd of people were waiting for them when they pulled into Green River that evening. Alvin dropped the back gate on the Bradley, stepping out first. “How’re you all doing?”

Bill just shook his head. “We’re still trying to negotiate for one of these.”

“We’re fine,” Susan said. “We didn’t expect you until the guard called up that you were coming.”

“On the road, there’s not a lot of time to call ahead. Let me introduce Sheriff Ohm from Ely.”

“Sheriff,” Bill greeted the sheriff with a handshake. “What brings you here?”

“The wyvern between our settlements is dead,” Ohm said. “I went with them to watch. They make it look effortless.”

“Alvin is just special that way,” Susan said. “Are you going to stay?”

“No. I need to use the kiosk to buy fast travel so I can get back. I left one of my men in charge, and while he’s pretty solid, I don’t want him to get swamped by some of the settlers that would take advantage.”

“We understand,” Bill grunted. “Follow me.”

“Thanks,” Ohm said, walking off with Bill.

“Are you here to help with the fish-demon?” Susan asked.

“That’s the rough idea, but we need to talk,” Alvin said, looking at the crowd. “Privately.”

“Sure. My office is a good place,” Susan said.

“My base would be better,” Alvin said. “I want to get the Bradley started repairing, anyway.” He fished out two keys and held them out to Susan and James. “Come on.”

“That’s as private as it gets,” Susan laughed.

“I need to check on some things,” James said, not reaching for the key. “I can catch up with you later.”

Susan frowned, but didn’t gainsay him.

“It’ll be quick,” Alvin said, tucking the key into James’ pocket. “Five minutes or less. Come on.”

James’ smile was frozen, but he nodded. “Fine.”

Once they were loaded into the Bradley, Gothy summoned the portal and took them into the garage. The instant they were inside the base, Alvin slammed James into the side of the compartment and forced Gothy’s ring onto James’ finger.

“Alvin, what the hell!?” Susan screamed at him, grabbing at Alvin to try pulling him off James.

“Stop!” Desiree shouted, jumping into the back compartment.

“But he’s attacking James!” Susan shouted back.

“Susan, stop,” James said tiredly as he slumped against the wall. “Fuck... thanks, Alvin.”

“James?” Susan asked, not understanding.

“The fish-demon,” Alvin said, letting James take a seat. “I remembered where I’d seen something like it before.”

James pulled the ring off, handing it back to Alvin. “How’d you know?”

“You were changing,” Alvin said. “Even Susan could see it, but she had no way of guessing. Now, how many others do we need to worry about?”

“I don’t know, but David was there, too,” James sighed.

“What’s going on?” Susan demanded.

“The fish-demon has a type of mind control,” James said, not looking at her. “I was a thrall.”

“That creature is based on something from an old tabletop game,” Alvin said. “They subvert people and make them slaves to their will. James was doing what his master wanted.”

“It was like a god to me,” James shuddered. “I couldn’t disobey it. I was giving it intel on our settlement and about the hunters that would cross the freeway.”

“How?” Susan asked, stunned.

“I was in that first group that encountered it. It subverted me then. That’s the only reason some of us lived. I don’t know if it turned all of us, but it turned me.”

“Hero,” Gothy said, “we need to go see him.”

“We’ll get there,” Alvin said. “James, why didn’t you want to come to the base?”

“Because I knew you were smart and might have an idea of what was happening. I couldn’t refuse too much or you would know, so I tried to buy time. I was going to sneak away to report that the attack would be coming soon.”

“Report?” Susan asked. She was clearly upset, but focused on killing the thing that would dare take her husband from her.

“I have to be within a couple of miles for it to telepathically talk to me. I report to it every other day. That means it’ll know something’s up if I don’t show up tomorrow to report. I told it that you’d come back last time.”

“Okay. David went through a Gate, so he’s safe from it at the moment,” Alvin said, looking at Gothy and holding out her ring. “We’ll be going there next, okay?”

“Yes and no,” Gothy replied. She took the ring back from Alvin, slipping it onto her finger. “I’d hoped you were wrong about this.”

“Me, too, but now we know better. It also means the fetish the shaman gave you might have powers, Susan.”

“It does,” James said. “I could feel the power coming from it and knew it would break my bond.”

“Okay,” Alvin grinned evilly. “Susan, town hall meeting. Pocket the fetish and pull it out during the meeting. We’ll hold the door, just in case anyone tries to run.”

“The range is limited,” James said. “Fifteen to twenty feet, which is why I could go to the office, but not inside.”

“I can give it to Nohel. She hands out drinks during meetings,” Susan said. “That’ll ensure it gets around the room.”

“Be prepared for them to lash out,” James said softly. “We’ve been told to go down fighting if exposed.”

“We’ll deal with it,” Alvin said grimly. “Devs, fuck you and your mind-fucking creatures.”

“When do we do this? Was this why you wanted to talk privately?” Susan asked.

“Sort of. Nellis is possibly willing to send some bombers to help us kill it. I need to know what split you’d offer them for the help.”

“It needs to die,” Susan said grimly. “I’ll offer half of everything the settlement gets.”

Alvin nodded. “I’ll send the message. Split it in fourths, if that’s okay? A quarter for them, a quarter for the settlement, a quarter for us, and a quarter for anyone else who can help.”

“Can you withstand it?” James asked.

“With our armor, the fetishes from Johnny, and some food with the right buffs...” Alvin wiggled his hand. “Possibly? We haven’t stacked them all to see how high we can get the resistances. We’re the best bet to kill it, though, with or without the bombers.”

“Okay. I agree to the split if they do,” Susan said. “If not, then thirds.”

“Done,” Alvin said. “Arrange the meeting and I’ll be there shortly.”

“Yes, but let’s say two hours?” Susan asked before going to stand in front of James, who didn’t look up at her. “James?”

“Yeah?”

“Please look at me?”

James swallowed hard and looked up at her, ashamed of being controlled by the fish-demon.

“I do not blame you. If you could’ve stopped it, you would have. I will kill it for daring to harm you and our home.”

James swallowed again as he got to his feet and embraced Susan gently. “It was a nightmare... I wanted to tell you... to go to you.”

“Shh,” Susan shushed softly, soothing him.

Alvin motioned with his head toward the door. He and his wives left to give the couple a moment alone.

~
*
~
*
~

Two hours later, the group was inside the settlement cafeteria. They’d greeted the people they knew, but just shrugged when asked if they knew what the meeting was about. Susan and Nohel were the last two to arrive.

“Gothy,” Nohel said softly, stopping next to them, “can we talk later, please?”

Gothy gave the young woman a long glance before replying, “Once we’ve dealt with the main reason for us being here.”

“Thank you,” Nohel said, then turned to look at Alvin. “I’m sorry for the last time, sir. I’ve been speaking with Terry every night since then. Will you give me a chance to be better than I was?”

Alvin’s eyebrow went up at her calm and deferential question. “I don’t hold your hate against you, Nohel. My wives aren’t as forgiving, though.”

Nohel nodded, looking at Mousie and Desiree. “I’m sorry about before. Could we speak together later?”

Alvin had a bad feeling about Nohel’s wanting to apologize to everyone, but he didn’t say anything.

“We’ll be there when you speak with Gothy,” Mousie said flatly.

“As Mousie said,” Desiree added, though she had a touch more warmth to her voice.

“Thank you. I have a task to complete, so please excuse me.”

“Hero?” Gothy asked, seeing his concern.

“She’s going to try again,” Alvin said simply. “I don’t see where she’d fit into our life.”

Gothy nodded. “She wouldn’t, not right now… but if she’s learned and something changes?”

Alvin chuckled softly. “I find it hard to tell you no.”

Gothy smiled softly, her hand squeezing his briefly. “I know, but I also won’t abuse that.”

“She’ll have to be very convincing,” Mousie said. “After what she said about Hero last time, I’ll not forgive easily.”

Gothy put her arm around Mousie’s waist, drawing her closer. “I know. You’re right to be protective of our Hero.”

Alvin found Nohel in the crowd— she had gathered a cart and began moving through the room, offering drinks to people. Susan walked slowly to the stage. Most eyes were focused on her, but Alvin made a mental note of the few who were more interested in Nohel.

Pulling up his interface, he used the battle map feature to put kill markers on each person who was leery of Nohel. “Ladies,” he murmured over the radio, using the throat mics to be unheard by everyone else, “these six are the ones we need to watch closely. Remember: we’re nice until they become violent, then we put them down hard.”

“Roger.”

“Understood.”

“We know, Hero. Are we going to split one per?”

“Since James and Bill are with us, yes. James, you’ve got the orange circle. Bill, blue box. Mousie, skull. Desiree, diamond. Gothy, you get the red lips. Focus on only your own target so they can’t slip off or get in a sneak attack.”

Both Bill and James gave small nods as they took up flanking positions next to Susan on the stage. Gothy, Mousie, and Desiree began to drift to different parts of the room, and Alvin stayed where he was.

“Sorry for the late meeting,” Susan began with a smile. “We have good news... great news, really. Our friends have come back to help us finally get rid of our biggest problem.”

Nohel was approaching the first marked target, and Bill tensed slightly. The woman got up and began to go for the exit where Alvin was.

“Bill, switch to mine. I got her,” Alvin said.

Susan watched the woman start to leave and called out to her, “Marcia? Is something wrong?”

Marcia didn’t slow down. In fact, she started to walk faster and covered her stomach. “Sorry, it was the beans. I’ll be back quick.”

“Of course,” Susan said, catching Alvin’s eye before she turned back to the room at large. “Where was I?”

Alvin let Marcia go past him, then followed her out and down the hall. Summoning his K-bar, Alvin jogged to catch up to her. His knife was being held against his forearm, hidden from her. “Marcia? Are you okay?” Alvin put all the concern he could into his tone.

Marcia slowed, looking back to find him nearly on top of her. “Yes, I just—”

Alvin slammed into her, covering her mouth with his hand as he stabbed her repeatedly. Marcia wasn’t prepared for his sudden attack, nor his strength. By the time she realized what was happening, she was dead.

Alvin looted the body and went back to the cafeteria, glad his clothing was self-cleaning— the gore and blood vanished when the body was looted. A dozen feet short of the room, the sound of gunfire exploded from the confined space, and Alvin rushed for the door.

Turning into the room, Alvin had his Type 56 in hand and ready to fire. What he found was everyone but his group and those on the stage laying on the ground. Five bodies littered the floor among the terrified crowd.

“Everyone, please, calm yourselves,” Susan said primly. “Those five, plus Marcia, were under mind control by the fish-demon. Now, please resume your seats.”

Mousie and Desiree were already looting the bodies. It earned them some worried looks from everyone but the few who trusted them.

“How do you know they were being controlled?” someone asked just loudly enough to be heard, but not pinpointed.

“Nohel?” Susan motioned to the young woman.

Nohel picked up the fetish from the cart and went to Susan, handing it over before moving back to the cart.

“This fetish, given to us by our friendly allies to the north, was able to detect them. It’s why Marcia rushed off and why Claude suddenly pulled his gun.”

“Why did the others die?”

“Because they also pulled guns,” Bill barked. “If you’d been paying attention, you would’ve seen it. Those six would’ve killed us all, handed us over to the fish-demon, and been happy to do so.”

The room went silent, and Susan sighed. “I’m sorry. This was my fault. It never should have come to this, but it did because we’re about to fight the thing.”

“What?” someone shouted in shock.

“We have allies who can fight and kill it,” Susan said calmly, and everyone looked as Alvin and his wives. “They’re part of it, but the other is Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. They’re sending over two bombers tomorrow. They’ll do the majority of the work for us, but we need those few who would brave death and madness to follow us. Alvin and his family have offered to help with that, since they have gear to resist mind effects. We can offer some help, but there’s no guarantee that you won’t succumb.”

“I’ll go,” a soft voice filled the momentary silence, and the flute player, Sophie, got to her feet. “This is for our home.”

Gee and his friends quickly stood, as well. “If one of us goes, the whole hunting team goes.”

Nigel looked on fearfully, but he didn’t gainsay Sophie. He just took her hand in his and gave her a worried smile.

Another older set of hunters stood up and offered to go. More started to follow, but Susan called out for them to stop.

“We can only let two groups go. It’s all we have gear for,” Susan said. “The first two groups that offered will be the ones to assist. Alvin is the raid leader— coordinate with him. Everyone else, please take tonight and tomorrow until noon to wish them well. It’s time to take back our town, and these few are the ones that stand between us and the monster.”

Alvin summoned a portal and pulled out a set of keys, motioning the two hunter groups to the side of the room. “Hunters, this way. We have a lot of work before sleeping tonight.”

Chapter Twenty-nine

Alvin yawned when Jarvis woke them by knocking on the bedroom door. “We’re awake.”

“Breakfast will be ready in five minutes,” Jarvis replied.

“They better appreciate us,” Gothy grumbled as she pushed herself out of bed.

“If they’re smart, they will,” Desiree added, crawling off the other side.

“Or we can kill them?” Mousie asked.

“No,” Alvin chuckled, rolling the dark-skinned Elf over him so she could get out of bed easier. “Normally, yes, but we want to stay friendly with Green River.”

“If we must,” Mousie said, trailing the other two to the bathroom.

Alvin shook his head as he finally pried himself out of bed. “Not like they could stop us if we wanted to kill them, not anymore. The Turtle alone would’ve been enough to wipe them out, but the Bradley would be overkill. Hell, that gun turned on us would even be overkill.”

Lips pursed, he made his way to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

“What’s for breakfast, Jarvis?” Alvin asked once he’d stepped out of the bedroom a few minutes later.

“Terror worm strips in a breakfast burrito. They’re taking the place of bacon or sausage. I made enough to feed you all and everyone training with you last night.”

“Thanks, buddy.”

“I do want to see you live through the day,” Jarvis said. “The miss would be terribly upset if you died, after all.”

“Damned right I would,” Gothy said.

“As would we,” Mousie added. Desiree nodded along with her statement.

“Not that I want to die,” Alvin snorted.

“We’ll get the food, Hero, if you want to grab the fetishes for you three,” Gothy said.

“See you at the Bradley,” Alvin said, heading toward the garage.

Alvin picked out three of the fetishes Johnny had sent them and gave them a good look over.

Shaman mind fetish

One-time use item, usable for ten minutes once activated.

Gives the wearer a 50% resistance to mental influence.

“Added with the armor giving us a bonus, it’d total seventy-five percent resistance,” Alvin smiled. “I wonder how much bonus the food gives?”

“We’ll find out,” Gothy said, stepping into the kiosk room. “Ready?”

“Yup.” Alvin handed fetishes to Desiree and Mousie. “Gothy, you’re the driver. I’m commander, and Desiree gets the gun this time. If it goes over five minutes, be ready to change with Mousie.”

“Roger.”

“Understood.”

“I want to shoot the stupid fish,” Gothy grumbled.

“Convince Desiree to trade with you and give her your ring,” Alvin said.

Gothy shook her head. “I was just complaining. Your plan stands.”

“Okay, let’s go feed everyone and kill us a fish-demon.”

~
*
~
*
~

The other hunters were in the main yard when the Bradley came out of the base portal. A number of them looked relieved when the vehicle appeared. Alvin stepped out of the back hatch and went over to them.

“Breakfast or brunch,” Alvin told them, handing each a burrito. “Eat up and make sure you have the fetishes Susan can give you. As long as you do what we practiced, you’ll survive and reap the rewards.”

Gee and his group, including Sophie, started eating right away. The other group was a little slower to dig in. Bill grunted as he took the last burrito from Alvin, giving him a nod.

“We don’t have radio contact with the planes yet, but they should be here,” Susan said to the group. “You’re our hope of a safe home. We’ll have the infirmary ready, just in case.”

Grandma Terry came walking toward Alvin, and he stood up straighter. “Alvin, you’ll be safe?”

“My resistances are maxed,” Alvin told her, tapping his scaled armor. “The others won’t be as good, but with the food and the fetishes, they should be nearly immune.”

“Thank you for saving my James,” Terry said, her eyes glittering. “You’ll have dinner at the inn tonight?”

“Sure,” Alvin said. “A celebration feast.”

“Yes,” Terry agreed, motioning him to bend down. When Alvin bent down, Terry kissed him on the cheek. “I need to get back to the food, so don’t make an old woman cry.”

“No, ma’am,” Alvin said, watching her go.

“She can make even him listen,” someone from the group murmured, getting Alvin’s attention.

“Eat, grab your shit, get in your vehicles, and let’s go,” Alvin said simply, turning back toward the Bradley.

“We’re having dinner here tonight?” Mousie asked when he stepped back inside the vehicle.

“Terry insisted,” Alvin said. He stepped into the commander’s position and stood on his seat to pop the hatch. “Gothy, ready when you are.”

Alvin watched the others jog for their vehicles, then looked over at Susan and James, who were standing by the door to the bunker. James raised his hand, and Alvin waved back to him before turning to face the gate being moved out of the way.

~
*
~
*
~

No one spoke on the radio during the short drive out of the settlement toward the river. Alvin hoped the fish-demon would act like they expected it to— abolloth were ancient, malevolent creatures in the role-playing game Alvin knew them from, known for their intelligence and ability to plot. His hope was that the creature wouldn’t expect death from above.

Gothy turned them onto 9 th
Avenue, and Alvin felt the tingle of excitement build. James had explained what he knew of the previous plan to kill it, and how the easiest way to draw it in would be to do what it expected for the first part of the battle.

Alvin glanced to the south side of the road, which had once been farming fields. Those fields had mines planted in them by James, but not nearly as tightly as they should’ve been.

This is a game of ‘I know, you know’ to see if the fish-demon thought out contingency plans for our twist,
Alvin thought as they crossed Green River Boulevard. “Comm check,” he snapped over the radio.

“Young’uns read you,” Gee replied.

“Geezers read you,” Sam, the head of the other hunters’ group, grunted, still hating the tag Alvin had given them.

“Wild Bill, five-by-five,” Bill said.

“We’re banking on our allies being here. Do your part and even if they don’t show, we can do this,” Alvin reassured them. “We’re locked and loaded.”

“Copy,” Gee said.

“Roger,” Sam added.

“Roger,” Bill finished.

“Hero,” Desiree asked without transmitting, “do you think he’ll be okay out there by himself?”

“If anyone would be, it’s him,” Alvin replied. “Besides, he has my damned rifle. He’d better not break it.”

“Slowing approach,” Gothy said.

“The river is starting to churn,” Alvin said. “Remember the plan.”

“I’m zeroed in,” Bill said.

The river seemed to explode as the fish-demon slammed into the river bank. The tentacles it used as legs helped it rise fifteen feet into the air, and it glared at them with its three red eyes.

Both the back vehicles jerked off the road and sped away, and the Bradley came to a dead stop a few hundred feet from it. The fish-demon hesitated for a moment before starting to come forward.

“Now, Gothy! Run for it!” Alvin shouted.

Gothy pushed the Bradley into a hard turn. As she did, Desiree smiled— the turret was facing the correct way already.

Seeing the last vehicle turn tail and run, the fish-demon charged forward, following them toward the minefield. Alvin watched as the creature turned its body away from the north, one of its eyes no longer glowing as brightly as the other two.

“It works!” Bill called out over the radio, already sighting back in on the fish-demon’s eyes.

A strong feeling washed over Alvin, and he let fear show on his face as he dropped back into the commander’s spot. “Confirmed that it doesn’t know we’re immune yet. It just tried to pulse us.”

“We’ve got a problem,” Gee said over the radio. “Geezers aren’t following the plan.”

Alvin cussed and stood up to reacquire the hunter group. Sam’s group was now speeding away due north.

“Sam didn’t resist,” another of the Geezers said over the radio. “We’re trying to take over.”

“Fuck,” Alvin hissed, but he didn’t panic. He’d known there was a chance that this might happen. “Desiree, go hot.”

“Roger that,” Desiree replied as the Bushmaster and auxiliary gun began to fire.

The fish-demon didn’t slow— it rushed at them, enraged that these puny creatures would dare injure it. It knew about the explosives, but knew they wouldn’t harm it nearly enough to matter.

“Mousie, ready?” Alvin asked.

“Ready, Hero.”

“When it reaches us.”

“Understood.”

The mucus membrane of the fish-demon was being blasted away, but the viscous fluid was inches thick, so even the big gun wasn’t enough to clear an area before it recovered.

Tentacles lashed out to grab the Bradley, and Alvin ducked just before the explosives that’d been set went off. Heavy thuds echoed inside the vehicle as the fish-demon hammered it with tentacles. Another wave of energy washed over the group and Gothy slammed on the brakes, making the fish-demon crash into the back. Alvin slammed the copula shut, locking it as Desiree continued to fire point-blank.

“Coming in from the south,” Gee announced.

“I got another hit on the eye, and it’s dark,” Bill announced. “Seemed to piss it off even more.”

“Yeah, we noticed!” Alvin grunted, the tentacles pounding on the Bradley sounding like a kettledrum.

“This is Breakneck to Green River. Come in Green River,” a new voice came up on the radio.

“This is All In, Breakneck. Glad you made it,” Alvin replied. “We’re already engaged.”

“Copy that, All In. I got Foxy and Glider on my wings and we’ve got the packages to drop. Recommend you G.T.F.O. from the engagement area.”

“Copy. Might not happen. Santa us, anyway.”

“All In, you won’t survive if we do that,” Breakneck came back quickly.

“Watch us!” Alvin snapped. “We’ll be doing our best to get out, but drop regardless.”

“Copy that, All In. We’re coming in as fast as we can.”

“Stay at max altitude. It’s all sorts of pissed,” Alvin reminded them.

“Copy that. We’ve been briefed,” Breakneck responded.

“Going to explosive ammo,” Desiree said calmly as she changed the feed over.

“My poor baby,” Gothy grumbled, thinking of what was about to happen to the Bradley. “Hero, I want another one if this breaks ours.”

“So do I,” Alvin said grimly.

“It’s ignoring us,” Gee said. “We’ll break the moment we catch sight of the planes.”

“Scratch that. Go now,” Alvin said. “It’s taken the bait. Geezers, you, too. Go now.”

“Copy,” Gee said.

“Letting Sam stay driver,” a Geezer replied.

“I got a lock,” Bill said. “Breakneck, you reading?”

“Reading signal. Not in range yet,” Breakneck replied.

The fish-demon recoiled as soon as the explosive ammo started hitting it, chunks of its mucus being blasted away with each shot. The moment it let go, the Bradley lurched forward, free of the beast.

“Switch back,” Alvin said immediately. “We don’t want it to run.”

“Roger,” Desiree said, switching back to APDS rounds.

The fish-demon turned to run, but when the explosives stopped, it hesitated and mucus began to cover its exposed parts again.

“In range. Dropping in three… two… one… Package delivered. Good luck, All In.”

“Copy that. Gothy, run. Desiree, stop firing. Bill?”

“Maintaining lock,” Bill replied.

“Please let this work...” Alvin muttered.

“It’s chasing again,” Desiree said as she fired a couple of rounds, trying to make it hesitate a little.

“Hero, what do we do?” Gothy asked as she sped along 9 th
Avenue.

“Wait for the bombs and hope.”

“It stopped,” Desiree said.

“Fuck! It got Gee!” Sophie yelled over the radio.

“It knows,” Alvin cursed. “Fire at the tentacles, Desiree. We need to slow it down. Gothy, we’re going to have to chase it.”

“Negative!” Bill yelled. “Stay back! Incoming!”

“I can hear them,” Mousie said.

“Full stop!” Gothy yelled.

The Bradley was knocked onto its side when the triple explosions went off. Everyone inside was thrown into the wall, or what was now the floor to them. Alvin was the first one to pop a hatch and climb out.

“No visual,” Bill said over the radio.

“Sorry, guys,” Gee said sheepishly. “I’m better now.”

Alvin coughed, the dust thick, but he could see chunks of the fish-demon scattered all over the crater he was in. He could also see the depth and width of the crater, and the reason why the Bradley was on its side. A feral smile came to him as he jumped down off the Bradley and approached the nearest chunk.

“Breakneck, you above us still?”

“Waiting for report,” Breakneck replied.

“Here’s your loot,” Alvin said as he looted the body.

“Confirm— target neutralized,” Breakneck said. “Mission over. Returning to base.”

“Nice of you to take the mission and watch over us, Cumberland,” Alvin chuckled.

“Glad you were right about the XP and loot,” Breakneck laughed back.

Three planes came back low, one of them giving a waggle before flying back west. Alvin watched them go, then looked back at the Bradley. His wives were climbing out and a portal was a few feet in front of it.

“B52 and a couple of fighters?” Gothy asked as they flew off.

“Yes to the first, but I have no idea what the fighters were,” Alvin replied.

“Packing up,” Bill said happily. “I’ll return your rifle tonight.”

“Agreed,” Alvin said. “See you back at Green River. Geezers, you good?”

“Good,” Sam muttered, clearly upset and embarrassed.

“Could’ve happened to anyone. Just took a bit longer for me,” Gee said.

“Yeah.”

“See you all back at base,” Alvin said.

“Copy.”

“Copy.”

“Home first?” Gothy asked.

“Got to let her start to repair,” Alvin nodded.

“Hero,” Desiree said, “I know what to call her.”

“Oh?”

“‘Bunker.’ She’s as tough as one of our bunkers back home.”

Alvin grinned. “Bunker it is.”

“Not bad,” Gothy smiled.

“Very apt,” Mousie nodded.

“Let’s go home and get ready for tonight’s dinner,” Alvin said.

Chapter Thirty

Leaving the bedroom behind, Alvin found Jarvis seated at the table, speaking to a dev. “Why am I not surprised?” Alvin asked, announcing himself to the two men.

“Because you know as well as we do that vehicles are broken,” the dev said.

“They do make things easy mode,” Alvin agreed. “We paid for them in blood, sweat, and XP, though. Feels like a dick move to change them now.”

“Yeah, I’m sure things are already starting to snowball now that Team Asshole knows,” the dev sighed.

“Guys, give them a chance to explain first,” Alvin said to the ceiling. “Okay…?” Alvin trailed off, clearly fishing for a name.

“Renato, and yes, I’m currently the face of the dev team.”

“Okay, Renato, go ahead and explain things to us.”

Renato watched Alvin as he took a seat at the table. “Okay... the rework on vehicles is going to separate the durability from the fuel, and Fuel runes are being done away with. Only the most idiotic person didn’t slap them on a vehicle anyway, but now, you don’t have to worry about fuel for any vehicle.”

“Another rune slot to use for something else, nice.”

“Armor on all vehicles is being cut in half to bring them back into line. We’re also going to stop the stacking of Durability runes on vehicles. Every vehicle currently equipped with Fuel runes will get the spots back empty and ready for use. If more than a single Durability rune was used, they’ll be rounded up to the next best rune, and that rune will be the only one left on the vehicle.”

“Wait...” Alvin said. “The Durability runes are going to merge and round up, but how does that work with the current armor being cut in half?”

“All armor is being cut down to half of its original value, then the new runes will apply to them.”

“An overall nerf, with the only winners being those who stacked Durability runes.”

“Ruffian is also being modified and brought into line with the other vehicles,” Renato said.

Alvin glared at Renato. “What?”

“It has the same armor as the Bradley, and you know it shouldn’t.”

“True... it shouldn’t even have more armor than the Turtle. Doesn’t mean I approve of you mucking with my old gear.”

“It’s not all bad,” Renato said quickly. “The battle armor is being given an upgrade in armor value. They really should be better.”

“How much better?”

“Double base armor value before runes.”

“That’s not bad,” Alvin said.

“All armor gear is being reworked similarly to vehicles,” Renato pressed on with a sickly smile. “Only a single Durability rune will be allowed to be applied.”

“Including old gear?” Alvin asked pointedly.

“No. They’re going to leave your duster and other old gear alone. It’s thought it’ll be outdated by gear with more slots for Resistance runes.”

“What about weapons?” Alvin asked, not pressing about the armor.

“We feel like stacking durability there has a purpose, especially for the bigger guns. The trade-off of durability for other damage types is fine. We have enough data to prove that it’s worthwhile.”

“What about Sammi?” Alvin asked suddenly, trying to trip Renato up.

“She’s fine, should be jo—” Renato cut off and glared at Alvin. “That was cheap.”

“A little,” Alvin chuckled.

“I’ve been okayed to tell you, and by telling you, everyone,” Renato said slowly. “Sammi will be one of the few alpha testers for the full dive equipment. She should be in the game in a day or two.”

“Where’s she going to spawn?”

Renato shook his head, clearly not going to tell him.

