Beach Filler Episode (OPEN)

[Gildarts]

The fire crackled around them and Gildarts had perched himself on a log, it felt more natural than sitting on one of those plastic chairs. This was how he’d done it on his travels, and the habit remained. The warm glow of fire lit up the cheeks of those who had surrounded it. Takezo and Dust were sitting on Gil’s left, and Molly, Piqui, and Pinkie Pie (the Ambrosian bunch) were on his other side.

“How was it you managed an injury like that?” Takezo worked up the courage to ask Gildarts. “Is it perhaps left over from the event?”

However his tone implied his question was more along the lines of ‘how was it someone like you was able to get stuck with a knife or blade to cause that?’

“Nope, this nick was done to me by a cotton candy vendor, and then,” Gildarts paused and leaned a little closer, “A storm trooper kissed me against a wall and well, it was still in me, one thing lead to another, one of those things.”

Nick. One of those things. Gildarts was so casual about it, the Prime looked over now to Molly, who had been giggling to her friends across the way and was handing out skewers.

“Okay crew! Most everyone can eat marshmallows, so we will start with that. If anyone has never done this before, watch me, I’ll do a tutorial of what not to do. So, you’re roasting food over the fire and you don’t want it to get burned, right? Right. So, your marshmallow is your food, to make things easy for people who may have a tough time gripping the stick and putting the marshmallow on, I did it for all of you.”

Molly had been most considerate of the animals in the group, Piqui and Pinkie, as well as anyone else who had stuck around. Pinkie pie had roasted marshmallows before, but the excitement in her eyes sparked as though every time was her first. Piqui was skeptical, she liked ice cream, but that was because of the cream human pastries and desserts weren’t on the top of her superior cat tastebuds. Sugar wasn’t her cup of cream. But her best friend wanted her to try it, and Godsdangit she was willing to do everything once.

Everyone had already had their marshmallows impaled on the wooden skewer and then handed to them, Gildarts looked down at his hands, holding the polished wood like a fishing rod, he lifted the marshmallow up to his nose to sniff it, wondering if it was some sort of vegetable. Sniff certainly smelled more like fruit.

“Oh, Gil! Thanks for reminding me! If anyone wants to try a marshmallow pre-cooked, I brought jumbo bags so you can compare the difference!” Molly stood up, handed some out, Piqui shook her head, it was roasted with s’mores or nothing.

“Is it safe to eat raw?” the swordsman asked.

“It isn’t meat, it’s a processed… Food thingie,” Molly informed him and waited to see if he would take one before moving on the bag. It dangled in front of the crash mage, “Well?”

Gildarts however, accepted one which made Molly’s face light up. She reciprocated and put the whole thing in her mouth, demonstrating the right way to eat it. Her cheeks bulged cutely and she smiled through it, a faint glimmer of a blush showing for Dust was probably watching.

Gil shoved the white cylinder in his mouth and felt a sticky gush of flavored sponge coat his teeth. Gildarts was shocked by the sweet syrupy taste of the ichor alone and couldn’t wait to get the taste off of his tongue quick enough. But it wouldn’t leave. The prime swallowed the sticky glue several times and still, some was left clumping to his teeth.

“So do you like it?!” Molly asked, her eyes beaming brightly.

“Yweah! Ish really gwood,” Gildarts nodded up and down and Molly bounced happily.

“MOAR SUGAR!” Pinkie Pie demanded an encore and sniped the bag out of Molly’s hand and began to eat the sugary sweets in large gulps. She had chipmunk cheeks sized comically bigger than her nose, and then through a mouthful shouted, “LEZ GE’ ROASHTIN’!”

Molly and Piqui giggled before the young girl continued her demonstration, Primes and… Omniversarians probably hadn’t a clue, what worlds they originally came from that didn’t have s’mores was completely beyond the youthful secondary.

“Okay guys! The moment you’ve been waiting for!” Molly smiled.

“I’m reaffy!” Pinkie Pie nodded, rallied her focus and watched Molly as she lowered the marshmallow adorned skewer closer toward the fire.

[Gildarts]

Gildarts prayed the sugary glob tasted better cooked than it did raw, he’d lied a smidge to Molly’s face, in order to not see her smile drop to a frown. If his honest reputation was besmirched for it, well, it was certainly worth it.

Molly carefully descended the marshmallow close to the flames, “Notice I do not submerge the marshmallow into the flames, because this is what happens,” Molly pulled out a spare skewer with a marshmallow (she’d stuck several of these in the sand, marshmallows up, in case anyone failed and they needed a quick fix, in the halflight though, they could’ve looked like tiny little sugary balls of death to Gildarts) and the girl demonstrated “This is the WRONG way to do it.”

The marshmallow quickly caught flame and it began to burn, Gildarts took silent thoughts of revenge as he watched the black ichor fall into the fire stack he’d made with Molly. It was going steady now, easy to roast any sort of food, not this sponge unfit to be called even edible.

“Notice how it burns completely and the burnt charred smell from it catching on fire is likely how it would taste.” Molly said in a teachery tone and pulled the lit marshmallow up, or rather its charred remains. She blew on it and stuck it like a sword in the sand so it could cool off and they could reuse the skewer later. “For the best roasted marshmallow, though, you want to keep in mind of your own tastes, obviously there’s plenty to go around, that is, if Pinkie Pie leaves us any. So if you want to experiment if you like it better crispy or more melty, you’re free to do so.”

“How do I know when it’s done?” Gildarts asked, he’d been careful not to put his too close to the fire… But…

“Gildarts?! How did you- Ugh, how is it you burn everything you’ve ever tried to cook!” Molly nagged him as she caught sight of the literal hunk of coal the man’s marshmallow had become, “I’ll help you specially after I get done with the rest of the class.”

“I’ve usually had women cook for me,” Gildarts admitted. “Or summon food.”

“I’m sure you have,” Molly’s eyes narrowed spitefully, “Now don’t disrupt the class again or you’ll go in detention!” Molly was harsh! and took these matters seriously. Gildarts felt his shoulders sulk, as though he’d been punished and the young girl nodded approvingly.

“You’re righf, it ish a lot like a mooking clash with you telling ush what to do and eshactly how to make dem!” Pinkie agreed with marshmallows still stuffed in her cheeks.

Molly’s eye twitched with annoyance. Insubordination and speaking out of turn was a mark of her character, and how she was lacking respect from some of her S’more making students.

“Anyway, so when it’s done, it’ll usually look golden brown, don’t worry if your marshmallow catches on fire, just bring it up toward your nose and give it a quick blow,” Molly said and then demonstrated, “All right! It looks like mine’s good, lemme take a look at the rest of yours.”

Piqui held hers up, it was lightly crisped around the edges, “Wonderful! A model student!” Molly exclaimed. Come here and we’ll put it between graham crackers. For any other folks who can’t have chocolate we have raspberry syrup, sprinkles, and things like that to add to your flavor creation!”

The conversion was a swift success, and the whole “class” had watched it. Carefully as one would crack the code to a safe, Piqui had extended her roasted marshmallow out and Molly had wrapped the graham crackers on both the top and bottom part, they’d gently pulled the sticky white substance free from the rod and it was now free and in sandwich form. Molly handed it off to her cat friend, who could not add chocolate to the crispy dessert, and Piqui crunched a bite.

“Hmm.. Not bad,” she analyzed and her catlike tongue swooped over her lips and whiskers as she began to ready her lips for another bite.

Pinkie Pie was alerady ON IT. Her hype was crackling across the entire beach, probably, and she’d broken her graham cracker doing it herself, but in the end, she’d shoveled it in her mouth all in one sugar-filled bite. One would note, her cheeks still contained a good portion of scraps from her raw marshmallow binge. Bits and crumbs fell from her mouth until she finally gulped, roaring with satisfaction, “YUMMMMMMMMMYYYY!”

She looked like a rocket about to blast off, and well, did. In a spray of hoofed-up sand, Pinkie Pie dashed off, galloping the beach in a sugar-fueled madness. “Where’s she going?” Piqui asked.

“I think she’s gonna run off some of the sugar she just indulged in, worry not! Carry on class!” Molly instructed and walked over to Gildarts. “Now you hold this steady, and I’ll get the chocolate and graham crackers around it and I’ll slide it out.”

Gildarts held the skewer as instructed and Molly did as she’d narrated, so using her own marshmallow. “Note, my chocolate eating students, that the hot marshmallow will melt the chocolate, making it oozy,” Now it was in her hand, free of the wooden spear, “Alright Gildarts, tell us how it is!”

“Wh-this one is yours,” Gildarts muttered surprised by his surrogate daughter's generosity.

