3rd Person:

Team Rocket stood in the hall with some apprehension, not too sure what to do with themselves in the current situation. Arbok was currently in a meeting with her significant other as well as her ‘competition/partners’ concerning her relationship with them all and her egg’s father. Meanwhile, across the room, sitting in summoned and obscenely comfortable-looking chairs were the disturbingly buxom and shapely giant robot mare F.A.U.S.T and her similarly intimidating average stature partner named Jack. Along with all that, just earlier, the Merchant Displaced had stormed out in a fury over something that they didn’t know anything about, leaving the event hall in silence as the group decided to sit on the edge of the destroyed performance stage.

Sarah turned towards her three children in the corner of the room, the rocket grunt named Ken was currently messing with the omnitrix his father had given him, the girl, named Maria, was currently playing with her Duskull, Screwball stood bored watching Ken mess with his watch.

The omnitrix glowed, Ken looked around, a bit worried at what he had did. “Uuhh...Is it supposed to do that?”

Jack sighed raising his arms back, getting a bit comfortable in his space suit before looking at F.A.U.S.T. speaking up. “Faust, can you give me one of the Coffee packs.” Stating as her hand started digistructing before present company, what looks like a squeezable tube that’s spun onto a connector. Looking over the supposed current ‘Team Rocket’ displaced and kids and strange pony. “Not sure kiddo, but from experience when you mess with something you know nothing about? First words of advice if you haven’t figured it out yet, ‘safe distance’. Simple two words but figuring those out for anything will save you.” Only for a shield to pop up around Jack and the robot female who simply connected the ‘coffee’ tube for what looked like a drink port.

“Well it’s not like I can have ANY ‘safe distance’ from something ON MY ARM!” Ken rolled his eyes, “Although, I wonder what I did to it?” He looked at it with an excited look, “Maybe if I press it down…”

“Boo, please use a Astonish attack.” The rocket girl commanded her Duskull. The Duskull nodded, teleported in front of Ken and scared him, making Ken flail around. “You shouldn't mess with something you barely know about, especially one with a lot of power.” She scolded her twin.

Ken scoffed, “Please, you’re just jealous that dad gave me an Omnitrix and you the power of teleportation, face it Maria, I’m the better twin.” He boasted.

Maria smirked, “If you’re the better twin, then why is it that a level 17 Magikarp was able to beat you.”

Ken blushed in embarrassment. “S-Shut up! That Magikarp was at least level 50 and you know it!”

Jack’s voice cut in on their ‘discussion’, with a snap of his gloved fingers, likely a sound that would get attention due to a certain Chaos user. “Alright kiddos, settle down and listen up. I am offering you two some perspective from a grown up who’s use to a more ‘possibly’ gory fighting here or there.. Teleportation CAN be awesome, but not when you cannot use it due to some dumb-butt… Who can negate it, for those who can just whack the spot they use for magic. But as for that device on his wrist? Gives him more options I am guessing but also JUST as many headaches to figure out, but you want to know what really works?” Handsome Jack asked looking at the kids in question, giving a momentary slurp to suck on what might be some sort of coffee jelly.

“Even if Ken can use the Omnitrix to fight, he doesn’t think, he just goes head first into battle without any plan whatsoever!” Maria argued.

Ken scoffed, “Oh please, with a watch with the power to transform into any creature you want, who needs a plan?”

Jack just raised an eyebrow from inside his helmet at the boy named ‘Ken’, drawing on his slightly more sadistic smile propping his elbows onto his plated knees. “Well kid, what do you do if the enemy somehow blocks your watch from being used? A simple shield spell or metal cover over that part of your arm and you would be helpless to any sick being out there, let me guess it’s one of those bits of advanced technology where it as a safeguard can come off at some phrase or if the wearer DIES.” Jack’s eyes looked to be burrowing a hole into young Ken’s face for his reaction while keeping his likely sister in his peripheral view to see how she reacts. “Oh and lets not forget if they somehow blinded your vision or other senses when fighting..” He finally stated in an additional ‘off-handed’ manner as if it were nothing.

Ken didn’t even flinch at the mention of death. “Well that’s why I have my Pokemon!” Ken said. “And while I may not be good at it, I can still use my Chaos magic, it’s not like I haven’t been through a similar situation before.”

Their conversation was interrupted when a bat-winged giant serpent flew in through one of the windows, shattering it everywhere. “Sorry about that, but Avarice is being a total downer right now.” The great horned serpent stated with a smooth Trottingham accent before he began to shrink down to the size of an average Arbok, and blinked at how they all were staring at him. “What?”

“Whoa, what the heck are you supposed to be?!” Ken asked in an excited but rude manner. “Can I scan you?”

“KEN!” Both Sarah and Maria gave a scolding yell. “Is that really how you should be acting towards others?!” They looked at each other when they noticed they had said the exact same thing at the same time.

However, the room suddenly increased in tension as a deep, bestial purr began emanating from the serpent as he eyed Ken, his golden eyes shining red. “A bargain? A trade? You wish access to my samples?”

