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The old man had actually slept that night, having expended too much energy laughing. Therefore he decided to have breakfast. He made a call and soon he had enough food to end world hunger a few thousand times over.

Ten minutes later

The old man had enjoyed his breakfast, leaving only three crumbs behind. He looked at the rising sun through his mirror, the biometal forces preparing for battle. He watched, formulating ideas in his head for causing more trouble. He couldn't resist, however, when Sonic blew away an attack wave, and put in his two cents. Sonic had, however, flinched mid-swing dropping his score a tad. After he was done laughing he had an idea.

Chapter 25
Hail to the RPG
'cause reality has just said good-bye

Soon the old man had his keyboard out, entering in the parameters for his next attack. A portal appeared on top of the building he had placed in town, and the attack wave that had been banished across the universe came back through it. The portal would serve other purposes, however. It didn't take long for Cerberi units to start flowing through it like a small stream of water, ending after a hundred or so were running around town.

Not long after that a giant surge of energy started to emanate from the portal, blinding anyone foolish enough to not close their eyes, aside from Akane who couldn't see the thing. Akane was, however, the first one to see the massive thing coming OUT of the portal.

The thing looked like a giant, standing fifty stories in height. Instead of hands it had guns, and it soon started shooting beams out of them and its eyes. It was soon discovered that it could breath fire, but that the fire didn't appear to damage anything. In reality it would curse anyone caught in it, but that was beside the point.

Soon portal-spheres started showing up all over the planet, releasing more of these fifty story monstrosities on the planet at large, attacking every major city in every country on the planet. Quite a few minor cities were also invaded, to a lesser extent. All of the giants aimed their guns a the center of the earth at the same time, charging up for a blast like the earth had never seen before. Anything electronic that wasn't made of biometal on the planet stopped working, not to mention anything orbiting the planet, and the sky seemed to go dark. Without warning all of the giants fired into the earth at the same time, causing an orb of energy to slam out of it, surrounding the planet out beyond the moon. No one inside the orb of energy could see, not even Akane.

Meanwhile in the dragon world

Small portal-orbs had appeared all over the planet, and monstrous beings were coming out of them identical to the ones on earth. They also attacked the planet they were on, taking a longer time to charge. The sky turned a hazy green as the monsters waited for the order to fire. When it came a massive orb of energy surrounded the dragon world, just as the earth had been surrounded.

Now occurring in your local area

Soon the light faded, the giants were gone. Only one person on either planet was left truly unaffected: Rose. Everyone else had been morphed into an RPG version of themselves as they had been, curses and all. That left Rose as the tallest being on either planet, and currently the only one who wasn't able to fully interact with her surroundings. Also, an odd gateway had opened up in town, leading directly to the dragon world, the dragons in which found themselves able to reach the earth without dieing. Most of them decided to stay where they were, not wanting to stray too far with the odd occurrences.

The RPG curse had other effects as well, including a severe limitation on power usage by the outer-worlders. Telepathy became impossible due to altered brainwaves, flying became impossible unless a curse was causing it, attacks that could be considered "magic" used up MP that h adn't really existed before, etc. No one seemed to bleed, either, their life points would just go down until they were unconscious. In essence, everyone was alive enough to be affect able by curses and whatnot, but not alive enough to have life signs.

An additional issue was that everyone had a stereotype or two applied to them, right down to changing race in some cases. Ranma was a typical all-around fighter, able to use most weapons, while Cologne was more of a mage. Akane had become a princess with no fighting ability whatsoever, with the Tendo Dojo having become a large castle. In the castle Nabiki was a maid, Soun was a financial officer, Genma was a jester, and Kasumi was Akane's personal servant. None of them knew why this was so, they just half accepted it, partially afraid to go too much out of what they had been assigned.

The most disturbing part of the whole ordeal was that everything had been shrunken and the two worlds had been rearranged in a seemingly haphazard manner. The biometal bases had turned into giant biometal fortresses spread out across great distances, the units were shrunken down to a relative size and now used a new portal network to get around the planet quickly. On top of that, the portals only responded to the biometal units, making it hard on anyone else wanting to travel across the planet. The only mode of transportation immediately available was walking, and at least the "no one can run" curse had been removed during the RPG modifications.

One female dragon, having heard the warnings of her elders, was far too interested in this odd boy that had shown up in their world before the blast, and was intent on following him. Now being the same size as him, somehow, she found herself mysteriously attracted to him as she followed him through the gateway. Hikeya didn't know what she was getting herself into, however, as she and Ryoga walked right into the middle of a battle. The biometal forces had not been fully affected by the RPG curse, and therefore couldn't go through the gateway, but also had nothing forcing them to take turns attacking. Therefore Hikeya was caught off guard as she was hit, turning into a human version of herself. It didn't take long before she was hit again, giving her a sense of direction just like Ryoga's. She wasn't angry at this time, however, although she was confused. She decided to find Ryoga again, although being very careful about it, however she still got hit one last time before she found a safe place in town, giving her the equivalent of a dip in the Spring of Drowned Rabbit. It might be a while before she found out, though.

Now for Comedy Hour with the Silly Scientists

"Alright Frank, now what is your explanation?" Joe calmly inquired, noting that they were at least still scientists.

"A being beyond our comprehension has decided to have some fun with us, or we are dreaming," responded Frank.

"I get the feeling it is the former," said Harry, walking in a side door.

Suddenly a loud pop was heard as a small being pulled itself out of a hole in the control panel where a screw was missing.

"That is 100% absolutely correct!" yelled the being, which appeared to be a rabbit, as it jumped up on Harry and kissed him. Just after that it jumped over to Frank and kissed him as well, just before diving back into the screw hole.

"Ok, this HAS to be a dream," mumbled Frank as he looked out the window. "Hey, what is that?"

"Looks like a gateway to me," said Harry. "But I am more concerned with the giant girl."

"Giant girl?" Frank and Joe yelped. "WHERE?"

"Looks like her foot is next to the building," Harry replied as Joe and Frank just stared.

Back in town(mysteriously, just outside the window the American Scientists are looking out of)...

Sonic was just waking up from being knocked out when he noticed that something was wrong. Rose was in front of him, but she appeared to be a giant in compar ison to him. She was having trouble moving around without crushing anything, but the buildings she did step on didn't seem to bend at all.