“You go ahead, I’ll make another one after this, plus with classes demonstrations help, though it is pretty hard to demonstrate taste without facial expressions. Go for it. Your first s’more. We’re your witnesses!” Molly said and her face darkened, “Don’t choke.”

With a soft crunch, Gildarts wasn’t sure what to expect, fragments of Graham’s cracker (so Gildarts had interpreted the name) fell into the stubble of his beard. In his mouth, the crunch was framed nicely and the icky mush in the middle wasn’t so bad. The chocolate however, was what made the campfire dessert so delightful, or perhaps, maybe it was sharing the new tradition with his family that made it taste better than it was.

All in all, Gildarts offered a thumbs up and finished up his s’more in a few swift bites. Piqui opted to roast her fish next and Molly began to make a s’more for herself. In the glow of the fire, their eyes were bright with smiles. Gildarts classified this as a very good day.

[Gildarts]

Gildarts’ brow was pensive, what would he make for dinner? Though he wasn't much of an eater. Piqui was having fish, Molly had eaten a sandwich earlier, and would likely fill up on sugary s’mores, but Gildarts was a pescatarian, he could eat fish with Piqui, (though the idea of getting more advice from scary chef Molly startled him) or summon food. Summoning food however, didn’t seem very merry to the occasion of camping. Maybe for now he wouldn’t eat. Maybe he’d appreciate their camp-out for what it was.

Food helped forge the bonds of friendship, mesh cultural differences, and just help people explore new avenues of the world. It was also as Pinkie Pie had described it, “Yummy.”

“We also have sparklers,” Molly muttered to Piqui, “Though I don’t trust half of them to not catch themselves on fire.”

“Ahaha! That reminds me, Gildarts’ arm was on fire at the boardwalk and he had to shove it in the dunk tank to stop it from crawling up to his shoulder!” Piqui giggled, “Though now that I think about it, I don’t think he paid for the repairs…”

“Figures,” Molly said with a smile, “Probably shouldn’t give anyone a sparkler who doesn’t request one. Pinkie Pie still hasn’t come back, has she?”

Piqui shook her head as they looked at the empty beach chair. “Don’t worry, she ate like half the bag, it’s no wonder she’s exploding with a sugar rush. Don’t do the same, you gotta be on your best behavior for Gil, though Pinkie will likely crash and be out by the time we have to go home.”

“Mhm,” Molly nodded, distractedly as her eyes fixed on Dust and Piqui shook her back into reality, Molly continued as though she were announcing something, “We’ll tell stories next!” The youth announced to the group, who were mostly chattering amongst themselves.”

“Oh?” Piqui said, “I want to know that story,” she inquired, “Another time though with all the juicy details.”

“O-Oh there’s r-really nothing to tell,” She muttered, crimson leaking to her cheeks.

“So you say!” the exceed teased.

“Anyway, I want to have a competition, do you think they’ll be down? It’ll be called “Who can tell the scariest story?” Though I hope it doesn’t get as competitive as the boys got on the beach during volleyball.”

“Are you forgetting we were the most competitive ones?” Piqui smirked.

“Only because we wanted an ending that wasn’t a tie!” Molly exclaimed in her girlish tone.

Meanwhile Gildarts was sipping a glass of magical water when his eyes fell on something that was readily approaching their campsite. It was a stormtrooper with her helmet off again. Recognizing the face, Gildarts’ choked on his water.

“Okay guys, whoever is in charge of this fire needs to stand up right now, in light of what happened two weeks ago on this same beach, we aren’t allowing fires lit past eight o’clock pm, and considering yours doesn’t even have a pit or any rocks built around it to help stop the wind from carrying it, I should consider splashing water on it right now,” her voice was commanding, sexy, alluring.

Gildarts’ eyes widened. Yup, that was the same woman who had helped slam the knife deeper in his back. But it was infinitely worth it for the pleasure from their shared embrace. The memories came flooding back.

He coughed on his swallowed water and stood up, allowing his conductive voice to take hold, “That would be me.”

“Well would you look at that,” her eyes traced over Gildarts shirtless figure for far too long, “I can’t say I thought  I’d see you so soon after you asked me for my cell number.”

There was a wink hidden from the kiddies, “Well, since we know each other, I think I’ll have to write you up for a ticket, Mr. Clive.”

“A… Ticket?” Gildarts asked, that sounded like a penalty.

“That’s right,” there was a glint of mischief in her eye, “Why don’t we have a little talk just the two of us.”

Gildarts obliged walking out of sight from the others.

“Who was… That?” Dust asked.

“Gildarts and her made out on the boardwalk while he was in handcuffs,” Molly informed Dust in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Oh really?” Dust said, his eyes following the woman in armor, curious about their history, or perhaps, the pair had none at all. Dust then realized, “Wait, what about Guu? Won’t she get mad when she hears about it?”

“Well… I don’t know the dynamics of their relationship, I think instead of mad though, she’d want to snog him, I’m not sure Guudarts is an official thing though, despite how much I’ve tried to spy and make it a thing. OH EM GE Piqui! We never succeeded in our mission! What about Ozal the ice cream guy!” Molly exclaimed.

“When me and Gildarts walked by, it was closed up, he must’ve been on lunch or gone home from the day, if you look at the beach, there’s a lot less people on it now, less business for him and less reason for him to stay open,” Piqui explained.

“Aww, say, what do you suppose Gil and the empire officer are talking about over there?” Molly said, getting that detective and mischievous look on her face.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not about Gildarts getting a ticket,” Piqui sniggered.

“Don’t get any ideas girls,” Dust warned, “A man’s privacy is very important when he’s in the presence of a lady.”

“Such nobility,” Molly said with a smile and wondered if Dust and her could share the same rule someday. Gods, that would be so romantic.

[spoiler]

“So Darts, looks like you’ve had a fun day in the sun with your little girl, eh?” the woman said confidently. Her piercing gaze sliced through his armor of muscles in a different way than his attempting to curiously fill in the pieces beneath hers. “You know, I have a son named Thomas. He’s my world.”

“Oh? I take it you didn’t just stumble on my fire after all?” Gildarts said with a slow-to-form charming smile growing.

“Quite the group of friends you got there. I was wondering if you had room for one more.. Friend?” A confident woman who was aggressive when it came to what she wanted. Gildarts liked her strength and thought it admirable.

He paused, building the anticipation of the moment, his magical charm had enticed many women throughout his lifetime, “I’d say the last empty spot has just been filled by our pink pony,” Gildarts said, pointing at Pinkie Pie’s fatigue drenched return. He’d delivered the fact with a playful smile that caused the trooper to close in the space between them and flirtatiously let her lips linger close to his. The darkling sky only helped build the humming romance of the moment.

“Oh? Does that mean I’ll have to sit on your lap, Mr. Clive?” her eyes beckoned him but the allure warned that he could only look, not touch. Touching was a privilege. She’d be the one to make the first move only if she so desired.

Gildarts felt his grin take over his face.

“Mhm, that’s what I thought. My shift ends at eleven thirty. We can go out for drinks?” She asked.

“I’m busy tonight,” Gildarts said, his head motioning back “Family duties as well as some other plans with the them. Though I’m sure your armor would protect you from me just fine if we did end up grabbing a beer tonight.”

The polite ‘no’ made her want him even more, but a respectable woman respected her man, this was all part of the dating game, “Alright, rain check then, any time you want to come skinny dipping in the Deeps, give me a call.”

She leaned in, her lips brushed against his sharp, stubble-filled jawline and she pecked his cheek goodbye. Had he accepted, that one would’ve been on the lips. Deep, warm, succulent. Gildarts Clive was a man, once womanizer, who knew from experience.

"And be careful out there, there are forces out there that would rival even the strongest prime's strength." Whether she meant something specific or just in the general Omniverse, Gildarts couldn't be sure. She meant, however, that the Prime should be warned about the current war on the Darklings over yonder.

Gildarts, despite his new mind, remained oblivious to the battles and danger that were corrupting this verse.

[/spoiler]

Gildarts came back and Dust looked up expectantly, “So where’d she go?”

“Well she’s working for most of the night, got a call,” Gildarts said. “Empire’s police force and all that.”

Gildarts didn't want Dust spilling the beans about the after party in front of Molly, who would feel like she was missing out because of her age. Once it got to be time, after the “storytelling competition” Molly, Pinkie, and Piqui would be sent home via recall station.

[Jak Mar]

he shower was invigorating and by far relaxing to the eco warrior and his sexy demon girl. Jak smirked and turned off the light in the shower room pointing to a small room, locking it. Jak closed his eyes and a figure of a key appeared in his mind as he began to remember it, gold piece by gold piece. It finally fell into the man’s hands as he showed it to Ash.

