The Red Hand

Side Story 4 – The Misfits Discuss the Future.

"Nyah hah meow~! nyu nyan't nekyonch mewn meow~!"

[Ah hah! You can't catch me!] Ara laughed at Avahn as she danced around the Demon cat. The two were currently engaged in a bit of training near the Misfit's home while the other members of the team looked on.

"Don't worry, I can and will get my hands on you, Ara!" Avahn yelled out as she gave chase and swung her blade. While the Demon cat might excel in combat, Ara was simply too fast, and the speedy cat easily dodged Avahn's strikes, sometimes by a mere hair's breadth.

"Get back here and fight me Cat to Cat!" Avahn yelled as their training continued.

"Is Avahn ever gonna learn?" Alveron sighed as he and Shiru watched from the sidelines. The small fairy was lying on his wife's head, and the dryad was similarly exasperated.

"She's much too stubborn, and I doubt she'll ever give up on beating Ara in a test of speed." Shiru sighed. "I hate to break it to her, but there aren't many people who can actually challenge Ara in that department, and Avahn isn't one of them."

"Well, we know Ara is at least faster than Jerry!" Alveron laughed. They'd finally defeated the Goat boss blocking them at level seven of the Forest dungeon, though it took a bit of effort and a lot of preparation.

"Yeah, and we also learned that Avahn isn't very good against magical restraints." Shiru said. "It shouldn't be much longer till we hit the final boss, and after that..." She stopped.

{What DO we do after that? We've basically been training to deal with this dungeon for over two years. After that... What do we do with ourselves?} (Shiru)

"We'd better pick up the pace on defeating the Dungeon. The Assault Team only has two more World Bosses to take down." Alveron hopped onto her shoulder. "Wouldn't want to have our time end here without at least beating one dungeon."

"Yeah, but from what I've heard, those two are on a whole nother level." Shiru bit her lip.

{Apparently, a team went after Serval the other day, and not only were they wiped out, but they didn't even do any noticeable damage to the Dragon.} (Shiru)

"Probably doesn't help that the Devs decided to cheat and make game mechanics to prevent swift and easy kills on World Bosses." Alveron replied. World Bosses had damage nullification powers, and it made them much harder to defeat than one would expect.

"Don't worry!" A wild Daikael appeared, her body covered in soot and black ash. "I've got just the thing for dealing with those naughty World Bosses!"

{Please don't say Multiple Launch Rocket Systems...} (Alverson

"Multiple Launch Rocket Systems..." Daikael smiled.

{...} (Alveron)

"With MAGIC!" Daikael finished.

{THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT BETTER!} (Alveron)

"And how are we going to build something like that?" Shiru gave a wry smile. "I doubt the Devs made something like that part of the game..."

{If they did, I'd have some SERIOUS questions for the design team.} (Shiru)

"Easy! We just make a magical artillery system to hurl high explosive rockets! We've already got gunpowder, and I've figured out how to infuse it with magic." Daikael explained.

"Yeah, that's ni-" Alveron stopped. "Wait, can you please run that by me again? Because I think I just lagged and heard you say something insane."

"I found a way to mix gunpowder and magic." Daikael smiled.

"Oh... it wasn't lag..." Alveron stared at the fox for a few seconds. "HOW AND WHEN?!?"

"Just now." Daikael looked proud of herself.

{Of course.} (Shiru x Alveron)

"Now that I've got my hands on magically infused explosives, it shouldn't be hard to make some crazier equipment." Daikael pulled a small glass bottle out of her inventory. "Just this tiny amount of powder is capable of leveling a building."

Shiru and Alveron hastily backed away from the danger jar.

"Don't bring that stuff near people!" (Shiru x Alveron)

"It's fine! As long as it doesn't receive a proper shock or ignition, it won't do anything, see." Daikael dropped the bottle onto the ground.

{EEP!} (Shiru x Alveron)

As the bottle hit the ground, Shiru and Alveron prepared for the worst, but nothing happened.

"Told you it'd be fine." Daikael put it back in her inventory. "I am smart enough to know safety measures."

"Forgive me if I don't believe you." Alveron remembered the fox's other experiments and how kaboom was a standard outcome.

"I am a responsible member of the U.S. armed forces and a mature adult. So have at least some faith in me." Daikael said smugly.

{I...no...} (Shiru)

{If THIS is what passes as a U.S. soldier, the world is doomed...} (Alveron)

"Well, at least you didn't spend all that time cloning yourself." Alveron sighed.

"Don't worry, that's on the list." Daikael grinned. "You put that idea in my head, and now I want it!"

"There's gonna be two of them..." Shiru put her head in her hands.

"I'll make sure I get you a nice wedding present." Alveron laughed.