Jack cuts right in at that with a disapproving stare at the Chaos being. “I’d stop right there if I were you, Contract magic on a kid? That shit can be nasty.” Blinking once he sighed forgetting about the kids before pointing at the two of them to try changing tactics. “Okay as a note, you boy. Sooner or later are going to screw up and get someone hurt like your Sister or your parents, the ‘advice’ I am offering for FREE. If you take the earlier ‘Safe Distance’ phrase in mind it means to actively THINK, because let's say you have nothing to defend yourself with and a manticore is in your face? How ‘far’ or such would you have to be to get away?” Giving Ken a disapproving look while the girl seems to have a head on her shoulders.

“Jack, for reference, I don’t work for you, I work for Avarice. He might work for you, but I only trust Avarice, because he is me, and I am him, in all save Ego and our Shared Souls. If the boy want’s a trade, it’s his choice. The Contract just ensures we both uphold our ends...or else.” Crescent then turned to Ken, slithering closer as the rest of Team Rocket moved defensively.

“Uhhh...I’ve always been told to never accept magical contracts with Ghosts…..and possibly evil and or mischievous entities.” Ken said nervously.

“Oh? This Contract isn’t just for you~. For the amount of forms you’re asking for, I require several of your fantastic and wonderful creatures to offer up bits of hair, nail clippings...maybe even….” Crescent suddenly bolted forwards faster than even Arbok was known to, and got into a startled Meowth’s face. “Saliva~.” He seductively intoned, lidding his eyes at the sweating and nervously chuckling cat Pokemon. “I do wish to know how a Capsule Monster tastes.”

An armored figure walked into the room and grabbed Crescent by the tail before pulling him towards him. “Must our master truly summon us so that you do not corrupt the youth?” Said the figure seemingly made of armor. “Please, young merchant, do not infect the young with your deals, we do not want to add more souls to our sword.”

“Ha! You would try to steal the soul of a god, Yngve? Amusing. Besides, this vessel doesn’t have a soul in it. Only Avarice can house our Shared Soul, for he is my king, my brother, my partner. Corruption is inevitable, and I see those children are already innocent no longer.” Crescent replied with a fanged grin, his mouth disturbingly filled with shark teeth as well.

“Well then, begone shade of the true form.” Yngve said. “We do not have deals to be made here. Leave before I summon Grandmother Lydia.”

“Oh, poor, foolish, stupid Yngve. Deals are always to be made.” Crescent’s eyes shined red as he looked Yngve into his eyes, and the Nord could practically FEEL the serpent probing his very soul. “Like, for you...oh, ho, ho...sorry, but I can’t do that...yet.”

“I mean it, merchant. My Grandmother is not to be messed with.” Yngve said. “The old wolf puts up a fight, and she always has a new trick.”

“And WE are not to be trifled with fool! Avarice may be lost to his woes right now, but I am not! Release our tail this instant oaf, or we shalt add thee to our templates!” Crescent demanded as he grew larger, towering over the large man like the angry god he was, or at least the angry Avatar of one.

Whistling to get their attention before Looking back at the kids, thumbing in the two bickering adults direction. “That kiddos, is one of the reasons why you don’t summon weird stuff that you cannot handle, but on the plus side is that some of that can be helpful if you have THOUGHT ahead.” Looking at Ken before shrugging and focusing on Maria in question continued in a more normal conversational tone. “Well, sadly enough, YOU will have to be the brains because he’s missing at least two halves…” Taking a verbal jab at Ken, for being dumb most likely to incite him and pat her on the back.

Maria sighed, “I’ve always been the brains for every mission we take, you can’t trust Ken with anything, there was this one time he was sent to supply run with a team of two other people, not only did he get caught, but he also endangered his team and almost got them killed.”

Ken fumed, “Hey! It was Ed’s fault for getting us caught in the first place! Besides we could have taken that Ghost horde! It was only a horde of Shuppets!”

“REGARDLESS!” Crescent shouted before he flicked Yngve across the room and crashing into the small ship full of alcohol. “The boy prompted a deal! It is HIS decision! While we must get permission from the Capsule Monsters for their DNA, it is HIM who is receiving all the forms we have access to.”

Jack just looked at Ken to say this with a shrug. “Well Kiddo, You could take advice from me, your smarter sister, or take your chances and spurn your family by taking risky deals. There’s fine print in every action, just remember that even though you or anyone else won’t know what happens.” Pressing a hand on the side of his helmet showing the kids what his face really looked like under that ‘joke tanline’, until it returned to what they first saw him as.

“Oh, leave The Ken be, businessman!” Said a drunk Yngve as he walked out of the hole he’d made in the side of the small ship’s hull. “The young merchant may be a bad influence, but yer not much better. Soon ye’d be letting ‘im hold a little baby gun! A child! And ye’d give ‘im a gun! It’s like Dox and that pistol, but Dox knew how to use it!”

“Speaking of which, we have a stock of quality Hyperion, or Demir firearms available at...fair prices.” Crescent grinned sharkily.