“So the game is going to be allowing others to join?”

“Alpha testing is slated to take a while, then a selected beta test... you know how it works,” Renato said.

“Yeah.”

“Maybe two years for everything to be vetted and approved for people joining the game.”

“This has to deal with the original purpose of my brain being pasted, right?”

“I’m not allowed to talk about that yet.”

“What’s to stop the gaming world from coming in and just slaughtering everyone?”

“The same thing that stops you,” Renato said. “A single life. Everyone who registers will have a hard-locked account, and when they die with no extra lives, that’s it. They’ll never be able to play again.”

“Hard mode,” Alvin chuckled. “Nice.”

“There’s going to be a tutorial part like you had to experience before they get to join the game, too, and if they die there, no more tries. Once they finish with that, they’ll be able to keep their gear when they join the world.”

“Makes sense.”

“When do you plan to gut everything for the fixes?”

“Tomorrow, but we’ll be locking out rune additions starting right now to make sure no one— mostly you— can game the system by suddenly stacking durability.”

Alvin laughed and shrugged. “Guilty. I would have.”

“Hero?” Gothy asked, coming out of the bedroom.

“Gothy, this is Renato, the new face of the dev team. Sammi will be in-game in a few days, but I have no idea where she’s spawning yet. Hopefully, she messages as soon as she hits a kiosk.”

“Nice. We can get a little dev action,” Gothy smirked.

“
Ex
-dev,” Renato said. “She’s just an alpha tester now.”

“Meh, semantics,” Gothy waved him off.

“He’s back? And behaving?” Mousie asked, her blades in hand when she left the bedroom.

“Renato is proving himself a decent person,” Alvin said. “No killing him… unless he provokes us.”

Renato shuddered, looking away from Mousie.

“Does it hurt you when you die?” Alvin asked.

“Simon said it felt real both times. He refused to come back in after the second time.”

“Simon?” Alvin snickered. “Well, he tried to say, and that didn’t work out for him.”

Gothy snorted. “Weak, but just barely funny.”

“That’s everything I came to say,” Renato said. “You can explain it to them. I have to take Jarvis’ idea up the chain.”

“Jarvis’ idea?” Alvin asked, looking at the butler.

“I can explain after you tell them, sir,” Jarvis said. “By the time that’s done, it’ll be dinner in Green River.”

“Huh, okay.” Alvin turned to thank Renato, but he was already gone. “Okay, then… here’s what I was told.”

~
*
~
*
~

“Well, yeah, I understand, but it’s still bullshit,” Gothy said.

“The battle armor getting more armor will be nice,” Desiree said. “Father will be happy.”

“We’ll be heading that way to hand off stuff and check on David tomorrow,” Alvin said. “We’ll have to take the Turtle, though, since Bunker was nearly toasted by those bombs and falling into the crater.”

“How bad?” Gothy asked.

“Under two hundred thousand.”

“The fuck did they use?” Gothy asked.

“No idea. Maybe Susan will have heard,” Alvin said. “I don’t mean to cut this conversation too short, but I still want to hear what Jarvis has to say.”

“I merely pointed out that all the changes they’re going for— the ones they found in Sammi’s notes— were my ideas. The devs are tired of dealing with things. The majority of them just want to fix minor errors and call it a day.”

“Okay, and...?” Alvin prompted Jarvis when he didn’t elaborate further.

“I suggested that I and my remaining contemporary might be better suited for running the game.”

“They can’t accept that, not with all the shit they give us for you trying to tell me something as it is.”

Jarvis looked away from them, clearly unhappy with what he was about to say. “It would require me no longer being here. I’d give up the body and being your AI to co-run the entire system with my fellow AI.”

Alvin blinked, at a loss, never having expected this to happen.

“Alvin, it has been my greatest joy to see you grow and thrive, but I can do so much more.”

“He’s right...” Gothy said softly. “We might not want to lose him, but Jarvis is right, Hero.”

Alvin looked at his hands on the table. “It’s not a given yet, is it?”

“No, sir. I merely suggested the idea be passed up the line. Truthfully, with a little bit of XP spent and with how fast your wives are progressing with cooking, I’m not really needed here. I could streamline, fix, and make things good for you and everyone else. You’d have real challenges, but you’d also have a real chance against everything.”

“Fuck,” Alvin sighed, getting to his feet. “It hasn’t even been three months, but you’ve been with me in one form or another the entire way. The idea of you stepping away…? It hurts.”

Jarvis smiled sadly. “I know, sir. I know. You’re not the only one to have grown during this time. I honestly know what loss is now, what pain and heartache feel like. The joy of being appreciated, and even loved. But that was part of—”

Jarvis froze up, and Alvin snorted. “Fucking assholes.” Moving over, he clapped Jarvis on the shoulder. “I get it, buddy. I do.”

“Hero, are you okay?” Mousie asked gently.

“Yeah. Won’t be the first person I cared for who was taken from me, but he’ll be the last one. He’s right— it makes more sense for him to run this world than those assholes. At least we’ll know we’re not getting screwed deliberately.”

“Are we going to dinner or blowing it off?” Gothy asked.

“We do what we say we’ll do,” Alvin said as he pushed the melancholy away. “We’re going to do dinner with Green River. Terry’s waiting on us, and she reminds me too much of Basha to disappoint her.”

“That explains so much,” Gothy smiled as she took his hand. “Come on. The sooner we go, the sooner we come back.”

~
*
~
*
~

Terry had created a true feast for the settlement, with the help of the other cooks. Everything was Italian, and excellent, from the different types of alfredo to the zabaione. Alvin and his wives sat with Susan, James, and Bill at the table on the stage.

Everyone had heard about the fight from both of the groups that had gone earlier, but the story was being told and retold all throughout dinner. It was during one of the retellings that Alvin learned that the bombs were Mark 84s.

Bill slapped Alvin on the back as the feast was coming to an end. “Can’t believe you all survived those.”

“We almost didn’t,” Alvin replied. “Next time, we won’t.”

“What?” Bill asked, clearly hearing the implied story.

“Devs are going to fuck with shit again,” Alvin shrugged. “All vehicle armor is being changed, Fuel runes are going away, and Durability runes are changing. Big fucking patch again.”

“Haven’t they fucked with us enough?” Bill asked.

“Apparently not. I can’t even blame them. Do you think a Bradley should’ve survived that?”

Bill grimaced. “Maybe not, but life ain’t what it used to be, either.”

“Tomorrow is the changeover, and they’re making sure people can’t cheat the system. Better tell your people to hold onto their good runes for a day or two.”

“I’ll let them know,” Bill said, getting to his feet and walking toward the two hunter groups that had gone with them.

“Alvin, what’re your plans for the future?” Susan asked as she pushed her empty plate away.

“We’ll be leaving tomorrow. Going back to the Dwarves to drop off some stuff and to check on David. After that, we’re going back to heading east, but I hope at altitude. It’ll depend on when Shawn finishes fixing the Huey.”

“Huey?” James asked, leaning forward. “You guys got a chopper?”

“It was badly damaged, but it has armament and can fly,” Gothy smiled. “Once Shawn finishes with it, we’ll pimp it out a bit more, and then no more cross-country driving for us.”

“Do you even know how to fly one of them?”

“We do. We bought the knowledge on the kiosk,” Gothy replied. “We even did some simulations in the training room.”

“That makes sense,” James said. “Won’t that make the dragons and the like even more dangerous?”

“Yeah, but we haven’t seen them going east,” Desiree answered.

“I wonder what the hell is happening that way?” James pondered.

“We’ll let you know,” Alvin said. “I have a few places I want to visit, and who knows what else might happen?”

“Fair enough,” James conceded.

Susan got to her feet, and a microphone appeared in her hand. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she paused, waiting for the crowd to go silent for her, “Alvin and his wives will be leaving us tomorrow. We’d never have known about the trouble in our midst, nor have defeated the fish-demon, without their help and their allies. They have time and again helped us secure our town. As the Overseer of Green River, I hereby set their reputation with the settlement to the maximum: Exalted.”

Most of the room applauded and a few called for a speech. Alvin gave Susan a put-upon look, but she just smiled at him with a twinkle in her eye. Rising to his feet, Alvin took the offered microphone and stood there silently for a few seconds. A number of people began to shift uncomfortably as he looked over the room.

“Green River... I never even knew about this town before I found myself here. I might have fueled up a car here once or twice on a road trip or two, but the town itself was not memorable to me.”

The crowd looked at each other, confused about Alvin’s start.

“Now, though... now, it’s different. Green River is more of a home to me than most places I’d lived before. Friends,” he nodded to Susan and James, “and family,” he smiled at Terry, who smiled back, “live here. I’ve done my best to help make sure this is as safe and secure a place as I could. In time, we’ll be back— maybe for a short visit or maybe for longer, but I’ll make sure Susan is always updated on what I’ve learned and who I’ve met so she can make sure this place stays the haven it is today.”

Sophie was the first one to clap and whistle, but she was soon swallowed up as the majority of the room joined her. Terry wiped a tear from her eye as she gave Alvin a proud smile. Alvin blinked, holding back a tear of his own, as Terry really did remind him of Basha in that moment.

“That’s it, folks. Dinner is over,” Susan said, taking the microphone back. “Party as you see fit.”

As people began to get up and move about, Alvin opened a portal up behind the table they were seated at. “Susan, James, take care. We won’t be back before we leave.”

Susan, James, and the others at the table stood up and said their goodbyes to each other before the family stepped through the portal home.

Chapter Thirty-one

Having spent the night cuddling with his wives, Alvin woke to find a pop-up notification displayed directly in front of him.

All Durability runes have been reworked.

You can no longer stack durability, weapons excluded, as this took away from the other runes.

All vehicles and gear that used these runes have had them condensed or removed.

The armor of all vehicles has been reset to bring them back into a nominal range.

Please check your gear and vehicles to see these changes.

Thank you for understanding. Sincerely, the Dev Team.

Dismissing the notification, Alvin sighed, thinking about all the work they’d have to do on their scaled armor and vehicles before anything else today.

“Hero?” Gothy murmured.

“Yes, my dear succubus?” Alvin asked, looking to where she was clinging to his right arm.

“Is it time to get going?”

Looking over to his left, Alvin saw that the bed was empty. “I think they’re already cooking breakfast.”

“Rinse?” Gothy asked, letting go of his arm and wiping the drool from her chin.

“Gladly,” Alvin said.

~
*
~
*
~

“Morning, sir, miss,” Jarvis greeted them when they came out of the bedroom. “They should be done shortly.”

“You’ll tell us if they take you up on your offer, right, Jarvis?” Alvin asked bluntly.

“I will. I won’t just disappear without saying goodbye, sir.”

“Good,” Gothy said. “I’d get upset if you did.”

“I wouldn’t disappoint the head wife of the house,” Jarvis replied with a small smile.

“Do you know where Sammi spawned?” Gothy asked.

“I do not. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to say without a hefty hit, as it is.”

“Breakfast,” Desiree said, stepping away from the stove.

“We hope you like it,” Mousie added. “It’s just omelets and sides, but Jarvis didn’t help us at all.”

“I’m sure it’ll be amazing,” Alvin smiled.

“Gothy, you promised to speak with Nohel,” Mousie reminded her as she took a seat.

Gothy nodded. “Yeah, I remembered after we got home last night. I can just pop in real quick to speak with her before we go to Ignacio.”

“We also have to rework our gear and vehicles,” Desiree said as she took her seat. “Not that it will take us long. Mousie and I are already set on what we’re going to do.”

“We’ll be filling the holes with Resistance runes,” Mousie said as she sat. “Stacking resistances. They don’t have ones for mental resistance, though, and they should add them.”

“I’m willing to bet they deal with the Resistance runes next,” Gothy said. “They didn’t think that far ahead.”

“Yeah... with all the slots open from durability, it’d be easy to max out a resistance or two,” Alvin said.

“Exactly,” Desiree said. “Of course, since we’re discussing it, they might change them.”

“We’re warning them,” Gothy said as she helped herself to the food. “If they don’t fix it, not our problem.”

“Might need to break cap, in some cases,” Alvin said between bites of food. “The lance of fire from the dragons will probably take more than one hundred percent fire resistance to negate it.”

Gothy nodded slowly, swallowing before she replied with, “That’s a good point. I’m thinking they still haven’t considered everything.”

“They didn’t have all my notes,” Jarvis said. “I’d only given Sammi part of them, as we were discussing how they would impact the overall system.”

“That explains it,” Alvin chuckled.

“Desiree, Mousie, this is very well done,” Jarvis said before taking another bite.

“Thank you, Jarvis,” Desiree smiled.

Mousie nodded to him, her mouth full of food.

“I’ll rune the vehicles, then fast travel to Ignacio,” Alvin told Gothy. “I’ll wait there for you three.”

“Okay,” Gothy said.

~
*
~
*
~

One of the elders was smoking when Alvin appeared in front of him. Coughing hard, the old man dropped his cigarette, trying to blink the rainbow afterimages from his eyes.

“Sorry about that,” Alvin said, only a hint of laughter bleeding through.

“That must be fast travel,” the elder wheezed as he tried to catch his breath.

“Yeah... I keep hoping that stupid rainbow effect will go away.”

“Why have you returned to us, Slayer?” the elder asked suddenly when he noticed who’d teleported in.

“Just passing through,” Alvin said. “Heading up to talk to the Dwarves. How are things here?”

“Mostly peaceful,” the elder said. “We’ve come to terms with our neighbors. They saw the light after they met Brother Wolf.”

“Any problem with fungals?”

“One of our groups who ventured north ran into some, but they destroyed them with fire.”

“Only way to do it,” Alvin agreed.

“I wish you a safe trip north,” the elder said.

“Thanks. I need to wait a bit for the ladies to join me before I leave. Is the center open still?”

“Yes. You are free to access the public areas. Johnny did impress on us that you are one who responds in kind, so I’m trying friendship.”

Alvin laughed, “He’s not wrong. Scoured the area to make sure there are no more babies around?”

“We keep two teams on close patrol just for that,” the elder said, opening the door. “Let’s talk inside while you wait.”

~
*
~
*
~

“Hero?”

“Right here, Gothy,” Alvin replied, getting up from his seat off to the side.

“Sorry it took so long,” Gothy apologized. “We’re ready to go.”

“What vehicle did you summon?”

“Bunker. It might not be in great shape, but the explosive rounds will kill the fungals easier if they’re still there.”

“True, and it’s a sealed vehicle.” Alvin gave her a quick kiss before they walked toward the door. “How’d the talk go?”

“I talked with her and Terry,” Gothy replied. “Nohel’s made real progress in recovering from the trauma.”

“That’s good.”

“Considering her progress and the fact we might lose Jarvis, it had me thinking... We could use a maid if Jarvis leaves.”

Alvin snorted. “That’s your angle?”

“She can cook and clean, and does both well. In addition, she isn’t looking to join us, not in that way. The trauma left her asexual. Nohel firmly believes the safest place is near us. Me, specifically.”

“She’s not wrong about you.”

“Terry thinks Nohel would do well to see us interact daily. If we treat her like a female Jarvis, she’ll recover faster.”

Alvin didn’t respond as they left the building, waiting for her to finish her train of thought.

“There’s more,” Gothy admitted when he didn’t reply right away. “While she’s asexual right now, I think it’s because she doesn’t know how to deal with her own feelings.”

Alvin nodded. “That’s what I thought.”

“She hated it, deeply hated it... it scarred her. But I think it also left an imprint she can’t shake. Maybe over time, seeing that love can accompany certain acts, she might be able to heal in her own way.”

“Lost kitten?”

“She is. Mousie and Desiree want to add in their own thoughts on it, but agreed I’d be the first to bring it up.”

“You’re driving, then,” Alvin said when they reached the Bradley.

“I figured,” Gothy said, stopping him with a hand on his shoulder. “I won’t argue either way you decide after talking with them, Hero, but thank you for considering it.”

Alvin’s smile was soft as he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her softly. “I’ll always listen when you talk, Gothy. Can’t have my other half thinking I don’t care.”

“Are we changing?” Gothy asked.

“I think so. We’ve both accepted the love of the other, and we’re doing everything we can to make each other happy. Each other and our wives. Can’t leave them out.”

“Never.”

“All while still fucking over people who don’t matter to us at all.”

Gothy giggled and kissed him again. “Yes.”

“Get going. We have places to be,” Alvin said, spanking her firm ass.

Gothy laughed and let go of him, going to the driver’s hatch at the front.

“Who’s on the gun?” Alvin asked when he climbed through the back door.

“We were waiting for you to choose,” Desiree said.

“Mousie, you haven’t had the gun often. Did you want it, or do you want to let Desiree kill the fungals?”

Mousie hesitated. “Can I take it next time?”

“I’ll say yes,” Alvin smiled.

“Then I’ll let Desiree have the gun.”

“Thank you,” Desiree said, leaning over to kiss Mousie. “Did Gothy talk to you about Nohel, Hero?”

“Yeah, we can continue this in positions. I’m taking command, so I’ll be able to talk to both of you easily.”

“I understand her better now,” Mousie said. “I’m still not positive she’s learned her lesson, but the elder at Green River seems to think she has. Gothy is interested in giving her the chance. I would just add that if she shows any hint of not respecting you, Hero, she should be removed and never given another chance.”

Alvin nodded as he climbed into the commander’s seat. “I won’t argue your point.”

“I wasn’t there when this problem happened,” Desiree said, “which leaves me as a blank slate for who Nohel is. Talking to her and Grandma Terry, I think I understand— a man who should’ve been a father figure to her turned out to be a beast, instead. Her own mother failed to do what should’ve been done, and Nohel was slowly broken. Men like that are culled from society in my world, as you did when you met him. But in doing so, you reinforced how evil men are.”

“Yeah... that’s how I saw it, too.”

“She fixated on Gothy as her savior, and she became the one who could protect her and guide her. Nohel honestly didn’t mean you harm when she compared you to other men. It’s just how she saw the world. Now, her view has shifted, thanks to Terry. She has hope that you aren’t like the others. She heard of how you’ve helped so many, and killed only those who wronged you or other innocents. While she has Gothy as the figure she should aspire to be, she’s placed hope that you will redeem men in her eyes, too.”

“Wait, what?”

Gothy got the Bradley moving, making the others sway slightly as they finally got underway.

“I shouldn’t be anyone’s role model,” Alvin protested.

“You’re wrong,” Mousie said firmly.

“Mousie is right. You’re wrong, Hero,” Desiree agreed.

“So wrong,” Gothy called through the crawl space separating the gunner and driver.

“Hang on—!” Alvin began before Mousie cut him off by placing a finger on his lips.

“No. You’ve shown me that men can be gentle and loving. You didn’t try to take advantage of me, like so many others would have, even after I pledged my life to you. If that isn’t something all men should aspire to, what is?”

“You put yourself and your wives between death and me,” Desiree continued, not giving him a chance to interrupt. “You give me what I need without complaint. Not many men would push me to be all I can be in every aspect of our lives, yet you do. You never settle for the easy path if it means you can make your wives happier. How much did you sacrifice to allow me to join you?”

“Hang o—” Alvin tried again, but Gothy’s voice came over the radio.

“Hero... You saved me, a brash teenager from a high school full of zombies. You injured your leg, put up with my sass, and never once complained. You killed my abuser, accepted my broken heart, and have helped me accept me for who I am. My heart is full of love. I never would’ve thought it was possible, but it is because of you
. No man— ever— will be a fraction of what you are to me. I didn’t have it as bad as Nohel, but I might have. You are our Hero, but sharing is caring. If you can help us find love and show us how to accept ourselves, maybe you can for her, too.”

Exhaling, Alvin didn’t try to speak again. He just sat there, thinking about what they’d said. Thinking of Nohel, he wondered if it was right.

“And Hero...” Gothy said softly, “she turned nineteen three days ago. Maybe that’ll make it easier on you?”

“You all seem to be on board with this idea. I’m willing to give it a try, but Mousie’s caveat stands. If she disrespects any of us or doesn’t fit in, we return her to Green River.”

“Thank you, Hero,” Gothy said.

“I think you’re making the right choice,” Desiree added.

“We’ll help her as long as she truly wants help,” Mousie said.

“Guess we’ll have to head back after this stopover,” Alvin said.

“About that...” Gothy said slowly.

Alvin began to laugh. “She’s already in the base, isn’t she?”

“Yes,” Desiree said with amusement. “Gothy said it was easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”

“She’s not wrong. It’s an old saying,” Alvin snorted. “But someone is going to pay for her presumption later. I think someone’s only going to get to watch tonight.”

“Fuck...” Gothy muttered.

“Maybe he’ll let one of us take care of you while he’s busy with the other one?” Mousie suggested hopefully.

Alvin just laughed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Chapter Thirty-two

They were approaching Hermosa when another pop-up appeared in front of Alvin.

Weekly Quest: Kill 100 creatures worth experience.

This is a mandatory quest and cannot be declined. Failure to complete the quest will result in the loss of a life.

Dismissing it, he chuckled. “Got my weekly quest.”

“Oh?” Gothy asked.

“Kill a hundred mobs.”

Desiree laughed, “We’re approaching a fungal encampment, so this will be easy.”

“That was my thought.”

“I already have the high explosive shells loaded,” Desiree told him. “It should do the job as the explosives do burn.”

“If we still had any of the napalm, I could shoot it out the back,” Mousie sighed. “I’ll just watch Desiree slaughter them all, instead.”

“Should be just up the road near Purgatory,” Alvin said.

“Should we slow down if we don’t see them right away?” Gothy asked.

“No need. The weekly is simple. Besides, there was a damned horde of them there last time. Rather not get stuck in the middle of that.”

“Wouldn’t get stuck,” Gothy said. “The tracks will help me drive over them.”

“Fair, but let’s not make it easy for them, either.”

“You got it, Hero.”

~
*
~
*
~

It was a couple of miles south of Purgatory when Alvin spotted the first fungal outside of the Old Schoolhouse Café. “On the right.”

“See it,” Desiree replied, shifting the turret. “Going hot.”

The fungal looked up just before the Bushmaster fired. Eyes widening, it was about to cry out when the trigger was pulled. The 25mm shell made short work of the creature as it exploded in pieces. The burning pieces went flying, as the explosion had caught the fungal’s flammable innards on fire.

“Holy fuck,” Alvin said. He’d definitely not expected the explosive rounds to burn them that easily.

“Dad will want one or more of these,” Desiree laughed as she tracked the gun to the front of the building, targeting the handful of fungals rushing out.

“To the left at the country square,” Alvin directed her as they passed the now ruined café.

“Roger,” Desiree said happily, spinning the turret to the left.

“Gas pumps there, too,” Alvin told her.

“Oh, bigger fires!” Desiree laughed as she fired at the growing horde of fungals coming toward the road from the stores.

Alvin just shook his head as he watched them break and run after a few seconds. The majority had been shredded or burned from the stream of fire Desiree was putting downfield. He blinked when the gas pumps went up in flames.

“Well, no one’s fueling up there anymore.” Alvin snorted as thick black smoke billowed up along with the large red-orange flames.

“That’s our girl. She’s a firecracker,” Gothy quipped.

“I always thought you were the explosive one,” Alvin replied.

“She is,” Desiree said calmly as she let the gun reload. “I’m much more like a forge: heated and ready for hard work and pounding.”

“And I’m a toy. Take me out to play with and everyone has fun,” Mousie laughed.

“Alright, ladies,” Alvin said. “There are still likely mobs about, and everyone in a few miles range knows something is going on now. Let’s focus on the mobs.”

“Roger.”

“Only Desiree needs to,” Gothy replied. “I can drive and be inappropriate.”

“And I can do anything since I’m just laying back here by myself,” Mousie said suggestively.

Alvin rolled his eyes, but didn’t rise to the bait. Luckily, Desiree had something to distract her a moment later, spotting some fungals in the woods to their left. Mousie gave commentary as she watched, and Gothy laughed along to Mousie’s play-by-play.

The two small resorts and the bar between the burning gas station and Purgatory joined the other buildings in turning into burning piles of wreckage. Alvin idly wondered how many forest fires they might be starting because of the burning fungals running off into the brush.

“Oh, a welcoming committee!” Gothy said happily.

“I’ll soften them up,” Desiree said as she triggered her cooldown. She traced the rounds back and forth over the swarm of fungals that’d been blocking the road.

“Aw, now I won’t be able to run them over...” Gothy pouted as the horde fled.

“I see one of the advanced ones,” Desiree said, shifting her fire to the leader.

“He’s not going to make it,” Alvin laughed.

The fungals who weren’t burning threw globs of green at the vehicle, not understanding that their spores were useless against the Bradley. When the leader joined the burning dead, the other fungals didn’t stick around— they fled into the trees.

“Quest complete,” Alvin snickered. “Thanks.”

“Glad to help,” Desiree said.

“I wonder how those quests are chosen?” Mousie asked.

“Random number generator,” Alvin answered. “Sammi said they were going to be random, and I think they just have an equal chance for any of them being picked.”

“Do you think that a previously chosen quest is given less weight?” Gothy asked.

“No idea. It’d only be that way if they didn’t want the same quest to pop up twice in a row.”

“There’s another small hub of buildings between us and the mountain, if I recall correctly,” Desiree said. “There’s a chance either the fungals or my people have it as a forward post.”

“Find out in a few minutes,” Alvin replied.

~
*
~
*
~

The other small community between Purgatory and Engineer Mountain was abandoned, though most of the buildings had been burnt to the ground. Gothy kept them moving, since no one came out to greet or attack them.

A few minutes later, she pulled off the road and onto the trailhead, stopping when she saw the handful of Dwarves there. Alvin popped the hatch and stood up to wave at them as they stared at the vehicle with wide eyes.

“Is the Gate secured?”

“Commander Brightblood holds the gate,” one of the Dwarves replied.

“Ah, I wonder if my brother-in-law will be happy to see me again?”

“You’re Alvin?” the Dwarf asked.

“Last I checked. Is it clear going up?”

“It’s as secure as we can make it. Did you do that?” The Dwarf pointed at the smoke billowing up into the sky.

“Killed a few hundred fungals,” Alvin chuckled.

“Good. Only good fungal is a burning fungal.”

“Agreed,” Alvin replied. “Have fun on guard duty.”

Gothy got the Bradley moving again. “Almost there now.”

“I wonder how he’s doing?” Desiree murmured as she sat back in her seat.

“As long as the dragon left them alone, I’m sure they’re fine,” Alvin replied.

“You’re probably right.”

The Bradley went up the slope without problems. When they got to the top, Alvin grinned at the activity taking place. Hundreds of Dwarves in battle armor were working around the Gate. The Gate itself had been enclosed on three sides by a large metal covering. To the side of it, against the small cliff that made up the mountain peak, more Dwarves were coming and going from an archway that clearly denoted an entrance.

“Making it like home,” Alvin said.

“It’ll be a guard point,” Desiree said. “Might hold a few thousand of us to start with.”

“I wonder if they have a kiosk set up?” Alvin thought out loud.

“We’ll find out,” Gothy said.

“Soon, too,” Alvin replied, his eyes on a detachment of armored figures running toward them.

Gothy paused the Bradley when the figures got close enough to talk to Alvin.

“Human, what brings you?”

“I’d say my feet, but it was actually the tracks of the Bradley,” Alvin replied.

“This is a secure location,” the Dwarf growled. “I ask you again, what—?”

“Is Commander Brightblood in?” Alvin cut the Dwarf off. “Tell him his sister, sister-in-laws, and brother-in-law are here.”

The Dwarf stayed silent for a moment before he grunted. “Your words have been relayed. Follow us.”

“Sure thing.”

The Dwarves fell in around the vehicle, running along at a good clip. All of them but the first one were giving the Bradley a good lookover.

“Is that the vehicle we’ve heard rumors of?” one of them asked.

“Depends on what you’ve heard,” Alvin said.

“That it’s stronger than battle armor, can kill fungals by the score, and keeps the spores at bay.”

“It does all that,” Alvin agreed. “It’s also killed dragons, drakes, wyverns, and even worse.”

“Worse?”

“Fish-demon was the worst so far,” Alvin said. “The Greys aren’t easy, either. Their damned particle weapons can really fuck up our day.”

“Greys?”

“Ask your boss later,” Alvin said. “It’s a long story.”

The leader snapped out a command in Dwarvish, not knowing Alvin could understand him: “Silent on the right. We’re escorting them in. The commander will speak to them.”

Alvin looked at the Dwarf who’d just been chewed out and shrugged.

They were brought to the entrance of the new settlement and asked to disembark the vehicle, which wasn’t small enough to go inside. When the four of them climbed out, the guards all saluted Desiree.