Sonic got up and walked over to her, finding that his head was at her ankle. He tried yelling up to her, but found he still couldn't speak, so he tried using telepathy to talk to her. It didn't take him long to get nothing but static, like a radio that was out of tune. Getting slightly annoyed he tried to use his powers to get her attention, finding that a list of attacks and spells, not to mention inventory, showed up in front of him instead. He just stood there, trying to figure out what the best way to get Rose's attention would be, as well as figuring out how he would communicate after he did get her attention.

Meanwhile, the old man was equipping himself for a journey into the new RPG world, right down to a gameboy that he could use to command monsters while in the game world. He stepped through a portal, thinking his entry would go unnoticed in the confusion. Rose, however, felt the energy of the portal opening. She saw the old man step out of the portal, and before he could react she had shot her hand down and picked him up.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME YOU FOOL!?!?!?!?!?" screamed Rose, not realizing just how loud her voice sounded to the old man and everyone in town.

"Quiet down," yelled the old man, his voice louder then it should have been for his body. As he said it he made it so that only he and Rose could hear their conversation for the moment. "I didn't do anything to you, thanks to your shield there. However, I turned the rest of this world into a giant RPG. As a result of that everyone, and everything, was shrunken and altered. You, on the other hand, are still at your original size."

Rose just stood there for a moment, looking around at the new world, wondering what she should do. She couldn't very well try and interact with things now, but she couldn't leave Sonic on his own either. Finally, she spoke up. "I don't suppose you could help me," she asked the old man.

"Now, are you sure you want to trust me?" replied the old man with a snicker. "I have been causing you a lot of grief."

"I also know you aren't fond of death or permanent injury," replied Rose. "Therefore I think it is a risk I can afford to take."

"And how do you know I won't make your situation worse then it already is?" the man responded, obviously enjoying himself.

"I don't," Rose responded flatly, staring the little man down. "However, I don't seem to have much choice in the matter, do I?"

"I suppose you don't," the man said, laughing. "I suppose you also realize that your little shard shield has failed you."

"I don't suppose you could cut the chit-chat and do something," said Rose, getting annoyed.

"Have patience," snapped the old man. "I have to find out more about your current mindset to know what to do with your final form. Of course, I could just leave you like this."

"Final form?" Rose sighed. Who knows what he would do to her.

The old man thought about it for a minute, then came up with the perfect solution. Rose was worried about Sonic's safety, so why not make it easier for her to keep an eye on him? Soon he had conjured up a large ball of energy, large enough to appear to be about the size of a gumdrop to Rose. "I have decided. Eat this and you will be made to fit into the world better."

Rose took the ball of energy from the old man, looking at it. She couldn't tell what it would do to her, and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out. However, if she didn't eat it then she couldn't help much, everything was too small for her to deal with. An image of her stepping on Sonic without realizing it flashed in her mind, and she put the old man down near her foot, not noticing Sonic next to the other foot in her haste to take the ball of energy. No sooner had she stood back up then she ate the ball of energy, Sonic shocked as to why she would trust the old coot.

A massive burst of energy came from inside Rose, engulfing her in light, and erasing the memory of her having been a giant from everyone's minds but her own, Sonic's, and the old man's. Rose then began to shrink rapidly, although she wasn't on the ground anymore. This worried her more then the feeling of her powers changing, becoming more limited. What if she fell from too far up? She couldn't tell how small she had become, but she did notice that everything seemed to be much larger as the light around her faded. Soon she was in the air without the energy holding her up, and she braced herself for the fall. When she didn't fall she opened her eyes, having closed them expecting a fall, to find that she was hovering in the air high above town.

"What is going on?" thought Rose. "Why am I just floating here?"

"Rose, is that you?" Sonic said, using his mind. "Your thoughts feel.....different."

"Sonic!" called out Rose with her mind. "Where are you?"

"I could ask you the same question," responded Sonic. "I was next to your foot a couple minutes ago, and the old coot just showed up but refuses to say anything. Not that I am in much position to ask him to."

Rose was, at this point, trying to figure out how to get down to where her foot had been. Without realizing it she began to descend to where her foot had been, and therefore to Sonic. She hadn't even bothered to look at herself yet, more concerned with finding Sonic, and was soon very happy that she could see him. She took off like a rocket, not quite knowing how, to hug him.

Thirty seconds later

"Oh my aching head," thought Rose. "When did Sonic get so big....."

"Actually," responded Sonic, "I think I am quite small."

"If you are small," thought Rose, "then what am I?" Rose looked around after saying this, realizing she was in Sonic's hand, and he was looking down at her.

"Ummmmm," Sonic started. "I don't know how to tell you this..."

"Just spit it out," Rose thought, still not noticing she wasn't speaking. "What did he turn me into?"

"Well," Sonic answered, "it looks like you are a pink fairy."

"A WHAT!?!?!?!?!" screamed Rose, using her voice for the first time. The shock of it drove the point home. Her voice wasn't supposed to be that high-pitched, and the shudder from hearing her voice that high brought her to realize that she had something on her back, presumably wings. She currently didn't want to know what she was wearing.

"You happen to be a cross," started the old man, "between a guardian fairy from a place called Hyrule and a fairy named Tinkerbell from some place called Never Ever Land." The old man let this sink in for a second before continuing. "You do not, however, have the ability to heal Sonic nor give him the ability to fly. So there." With that the old man stuck out his tongue like a child.

"Why did you do this to me?" inquired Rose, almost looking like she was on the verge of tears. "I was almost better off as a giant!"

"Actually, Sonic is much better off with you then without you," the old man corrected. "You see, Sonic here still can't speak, but he can fight. Now you can't fight, but you can speak. I was even kind enough to make sure you two can communicate with each other. Therefore, you now compliment each other perfectly."

"YOU JERK!" screamed Rose, summoning the last of her energy to form a giant energy glove on her hand. She started to slap the old man, but he easily dodged it. Rose then collapsed again, Sonic barely catching her.

"Now now," said the old man. "The energy you ate is still in your body. You don't want me to make your situation worse, do you?"

"He seems to enjoy making us suffer," Sonic communicated. "I don't think it would be wise to provoke him."

"I don't know about you," thought Rose, not caring to have the old man hear her, "but I feel useless and helpless. It is driving me crazy!"

Meanwhile, at the Shrine

Katarina had to admit that floating a foot off the ground paled in comparison to what had now happened to her. She almost wanted to be stuck floating uncontrollably in the air. Her waist now sat in the lower half of a metal sphere, which was floating above the ground. It seemed to give her control over her movements, somewhat, but left her without a lower half of the body, and she had been trying to use the bathroom when she had been changed. She didn't realize it, but she had become a Magic Droid, a creature that has been magically fused with a special orb with great magical powers. She didn't care, she just wanted to go to the bathroom, but couldn't find any way to.