“And here we go again!” Said Yngve in his lilt. “Yer being a peddler now! Screw the merchant crap, yer a peddler! Leave the kid alone, why don’ cha. The Ken doesn’t need this kinda power at ‘is age. now back off.”

“Fool, fool, always a fool. Every thing thou don’t understand, makes thou lose thy cool. So why don’t thou leave poor, pitiful tool. Before we send thee flying, into a pool.” Crescent then suddenly whipped the impossibly sturdy Nord out a window, off into the distance with his lightning-fast tail. “Now then...that the distraction is gone~...wouldst thee wish to continue?”

Ken looked around nervously, “Umm… I think I’m good with the scans I have right now…” He gave the serpent a nervous smile.

Crescent merely grinned widely, his sawteeth just amplifying his terror factor. “Oh~ too late for that lie child. We see into the soul, the desires, the objectives. We have EVERY species on Equus in our DNA. And more. All thou must do, is scan us. And then let us...ravish thy partners for hair, and saliva. We will even make the process...pleasurable~.” Crescent stated as he looked down on the shivering Meowth.

“Don’t I get a say in dis?!” Meowth shouted in fear, only for Ken to be drooling, the concept of that much power rather hard on the Chaotic child.

Before Ken could decide, a hand grabbed his shoulder, looking up, he saw his uncle, Tomas, “Thank you for the offer, but my nephew doesn’t need that much power at such a young age, it will only serve to corrupt him.”

Crescent’s eyes stopped glowing, and he growled in frustration. “Damn it, Guardian’s count? Fine, but we will have at least ONE sample before this day is through.” Crescent shrank down and slithered over to Jack and F.A.U.S.T to sulk.

Jack just looked at the serpent before shrugging and rubbing his associate’s head while in some form of patting to avoid the horns on his brow. “Well that’s a good thing, though for first buyers of my stuff they would at least get a show of how to use things. Not like I am using magic, though-” Jack just stopped, looking up at F.A.U.S.T. while she smiled down at him in a recognized knowing manner. “...What are you smiling about Faust?”

She tittered softly before leaning a bit closer, her tone of voice shifting to audio erotica. “Thou doth at times when offspring are present display GOOD fatherly tendencies of offering advice or simply being protective.” She licked Jack’s helmet in a display of affection while he sat there just twitching an eye, only for her to continue. “We find it silly that thou has since learning of thy body’s natural pheromones being that of a alicorn stud we see thy paranoia simply spike.” His response was a deep glower at her, in which she did a mock expression of placating him until she winked with a smile.

“Faust. From one God of Fertility to a Goddess of Creation, you can’t force these kinds of things. You can tease, and peck away at his defenses, but irritating him won’t do much.” Avarice’s voice came from Crescent’s mouth for that statement as the eyes turned emerald, and looked Jack in the eyes, the man twitching at feeling his employee literally look into his soul, and then smile at him gently. “He’ll come around when he’s ready.” His eyes turned gold again, and he slithered up and around F.A.U.S.T’s thigh and up her body to be next to her ear and whisper something that made her titter.

Jack rolled his eyes, sighing. Creation Gods with Chaos tendencies, all the same. “Oh, you naughty thing! You remind me of myself at your age!” F.A.U.S.T cooed as she began whispering back, Jack groaned in exasperation.

Dox POV:

I found myself tied to a chair in a torture room after having been dragged by my ear by Bluebelle. Luna has one of these? I figured Tia did, but I didn’t label Luna as having those kinds of things in her castle. “Okay, I get I did something incredibly stupid, but Arbok, I’ve been so busy I-.”

“Charrr-bok! [You didn’t even call!] Bok, charbok! [Was I just a fling?! A toy?!]”

“It wasn’t like that, I swear!” I said. “I never meant to-”

“Likely story! Do you know the punishment nobles are dealt when proven guilty of infidelity?” Bluebelle intoned darkly, her horn lighting up blue like her eyes and I cringed in agony as I felt a force SQUEEZE my little jimmies!

“GAH!” I squealed. “I mean it! I meant to mention her a while ago! I could have sworn I did, too! I mean, at least Athena knew about it!”

“Just me doesn’t count Dox! I didn’t say anything because I thought you told them too! You basically shoved poor Arby here under a rug and forgot about her.” The beyond shapely robot griffoness replied angrily, and Blue’s grip on my balls tightened, getting a pitched squeal of pain out of me as the other girls all cringed.

“I’M SORRY! I ADMIT SHE SLIPPED MY MIND! BUT I WAS GOING TO INVITE HER INTO OUR GROUP ANYWAY! THAT’S WHY I SUMMONED TEAM ROCKET AT ALL!” I squealed. At this, Bluebelle’s death-grip on my junk stopped, and I gasped and panted for air. “I didn’t forget you Arbok, I was just...so busy….”

“Arbu? [Really?]” The beautiful purple cobra Pokemon perked up, tasting the air with her tongue and sighing out her nose in relief, smelling that the only things that hinted at any dishonesty was the pain induced by the abuse of his precious bits. “Char, charrrbok. [Well, in that case...at least you called in the end.]”