Jak smirked “This… is a surprise, Ash. For you.”

“But it has to do with being the “Empire’s most wanted.”


The light turns on and a pair of special handcuffs are in his hand.

If anyone asks, Say "I'm the empire's most wanted."Jak swings the handcuffs around, "Well Ash I don't see you passing up this opportunity"

The room around them was a warm room, slightly relaxing as he looked up at Ash and took a breath "Here."

He threw the key to Ash.

[Ash]

With a quickness she was known for, the Storm Demon snatched the key right out of the air. She wasn't paying attention to it though. She'd been studying the map on his phone that Desman sent them when she noticed he was summoning something. Her curiosity peaked when he summoned a simple thing like a gold key. He must have been able to see the question on her face as clear as day because his explanation followed it rather quickly. Ash grinned at his cheekiness, and her tail flicked at the summoning of the cuffs. She was very interested in what he was planning in their private little hut and wasn't entirely disappointed when he practically spelled it out while the cuffs whirled on his finger.

Her grin never left her face, even as she tosses the key into the air and effortlessly catches it. She got a pretty good idea what he was implying, and she saunters over. Like a cat approaching something shiny or fuzzy, Ash approaches Jak in the limited space of the changing room. Jak knew something was up instantly, but he didn't really argue as she reached out for the cuffs. She inspected them like she didn't believe they were as real as the one on her own wrist. In fact, they were much heavier, more solid. She put her nearly naked back against his bare chest, pressing her butt into his hips and continued to play with the cuff. She inserted the arm into the slot and pushed lightly to make the clicking made by the razor like teeth.

A single click was heard, then a few seconds later, another. 'Click... Click... Click...' In the silence of the room it seemed she was thinking over his proposal while she was checked the cuffs for authenticity. What she was really doing was baiting him. This made Jak a little hesitant, but he could feel her body grinding on him - again - and distracted himself by reaching up and touching her waist. After what they'd done he rightfully believed he had permission to at least touch her when he pleased. It was a welcomed feeling. He heard the clicking continued, there were about 20 teeth... He wondered what she would do when she reached the end. His hands slid down to her hips, and back up, lazily. Having contact with someone else, even just this casual petting, he missed it. Just as he was drifting off in thought he'd feel the cold metal of both cuffs snapping onto his wrists. Making him tense up.

But if anyone knew what giving her the key to a pair of cuffs meant, it was Ash. He was into some things kinkier than public fun. She heard him mutter something behind her, then grinned to herself as she casually stuffed the key into her top and brought the screen up to him. "Desman's been waiting long enough. Let's go." She teased him, before pulling away. He's lucky she didn't lock him to something in the room~!

Hips dancing to her own beat, Ash lead the way through the crowded beach towards the robot, one hand had Jak's phone as she was comparing landmarks, and the other held Jak's hand non-committedly; their fingers entwined and she pulled him by it gently. It was simple enough to make the average joe think they were already a thing but loose enough to believe that she was just leading him through the crowd. Several people gave them dirty looks, but no one told them if it was because of the literal demon walking among them in just mesh and chains, or if it was because they had the audacity to hold hands in a public setting. He was too mesmerized by her swaying hips to pay attention to the overly crowded path, apparently, this wasn't just the most optimal path according to map-quest midget's calculations but also according to the common man's sense. It was inconvenient and the eye rolling started early.

Eventually, they found Desman sitting on his picnic blanket, his prizes both sitting beside him as condensation rolled down the bottles and the ice-cream was probably already soup. "There he is." She said, sounding considerably more gleeful than she did previously. She pulled Jak to the blanket with her, sitting in between him and Desman as casually as ever and then turned to see the game playing out. Instantly the three primes involved ping on her radar, luckily for all three of them they were on her list, so she instantly recognized Dust, Takezo, and Gildarts. They got there about the second time Dust ate leather and Ash took in the other people with them. Two sickly adorable figures, a shitzu and a girl with pigtails, a pink horse that instantly made her gag, and two felines. A cat on two legs, and one in the air. None of them mean anything to her, but she noted them in case they meant anything to the other three.

She absently reached behind her and grabbed a bottle of the hard lemonade, pulled in front of her, ignored the cold sweat dripping down her leg as it hovered over her thigh. With a flick of her wrist, she twisted the cap off and tossed it back into the cardboard holder where the drink had been without looking. "Who's winning?" She asked, before taking a swig. It took her a few before she realized it was alcoholic. Only when she felt the slightest burn in her throat and down in her empty gut did she figure something was off. She looked at the label and found the clearly stated 'ALC/Vol', right next to 'contains alcohol'.

Ignoring her last question entirely, as he had no time to answer her anyway, she turned back to the robot. "Are you planning to jump me again after you get me drunk?" She accused him, but not seriously. All while also passing Jak's a drink if he wasn't already drinking himself. She heard him open it, the fizz popping the top off a little and a small bit of smoky mist rising to prove how cold it was.

Meanwhile, Desman was confused by her statement, other than the accusation she was implying. He reached over and grabbed to bottles, reading both labels as if there might be a misprint on one but not the other. "I had no idea, these were just given to me! They were free..." He said, still comparing exact copies of the same label.

Ash just laughed at him, sounding a lot like a hard rain against the roof. "Free you say?" She asked, offering no explanation of what she found so funny. Then she took a big drink of her opened drink, adjusting her body to lean on one arm and her hips twisting to show off the chains on her hips, and the mesh that was barely held onto her body. If the chains snapped, or the mesh ripped, she'd be even more indecent. Her tail curled in a pleasing way. It was unclear if she was tempting Jak or Desman, or someone else. "Did you get anything to eat? Drinking on an empty stomach will get you wasted faster." She informed him.

"I have ice cream." Was his only response, and then offering it to her.

The horned woman lifted back onto her hip. "That's a start." She said, then summoned a spoon as easily as Jak had summoned the key, then took a spoon full of the sherbert, swirls of pink, orange, and lime green all in one small spoon. She sucked on the spoon after the ice cream melted down her throat. It had a different taste, but she liked it. She took another spoon and eventually began to leisurely consume about a third of the ice cream without hesitation. It would become very clear that Ash was one of those girls who could eat mountains of food and still be hungry. Also, that this ice cream was also alcoholic.

As a stripper, she got drinks all night, and it was bad form to not drink it with the guy that bought it. So her tolerance has been boosted from the experience, but even after a third, she could feel it. "Something's off here." She said, sitting back up properly and picking the whole thing up, she searched for that good old nutrition bar on the bottom because it wasn't on the sides, and found big letters saying 'Contains Alcohol! Not for Children'. She turned her colorless eyes over at Desman, daring him to claim ignorance. He did. She rolled her eyes at him playfully, moved the bucket back onto the blanket and stuck her spoon into it, only to pick up her bottle. "I'm okay with this, we died! If there was ever a reason to get drunk at the beach and watch a few hot men play with balls, I don't know what is." She teased, then took a big swallow. Maybe she should suggest Jak get in there.

[Desman Black]

By the time the bonfire had started and the hot Dante's abyss guys that were meant to distract Ash where preparing to toast s'mores, the group of three had nearly finished the lemonade and Ice-cream, Jak seemingly being the only one effected.

"Howl are *Hic* you guysss not affe-*Hic* affected*hic*, by this stuff?"

"I stopped halfway though." the demon said, still feeling a buzz from how much or how little she ingested.

"And I have a filtration device in digestive track that converts anything into a food and/or fuel source." Desman added.

"That woul*hic* explain why you*hic* you*hic* you were putting even the bottles in your mouth-thing-ie." the Eco-warrior tried to whisper to himself, though being drunk, everyone on the towel heard it.

The crimson midget just ignored this comment. "Do you guys want to head over there." the robot said, pointing his thump behind him to the large group of people.

"Sure," the less drunk of his two companions said, "And if we get into trouble, I always have the "DangerousD" to protect me, right?" ash's tone had gone full on snarky now, if they hadn't been drinking, Des would've probally been shocked.

"Could you at least help me get Jak up, I don't feel like it would be safe to leave him here is this state." Ash did agree to help and got Jak off the ground, much easier as this person was helping the other two get him up.

It didn't take long for the group to make it close to the fire, though seeing as Jak was the tallest in the group, and the robot had a significant height disadvantage, it was pretty tiring on both people carrying him.

"Hey big guy~! Can ya help a girl out?" Ash called over, and then gave Dust a wink.