Kalshion, on the other hand, now looked like he had been partially assimilated. His right eye had an infrared camera over it, allowing him to see people with it. Aside from that he was a swordsman, and wasn't that bad off right now, all things considered. The only problem he currently faced was a lack of a sword, as he couldn't find his and he couldn't use any other weapon.

The worst off in the shrine was their father. He was a physical cross between a cat and a man, able to speak but unable to walk on two feet or fight. Currently he was following his feline instincts and rubbing along Kalshion's legs.

In a small pendant shop across town

Tommy was confused as hell as to why he was suddenly in a pendant shop, but didn't mind the wheelchair he found himself in too much. He seemed to be running the shop, and found himself buying and selling pendants, even though he didn't think he knew anything about the prices. He found his sword strapped to his wheelchair, but still couldn't lift it himself.

At the back door of the Castle

Happosai had found his way to the castle and was currently working his way to the throne room. Of course, he pulled off getting lost and found the dungeon instead. As he checked the cells for prisoners one of the doors locked and a chain attached to his legs. His clothing became ragged as he changed to a "Thief" class that had apparently been captured. He found a scroll in his inventory that had the location of a fortress marked on it, but since he was trapped it didn't help him much.

Across town Ranma was trying to remember where things were in town, which wouldn't have helped him anyway, when he was hit with some cold water. His stats window opened up and most of the values dropped considerably. His clothes morphed into feminine attire and his class changed from "Hero" to "Princess". His fighting skills were now at half the level Akane's were normally at, and Nodoka choose this moment to walk around the corner and find him. Nodoka was soon dragging Ranma off to teach him how to be a proper lady.

To top it off, Nodoka had found a pair of frilly anklets that prevented the wearer from changing out of their current form, and could only be removed by the person who put them on the wearer. Ranma ended up wearing the anklets right there and then, trapping him as a girl. Had anyone bothered to check they would have found that Nodoka's class was simply "Trainer".

The anklets could complicate Ranma's plight further when the Power Sphere was broken, however, as the old man had placed them in the world without tying them to the Power Sphere, making it so that Ranma would remain in his RPG form once the curse was lifted, unless Nodoka removed them before then or she removed them after the Power Sphere was broken.

Elsewhere Ryoga was wandering around town, looking for the Tendo Dojo. He finally gave up and started looking for Akane, soon arriving at the Tendo Castle at the same time Ranma and Nodoka did. Ranma would have died laughing if he had noticed Ryoga's class, which was currently "Guide". However, he didn't have time to notice as Nodoka threw him in the front door, then went to get some things for Ranma's training. Ryoga, for his part, was confuse d, but he went through the castle anyway, eventually coming on Akane in the throne room. She wasn't overly happy, however, being bored with playing the role of a princess. Ryoga went off to find some cold water, maybe P-Chan could cheer her up. Ranma-chan wandered into the room at this point, Akane wondering why Ranma was so embarrassed. She figured out how to pull up Ranma's stats window, was surprised that she could see it as she read it, and wasn't sure if she should feel sorry for Ranma or fall over laughing. After a few seconds she decided to go with the laughing, being yelled at by Ranma soon after. Akane reached for her mallet, to playfully bop Ranma with, but found she couldn't lift it. Ranma checked her stats, finding that Akane had no fighting ability whatsoever, and therefore couldn't use weapons. Ranma was, however, able to pick up the mallet. Ranma figured that if Akane couldn't use the mallet then he should take it, and he dropped it into his inventory. Once there a window popped up with information on the mallet, and Ranma found that only someone of "Princess" class with a fighting level of at least two could use the mallet.

Of course, Ranma having the mallet, that Akane can't use, could be an issue in breaking the curse.

Elsewhere, Shampoo and Ukyo had been battling each other when the blast hit, and found that they no longer were using the weapons that went with their minds when the blast subsided. Their weapons went with their bodies, and they weren't overly good with them. However, any attempt to swap weapons failed. They soon gave up and got back to fighting, but were now very awkward in their attacks, the weapons they preferred locked to their original bodies now.

Tatewaki and Mousse were in a similar scenario, however instead of fighting with weapons they were trying to out-wife each other. So far they had challenged each other to a bake off, a clothes-mending contest, and a house-cleaning contest. They were still working on the house-cleaning contest, neither of them willing to stop for a second. Checking their stats you would find that they had no fighting skills whatsoever, and at the moment they didn't care.

Around this time DS finally re-entered town. He was currently a short, fat "Boss" class cat. He had a compulsion to kidnap a princess or two, and therefore he was heading for the Tendo Castle. He found the front door locked, so he called up his attack list. He found that he had two forms in the game, his current humanoid cat form and a giant cat-beast with three heads. He figured his current form was good enough for dropping into the throne room of the castle and grabbing a princess. DS soon dropped into the throne room, finding it empty. Confused, he started to wander the castle, eventually coming to a sewing room, where Nodoka was ensuring that both Ranma and Akane were able to make feminine clothing for themselves. Akane was enjoying herself, making something that wasn't a dress for herself, while Ranma wasn't happy because he didn't want to learn this stuff.

Nodoka was soon chasing after DS, who had both Ranma and Akane in his arms and was flying off into an odd ship that had appeared there, obviously waiting for him. Ranma had been dead to the world, afraid of DS's form, while Akane had just been pissed. Soon the ship had blasted off to who knows where, although there were plenty of people that for some reason had information on DS and his hideout. Most of them would demand money, items, or favors first, however. Nodoka would be the first with information as Ranma and Akane were whisked away into the distance, being able to point someone in the right direction.

Of course, Sonic and Rose had headed home at this point, after taking a while to figure out where home WAS. The old man was following them, hoping that Emily and Jeremy came out ok. He hadn't thought to keep track of them when he triggered the curse, so he wasn't sure what had happened to them. When they arrived at the house they noticed that it seemed to be in fl ux, as if it wasn't sure what it should look like. There was, however, a small door that Rose could use, searching herself she found that her key that was still around her neck could fit it, and a larger door that Sonic used. Upon entering the house Rose went to look for differences while Sonic went to look for some aspirin and a glass of water.

In the hall Rose found Emily and Jeremy, Emily on top of Jeremy, as if they had collapsed from over exertion. Jeremy was wearing his normal outfit, while Emily was wearing a bathrobe. Rose couldn't help but giggle when she noticed that there was a small pile of eggs on the floor behind Emily, but she got control of herself and tried to wake the two up. She tried kicking them, flying into them, and screaming in their ears, but none of it worked. She figured out how to view stats windows, but found that neither Emily nor Jeremy seemed to have a class. The field was blank, as if they hadn't accepted what they were assigned. That could be when they over-exerted themselves.