“I’m not of rank anymore,” Desiree replied, but returned the salute. “Please take me to my brother.”

“I’ll take them from here,” a soft voice said.

“Brunild,” Desiree smiled. “Brother brought you over?”

“It was that or a longer than normal time apart, and I didn’t want that. Will you introduce me to your family?”

“Hero, Gothy, Mousie, this is Brunild, my brother’s wife.”

“Nice to meet you,” Alvin said for the group.

“It’s nice to meet the man who finally got Desiree to settle down. We had long thought she would stay single forever,” Brunild chuckled. “Though with wives such as these to be with, I can see why she was swayed so easily.”

“We were very happy she agreed,” Gothy smiled. “We’d have been sad if she hadn’t.”

“I can understand. If you’ll follow me, we can interrupt my husband’s normal day with good news.”

“Lead on,” Desiree said. “I’m sure he’s hoping for a break from the reports.”

“He always is. I take pity a few times a week and bring him lunch.”

“Boxed lunch,” Gothy murmured.

Brunild looked puzzled, and Alvin snorted. “It’s a way of saying you bring him yourself as the meal.”

Brunild laughed. “She isn’t wrong. Some might find it crudely put, but I could never find fault with the ones who’ve given us so much hope against the fungals and brought such tasty food into our lives.”

“Any chance we can visit the kiosk if you have one?” Alvin asked as they followed her.

“It’s on the way. I was sure you’d like the option to travel straight here.”

“We do. Is there another settlement on the other side of the Gate?”

“It’s still coming together. They don’t have a mountain to work with, but yes, there’s a settlement with a kiosk there, too. The King took your advice to heart.”

“Getting to the capital will be so much easier than last time,” Alvin smiled.

“If one has fast travel, it is,” Brunild agreed. “The clans have invested a lot into securing the path between the Gate and the clan halls. Once they’ve established fast travel, I’m thinking they might do away with the exterior roads. Why risk the worst when one can just step from clan hall to clan hall?”

“True that,” Gothy replied.

“Here’s the kiosk,” Brunild said, leading them off to the side where a dozen Dwarves stood in line.

“Guess we get in line,” Alvin said.

“Yes. No one here gets special treatment. Even my husband and I have to stand in line to wait.”

“Weird,” Alvin said. “I would think that the commander would at least be able to get to the kiosk, if needed.”

“He could declare it an emergency and do so,” Brunild said, “but there’s no need if it’s just a routine matter. It also makes it more effective if there is a dire reason.”

“Fair enough.”

It wasn’t a long wait, as none of the Dwarves dawdled when they got to the front of the line. Alvin and his wives didn’t, either, just tapping it long enough to add it to their known locations.

“Very well. Let us go,” Brunild smiled.

They were taken down several sloped halls before Brunild stopped next to an archway and cleared her throat. “Husband, we have guests.”

“Bring them in,”
Eoforhild replied.

The interior of the room was lit with lumios lanterns. Across the room, a massive desk had been carved from the stone, behind which sat Desiree’s brother.

Looking up from his paperwork, a smile crossed
Eoforhild
’s lips as he got to his feet. “Desiree, it’s good to see you again.”

“Brother. It’s good to see you, too. How have you been?”

“Making do. It’s different, setting up a new clan holding. At least the stone here is strong.”
Eoforhild turned to Alvin and his smile dimmed. “It’s good to see you all again.”

“Glad you survived,” Alvin said. “Desiree would’ve been upset.”

“To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“On our way to speak with your father,” Alvin said. “Desiree wanted to stop in to check on you.”

“You’ve brought us help time and again. I’ve been meaning to apologize for my attitude when we first met.”

“No worries,” Alvin said, “I didn’t take it personally. Besides, in-laws are supposed to give each other trouble.”

“Are we?” Brunild asked Desiree.

“Their world is rife with accounts of it,” Desiree told her.

“How odd,” Brunild said. “I should get that Human knowledge book so I can better understand.”

“Make sure you’re in bed when you do,” Desiree said. “It’s decidedly unpleasant. You’ll pass out and have a headache afterward.”

“Hmm... very odd.”

“Has the dragon come back to trouble you?” Alvin asked.

“No, thankfully. We are ready to repel it if it does show up, though. We’ve brought some of our bigger weapons just for it.”

“Have the fungals been a problem?” Gothy asked.

“They’ve probed a couple of times, but no other serious attacks have been made. Our scouts have clashed with theirs repeatedly, but with the… napalm… we’ve won every time.”

“That explains the blackened trees at the base of the mountain,” Alvin chuckled.

“It’s remarkable stuff. The King has said we’ll be getting the first war vehicle, too.”

“Oh? One made at home or bought?” Alvin asked.

“Bought. The Army sold him some for battle armor.”

“I’m sure they did.”

“I’m glad we got a chance to patch up our rough start,” Eoforhild said, “but I shouldn’t keep you.”

“I’m glad, too,” Desiree said.

“Let me walk you to the Gate,” Eoforhild said. “I should be seen by the men, as it is.”

“And afterward, we have lunch still, dear,” Brunild said with a small smile.

Eoforhild laughed. “As you command, keeper of my heart.”

Chapter Thirty-three

Appearing in Mithril, Alvin looked around at the city and all of the curious people looking their way.

“Where did you come from?” a Dwarf in a black bodysuit asked.

“The Gate,” Alvin said. “Fast travel is amazing, but fucking hell, I wish they’d do away with the light show.”

“We’re here to speak to the King,” Desiree added.

“Ah, yes. It’s good to see you again, Sergeant,” the Dwarf saluted.

“I’m no longer in the service,” Desiree replied. “I married and ended my term.”

“Understood.”

“Why are you posted here?” Desiree asked.

“To make sure anyone who travels in is supposed to be here,” the Dwarf replied.

“But anyone who fast traveled in would have to have been here before,” Alvin said.

“Is that right?” the Dwarf asked Desiree.

“Yes. The person needs to have added the kiosk as a known location,” Desiree said. “I’ll explain it to the King. Have a good day.”

“Thank you,” the Dwarf said, stepping back to stand beside the kiosk.

“Summon Ruffian?” Gothy asked. “No need for the Turtle or Bunker.”

“Yeah, we don’t give her enough action,” Alvin said. “Mousie?”

Mousie summoned Ruffian and moved to the driver’s door. “I get to drive.”

Alvin laughed as he watched Gothy’s lips purse. “I’m not in this fight.”

“Gothy, you gave me Ruffian. Should I not be the one to drive her?” Mousie asked.

“I want a kiss,” Gothy said, stepping forward and pushing Mousie against the side of the car.

“As you decree, Gothy,” Mousie said breathlessly as she surrendered to Gothy’s lips.

“Shotgun,” Desiree snickered.

“Fuck,” Alvin laughed. “I was distracted.”

“I know.”

“You two better keep it toned down. We’re in public,” Alvin said as he got into the back.

When Gothy broke the kiss, she slipped into the backseat next to Alvin. “Worth not driving and missing shotgun.”

“It looked like it was,” Alvin said.

“Besides, I get to be back here with you,” Gothy smirked.

“Ah, now I see why you didn’t complain,” Alvin laughed as she reached for his belt. “Might as well make this quick so we don’t have to explain at the palace gates.” Grabbing a handful of her dark hair, Alvin gave her a wink.

~
*
~
*
~

“We need to see my father,” Desiree explained to the guards on the gate. “Also, where is the Human, David Woodrow?”

“He’s with the armor technicians,” the guard replied. “Has been every day since his arrival.”

“I’ll just take Ruffian and go check on him,” Gothy said, turning back to the Mustang.

“I’ll go with,” Mousie said. “You can drive this time.”

“I do love taking control of a powerful stick,” Gothy snickered as she headed for the driver’s side.

“We know,” Mousie giggled.

“Is there anything else?” the guard asked Desiree.

“No. I know the way,” Desiree said, moving past the guards with Alvin following her.

It didn’t take them long to find the King in his office.

“I said I didn’t—! Desiree? What a surprise,” Mithrilblood said, getting to his feet. “Alvin, it’s good to see you again.”

“What’s up, Dad?”

Mithrilblood chuckled. “Besides the growing number of gray hairs on my head?”

“Besides that, yes,” Alvin laughed. “Heard you’ve made some deals with Red River.”

“With the Lone Star government, actually. It’s been a madhouse here ever since the envoys showed up… Everyone is trying to get a piece. The majority of the clans are already considering the fungals beat, sadly.”

“They aren’t beat until they lie burning at your feet,” Alvin said.

“Exactly, but the napalm was nearly enough to convince them it was just a matter of time. Once we had deals in place for the machines of your world, they were already looking beyond the fungals.”

“I hope you aren’t letting them gain position on you?”

“Of course not. My main concern remains the fungals until we’ve wiped that blight from the world.”

“Passionate about it.”

Mithrilblood sighed. “You don’t know, of course. My brothers all died to them. They fought and died in battle, as most of us do, but all of them died to fungal spores. The memory of my eldest brother spawning one of them is still vivid in my mind.”

“Have none of the other clan heads dealt with similar?”

Mithrilblood grimaced. “They might have, but none will admit it. That memory is what spurred me to rise to this seat. I vowed to eradicate them, and now, with your help, that’s possible, but it’s not done yet.”

“Speaking of things to help,” Alvin said, handing over a small bag. “Two Predators. They’re small planes that can scout for you. The book to run them is inside, along with the machine needed to interface with them.”

Mithrilblood looked at the bag, then to Desiree, before looking back at Alvin. “I have no other daughters you can take, and my wives are mine.”

Alvin blinked, unsure if Mithrilblood was serious or not.

“Stop it,” Desiree sighed, punching Mithrilblood in the shoulder. “He already has the best Dwarf he can have.”

Mithrilblood began to laugh as he rubbed his shoulder. “Your mother and my other wives might argue that point, Daughter.”

“Had me going there for a moment,” Alvin chuckled. “Desiree is right, though. She’s the only Dwarf I want.”

“Fine, fine. What will these flying scouts cost me?”

“Surprise me,” Alvin said. “Frankly, we have a good amount of XP that we haven’t even spent yet.”

Mithrilblood nodded slowly. “Maybe... upgrades to your battle armors?”

“Sure. We’ll take whatever you have.”

“Very well. It will take them a day or two to do. Can you stay for that time?”

“Just finished the weekly and we don’t have a time table, so yeah. Besides, I’m sure Desiree would like a chance to visit.”

“With Mother, at least,” Desiree said.

“Ah, she does have her mother’s cutting tongue. I do hope you’re strong enough to endure her displeasure.”

“I doubt I’ll ever fail to please her.”

“You never will unless you’re trying to,” Desiree said. “And if you do, I’ll just let Gothy know. She’ll extract a far greater punishment on you than I could.”

“Fighting dirty?” Alvin grinned. “Smart.”

“I still have work that needs to be done,” Mithrilblood said. “If you wish to deliver these to the appropriate places, Daughter, you can also deliver your armor to be worked on.”

“Dinner, later?” Desiree asked.

“I would look forward to it. Maybe dinner here with us tonight, and then at your home tomorrow?”

“We can do that,” Alvin said.

“Good. I’ll make sure my wives are told. No reason to incur their wrath by not telling them.”

“Happy wife, happy life,” Alvin said.

“Indeed,” Desiree smiled. “We’ll see you later.”

~
*
~
*
~

When they reached the Capital laboratory, they dropped the Predators off with the team in charge of vehicles before going over to the battle armor portion of the lab.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Gothy was saying to David when they walked inside.

“So am I. It was hell,” David said.

“Everything good?” Alvin asked.

“Thanks, Alvin,” David said. “As I told Sis, I knew the moment that thing died. My thoughts became my own again. I contacted Susan earlier today, and she told me the story.”

“Cousin?” a Dwarf with a shorter beard asked, seeing Desiree.

“Hanzle,” Desiree replied, “how has it been since taking over?”

“Difficult. Even when I was in charge of research, I didn’t understand how much more there was to do. Adding in the mantle of arbiter, it has been a challenge, but a hotter fire just brings the impurities out.”

“Alvin, this is my cousin, Hanzle,” Desiree introduced them.

“The King sent us over to get our armors upgraded as much as possible,” Alvin said, shaking the Dwarf’s hand.

“What did you bring this time?” Hanzle asked with gleaming eyes.

“Predators— remote-controlled scout planes. Hmm... let me think how to explain that better…”

“No need. I had the Human knowledge added already,” Hanzle said. “I had to so I could keep up with David.”

“Says the man who’s been the one to improve on every addition I’ve thought of,” David laughed.

“I see the bromance is thriving,” Alvin snickered.

“Laugh all you want, but when you see what we’ve done, you’ll change your tune,” David said.

“How long to upgrade all four suits?” Gothy asked.

“Two or three days, at least,” Hanzle said.

“That works. We want to spend two days here, anyway,” Alvin said. “Gothy, we’re having dinner here with Desiree’s family tonight, and then hosting them tomorrow night. David, you’ll be invited to tomorrow’s dinner.”

“I’ll let Bridget know,” David said a little slowly. “Umm, Sis... I uh… I got married a few days ago. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

Gothy just looked at David for a long moment before she pulled him into a big hug and squeezed. “I’m glad for you. Just be better than Dad was, okay?”

“I will,” David said, relieved she wasn’t mad at him. “I promise.”

“Good,” Gothy said and let him go. “Wait. Who did the ceremony?”

“The King,” Hanzle laughed. “They were married twice. Once for your ways, and once for ours.”

“Oh? What gift did you give her?” Desiree asked.

“The most top of the line armor we have,” Hanzle replied before David could. “What did you say? ‘To keep my darling wife as safe as she can be’?”

“That’s my brother,” Gothy said.

David shrugged. “I wanted it to be something I made specifically for her.”

“How’s she been?” Alvin asked.

“Great,” David beamed. “She’s been working with the healers here. Learning from them, and teaching them, too.”

“If you’ll leave the armor, I’ll get them started,” Hanzle said. “I still have things to do. David, why don’t you walk your family out?”

“Yes, sir.”

Gothy and David chatted as they left the building, then exchanged a hug as they parted.

Alvin put his arm around Gothy’s waist as she watched David head back inside. “Happy?”

“Yes. It’s odd, though. I was worried, but I knew he was going to be okay. I knew the marriage was coming, but the fact that he did it without me stung a little.”

“We didn’t exactly include anyone for our vows, either,” Alvin chuckled, thinking about collaring her what seemed years ago.

“That would’ve been awkward,” Gothy snickered. “I know, but I’ve always been there for him when it counted. Twice now, I haven’t been, and it hurts me a little, but also makes me happy that he’s fine on his own.”

“Come on. Let’s go home and get ready for tonight. You’ll have to explain to Nohel that she won’t be cooking for us.”

“She’ll understand,” Gothy said.

“We’ll see,” Alvin replied.

“Shotgun!” Desiree said loudly from next to the car.

Mousie laughed as she held Ruffian’s keys up. “I’m driving, too.”

Gothy gave Alvin a smirk, “Round two?”

“We won’t be in it that long,” Alvin laughed.

“I could drive back to the castle first,” Mousie said, “for the right incentives.”

“I’ll give you what you need later,” Gothy purred.

“Sold,” Mousie giggled.

Alvin threw his hands up and rolled his eyes, though he had a smile on his lips. “The hardships I endure.”

“But it’s the hardness that I want,” Gothy snickered.

~
*
~
*
~

Alvin was dressed when they rolled back into the base, having gone into a portal just outside the castle. Gothy was still dabbing at her watering eyes, as Alvin had been as rough as she loved.

“I’d like to get some of that later, Hero,” Desiree smiled.

“Not going to say no,” Alvin replied. “I try to keep my wives as happy as possible.”

The group trooped through the kiosk room to find Jarvis and Nohel waiting for them in the kitchen.

“Welcome home, sir,” Jarvis said. “We’ve been watching your exploits... well, some of them... while waiting for you. We’ll have a fantastic dinner ready for tomorrow.”

Nohel glanced at Alvin, then away. “Thank you for allowing me this chance, sir.”

“You don’t need to call me ‘sir.’ Alvin will be fine. Jarvis just does it to be funny.”

Looking his way again, Nohel nodded, a smile crossing her lips briefly. “Okay, Alvin.”

“You can call him Hero if you’d like, too,” Gothy said. “After all, he’s the one who really saved you. The choice is yours, though.”

“No. Hero is what you all call him,” Nohel said softly. “It isn’t my place to address him like that.”

“Call me whatever you like,” Alvin said before anyone else could jump in. “I never did ask— are we paying you?”

“A little less than you’re paying Jarvis currently,” Gothy said, “since she’s apprenticing under him.”

“Does he not scare you?” Mousie asked Nohel.

Nohel gave Jarvis a smile. “No. It’s weird, but all I feel is safe with him, like my grandfather used to make me feel.”

“Jarvis, is that some special ability you never told me about?” Alvin chuckled. “Mousie, and Nohel— both were leery of men and yet they both feel safe with you.”

“It’s because I’m a gentleman of refined age,” Jarvis said. “Not some young rapscallion.”

Gothy laughed. “Only you would use that word, Jarvis.”

“We’re going to shower and get ready for dinner tonight,” Alvin said, “so you two are on your own.” Alvin paused again, turning to Gothy. “Nohel’s room?”

“I gave her the guest room for now,” Gothy said. “I did expand it some and added a small bathroom to it, so she has her own studio apartment.”

“Fair enough,” Alvin nodded. “No stayover guests for a while, then.”

“Unless they stay with us,” Gothy smirked. “We could pop over to say hi to Rebs, for instance.”

Thinking of the sweet young woman who’d joined them briefly, Alvin smirked. “Wouldn’t say no to Neapolitan again.”

“None of us would,” Desiree added. “Maybe a quick stop when we leave here?”

“I’m sold,” Alvin laughed. “Gothy, you might want to let her know we’re coming. Hate to show up and for her to not be there or have time.”

“Good point. I’ll send a message before we leave for dinner.”

Chapter Thirty-four

Alvin grinned when he found a message from Shawn on the kiosk the next morning.

Alvin,

It’s done. I was able to add the gravity core to the Huey, but I can’t say for certain what it will do, because I didn’t have the keys to take it out on a test flight. Let me know what happens with it, please?

Shawn.

Alvin walked over to the garage and summoned the Huey to the base. Looking at the helicopter, his smile grew as he started to add upgrades to it.

“A day for the upgrades to finish, but that’s okay. We’re going to stay here tonight, anyway,” Alvin said to himself, then went back to the kiosk room to get the runes he wanted for it.

As he dug through the drawers, Alvin was happy with some of the runes they’d gotten recently. Taking the best of them, he went back and added them onto the helicopter.

Bell UH-1H Modified (Uncommon)

Armor: 33,937/45,000

Modifications: Armament upgraded, Antigravity core, Luxury seats, Improved sights on M134s, Sound system, Radio, Improved gunner straps

Runes: 4/4

Durability: 200%, Impervious, Silence: 80%, Resistance (fire): 40%

Armament: M60C (Uncommon)

Damage: 8

Durability: 20,561/40,000

Ammo type: 7.62x51mm Nato (200 round belt feed)

Runes: 4/4

Durability: 100%, Silence: 60%, Reload: 5 seconds, Phantom

Armament: M134 Minigun (Uncommon)

Modifications: Improved sights

Damage: 8

Durability: 21,723/40,000

Ammo type: 7.62x51mm Nato (3,000 round belt feed)

Runes: 4/4

Durability: 100%, Silence: 60%, Reload: 3 seconds, Elemental-Ice

Armament: M134 Minigun (Uncommon)

Modifications: Improved sights

Damage: 8

Durability: 20,902/40,000

Ammo type: 7.62x51mm Nato (3,000 round belt feed)

Runes: 4/4

Durability: 100%, Silence: 60%, Reload: 3 seconds, Elemental-Acid

Looking at his handiwork, Alvin whistled happily. “I hope they pick a good name for you.”

~
*
~
*
~

Jarvis was standing back, letting Nohel cook breakfast for them, and offering periodic suggestions to her. Alvin paused to watch them, wondering if he should go rouse the sleepers.

“How long, buddy?”

“Ten minutes,” Jarvis replied absently, obviously in a slight fugue from teaching Nohel.

Alvin slipped into the bedroom, but discovered that it was empty. When he entered the bathroom, he heard the soft squeaks of Mousie being pleasured. Knowing they were awake, he chuckled and left them to it. With nothing pressing, he remembered he wanted to check on the medical bay.

He paused at the storage area to get the Grey DNA they’d picked up. The DMV was quiet, not currently working on anything, so Alvin fed it the DNA. Once the machine started working, he looked to see if there was anything that stood out.

“Fucking shit... a thirty on their Aptitude stat?” Alvin asked incredulously. “Well, their stats everywhere else are shit... Sterilization? Heh, that makes sense. Okay, the only thing I want from them is the ability to increase Aptitude, so rip that.”

Once he’d targeted the information, he checked the time required and nodded.
Two days isn’t too bad
, Alvin thought as he walked out
. I wonder if that’ll make our heads larger?

Getting the coffee pot and cups, he took a seat at the table and fixed himself a cup. He was just finishing his coffee when his wives came out of the bedroom.

“Morning, ladies. Did you have fun?”

“Last night and this morning,” Gothy smiled. “It’s too bad you left us in bed.”

“I was getting some things arranged,” Alvin said. “Only thing we have on the docket today is dinner tonight.”

“Sounds like we can do anything,” Desiree smirked.

“Oh, I have a suggestion or two,” Gothy added.

“Before you go deciding, I should tell you what I was doing this morning while you three had your fun in the bathroom.”

“Okay, tell us,” Gothy said when Alvin paused.

“I got the DMV working on separating the Grey DNA. Their Aptitude stat maxes out at thirty. There wasn’t anything else of worth on them, unless you want to be sterile. Since none of us are looking for that right now, I set it so we can improve that stat for us. The machine has to run for two days before we can use it.”

“I don’t even know if I want that,” Gothy said. “Besides, what would it do to our heads? Would we even think like people at that point?”

“It’s a real question, and we don’t know,” Alvin said. “It’s the other bit that might have your interest— the Huey is in the garage and being upgraded.”

Gothy’s eyes widened. “Did he manage it?”

“Yes. He didn’t get a chance to test it, though. I applied runes to it already, so after breakfast, we can do a test run in the training room.”

“Sold,” Gothy said.

“I have the name for it,” Mousie said.

“Oh?”

“‘Sky Blade,’ or ‘Blade,’ for short,” Mousie said. “It will be your Blade to slice the heavens open for us.”

“I like it,” Desiree nodded.

“Works for me,” Alvin said.

“Blade, it is,” Gothy said.

“Breakfast,” Jarvis said. “Nohel, why don’t you tell them what you made?”

Nohel brought over two of the serving platters. “It’s strawberry Belgian waffles with strawberry compote on the side, and whipped cream. To accompany that, I have bacon and some scrambled eggs with cheese.”

Jarvis set the other serving plates down before retrieving his tea from the kitchen. “She needed very little input from me. So, please, view this as Nohel’s dish.”

Nohel took her seat on the far side of Jarvis, looking at them nervously as they took servings of everything. She relaxed the moment she heard happy sounds after their first bites.

“It’s good,” Alvin said. “You should ask Jarvis for his strawberry shortcake French toast recipe. This reminds me of that. It’s just as good, but different.”

“I will,” Nohel said.

“And the bacon is cooked just right,” Gothy said.

“Agreed,” Desiree said as she kept eating.

“It’s good,” Mousie said. “Have you tried working with flaze yet?”

“No.”

“You should try it soon. It’s Alvin’s favorite food from my world,” Mousie suggested.

“I have a few recipes for it,” Jarvis told Nohel. “I’ll copy them out for you. We’ll be starting in on the feast prep after breakfast.”

Nohel nodded, her mouth too full to reply verbally.

“We’ll leave you to it,” Alvin said, pausing for a moment. “We’ll be in the training room, putting the Huey through its paces.”

“Very good, sir. I’ll let you know when it’s an hour before dinner, if you aren’t done by then.”

“Sounds good. I want to hold the feast in the training room. I plan to show them some of our world while we eat.”

“I can pick out a number of scenic locales for the meal?” Jarvis suggested. “This way, they can enjoy the food and different views at the same time.”

“Switch it out once per course?”

“That was my thinking, sir.”

“I’ll let you work out the program for it, hen,” Alvin said, going back to his food.

“Very well.”

~
*
~
*
~

Gothy was giddy as she sat in the pilot seat of the Huey. Mousie sat beside her in the copilot seat, and Alvin and Desiree were strapped in behind the door guns.

“Switching out isn’t really going to be possible during a fight,” Alvin said as he finished locking the last strap into place.

“It would be difficult and dangerous to try,” Desiree agreed.

“Okay, I’m starting her up,” Gothy said.

Alvin grinned. The noise of the helo was reduced down to near nothing with the runes on it. “How do you like the stealth package?”

“If Mousie hadn’t named it, I think you would’ve gone for ‘Airwolf,’” Gothy laughed.

“Heh, that’s an old one,” Alvin laughed. “And no, I wasn’t that big a fan of the show.”

“Okay, taking us up!” Gothy said excitedly as she got them moving.

Alvin watched the ground fall away from them as they rose smoothly. After a few seconds, he frowned. “Does it feel smoother than our previous flights?”

“Must be the core,” Mousie said. “We still don’t know what it’ll really do.”

“Fair,” Alvin replied. “Okay, Gothy, call them out, and we’ll put her through her paces. Easy to hard.”

“Computer, two Canadian geese on a lake, about twenty miles out.”

The scenery shifted around them, and they were now flying over a tree-dotted plain. In the distance, a lake came into view.

“Computer, just add new creatures to this map when I call for them,” Gothy said. “Okay, I’m going to try out my gun first. If they don’t come up to meet us, I’ll bank for you two.”

“Roger.”

“Copy.”

The Huey tore through the air, easily cruising at over a hundred miles per hour. The lake was soon in front of them and the geese were just barely taking to the air when Gothy brought them in low and peppered them with a burst from the front gun.

“Desiree, banking,” Gothy said.

Alvin braced for the sudden pitch of the maneuver, but it never came, even when the helicopter tilted so Desiree could start firing. Frowning, he looked over his shoulder at Desiree and saw that her straps still had the bit of slack they would have if they weren’t banked.

“Okay, now that’s pretty fucking amazing,” Alvin laughed.

“What?” Mousie asked.

“We’re not feeling the angle of the pitch.”

“What?” Gothy asked.

“Our lines are still slack, even with you angled the way you are.”

“Oh, nice! Let’s test it out more,” Gothy said as she brought the Huey into a steeper pitch on its nose and side. The helo rotated around the dying geese as both Gothy and Desiree continued to fire at them.

Alvin just laughed. He saw the slant, but it still felt like he was on flat, level ground. “Once you kill them, back off. We should test the movement capabilities before we do more kills.”

“Agreed,” Gothy said as she stopped firing. “Reloading.”

“They’re dead,” Desiree said, her gun having run dry.

“Okay, take us up a good bit,” Alvin said, “then start pivoting us as crazily as you want.”

“Challenge accepted!” Gothy laughed as she gained altitude.

They were all laughing as Gothy put them through what should’ve been hell. She even had them inverted for a few minutes, flying upside down as if the Huey was made for it. The entire time she twisted them, Alvin never felt his center of balance shift.

Alvin unbuckled all the straps he had in place and just stood behind the gun. Even when Gothy flew at a ninety-degree angle to the ground with his side facing down, Alvin didn’t move an inch.

“Okay, let’s get back to the fighting. This’ll be really interesting,” Alvin finally said, not bothering to buckle in again.

“Copy that,” Gothy said. “Computer, give us five bald eagles in a really bad mood.”

The fights were funny to them, up until they tried fighting a dragon. The fire still killed Desiree, though it was the plasma fire that got her, not the normal breath. She’d been able to ignore most of the normal fire, taking only small chunks of damage, but the moment it hit her with its lance of fire, she died quickly.

“Computer, end simulation,” Gothy called out.

The room shifted back to its normal blank state, and Desiree started to get up. “We need to go over one hundred percent resistance to stop the lance attack,” she said without preamble. “No idea how high, but more than what max should be.”

“We can be in battle armor next time,” Alvin suggested. “We should try it here first, actually. We also need to switch out who is flying and copiloting, too.”

“Okay,” Mousie said. “I’ll take a door gun with Desiree. Both of us will be in the armor.”