Dust, more than a little hot in the face, nods in agreement and moves to help her. Distracted by her appearance, otherworldly as well as attractive, goes to pick up his old buddy, accidentally putting too much force into it, his once glistening shirtless body now covered in a smooth yellow substance with a similar consistency to melted ice cream in the few places that are not completely liquid.

"Umm..." Des said awkwardly to the rest of Dust's group, who were mostly all staring now. "Do you mind... if we join in with yous?"

[Dust]

Like Dust hadn’t been beaten and bruised enough, but he’d been the target of some powerful serves until the other two had grasped the game. The whole time he was a good sport, patient, compassionate, careful, and understanding. If anyone on this side of the field was going to be hit, he wanted it to be him over the other’s. True to his nature, he even put himself in danger for Molly once in the game. It had been the flying cat, Piqui, who had spiked the ball pretty hard. His heroics were unneeded, but he still felt pretty good saving Molly from a smack to the face.

The game had been great, everyone had a great time despite the numbers being almost the same the whole game. He worked up more than just a little sweat, as well as a good appetite especially given he hadn’t been full when they began. He was also tired, he couldn’t remember his last nap. After it was called a tie, Dust did the only natural thing he could think of and flopped into the sand with his eyes closed. He felt it cling to his sweaty body but didn’t care. Letting out a loud sigh for his efforts.

Takezo moved over this his friend and nonchalantly poked the big mark on his chest that he’d been responsible for with his sheathed sword, making the larger man flinch and roll over to guard it with a grunt of pain. This put a smirk on the ronin’s face, but he didn’t do it again. “Is this really the giant man that I fought with on that island, reduced to a crying child after just one poke?”

Dust responded with a groan that matched the image, then looked up with as much expression as he did with his smiles though in a pout. “There is a time to pretend it doesn’t hurt and a time to lick your wounds, Takezo. Now that the battle is done, I will baby myself as I please.”

The man who was centuries older than Dust let out a small laugh. Dust had more than once proven himself worthy of peace while tending to his wounds but that was hardly one needing licking by the shapeshifter. His almond eyes settled on the X on Dusty's back, 4 large claw marks in two sets over lapped once on the muscles. Apparently the sand has already settled into the still fresh wounds, they would be just another scar on the already weathered warrior. “Gildarts and the child have gone to collect wood for a fire, let us go sit by that boy you have picked up.”

Hoseki came back to his mind, and Hokori stretched out his large neck to look at the spot he’d left the kid. There the doll remained, still nibbling at the last bit of his sandwich and his juice in his other hand. The setting sun reflected in pinks and purples on his silver hair, and he looked almost normal. Dust knew better..

“Sure.” He said, rolling onto his belly and picking himself up off the sand, joining his friend in the short walk over to the Doll. Brushing off the sand on their way. He sat down beside Hoseki and inspected his progress, finding that at least in the past hour he’d finished most of it. He didn’t push him to eat anything else, instead he grabbed a handful of snacks and a bottle of water before settling in to talk to his old friend.

Dust was probably the only person, besides Hoseki, to not go slacked jaw when Takezo talked about smacking decapitated heads around a field of bodies. In fact, he was curious, but the younger man didn’t ask about that. They could talk about gore stories another time. He instead wanted to know what happened after he got culled. The ronin was overjoyed to share every bloody detail in his own way. Apparently he’d fought Deadpool and Jak, both who Dust knew from his brief time together in a group.

Ookami shared his story about fighting another shapeshifter. “I felt drawn to this little thing in the middle of the water, and when I got there, I was not disappointed. He had to be as big as I am in that form, maybe bigger. I’ve never fought another beast like myself.” He explained, but Takezo would see just as much excitement from him as he felt when he told his stories of bloodshed. Well, maybe not as much, but close. “It felt like it only lasted a few seconds! That’s when we were teleported.” He said, then he frowned as a thought gripped him. “Now that I think about it… I think that guy was in the cafeteria with us, I remember that scent.” He claimed, but then shook his head, his messy hair falling out of place and back in. Then he stopped and looked up at his friend with surprised eyes and a shy warmth in his face.

“What?” Takezo asked simply, noticing his companion’s look.

“He kissed me.” Dust said, but with the same tone as you used when you explain you’ve dropped something. Takezo knew about his contract, so if there was any confusion it was because the shapeshifter seemed so struck by it. Reading between the silence, he continued. “No, I mean he kissed me. After the fight.” He clarified, then tilted his head one side and the other as if he might be leaving out before adding: “Then he punched me, of course. But the point is that it confused me.”

Takezo lets out a chuckle at his statement, but doesn’t comment on it at all. There was a bit of silence as the ronin looked the feminine like male who seemed to only stare at the ground. “Who is this?” He finally asked.

He looked in the Doll’s direction where Takezo was pointing to with his chin, and suddenly didn’t feel like talking. He took a big bite of a spare sandwich and looked away, at the waves of the ocean, the dying sun was sparkling along the backs of them as the eventually curled into themselves, becoming lumps of moving water and flattening against the beach.

Dust was still not sure how to explain Hoseki.. He turned back to face his friend though, if anyone was going to accept the truth with grace it would be Takezo. Still.. How do you word this? “I’ve named him Hoseki.”

“Named?” Takezo wasn’t going to pretend to understand, between this place and the people he meets, he wasn’t the person to ask about anything.

The taller Prime nodded, then looked down. This was a little sensitive, and he hoped Takezo would keep that in mind. “As far as I can tell, he’s a Doll. Dolls, back where I am from are humans, who the government - for all I know - strip the emotions of and give them clairvoyance powers. In theory he would be able to help me spy on people if the need ever arises. But..” He stops and looks Hoseki over, who just barely acknowledges a stray crab that walks over his leg. “He’s effectively dead inside.” Dust said, feeling awful. He remembers his life before this, the Doll beside him had it worse. “I.. Accidently summoned him.”

Before Takezo could say much else, if he indeed wanted to touch on this subject, they were interrupted by a bag of shells landing right beside his tip jar full of money, Piqui floating down and resting a moment on Hoseki’s head. The Doll only looked up briefly to show that he felt it, then went back to his staring. “I’m tuckered out!” She said, bringing attention to Gildarts and Molly’s return. Both men left it there as they watched Molly and Gildarts interact.

The fire that they made was more than big enough for the group and extra people. Which was good, because a couple of unfamiliar faces came close carrying someone that Dust had met twice in Dante’s Abyss. He watched for a moment, but just as he was getting the idea to come help, the strangest one called out to him. Although she could have been just as easily talking to Gildarts, Dust noticed the wink in his direction.

Hot faced and willing to help just about anyone, he moved from his resting place to go pick up Jak. Clearly he’d been distracted or he wouldn’t have rag-dolled the obviously drunk elf-guy. Even hero’s made mistakes, but not many made ones that left them covered in vomit..

He heard the devil-girl restrain her laughter from being so loud, but clearly she thought it was funny. Glad someone did, Dust ignored the liquid running down his chest and helped Jak over to the fire. The stringy male slurred apologies as he did, but Dust repeated this: “It’s fine Jak.” With a tone that brought relief to the drunk man. He sits him down and then immediately excuses himself. The red robotic asking if they had any water and the lilac looking demon just standing in place and watching him.

Wolf sits in the shallow end of the water and rinses off his upper torso, free of the sticky substance over his chest and the sand that still clung to him. He makes a note to take a proper shower as soon as the option was available, and tried to ignore the layers of filth on him. He was happy to see Jak also made it out of Dante’s Abyss, for whatever it was worth. But he glanced back just the same, wondering who the other two were.

Meanwhile, introductions were had. Ash turned to the group and watched as a happy few people gathered to be happy together. Her eyes narrowing and her mind darkening. She was still buzzed, but she could focus just as easily if she hadn’t been. She watched as Desman introduced himself to the littlest girl, he was friendly and only slurred a little bit despite not being able to get drunk on the wine-cooler levels of alcohol. He was being respectful but silly, and it seemed to take the edge off the group as a whole. She knew that two fo the three Chippendales knew Jak, but they accepted the two strangers on the word of a drunk wastelander.

Trust was high. She wasn’t used to it, but she accepted it as a fact. She still expected people to look upon her with suspicion despite nobody knowing her heritage or its details. But despite the piercings and the mesh like material of her swim-suit no one seemed appalled by her. Not even the pony, not even the child. Though, the child hesitated just slightly. Taken aback by her metal work and horns probably, though she greeted her with a smile as sweet as sugar. It made the demoness’ stomach curl and she thought about barfing.