How they had gotten here was a mystery that Rose wasn't in the mood to investigate. She did, however, start checking her own stats to find out if she could wake them up. On page three of her stats a note said something about being able to revive a sleeping being by kissing them. She asked Sonic for his opinion, and he came over with some water. The water did nothing to wake them up, and Sonic couldn't shake them awake, so he told Rose to give kissing them a try. She flew down and gave them each a peck on the cheek, and sure enough they both started waking up a couple of minutes later. Sonic, knowing full well he couldn't communicate to ask questions, figured Rose could fill him in after. He therefore went to get the old man, to bring him to see his kids.

"Wha....What happened?" Emily moaned, looking around groggily. She didn't seem to see Rose, though, before a look of realization came over her. "JEREMY!"

Jeremy, who Emily started shaking as soon as she realized she was on top of him, got up as well. "You don't have to break my neck, you know."

"Sorry," replied Emily, blushing. "I wonder what dad did this time."

Rose figured that was a good time for her to step in, so she started speaking. "He made the world a giant game."

Emily and Jeremy both jerked their heads, saying "Who said that?" Just as Sonic brought MM back around the corner a blinding flash of light came from Emily and Jeremy. Moments later air was sucked into the light, almost bring Rose with it. When the light died down and the wind had stopped Emily and Jeremy had been assigned classes, although neither looked anything like they had a moment before.

Standing where Emily and Jeremy had been were a green Pixie and an Elf. The two looked at each other, then at themselves, and then the Pixie promptly attacked their father. The Pixie used a spell in an attempt to knock the old man down in one hit. The Pixie missed, however, as the old man was too quick on the dodge. They soon found out it was then his turn, and he hit the Pixie with his own spell. It didn't take it long to recover, after which it had calmed down a bit. Of course, then the Pixie allowed the realization of what its transformation meant, and started to cry.

"WHY ME?" hollered the Pixie. "Why did I have to change this way?"

"Calm down, it can't be that bad," said the Elf, picking the Pixie up off of the floor. "Look on the bright side, you can still fly."

"I don't care if I can fly!" snapped the Pixie. Both the Pixie and the Elf looked over at Rose at this point.

"What happened to you Rose?" said the Elf.

"The curse didn't affect me," started Rose. "At least, not initially. I asked your father for help and he turned me into a Fairy."

"Dad," called out the Pixie, "did you do this to us too?"

"Jeremy," started the old man, "I honestly didn't know what would happen to you."

Sonic and Rose just stared for a minute, conf used, their eyes going between the Pixie and the Elf. The Pixie noticed this, while the Elf was currently making sure the Pixie hadn't hurt itself.

"Yes," started the Pixie. "I am Jeremy."

Sonic's jaw literally hit the floor at this, and Rose almost forgot to use her wings. "I thought it was the other way around," Rose finally blurted out.

"Unfortunately," stated the old man, "in this 'Game' all Pixies are Female. An Elf can be male or female, so Emily wasn't as distraught at her condition. Jeremy, however, had to deal with the loss of his manhood. For now, anyway. With that being said, I will be leaving."

A portal sucked the old man out of the house, leaving Sonic, Rose, Emily, and Jeremy there looking at where he had been. It was then that they noticed that the rooms in the house matched their new "roles" in the game. Rose and Jeremy had small rooms next to each other, decorated in a very feminine fashion using the colors they currently were. Emily's room was next to Jeremy's room, and was decorated like it was sitting in the middle of a tree in the forest. Sonic's room was next to Rose's and hadn't changed much at all, aside from a few additional RPG elements. A bathroom seemed to connect Sonic's room with Emily's room, going behind Rose's and Jeremy's rooms. They found a smaller bathroom connecting their rooms.

It was then that Jeremy realized he, or rather she, needed to use the bathroom. Moments after she ran into the bathroom a scream was heard coming from the small bathroom, followed by sobbing. "Better leave Jeremy alone right now," thought Sonic. "He, umm, she, umm, Jeremy hasn't come to terms with the change."

"I agree," thought Rose. "After Jeremy has calmed down we will ask him, umm, her, umm, what Jeremy wants to be referred to as. Damn this is confusing."

Across town in a preschool

Hinako found herself teaching Preschool, one of the students in the class being Kodachi. She had an assistant, Hikaru, who was currently in the process of trying to get up. Every time someone hit or squeezed a doll in the room he seemed to feel it. She got fed up with one kid in particular and proceeded to drain the energy out of him. Seconds later she was crying, having just wet a diaper that had formed on her as she shrunk. Her class had been "Teacher" but now it was simply "Human". Hikaru was a "Mage", but wasn't doing much casting right now.

Sasuke had become a Gremlin nearby and soon had changed Hinako's diaper, and proceeded to scare the kids into calmness. Hikaru still couldn't control himself long enough to get up, however, so Sasuke took over as best he could.

As night fell..

Due to the magic of RPG night fell across the entire planet at once, confusing the heck out of anyone paying attention. The three fortresses pulled back all their units, but they had no bosses yet. A large blast of energy fired at the energy orb from each fortress, invisible to the naked eye, that was met with three pulses coming from the orb itself. Three items were hit by the pulses and immediately vanished into the three fortresses. Each item had a shard embedded in it, and each item soon became a giant boss creature. One had been formed of a mirror and became a beast that could create mirror images of those fighting it. The second had been formed from a shotgun and was made up mainly of guns. Finally, the third had been created from a soldering iron and was made up of red-hot tips that could be fired at will, bonding whatever they hit to something else.

In the dragon realm DS had found a castle, apparently belonging to him. He had found a room buried deep in the castle that he put Ranma and Akane in. The room itself was actually quite nice, with hot and cold running water, a feminine decor with lots of places to relax, a seemingly never-ending food supply, and a large selection of clothing, but no doors or windows. On one side of the room there was a large bath and in the corner there appeared to be a toilet. Ranma was having a fit as the first thing he had gone for was hot water, which didn't change him into a guy. He then tried removing his clothing, knowing that Akane couldn't see the clothes anyway, and found the anklets wouldn't come off. Finally giving up on the anklets he helped Akane undress herself and then take a bath. Akane was overjoyed through the entire experience, she was in a room with her true love and couldn't want anything more then to have Ranma help her do everything all the time.