“It was getting really pissed at us,” Gothy said. “Need to ground it and do our best to not get hit at all.”

“Let’s try it out,” Alvin said.

They managed to kill the dragon, and the women in the back didn’t take any damage from the regular fire, only taking a small amount from the plasma lance. The Huey, however, was nearly broken by the end of it.

“Best we could do for fire resistance, and it was still melting us down when it hit,” Gothy grumbled.

“Dragons are a problem unless we’re using Bunker,” Desiree said. “The wyvern did a massive amount of damage when it put its tail in the rotor, too.”

“That was the most damage it did, and it didn’t fare much better,” Mousie reminded her.

“True enough,” Desiree admitted. “We haven’t seen dragons east of the Rockies at all. Makes me wonder if we’ll see anything similar to them when we go further east.”

“We’ll find out,” Alvin said, “but for now, let’s stop and get cleaned up for tonight.”

“We have some new dresses,” Gothy said as she ended the simulation. “We hope you like them.”

“With you three wearing them, I can’t see why I wouldn’t.”

Chapter Thirty-five

Alvin stepped out of the base to inform the guards he was there for the King, his wives, and his guests.

“Go on in. The staff will take you to them,” the guards replied as they opened the gate for him.

Alvin was taken to the first sitting room and saw the King, Queens, David, and Bridget waiting for him. “Evening. We have a different dinner tonight. We’ll be using the training room for the setting to showcase some of Earth for you. Jarvis and Nohel will be bringing the food in, and the scenery will change with each course.”

“That sounds interesting,” Mithrilblood smiled. “I’d been hoping to get a better view of your world. I knew I’d not get the chance to go in person while wearing the crown, though.”

“And with you always on the move, it would’ve been hard to visit,” one of his wives added.

“Very true,” Alvin smiled. “If you’re all ready?” He passed out keys and summoned a portal. “Right this way.”

Leading them into the base, Alvin was greeted by Jarvis in his butler outfit and Nohel wearing formal maid attire. “Sir, the ladies are already in the room,” Jarvis said, then turned to address the guests. “It is a pleasure to see you all again. Let me introduce my helper, Nohel. Half of the food this evening has been prepared exclusively by her.”

“It’s good to see you again, Nohel,” David said. “I never expected to see you here.”

“It’s a step in leaving the past behind,” Nohel said softly.

“Which is good,” Bridget said.

“Follow me,” Alvin said, making his way to the training room.

As they entered the training room, Alvin grinned at the setting. It was a simple, elegant, elevated manor patio. Near the railing, a fountain sprayed water into the basin. Gothy, Mousie, and Desiree stood near the fountain in their new dresses.

Gothy was wearing black, letting it show off her pale skin. The dress had slits well up her leg, letting her well-toned and muscled leg be visible as she posed. Elbow-length fingerless gloves complimented her outfit, as well as the black bicep bands. The top of her dress was a lace-mesh that, while hiding her ample cleavage, let enough be seen to show off her assets to everyone.

Mousie wore a white dress with tied neck-straps. Silver heels peeked out from under the edge of her long dress, complementing the white, fingerless gloves that reached her biceps. Silver edging at the hands and top of the gloves helped tie them well with her shoes.

Desiree was in a short, red dress. The hem stopped above her knee, but she wore stockings that covered her lower legs. Her heels were modest in height, but still brought her leg muscles to their attention. Spaghetti straps held the dress up, the deep v-neck making her the one showing the most skin. She had a shawl loosely draped over her shoulders, and she wore the same style of fingerless gloves the others did, though hers stopped before her elbows.

“Ladies, our guests have arrived,” Alvin said when he realized he’d just been staring at them, drinking in the sight.

“We’ve noticed, Hero,” Gothy smiled. “I’d say he approves.”

“His mouth hanging open gave that away,” Desiree said.

“That was the first clue,” Mousie agreed.

“Women whose beauty rivals my dear wives. We are very blessed men, Alvin.”

“Damned right,” Alvin said.

“All of us are,” David said, wanting to make sure Bridget knew he felt the same for her.

“The table is right over here,” Gothy said, the first to move. “Let me show you to your places.”

Mithrilblood ended up on Alvin’s right while Desiree was on Alvin’s left. Mousie, Gothy, and David took up the rest of the left side, with Bridget sitting at the foot of the table. The Queens sat on the right side, lined up in their own hierarchy.

Gothy and David chatted about what the group was planning for the near future while Alvin made small talk with Mithrilblood. The Queens looked out over the garden, speaking with Mousie, Bridget, and Desiree about the different flowers and plants.

Jarvis, entering with Nohel behind him, brought the conversations to a halt. “Good evening. We are starting with hors d’oeuvres— it will be cheese and crackers, and it highlights the wine, which is from Queen Night of Svargax.”

Mousie’s face lit up. “Did she send a special bottle?”

“When I informed her staff that we would be hosting the King, she sent enough to handle the meal. She’s also sent a few to you via the kiosk, Sire.”

“I shall have to repay her in kind,” Mithrilblood said. “I do hope she can handle the strong stuff.”

“Maybe the sweeter brandy would be better?” one of his wives suggested.

“Oh, your brandy would be best,” Mithrilblood said.

Nohel was already pouring and setting glasses down for them. Jarvis followed behind her, setting small plates of cheese and crackers in front of each person.

“The cheese is from Svargax, as are the crackers. You’ll find that they have a slightly fruity flavor, similar to the wine. They’re made by the Queen’s personal chef, and served at the royal table in exactly these situations,” Jarvis explained. “As your world doesn’t have an equal for them, Sire, I can’t offer a similar flavor experience for you.”

“New flavors are good,” Mithrilblood said. “We’ve been getting a lot of them from Earth. Now, to eat the legendary food of the longears? Well, I’m not sure much more can top this.”

“We will be back with the next course in time,” Jarvis said as he and Nohel stepped away from the table. “Do not rush. This is a six-course affair, intended for you to relax and enjoy the company and scenery.”

Bowing, the two of them left the room. The diners turned their attention to their food, sampling the cheese, crackers, and wine. Mithrilblood and his wives took their time as suggested, savoring each nibble and sip. David and Bridget were like the others— they didn’t linger as long, but still took time to chat between bites.

The courses continued with soup, appetizer, salad, entrée, and finished with dessert. Each came with a change of scenery, but all of them were at night, reflecting the current time that the meal was taking place.

The second setting was outside the Taj Mahal, which went with the soup that Jarvis served them. They were on the Titanic for the appetizer, which was slivers of fish, as the ship crossed iceberg-capped waters. The salad course had them at Machu Picchu, trying a Sarsa Salad. Sitting on the viewing platform of the Eiffel Tower, Jarvis served them pressed duck for their entrée. For dessert, they were high atop the Empire State Building, and served a strawberry cheesecake.

By the end of the meal, everyone was sated and sleepy. Conversation had dropped to near nothing as they scraped the last crumbs of dessert from their plates.

“I’m glad to see you’ve all enjoyed the food,” Jarvis said, coming back into the room. “We have coffee, tea, or other beverages for after dinner. We can also go to a slow-moving slideshow to show off even more of Earth, if you’d like?”

“Something strong would be welcome,” Mithrilblood said, “and seeing more of Earth sounds lovely.”

The Queens opted for something stronger, as well, and Desiree chimed in, “I suggest you try coffee with whiskey, called Irish coffee. It has a good kick from the whiskey, but the coffee helps wake you up.”

“Four, please,” Mithrilblood said. “If my daughter suggests it, I will try it, as well.”

“Very good, Sire.”

“Coffee with cream and sugar, please,” David said.

“A mint tea?” Bridget asked.

“Coffees for us, Jarvis,” Gothy smiled.

“Very well. I’ll set the scenery to change every minute. If you wish for it to slow down or speed up, Alvin can adjust the timing for you.”

When he left the room, David turned to Gothy. “One of the devs is really coming into the world? Sounds like alpha testing to me. Are they going to let even more people in?”

“In time,” Gothy replied. “I think it’s a very limited alpha test right now, probably more to check the equipment than anything else. From the little we’ve heard, it’ll be a single account for life, too. Die without an extra life and never play again.”

“Harsh... I like it. Makes them balance it like we have to. How far out, do you think?”

“Couple of years before the beta? It’ll probably be another year after that for it to really open up.”

“What’s this?” Mithrilblood asked, having caught part of their conversation.

“Something I need to inform a lot of people about,” Alvin said. “Let’s give you the backstory to help frame it better.”

The coffee was brought in, and they had two more rounds by the time Alvin finished explaining everything to Mithrilblood. The King sat there with a pensive look.

“Your world will be getting a massive influx of people,” Mithrilblood finally said.

“Not just us,” Alvin said. “Our games normally let someone pick their race, which might mean you end up with a lot of clueless Dwarves suddenly popping up.”

“That is terrifying,” Mithrilblood said. “They would act like Humans, but look like Dwarves?”

“The Elves and others will deal with the same. For all we know, they might have Dwarven knowledge the same way you have Human knowledge.”

“That might make it slightly more tolerable...” Mithrilblood sighed.

“They might not,” David said. “With the DMV being a thing, all of the Humans might start as Human and have to find a way to become a Dwarf, Elf, or whatnot.”

“That’s a good point,” Gothy nodded.

“DMV? The DNA machine? Can I see it?” Bridget asked, suddenly very alert.

“You won’t be able to read any of it, but sure,” Alvin said. “Gothy, if you want to show them the DMV?”

“Sounds good to me,” Gothy said, getting to her feet.

“Alas, it is late, and I have Kingly duties that need to be seen to,” Mithrilblood said, rising as well. “Thank you for the wonderful meal. We will thank Jarvis and Nohel on our way out.”

“We’ll try to stop by more often. You made that much easier with the Gate settlements.”

“I’m glad you suggested it, especially since it became necessary. These devs of yours are capricious.”

“They like to keep changing things, but maybe that’ll settle down again.”

“Sounds like another story. Perhaps next time,” Mithrilblood said.

Goodbyes were said and Desiree escorted her family out. The others went to the medical bay and explained the DMV to Bridget, who was fascinated by it. David stood back with Alvin, a large smile plastered on his face as he watched his wife.

“She loves her work as much as you do,” Alvin murmured.

“Yes. It makes it easier for us to understand each other,” David smiled.

“Hey, Sis, we have another announcement for you,” David said suddenly, which got Bridget to cut off. “Go ahead.”

Bridget took a deep breath and faced Gothy. “We’re going to be having a child. If it’s a girl, we’d like to name her Rebecca.”

Gothy blinked, stunned by the news, before a soft smile touched her lips. “That’s very sweet, but I never really liked my name. Name her after one of your loved ones, and maybe stick her with Rebecca as a middle name?”

“Told you,” David said.

Bridget rolled her eyes. “I wanted to ask. Okay, we’ll do as you suggest, Gothy. Thank you for not causing a fuss when I went after your brother.”

“He needed someone who could love him for who he is,” Gothy said. “I could see that you would. After having found someone who can understand me, it would’ve been idiotic to interfere with you two.”

“We’re still thankful, Sis,” David said. “It’s late, though, and I have to be back at the lab tomorrow. Make sure to stop by and pick up your armors. I can’t wait to tell you what they can do.”

“We’ll be there, but we might be a little late,” Alvin said, giving his wives a long look.

“T.M.I.,” David laughed as he took Bridget’s arm.

“As if we have any right to complain,” Bridget giggled.

David blushed. “Yeah, uh... well… what can I say? I have no self-control when it comes to you.”

“Ewww.” Gothy blew a raspberry, but was snickering right afterward.

“Okay, let’s shove them out the door and retire,” Alvin laughed.

~
*
~
*
~

Once they were alone in the bedroom a short while later, Alvin found out something he hadn’t known about earlier— each of the women had been commando, and all of them were wearing an insertable toy that one of the others controlled. The reason for their small mistakes during dinner suddenly became obvious to him.

“Gothy, was this your doing?”

“We all took part,” Mousie said quickly.

“I suggested no underwear,” Desiree said.

“I suggested the toys,” Mousie explained.

“And I made sure we switched who had whose. No one knew which controller they had.”

“Gods, I love you, you crazy freaks,” Alvin said, his clothing vanished as he advanced on them. “Now, let’s have some fun.”

Chapter Thirty-six

Alvin was out of the bedroom while the ladies slept in. Nohel was getting things set up in the kitchen, and Jarvis wasn’t in the room.

“Morning, Nohel. Are you settling in okay?”

Inhaling sharply, Nohel exhaled slowly before turning to face him. “I’m sorry, sir. You startled me. What was the question?”

“Are you settling in? And why the maid outfit? I mean, I could understand it last night, but why today?”

Nohel didn’t meet his eyes. “It helps me know my place here, sir. Gothy went out of her way to allow me to be here with you all. I must remember my place is only a worker for you all.”

Alvin paused halfway across the living room. “If that’s what you need, I won’t try to stop you, but— and please consider this— Jarvis is as much family to us as anything else. There’s nothing that says you can’t be more than just a worker. I’m sure if you let them, the girls will be laughing and joking with you in no time.”

“But...” Nohel hesitated, licking her lips before she blurted out the rest of the sentence, “you don’t like me. I don’t blame you. I’m a selfish girl who hates men. I should be detested by you in return.”

Alvin sighed. “I don’t hate you, Nohel. I hate very few people, and most of the ones I did are dead already. What happened to you was horrible. That thing— because he stopped being a person when he abused you— deserved what happened to him. But you... you never deserved what happened. Your mother should’ve done better for you.”

“How? How can you say that after what I’ve said about you?”

“Because I’ve been in similar places, years ago. Abused physically, mentally, and emotionally by those who were supposed to take care of me. Luckily, I was never sexually molested. I don’t blame or hate you for how you view the world, or me, just as I don’t hate people who view me in a negative light.”

Swallowing hard, Nohel wiped at the tears that were starting to spill from her eyes. “Why did you agree?”

“Because Gothy’s my world. Well, Mousie and Desiree, too, but Gothy is the center for us. I find it difficult to deny her anything, and I know what being around people who actually do care for you can do to help. My last foster parent was the one who helped me. While you are an adult, maybe we can be the family that you need to heal some. It’s up to you, but we’re willing to help. I’ll see you for breakfast.”

Nohel sniffled, glancing up to see Alvin walking away. She leaned on the counter, her legs shaking and her breathing ragged as she tried to calm her rampaging mind.
How can you be so different? You’re a killer, a man, a vile beast, and yet… you want to help me? Gothy… was I wrong? Is this what you meant?

Jarvis looked into the kitchen and eased back into his room, giving Nohel a few moments to regain some composure.
Poor child. He can confuse even me, and I used to compute gigabytes of data in nanoseconds. He isn’t wrong. This will either help you, or you’ll always be as you are.

Alvin left the kitchen, pushing Nohel from his mind as he went into the medical bay. Checking the DMV, it was hard at work ripping the correct stat from the Grey DNA. On a whim, he opened up the options and started to look at what else the DMV could really do. He knew how to work it, but he’d never given the machine a good lookover before.

~
*
~
*
~

“Hero?” Gothy’s voice jarred Alvin from his focus.

“Huh?”

“Wondered where you’d gotten off to,” Gothy said. “Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes.”

“Okay.”

“Did something happen with Nohel this morning?” Gothy asked, moving closer to him.

“Why do you ask?”

“I greeted her and she gave me a look before going back to cooking. She seemed troubled.”

Alvin gave her a brief synopsis of his talk with Nohel. “That was it.”

“You’re my Hero,” Gothy said softly, stepping forward to kiss him softly. “Always saving us damaged ones...”

“You’re the one saving her, Gothy, not me. I’m just hoping you’re right and this’ll be her answer. It’s all on her, which is the hard part.”

“Not entirely. It’s on all of us to show her what she can have. I was thinking... we could spend another day here. Make yourself scarce and let us women have the base for the day?”

“Girls night in?”

“It might help.”

“Weren’t we going to drop in on Rebs today?” Alvin asked with a smirk.

“Well, fuck,” Gothy sighed. “Okay, tomorrow?”

“Okay. That’ll leave me with Rebs.”

Gothy snickered. “Oh, the hardships you endure for us.”

“The hardships I give,” Alvin said with a rough voice, grabbing Gothy tight and spanking her ass.

“Sharing is caring,” Gothy said huskily. “I’ll tell our wives, and yes, you can ravage the fuck out of Rebs all by yourself tomorrow if you want.”

“We’ll see,” Alvin grinned. “Let’s go eat. We have to get our armor back before we go see her.”

~
*
~
*
~

Breakfast was only a plain country scramble, but everyone complimented Nohel, who had cooked it alone. She gave them small nods of acknowledgement, clearly lost in her own thoughts. With breakfast done, they left the base to retrieve their armors.

“We have them ready for you,” David said. “Follow me.”

Escorted into a nearly empty room, David handed over their accessories. “Okay, equip them, and I’ll walk you through the upgrades.”

Once they were covered by the battle armor, David grinned. “Okay, the first thing is the battery packs have been increased and split to handle different things. Your air supply is now part of a circular-rebreathing addition. The battery for it lets that small amount of oxygen last for hours now. It’s not indefinite, but if you’re stuck in the battle armor for ten hours, you’ll be fine.”

“That would’ve been damned useful with the terror worm,” Alvin said.

“Each flamer has its own dedicated battery,” David went on. “This way, you can split the fire for measured moments, if needed. They’ve been calibrated just for the flamers, giving you twice as much fire as before.”

“Goodbye, fungals,” Desiree grinned.

“The actual flamers have been improved, too. You have a choice of a tight beam or a wide spray. You just need to open or close your hand to work with it. Desiree, if you’d like to target the test dummy and give it a go?”

Desiree turned to one of the few things in the room— a person-sized dummy made of metal. Extending her arm, she held her hand open. A wide spray of flame came shooting out from under her wrist. Slowly closing her hand caused the fire to narrow down to a one-inch beam of flame that burned even hotter.

“The battery drains just as fast either way, since it’s using the same amount of power, but it can be useful in situations where you need to not burn down a building,” David explained.

The others took turns trying out the new flamers and getting a handle on them. Once they had them figured out, David called for their attention again.

“Okay, last thing, but it’s a big one.” He hooked a thumb toward the ceiling, which was over a hundred feet above them. “I want you to jump as high as you can, but bounce on your heels twice before you leap.”

Gothy was the first one to move, and when she jumped, she nearly collided with the ceiling. With a brief scream, she came back down and landed like a classic superhero. “Fucking hell! That was awesome!”

“Yeah, it’s great,” David grinned. “When you jump, try flexing both arms out.” David acted like he was trying to decapitate people to either side of him. “Just like that.”

All four of them jumped in the next second, and when they reached the ceiling, they flexed their arms. Wings sprang out of their shoulders, forming a modified flying squirrel suit, though without the connection between their legs. The fall back was much slower and more controlled.

“That works because the jump assist is still burning power. It’s using minimal power, but since it’s still burning it, you can’t stay up forever,” David told them when they landed.

“Does the Air Force know?” Alvin asked as he let his armor collapse.

“Not yet. We just finished testing all the additions out last week. We’ll be talking with them in the next few days. Pilots can bail out safely now, even in a hot zone.”

“You really threw yourself into this,” Gothy said. “I’m happy for you.”

David’s smile was soft. “It felt good to get away from what Dad always wanted me to do. I’m sorry I didn’t give you more warning about switching jobs, but I couldn’t let this pass me by.”

“You did what you wanted to,” Alvin said, “same as we do. I’m just glad you left your explosive recipe with Green River.”

“I figured you’d need more,” David replied. “You’ll have to upgrade your docking stations for the armors.”

“Because of the extra batteries,” Desiree nodded.

“Yeah. I hope it won’t cost much, but I don’t know.”

“We’ll handle it. The upgrades are worth it.”

“If you can get a hold of the force field tech from the Greys, I might be able to incorporate that into the design, too,” David said, his eyes glowing with hopefulness.

“It was hard enough getting the anti-grav core,” Alvin said, “but if we do, I’ll see about giving you first crack at it.”

“Hell yeah!” Gothy grinned. “Force field battle armor sounds amazing, as long as it doesn’t stop us from firing.”

“That’s all I had for you,” David said. “What do you think of the upgrades?”

“They’ll work great,” Alvin said. “I wonder, how does the armor do underwater?”

“Sinks like a stone,” David said. “It can take the same pressure as a small sub, though, about three hundred feet. Why?”

“In case it comes up. I need to know if I should dismiss the armor and swim or just let it carry me down.”

“Hmm...” David was clearly thinking about possible upgrades. “Maybe we can work with that in the future? Not a lot of freestanding water around here, but I might be able to get some time in the training room.”

“Let us know,” Alvin chuckled. “We’ll be fast traveling from here, if that’s okay?”

“Oh, sure,” David said, snapping out of his thoughts. “Thanks again for saving me and everything.”

“Of course.”

“If someone’s going to control you, it better be your wife,” Gothy joked.

“That’s what she said,” David laughed.

“Knew I liked her,” Gothy said, giving David a hug. “We’ll come back around eventually. Have more upgrades for us.”

“I will. Be safe,” David replied, his worry clear to see.

“She has us to help her, and we all have extra lives,” Mousie said. “We’ll make sure she’s around for many years to come.”

“Thank you,” David said, holding out his hand to her.

“For my wife’s brother, a shake will not do,” Mousie said, stepping forward and giving David a quick, light hug.

Gothy and Alvin were both impressed, and shared a smile behind Mousie’s back.

David blinked, but had a huge grin on his face. “Never thought I’d rank a hug.”

“Well, we should complete the set,” Desiree added, moving in and bear-hugging David.

David wheezed as Desiree picked him up and shook him lightly side-to-side. “My spleen…!”

Alvin laughed as Desiree set David back down. “She’s a handful.”

“I think she popped my back,” David joked.

Alvin gave David a bro-hug, making sure to slap him on the back. “Be safe, yourself. I know you don’t mix explosives anymore, but I’m sure all of this might still lead to injury.”

“It could, but we have a training room just for testing out upgrades. Saved me a hand already.”

Gothy snorted. “Poor Bridget.”

David grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “I’ve been as careful as possible.”

“We’ll see you around,” Alvin said as he pulled up his fast travel options. “We’re heading east. We’ll let you know if we find anything useful.”

“I’ll check the kiosk often,” David said, watching as four columns of rainbow lights covered them. Blinking against the effect, he stood there a bit longer. “Be safe, Sis.”

Chapter Thirty-seven

The gunmen, up on the roof of the main building in the settlement, jerked slightly when the rainbow light show filled the open area in front of them. Breathing fast and blinking away the afterimages burned into their vision, the men tried to get a target on who or what had just appeared in their midst.

“Easy,” Alvin said, “friendlies in your sights.”

“You? Where the hell did you come from?” one of the men asked.

“Fast travel, just like a game,” Alvin said. “You mind moving that gun off target before I take offense?”

They lowered their weapons. “Fast travel is real?” the younger man asked suddenly. “Is it expensive?”

“Yeah,” Alvin said. “We told Rebs we were coming. Guess we should’ve warned her how
.”

“She’s in,” the original man said. “Told us you’d be in, but she didn’t say nothing about that... whatever that was.”

“We’ll explain it to her, and she can pass it along,” Alvin said.

As the group headed for the door, they could overhear one of the men saying, “Dude, did you see them? Fucking hell, he must mainline Blue Rocket to keep all three of them happy.”

Gothy laughed. “Takes all of us to wear him out!” she shouted up before stepping inside.

Mousie snickered as she closed the door behind them. “The one who spoke just got rebuked by the eldest. Serves him right.”

“Office was this way, if I recall,” Gothy said, taking the lead.

“It is,” Alvin said, spanking her ass when she went past him. “Brat.”

Gothy laughed and wiggled her butt as she walked. “Got me what I wanted.”

A moment later, Gothy was knocking on a door. “Come on in,” Rebs shouted from the other side.

“I’m sure he will later,” Gothy said, opening the door with a lascivious smirk.

Rebs’ head jerked up, and a broad smile crossed her face. “Oh, y’all made it!”

“Told you we were coming,” Gothy said.

“No one said anything about y’all being here yet,” Rebs said, motioning to the radio on her desk.

“Fast traveled in,” Alvin said. “Shocked the fuck out of your men.”

Rebs rolled her eyes. “Anything can shock them. Good shots, but not the most imaginative. Now, what’s this about fast travel?”

“We didn’t add her to the list of people to tell?” Alvin asked Gothy.

“Shit…”

Rebs laughed. “Nice to know y’all ain’t infallible. Let me get some drinks and we can have a chat to catch up.”

“Rebs! Come in, Rebs!” The radio squawked to life with a frantic call.

Rebs jerked, grabbing the radio. “This is Rebs. Go!”

“We got a problem in the south field. William and his guys are dead,” the voice was slightly panicked. “Pieces of them scattered all over out here!”

Alvin exchanged a look with Gothy, and got a nod. “We can go have a look. You can come with, Rebs.”

Rebs held up a hand. “Red, who’s out there with you?”

“Otis. We came out to check the herd… and Rebs, the south is gone.” The panic in Red’s voice was gone, but he sounded emotionally dead.

“I’ll bring a team,” Rebs said. “Come back in. Secure the place.” Switching radio channels, she keyed the mic again. “Dad, turtle up. Problem south. Taking a heavy team to check.”

“Copy that, Rebs. Make sure to take that armor with you.”

“I have it on me,” Rebs replied before she set the radio down. “Sorry. Please take me out there?”

“Ground or air, Hero?” Gothy asked as they made their way toward the front of the building.

“Ground to start with. We don’t know what it is yet and Bunker’s our best bet.”

“Summoning it to us, then,” Gothy said, toggling her UI.

“‘Bunker’?” Rebs asked as they walked.

“One of our latest additions,” Desiree said.

Stepping outside, Rebs blinked at the sight of the armored vehicle waiting for them. “Guess the Army was thankful for some help?”

“Zombie attack. We did our part,” Alvin nodded. “Rebs, you’re in the back with Gothy. I’m driving. I need you to relay me directions. Desiree, gun, and Mousie, command.”

“Roger.”

“Understood.”

“Come on, Rebs,” Gothy said, guiding her toward the back.

“Rebs, where are you going? We just heard that we’re buttoning up,” one of the men called down.

“To see what the hell happened,” Rebs said as battle armor formed over her. “We’ll be back.”

“Hey!” one of the men yelled at Alvin.

“What?” Alvin asked, looking up at the roof from the driver’s hatch.

“You keep her safe.”

“Rebs is a friend. She’s safer with us than she is inside that building,” Alvin replied before dropping inside.

“Hero, we’re ready!” Desiree called out.

“Starting her up.”

“Go right to start with,” Rebs directed them. “Once we clear the buildings, I’ll get you to the right paths.”

“Copy that,” Alvin said.

~
*
~
*
~

Alvin didn’t know how long he’d been following directions, but when two men on horseback rushed toward them, it verified they were at least going the right way.

“Rebs, your two are heading back,” Alvin told her.

“I see them,” Rebs replied, watching the screen in the back of the Bradley. “Stop for them, please. I want to hear what they saw.”

Alvin brought Bunker to a stop, popping the driver’s hatch to stand up and wave at the men.

The men slowed and went directly toward them. “Who’re you?” one of them asked when they got closer.

“Alvin. Rebs is in the back, waiting to speak with you,” Alvin replied.

“Stepping out,” Gothy said. “We’re armored.”

“Copy that,” Alvin responded.

“Red, tell me what you saw,” Rebs said, her helmet off as she walked up to the men.

“The entire southern herd is dead,” Red said grimly. “I didn’t see any movement at all. William’s group was right at the edge of it. They’d been ripped apart, but… there weren’t no blood.”

Alvin closed his eyes and kept his sigh to himself.

“No blood?” Rebs asked. “How the hell is that possible?”

“Goat-suckers?” Gothy asked, which was what Alvin had been thinking.

“What?”

“Chupacabras,” Alvin said. “Thought they’d be a Mexico issue, but Texas does get its fair share of crossover.”

“Those are a farce,” Red said.

“Game world now,” Alvin said flatly. “I’ve got a Dwarf and an Elf married to me.”

Red’s lips thinned, but he grunted. “Okay, fine, but five hundred head of cattle and a team of hunters are all dead out there.”

“Pack of them, then,” Gothy said. “Shit, Hero…. you think it’s like the mosquitos or ants?”

“Could be. All the more reason to thin them out now,” Alvin replied.

“Wait!” Rebs exclaimed, breaking in on their discussion. “Explain, please?”

“We will as we roll,” Alvin said. “We only have a theory right now.”