Instead she offered Molly a general smile as she introduced herself, Ash answered politely. “Mah name... is Ash!!” She said cutely back, with a little slur. Her tail coiled around her legs like bindings as she tried to look as unimposing to the 10 year old as she could looking the way she did. It served its purpose, Molly giggled to herself and then went back to entertaining the rest of them.

By the time SW-808 returned Molly was setting up for her class. He heard them talking about ‘more’ of something. He was obviously not the only person confused by this term, Takezo would have even less idea of what it was than him, and Gildarts seemed just as lost as the two of them because the crash mage had the same look on his face as the ronin.

Their new company settled in just as easily as if they were there this whole time. The most talkative of the three was the robot, the woman was attractive and intimidating which made Dust blush softly, and Jak all found a place to stay. Either by coincidence or by an unsaid plan, there was just enough space for him between the girl and the robot. There were other places to sit, but he didn’t feel like leaving Hoseki’s side. So he settles in between the two and waits as the lesson begins.

As the marshmallows were handed out on skewers and Takezo asked if it was safe to eat it raw, Dust was already sniffing the white cylinder on his stick. It didn’t have a particular smell, just kind of hinted at vanilla. When Molly suggest they eat a raw one for comparison, he had already opened his mouth and wrapped it around the skewer tip, freeing the marshmallow with a twist of his mouth before sinking his teeth into the soft treat. He got looks, much like the one’s Takezo had gotten the few times his visuals got a bit gorey, and with a mouth full of fluff: “Mmah?”

Molly shook her head at how cute her crush was, curiosity really looked good on him. She then passed a fresh marshmallow his way, before Pinkie Pie grabbed the whole bag and devoured half of it.

Dust’s opinion of the uncooked morsel was that it wasn’t terrible but he couldn’t see how cooking it would improve it. It was soft and chewy and solid but also sort of like a liquid in can dodge his teeth at times. He paid attention to Molly a bit more carefully after impaling the sweet treat on the skewer.

389 got help with his ‘smores but after a bite of the melted chocolate and cracker, he could have spit it out. He seemed like the type of person who would love sweets, but he could actually pass on almost everything packed full of sugar. Admittedly, the roasted marshmallow had a unique taste compared to the uncooked version. It was some how even more sweet and stuck to everything. He took his bitten into ‘smores and carried it over to his spot between Ash and Desman, unaware that the two have been plotting while they were by themselves. He offered the cracker sandwich to Ash because he didn’t think Hoseki could eat it, but he was on the same train of thought as Gildarts. He’d much rather eat something more savory than this. “Did you want mine? I don’t like sweets.”

[Ash]

Ash accepted the s’more with a grin and a wink. “That’s because you are sweet enough.” She teased, taking a big bite of it. She, on the other hand, loved sweets. She could eat just about anything and would try anything at least once. Especially if it grossed someone out.

While she was from a time where all of her food was generally just some kind of form of soy disguised as a meal. If you grew up on just that, it was great and normal and didn’t taste bad at all. However, real food was the way to go. She loved the sweet melting of flavors almost as much as she loved letting it smear across her lips. She kept eye contact with Dust the whole time and when he looked like he was going to mention it, she slowly ran her tongue along her lip and cleaned it up. It left his face red. She glanced over at Deman as if to say ‘You're moving’.

[Oleander]

It seemed to be a running theme for the adults in the group to dislike marshmellows. Takezo could not even swallow the raw puff. Instead, while the instructing lass was turned to scold Gildarts, he spat the glob of starch into the fire pit. His face was a momentary look of horror, his tongue nearly touching his chin, as if he were afraid to bring it back into his mouth. To get rid of the taste, he licked his own dirty forearm, preferring a mouth full of sand over whatever foreign food this was supposed to be.

Against his better judgement, he tried one after it was roasted. Another marshmellow found its way soon after into the fire. Takezo would not forget the taste of his arm hair if he suffered through any more of this poor excuse for "food." He would prefer the stuffed bread from earlier to this.

Through the conversation he and Dust held, Takezo tried not to let the face of disgust distract from the topic at hand, though Dust might get the sneaking suspicion that simply licking his arm had not saved the swordsman from weird modern taste of heavily processed sugar and animal byproduct.

A thoughtful expression found his features when Dust mentioned summoning the "doll." He would ask about it in private, if not to spread the fact of his absolute ignorance of everything Prime related. In reality, Takezo was aware only that he was in the dark. Gildarts had summoned a ball he seemed pretty unfamiliar with, and cratered the ground twice during the game. Magic was abundant and unlike the legends told where he was from. Humans were no longer the only sentient beings either; that was perhaps the most difficult to get used to.

Slowly, Takezo's involvement in conversation waned. It was an odd sensation, feeling so distant. He was a Vagabond, he lived, he adapted, he moved on. That was the cycle of his life. He held the cord around his chest, shifting the sword upon his back slightly. The weight was comforting. At least that had not changed. This whole world was so... different.

A sudden realization hit the ronin. He felt homesick. He did not even have a home to return to. The more he thought about it, he realized that he missed familiarity. Dust was familiar enough, if only by assisiation. The rest of these people were foreign to him, in more ways than one. The talking midget horse, the bipedal animals, the nude beach: everything felt so confusing. That was being modest; he deliberately did not think of the level of competition he would have now that magic was a factor, and new technology that his ignorance could never have dreamed of before arriving.

He watched Dust consort with an odd looking woman for a brief moment. His gaze diverted quickly to the fire, which smelled sickly sweat with so many marshmellows birning to nothing within it. Takezo had almost shut down. One question crept to the forefront of his mind. "Why am I here?" If Omni was the god of this world, then why would a god pick him for their own private realm?

The existential crisis had the ronin in almost the same withdrawn state as the doll sitting not too far from him. Pondering life, as he were.

[Desman Black]

Des was slow cooking a number of marshmallows when this look came from Ash. That was when Desman's brain finally clicked, the seductive tones, the winks, the public shower, it all made sense. If he had found out any earlier he just would've rolled his eyes and carried on, but instead of doing that (maybe because of luck of said eyes to roll) he shifted his head slightly towards ones that had been introduced by now as Pinky, Molly and Piqui, as if to say back in this new language that both made up on the spot, 'There are children here.' Des still moved closer to the hyperactive pony though, if only to get more raw marshmallows to stuff his face with, he as well as Ash seemed to be the only adults that enjoyed them, god knows he wasn't going to let Jak touch them in this condition.

Then Des crossed a line. "Hey, Dust." the robot said, the full scoop-full he had put in his mouth a couple of seconds earlier now gone completely. As Dust turned his head to face the crimson midget, a now obviously approving ash behind him, something happened, something new. Maybe it was the swiftness of the turn, or the sparkling water droplets on his bare chest, or the way his air sparkled in the wind, but, Des forgot for a moment what he was going to say.

"Des?" The shorter of the two-males snapped out of it pretty quickly.

"Oh, yeah. can you pass these around to everyone that wants one?" Truth was, despite how good he was at making s'mores, he couldn't eat a single one, unlike ice-cream, when it melts it automatically turns into a sticky substance, it would clog up Des's circuitry. "I would do it myself, but i'm kinda short, and would be extremely clumsy in such a small area.

[Gildarts]

Molly’s eyes hinged on Dust sharing his s’more with the succubus and felt envy rise in her. It wasn’t the fact that he didn’t like the s’more, as clearly neither did Takezo, it was the fact that Ash was a grown-up and everyone treated her like it. She also had breasts which the ten year old was quite lacking. Someday she’d be an adult, tall, blonde, bossy, and she could do whatever she wanted. But today was not that day, instead, she was a child with a crush on a man at least ten years older than her. Could anyone see why she wouldn’t find him adorable though?

Ash had what Molly wanted most: Freedom. She was being grounded after this, when she returned home to Ambrosia. Sure, Molly had prayed for Omni to give her a family and now that that was done, she wanted to grow. To be a Prime was to be infinite. To be an adult was to have power, authority over those like herself.

Meanwhile, Gildarts heard Takezo’s whim of a question and he felt his eyes slide sink toward the amber fire. He had almost, almost distracted himself enough to forget his qualms. Gildarts place his two hands around his head and shut his eyes as though he had a headache, but it was so much worse.

“That’s a vague question mister sword guy,” Molly began, “But you’re obviously on this beach to have fun with us, since well, here you are. Though if you ever spit out one of my marshmallows again it’ll be you who you’ll find roasting on the skewer!”