Back in town

Jeremy had finally gotten through her mental breakdown, and had told Rose, Sonic, and Emily that she would rather be referred to as a girl for the time being. Emily had suggested a more feminine name for the time being, but Jeremy had declined. With everything else weird going on she decided that a Pixie named Jeremy just didn't qualify as weird enough to need correcting. Rose and Jeremy were currently working on learning all the quirks of their new sizes, Sonic was working on figuring out what to do now, and Emily was trying to deal with her smaller body still laying eggs of the same apparent size. All of a sudden there was a knock at the door, Sonic asked Rose to go with him to answer it.

"Hello," said Rose.

"Hello there," said the man at the door. "I have a telegram for one Alex Leo from one Nodoka Saotome."

"Alex Leo?" thought Sonic. "Who is that?"

"According to your stats page," replied Rose, "YOU are Alex Leo." Then out loud, "This here is Alex Leo."

"Here you go," said the man, walking away. "Have a nice day."

"Well 'Alex'," said Rose, "are you going to open your Telegram or what?"

"Alright already," thought Sonic, tearing open the telegram as he walked to the living room. "Lets see....."

Alex Leo. Stop.

Situation Urgent. Stop.

Meet me at the castle tomorrow. Stop.

Nodoka. Stop.

"What is this about?" thought Sonic, relaying the message to Rose. "What Castle?"

"I dunno," replied Rose. "Perhaps that large castle down the street with the Tendo name on it?"

As Sonic pulled himself off the floor there was another knock on the door. Answering it revealed the old man. "So, how goes the game?" he asked.

"The game is mysterious," replied Rose, not even waiting for Sonic to tell her anything.

"Of course it is mysterious, I created it," the old man countered. "Besides, what fun is a game that you don't have to figure out the details of? At any rate, are you going to invite me in? I have some gifts for you."

"Does the saying 'Beware Greeks bearing gifts' apply here?" Sonic thought, waving the old man in as Rose went to get Emily and Jeremy.

"By the way young man," said the old man, "I am NOT Greek."

"You heard that?" thought Sonic.

"Who heard what?" Rose responded, not knowing what was going on, as she returned with Emily and Jeremy.

"I heard him," the old man answered her, using thoughts instead of his voice. Then, aloud, "I have brought each of you two gifts. Who to start with....."

"I don't suppose one of those gifts will change me back," inquired Jeremy.

"No Jeremy, none of these will change you back," responded the old man. "For starters why don't you and Rose each open these." With that the old man pulled out two small packages and held them in the palm of his hand, one pink and one green. Rose and Jeremy flew over and carried them back to where they had been sitting. The old man noticed that Sonic had flinched when they did so. "Sonic my boy," the old man said, "you do not have to worry. I am not a pervert like Happosai."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Rose.

"You mean you didn't know?" asked the old man. "In this game Fairies and Pixies don't normally wear clothes, and the two of you are not an exception at the moment." Rose and Jeremy both looked down at themselves when he said this, Ros e was shocked and Jeremy confused. The old man held up his hand before they could speak, then continued. "Rose, Fairies such as yourself usually only wear their 'glow', which hides their form well enough. Jeremy, the green outfit you appear to be wearing isn't an outfit, it is your tail coiled around your body. Now, if you two would open your gifts."

Rose and Jeremy both looked at each other, as they were sitting next to each other, and then quickly blushed and turned to their gifts and opened them. Inside they found matching undergarments, skirts, and shirts. Rose had pink while Jeremy had green, but otherwise they were identical.

Rose cast a glance at Sonic, sending a question mentally. "Why didn't you tell me I was NAKED?"

Sonic didn't take long to respond with "You didn't want to know, and I figured you had enough on your mind having just been turned into a fairy and all."

"Father," Jeremy interrupted without realizing it, "why do I have a tail?"

"Simple," the old man answered with a slight grin, "that is left over from when you were given a tail before. Now why don't you two go change into your new clothes."

Rose and Jeremy flew off like ICBMs to their rooms to change as the old man handed Emily a long, thin box. She looked at him, then opened the box to find a bow and arrow set. "Wow, a bow and arrows," she said, surprised.

"What, my dear," said the old man, "is an Elf without a Bow and Arrows? Now Sonic, as for your first gift." The old man handed Sonic a smaller package, about the size of a clipboard.

Sonic gave the old man an interesting look as Rose and Jeremy returned, wearing their outfits. Jeremy also had her tail hanging from her form this time. They oohed and aahed over Emily's gift as Sonic opened his, finding what looked to be a LCD display with a compass in the corner. He pressed a button near the bottom of the thing and it sprang to life, showing a floor plan of the house.

"If you are going to go on a quest you need a map," the old man snickered, "and that is the best map you will find nowadays. Rose, Jeremy, are you two ready for your second gifts?" Both girls nodded, having actually liked their first gifts, and the old man held out two more packages, wrapped the same way, but slightly larger then the last ones. The two flew over and grabbed them from his hand, not bothering to hide their anticipation. They tore into the packages together, then froze as they looked into the boxes. After a moment they both reached in and pulled out a small charm. Rose's was a star while Jeremy's was a Mallet. As they held the charms they glowed, Rose's giving off a brighter light then her glow provided and Jeremy's turning into a mallet. The old man didn't wait for them to respond to their gifts before handing Emily another box. She again wordlessly opened it, finding a shield in this one.

"A bow, some arrows, and now a shield," Emily said. "I bet you want me to go with him," gesturing at Sonic, "wherever he is going."

"You would win that bet," replied the old man. "I expect Rose to join Sonic as a helper and Jeremy to join you as one."

"So old coot," Sonic transmitted, "do I get a second gift?" Jeremy and Emily were surprised when they heard Sonic, yet he had not spoken.

"Yes, you do," the old man said. "Oh, and if you didn't notice, Jeremy and Emily just heard you. Part of their second gift was an additional ability to hear you. As for your second gift, you will be getting information."

The old man waved his hand and smoke filled the room. Those in it found themselves looking down on three fortresses, obviously not next to each other by the terrain around them.

"These three fortresses are what the three bases became. They are spread far and wide, each containing a monster you must defeat and a key to the end of this curse. Each beast is powered by a shard of the dragon aura, and will not be easily defeated. You will want to build a larger party for your attempt to do so. Also, you may have noticed that there weren't that many curses dealt out by the biometal forces today. That was a gift, they will be back out in full force come sunrise."

The scene changed again, this time to Ranma and Akane where they were trapped. They were currently dressed and Ranma was feeding Akane, who was obviously enjoying herself very much.