Rebs looked like she wanted to argue, but Gothy gripped her shoulder. “Trust him, Rebs.”

She sighed, exhaling a long breath. “Okay. Red, get back. We’ve called for turtle. I’ll be back once we verify what we have to deal with.”

Red eyed Alvin. “You sure?”

Gothy snorted. “We have a damned Bradley and battle armor. Where else is she safer?”

“Come on, Red,” Otis said. “Let’s do what she says. We elected her leader, after all, and she’s been right for us so far.”

Red grimaced. “I want whatever killed my boy to pay, Rebs. You hear me?”

“In blood,” Rebs replied. “They’ll pay in blood.”

Red nodded before he and Otis put their boots to the horses and took off toward the settlement.

“Okay,” Rebs said as they got back into Bunker. “Tell me what you know?”

Gothy explained what they’d encountered with the other possible respawning mini-bosses and assorted minions. Rebs looked equal parts intrigued and horrified as she listened.

~
*
~
*
~

“So we can farm them for XP, but we’ll never be rid of them?”

“We don’t have solid answers for that, but the ants in Beatty came back,” Gothy replied. “Considering the world and what else is coming, I’m gonna say yes.”

“Okay...” Rebs exhaled. “We need regular, well-armed, and armored patrols in the south, then. We need the XP, but we’ll have to abandon the southern field for the herds.”

“Speaking of,” Mousie said, “look at the screen.”

The southern field lay before them, dotted with the carcasses of animals. A few large birds were in the distance, feasting on the furthest corpses.

“Ravens, maybe,” Alvin said. “You want to get out and check the dead, Rebs?”

“I should loot them,” Rebs said softly. “It’s the best I can do for them now.”

“Gothy, Mousie, escort,” Alvin said. “Desiree and I will stay inside and be ready to assist.”

“Going out ready for trouble,” Gothy said.

Alvin kept his eyes peeled as he waited for them to get ready. Desiree turned the turret to give them overwatch when the three battle-armored women came out of the back, guns in hand.

The tense moment didn’t give them any surprises— Rebs was able to move from body to body, looting each as she went. Alvin’s lips pursed as he watched her do it, wondering why the bodies hadn’t despawned when they were killed.

When the trio was back in the vehicle, Alvin spoke up, “I think that whatever killed them wasn’t intelligent or doesn’t get loot rights, for some reason.”

“Oh, that’s a good point,” Gothy agreed. “Might be animal intelligence, which is why the bodies are still here. But even those are supposed to despawn eventually, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, but who knows if they fucked around with the timing on that bit,” Alvin replied. “Rebs, did you want to loot the herd?”

“Yes. We should recover as much as we can, but is it going to be safe?”

“With us here, as safe as it can be,” Gothy answered for them.

“Okay, slow and steady,” Alvin said. “Stay near Bunker and just give me directions about which way next.”

~
*
~
*
~

Hours ticked by as they slowly combed the field. The ravens backed off when the Bradley got closer, though they didn’t leave right away. That let Gothy and Rebs open a dialogue with them, much like Alvin had done with the ones near Beatty.

With just a dozen corpses left to loot, the surprise finally came. Mousie jerked sideways, her swords spinning through an intricate maneuver. Blood splashed against her and Bunker. The creature she was attacking suddenly became visible, the red disrupting its camouflage.

A scaled, spikey beast with powerful back legs and velociraptor-like front claws screamed in anger and pain. The creature’s head was even stranger, as it had a gaping opening instead of a mouth, out of which flashed a tube that stabbed at Mousie’s chest. The battle armor took the blow without trouble and Mousie’s swords removed the offending appendage, sending it flying to the side.

“Fuck!” Gothy cursed when she finally caught sight of movement and began to fire. “Back inside! Inside! Go, go, go!”

The scream of the one beast was suddenly taken up by several dozens to hundreds of others. The ground all around the Bradley shimmered as the massive pack of creatures rushed the trio outside.

Desiree spun the turret to face the back door and fired into the rushing horde. The explosive round tore into them, scattering the rush and giving Gothy, Mousie, and Rebs the chance to make it inside.

Gothy triggered the hatch to rise as she and Rebs took knees to either side and fired into the throng. Mousie stood between them, hacking at the few who made it to the rising door before it could close.

The moment of surprise had passed, but the things threw themselves at the Bradley, their claws and blood drainers scraping against its armored exterior.

“Yeah, I’d say there’s a pack,” Alvin said, a little disturbed by the one attached to the hatch above him. “Desiree, keep up the fire. Mousie, command position. If you get the chance, give them some fire.”

“
Those are chupacabras?” Rebs asked in a shaky voice.

“This version of them, anyway,” Gothy said. “Bullshit stealth on them. Good spot, Mousie.”

“I almost didn’t see it,” Mousie replied, clearly upset about being surprised. “It moved a little too fast.”

“So they can move slowly and hold it, but if they move too fast, it shimmers?” Gothy asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay, so something we can work on. Oh, Desiree, go thermal on them.”

Desiree switched the gunner’s view and whistled. “They’re hot. Easy to see with thermal.”

“Good,” Gothy said. “Give the turret a full spin. See if you can pick up a direction from them.”

“Roger.”

Rebs and Gothy watched the monitor in the back. The chupacabras were easily running an internal temperature of over one hundred and thirty.

“Is that a hill on fire, or is that the momma?” Rebs asked with a touch of horror.

“It’s XP,” Gothy said. “Desiree, burn it down.”

“Roger.”

The twenty-foot lump in the distance suddenly bounded into the air after the first shot hit it. Everyone who saw it was in shock, as the creature easily covered thirty feet with that one movement. It turned to face them, and the vibration of its displeasure could be felt inside the Bradley.

“Hero?” Gothy asked.

“Yeah. Running gunfight.”

The fight was anticlimactic for them, as the big one didn’t survive even a minute against them with Desiree using her cooldowns. When the momma was down, the remaining smaller ones bolted in all directions.

Alvin slowed the Bradley to a stop next to the dead mini-boss. “Ladies, looting time again, but this time, be ready in case they come back.”

“We will,” Gothy said. “I’m going to open up the flamers if they attack. Bet they won’t like it.”

“Only salamanders would,” Alvin quipped back.

Chapter Thirty-eight

Rebs radioed ahead so that a group of hunters would be waiting for them when they rolled back into the living part of the settlement. Stepping out the back door, she held one of the dead chupacabras in her hand, having opted not to loot it.

“
This is our new problem,” Rebs said without preamble, dropping it in front of the men and women. “A crazy version of them goat suckers we’d heard stories about.”

“Where did they come from?” Harry, Rebs’ father, asked.

“Same place anything comes from nowadays,” Alvin said, jumping down from the Bradley. “They spawn in at times or they come through a Gate. For these, considering their animal nature, I’m going to say they just appear. They’re like the giant mosquitos or the really big ants we’ve faced before.”

“These killed my boy?” Red asked tightly.

Rebs stepped forward, her hand held out to Red. “This is what’s left.”

Red took the ring from her, his face pained as he looked at it. “That’s… that’s all that’s left?”

“We didn’t want to leave the body out there,” Rebs said softly. “We’ll hold a ceremony, but burial is a thing of the past.”

Red swallowed hard, clearly holding back his emotions. “He’d just asked Sally…”

“I know,” Rebs said. “I’ll tell her, if you want.”

“No... this is family business. You do enough for us.”

“Why didn’t we know about these things before?” Otis asked. “Why today?”

“We just put the southern herd out last week,” Rebs said. “It’s possible they were already there and the herd stirred them up.”

“Damn...” Otis sighed. “What’s the plan?”

“The mini-boss is dead,” Rebs told the group, “thanks to Alvin and his wives. However, a good dozen or two of the small ones got away. And before you think of chasing them all down, there are complications. I’ll be calling a full meeting at dinner so we can understand the challenges and opportunities available to us.”

“It’s still three hours before dinner,” Harry said.

“I’m going to shower, decompress, and try to get myself ready to explain,” Rebs said.

“Anyone here good with a Huey?” Alvin asked.

Otis’ head snapped up. “I used to pilot one.”

“Gothy, I’m taking your Blade out,” Alvin said. “Harry, Red, you want door guns?”

“Yes!” Red said, squeezing tightly on the ring in his palm.

“I’ll go with.”

“You need thermal goggles,” Alvin said. “Get some and meet me back here.”

“Hero?” Gothy asked.

“Go with Rebs,” Alvin told her. “These three need to see what they’re facing to understand and back her at dinner.”

Rebs looked at Alvin with a mixture of emotions. “Thank you, Alvin.”

Alvin just nodded as he summoned the Huey into the open field behind him. “Come on, you three. The sooner you go, the sooner we go.”

“Gods damn,” Otis whispered when he saw the helicopter appear behind Alvin. “I’ll be right back.”

The three men took off for the kiosk in the settlement to get thermal goggles. The rest of the group broke apart, heading different ways. Gothy gave Rebs a key before getting into the driver’s position in Bunker.

Pausing in front of Alvin, Gothy kissed him softly. “Always a Hero to the ones you like.”

“She has a hard enough job, and I know you like her,” Alvin murmured back, giving her a light pat on the rump. “Sharing is caring.”

“You’ll get your time with her, too,” Gothy giggled. “We’ll make sure she’s well ready later tonight for all of us, though.”

“Won’t say no to that, but only if she’s in the right headspace,” Alvin said.

“I know.”

~
*
~
*
~

Alvin was in the pilot’s seat and had the Huey warmed up and ready by the time the three men came back to him. Otis took the copilot’s seat and gave Alvin a glance.

“Son, no slight on you and all, but I flew one of these for several years during the war. You sure you don’t want me to take control?”

Alvin snickered. “I doubt you’ve flown one like her. If— and it’s a big if
— I need help, I’ll be glad to have you assist. Just don’t get too twitchy if you feel me putting her through some unusual steps.”

Otis grunted, silently wondering why the young kids didn’t respect the elders as much. He let it go and got ready to save them when the hotshot got dumb.

“Strap in,” Alvin said over the radio. “Keep your goggles up to start with, but be ready to use them when I call for it.”

“Why thermal?” Harry asked as he started buckling into the gunner’s position.

“You’ll see,” Alvin said.

“Ready,” Red said tightly.

“Buckled,” Harry called in a second later.

“All gauges check out,” Otis said.

“Going up,” Alvin smiled. He kept the helo moving like a normal one, so as to not worry them to start with. “It’ll be a small flight, but the area we fought in will be obvious.”

“You don’t have missiles on the Bradley... why?” Harry asked.

“They don’t reload, and the Army didn’t give us any.”

“That explains it.”

As they got closer to the battlegrounds, Alvin dropped them to twenty feet off the ground, slowing as they moved over the area. He kept checking his screen that had been set for thermal imaging.

“Otis, see them?” Alvin asked.

“Yeah, but where are they?” Otis said, glancing from the screen to out the front window.

“
That’s why you need thermal,” Alvin said before he banked the helo to the right. “Harry, see anything?”

“Negative.”

“Goggles.”

“Three of them... they can stealth?”

“Yup.” Alvin slung the Huey back the other way. “Red, this is why your son never had a chance.”

“Nothing.”

“Now thermal,” Alvin told him.

“I see them.” A second later, a burst of gunfire came from his gun. “Die, you fucking monsters!”

Alvin held them steady, letting the grieving father have his moment. The three beasts reacted differently. The one being shot at cowered, another took off at speed with weird long jumps, and the third charged them.

“Hold on,” Alvin said, ascending and tipping them to keep the gun pointed where it had been.

“Holy Christ!” Otis shouted, bracing for them to run into trouble. After a few seconds, he blinked. “What in the blue blazes?”

“One of our tricks,” Alvin laughed as Blade now hovered on its side. Harry switched his aim to the chupacabra now directly below them. “Anti-gravity core. I recommend it for all aircraft.”

“Anti-gravity? That’s science fiction,” Harry said lamely.

“Yeah, well, the Greys have a lot of sci-fi toys,” Alvin replied. “Good Greys are a bit behind the weapon and armor side of things, but they gave us fast travel. The bad ones gave me the core as loot. Well… I say gave, but it’s more like we pried it from their cold, dead hands.”

“Where did the last one go?” Red asked. “I need to kill them all.”

“We’ll be doing a sweep,” Alvin told him. “You need to be looking for any place they might nest. That’s why we’re really out here doing aerial recon.”

“I’ll keep looking,” Harry said. “He can kill as many as he needs.”

“That’s fine,” Alvin said. “Okay, let’s sweep.”

“Anti-gravity?” Otis whispered. “That would’ve been useful back in ‘Nam.”

“Probably,” Alvin agreed.

~
*
~
*
~

There was a big crowd on their way to get dinner when Alvin came into sight over a hill. Chuckling, he triggered the sound system and got “Ride of the Valkyries” playing. All heads turned to see the Huey coming in, the setting sun gleaming off it.

“You love to make an entrance,” Harry snorted.

“Might as well be memorable,” Alvin laughed as he took them through a loop, then landed them just south of the buildings.

Rebs and his wives were the first ones there to greet them. “How’d it go?” Rebs asked.

“Killed most, if not all, of the escapees,” Alvin replied. “Found a small warren that’s likely their spawn point. I have it marked, but you’ll need the mini-map function so I can mark it for you.”

“Okay.”

Red got out of the Huey and stopped next to Rebs. “Thank you. Where’s Sally? Has she been told?”

“Cooking, and no,” Rebs replied.

“I’ll be going.”

“Make sure to wash your damned hands first!” Harry yelled after him. “He looted the bodies… not that blood is a thing really after looting, but still.”

“Your bird is mighty fine,” Otis told Gothy. “Would’ve loved to have one just like her in the past. If you ever have need of another pilot, I’m here.”

Gothy smiled and shook hands with the large, dark-skinned man. “I have a full crew, but I’ll keep it in mind.”

The others who were curious kept their distance, but muted conversations were buzzing away. Rebs looked back and took a deep breath. She gave Alvin a thankful, if tired, smile before she went toward her people.

“Dinner and news. Come on, folks, let’s go,” Rebs said, taking the lead toward the dining area.

~
*
~
*
~

Dinner was longer than normal because of the news, questions, answers, and speculations. Rebs was met with approval when she said she was spending the XP from the miniboss to pick up a Bradley from Red River. That way, they could defend themselves against the chupacabras and have a heavy vehicle for anything else that came their way.

With the sun well down, Alvin and his wives went back to their base. Rebs was beside them, holding Alvin’s hand as they walked through the portal.

“That was all the XP you got,” Alvin said. “Probably a good call, though. You’ll have to rotate who goes on those cleanups so no one gets too crazy with XP.”

“I will. Either Dad or I will be there every time, though. One of us has to drive. I’m not handing those keys out to anyone else.”

“Smart,” Mousie nodded.

“Very,” Desiree agreed.

“Y’all came at the right time to help,” Rebs said as they crossed the empty living room toward the bedroom. “I appreciate all you’ve done for me.”

“You can thank us again,” Gothy grinned. “Hero hasn’t had his thank you from you yet, either.”

Rebs smiled. “He hasn’t, but if you told me true, then he will tomorrow.”

“Yeah, but is there even a place in your settlement where we can be undisturbed?” Alvin asked, shutting the door behind him.

“Dad will make sure I can recover,” Rebs said. “I think he even likes you a little. Not enough to let me join your harem, but enough that he won’t bitch too much.”

“Oh?” Alvin asked, surprised. “I thought he was a straight-laced guy. You told us that.”

“I might’ve been wrong, or he might be more understanding than I thought,” Rebs grinned. “But let’s talk about thanking you and not about that awkward moment?”

“We’re ready,” Gothy said from the bed.

Alvin looked over to find his three wives already naked and touching each other. “When aren’t you?”

“Never,” Gothy laughed.

“When in Rome,” Rebs laughed, letting her clothing vanish.

Alvin’s clothing disappeared a heartbeat later. “You get sacked by the Vandals,” Alvin said, mangling the old saying as he picked Rebs up and carried her over his shoulder to the bed. “Wives, I come with a gift from my latest conquest.”

Chapter Thirty-nine

Alvin entered the portal to the base with a bemused expression. Seeing just Jarvis puttering around in the kitchen, Alvin went over to the table. “Hey, Jarvis, where are they?”

“In the training room, sir. Have been since this morning when you left with Rebs. If you’d let them know dinner will be ready in twenty minutes, please?”

“Can do. How was your day?”

“Quiet, sir.”

“See you in twenty,” Alvin said, wondering if it was the crafting fugue that had Jarvis so distracted, or if it was something else.

Getting to the training room, he found himself in a small waiting area. An airlock door was across from him, along with a bright red sign that told him to stay out. Seeing the intercom set next to the door, he went and triggered it.

“Gothy?”

“Hero?”

“Jarvis said dinner is in twenty.”

“Already? Damn, time flies. Is Rebs joining us?”

Alvin chuckled before replying, “Said she needed to be at the communal dinner. She’ll try to pop in afterward.”

“Dessert, it is,” Desiree laughed.

“Strawberry short stack,” Mousie added.

“Shortcake, but short stack kind of works for her,” Gothy giggled. “We’ll be out in a few. Mind getting the shower hot for us?”

“Sure thing,” Alvin said.

Alvin was stepping into the shower when he had a horrible thought. After a minute, he shook his head and started to wash. He didn’t dawdle, taking just a few minutes to get clean. When he got out of the shower, he left the water running and smiled when he heard voices.

“It’s hot, ladies.”

“I’ll say it is,” Desiree wolf-whistled.

“Done already?” Gothy grumbled.

“With the shower, yes. For the day? Probably not,” Alvin replied.

“Good. We’re all hoping for some of that dessert,” Mousie said, her eyes below his waist.

“So glad this is a game world,” Alvin laughed. “I’d either be a husk, dead from a heart attack, or too sore to walk, otherwise.”

“Fuck...” Gothy said softly. “That means I need to actually thank the devs for something.”

“Thank Sammi when we find her,” Desiree suggested before she paused to give Alvin a kiss and a slap on the ass.

“Yes, we should,” Mousie agreed, collecting a kiss of her own and giving him a light stroke before moving past him.

“Won’t argue with that,” Gothy smirked. “Sure you didn’t want to join us, Hero?” Gothy asked, inches from him.

“I’ll be joining you for dessert,” Alvin said. Leaning in, he kissed her softly, then spanked her hard. “Now get in there and make sure they’re clean for later.”

“Yes, Hero,” Gothy purred. “As you command.”

“Who needs a demonic succubus when I have a gothic one?” Alvin laughed as he watched her go into the shower.

“Me!” Gothy cheered.

The others laughed at her antics. With their wives converging on her to clean up, Alvin left the room.

Jarvis was hard at work and Nohel was nowhere in sight, so Alvin headed for the medical bay. Checking in on the DMV, he saw that it had finished pulling apart the Grey DNA. A random thought hit him and Alvin nodded, making a mental note to bring up a topic at dinner.

Leaving the medical bay, he went to the kiosk. After a bit of poking around and seeing how much XP they had to spend, Alvin had even more things he wanted to talk with his wives about.

Alvin found all three already at the table, chatting with Nohel, when he entered the room. “Evening. Did you all have a good day?”

“We did,” Gothy said. “It was nice. I’d ask you, but I already know the answer.”

Shrugging, Alvin kept his grin toned down. “You’d be right. Before we get really sidetracked, though, there’s a couple of things we should discuss.”

Nohel looked a little panicked. “If I did something wrong—!”

“Easy, easy,” Alvin said, cutting her off. “You’re fine, as far as I know.”

“She’s been a little on edge, thinking we shouldn’t ‘waste our time’ with her,” Gothy said.

“We’ve told her all day that she’s wrong,” Mousie added.

“It helps a little, but she’s still worried she’ll be overstepping her place,” Desiree finished.

“Hopefully, you can see it differently,” Alvin said as he took a seat at the table. “If we didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be. It’s that simple.”

Nohel looked down at the table, not meeting their eyes. “Yes, sir.”

“The DMV is done with the Grey DNA,” Alvin said, keeping an eye on Nohel, “which means we have options available to us again. I’d like to see about modifying Mousie to increase your maximum Hardiness to be in line with ours. I worry about you being fragile.”

Mousie smiled softly. “I wouldn’t say no. I want to make sure to be here forever.”

“The other thing we can do— if you’re willing, Nohel— is to let it start working on your DNA.”

Nohel frowned, looking up and trying to understand. “My DNA?”

“The machine needs a full read on it if you’d ever want to use it. I’m letting you know that it’s an option, if you want.”

Seeing her blank look, Gothy explained, “Remember how you were complaining about some things earlier? This would be an easy way for you to possibly change them.”

Nohel’s mouth fell open, and she looked shocked. “But… I shouldn’t…! I’m just… I’m just a bother…”

Gothy sighed and put her hand over Nohel’s. “Only you thinking you’re not worth anything is a bother, Nohel. The option is there, but it means working around us using the DMV. When we offer, that’s the time to speak up.”

Nohel looked from her to the others, then back to Gothy. “I have to choose right now?”

“Nope, but there will be times you’ll have to wait,” Alvin said. “People who fight get priority, not that we’ll have anyone besides you and Jarvis in the base that isn’t going to go fight.”

“And in time, maybe you’ll want to do that, too,” Mousie added.

“Dinner,” Jarvis said. “Is everything okay?”

“Just talking about possible futures,” Alvin told him.

“Ah, I can understand that, sir. Nohel, will you help me, please? I need you to get the wine and glasses.”

“Of course!” Nohel shot to her feet and rushed to help Jarvis.

“Sorry for interrupting, sir,” Jarvis said as he brought a basket of fresh bread and a big bowl of salad to the table. “Please continue.”

“We’d just finished the first subject,” Alvin shrugged. “Only other thing I was going to mention was that we have nearly four million XP to spend. I was thinking about stat upgrades... at least Hardiness, to give us more cushion.”

“Which explains why you mentioned it earlier,” Gothy said. “We should, including Mousie.”

“After dessert?” Mousie suggested, clearly not wanting to be left out of the fun later.

“Takes after you,” Desiree said to Gothy.

“I trained her well,” Gothy smirked.

“It’d take three hundred and forty thousand XP for Gothy and me to cap out at ten Hardiness. If we add in Mousie up to ten, after the DMV, we’re looking at six hundred and forty thousand XP.”

“Which still keeps you behind me,” Desiree said.

“Yeah, but not by much.”

“I approve of this idea,” Desiree nodded. “Keeping you all alive is my top priority.”

“We’re agreed, then,” Gothy said, Mousie nodding along with her.

“Okay, tomorrow morning for stats. I didn’t check how long it would take for Mousie in the tank.”

“What to do with the rest of it?” Gothy murmured.

“Considering where we’re going and what we might encounter,” Alvin said, “I was thinking of banking it for now. That way, we can spend big if something incredible comes up.”

“That’s a solid point,” Gothy agreed as she served herself some salad.

Jarvis was coming back with a couple of covered trays while Nohel poured wine for everyone. “Maybe a break for dinner?”

“Good call,” Alvin said, his mouth watering when he caught the scent of the food.

~
*
~
*
~

Pushing his empty plate away, Alvin sighed happily. “Damn, Jarvis, you’re going to make losing you nearly impossible.”

“Nohel will easily catch up to and surpass me,” Jarvis said. When Nohel started to object, Jarvis shook his head. “I do not flatter needlessly, Nohel. You’re only just behind me when it comes to cooking. Your other skills for being the maid need a bit more work, but you will get there, too.”

“Did they tell you something?” Gothy asked pointedly.

“Not yet, miss. I just wish her to know her potential. No one has told her plainly how much she can do. They only ever told her what she couldn’t do.”

Nohel’s lip trembled and she swallowed. “Alvin… is that offer still open?”

“The DMV? Yes.”

“I’d like to start. I want to be better.”

“Gothy, she’d probably feel better if it was you,” Alvin said.

“Ladies, let’s go help our timid friend take a big first step,” Gothy said, rising to her feet.

“Yes,” Desiree smiled.

“Of course,” Mousie nodded.

As they left the table, Jarvis watched them go. “You really do want to help the people who’ve been harmed like you, Alvin.”

“No one should experience that hell...” Alvin said quietly. “She isn’t like me and Gothy. I’m surprised she survived, even as busted as she is. I just hope Gothy can help her.”

“You’ll both help her,” Jarvis said, getting to his feet. “I might not be able to see the code anymore, but I’ve seen you take broken things and make them whole in different ways.”

Alvin snorted. “A little thick there.”

“Gothy and Mousie would argue that,” Jarvis said simply as he started to collect the dishes. “Then again, Gothy is doing the same with you. Would you have comforted Susan about James? Taken the time to help Beatty with the mini-bosses instead of just going after them yourself? Given away the Predators to the Dwarves? Been willing to take that broken, poor soul into your home with nothing more than the hope that she can be healed?”

Alvin blinked. Everything he’d done in the last few weeks had just been laid bare before him. “Shit…”

“As you help them, they help you, sir,” Jarvis said. “Even you have begun to change, and can you say it hasn’t been for the better?”

“Hey, is dessert still on the menu?” Rebs asked, coming into the base. “Where is everyone?”

Alvin shook his head and he put aside the big thoughts, deciding to focus on the here and now. “They’ll be back shortly. Jarvis, can you let them know I’ll have dessert warmed up for them when they return?”

Jarvis rolled his eyes. “If I must
, sir.”

Rebs laughed. “Sorry, Jarvis. He’s incorrigible to a fault.”

“He’s tame compared to Gothy,” Jarvis deadpanned. “Have a good evening.”

“Oh, we will,” Alvin laughed.

Chapter Forty

Alvin checked on Mousie for the fourth time that day, the percentage of her modifications moving slowly toward being complete. Placing his hand on the tank, Alvin smiled at the suspended Elf.

“Is she done?” Gothy asked, poking her head into the room.

“Maybe another half hour?” Alvin suggested.

“She looks a little thicker,” Gothy said, moving to stand beside Alvin. “Dwarf or Human?”

“Dwarf,” Alvin said. “Human would’ve altered her a lot more to get her to match us.”

“Maybe I won’t need to worry about breaking her as often,” Desiree said when she joined them. “She’s still very thin, but not to the point where I’ll hurt her as easily now. I wouldn’t complain about being more nimble.”

“We can toss you in whenever you’re ready,” Alvin said, resting his arm across Desiree’s shoulders. “Should take about the same amount of time— half a day.”

“Maybe tomorrow?” Desiree asked.

“If that works for you,” Alvin said.

“Let’s go max out our stat,” Gothy said. “It’ll give us something to do besides drool on our wife.”

“But you all like it when I drool on you,” Alvin laughed.

“Almost as much as you like it when we drool on you
,” Gothy replied.

“I’m a man. What can I say?”

When they left the medical bay, they went right over to the kiosk. Side by side, the couple worked the interface to increase their Hardiness stats. With a glance at each other, they accepted the change at the same time.

Alvin waited for the weird sensation of his skin crawling to make him shiver, but nothing happened. He blinked, the lack of sensation odd. Gothy suddenly shifted in his vision— the overall effect wasn’t as pronounced as it could have been because of her clothing, but it was obvious she’d just changed. Gothy didn’t twitch, though, not moving as though her skin was crawling at all.

“No sensation for you?” Alvin asked her.

“For me, no, but what about you?” Gothy asked.

“Not a thing.”

“You both changed,” Desiree said. “I am glad to hear they removed that sickening feeling from it.”

“Right!?” Gothy snorted. “Finally! I’ve been asking them to fix that since the first time I upgraded myself.”

“Movement in a positive direction,” Alvin said. “Let’s step back into the medical bay. I want to wait for Mousie, but I also want to see you naked to compare from last night.”

“I’m game,” Gothy said, moving straight for the medical bay.

“We know,” Desiree snickered.

Back in the medical bay, and away from where Jarvis and Nohel might see them, both Gothy and Alvin lost their clothing. Alvin wolf-whistled and tried not to drool. Gothy seemed to be in the same state as she stared at him.

“Differences... both of you have lost the majority of your extra weight, not that you had much left,” Desiree said, eyeing them both. “All your muscles look firmer... might have lost some of your muscle mass, actually.” She moved over and ran her hand over Gothy’s stomach. “Interesting. How did you manage to keep just a hint of your old padding?”

Gothy frowned, obviously at a loss for that, as well. She pulled her eyes from Alvin’s eight-pack to look down, then sighed. Her breasts were still just as large as they had been, and were obviously not going to let her see her own stomach.