{Oh god, there's gonna be more than two once they figure out how to make babies...} Shiru continued to have a crisis over the thought of more Daikaels.

"Nyahahaha!" Ara laughed loudly in the background as Avahn glared at her from the dirt.

"Silly nyavahn, nyu're gonnya nyeed much more than muscles to nekyonch this kitty meow~!"

[Silly Avahn, you're gonna need much more than muscles to catch this kitty!] Ara laughed as she turned and ran into the forest, with Avahn following suit.

"When I get my hands on you, you're going to regret mocking me!" Avahn screamed manically while chasing her speedy girlfriend.

"At least those two's relationship is somewhat normal." Shiru said, head still in hands.

"Well... not really, but sure..." Alveron looked away. He knew those two cats were nothing but trouble.

"We need to get those two married." Daikael commented. "Then we can find out what happens when you mix speedy kitty with Demon kitty." She laughed.

"Sure, right after we find out what happens when two Daikaels mix." Alveron rolled his eyes.

"The universe probably implodes..." Shiru groaned. She'd long given up hope of tempering Daikael's crazy.

"Maybe I'll run some experiments. Alveron, how would you like to assist? It will probably be fun." Daikael got a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Nope." Alveron crossed his arms. "You know the rule about sticking it in crazy."

{Not to mention, I don't want to die.} (Alveron)

"But you regularly do that with this one here." Daikael pointed to Shiru, who was still reeling over this whole conversation.

"Yeah, but. Shiru is MY crazy." Alveron nodded. "So it's fine."

"As if you aren't a bag of problems yourself mister!" Shiru finally snapped out of her stupor.

"I never claimed not to be." Alveron smirked.

Shiru glared at him.

{I hate that you're right!} (Shiru)

"In all seriousness, what are you two planning on doing about that once we get out?" Daikael asked. "I've asked Avahn this question before, and she said that she would first and foremost have a complete emotional breakdown." She continued. "She isn't exactly the most emotionally stable person out there."

{That poor girl is in for a world of trauma when she gets back...} (Daikael)

"Well, we're both in Japan, so we'll just need to find one another." Shiru answered. "I plan on continuing my education and furthering my studies if possible, and I'd like this idiot to be with me." She smiled.

"That's my plan too." Alveron agreed.

"Too bad we don't get to keep all these awesome powers." As Daikael said this, a large explosion went off in the background, and a few trees collapsed, followed by Avahn screaming profanities.

"WHEN DID YOU MANAGE TO DRAW ON MY FACE?!?! I'M GOING TO BREAK YOU, YOU STUPID CAT!!!!!" Avahn screamed.

"NYAHAHAHAHAH!" Ara cackled evilly.

"Yeah... I don't know if I want those two running around Japan with those kinds of powers..." Alveron sighed. "But yeah, it's gonna be sad going back to normal. I kinda like being small."

"I'll definitely miss my connection to nature, that's for sure." Shiru gave a bitter smile. "Hearing the sounds of nature all around is something I dreamed of since I was a little girl, and is a big reason I went into biology and natural sciences."

"What about you, Dai?" Alveron asked her what she was going to do upon her return.

"I suspect the military is going to be up my ass." Daikael sighed. "Even if it wasn't my fault, those bastards will probably treat this as AWOl. I just hope I'm not dishonorably discharged. If I'm lucky, the time I've been in the game will go towards my contract completion, and I can go back to the States as a civilian."

"Random thought, but what's going to happen to people who killed while in here?" Shiru asked. "Will they be arrested for murder?"

"I have no idea." Daikael shrugged. "I'm not really sure how that works, and I'm not part of JAG, so legal stuff is over my head."

"If they're in trouble, Akagi is gonna be in for one hell of a judgment." Alveron said.

"Yeah, what's she at now? Last I saw it was nearly one hundred players killed?" Shiru mused.

"It's creeping up there, but the last few guys did it themselves by picking a fight with her." Daikael shook her head. "Like seriously, why would you ever think it was a smart idea to take that red cat hostage? Oh boy did that not sit well with her." The global chat spoke of a very unhappy Akagi after that incident. Apparently, Hishya was present when the Assassin went after that group, and the dragon girl wasn't comfortable repeating what Akagi did that day.

"Well, at least one thing good will come out of going back." Alveron hopped down to the ground.

"What's that?" Shiru asked.

"Akagi will no longer be the uber-scary person we all have to watch out for!" He laughed.

"Yeah, it will be nice not having the threat of death loom over us at all times." Daikael smiled.

"I admit that while she has been nice to us, it will be good not having to worry about someone sending her after us." Shiru gave a nervous laugh.

{The end of FWO will bring the end of the Red Hand, but what comes after that? Not just for her, but for ALL of us?} (Shiru)