“Can we please not do that again Niece? We rather want his baby makers intact after all.” Luna said with a frown at her overzealous niece, who blushed and tittered nervously.

“Indeed, let’s get him out of that chair...or actually...can we have a bit of fun first?” Tia asked, licking her lips, and I shuddered. “I think I left my cat-o-nine-tails down here somewhere~....”

“And this, ladies, is where I make my escape.” I said, shifting into a huge king cobra and slithering out of the chair and away from the girls. I turned my head around, only to see a smokey eyed Arbok slithering after me. “NOPE NOPE NOPE!” Why… Just why?!

“Char~! [Come back sexy~!] Arbu~! [I wish to dance~!] Charrbok~! [The mating dance~!]

“I don’t want to right now!” I screamed, shifting back to my normal form and running as fast as I could. It then hit me; why was I running? I can teleport! And with that, I teleported out of the room.

“CHARRRRR~! BOK! [Come back~! I want us to coil!]”

I reappeared in my personal hideaway. I found this thing up here while I was doing my falling part of the training with Kat, and had only recently explored it in secret. The interior of the abandoned stone shack was anything but homey, but it would definitely do, especially since it was atop Mount Canterhorn, above the clouds even. I bet not even Tia or Lulu know about this place, considering they had forgotten about the crystal caverns beneath Canterlot too.

“Dusty, dirty, ancient stone and bronze furniture. If I didn’t know better, this is a Dwemer home.” I joked to myself. Seriously, this place looked too much like the residential areas of Dwemer ruins from Skyrim to be entirely coincidence, what with how things have been going with all the things in my world being so diverse.

Since it was so dirty in here, I decided to open the door, only to get a faceful of naked, tight, toned giant black-furred ass and the base of a reptilian black-scaled tail with red frills on it. “Uh…dat ass, but…..” I looked up, and up, and...oh hell, even more up to see what it was.

It was Avarice in his anthro mutant alicorn form. He was at full size, his staggering nearly fifty foot height was sitting on a dip in the top of Mount Canterhorn. His slit emerald eyes were glazed over, looking at the sunset with dead, unseeing eyes as I flew up to his shoulder.

“Yo, Avarice.” I said to my giant friend. “The hell is going on? Why are you up here?” I got no answer, it was like he was dead to the world. Somehow, just looking at him hurt. “If you don’t answer, I’m punching out an eye.” No response. “Alright then.” I then reeled back the Samus Aran-like arm he gave me, and flew into his eye fist first...EW~! I flew INTO his EYE! And he didn’t even flinch! Oh Gosh! So gross! There’s blood and eye jelly everywhere!

“Hm?” Avarice hummed in confusion, and he blinked, closing me in his collapsed eye socket a second. “Where’s my eye? I thought I had the eye thing down by now.” Suddenly, before I could voice anything, a flood of black flesh suddenly welled in from the back of the socket, pushing me out like a cannon shot as his eye regenerated. Thank Gamma Dragon I have gravity powers. “Oh...hey Dox.”

“The hell?!” I yelled. “Dude, what is going on? Like, what’s up with you? Why are you like this?”

“...You don’t understand. You can’t.” Avarice looked back to the dying sun as it began to set, and the moon rose from the other end of the sky, the transition from day to night uncannily fast. “You haven’t lost anything.”

“Really?” I said, giving him a deadpanned stare. “Dude. My old life is gone, the world we went to was it, yeah, but it means NOTHING to me now.”

“Who is your mother?” His sudden question spiked my in the chest in a way I didn’t expect. “He just laughed it off, didn’t he? Didn’t you consider that, maybe, he had to use an avatar to birth you? And then, from there, use a proxy to condense over two hundred years of power, and unborn mind to a point where you wouldn’t outright kill whoever brought you into the world? I am Fertility Dox. You DO have a mother. What do you say to this? If I said your mother, the one you thought fake, was weeping with worry for you back home?”

“But I know she’s not.” I said. “I’ve been there, remember? I never said where I was going when you helped me get back here. And trust me, I’ve lost plenty before….”

“The Matrix.” Avarice held his enormous claw down to me, the Portal Matrix appearing in the palm of his hand, seeming a tiny bb to him. Elsewhere, Sarah was freaking out about the Matrix vanishing. “It forces one to see what they’re attached to. It can make holes to other worlds, but it wasn’t initially intended to be used for travel. It forces one to acknowledge what is important to them most of all.”

“You’re point?” I asked. “I knew that. I was the one who pretty much came up with it as a homebrew-” Suddenly, an utterly massive portal opened behind me, since it was sized for Avarice, and when I turned around, my eyes shot so wide I thought they might pop out.

It looked like Earth, was shaped like Earth, but it couldn’t have been. It’s seas were red-orange, like all life in it had died instantly and bled into everything, the land had no green, all was dead, brown, or blackened earth, and the corona of the atmosphere was a sickly, disgusting green. Avarice said nothing, just stared at it with his dead, glazed eyes.