“Because she’s Gothy,” Alvin said, moving forward and running his hand over Gothy’s stomach. Her muscles were clearly there, right under the skin, they just didn’t pop to the same degree as Alvin’s. “Beautiful in every way.”

“You always said that even when I was far larger.”

“Just as true today as it was then,” Alvin said gently.

“He definitely approves,” Desiree said, her hand grazing Alvin’s rising salute.

“Hard not to, but this isn’t the room for that,” Alvin said, stepping back before they could make him reconsider his stance.

Gothy’s eyes dipped to see his hard cock and she licked her lips. “It’s not like anyone wo—”

“Gothy, I was wonderin—?” Nohel was asking when she came into the room, her voice cutting off when she got an eyeful of Alvin and Gothy.

In the next instant, Alvin was dressed. “Sorry, Nohel. It isn’t as it might’ve appeared.”

Gothy turned to Nohel, still naked. “He’s right. We just upgraded our stats and were checking the differences. What did you need?”

Nohel blinked, her cheeks going scarlet, as her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.

Desiree sighed and stepped between Gothy and Nohel, breaking most of her line of sight. “Nohel?”

“Huh...? Oh! Uh...? Never mind!” Nohel spun and left the room at a quick walk.

“
That’s why I was saying that,” Alvin said.

“Shit,” Gothy sighed, suddenly clothed. “I’ll go talk with her.”

“
We’ll go,” Desiree said. “She might need someone else there to not feel intimidated.”

“Hmm... She was staring at me, and not Hero. You might have a point.”

“Hero was also dressed the instant she came into the room,” Desiree was saying as the two women left.

A second after they walked out, a small beep got Alvin’s attention and the DMV began to drain the fluid from Mousie’s tank. Shaking his head, he turned to the tank, waiting for Mousie to wake up.

“Hello, Hero,” Mousie said when her eyelids opened.

“Hey. You ready to come out and go through the stat increase?”

Mousie’s lips twisted into a frown before she nodded. “Not really, but I’ll deal with it.”

“No reason to hate it anymore,” Alvin told her. “They changed it. No more skin twitches.”

“Really?”

“Yup. Gothy and I are both capped on Hardiness now. Once you’re out, we’ll get you capped, too.”

Mousie looked at him as much as she could. “Did it change you a lot?”

“We’ve already had an incident,” Alvin said. “Nohel walked in when Gothy and I were naked.”

“In the bedroom?”

“Right here,” Alvin said. “Have to be a little more careful. Jarvis didn’t wander, but Nohel wanted to ask Gothy something.”

“Is she okay?”

“Gothy just left to go check on her, or she’d be here, too,” Alvin said.

“Are you upset?”

“No, though I’m a little concerned about her. Gothy took a huge responsibility on with Nohel coming in.”

“She knows,” Mousie said as the fluid finished draining completely.

“Gothy sees in Nohel what could’ve been her,” Alvin said. “I understand the desire to want to help.”

“That’s why you’re our hero, Hero.”

“Come on, you,” Alvin said, holding a towel out for her. “Get dried off, and then we’ll get your stats upped.”

“Did we have plans for today?” Mousie asked as she dried off.

“None that I know of, though we could probably start to the east finally.”

“If that’s what you wish, Hero.”

“Right now, what I’d wish isn’t to the east,” Alvin said when Mousie bent over to dry her legs.

Mousie giggled and, as she stood up, was dressed. “I’ll be good and not cause a second problem.”

“Probably for the best. Knowing my luck, that wou—”

“Hero,” Gothy said as she led Nohel back to the room, “will you tell her that you’re not upset with her?”

“As I was saying,” Alvin said, giving Mousie a knowing look before turning to Nohel. “Nohel, I’m not upset at you in any way. I’m a bit disappointed in us for not thinking about you, but every change comes with moments where mistakes will be made. You shouldn’t have to worry about us being naked in rooms outside of the bedroom. So please, bear with us as we get used to the newness?”

Nohel swallowed and looked away from him. “This is your home, not mine... You shouldn’t have to change your ways to suit me, sir.”

“Life is change,” Alvin said. “The only thing that never changes,” Alvin paused and barked a short laugh, “well, it used to be the dead, but even that changed. My point is that changes happen. I can promise we won’t make a change we don’t want to.”

“Okay,” Nohel said softly.

“But it comes at a price,” Alvin said.

Nohel hunched slightly, her brain conjuring all sorts of prices. Gothy gave him a questioning gaze, knowing that he’d never ask Nohel for something that would harm her.

“A simple, easy price: if we make you uncomfortable in any way, you tell us. That’s it. You have to tell us honestly if something makes you uncomfortable.”

Gothy gave Alvin a bright smile. Desiree and Mousie nodded, agreeing with his simple request.

Nohel looked up, confused and clearly lost. “But—!”

“That’s all,” Alvin said gently, cutting her off. “If it’s too much, we understand. It might be a little unreasonable, actually. Asking a timid young woman to be brash enough to tell us when she’s uncomfortable? It’s asking a lot. I’ll amend it... you just have to tell one of us. That’ll give you the chance to pick someone you’re the most comfortable with to speak to privately.”

“I told you,” Gothy said.

Nohel nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Then everything’s fine.”

“I should go back to helping Jarvis,” Nohel said, taking a step back toward the door.

“We’ll be out there shortly. Ask him to whip up a snack for us, please? Mousie hasn’t had breakfast.”

“Yes, sir.”

With Nohel gone, Alvin turned to Gothy, who looked a little hesitant. “She’s fragile, Gothy.”

“I know... I want to help her, though.”

“I know. Desiree? Mousie?”

“We talked about it the other day,” Desiree said. “We’re willing to help. If it becomes a problem, we’ll tell you.”

Mousie nodded. “It’s what Gothy wants, so it’s what I want, as well. Your wishes also matter to me, Hero, so I will tell you if trouble comes from it.”

“Then we’re agreed,” Alvin said. “No more fun times outside of the designated areas,” he added. “Mousie almost got us into another incident.”

Mousie giggled. “I was drying off.”

“He does like you wet,” Gothy said, trying to push them back to normalcy.

“Hero likes us all wet, which would be the problem,” Desiree added.

“Mousie was about to upgrade her Hardiness,” Alvin said, ignoring their attempts to bait him. “Time to fill them bones out a bit more.”

Mousie’s eyes glittered. “I thought you just said we couldn’t.”

Alvin opened his mouth, but shut it as the others laughed. Shaking his head, he moved to leave the room. “Good one, Mousie.”

“It was,” Gothy agreed.

Mousie spent the XP from their joint account, raising her Hardiness to the same level as Alvin and Gothy. The change was more pronounced for her, since her frame had been thinner to start with.

“Very nice,” Alvin said. “Going to be hard to wear any of you out anymore. I might need to add some Dwarf to me just for the stamina.”

Desiree laughed. “You last far longer than anyone I’ve ever been with.”

“Really?” Alvin asked, surprised. “Dwarves in our stories were known for having the best endurance.”

“For labor, maybe,” Desiree said. “For sex, not as much. I’d say less than ten minutes a go.”

“Well, there’s my ego inflated,” Alvin said.

Gothy looked at his groin. “Doesn’t look like it to me.”

“Damned sex maniac,” Alvin shook his head. “We still have over three mil. Can anyone think of anything else we need?”

“Not really need
,” Gothy said. “We could look over the shop and check, though.”

“Not a horrible idea,” Alvin said. “Lunch and a movie while we browse?”

“What movie?” Desiree asked.

“Hmm, that’s always a tough one,” Alvin admitted. “Maybe we ask Jarvis or Nohel?”

“Yes,” Gothy nodded.

“Well, then, let’s go,” Alvin said, motioning his wives ahead of him.

Chapter Forty-one

Jarvis declined to pick the movie, leaving that option to Nohel. Put on the spot, she said the first thing that came to her mind. Alvin laughed and agreed with her choice.

When
The Matrix came to an end, Gothy was laughing. “Keanu was a stud, but he’s got nothing on you, Hero.”

“What an interesting movie,” Desiree said. “Silly in places, but good. Funny how your world saw the idea of a game being played while also having a world destroyed around them.”

“Even I can’t bend over backward like that to dodge bullets,” Mousie snorted.

“Yeah. It was the best of the trilogy, too,” Alvin said.

Nohel blinked, looking to Alvin. “What do you mean ‘trilogy’?”

“Oh, yeah, you don’t know the full story,” Alvin said. “This world is set in 2000, but I died years after that.”

Nohel’s confusion was obvious to everyone, and Gothy sighed. “Hero, you still suck at explaining things.”

“Fine, you explain it,” Alvin said, getting to his feet. “I’m going to check on the kiosk.”

“Nohel,” Gothy said, turning to address the confused young woman, “let’s start with the world as we currently know it and work backward.”

Tapping on the kiosk a minute later, Alvin frowned. He had a message waiting for him, and from someone he didn’t know.

Alvin,

I hope you get this and are in the Eastern US. I need your help, please. I’m stuck down in New Orleans. I don’t know who picked my drop-in point, but fuck them. Fuck them to hell and back.

The city’s a mess, which is what you’d figure, but the worst part of it isn’t the zombies. Those would be easier to deal with. The real problem is the Loa. A Gate opened up down in the French Quarter and they came into the city. The voodoo practitioners implored them for help with the undead, and help was given, but there’s always a cost. The Loa have divided the city between them.

I don’t expect you to do anything like help the city, but please, I need your help. I’ve been trying to help Erzulie’s mambo, but Erzulie’s husbands are fighting over her, no longer content with sharing their wife. None of them will listen to her, and her small group of followers has been pushed to the brink.

We’re stuck in the Superdome and besieged on all sides. Will you come and help? Please?

Sammi.

Alvin read over the letter and sighed. “Damn it, Sammi... this is why helping strangers is bad.”

“Hero?” Desiree asked, coming into the room. “Did you say something?”

“Get Gothy and Mousie. We’re on the move,” Alvin said. “I’ll be in Red River and waiting for you all with the Blade.”

Alvin didn’t wait for a reply— he triggered fast travel and blinked the rainbow out of his eyes, already pulling up the interface to summon the Huey.

“Who’re you?” a man with corporal insignia asked Alvin.

“Death!” Alvin snapped as the Huey appeared almost a hundred feet away in the first open spot that could hold it.

The corporal was about to bring his gun up and detain the angry-looking man when three more beams of rainbows flooded the area with light. Cursing softly, he tried to get his eyes functional again. When he managed to see again, three very shapely women were hurrying over to the intruder. “Oh, shit... that was the guy,” the corporal muttered as he reached for his radio.

“Hero, what happened?” Gothy asked as they caught up to Alvin just short of the helicopter.

“Sammi asked for help,” Alvin said as he climbed in. “New Orleans is a war zone and she’s in the middle of it. Did you want to help her?”

Gothy was already sliding into the pilot’s seat. “Figures she’d get into trouble. What’re we looking at?”

“I only had a small letter, but apparently, the Loa came to the city and three of them are fighting over their wife. Sammi sided with the wife and her remnants. They’re hunkered down in the Superdome, and the husbands are fighting around the outside of it. They got tired of sharing.”

“Idiot men,” Mousie snorted as she took the copilot’s seat.

“Sharing is caring, morons,” Desiree added.

“We’ll be there,” Gothy said. “Do we have any real information about their forces or anything?”

“Not yet, but once we get close, we can go to the base and try to contact her,” Alvin said. “I wanted to get moving, at the very least.”

“A few hours, then,” Gothy said as the helicopter began to come to life. “I’ll take us over the big lake-thing north of the city. If we’re high enough there, we should be fine for coming back to the base.”

“Solid plan,” Alvin said. “Desiree, if anything even twitches in our direction, kill it.”

“Roger,” Desiree said as the helo lifted off. “You mean dangerous things, not allies, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“The Army man is running at us and waving his arms.”

“No time for them,” Alvin said. “Go on, Gothy.”

“We’re off,” Gothy said as she got them moving away.

Alvin looked back to see the corporal yelling into his radio, and wondered what could be so damned important. Shaking his head, he focused on his area of responsibility to make sure they had a safe flight to help Sammi.

~
*
~
*
~

It was quiet as they crossed over the thick greenery that dominated the southern United States. They were attacked a couple of times by birds, upset that something had come into their area of influence, but between the three machine guns, they were killed and left to fall to the ground. Alvin didn’t feel any pang of waste from not trying to loot the bodies, as the animals were likely not worth the time and effort to recover.

The sun was setting when they passed over Baton Rouge. Alvin wondered if Sammi was still okay, but now, less than an hour away from helping, he knew they’d be going back to the base first.

“Gothy, take us out over the water but keep us high. Fuck only knows what lives in those waters now.”

“I’m going to trigger the portal, Hero,” Gothy said, “but yes, I’ll keep us high.”

“Copy that.”

A couple of minutes later, they were in the garage. The sudden shift from flight to the ground was a little disjointed, and it wasn’t any less jarring than going from ground to air.

“Okay, I’ll send her a letter,” Alvin said. “I hope she has a radio. That would make communication so much easier.”

“Bathroom break,” Gothy said as she got out of the helo. “We’ll be ready to go, either when you have info or just blind if we have to.”

“Go on. I’ll have to make a pit stop once I send the first letter,” Alvin said.

Pausing at the kiosk, Alvin quickly started typing.

Sammi,

Do you have a radio? If you do, I’ll give you the frequency to talk to us. We’re sitting over Lake Pontchartrain in a Huey. We need to know what we’re facing exactly if you want us to come in hot.

If it’s too bad, we can swoop in and get you and maybe ten others. Unless the Loa can fly, we can get you some distance away so your friends can reevaluate what they’re going to do.

Bottom line is that we came for you
, not for them. What will it be?

Alvin and Team Asshole

Sending it off, he hurried to the guest bathroom.

“Sir, did I hear right? You’re over New Orleans to save Sammi?” Jarvis asked when Alvin came out of the bathroom.

“That’s the long and short of it,” Alvin nodded. “Something we should know?”

Jarvis gave him a tight grimace. “I wish I could, but we both know I cannot, sir.”

“I know, buddy. Sorry about dinner being off schedule.”

“We’ll keep it ready for you and for the potential others, sir,” Nohel said from the kitchen. “It just won’t be as good as it could’ve been.”

“A fair trade,” Alvin said. “Thank you, Nohel.”

“Do you know anything about Voodoo, sir?” Jarvis asked.

“Besides that they made zombies and deal with dolls that can hurt you? Not a fucking clue, Jarvis. Voodoo wasn’t my do.”

“Very droll, sir. Voodoo is a religion,” Jarvis said the words carefully, as if waiting to be locked out, “very much like the Native Americans’.”

Alvin exhaled, “Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of, Jarvis. We’ll deal with what we have to to get Sammi out.”

“Even if it means tossing her onboard and getting out,” Gothy said, stepping out of the bedroom. “She’d better appreciate it. Messing around with ‘gods’ is not the best way to have a quiet life.”

“Like we’ll ever have a quiet life,” Desiree laughed as she came into the room.

“It would be very unlikely, but we’ll need some calmness if we want children,” Mousie said.

“Very true,” Alvin agreed with Mousie. “Let’s go see if she replied.”

Alvin led the group back to the kiosk room and saw a message waiting for him.

Alvin,

It’s nearly untenable. Yes, I have a radio, but my range will be shit. I’m trying to convince the Loa to leave the city behind with her mambo and acolytes. I told them that another settlement would be better and give them time to prepare for whichever husband survives their war.

To the north-west, Damballa and his houngans have secured the city. I believe he has what’s left of the national guard with him, but they didn’t have any heavy equipment as of last night.

The north-east is the home of Ogoun. His people started to assimilate metal into their very beings. A war-Loa with a love of rum... his people are fierce and throw themselves into battle. Thankfully, few of them are using guns.

The south of the city has been taken by Agwe. The Loa of the sea has choked the south and he has a kraken or some other very large, tentacled beast that helps him there. Closer to us, his people are using hit-and-run to play the other two against each other while Agwe is just outside.

Between them, there might be nearly half a million people involved in this war. Most of them are alive, but dedicated to the Loa they serve. Give me an hour to try and sway Erzulie to leave? If she won’t budge, I’ll head to the roof and go with you alone.

I’ll make it up to you.

Sammi

Alvin let the others read over his shoulder. “Well?”

“Dinner,” Gothy said. “She asked us to give her an hour, so we will. At that point, we go in hard and pull her ass out.”

“Agreed,” Desiree said.

“What if the Loa does want to flee?” Mousie asked. “What do we do with her and the few she brings?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we reach it, and likely leave it burning behind us,” Alvin said.

“Five minutes and dinner will be ready,” Jarvis said, standing nearby.

“Worried?” Alvin asked him.

“She was the only dev who cared, sir. I think I feel much like a father concerned for a daughter.”

“All the more reason to get her out, then,” Alvin said.

Chapter Forty-two

Alvin cracked his neck as they walked for the garage. Dinner had been good— the buff gave them two to their lowest stat. It was unfortunately fixed from the last time, so it didn’t buff all of Alvin’s equally lowest stats.

“Let’s see what she has to say...” Alvin murmured, stopping at the kiosk.

Alvin,

I’ll be there and waiting. The Loa and six of her retinue are coming with.

Thank you so much.

Sammi

“Eight in total,” Alvin said. “Get the keys out and ready. I’d love to pop in, get them, and bring them straight to the base if possible, to avoid any idiocy from the others. If we’re in a fight and can’t, we’ll take off and wait until we can.”

“Copy that,” Gothy said. “You and Desiree on the doors?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

“I have four keys ready, Hero,” Desiree said.

“I’ll get the other four. Just hand them off as they load in.”

“Roger.”

“Sir, best wishes,” Jarvis said from the living room doorway.

“I’ll have snacks waiting for them,” Nohel said from behind Jarvis.

“I’m sure they’ll appreciate it,” Alvin said, giving her a nod. “Hope to be back soon. The flight from the lake to the stadium shouldn’t take too long.”

“At night, with no lights on, and silenced as we are? They shouldn’t even see us,” Gothy said from the garage.

“The moon is a waning crescent,” Jarvis added, “as close to the new moon as you can get.”

“Even better,” Alvin said. “‘Ave a cuppa tea, guv’nah. We’ll bring her to ya,” Alvin said with a horrible accent.

Jarvis’ eyelid twitched. “Sir, I ask politely that you never do that again.”

Alvin laughed and started to head into the garage. “No promises, buddy!”

Moments later, the Huey was spun up and Gothy triggered them out of the garage. The slight downward shift when they appeared in the world might give people that were afraid of heights a heart attack, but it was gone in the next second.

“Map marker set,” Gothy announced. “We’re off.”

“Copy that, Gothy,” Alvin said as he watched the dark waters underneath them churn. “Keep us high until we get over the city. Something big’s in that lake.”

“You got it, Hero.”

New Orleans was mostly dark, but pockets of light broke the darkness.
Settlements for the Loa and their followers,
Alvin thought.
Glad I’m not staying here, though Mardi Gras would certainly be different
.

They came over land above a small section of homes, and then over a large golf course. In the distance, smoke was rising, and Alvin knew it had to be their destination.

“Looks like the fight is still going hard,” Desiree said.

“Men who wish to be the only one for their woman,” Mousie snorted. “After sharing her for how long?”

“Hundreds of years, at least,” Alvin said. “It’s a long time for us, though not as much for you.”

“Something that I try not to think about,” Mousie said.

“Then again, since this is a game, all they have to do is leave the servers on,” Gothy said. “We don’t know if our life spans will be Human normal. Hell, we can use Elf, Grey, or Dwarf DNA to extend them, I bet.”

“True enough,” Alvin agreed. “Okay, getting closer. Let’s focus.”

They left the golf course behind and were over the city again in moments. The buildings looked to be mostly in good condition, but as they got ever closer to the stadium, the signs of a prolonged fight were clearly visible.

“—ero, where are you?” Sammi’s voice suddenly came in over the radio. “Please, please, we need you here.”

“We’re inbound,” Alvin replied. “What happened?”

“The Stadium is falling. We’re on the roof and the others are buying us as much time as they can, but we won’t last another five minutes.”

“Good thing we’re closer than that, isn’t it?” Alvin spotted figures atop the Superdome. “Look north and high. We’re coming in hot, so warn them they need to board quickly and without fuss.”

“I’ll get them ready,” Sammi replied.

“Hero, that fight is vicious,” Desiree said as they got closer. “I’m glad we’re not on the streets.”

“Agreed,” Alvin said when he caught sight of the war going on.

Large people with scales clashed with others who had metal limbs, and others with webbed hands were attacking both of them. The occasional large flash happened, and Alvin worried some as he watched one smoke cloud turn into a laughing skull.

“Yeah... let’s not fight, if possible. There’s fucking spells happening in that mess.”

“Don’t get hit by them! I’ve seen some of them do horrible things,” Sammi warned them. “I can’t see you.”

“Because we’re high, but we’re dropping in now,” Gothy replied.

“Stay off the guns unless needed,” Alvin reminded Desiree. “We want to snatch and get out. Can’t do that if we’re in combat.”

“Roger.”

As the stadium came closer, Alvin could see Sammi and the other seven women on the roof. Sammi was wearing denim and leathers, while the others were wearing more impractical clothing. Frowning, he got the gun aimed over the heads of the women and waited for Gothy to bring them in.

As the helicopter dropped from above them, Sammi’s face lit up with a wide smile and she began waving at them. Alvin chuckled, but was ready to fire if needed, the four keys to the base in his right hand.

Gothy dropped them a foot above the top of the stadium roof, and everyone began to board. Alvin and Desiree were handing off keys, and things seemed to be going fine. Sammi was the last one on the helo, on Alvin’s side. She took the key and hugged him hard.

“Thank you!”

Alvin didn’t get a chance to reply— the roof of the stadium suddenly caved in a few feet from them. A giant white snakehead rose up from the hole, glaring at the Huey.

“My wife! Give her back, interloper!” The voice boomed out from the snake as it started to rise higher.

“GO!” Alvin shouted, shoving Sammi into the passenger seats and grabbing the gun.

“My wife!” Another deep voice roared, and a metal-encased man was suddenly on the other side of the Huey.

Gothy pushed the bird for all she was worth, shooting forward and up, before having to tip the helicopter onto its side to avoid the giant metal arm swinging at them from the left. The moment she passed over it, she stood them up on the tail. The snake’s mouth snapped at where they’d been going a moment before.

Both door guns fired, as the fight was already underway. Alvin growled under his breath and traced a line of fire across the white snake’s head. An angry shout came from the other side of the Huey, and Alvin grinned, thinking Desiree had gotten the other one.

The passengers were screaming, except for Sammi, who’d stopped the moment she realized she hadn’t been thrown out of the helicopter when it tipped. Grabbing for her seatbelt, Sammi began to buckle up while shouting at the others to do the same. She didn’t know if the strangeness of the helicopter was going to last, and she didn’t want to find out the hard way.

After a moment, they were well above the stadium and flying north. The two giant beasts left behind forgot about them and clashed with each other, destroying the stadium completely.

Alvin looked back in time to see the snake squeezing the metal-clad man, while he had the snake’s mouth firmly shut with one hand and punched it with his other.
Petty gods and their feuds,
Alvin snorted.

It took them getting over the far side of Lake Pontchartrain before Gothy was able to summon the base portal. The women had gone quiet as they had fled, but Alvin ignored them while he waited for something else horrible to pop up.

The moment they were in the base, Alvin exhaled. “Fucking shit, that was messy.”

“You owe us for that, Sammi,” Gothy said as she pulled the pilot’s helmet off and opened her door.

“Where are we?” one of the women in the back said. The voice had a husky, deeply sexual quality to it, and was heavily Haitian. “I can no longer feel any of them...”

“My base,” Alvin said as he turned to the guests. “You’ll behave as a guest should or I’ll pitch your ass right back out. And last I checked, we were up a good distance.”

The woman gave him a long look while the other six all glared at him. “You have my thanks, Alvin. I will abide by your rules while within your walls.”

Alvin’s lips thinned. “Sammi, did you tell her my name, or is she doing that wise god bullshit?”

“I told her,” Sammi said. “I told her about all of you.”

“And that your family doesn’t fight like mine has decided to do,” Erzulie sighed. “Being fully corporeal made them a little too eager for all the pleasures of the flesh.”

Alvin’s eyelid twitched. The Loa in front of him was giving off enough sex appeal to rival Gothy, if not even pull ahead some. “Can you tone that sexy-woman thing down?”

Erzulie gave a deep, throaty laugh. “I can try to contain my nature as much as possible.” Closing her eyes for a moment, the ebony-skinned woman exhaled slowly, and Alvin sighed along with her when her sheer presence faded some. “Better?”

“Much.”

“No putting the mojo on Hero without my approval,” Gothy said from the far door, “or I’ll toss a bitch out.”

Erzulie glanced to Gothy before she rose to her feet with an eerie grace. “A woman who might truly embody my core? I had not thought to find one such as you outside of my influence. Would you like to know more of me?”

Gothy’s face froze and she suddenly had a gun in her hand. “Put that ‘come-hither’ shit away. I’m immune to mind-fuckery, but I can tell when it’s being directed at me.”

Erzulie froze in place and her servants surrounded her, facing out toward all of them. “I didn’t mean to press. I have erred, badly, and twice, in a span of moments. How might I make amends and keep in your good graces?”

“First, turn that off completely
,” Gothy said flatly. “You better be as plain jane as possible.”

Erzulie bowed her head and her appearance changed, becoming a hunched over, grandmotherly woman. “This is the best I can do.”

Gothy nodded. “You’re to stay like that while you’re with us. Your priestesses or whatever had better calm the fuck down, too. We didn’t come for you. We came for her, and you’re only here because Sammi asked us to help you. You should ask her what happens to the people who piss us off.”

“They end up dead or wishing they were,” Sammi added, having moved to stand behind Alvin. “I told you that they weren’t to be messed with.”

“Yes... I failed to understand the depth of your meaning,” Erzulie said, her voice old and dry. “Children, calm yourselves. They freed us from the worst, and if we are kind, they might take us someplace where we can prepare for my husbands.”

“Maybe,” Alvin grunted. “As you’re all already on a bad foot, you’ll be getting the bare minimum until you earn enough good grace to change our opinion.”

“We’ll abide, Alvin. Tell us what we may and may not do. My children will do as you instruct.”

All six women bowed their heads, saying in unison, “We will do as instructed by Alvin.”

“Creepy...” Alvin said. “Okay, let’s go meet the staff. If either of them feels threatened or upset by any of you, the door is right there and the first step is a doozy.” Alvin stepped out of the Huey and made his way to the kiosk room. “And don’t go into any rooms that we don’t show you.”

Chapter Forty-three

Jarvis was waiting to greet them when they entered the main room. “Welcome to Alvin’s home. I am Jarvis, the butler, and behind me is Nohel, the maid. We have drinks and snacks to help you refresh some, but we do ask that you wash your hands first.” He motioned to the guest bathroom. “Just through there, please.”

All of the new people started to make their way to the guest bathroom, but Gothy snagged Sammi’s arm.

“Not you, Sammi,” Gothy said. “You get to use our bathroom. Follow me.”

Sammi hesitated a moment before nodding. “Okay, Gothy.”

Alvin watched Sammi go, getting a good look at her as she went, and was a little surprised. Sammi was equal in height to Gothy, but didn’t look the same as she had before. Her hair had gone from shoulder length and unremarkable to short, spiky, and neon pink. The conservative outfit she always wore had been replaced with denim and leathers that clung to her figure in all the right ways. She was slimmer than Gothy, but more robust than Mousie, giving her a nice niche to herself.

“Sir?” Jarvis asked a little frostily.

“She asked for our help and was interested before, Jarvis,” Alvin replied. “If she wants in, I’m not going to tell her no. You know Gothy already has ideas. Or are you taking the daughter thing a bit too far?”

Jarvis hesitated. “I don’t know. I feel protective of her, even though she isn’t really a child, not that I think you or the others would do anything to harm her. How interesting.”

Alvin chuckled. “You know we’ll take care of her better than anyone else would.”

“I am aware, sir. I’m not opposed, as I know how you treat those you truly care about.”

“I am who I am,” Alvin shrugged.

“Sir, should I set out the refreshments?” Nohel asked softly.

“Go ahead, Nohel. Thank you for your hard work. I’ll go clean up a little, too,” Alvin said, heading for the bedroom.

The sound of voices came from the bathroom, and Alvin slowed his pace to eavesdrop a little.

“Really did do a full makeover... I like it. A little punk rock and spunky,” Gothy said. “Never would have pegged you for pink hair, but does the carpet match the drapes?”