"Ranma and Akane, however, have been kidnapped by another powerful being. This one is not powered by a shard of the aura, but is just as if not more dangerous then the monsters guarding the fortresses. If you defeat the curse then they will be freed as the curse is lifted, however you may need their help."

The scene faded out, and came back to reveal four scrolls.

"These four scrolls are maps that will show you the way to each of the four guardians. Each can be found in a different place, the first awaits you somewhere in the castle. The second is a sacred map to the imps of the forest to the east, who believe it to be a map to their god that no one may touch. The third may be found in the possession of a shopkeeper in the dragon realm, but you may find that he holds it too dear to let go for mere money. The fourth and final map may be found in the cave of souls to the south, guarded by a lake-dwelling beast."

The scrolls were then replaced by two images of the gate, one from each side of the gateway.

"This is the gate between the realms. Using it you can reach the dragon realm and return again. You will find that they have been affected by the same curse."

The scene faded out, the smoke then dissipated and the old man sat there as if nothing had happened.

"You may each ask one more thing of me, then I leave you for the night. You will need your sleep," the old man finished.

"For starters," Sonic transmitted, "I would like to know more about this creature. The one not powered by shards of the aura."

"Ahh, yes," said the old man, rubbing his chin. "A great work of art on my part. The creature draws its power from a source not of this world, yet not unfamiliar to you. It can be cunning and devious, and you will most likely fight it a second time after you deal with this situation. That is all you will get, for now. Rose, it is your turn."

"My turn," said Rose, thinking about a question. "How about those three powered by shards of the aura. How did they get shards?"

"Good question," said the old man. "The creatures were created from three items that had shards of the aura embedded in them. They therefore are not as cunning as other creatures, but the shards make them very powerful. I will tell you, however, that defeating them will not get you the shard. At least, not right away. The shards will be put into the power sphere to supplement its power and keep them safe. You can collect them when the curse is defeated. Emily, you are up."

"How long do we have to finish this thing?" Emily asked with a quizzical expression on her face.

"As long as it takes you," started the old man. "I would suspect that it will take you a minimum of two weeks, and two months at the extreme end. That leaves us with Jeremy."

"Hmmmm," mumbled Jeremy, unsure as to what was left to ask about. She remembered that the old man had said they could each ask one more thing of him, not just for information. "Can you make me more comfortable with this form while I am in it?"

"I take it you can't think of going out in public like that right now," said the old man. Jeremy just nodded, blushing slightly, although only Rose saw it. "Well then Jeremy, since you want to be more comfortable with your current form, you shall be more comfortable."

The old man held his hand out in front of him, Rose darted over to Sonic, and a ball of energy formed in front of the old man's palm. When the ball was large enough to hold Jeremy it floated over to her, slowly, and engulfed her. The ball changed color, ending up green, and t hen was absorbed into Jeremy. Her body language had noticeably changed and her facial expression was calmer then it had been.

"Thanks dad," Jeremy said. "You know, I think I will go with that name change idea now, I don't feel right calling myself Jeremy anymore. How about Jaime?"

"Sounds good to me," said the old man. "Of course, I don't have to worry about it too much. You need to get some sleep." The old man opened a portal, and prepared to step through it. "Oh, and you may want to collect some of the fighters in town to aid you. I think Kalshion, Katarina, Shampoo, Ukyo, and Ryoga might be around." The old man then stepped through the portal, which vanished behind him. The four he left behind all went to bed, Jaime seeming like she was someone different, that had never been anything other then a pixie before. Emily was wondering what it was going to be like having a Pixie for a sister, while Sonic and Rose were wondering what their physical relationship would be like until the curse was lifted. Jaime was just wondering if she had any makeup for in the morning, the magic that had altered her mind putting her at ease about all the changes that had occurred.

Back in his world the old man relaxed in his chair. He knew he would be popping up in various disguises to aid or hinder their progress, depending on his mood, but for the moment he had their trust. For the most part, anyway. The old man watched as Ranma helped Akane into some sleepwear and then into bed. The room only had one bed, and Akane was not about to have either of them sleep on the floor or in a chair. She insisted that Ranma sleep with her in the bed, calming Ranma down about it by saying it was alright because they were both girls. Ranma gave in and climbed into bed with her, the lights going out as he did so. Akane had good enough sight in the dark now to see Ranma even with the lights out, and she proved it by leaning over when he turned in her direction and planting a kiss on his lips. They both pulled away quickly, blushing intensely, and fell asleep not long afterwards. Akane dreamt of Ranma helping her, even when she didn't need it anymore, and Ranma dreamt of getting his male self back again and had a fleeting point where he kissed Akane when he was back to his male self again.

Ryoga was currently wandering around the castle, as himself, as Hikeya trailed him. He hadn't found Akane once he changed into P-Chan, so he had changed back, and Hikeya was wondering if all humans changed like that or not. She figured she could find out later. In the meantime Kasumi told Ryoga about a room he could spend the night in, which he found without trouble. Hikeya hid in the closet, realizing she was very tired for some reason.

The old man then noticed that Rose was still awake. She apparently couldn't get used to having hyperactive wings to deal with when sleeping. Feeling partially sorry for her the old man used the latent energy in her body from her transformation to make her more comfortable with the wings, after which she promptly fell asleep. The old man smiled, then set about altering the world in a few more subtle ways. He started by making three moons that would be in different phases, adding monsters that roamed outside of towns, set to attack any travelers they came across, and threw in some bungling assassins to further complicate things for the group, or make him laugh. Preferably both.

The next morning

Everything started out nice and calm. Sonic, Rose, Emily, and Jaime all got up and had breakfast, eggs courtesy of Emily. Sonic and Rose left to go meet Nodoka while Emily and Jaime left to find other people to join in the adventure. Sonic and Rose got a spiel about Akane and Ranma being kidnapped and the general direction the ship had gone, which wasn't much of a help. They did explore the castle though, and found Happosai in the dungeon, refusing to give up the map without getting something in return.

Emily and Jaime didn't have to go far to find recruit s. Kalshion and Katarina joined up immediately, their father and the cat staying behind due to their conditions. Shampoo and Ukyo didn't hesitate to join up when they heard that Ranma had been taken, and soon they were at the castle having no idea where to find Ryoga. That problem was soon solved, however, as Ryoga walked out the front door and, after hearing about Akane, joined up as well. The whole group went down to the dungeon to meet up with Sonic and Rose, who were talking to Happosai. Hikeya was still trailing Ryoga, unnoticed.