“That’s your Earth, isn’t it.” I said, only getting a nod from Avarice. “What happened there?”

“Everything I know, was told to me by Vaga, who felt leaving me in the dark, only to find out myself later would be too harsh. My friend, Anthon. He...He was supposed to be here.” Avarice patted the mountain, but then remembered this was my world, and sighed through his nose as he pointed a finger to his chest. “I was the runner-up. If Anthon hadn’t seen the Merchant for what he was, if he hadn’t fled the moment he felt something off, he’d be here and I’d...I’d be among the countless corpses littering that lifeless husk that they nuked themselves.”

“So… what happened to Anthon?” I asked, genuinely interested. “You speak as if he’s alive, but if your Earth is…. that how could he be?”

“The reason I say that, is because Vaga told me he’s alive. Very alive. He wasn’t Displaced by the Merchant, because, ironically, he somehow, by impossible chance, Displaced himself! Ha!” Avarice laughed, some life returning to his eyes. “That fat douche always managed to end up with the short stick of things. Vaga says he’s stuck in an Equestria that’s practically vanilla, as a Chaotic presence to balance it. But he was able to travel between our world and his new Equestria with ease due to the circumstances, at least until...It happened. It’s why I was in Vegas. I was sulking around my old school, home, and Anthon’s house...only…..”

“Really now.” I said. “Sounds interesting. Might look around for him later. But why has this got you so down? I see your Earth is destroyed, but what is it?”

“You still don’t get it? I didn’t care for how my world was run, but I still loved it! The people were cold, yes, but the good in it...it was still there. Now it’s all gone….” Avarice sighed, and a tear fell from his eye. “It’s nothing, I guess. Just a God of Creation thing I guess. I...I’ve just...I’ve been ignoring it all for so long. Just going with it as I was forced to change, or I’d break. I...I just….” He began crying earnestly now, his tears like enormous rain drops as he sniffled. “I didn’t ask for this Dox...I...I just wanted a simple life. I wanted to laugh, work, have friends, and die on my deathbed like any other average joe. Now...I can’t do that. Money...Money means nothing, Money doesn’t matter. The fact I’m a Merchant is true irony when that’s my philosophy huh?”

“Heh, yeah.” I said. “Listen, I had dreams like that, too. Hell, I wanted to be a music teacher, but look at that now. It’s gone. Sure, my world is still there, but the dreams aren’t. Being here makes me realize how much that world sucked. I have Equestria now. And that’s what I focus on, not the old world.”

“Money don’t matter if it feels for you. I used to worry everyday. But, I’ve got better things.” Avarice quoted the song he sang with Vinyl and the Sex Bob-Ombs when he was with Mistress, and sighed. “I know...I need to stop worrying about the things I can’t control. Stop worrying about the problems you should know.” Avarice looked sadly at his friend, and sighed through his nose as the portal closed. “I do. Have better things.” Avarice seemed lighter then, as if a great weight was taken off his shoulders. “Thanks Dox. So...don’t we have business to take care of down there? I sense some rather randy mates of yours wishing your presence~.” Avarice lilted, getting me to sigh. At least he was back to normal.

*Wolf Whistle* “Dang~ colt!” Both I and Avarice blinked, and looked up to see a veritable CLOUD of pegasus and thestral mares all holding cameras and drooling, and at the front was Spitfire of the Wonderbolts. “You’re ripped! Mind explaining how you got pecs like those? I want to give my coltfriend pointers.” The cameras all began flashing, and Avarice began drinking in the attention as I groaned. At least the stone shack blended into the mountain top’s snow.

I teleported back to the castle, leaving Avarice to have a little alone time with all those perverted mares ogling him for photos so he could get ahold of himself. I saw Crescent bothering Team Rocket and everyone else, and tricked him into going to help cheer up Avarice with a contract of ‘I’ll tell you a secret if you go help cheer him up’. Heh, I never even told him what the secret was! Avarice better teach him the ropes, or else he’ll be screwed later.

“So, guys.” I said to who was left in the room. “How’s it going?”

Sarah glared at Dox, “Where’s Arbok?”

“Well… We made up and-”

“Arboo~! [Oh Dox~!] Charbo! [Did you really think you could escape from us?]”

“OH SHIT!” I said, turning to the direction Arbok’s voice came from, only to be pounced upon by Arbok. Right afterwards, she immediately wrapped around me, constricting me and knocking me to the ground all at once. “Hi Arbok. No I didn’t think I could escape, I just thought I could say hi before you got me. Hey wait, where’s the other girls?”

Arbok purred, “Charr~ [Oh don’t worry, they’ll be here~].” She turned towards Meowth, “Charr chabok, [Meowth, would you be a gentleman and tell the others to wait for us in the other room?]”

Meowth nodded, blushing a bit, “S-Sure Arbok, no problem.” Meowth turned towards the others. “Come on guys, the lady wants some time with the kid.” The others got up. “Ummm, we’ll be waiting for ya back there.” Meowth left the room, the others following close behind him. F.A.U.S.T. was the last one to leave, giving them her ‘have fun’ look, me knowing quite well what kind of fun she meant with it.