“No,” Sammi laughed. “It’s more hardwood flooring.”

“Oh, smooth? Nice,” Gothy said.

“Sammi, do you plan to join us?” Desiree asked.

“Well, uh... I mean... I’m not opposed to it. Gothy did kind of hint that it’d be okay. If it’s not, that’s fine. I can go with—”

“Fuck that,” Gothy cut her off.

“I was merely asking,” Desiree said. “We were never sure if it was something that interested you, and Hero made it very clear that everyone must be willing. Gothy might get a little carried away at times, but it’s best to have it stated flatly.”

“Hero said only one of each race, too,” Mousie added. “Do you think he’ll change his mind on that?”

“She’s a player,” Gothy hedged, but she was clearly worried.

An evil smile touched Alvin’s lips before he smoothed his features and stepped into the bathroom. “You all done? I need to use the facilities before we go speak with our guests.”

Gothy looked over to him, at Sammi, and then back. “Hero, about Sammi—?”

“Yeah, it was a close one,” Alvin said, overriding her. “Might’ve gone really bad. We’re glad you’re safe, Sammi. Jarvis, too. He was saying he sees you like a daughter.”

Sammi blinked, clearly not having expected the conversation to go the way it was. “Really?”

“Yeah. Surprised him, too,” Alvin said as he had crossed the bathroom to the toilet. “I’ll catch up to you all in a moment.”

His wives gave him puzzled looks, but Sammi nodded and went for the exit. Desiree and Mousie were right behind her, but Gothy stayed behind.

“Hero?”

“Yes, gothic succubus?”

“I need to know something.”

“Does Sammi qualify as a Human or something different?” Alvin asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m not sure,” Alvin said. “Honestly, I don’t know. We need to talk to her about this whole thing. I know you loved to tease her, but do you really want her as part of the family?”

“She’s cute... well, sexy with the look she has going on right now, smart, and did do the best she could before. I’m not going to say no if she wants a tumble, and I’d be willing to give her a chance for more.”

“Even if it meant no Nohel?”

Gothy nodded. “I don’t intend for Nohel to join us that way. Maybe she will in time, but I honestly just want to help her.”

Stepping away from the toilet, Alvin went to the sink. “Okay. Let’s talk with Sammi after we deal with these people. We can see if she’s willing or if we were just her Hail Mary.”

Gothy groaned. “Football puns?”

“Got to get them extra points where I can,” Alvin laughed as he washed his hands.

“Hero, those are awful.”

Turning around with a towel in his hand, Alvin grinned at her. “You’re welcome.”

Gothy’s smile softened and she went up to him. “Thank you for bringing me home a dev of my very own.”

“Not a dev anymore,” Alvin corrected her as he dropped the towel and took her into his arms. “She’s an alpha tester, but my previous statement stands. You’re welcome, my dear, lovable, gothic succubus.”

The kiss was soft and tender, a rare thing between them, but all the more powerful because of that. Gothy let out a soft happy sound as she pressed into him, her hands lightly rubbing his back as his hands slipped down to rest on her hips.

“I bet they got distracted,” Desiree’s voice floated to the kissing couple.

“If she’s on her knees, I’m going to join her,” Mousie added.

“Just as long as you share,” Desiree said before two heads appeared in the doorway. “Oh…” The sound of someone seeing something sweet was loud.

Alvin sighed as he broke the kiss. “Sorry, ladies. We’re coming.”

“No, you were kissing,” Mousie said. “When you’re cumming, your eyelid twitches.”

Gothy broke out laughing, still leaning into Alvin. “She’s right. It does.”

“And your toes curl,” Mousie finished, directing it at Gothy.

“Do they ever,” Desiree giggled.

“You two,” Alvin snickered. “Kisses for both of you, then we need to talk with our guests.”

Mousie was beside them before Desiree could move. “Agreed.”

“Eager little mouse, isn’t she?” Gothy giggled as she stepped aside. “I remember when she was a timid mouse, instead.”

Mousie was in his arms and kissing Alvin the moment there was room. Theirs wasn’t hard and passionate, but it was more demanding than the kiss with Gothy. Alvin gave her back what she wanted.

“That would’ve been interesting to see,” Desiree said, having gone to Gothy’s side. “She’s always been eager and wanton, much like her trainer. A kiss for me, please?”

Gothy snickered, bending forward and kissing her shorter wife. When they came apart, she gave Desiree a wink. “You’re not wrong. Mousie was delightful to break in.”

“And I enjoy it every time they break me in more,” Mousie added, stepping back for Desiree before sliding to stand in front of Gothy. “What makes me happiest is them being happy, though.”

Alvin gave Desiree a soft kiss while Gothy bent Mousie over and kissed her hard. When they were all finished, they left the bathroom behind together.

~
*
~
*
~

“Okay,” Alvin said without preamble when they stepped into the main room, “what to do with all of you?”

“I would ask that we be taken to a safe haven. Somewhere we can prepare for my husbands to follow,” Erzulie said.

“There aren’t safe places in this world besides settlements,” Alvin replied. “Not sure I can trust you to play nice with my friends, either, considering your actions earlier.”

Erzulie sighed. “Yes, that was wrong of us. What can I do to make amends?”

“Nothing,” Alvin said. “I don’t trust gods or divine servants. The little bit I know of Loa is that they’re beings who can be called on for aid, good or bad. That’s the sum of my knowledge, though.”

“What if we take her to Johnny?” Gothy asked.

“Might cause a war,” Alvin said.

“Oh, good point... not sure they’d get along.”

“Can you not just take us to a place far from the city and leave us?” one of the women asked.

“Quiet,” Erzulie said softly. “We are guests and have no power here. We will wait for our host to give us passage to the place he deems best. Those who go hat in hand have none to blame but themselves.”

Sammi watched across the room from the table she was sitting at with Jarvis. She was clearly uncertain about whether she’d made the right decision or not.

“Sammi, are vows still in the game?” Gothy asked.

Sammi’s lips pressed together and she looked up. “Yes. Vows are in place for people to make contracts with higher beings. They are binding, but I don’t see—”

“Do they bind both ways?” Gothy cut her off.

“Oh... Huh. I don’t know. I doubt anyone even thought of people making one of the higher beings vow.”

Erzulie shifted, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. “I will not give a vow that harms me and mine.”

Alvin gave her a long look. “But if those conditions are met?”

Erzulie sighed. “Here in your base, I am a shadow of what I could be. I didn’t know I would be cut off so much. You also called us guests and that does mean I must comport myself in the proper manner. If the vow is not arduous, I will make it.”

“But—”

“No. I have spoken,” Erzulie cut off her follower sharply. “You know nothing of what we face.”

All of the followers looked ill at ease, but no one else spoke up.

“Alvin, what would you ask me to vow?” Erzulie asked.

“No idea,” Alvin shrugged. “We’ll deal with it tomorrow. You can sack out there. Jarvis, can we arrange enough blankets and pillows for them?”

“I will make sure it is handled, sir.”

“Thanks. Sammi, would you please join us for a bit?” Alvin asked, motioning to the bedroom. “We have some things to discuss.”

Sammi licked her lips nervously before she got up and went that way. Gothy and the other two followed right after her. Nohel watched them go, her face blank, and Alvin’s lips pursed as he watched the young woman. When his wives closed the door behind them, Nohel sighed softly.

“Nohel,” Alvin said, which made her jerk.

“Yes, sir?”

“Breakfast tomorrow. Can you manage for all of us?”

“Of course, sir.”

“And Nohel?”

“Yes?”

“Not unless you’re healed. Retraumatizing you is not something anyone wants.”

Nohel flushed red, her eyes wide and blinking rapidly.

“Jarvis, let me know if you need anything,” Alvin said as he walked away.

“I will decline, sir, as you are likely to be engaged.”

“Works for me.”

~
*
~
*
~

Closing the door behind him, he found the women all perched on the bed, chatting away.

“Good talk?” Alvin asked as he approached.

“Sammi was telling us about all the fanfic that was made about her and us,” Gothy grinned.

“Some people have really active imaginations, and aren’t afraid to let their kinks be known,” Sammi giggled. “I don’t have a lactation fetish, but someone was sure I did and that Gothy could produce.”

Alvin laughed. “Her milkshakes bring all the boys to the yard.”

“Sammi is more relatable than I had thought,” Mousie added.

“That might be my Personability stat,” Sammi admitted. “While it isn’t as high as most of yours, it’s still above Desiree’s. No offense.”

“None taken. I know where my stats are and that I can fix them if I want.”

Alvin summoned a base pad to his hand and bought a chair to sit in at the foot of the bed. “Okay, real talk time. Sammi, you know, obviously, who we are and what we do, in here and out there. You called for us to help you. What’re you looking for?”

Sammi’s cheeks went red, and her breathing sped up a little as she shifted to sit at the foot of the bed. “Honestly? I’m not positive. I called for your help because you were the only one who could’ve helped me in time. Well, that and I know you would move mountains for someone you actually liked, and I prayed very hard that maybe I was in that number.”

“You are,” Gothy said, sliding down the bed to sit beside Sammi and placing a hand on her thigh.

Sammi’s cheeks heated even further, and she covered Gothy’s hand with her own. “I know you liked to tease me, and that was hard to deal with. You’re everything I wanted to be. Free of what others thought, able to be who you wanted without having to worry about what might happen.”

“Because Hero lets me be me.”

“I know. I got so much shit from my coworkers and some of the people who hate you guys. You have no idea how many people who hate you are glued to watching you. It’s that old quote from Howard Stern fans: ‘I kept watching to see what they’d do next.’”

“Whatever we want,” Gothy said.

“Yeah, which just infuriates them more, while making your fans love you even more. When I was called into my boss’s office the day after getting you your joint account, I thought I was being fired, but they offered me this chance. I took it because it gives me the opportunity to be like you. To be the real me that I’ve kept locked inside.”

“Are you here for the long haul?” Alvin asked softly. “We don’t mind you joining for some fun, Sammi, but are you going to be sticking around?”

Sammi swallowed. “Some things I can’t say because of the NDA, but barring unforeseen accidents, I should be here for years. I’m one of the last steps to what the company behind this is working toward.”

“Which you can’t tell us.”

“No. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Is this what you really want, though? You know we’ll be killing people, looting their bodies, and fucking like the most deranged rabbits when we’re not. All of us will be.”

Sammi glanced at Gothy. “I don’t know if I’m actually wanted, or if you were just messing with me.”

“Are you going to be able to keep up?” Gothy asked, her hand going up to rest behind Sammi’s neck. “We aren’t vanilla in the least.”

Sammi swallowed. “I’m, uh...” She paused and took a deep breath. “Everyone’s going to know if I stay, so fuck it. I’m a kinky fuck slut in the bedroom. I only say no to watersports, blood, scat, animals, and kids. Everything else, I’ve either tried or want to try.”

Alvin’s eyebrows shot up at her open admission. He watched her face go from red to crimson as she stared into Gothy’s eyes.

Mousie moved to sit on the other side of Sammi. “I would welcome another one to share my cage with me and worship Gothy and Hero as I do.”

Sammi’s lips parted, and her breathing was starting to go ragged. “That sounds so good…” The words were barely audible.

“Having another one to break and use besides Mousie wouldn’t be bad,” Desiree added, sliding up behind Sammi. Her legs went to either side of the flushed woman, and her hands rested on her hips. “Gothy makes me work very hard on her.”

“Gothy?” Alvin asked.

“You know I like her... hell, I damn near love her right now. Pink hair and openly admitting she wants it as badly as I do? She’s fucking adorable and I want to devour her, Hero.”

“You’ll never be able to have a normal life again. Is this what you really want?” Alvin asked her.

Sammi’s eyes were nearly glazed when she looked at him. “My Hero came for me, as he saved Gothy, Mousie, and Desiree. To be loved by and accepted by him is what I want. To be loved and accepted by the three strong, crazy women who loved him is what I want. I want to be as free to be me as you are. I want this.”

All eyes went to Alvin, who was staring into Sammi’s eyes, as they waited for his decision.

“Are you Human? A player? What’s your designation?”

“Yours?”

Alvin smiled softly at her and sighed. “Fuck it. I give up on my limitation of one woman per race, apparently. Ladies, shall we welcome our new wife?”

“Yes,” Sammi moaned, her body trembling.

“Fuck, she gets off even easier than me,” Gothy said, impressed that Sammi orgasmed just from being accepted.

Chapter Forty-four

Alvin was just as surprised as Gothy was, but he was also impressed at how open Sammi was being with them. “Clothing off, ladies. Let’s shower her in the love and acceptance she wants.”

“Sounds delightful,” Desiree said, pulling her hands up from Sammi’s hips to the pert handfuls she had. “Oh, these feel quite perky,” she grinned, giving the hard nipples a squeeze.

Sammi’s clothes vanished in that instant, letting the Dwarf have her naked body. “Sensitive, but you can be rough,” Sammi panted as she leaned back into Desiree.

“I’ll kiss them better,” Mousie murmured. She leaned in and began to lick and nibble at one breast.

“I’ll help,” Gothy said, doing the same on the other side.

Desiree let her wives have Sammi’s breasts, snaking her hand down to play with another spot. “Damn… she gets very worked up,” Desiree husked as she nipped at Sammi’s neck.

Alvin sat in the chair, watching them. His clothing was gone and his cock was quickly reaching full mast.
Now there are four of them? Fucking hell, I’m really going to die one day.

Sammi watched Alvin with heavy-lidded eyes as her body coursed with pleasure. “Hero… will you please show me my place?”

Alvin’s eyebrow went up again and his smile widened. “Not too shy, it seems.” Standing up, Desiree leaned back, pulling Sammi into a better angle for him. “Thank you, Desiree.”

“Make her scream, Hero,” Desiree said, staring at him as he came closer. “Once she’s spent, take me in thanks.”

“Then me,” Mousie was quick to say before reclaiming the hard diamond point that she’d been playing with.

“And finally, me,” Gothy said. “Then, you can start at the top and do us again.”

“Heart attack, here I come,” Alvin chuckled as he put his hands on Sammi’s hips, pulling her closer to the edge of the bed.

Desiree’s hand came away from the slick passage she’d been fingering. She popped her two fingers into her mouth, letting out an approving sound as she tasted Sammi. “Tasty little slut, aren’t you?”

“Yes...” Sammi whimpered, her whole body aching for another release. That whimper became a vocal whine when Alvin pushed into her. “Hhheerrroooo! Fuck meeee!”

Alvin took his time pushing into her. She was drenched, but even then, she was nearly as snug as Mousie. Hearing her whine and beg for it, Alvin paused once he was deep inside of her.

Sammi’s eyes were unfocused as she trembled in Desiree’s grasp. “So big... fuck, good! More!”

“Vocal, isn’t she?” Gothy giggled when she took her mouth away from Sammi’s right breast. “I wonder if she’s a screamer.”

“Let’s find out,” Alvin said. He pulled back, then slammed into Sammi’s wet slit.

“Fuck!” Sammi shouted. “Harder!”

Both Gothy and Alvin exchanged a glance before he began to fuck Sammi hard. Each thrust had Sammi begging or demanding him for more. That only lasted a minute before she let out a screeching scream which made Mousie wince.

That scream came with another surprise when Alvin pulled fully out of Sammi. “Holy shit. She’s a squirter, Gothy.”

Gothy looked over and whistled. “Bet they never guessed that about her.”

“Means the bed is going to be wet all night,” Alvin laughed and impaled Sammi again. “You’re going to sleep in your mess, little slut.”

“Yes, Hero!” Sammi moaned as she bucked her hips to meet his thrusts.

“She’s good,” Alvin told Desiree. “Climb out from under her. I’ll turn her over and make her eat you.”

“Yes,” Desiree said, quickly pulling herself free.

“And you can eat me at the same time,” Gothy smiled, moving to straddle Desiree’s face.

“Gladly,” Desiree said.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Sammi was panting the word with each hard thrust from Alvin.

When Alvin pulled out and roughly flipped her over, Sammi only whined about him not being inside of her.

Mousie helped position Sammi, pushing the pink-haired woman into Desiree’s ready and wet sex. “Eat up. If you make her orgasm, I promise you’ll get even more,” Mousie hissed from next to her.

With those words ringing in her ears, Sammi’s tongue lapped vigorously at Desiree. Each taste of the Dwarf only made Sammi want more, but she stopped when Alvin entered her again. “Ohhhh, fuck... yes…!” Sammi moaned.

“If you stop pleasing our wife, I stop fucking you, slut,” Alvin said simply, not moving.

“No!” Sammi shouted before pressing her face to Desiree’s sex, licking for all she was worth.

Desiree’s muffled sound of approval and Gothy’s eyes fluttering in pleasure was all Alvin needed to get back to work fucking their new toy. He saw Mousie watching everyone but not participating and chuckled, getting her attention.

“Come here, toy,” Alvin said softly.

Mousie was next to him as quickly as she could. Alvin took a hand away from Sammi’s hips to take Mousie’s ponytail in hand and brought her mouth to his. Tongues dueled in passion as Alvin listened to the muffled sounds of pleasure from the others.

Sammi’s next orgasm made Alvin pull out from her. The moment he did, Mousie was there, taking his drenched cock into her eager mouth. Hand still in her hair, Alvin dragged her up and down his shaft, much to Mousie’s approval.

Another muffled explosion of pleasure heralded Desiree’s orgasm, with Gothy joining in as she ground her sex into Desiree’s mouth.

“Mousie hasn’t had one yet,” Alvin said as he pulled the Elf from his cock. “Gothy, help her out while I thank Desiree.”

“Of course,” Gothy shuddered as she moved off Desiree and beckoned Mousie to her side. “Come here, pet.”

“Yes, Gothy,” Mousie said, crawling over to Gothy.

Sammi was sprawled on the bed, panting hard. Her eyes were unfocused as she watched them all shift around her. “Hero?” she asked in a daze when he rolled her to the side.

“You can ride her face, slut,” Alvin told her as he pulled Desiree to him. “Desiree said you tasted good. Why not give her more?”

“Yes,” Sammi said, waiting for Alvin to position Desiree.

Alvin pulled Desiree to the edge of the bed. “Ready for my thank you?”

“Yes, Hero.”

Pushing into Desiree, Alvin glanced to Mousie— she was flat on her back, her hands running through Gothy’s hair as Gothy licked and nibbled at the Elf’s wet sex. Looking back at Desiree, he smiled as Sammi lowered herself to her waiting mouth.

~
*
~
*
~

Alvin came awake with a yawn. Desiree was curled up to his left, and Gothy on his right. Sounds of whimpered pleasure were coming from underneath the bed. Shifting as slowly as he could, Alvin got off the bed and knelt next to the controls for the shutters.

Triggering them, Alvin was rewarded with the sight of Mousie holding Sammi’s face to her. Mousie gave him a pleased smile as she let out another soft squeak. “Morning, Hero.”

“Shower,” Alvin said, opening the door. “You’ll wake the others if you stay here.”

“Coming...” Mousie said before biting her lip and shuddering.

Alvin snorted his laughter at the timing of her wording, but waited for her to calm down. After a few seconds, Mousie released Sammi’s head and panted as she lay back.

Sammi looked over at Alvin and gave him a tentative smile. “Did we wake you?”

“No, but I’m up now, and the shower is waiting. Meet me there.” Alvin let the last three words be commanding.

The sound of movement from under the bed let Alvin know that Sammi was doing her best to comply.

Alvin had the water on by the time Mousie and Sammi joined him. “Morning to you both. I’m glad to see you’re taking to the family so quickly, Sammi.”

“I was really worried they wouldn’t want me,” Sammi said softly. “I mean, they’re so beautiful, and I—”

Mousie grabbed her and spun her against the wall, kissing her hard. Alvin watched Mousie being aggressive with amusement. He took the showerhead wand off the wall and waited for the pair to come up for air.

“You are ours
, which means you are beautiful. Do not say otherwise again,” Mousie said with an edge to her tone. “You are only trash when we say you are trash, which will only be when we want to see you squirm.”

“Yes, mistress,” Sammi panted.

“If you’re both done,” Alvin said, “sit.” He pointed to the bench with the wand.

“Yes, Hero,” Mousie said, moving to sit immediately.

“Yes, sir,” Sammi added, moving a little late, still dazed from being manhandled so forcibly by Mousie.

“Good. Mousie, I’ll be needing your assistance to help rinse her.” He handed her the wand. “When I finish with her, I’ll get to you.”

“Yes, Hero.”

“You need to turn around to face her back,” Alvin told Mousie. “Sammi, close your eyes, and keep them closed.”

“Yes, sir.”

Alvin picked up the shower gel and lathered up his hands as he walked around them. “Get her damp for me, Mousie.”

“She is well past damp, Hero,” Mousie snickered as she began to wet Sammi down.

“Gothy has thoroughly corrupted you,” Alvin chuckled.

Going to stand in front of Sammi, he took a moment to just soak in her figure. The touch of softness that had burned off with stat increases was obvious to him. She was thinner than she had appeared when she was a dev, and her hair was vastly different, as well.

“Is this you, Sammi, or was the dev you the real you?”

“I got the chance to alter myself a little,” Sammi replied. “Before I was hooked up, I had this haircut and color. Do you like it?”

“It suits you,” Alvin said. “You didn’t need to change what you looked like, though. We would’ve accepted you as you were.”

“I know you would have, but I would’ve felt well out of place with them,” Sammi replied. “I’m not their equal in many ways, but I want to be.”

“And you will be,” Mousie said.

“She’s right,” Alvin said as he started to lather Sammi’s hair. “You already accepted being with us for as long as you can, so let go of the insecurities and be who you are.”

“I’m trying, Hero. I really am. Thank you, all of you, for accepting me last night. I was afraid... so afraid.”

“And loud,” Mousie giggled. “It was interesting. We all certainly enjoyed it.”

“That we did,” Alvin said as he started down her arms. “Looking forward to having you in the dungeon.”

Sammi’s nipples became hard points. “Me, too.”

Alvin took his time letting his hands get to know her body, but not pushing into anything sexual. Sammi was biting her lip and whimpering by the time he finished.

“Wash her off, Mousie,” Alvin said as he stepped back.

The water cascading over Sammi was delightful to watch, and Alvin waited for the soap to be clear of her head before he moved forward again. He motioned Mousie to stand up, and she did without question.

Leaning in, he kissed Sammi, his tongue invading her mouth and getting a deep moan of approval from Sammi. Leaning her back, he kept kissing her until she was flat on her back, and stood up.

“Play with yourself while I get Mousie ready.”

“Yes, sir,” Sammi said quickly. One hand moved to her breast while the other went to her wet sex.

“Let’s get you clean, dirty girl,” Alvin smiled.

“Yes, Hero,” Mousie smirked.

It didn’t take long for Alvin to get Mousie clean, and once she was, he put her on top of Sammi in a sixty-nine. With them engaged with each other, he shifted from one side to the other, enjoying a mouth or pussy as he saw fit.

Both of them had two orgasms before Alvin was ready to give them his cum. Getting them off the bench and kneeling, he smiled down at them as he painted their faces. The moment he stopped shuddering, Mousie leaned forward and engulfed his cock, suckling the last few drops from him.

Panting when she let him go, Alvin grinned as Mousie turned and shoved her tongue into Sammi’s mouth, giving her what she’d just taken from Alvin.

“Sharing is caring, and our Mousie does love to share,” Alvin said as he took a seat on the bench.

“That’s good, because we both want some, too,” Gothy said when she entered the shower with Desiree. “You good for another round, Hero?”

“For my gothic succubus and beautiful wife, of course.”

Character Info

Alvin Leon Lambert

Human - (Married to Gothy, Mousie, Desiree, & Sammi)

(3,448,229 experience shared pool)

Brawn 8

Nimbleness 8

Aptitude 8

Personability 8

Hardiness 10

Spells:

Powers:

Leader

Home Base

AI Butler

Linguist

Extra Life x2

Gate Sense- 10 mile range

Wardrobe- Extra slots 1

Map- Waypoint guide, Minimap, Enemies on minimap, Battle map

Fast Travel

Shared XP with family

Kiosk discount 10%

Critical Strikes- Doubles damage for 5 minutes 1 /day

Auto Reload- Automatically reloads ranged weapon for 5 minutes 1 /day

M1114 UAH A.K.A. Turtle (Uncommon)

Armor: 500,000/500,000

Modifications: Luxury seats, Gunner plating, Battle bumper, Radio, HVAC unit

Runes: 4/4

Tires, Durability: 100%, Resistance (fire): 20%, Resistance (acid): 20%

Armament: M2 (Rare)

Damage: 16

Durability: 40,000/40,000

Ammo type: .50 BMG SLAP/SLAP-T (20-1) (500 round belt feed)

SLAP: Armor piercing round adds 100% Armor Buster

SLAP Tracer: High visibility rounds loaded as every 20 th shot

Runes: 6/6

Reload: 5 seconds, Armor Buster: 100%, Durability: 50% x2, Recoil: 40% x2

Zombie Cap (Rare)- Head slot

Armor: 500/500

Runes: 0/0

Weather, Ten times initial durability, Six more armor

Zombie Shirt (Rare)- Torso slot

Armor: 500/500

Runes: 0/0

Weather, Ten times initial durability, Four more armor, One spot of storage space

Leather Patched Denim Pants (Rare)- Leg slot

Armor: 550/550

Runes: 0/0

Weather, Ten times initial durability, Six more armor

Combat Boots (Rare)- Feet Slot

Armor: 600/600

Runes: 0/0

Weather, Ten times initial durability, Six more armor

Fingerless Kevlar Gloves (Rare)- Hands slot

Armor: 250/250

Runes: 0/0

Two spots of storage space, Ten times initial durability, Four more armor

Leather Duster (Rare)- Accessory 1

Armor: 750/750 (added to chest armor)

Runes: 0/0

Weather, Ten times initial durability, Four more armor, One spot of storage space

Interceptor Body Armor (Uncommon)- Accessory 2

Armor: 1,000/1,000 (added to chest armor)

Runes: 0/0

Ten times initial durability, Four more armor

Radio (common)- Accessory 3

Connected to vehicles for broader range

Ring of Power (Legendary)- Accessory 4

Ring of Fire Immunity

Type 56 (Rare)

Damage: 7

Durability: 5,000/5,000

Ammo type: 7.62x39 mm (30-round magazine)

Runes: 0/0

Unlimited ammo on reload-reload magazine, Five times initial durability, Jacketed- double damage to armor, Steel jacketed

H&K Ump (Uncommon)

Damage: 3

Durability: 3,750/3,750

Ammo type: .40 S&W (30-round magazine)

Modifications: Suppressor, Vertical foregrip, High intensity flashlight, Reflex sight

Runes: 4/4

Reload: 7 seconds, Durability: 25%, Silence: 40%, Armor Buster: 33%

Barrett M82 (Rare)

Damage: 16

Durability: 2,500/2,500

Ammo type: .50 BMG (10-round magazine)

Modifications: Bipod, Sling, 10-round magazine, 14x50 scope

Runes: 0/0

Unlimited ammo on reload, Ten times initial durability, Jacketed- doubles damage to armor, Steel jacketed, Holy ammo

K-bar (Rare)

Increased base damage (craftsmanship).

Damage: 2+Brawn

Durability: 15,000/15,000

Metal: Nirium

Runes: 6/6

Bloody: 33% x3, Armor Buster: 33% x2, Poisoned Blade

Warhammer (Rare)

Increased base damage and durability (craftsmanship
).