Takezo blinked. Not the answer he was expecting, and my, did this little girl have vigor. The old-fashioned swordsman was speechless, and Molly continued, “In all seriousness, if you mean here in the Omniverse though, well you must be kinda knew, most Primes like Gildarts just get over it after a while when Omni kidnaps them. You were kidnapped to entertain Omni, like he informed you on your arrival. He is the one thing I’ve studied more than hacking, and I could hack without two hands and with blindfold on. Listen to my mister Takezo, you can only theorize as to why you’re here, why were you born on your own world in the first place? Eventually you just have to settle for whatever answer you can swallow, or else the question ends up swallowing you whole.”

Dark, deep, and truthful. Molly certainly didn’t speak her age. The little princess was definitely going places in the world. It seemed like, when Molly was old enough, she’d like to take a trek to Omni and have a long chat with him. Gildarts blinked, that wasn’t safe, but it would be safer if she brought him with her instead of doing it alone. For now, he’d act like he hadn’t heard her words and the buzz around the campfire continued until finally Molly stood up saying “IT IS TIME!”

“Time for what?” Dust asked, startled, curious, this little girl was full of infinite surprises.

“Time for the scary storytelling contest!” Molly said with a smile.

“If you don’t have a scary one, that’s fine but you gotta compete with a story to qualify for the main prize.” Molly nodded again with sugh vigor for a child who should’ve been tired after a long day at the beach.

“What is the prize?” Ash said with a bit of a slur.

“Secret until the winner is picked! Though you can take all the guesses you want! It is something highly coveted!” Molly stated and Ash blinked, her mind curiously aroused by the notion while Desman had passed off the s’mores he had made to Dust, who had started to pass them around. Molly wagged her finger for him to sit down after he served Pinkie Pie. Dust returned and Ash more or less, got the lot.

Molly pronounced,  “I’ll start!”

[Gildarts]

“Once upon a time there was a lovely princess, her name was Mol-Monica, she was happy, the entire kingdom worshipped the ground she walked on, she had money to buy whatever she want, and she could mostly do what she pleased but she could’ve been happier. She was alone, she had responsibility, to keep up an appearance of being the best. The pressure was on, and it only made her more lonely and isolated.. She had friends she told stories to, smiled and laughed with, but she feared they only liked her for her title. She lived a lonely childhood, and sought a mate when she came of age, she set out on a quest.” Molly began.

“Hey, this is already pretty scary,” Piqui said with an intrigued tilt of her feline ears. “Loneliness is nothing to joke about.”

Gildarts felt himself blink. That was both dark and true.

“On her quest, she wore a fake mustache and impersonated a knight as she traversed from town to town, looking for her own knight in shining armor. But most of the men were brutish or very, truly grotesque in nature. Could she find no one noble to stand by her royal side for she was to become a queen soon and she almost couldn’t bear the thought of doing it alone, let alone the customs.” Molly continued.

“This darkness has layers,” Piqui said. “And a consistent theme. What will the ending twist be?!”

“Finally, her horse stepped on a thumbtack and she was forced to go to the closest person for help, it was a farming family, nothing special, but her horse was helped and she stayed while the horse was healing due to the farmer’s good hospitality. But she got more and more familiar with the farmer’s son, they became friends, true sincere friends of the heart, and not merely surface deep for title’s sake. For she was still impersonating a boy, see.” Molly nodded and braced herself to speak the worst part.

“Then, it was her last day and she was about to set off, and revealed her true identity to all of them. The farmer and his wife were glad, for she gave them gold. The farmer’s son however, couldn’t look Monica in the face, he said, “So our bond has been based upon a lie?!” and there was hurt in his eyes. Monica protested, begging him to come to the castle with her, saying the young man’s whole family could live their lives in peace, never having to lift another saw or scythe in their life.” Molly gulped.

“Well the boy didn’t like that, he said “You never understood, this is who I am, you do not accept me, therefore I know you do not care for me at all.” And Monica was in tears, “That is not so!” she cried, “I… I’ve sought so long for companionship, spent months on the road alone only to find that your nobility and compassion to help me, a stranger with a limp horse, touched my heart.” The farmer’s son frowned, “What, so you must have me, future queen? Me a farm boy dressed up in the wrong clothes just like everything fake else in your castle?” and Monica’s heart felt like it had been battered with stone. “Friendship and love isn’t about possession, it’s about being there for someone through their times of struggle. There’s only so much you can buy with money. Or didn’t you already learn that?”” Molly took a breath, this was getting lengthy.

“Shouldn’t they have accents?” Piqui critiqued.

“Shh! It’s getting good!” Pinkie Pie hushed the chocolate and cream cat.

“Monica didn’t know what to do, it had seemed a plan infallible, “But, I…” she was speechless. It had been exactly what she was trying to avoid. The truth was a tough blow for her to take, especially when her expectations of the farmboy were so high after he’d shown true kindness despite her political and royal rank. So what happened next, you say?” Molly paused for the audience.

“Well, I’ll tell you. The farm boy did not return to the castle with her, despite his parents begging him to give them a nice retirement. The farm boy could not deceive himself, he had only done what was right and stayed true to himself, something that Monica would have to learn the hard way. She set out on the road again, feeling like a worthless piece of trash princess in knight’s armor. There was a raid from barbarians going on in the neighboring city, the flames licked the sky and smoke hazed her gaze. The female looked down and noticed the sword sitting there, idly, it was meant for a knight, and well, she was wearing the armor. Maybe this was who she was meant to be. She died in that battle, defending innocent strangers like the farm boy. In the end, she’d become her own knight in shining armor. In the end, with purpose within her and with the knight’s sword as her companion, she did not die alone.”

There was a silent reeling and the fire crackling filled the empty space.

“That wasn’t scary!” Piqui said.

“I didn’t say mine was going to be,” Molly stuck out her tongue to her bantering friend.

“That was… Really dark. And just sad though,” Piqui said as she thought about it.

“Left a resounding effect on ya now did it?” Molly smirked.

“Please, never take up acting,” Piqui snickered and Molly placed her hands on her hips defensively.

“Well, I think we can all at least learn something from my story, what’s yours going to be about, catching fish?” Molly teased back.

“Humph! Fish are holy to cats, and I’m sure it would make a far more interesting story than yours if I did!” Piqui sassed.

“Well why don’t you go next then?” Molly challenged.

“I still have to think of one,” Piqui stated with her tail wiggling shyly between her legs.

“Right then, who’s next? And everyone be supportive, of other people’s story,” Molly said though she shouldn’t have to add it.

“And keep it PG thirteen,” Gildarts added looking at the horndog and the intoxicated succubus.

Obviously that wasn’t a scary story, but Molly IS a little girl and wouldn’t know too much about the horror genre’s reach and appeal to most adults. So I couldn’t have her tell a story that didn’t suit her character. To her the scariest thing is unhappy endings. Though she liked the ending, if it’s any consolation, even if “Monica” didn’t get her prince in the way she thought.

[Isabelle]

“I have one!” Cried out Rosie with her paw raised.

She had finally gotten that piece of scorched sticky marshmallow off of the roof of her mouth, allowing a clear moment to speak. Meanwhile, Isabelle beside her was still meticulously roasting the same mallow, trying way too hard to keep it from catching a flame. Rosie’s outburst didn’t catch Izzy’s attention (a whole day of it and you’d zone it out, too), but the group quickly turned their gaze to the feline.

She stood up and pressed her paws up in the air like she was going to begin a mime act.

“I’ve been told stories since I was a little kit of the terrifying spirit named Wisp.” She wiggled her fingers at the group as she spread her paws apart. “They say at random times, only during the dead of night, his essence will appear all over town. If you gather them all up, he’ll grant you a wish, any kind of wish, anything your heart desires, he will grant it.”

She rose a single finger, the cat equivalent of the index.

“But, everything comes at a price. We were always warned to never seek the spirit unless you are willing to pay up.”

She went back to general hand gestures, as if she were conducting an orchestra.

“Once, there was a little girl, she never heeded this warning. She stayed up way past her bedtime, she was out in the dark of the night. She did this for almost a week, just sneaking out and staying up, waiting for her chance. Finally, the Essence appeared. She gathered every single one. She didn’t even know how many she needed. She only knew she had them all when she was greeted by cold wind that cut down to her bone.”

Rosie slouched a bit and let one of her eyes droop as she hang her paws in the air. She whispered out the next line.

“Who dares interrupt my sluuumbbeeeer.”

The cat returned to her gestures and theatrics.

“The girl turned around, and what glare back at her was glowing yellow eyes. Before long, she realized that he was just a head, a floating, disembodied head with only the eyes, and a mouth that could swallow her whole. ‘I’ve come for my wish!’ She said, terrified.”

The feline went back to her monster pose for a single line.