“S-so, Arbok.” I said. “I’m getting married soon…. W-would you l-like to join me there? A-as a bride of course.”

Arbok stopped her advances, looking at me with teary eyes, “Charr, [I’d be honored to… I do expect a ring, though.]”

“I’ll have the Dwarves work on it.” I said. “I already have them working on the rings for everyone else. Would you like to join me when I ask them to do yours?”

Arbok nodded, “Char, charbok [Alright then, although you better make sure Weezing doesn’t find out that you forgot to tell me about this, he’s still a bit protective of me.]”

“Speaking of that…” I started. I got my arm free and used it to pull Arbok’s face closer to mine for a kiss. “We could go find the other brides to be and have a little fun, if you know what I mean. Just, no chair. I am not going through that.” I shifted and turned into an Arbok myself, and she blushed even more purple as I lidded my eyes and flared my hood as wide as I could, getting her to do the same. “Char~. [Let’s coil, love.]”

Wow. Just wow. We actually ended up spending a few hours together after Arbok and me found the other girls. Hell, they even coaxed me to get into the chair…..

I still hesitate to say it was amazing.

Anyways, we were now all looking around for the displaced that we had asked to please vacate the room. It had been a few hours, I mean, they couldn’t have gone far.

Short answer, they didn’t. Long answer? They were out in the garden, where some Dwarves were hanging out around a tunnel they’d dug down into the crystal caves. Wow, they work fast. Jack and F.A.U.S.T. were nowhere to be seen, and Team Rocket was chatting with the two Dwarves that were at the mouth of the tunnel that led down into the mountain.

“Hey guys.” I said as we approached. “What’s up? And where’d Jack and F.A.U.S.T. go?”

Sarah shrugged, “I’m not sure, they kinda disappeared when we went to the gardens.”

“Huh, odd.” I said. “It’s not like Hyperion to leave without a trace. Hey, you two, you see a-”

“Human with a mask and a large metal Alicorn?” Said one of the Dwarves. “They went down into the tunnel that leads to our new home.”

“Ah, right, I promised Jack a couple of you guys would work for him. Sorry, I didn’t really think too far-”

“Really? Well, ain’t you the thoughtful sort.” One of the Dwarves said with a smile. “The masked fella did say he was lookin’ for at least one Low Elf and one Dwarf to come work for him with potential benefits. I’m sure that even with our dwindled numbers, a couple of us wouldn’t mind workin’ for some bigshot.”

“Oh, alright then! Good to know. I’ll head down, is it safe?” I asked, getting a boisterous laugh out of the two short-statured mighty men.

“Is it safe he asks!” They laughed for a few more seconds, okay, starting to sound like asshats guys. “Of course it’s safe! Who do ya take us for?”

“Right, Dwarves in a mine.” I said. “What could be safer?” Just then, I heard an explosion from somewhere below me. “Oh great. Hyperion gave them explosives. You NEVER give a Dwarf explosives when they’re mining!”

“Ha! Who told ya that? If you must know, before we split from the rest of the clans, we knew a Dwarf by name of Edewecht! A mage if you could believe it! And not just any mage either; an Artificer! He could enchant nigh anythin’ you put in his hands. Especially, if you wanted it to explode violently! He made the cheapest, easiest explosives in the clans. Hell, heard he couldn’t cast a single offensive spell to save his life, instead he’d throw exploding pebbles at things, ha-ha!” The Dwarves seemed to be enjoying their memory of this Edguy or whatever, so I decided that since it sounded like they knew how to use their explosives, I went on down into the crystalline innards of the mountain beneath Canterlot, leaving my to be wives behind at the top.

“Whoa….” I hadn’t expected it to be so beautiful. I mean, sure, in videogames, cartoons, even TV shows they try to display concepts of how it would feel to have a place made entirely of crystal. They failed utterly to convey just how gorgeous such a place would be. *THOOMP!* And there’s the explosive shaking the whole place! Damn, if I didn’t see everything stand firm against that loud detonation, I’d say these guys were nuts! Freaking reminding me of that one guy from Kazmodan, or so he said. Lucky bastard went to the moon and was never heard from again.

There was an echo of Jack’s voice barely heard in between the explosions, though some impressions in the ground showed F.A.U.S.T.’s likely steps. With even a couple or dozen so footsteps, with some areas clearly marked by a laser cut line into crystals having likely made a few new paths to normally unwalkable gaps. “Alright, the other thing that would be useful for you guys and gals. It’s a little something called a ‘sonar’ that helps give you a better image of the other side, unless you want the surprise to be left intact.”

“Damn it, Jack.” I said, cursing the businessman. “Are you trying to make the greatest miners even more overpowered at digging?”