No sooner did Happosai lay eyes on the party did he suddenly turn to stone. Everyone gasped at this, even Hikeya who had been watching from a safe distance. Her gasp gave her away as the entire party spun around and saw her before she could run. Soon she had been captured and locked in one of the empty cells, before the attempted questioning began.

Meanwhile, outside...

All over the planet biometal ships were attacking anything and everything, dishing out curses like never before. No longer being restricted to a single town they were able to cause a lot more trouble, and soon half the planet was cursed. Unfortunately one of the units had seen the group through an air vent for the dungeon and decided to lob a mortar at them. The MDM bounced down the vent right in between Hikeya and the rest of the group, exploding before anyone could react. Expecting an explosion, everyone was surprised when a blast of freezing cold water came out of the mortar. Shampoo and Ukyo were behind the rest of the group, so they stayed dry while everyone else was soaked. Ryoga found that he was now P-Chan, and Hikeya found herself as a small rabbit. No one in the group was surprised about Ryoga's change, however they weren't expecting a rabbit. Hikeya, for her part, was trying to figure out why she and Ryoga had changed, but not anyone else.

Sonic reached down and picked up the rabbit, they hadn't even had time to ask one question. They went upstairs to find some hot water, only to find out that a Titan had fallen into and crushed the water supply when it rolled over some weak pavement. They would have to wait until they could find some water in general, now. The rabbit was, however, getting testy so they put it in a cage, before Sonic and Rose went to see if Happosai had dropped anything during the ordeal, leaving everyone else upstairs. When they got down to him they found that he was flesh again.

"So Happosai," Rose started as Sonic glared at Happosai, "we still want that map."

"If you want the map," answered Happosai, "I will give you two choices this time. The first is what I said before, a pool full of panties that I can swim in any time of the day."

"What is the second choice this time?" Rose asked.

"Some pictures of that Elf Girl modeling lingerie," Happosai smirked.

"Only pictures?" Rose questioned.

"Hey," stated Happosai. "I am not stupid. I turned to stone when she was standing in front of me, and I don't want that to happen again!"

"We will see about it," said Rose as she and Sonic turned away and went back upstairs. When they got there Rose explained the situation to the others.

"I think I know how to beat him," said Emily, grinning from ear to pointy ear. "He will get a little bit of an eyeful, but not what he is expecting."

Thirty Minutes Later, down in the dungeon

"Here are the pictures," said Rose as Sonic held them just out of Happosai's reach. "Where is the map?"

"Right here," said Happosai, pulling out the map. "I will give it to you as you hand me the pictures, I don't want any tricks!"

"Deal," said Rose as Sonic and Happosai exchanged items. The map glowed brightly, then vanished to show it had been entered into the electronic map.

"SURPRISE!" yelled Emily, jumping out from behind Sonic, having been clinging to his back. Happosai dropped the pictures in surprise just before turning int o stone. "Man, I didn't know how much longer I could stay like that," Emily commented. "For some reason I felt like I should be showing myself to him the entire time."

"Probably part of his curse," Sonic transmitted as he picked up the pictures and handed them to Emily. "You never did tell us what you were going to do with these, though."

Emily put the pictures in her inventory before speaking. "I figure I will keep them. You never know when you might need something like that in this pervert-filled world, despite what I might think about it."

The three headed back upstairs, not knowing that by the time they had gotten all the way up Happosai had turned back into flesh and was fuming over how they had tricked him. They took the cage containing the again docile rabbit and went in search of warm water, Sonic examining the map as they went.

"Figures," Sonic thought, not realizing he was transmitting as if he were mumbling to himself. "The map only shows where the fortress is, not what is between here and there."

"You're right," Jaime said. "That does figure." Kalshion, Katarina, P-Chan, Shampoo, and Ukyo raised an eyebrow. P-Chan would have asked something, but couldn't, so the question remained unasked.

An hour later

"Interesting temple," came Shampoo's voice. "Think the tavern next to it has hot water?"

"Maybe," said Jaime. "But there is something about that temple....."

"I agree," said Rose, flying towards the tavern. "However, hot water comes first."

Inside the tavern they were greeted by an elderly man with a simple wave. As luck would have it there was a bathroom right next to the door with working hot and cold running water. Soon Ryoga and Hikeya were back to themselves, and everyone sat or otherwise gathered around a table in the tavern.

"There is something familiar about you," Sonic transmitted, forgetting that the girl couldn't hear him.

"You idiot," Rose sent back, "she can't hear you! Although I do agree." Then, aloud, "We feel something familiar about you. Who are you?"

Hikeya looked at Rose, then at Sonic who hadn't said a thing since she first saw him. There was something familiar about them too, now that someone mentioned it. It was like they had met each other before at some point. "My name is Hikeya. Who are you?"

"We are, I suppose," Kalshion said, "the hero’s of this game."

Sonic and Rose knew something sounded familiar about that name, but couldn't place where they had heard it. "So, where are you from?" questioned Rose, hoping that would aid her in remembering.

Hikeya eyed the glowing pink fairy for a minute, trying to come up with a plausible way to lie. She figured that there had to be mountains somewhere in this world, so she decided that would work. "I am from the mountains to the....ummmm...well, I don't know which direction they are in anymore."

Sonic, Rose, Kalshion, and Katarina all knew she was not telling the truth, but decided not to push it. Katarina decided to speak up. "So, why were you spying on us?" she asked.

"I was, ummm," Hikeya stuttered, blushing as she looked at Ryoga, "trying to figure out why he turned into a pig."

"You mean you didn't?" started Ryoga, suddenly finding himself at a loss for words.

"Silly Ryoga," came Ukyo's voice from across the table. "He mean you not cursed at Jusenkyo?"

"Jusenkyo?" said Hikeya, confused. "Where is that?"

"This isn't getting us anywhere," said Rose. "Lets see what your stats say." With that Rose waved her hand like she was tapping on Hikeya twice, and a window opened up showing stats on her. At the top it said her name was Hikeya, the last name blurred out, with a class of Guide. Her stats showed that she could also do some fighting. Hikeya, for her part, was shocked at the window that had opened.

"Well, since you can fight," thought Sonic, again forgetting that he couldn't be hear d by her, "why don't you join us in getting things back to normal?"

"You idiot!" thought Rose. "She STILL can't hear you!" Sonic blushed a little at this. Rose then looked at Hikeya and started talking. "We can see that you can fight, would you like to join our quest to return everything to normal?"