“Very well, but I expect payment in a month's time. Speak your wish, it shall be granted, but the price, heh heh heh, will be high.”

“D-did she make a wish?” Shivered Molly.

“Of course she did.” Rosie replied, back to her theatrics. “She wished for a giant mansion, and it was done. She was the envy of the entire town. Quickly, she found herself friends with everyone, and at first she didn’t regret her decision. But as the month went by and she watched the calendar fill out, the closer the day came. 1 week became 2 weeks, then it was 3 weeks.

“Finally, the night of the payment came. She bid her new friends farewell for the night, and then she locked the door shut. She shut herself up in her luxurious room, hoping the debt collector would pass her over. Hours passed, and the night was silent. Almost too silent. But then… 3 minutes past three...

“WHAM WHAM WHAM! The front door heard a large knock. She quivered in her bed, hoping it will leave her alone, that it’ll give up.

“WHAM WHAM WHAM! It wasn’t the front door this time, it was her bedroom door now. Horrified, she slipped under the bed, hiding shivering.

“WHAM WHAM WHAM! It wasn’t a door this time. It was the wooden floor of her bedroom She held her breath, hoping he couldn’t hear her, hoping he couldn’t see her in the darkness.

“But suddenly something grabbed her ankles. She clawed at the floor, desperate to hang onto something but the pull was too much. She felt herself being yanked out from under the bed. And what was greeting her at the other end? It was glowing yellow eyes, and mouth full of sharp teeth!”

She snapped her jaw at the crowd, making Molly jump in her seat.

“She was never heard from again.”

There was a moment of silence amongst the group, as Rosie took a seat back in the beach chair.

“The moral of the story, everything requires a price, especially the supernatural. Maybe next time, you go to the businesses that expect money.”

For the first time this entire storytime, Isabelle’s ears perked. She shot a look towards the cat.

“Wait, did you get that horror story from Tom Nook?”

“Hey, we didn’t have epic storytellers in our town, we took what we could get!” Protested Rosie at Izzy’s indignation.

[Desman Black]

"I guess it's my turn..." Des whispered into dust's ear, just loud enough for everyone else to hear, from his new spot outside the circle he took up while everyone was distracted by the stories before his. Des didn't expect Dust to be startled by this, but maybe the sudden touch of cold metallic hands had helped in achieving a similar reaction, if only slightly.

"I remember my childhood camping trips," The steel-clocked midget began, circling around the group. "There was one thing that father always warned us about. 'The Hairy man'."

A small giggle managed to escaped someone's mouth, and Des played it to his advantage. "Trust me, 'The Hairy Man' is no laughing matter. They are said to be traveler from long ago, driven insane by the children that left him there. The children had a, 'certain sense' of 'fun they would lure the adults into hell and back, promising great riches and knowledge to those who could survive the torture."

"It was during a fateful walk that the person that the children would soon to dub 'the hairy man' first entered the forest, the man had a physique like an angel, and the heart of one too. He would help all the animals whenever he visited, and always put the other humans he met before himself." Despite what was said earlier, it seemed molly may have been enjoying this part of the story, Ash on the other hand was wondering why it was so smoochy.

"But one day, cold and alone after the burning of his home, he came looking for shelter, but he stilled helped the animals. If anyone deserved hell's rewards, it was this guy, and the children finally revealed themselves." Almost everyone was tuning in to the story now, some holding there breath for what happened next.

"This man accepted the offer of the children, and was plunged into the external darkness that had consumed all before him, but unlike the rest of them, he survived, but it came at a cost. The man had seen horrible, horrible things unfold before his very eyes, the people who he protected, done there, he went insane. His insanity lead him to kill the children, angry at them for their impotence, and anyone who got too close to the portal, to avoid them being like him. And the scariest bit of all, with an infinite amount of universes, he probably exists in one of them, meaning that omni could summon him here. And what would he do without his portal? Well, maybe, now he's just looking for victims."

"STAY AWAY!!!" The sudden shock of the voice and a humanoid figure sent the group hurdling. At least one person screamed, the other reactions ranged from falling backward (or forwards) of the chairs, to jumping up to fight if they had to, to Ash trying to hold back a chuckle about how easily everyone else was surprised or shock by the jump scare Des had created using left over branches, and some old clothes and string he found while shuffling though his back hump.

[Jak Mar]

Jak’s body was finally working off the alcoholic beverage in his system as he suddenly found his voice returning to him. He raised his gloved hand, awkward as it was having handcuffs connected together on one arm.

I have one…

“You ever heard of dark eco sages?

Those people who basically live off of dark eco?”

Well, there was two old students of Samos’s that was able to control dark eco, also they went insane off the energy it gave out.

Dark eco can twist and mutate anything it comes in contact with and it can kill a normal human with no eco channeling properties.

In.. the prison, there were screams all day and night where normal folks with long ears would be forced on the tables and strapped in having full force bursts of eco on their bodies only for it to instant age them and kill them slowly and painfully…

[Ash]

Dust had been pretty dumb struck and hardly noticed three sets of eyes were on him as he watched the woman carefully. He really was a sucker for an attractive woman, and she wasn’t putting much effort to hide it. Actually, if he was going to compare her to every woman he's come into contact with, not only did she look much different than any girl he’s ever seen, but she was a lot more forceful in nature. Even back in his own world, he couldn’t remember any female showing him much attention other than suspicion or disgust. Of course, they knew what he was, an emotionless Contractor. Any effort put towards seducing him would have ended with their pride broken.

In his current state though... He struggled to look away from her to look at who it was that called his name. It was Desman, the robot. He was just staring at him like too many running programs jammed up his processing and made him stall while everything caught up. Only for him to continue from the same place he’d left off. Dust nodded and went to pass the bag along, only to see Ash again and feel the warmth spread through his face.

She took the bag with a smile and was about to say something else to him when the stories began. Apparently, the children were having fun with the idea of a contest of who can tell the scariest story.

Molly began and while everyone else was enthralled the demoness was focused on filling her stomach. She remained in silence other than the rustling of the plastic bag as she fished one cylinder out after the other and popped it in her mouth. The story was boring enough to the demon, but when the cat started commenting at every pause. Ash felt the urge to throw something rise. On top of that, this was just a love story gone wrong, how truly naive and childish. Being alone your whole life wasn’t scary, nor was it tragic. Ash knew the consequences would be destructive if she voiced her opinion about it all, so she remained in silence. Best they think she was a simple bystander who was slightly drunk with the hots for one or more of them.

That’s when Gildarts turned to them both and made his comment, clearly, he believed one or both of them could ruin this night with some phrase or action that would leave the taste of ash in their mouths when the group looked back at this memory.

"Sure thing, handsome," Ash said with a wink in Gildarts' direction. Her slur magically fixed, or was it? Even the mighty crash mage might get things wrong. Just, which one of his thoughts were incorrect? The grin on her face continued to curl her lips and her tail matched that of a cat's. She was content with this and her bag of sugar packed food.

The demoness looked down at the bag which is quickly being emptied. She jumped off buildings for fun, these stories weren’t going to scare her. Especially not with a PG-13 rating.

Looking a lot like a bored tween with better things to do right now, she pulled her commlink out and started typing something up on it with the one hand while she continued to stuff her face with the white edible sponges with the other. She was making notes as the other types of interaction happened. Specifically, things she thought was interesting.

The swordsman's contemplation of his existence implied a possible approaching point, and maybe a weakness.

The strongest Prime’s father-like behavior towards the younger members of the group spoke volumes and left clearly defined strokes across the sand he did not want anyone crossing, she wasn’t the type to care about the age of those around her but she did care about pissing him off.

Finally, the girl. Specifically, something she’d said in a passing comment that Ash didn’t react to physically but noted immediately. Hacking. The child thought she was good but was it all talk?

The cyber-dwelling demon was a pro at it, she made a luxurious living off of it back in her time and place. As of just now though, her skill with programs hadn’t come up as something she could utilize here. Sure she had thoughts of poking around in Desman’s programming, but she still hadn’t made up her mind if he was an NPC or a PC. Molly, however, she had to be a PC, right? To make a claim like that. Programs that talked about things like that tended to hold quests or information.

[Dust]

Meanwhile, Rosie was up next. Dust was expecting roughly the same kind of story as Molly's. Not really a scary story that haunts your room at night, but one that torments your mind and heart. The contractor distracted himself from the feeling of doing something wrong by what Gildart’s said, and focused on the story.

Between the feline’s acting and the story she was telling, Dust was pulled in. Where some of the adults, if not most of them, weren’t impressed by all this, the kid at heart in him was drawn into the story. The crackling fire only added to the atmosphere, shadows played on Rosie’s face and made the scary parts even scarier. Inside he knew it was just a story, but she had him hooked.