“Yes.” Jack offhanded commented as he was showing Ragnar and a few other Dwarves how the sonar projector worked. “If my Loaders were half as effective, Avarice’s Offsite Facility would’ve been done weeks ago rather than just recently. I see absolutely no reason to not give them an even greater edge.” Another explosion nearby grabbed my attention to notice F.A.U.S.T was standing between the source and the group, her enormous shield system stopping even the dust from shooting past her.

“Our Jack, as much as we enjoy this outing and all it’s benefits, we must return to Helios One soon.” She spoke in what could be best described as ‘audio erotica’ directed towards him, but every dwarf reacted to that voice. Some even having hearts appear over their heads, while the female dwarves were discussing automaton designs based around her.

Jack sighed, though handed a book off to a dwarf, the title of it may have said ‘Dummy’s Guide to Explosive Excavation and Methods’ but disregarding that now as he spoke up again to the gathered dwarves. “Alright, you all got to learn a few new if not ‘neat’ tricks. But remember about using ‘Safe Distance’ or accidental explosions because those hurt more than anyone’s business...”

“Thank you truly, Jack the Handsome. My people will make good use of these tools.” Ragnar promised, and his molded pick grown was now properly fitted and shaped with some engravings and crystals embedded on it. I think one of the engravings depicted Avarice...uh-oh.

“You guys aren’t worshiping Avarice, are you?” I asked Ragnar.

“Hm? Oh! Savior! Of course, why do you ask? We weren’t planning to, it just sort of happened. Suddenly, Rulindil’s wife is with child, and they JUST conceived! I can think of no reason not to worship the Fertile Beast of Two. He has brought great fortune upon us, and for merely a bar of Aetherium. He is benevolent and kind. We always revere beings such as so. Look here.” Ragnar turned his head, and an engraving of Jack and Faust was on another spine of the crown, and when he turned to face me, I realized the engraving on the front spine was of me. “The Savior, the Metal Father and Mother, and the Beast of Two. You have given us so much, for so little. You deserve veneration by our clan.”

“I… I don’t know what to say.” I said. “Thanks.”

“I saw them engrave that on his crown as he was talking to me.” Jack informed me, sighing slightly. “I tried to get them to call me the Handsome Father, but eh, Metal Father makes me out as some ‘rocker’. Hey Faust!” Jack turned looking up to his partner/assistant, who looked down to him as he approached. “How are things going with that girl upstairs?”

“The filly by name of Maria is doing fine. We see no issues in the near future, aside from uncalculated factors, which are few.” F.A.U.S.T intoned before her shields stopped another cloud of dirt and dust from surging out of the tunnel the Dwarves within were rapidly creating further into the mountain.

A Dwarf suddenly came running up. “MY KING! MY KING!”

“What is it Rengar?” Ragnar asked the young looking Dwarf. “What has you so spooked little brother?”

“Come! COME! You all must see this!” Rengar then spun around and sprinted back into the tunnel, and everyone besides myself, Jack, and F.A.U.S.T ran after him. We looked at each other and Jack and I shrugged before we followed, F.A.U.S.T had to use a Minimization spell on herself though to become small enough to enter the tunnel, still taller than us though. When we came out the other end of the tunnel, we were all baffled, probably aside from F.A.U.S.T at the sight. “I present you, our lost city.”

“Uh….” That...makes little to no sense. I mean, it being the Low Elve’s lost city I could understand, this is basically an enormous literally city-sized ruin of Dwemer design. But the Dwarves? “Rulindil? Hey, Rul! I get that this could be YOUR people’s lost city, but what did Rengar mean by ‘our’ lost city?”

“Tis Blackreach...the lost hub of our underground cities. We Low Elves and Dwarves have been friendly neighbors more often than not, and fierce rivals at worst. We called this; Blackreach, our capital, the center of our respective Thaigs and Fiefdoms. The clans. They must be informed!” Rulindil was breathless with amazement, and had his wife been down here she would have been too.

“So, king under the mountain?” I asked.

“We must inform the clans and convene a moot to select a king among the clan chiefs, or jarls if they still hold a thaig.” Ragnar informed as he looked out at the dark, dreary underground beneath Mount Canterhorn. “We shall have to see to it this place is cleansed. The dead will rise in this setting. The Shadowfell is too in tune with this place, is it brother? I can feel it.”

“Indeed...we do not have the manpower to-.” A series of hollow howls, screeches, and unearthly wails echoed from within, and everyone ran back into the tunnel. “RUN! THE UNDEAD RISE!”

“WHAT?! The Shadowfell?!” I shouted in shock and fear as F.A.U.S.T returned to full size and her eyes became as bright as floodlights, causing a glimpse of numerous undead before they hissed and backed away from the harsh and bright light, barely visible among the glowing mushrooms and lichen of the massive underground cavern.

“The living fuck are those things?!” Jack shouted as he drew his Nemesis and an Infinity he carried in case he needed a bullet hose.

“Abominations! Crimes against life!” F.A.U.S.T shrieked, her tone becoming so thunderous with rage that I thought she might just burst into flames herself. “Thou shalt not escape thy imprisonment! We shall ensure thy passing onto death once more!” F.A.U.S.T raised her arms and several E-Tech gun barrels materialized from her chassis.