"Normal..." mumbled Hikeya. "That could be nice. Although this form isn't that bad." Jaime had been close enough to hear her and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. She figured that would be best left to when Hikeya wasn't around. After a moment Hikeya looked up. "I will do it," she said. "I suppose it is better then just following someone."

After a brief round of introductions Rose flew to the center of the table. "Now that we have settled that," she said, "lets go check out that temple next door. I want to know what I felt in it."

Everyone agreed and started to head to the door. Shampoo and Ukyo weren't sure what it was about the temple, but everyone else including Hikeya had felt something in it. They walked in the doors and everyone found a small sword surrounded by a red circle appear in the corner of their vision, a red line crossing over the sword. They assumed it meant that they couldn't fight here, which made sense, and otherwise ignored it. They continued on through an entry area, followed by a small chapel-like area. At the back of the chapel there was a wooden door with a magic circle insignia on it.

"I bet that is what we felt," said Hikeya, forgetting that she hadn't said anything about it before.

"You mean you felt it too?" asked Katarina.

"Felt what?" came Shampoo's voice.

"Me no feel anything," came Ukyo's.

After a lengthy discussion they determined that Ukyo and Shampoo had not felt a thing, while everyone else had. Rose bargained that it either had to do with a shard or a curse, but that didn't explain Hikeya. Deciding to figure it out later, Rose had suggested that they stop talking about it and go through the door. Everyone agreed, and Sonic opened the door. No sooner had he done so then Sonic, Rose, and Hikeya froze in place, staring at what they saw inside. Kalshion and Katarina froze at what they felt, while Shampoo and Ukyo just looked at them, wondering what was going on.

After a few moments, Sonic looked at his wrist, shook his head, and looked back into the room. Without realizing he was transmitting, he started thinking. "It.....it....it can't be!"

"You are right, it can't be," said Rose. "But, what else could it be?"

"I don't know what it is," Katarina said, "but I know I feel something coming from it."

"I know I have seen that color before," Kalshion added, "and that power feels familiar too."

Emily and Jaime were both staring through the door. This stank of their father, and they both knew it.

Hikeya, for her part, was restraining herself from jumping for joy. This had to be a trap. There was no other explanation. But it felt so REAL.....

Finally Shampoo walked into the room. "What is so special about a stupid crystal?" she said, picking up a light blue tear-shaped crystal from a red pillow that was sitting on a pillar. She soon regretted that as the crystal glowed brightly, then vanished, as the pillar fell into the floor. "Ummmm....Ooops?" The top of the pillar stopped flush with the floor, looking like it had never been a pillar aside from the red pillow on it. The group fled the room, trying to escape, when the chapel sealed itself off. A bright glow was coming from the back room, which no one had bothered to close the door to, and everyone was obviously worried about what was going to happen.

Across the street

Tommy was wondering what on earth the bright light coming from the temple across the street was, so he started working his way through the shop to find out.

Back in the chapel

The light intensified greatly for a split second, then pulled back, shrinking. Everyone in the group stared, wondering what was going on, as the light took the form of a humanoid. Even without detail it was obviously female, and the armor that formed on it confirmed that. A large sword materialized on her back as the body itself formed, leaving a tanned female with red hair to her back standing there. She looked over at the group, and smiled.

"So," she said, "you are the ones who freed me. I don't suppose you can tell me what is going on?"

The members of the group looked at one another, no one knowing what to say to a female warrior who appeared out of a blinding light, when they had been expecting annihilation or something similar. Finally they took turns explaining everything that had been going on, for the most part, up to her arrival.

Back with the old man

The old man's mirror was showing the group describing what had gone on, an empty tub of popcorn next to it. The chair was, however, empty. He was not in his workshop, nor in the bathroom, and he was nowhere to be found in the kitchen or pantry. Finally the cameraman shut off his camera. "I give up. They told me to come film him, and he isn't here. What can I do?"

Due to circumstances beyond our control, we return you to the group without the old coot's commentary

"So," Rose said. "Now that you know what has been going on, I don't suppose you can tell us your story."

"Sorry," said the woman. "I don't remember much of what happened to me before you freed me."

"Oh," said Rose. "That makes some sense, I guess."

"Can we at least get your name?" thought Sonic, transmitting even though it was more to himself.

"I suppose at the least you should know my name," said the woman, taking Sonic by surprise. Had she heard him? "I am, I think, known as Melissa Madrid."

"Well then Melissa," Rose said for Sonic, "would you like to join us in winning the game?"

"I don't think so," Melissa replied. "At least, not all the way. Perhaps just long enough for me to get my bearings."

"In that case," Kalshion said, "shall we go?"

As the group opened the door, which un-sealed itself as soon as they turned to it, Tommy wheeled in.

"What took you so long?" Tommy asked. "I have been waiting out here!"

"Where have you been?" asked Katarina.

"Minding that Pendant Shop across the street," answered Tommy. "I found myself in it, and I still can't pick up this blasted sword!"

"Well, I am in need of a sword," said Kalshion, picking up the sword. "Therefore, since you can't use it I think it would be fitting if I borrowed it."

"HEY!" yelled Tommy. "I didn't say you could take that!"

"You aren't exactly in a position to use it," Rose snapped, double-tapping at Tommy. "We currently need all the firepower we can get, and this says that you don't exactly have anything to fight with."

"I don't suppose," Melissa interrupted, "your shop has anything useful in it?"

"Ummmmm," Tommy said, thinking. "The only pendants I have that do anything more then look good increase the defense of the wearer by three points, but they can only be worn by a Princess. Wait, how did I know that?"

"I don't know how," said Katarina, "and I don't care. I think we should head out to that fortress now, unless someone else here needs to find a weapon?"

Sonic realized he had a broadsword in his inventory, while Katarina had already found a staff. Kalshion now had Tommy's sword, Melissa had the sword on her back, and Emily had her bow and arrows. Jaime found a wand in her inventory, on top of her charm that turned into a mallet, while Shampoo and Ukyo had the weapons they weren't proficient with. Rose found she didn't have any weapons at all.

"I don't have anything to fight with," Rose noted, bringing up her own stats. "But it looks like there isn't anything for me to get." She looked a little glum whe n saying this. "I guess that means we should get going." Everyone agreed, aside from Tommy who they told to go mind his shop. He would just slow them down anyway, and they didn't need that. After some arguing he sulked off to his shop as the group headed out.

Melissa watched the proceedings, not sticking her opinion in often. Inside her head she was laughing near uncontrollably though, and it was a good thing no one could hear her.

Or was it?