By the end of her story, he was feeling a cold sweat across his back. However, she wasn’t done playing with his emotions.

‘The moral of the story, everything requires a price, especially the supernatural.’ Echoed through his mind.

Dust felt the eyes of the wolf staring him down at that point, it bore through into his soul and made Rosie’s words that much heavier. He glanced at Hoseki before he locked his gaze on Takezo. His eyes lingered there, before he looked away and at the fire, having already abandoned the skewer he had nothing to fiddle with except his own fingers while the next person took their turn for a story.

[Ash]

It was Desman next, apparently really into the theatrics he moved around in the group and told his story. If it was meant to distract Dust from his mental plight it didn’t. Now that he’d been given a moment to think about some things about his life, a storm began to brew within him.

Deman’s story got a lot of reactions, most of what he wanted, and some he wasn’t expecting. It was all in good humor, but making the girls scream brought a glare from Gildarts. Desman peeped out an apology and once everyone was settled back in it was Jak who spoke up. Ash’s eyes lock in on him as he mentioned the horrors of his past. Either the alcohol made him honest or it took away the bindings that kept him silent about it this whole time.

There was an awkward silence that followed his story, leaving the imagined screams to echo through the group. Phantoms of the intense story lingered. The atmosphere was thick with darkness and despair. Might as well take advantage of that. She turned her blind-like eyes to the fire, it danced upon them and her face, the ebony horns were left with a slight glow. No one dared to break the hanging silence, except The Storm Demon.

“I heard a story once of this girl. She’d been minding her own business her whole life, and one day was invited to a party by some popular girls. She was playing it safe, a wallflower of the most boring kind. But then this guy she’d had a crush on talking to her. They got on the subject of music, and he passed over a song he’d recorded himself.’

‘It was your typical emo trash about hating the world, the lyrics were creepy, the music was good, but it left her feeling pretty awful. You can’t blame a guy for liking bad music though.” She paused, offering a smile to everyone so they’d relax a bit more. Someone even chuckled.

The demon turned back to the fire as if it entranced her. “Her good time was quickly ruined when she was volunteered to take some snob home. They’d been friends once so she felt obligated to go along with it, but only after a few miles and she began to regret her kind heart. The snob was drunk and rowdy, and said a lot of things she would have regretted in the morning…’

‘Had she made it that far.” Ash implied tragedy with a smirk, but wouldn’t leave them in suspense for long.

“The car went over a cliff. She smelt the horrible smell of gas, she could barely see through the spider-web cracks in the window, and the snob lay motionless and unresponsive. She had no idea how to check for a pulse, but she didn’t even see her breathing. Sure that her ex-friend was dead, she pulled free of the car accident and went to go use her cell for help. Then like magic, the file the guy showed her started to play from the radio. Confused, she turned, only to have the car to explode in her face!” Ash let her hands come together, fusing magic into her palms and aiming for the fire. It was for theatrics, her Thunder Clap sounded strangely like an explosion while the fire burst out for the show.

She watched Gildarts wrap his arm around Molly protectively, eyeing her like he knew what she had done. Ash just stared back with a grin. “She hit her head, but before she blacked out, she heard the screams. Her friend hadn’t been dead at all.”

“She woke up in the hospital next. Was it her parents who were there? No. that guy from before was though. He claims he’s just there to see if she’s okay, and then leaves. Later her parents come and pick her up and take her home. She had been lucky to be alive, but she felt overwhelmed with guilt for not saving the snob. Her nights were full of disembodied screams and hellish visions, nightmares. And then the phone messages started..’

‘One night while she was alone she got a voicemail. No call, just a message appeared in her inbox. When she listened to it, she was chilled to the bone.” She hit a button on her commlink, and everyone could hear the message that she either always had or had prepared while she wasn’t ‘paying attention’ earlier.

”Hey... Thanks for giving me a ride. I’ll be waiting here in your car.” The voice was slurred, slow, and had an echo to it. Like the girl was in a car, or perhaps a bathroom.

“When the girl looked out the window, at her replacement car, she saw something moving inside and the headlights turn on… She had just hung up on her voicemail when another message appeared.

”You know that new goth, kid? I really like him. My other friends think I’m stupid, but I really like the dangerous type. Hey, are you coming? I want to get home.”

“That’s when the car turned on by itself. She could even see the keys dangling off the hooks near the kitchen. Then another voice mail..”

”Ugh! Come on!! I need to get home!! Are you coming or not!?”

Ash tapped a button to stop the recording, “Terrified, but unable to stop herself. The girl climbed into her already running car and began to drive the ghost home. On the way her passenger continued to talk to her, using her hands-free voice mail, the girl listened to every message but was unable to do anything else.”

”Thanks again.. I really just need to get home. I can’t believe how wasted I am! Wooo!”

“Can you roll down my window? This button’s not working.”

“Thanks. It’s really hot in here, with the fire and stuff. Oh, by the way… Why did you leave me to die?”

“Oh, don’t pretend like you don’t know what I mean. You left me there!! At the bottom of that cliff. You let me burn!”

“Please! We both know you are just jealous. Jealous of my looks, my status! And now that new Goth kid you like has the hots for me.”

“Are you going to try to tell me you aren’t jealous? Then why! Why did you leave me there to die!!”

“Quit your crying! Look, here comes the same bend in the road. If you really are sorry, then come and save me!” Click. Ash stopped the tape again. Everyone was silent.

“She pulled up slowly, not expecting to see anything at all, but as she got out, her body still badly beaten from the accident a week ago, she found herself looking down at her own accident. An action was demanded of her, suddenly she was at the bottom of the cliff. The creepy song was blaring out the speakers but she didn’t see any movement. With all that she had, she ripped open the door and pulled her old friend out to safety. Unconscious but alive, she’d done it!!”

Ash smiled a wicked smile and hit play again. ”That’s when she remembered there had been two people in the wreck... Frightened for her own life, she ran back to the vehicle... She barely touched her own bloody arm when the car went up in flames. I woke up to the smell of her burning body. Horrified by what I had seen, I struggled up to the headlights above. Where I found a car and the Goth boy. He took me home. We never spoke again.”

[Desman Black]

As Desman heard the words came for Jak's mouth, it hurt him. Des didn't like his past, and he knew from the way Daxter's voice was before that Jak didn't like talking about his either. But to see the man, talking openly about it like that? Des knew that he could never explain his past to people like that, Des would at most only give the general information, even to himself. This could be considered a bad habit, as even if it's hurt's now, it would hurt much more if he left it.

By the time that Ash had started her story, Des was in no right mind to listen, but he did hoping it would take his mind out of the dark abyss it was entering, he was wrong. The story reminded him of his first 'death dream' he had, starts out normal enough, then the memories of people started emerging, but he could stand that. It was the last part that really hit a nerve.

Desmn started remembering events again, but not of his time with team Anti-hero Edgelord, from a time, multiples times, before The Omniverse. All the people who's deaths that Des blamed himself for despite having nothing to do with any.

Des flopped to the floor the same way a normal person would flop onto their bed in a 'Fuck you universe!' kind of way. He laid there, near emotionless and uncaring, while his brain was overloaded with the fact that they all sacrificed themselves. Soon  the flow of tears came, silent tear, tears of anger, of sadness, of gratitude, of pain. Then the robot had a thought.

'This is exactly like my dream' Dasman started thinking to himself. 'Please don't tell me I'm in one of those 'dream inside a dream' things. If I was inside a dream, something that would pump adrenaline around the body would wake me up. But I can't do that sword thing again, for one, if this is a dream it didn't work, and two, If this isn't a dream there is to many people here, but what else could I do?' Desman looked around from his ant's eye vantage point until him came on to Dust. 'Perfect.'

Des knew this would be risky, but he had no other choice. The midget grabbed the man by the shoulder to spin him around, and before the dust could ask about what was happening, or what was with those streaks down the robot's face, Des hand tilted his head and started kissing.

[Jak Mar]

Jak was sitting in the beach chair as he grabbed another few drinks and poured it down his throat as he looked like he was reaching for a ottsel that wasn’t there.

*hic* D.. Dax.. ?! You..a there, buddy?”

But instead of Daxter, Jak is covered in dark chocolate and milk chocolate alike and has marshmallows everywhere. He looks like a literal s'more with yellow green hair and long ears.

The spider web of chocolate and marshmallows had turned into a big mess and somehow Dust had gotten stuck in it as well.

Dust felt squished “Jak… can you get me out of this mess?”

“*hic* Mmmm chocolate.”