Damage: 3+Brawn

Durability: 15,000/15,000

Metal: Nirium

Runes: 6/6

Armor Buster: 33% x3, Stunning, Phantom, Elemental-Acid

Gothy

Human - (Married to Alvin, Mousie, Desiree, & Sammi)

(3,448,229 experience shared pool)

Brawn 8

Nimbleness 8

Aptitude 8

Personability 8

Hardiness 10

Spells:

Powers:

Contracted

Linguist

Extra Life x2

Gate Sense- 10 mile range

Map- Waypoint guide, Minimap, Enemies on minimap, Battle map

Fast Travel

Wardrobe- Extra slots 1

Critical Strikes- Doubles damage for 5 minutes 1 /day

Auto Reload- Automatically reloads ranged weapon for 5 minutes 1 /day

Shared XP with family

Kiosk discount 10%

Bell UH-1H Modified (Uncommon)

Armor: 33,937/45,000

Modifications: Armament upgraded, Antigravity core, Luxury seats, Improved sights on M134s, Sound system, Radio, Improved gunner straps

Runes: 4/4

Durability: 200%, Impervious, Silence: 80%, Resistance (fire): 40%

Armament: M60C (Uncommon)

Damage: 8

Durability: 39,311/40,000

Ammo type: 7.62x51mm Nato (200 round belt feed)

Runes: 4/4

Durability: 100%, Silence: 60%, Reload: 5 seconds, Phantom

Armament: M134 Minigun (Uncommon)

Modifications: Improved sights

Damage: 8

Durability: 35,683/40,000

Ammo type: 7.62x51mm Nato (3,000 round belt feed)

Runes: 4/4

Durability: 100%, Silence: 60%, Reload: 3 seconds, Elemental-Ice

Armament: M134 Minigun (Uncommon)

Modifications: Improved sights

Damage: 8

Durability: 36,674/40,000

Ammo type: 7.62x51mm Nato (3,000 round belt feed)

Runes: 4/4

Durability: 100%, Silence: 60%, Reload: 3 seconds, Elemental-Acid

Succubus Hat (Uncommon)- Head slot

Armor: 40/40

Runes: 4/4

Impervious, Durability: 100%, Fire resistance: 20%, Acid resistance: 20%

Leather Corset (Rare)- Torso slot

Armor: 250/250

Runes: 0/0

Five times initial durability, Six more armor, One spot of storage space, Weather

Leather Pants (Rare)- Leg slot

Armor: 250/250

Runes: 0/0

Five times initial durability, Eight more armor, Weather

Combat Boots (Rare)- Feet slot

Armor: 300/300

Runes: 0/0

Five times initial durability, Eight more armor, Weather

Black Lace Gloves (Rare)- Hands slot

Armor: 100/100

Runes: 0/0

Ten times initial durability, Six more armor, Two spots of storage space

Long Leather Jacket (Rare)- Accessory 1

Armor: 250/250 (added to chest armor)

Runes: 0/0

Five times initial durability, Six more armor, One spot of storage space, Weather

Interceptor Body Armor (Uncommon)- Accessory 2

Armor: 1,000/1,000 (added to chest armor)

Runes: 0/0

Ten times initial durability, Two more armor

Horned Band (Rare)- Accessory 3

Armor: 125/125 (added to head armor)

Runes: 0/0

Five times initial durability, Ten more armor

Radio (common)- Accessory 4

Connected to vehicles for broader range

Ring of Power (Legendary)- Accessory 5

Ring of Mental Immunity

Remington 870 Police (Uncommon)

Damage: 10 (Depends on range)

Durability: 2,000/2,000

Ammo type: Slug (5-round internal tube magazine)

Runes: 0/0

Unlimited ammo on reload-switch safety on 3 seconds, Five times initial durability, Armor Buster- doubles damage to armor, Steel jacketed

MP5-N (Rare)

Damage: 2

Durability: 3,750/3,750

Ammo type: 9x19mm Parabellum (30-round magazine)

Modifications: Suppressor, Vertical foregrip, High intensity flashlight, Reflex sight

Runes: 6/6

Reload: 7 seconds, Durability: 25%, Silence: 40%, Wounding: 10% Bloody: 33% Armor Buster: 33%

Thompson Submachine Gun (Uncommon)

Damage: 3

Durability: 4,500/4,500

Ammo type: .45 ACP (100-round drum)

Modifications: 100-round drum

Runes: 4/4

Reload: 5 seconds, Durability: 50%, Recoil: 40%, Armor Buster: 33%

Remington 700 (Rare)

Damage: 8

Durability: 3,000/3,000

Ammo type: .308 Winchester (10-round magazine)

Modifications: Suppressor, 10x40 scope, Sling, 10-round removable magazine

Runes: 6/6

Reload: 5 seconds, Durability: 25% x2, Silence: 20% x2, Armor Buster: 66%

K-bar (Rare)

Increased base damage
(craftsmanship)
.

Damage: 2+Brawn

Durability: 15,000/15,000

Metal type: Nirium

Runes: 6/6

Bloody: 33% x3, Armor Buster: 33% x2, Poisoned Blade

Warhammer (Rare)

Increased base damage and durability (craftsmanship
).

Damage: 3+Brawn

Durability: 15,000/15,000

Metal: Nirium

Runes: 6/6

Armor Buster: 33%x3, Stunning, Phantom, Elemental-Ice

Mousie

Queen’s Elf - (Married to Alvin, Gothy, Desiree, & Sammi)

(3,448,229 experience shared pool)

Brawn 7

Nimbleness 9

Aptitude 6

Personability 7

Hardiness 10

Spells:

Powers:

Contracted

Blade Dancer

Extra Life x2

Human Knowledge

Wardrobe- extra slots 1

Linguist

Critical Strikes- Doubles damage for 5 minutes 1 /day

Auto Reload- Automatically reloads ranged weapon for 5 minutes 1 /day

Armor repair- Replace half the durability of a worn armor piece 1/day

Mind blank- Automatically cancels any mind influencing effect 1/day

Map- Waypoint guide, Minimap, Enemies on minimap, Battle map

Fast Travel

Shared XP with family

Kiosk discount 10%

1969 Mustang Boss 429 A.K.A. Ruffian (Rare)

Armor: 375,000/375,000

Modifications: Luxury seats, radio

Runes: 6/6

Tires, Durability: 200%, Fire resistance: 20% x4

Terror Scaled Helm (Rare)- Head slot

Increased armor (craftsmanship)

Armor: 750/750

Runes: 6/6

Impervious, Durability: 200%, Resistance (poison): 30% x2, Resistance (stunning): 30% x2

Terror Scales: Gives the wearer a 5% cumulative chance to resist mental influence.

Terror Scaled Chestguard (Rare)- Torso slot

Increased armor (craftsmanship)

Armor: 1,050/1,050

Runes: 6/6

Impervious, Durability: 200%, Resistance (stunning): 30% x2, Resistance (poison): 30% x2

Terror Scales: Gives the wearer a 5% cumulative chance to resist mental influence.

Terror Scaled Leggings (Rare)- Leg slot

Increased armor (craftsmanship)

Armor: 1,125/1,125

Runes: 6/6

Impervious, Durability: 200%, Resistance (ice): 20% x4

Terror Scales: Gives the wearer a 5% cumulative chance to resist mental influence.

Terror Scaled
Nryad Boots (Rare)- Feet Slot

Increased traction on any surface

Increased armor (craftsmanship)

Armor: 1,035/1,035

Runes: 6/6

Impervious, Durability: 200%, Resistance (acid): 20% x4

Terror Scales: Gives the wearer a 5% cumulative chance to resist mental influence.

Terror Scaled Gloves (Rare)- Hand slot

Increased armor (craftsmanship)

Armor: 400/400

Runes: 6/6

Impervious, Durability: 100%, Holding x2

Terror Scales: Gives the wearer a 5% cumulative chance to resist mental influence.

Leather Belt (Uncommon)- Accessory 1

Armor: 93/93 (added to leg armor total)

Runes: 4/4

Impervious, Durability: 25%, Holding, Holding

Radio (common)- Accessory 2

Connected to vehicles for broader range

Interceptor Body Armor (Uncommon)- Accessory 3

Armor: 2,000/2,000 (added to chest armor)

Runes: 4/4

Impervious, Durability: 100%, Poison resistance 20% x2

Mouse Hat (Uncommon)- Accessory 4

Armor: 100/100 (added to head armor)

Runes: 4/4

Impervious, Durability: 100%, Stunning resistance 20% x2

S&W 1911 (Rare)

Damage: 3

Durability: 750/750

Ammo type: .45 ACP (14-round magazine)

Double stack magazine

Runes: 6/6

Reload: 10 seconds, Durability: 25% x2, Wounding: 10% Bloody: 33%, Armor Buster: 33%

Glock 21 (Rare)

Damage: 3

Durability: 750/750

Ammo type: .45 ACP (13-round magazine)

Extended magazine, laser dot

Runes: 6/6

Reload: 10 seconds, Durability: 25% x2, Wounding: 10% Bloody: 33% Armor Buster: 33%

Remington 700 (Uncommon)

Damage: 8

Durability: 2,500/2,500

Ammo type: .308 Winchester (10-round magazine)

Modifications: Suppressor, 10x40 scope, Bipod, Sling, 10-round removable magazine

Runes: 4/4

Reload: 10 seconds, Durability: 25%, Silence: 20%, Armor Buster: 33%

Night (Legendary Dancer’s Soul)

Limitation: Must be wielded by Blade Dancer of equal blood from both lineages.

When used in conjunction with Day (Legendary Dancer’s Soul), damage is doubled.

Has two extra rune slots.

Damage: 4+Brawn

Durability: -/-

Metal type: Nirium

Runes: 12/12

Phantom, Armor Buster: 33% x3, Bloody: 300%, Elemental-Fire, Elemental-Ice, Elemental-Electric, Elemental-Acid, Poisoned Blade, Wounding: 20% x2

Day (Legendary Dancer’s Soul)

Limitation: Must be wielded by Blade Dancer of equal blood from both lineages.

When used in conjunction with Night (Legendary Dancer’s Soul), damage is doubled.

Has two extra runes slots.

Damage: 4+Brawn

Durability: -/-

Metal type: Lirium

Runes: 12/12

Silver, Holy, Armor Buster: 33% x2, Armor Buster 100%, Elemental-Fire, Elemental-Ice, Elemental-Electric, Elemental-Acid, Poisoned Blade, Wounding: 20% x2

Nirium Dagger (Rare)

Increased base damage (craftsmanship).

Damage: 2+Brawn

Durability: 15,000/15,000

Metal: Nirium

Runes: 6/6

Bloody: 33% x3, Armor Buster: 33% x2, Poisoned Blade

Desiree Brightblood

Dwarf (Twurgh) - (Married to Alvin, Gothy, Mousie, & Sammi)

(3,448,229 experience shared pool)

Brawn 8

Nimbleness 7

Aptitude 5

Personability 4

Hardiness 11

Spells:

Powers:

Extra Life x2

Linguist

Human Knowledge

Wardrobe- Extra slots 1

Map- Waypoint guide, Minimap, Enemies on minimap, Battle map

Fast travel

Shared XP with family

Kiosk discount 10%

Critical Strikes- Doubles damage for 5 minutes 1 /day

Auto Reload- Automatically reloads ranged weapon for 5 minutes 1 /day

M2A1 Bradley A.K.A. Bunker (Uncommon)

Armor: 317,000/750,000

Modifications: Radio, Luxury seats, HVAC unit, Rear entertainment system

Runes: 4/4

Resistance (fire): 30%, Silence: 80%, Durability: 200%, Tires

Armament: M242 Bushmaster (Uncommon)

Damage: 50

Durability: 60,000/60,000

Ammo type: 25mm Tungsten APDS with tracers (300 round belt feed)

APDS: Armor piercing round adds 100% Armor Buster

Ammo Type:
M792 High Explosive Incendiary with Tracer (300 round belt feed)

HEI-T: Does half its damage in a twenty-foot radius of impact

Tracers: High visibility rounds loaded as every 20 th shot both ammo types

Runes: 4/4

Reload: 3 seconds, Durability 100%, Silence: 60%, Armor Buster: 100%

Armament: M240C (Uncommon)

Damage: 8

Durability: 30,000/30,000

Ammo type: 7.62x51mm Nato (100 round belt feed)

Runes: 4/4

Phantom, Bloody: 100%, Reload: 3 seconds, Durability: 50%

Terror Scaled Helm (Rare)- Head slot

Increased armor (craftsmanship)

Armor: 750/750

Runes: 6/6

Impervious, Durability: 200%, Resistance (acid): 30% x2, Resistance (ice): 30% x2

Terror Scales: Gives the wearer a 5% cumulative chance to resist mental influence.

Terror Scaled Chestguard (Rare)- Torso slot

Increased armor (craftsmanship)

Armor: 1,050/1,050

Runes: 6/6

Impervious, Durability: 200%, Resistance (acid): 30% x2, Resistance ice): 30% x2

Terror Scales: Gives the wearer a 5% cumulative chance to resist mental influence.

Terror Scaled Leggings (Rare)- Leg slot

Increased armor (craftsmanship)

Armor: 1,125/1,125

Runes: 6/6

Impervious, Durability: 200%, Resistance (poison): 20% x4

Terror Scales: Gives the wearer a 5% cumulative chance to resist mental influence.

Terror Scaled
Nryad Boots (Rare)- Feet Slot

Increased traction on any surface

Increased armor (craftsmanship)

Armor: 1,035/1,035

Runes: 6/6

Impervious, Durability: 200%, Resistance (stunning): 20% x4

Terror Scales: Gives the wearer a 5% cumulative chance to resist mental influence.

Terror Scaled Gloves (Rare)- Hand slot

Increased armor (craftsmanship)

Armor: 400/400

Runes: 6/6

Impervious, Durability: 100%, Holding x2, Resistance (fire): 10% x2

Terror Scales: Gives the wearer a 5% cumulative chance to resist mental influence.

Dwarven Battle Armor (Rare)- Accessory 1-5

Immune to environmental effects

Reduces fire damage by 90%

Increase Durability (craftsmanship)

Armor: 4,000/4,000 (added to entire body)

Runes: 6/6

Impervious, Resistance (fire): 10% x3, Durability: 100%

Upgrades: Radio, Rebreather unit, Split batteries, Flamers improved, Jump and glide assist

Armament: Flamer x2

Damage: 5/per second

Duration: 300 seconds

S&W 1911 (Uncommon)

Damage: 3

Durability: 1,250/1,250

Ammo type: .45 ACP (7-round magazine)

Runes: 0/0

Unlimited ammo on reload-reload magazine, Five times initial durability, Armor Buster- doubles damage to armor, Steel jacketed

IMI Desert Eagle .357 Magnum (Rare)

Damage: 4

Durability: 1,000/1,000

Ammo type: .357 Magnum (9-round magazine)

Runes: 0/0

Unlimited ammo on reload-reload magazine, Five times initial durability, Jacketed- doubles damage to armor, Steel jacketed

Sammi Marson

Human (Alpha Tester) - (Married to Alvin, Gothy, Mousie, & Desiree)

(3,448,229 experience shared pool)

Brawn 3

Nimbleness 3

Aptitude 7

Personability 6

Hardiness 3

Spells:

Powers:

Wardrobe- Extra slots 1

Shared XP with family

Kiosk discount 10%

Black Hat (Uncommon)- Head slot

Armor: 18/30

Runes: 2/4

Impervious, Durability: 50%

Denim shirt (Uncommon)- Torso slot

Armor: 56/100

Runes: 2/4

Impervious, Durability: 50%

Leather Pants (Uncommon)- Leg slot

Armor: 72/100

Runes: 2/4

Impervious, Durability: 50%

Combat Boots (Uncommon)- Feet slot

Armor: 62/100

Runes: 2/4

Impervious, Durability: 50%

Batting Gloves (Uncommon)- Hands slot

Armor: 12/30

Runes: 2/4

Impervious, Durability: 50%

Leather Jacket (Uncommon)- Accessory 1

Armor: 52/150 (added to chest armor)

Runes: 2/4

Impervious, Durability: 50%

Radio (common)- Accessory 2

Remington 870 Police (Uncommon)

Damage: 10 (Depends on range)

Durability: 122/400

Ammo type: Slug (5-round internal tube magazine)

Runes: 2/4

Reload: 7 seconds, Armor Buster: 33%

S&W 1911 (Uncommon)

Damage: 3

Durability: 1,250/1,250

Ammo type: .45 ACP (7-round magazine)

Runes: 2/4

Reload: 5 seconds, Bloody: 33%

K-bar (Rare)

Damage: 2+Brawn

Durability: 5,024/8,000

Metal type: Steel

Runes: 2/6

Bloody: 33% x2

Home Base:

Automated Garage: 1% repair per hour including armament

Garage slots: 3 land vehicles, 1 air

Training room: Real 3D Simulations

Upgraded pantry

Gunnery: Repairs 0.5% per hour/10 items

Smithy: Repairs 0.5% per hour/10 items

Composite armory: Repairs 0.5% per hour/10 items

Dwarven Armory Upgraded: Resupplies armor with lumios and repairs 0.5% durability per hour/10 items, battery suit recharge, and limited upgrades

Kiosk: Dual stations, Goods transport

Medical Bay: Expanded, Contains DNA Modifications Vat (DMV)

Author’s Note

Please consider leaving a review for the book, feedback is imperative for an indie author. If you don’t want to review it then think about leaving a comment or even just a quick message. Remember, positive feedback is always welcome.

If you want to keep up on the latest updates, or the one stop shop for all the links, my website is the best place for that. Remember to subscribe to the mailing list to know when I publish a new book, and you get an exclusive short when you sign up.

http://schinhofenbooks.com/

Other places you can keep up to date on me and my works:

https://www.patreon.com/DJSchinhofen
https://twitter.com/DJSchinhofen

Fan group on Facebook for Daniel Schinhofen
https://schinhofenbooks.blogspot.com/

If you LOVE LitRPG, then check out these pages full of awesome LITRPG goodness. You can interact with authors like me and many more. Find banter, good times and a lot of like minded people.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/haremlit/

A big thank you to my editors, Samantha Bishop, and Sarinia Phelps. Also props to Geno Ferrarini, and Sean Hickinbotham for being my Alpha Readers. I’d be remiss if I didn’t include my beta readers, in no particular order: Ian McAdams ~*~ Dame ~*~ A.J. Bishop ~*~ Jay Taylor ~*~ Christina Norton ~*~ Zee ~*~ Scott Brown ~*~ Kevin Kollman ~*~ Justin Johanson ~*~ Kenneth Darlin ~*~ Rob Bunting ~*~ Sawyer Aubrey ~*~ Aoife Grimm ~*~ Peter LaFemina ~*~ Tanner Lovelace ~*~ Tim? ~*~ Carl Gheradi ~*~ Shiafu ~*~ Dimitri Shadow ~*~ Matt Case ~*~ Richard G Stahl ~*~ Cheyene Adams ~*~ A Madsen ~*~ MrNyxt ~*~ J. Stone ~*~ D Smith.

The cover for Unexpected Dev-elopments is brought to you by Anthony Bishop, a very talented artist. You can find him at   https://grimmhelm.artstation.com/

A big thanks to my Patreon supporters who have gone above and beyond in their support:

Dragonkain ~*~ Magnus Gammal ~*~ Pheonixblue ~*~ Terry Wood-Davies ~*~ Kenneth Darlin ~*~ Ryan A Larkey ~*~ Tristitan ~*~ Joshua Towns ~*~ Nathan Goforth ~*~ Xiao ~*~ Jamie Winford ~*~ David Taylor-Fuller ~*~ Brett Hudson ~*~ Forrest Hansen ~*~ Robert Shofner ~*~ Kevin McKinney ~*~ Ryan Zyro ~*~ Terry Carter ~*~ Tetsu-nii ~*~ Kenneth Freeman ~*~ Matthew Zarember ~*~ Clinton Wertzbaugher ~*~ Deme ~*~ Stephen Caperton ~*~ John Curtis ~*~ Kurt Bodenstedt ~*~ Tishane McFarlane ~*~ Eivets ~*~ Tyller James ~*~ Ryan Luttinger ~*~ Kyle Gravelle ~*~ Matthew Myers ~*~ Angelina Ward ~*~ Kurt Borek ~*~ Adam ~*~ Matthew Richardson ~*~ James Parker ~*~ Dedalus Inventor ~*~ Travis Btmb ~*~ Michael Erwin ~*~ BobsNemesis ~*~ James Murphy ~*~ Craig Mather ~*~ Nathrielos ~*~ Joshua Stusek ~*~ Matthew Parikka ~*~ Michael Shearer ~*~ Chanh Pham ~*~ Michael Hyde Jr. ~*~ Zachariah Miller ~*~ Greg Nicholas ~*~ Kevin Clark ~*~ Gregory Sanders ~*~ Dwayne Bullock ~*~ Christopher B. ~*~ MockingBird ~*~ InTheRaccon ~*~ Paul Mallon ~*~ Calidia ~*~ Heath Tate ~*~ Ryan Williamson ~*~ Michael Mooney ~*~ Cole Depuy ~*~ Susan Lofböm ~*~ Tara C Mulkey ~*~ Charles Henggeler ~*~ Wesley ~*~ Jeff Kollada ~*~ Jon Bryant ~*~ Chris Guerrero ~*~ Red Phoenix ~*~ Matthew Kelly ~*~ Alexander Rodriguez ~*~ No0neSpecial ~*~ Brandon Haag ~*~ Khamla Khongloth ~*~ Phantom Carnival ~*~ Christopher Cales ~*~ Stephen Juba ~*~ Emil Thoren ~*~ Eric Hontz ~*~ James Domec ~*~ Kori Prins ~*~ Otis Coley ~*~ Alarinnise ~*~ Zachary Nahrstadt ~*~ Matthew Paulin ~*~ Mike Durie ~*~ Arthur Cuelho ~*~ Ronald C Abitz ~*~ Brian Biggers ~*~ Sean Fitzpatrick ~*~ Ian Weatherly ~*~ Charles Demarest ~*~ Braekin ~*~ Jeremy Patrick ~*~ Chase G Harstad ~*~ Christopher Edstrom ~*~ Tim Nielsen ~*~ Jason Davis ~*~ Mike Brown ~*~ Dameon Cornish ~*~ Top Cat 269 ~*~ Dwinald Lint III ~*~ Robert Howden ~*~ Frankie Gouge ~*~ Samantha K. ~*~ Michael Moneymaker ~*~ Patrick Glass ~*~ B Liz ~*~ Andy Overcash ~*~ Blake Cawthon ~*~ Jeffrey Buchanan ~*~ Tyler Clifton ~*~  Monik ~*~ Stefan Holze ~*~ XLuckylife ~*~ Curtis Allan Sayles ~*~ Robert McCoard ~*~ Joel Wilkinson ~*~ Chris Brown ~*~ Gavin Lawrenson ~*~ Ben Foard ~*~ Ken Giles ~*~ Kenneth Steinagel ~*~ Richard Papst ~*~ Gregory Lamberta ~*~ Randall Kemper ~*~ Daniel Glasson ~*~ Cody Carter ~*~ Brian O. ~*~ David Hoerner ~*~ DeseriDan ~*~ Tristan ~*~ MrNyxt ~*~ David Florish ~*~ Cody Givan ~*~ Kevin Kollman ~*~ Jeff Ford ~*~ Robert Jacobs ~*~ Adam Billingham ~*~ Robert Whittaker ~*~ LordStabbers ~*~ Ryan Frank ~*~ David Simmons ~*~ Jjstone ~*~ Logan Cochrane ~*~ SpartanGER ~*~ Daniel Jones ~*~ Jenson Cockburn ~*~ Carl Alston ~*~ J.G. Patton ~*~ Jenn Bean ~*~ Riley Dunn ~*~ Jose Ibarra ~*~ Edward P. Warmouth ~*~ Gslice 100 ~*~ MadManLoose ~*~ Aristo ~*~ Robert Michael Barfield ~*~ Jerrod ~*~ Korbin Wilson ~*~ Cheyene Adams ~*~ Yo Dude ~*~ Gregory Johnson ~*~ subVersion ~*~ Justin “Johnist” Johanson ~*~ Tanner Lovelace ~*~John Cothrin ~*~ Sawyer Williams ~*~ Derek Morgan ~*~ Timithy Klesick ~*~ TheRou ~*~ Spencer Jefferson ~*~ Dane Smith ~*~ Robert Knight ~*~ Benjamin J Russell ~*~ Matthew ~*~ Winston Smith ~*~ Aryan Eimermacher ~*~ Michael Jackson ~*~ Tom Richards ~*~ Andre Durkalec ~*~ Jose Caudillo ~*~ Rey T Nufable ~*~ Eli Page ~*~ William Merrick ~*~ Southern Celt ~*~ Abraham Madsen ~*~ Crhis Cannon ~*~ Masta Matna ~*~ Kevin Harris ~*~ Don Jinkins ~*~ J Patrick Walker ~*~ T3iain ~*~ Jeff Morris ~*~ Joshua McCane ~*~ Barry Dirickson ~*~ Robert Owen ~*~ Matthew Malkin ~*~ EthanK ~*~ Chace Corso ~*~ Robse ~*~ Jeremy Cox ~*~ Jacob Lawlor ~*~ Malcolm White ~*~ Derek Raines ~*~ Aaron Blue ~*~ Allderin , ~*~ Brad Shultz ~*~ Rafnar Caldon ~*~ Tavis Hilliard ~*~ Caleb Bear ~*~ Matthias Meilahn ~*~ Pamela J Smith ~*~ David Morrissey ~*~ Damien Osborne ~*~ Lui Adecer ~*~ Chioke Nelson ~*~ Jason Broderick ~*~ Cory Miller ~*~ Alkon Ramirez ~*~ Brian Sutton ~*~ Zenn Barger ~*~ Gabe Olah ~*~ Jeff Gaebler ~*~ Theodore Ursa ~*~ Matt ~*~ Thomas ~*~ Jason Bryant ~*~ Eric Jaschen ~*~ Hill44 ~*~ Brandon Lloyd ~*~ Malcolm Wade ~*~ Dale Lee ~*~ Corran Horn ~*~ Andrez Yuest ~*~ Morgan C Williams ~*~ Jonathan Bullard ~*~ William Simmons ~*~ Tanner Robinson ~*~ Chad Arrington ~*~ Samuel DeBoard ~*~ Jason Bryant ~*~ Ryan Phelps ~*~ Elias A Rosado.

Other Books written by Daniel Schinhofen:

Last Horizon: (Completed.)

Last Horizon Omnibus

Binding Words:

Morrigan's Bidding

Life Bonds

Hearthglen

Forged Bonds

Flame of War

Alpha World: (Completed.)

Gamer for Life

Forming the Company

Alpha Company

Playing for Keeps

Fractured Spirit

The Path to Peace

Darkhand

Gamer For Love

Apocalypse Gates Author’s Cut:

Rapture

Valley of Death

Gearing Up

Elven Accord

Downtime and Death

Can of Worms

Aether’s Revival:

Aether's Blessing

Aether's Guard

Luck’s Voice:

Suited for Luck

NPC’s Lives:

Tales from the Dead Man Inn

Resurrection Quest:

Greenways Goblins

I would like to point you all toward some fellow authors whose works I enjoy:

William Arand: Author of the complex interconnected series in the genre which all starts with Otherlife Dreams.

https://www.amazon.com/William-D.-Arand/e/B01AY7PSG4

Blaise Corvin: Author of Delvers LLC, which is an amazing GameLit series.

https://www.amazon.com/Blaise-Corvin/e/B01LYK8VG5

Scottie Futch: Is a prolific author who can be found on Royal Road and Amazon. Scottie combines parody with zany humor that keeps me laughing.

https://www.amazon.com/Scottie-Futch/e/B00NCSEN28

Michael Scott-Earle: He’s back, but not on Amazon. You can find all of his books through his own website, and through his Kickstarters and Indiegogos.

https://www.michaelscottearle.com/

Eden Redd: She might be mentioned last but she is definitely not least, and she is very worth the read, more so if you like some adult content. Her Lewd Saga series combines erotica and LITRPG.

https://www.amazon.com/Eden-Redd/e/B00I8X8BCK

To find more LitRPG Books, please check out the Amazon store:

https://www.amazon.com/litrpg

You can also find out more about LITRPG stories at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGGroup/

Table of Contents

- Chapter One
- Chapter Two
- Chapter Three
- Chapter Four
- Chapter Five
- Chapter Six
- Chapter Seven
- Chapter Eight
- Chapter Nine
- Chapter Ten
- Chapter Eleven
- Chapter Twelve
- Chapter Thirteen
- Chapter Fourteen
- Chapter Fifteen
- Chapter Sixteen
- Chapter Seventeen
- Chapter Eighteen
- Chapter Nineteen
- Chapter Twenty
- Chapter Twenty-one
- Chapter Twenty-two
- Chapter Twenty-three
- Chapter Twenty-four
- Chapter Twenty-five
- Chapter Twenty-six
- Chapter Twenty-seven
- Chapter Twenty-eight
- Chapter Twenty-nine
- Chapter Thirty
- Chapter Thirty-one
- Chapter Thirty-two
- Chapter Thirty-three
- Chapter Thirty-four
- Chapter Thirty-five
- Chapter Thirty-six
- Chapter Thirty-seven
- Chapter Thirty-eight
- Chapter Thirty-nine
- Chapter Forty
- Chapter Forty-one
- Chapter Forty-two
- Chapter Forty-three
- Chapter Forty-four