“No! Wait!” I yelled, stepping in front of F.A.U.S.T. “You can’t do that! If this place gets damaged, we’ll never recover it. Besides, I feel something else here. Something special. It’s calling out to me.”

“Then all the more reason to destroy this place! We shall not condone harboring of-!”

“F.A.U.S.T!” Jack’s harsh tone made the Goddess of Creation pause. Damn. I know she has the hots for him, but damn. “No. This is Dox’s problem. He want’s to do it his way, he can take care of it himself. Let’s just back out, slowly, and collapse the tunnel.”

“...Yes Jack. But scans indicate the stone of this place is too strong to collapse in such a way, it would take time these heathens would not be willing to give. We shall instead deploy a Hyperion Environment Shield to repel all attempts of the monsters to escape.” F.A.U.S.T. returned her body to normal, and then shrank as she summoned a projector device as we backed away from the cautiously approaching horde of zombies and skeletons of numerous races.

I backed into the tunnel first, Jack second, and then F.A.U.S.T quickly backpedaled as the monsters roared and tried to surge into the tunnel, seeing an opportunity to pen us in, but she activated the projector, and a yellow hardlight barrier with the Hyperion logo appeared, stopping the undead...well, dead, but not killing them like the Anti-Competitor field from the game. “That will keep them in for a while, but with that pounding, this thing will need regular recharges, and there isn’t exactly a power source here that won’t overload it right now.”

“So what do we do?” I asked Jack, the skeletons and zombies were still beating at the barrier, completely uncaring about it so long as their targets were still in sight.

“I’ll run a cable up top, F.A.U.S.T; you get up there and summon a Hyperion Solar System.” I looked at Jack incredulously as F.A.U.S.T teleported to the surface, and he raised an eyebrow at me. “What? Solar is completely renewable, and viable everywhere save in places with constant heavy cloud cover. Don’t fix what isn’t broken if you can make use of it kid.” Jack then moved to the projector to get started as I sighed. “We’ll be leaving when we’re done. This little visit was fun kid, thanks for the invite, but your life is a bit too exciting for my tastes. Might take Avarice up on that offer he made earlier for a nice, relaxing vacation on his island.”

“Yeah.” I said. “Listen, if you can let me in and maybe give me a shield-”

“No can do kid. Those prowlers banging on the projector would overwhelm us before you could do anything, no matter what powers you have. I’m not some god-like being like you or that oversexed pile of flesh, and I’m not about to do something stupid like take unnecessary risks. I’m still alive because I’ve been smart, and careful. I’m not about to end that streak now. So until next time kid.” Jack was spawning an unbelievably long cable as he said this, and was now running it down the tunnel as I sighed.

“Damn...I’ll have to wait until the clans can come together then, or somehow summon my own army...wait….” Oh, DUH! I keep forgetting; I have an order of Loaders to sign for! “Jack! Wait up!”

After they set up the power, Jack and F.A.U.S.T took their leave with a Dwarf and Elf who offered to work for him upon getting my signature for those Loaders Avarice had apparently bought for me and...well. “The 77th battalion awaits your order sir!”

HOW DID HE AFFORD THIS?!

There was, literally, a WHOLE BATTALION OF ROBOTS HERE! I mean, good gosh! Doesn’t he need these more than me?! “Uh...um...how...how many of you are there?”

The one addressing me was a green camo-patterned claptrap stallion with no mane or tail wearing additional Hyperion Soldier armor, which clashed with it’s bright yellow and powerful shielding systems. “The 77th battalion numbers in 10 claptrap coordinators including myself, and 20 of each kind of Loader outside specialty Loaders such as the Mars ‘cousins’ to Saturn, or H3RL-E units.”

“U-uh… Well, damn.” I said. “So, I need some of you guys up top here to protect my to-be wives and the other Displaced that are here, the rest of you are coming with me to deal with an undead horde.”

“Division of units is acceptable sir. We shall devote two coordinators and forty Loaders to defense, the rest of us shall prepare for a siege.”

“Wait! Wait!” I turned to see Ragnar and Rulindil running up to me. “No! Please! Not yet! If we secure Blackreach without convening with the other clans, it will seem to them we are making a power play!”

“We’re not.” I said. “I’m taking them so that I can find out what’s calling me. That feeling I got down there…. It was strong.”

“Strong or not Savior, we are allied with you. Any action you take is reflected back upon us. If you do this, you might make us enemies of the other clans.” Rulindil warned anxiously, getting me to groan.

“I’m sorry, but I have to.” I said. “It’s part of who I am. If I make enemies, then I’m sorry. This…. thing is calling me, and I intend on answering the call. Plus, I can’t just let undead roam a place like Blackreach. It’s an insult to you all.”

The two leaders looked to each other, and wilted. “Very well Savior. We shall try to convey that your actions were not promoted by us. But finding and contacting the clans will take time that we suppose you do not have. We will try to work some form of damage control.”

Well doesn’t that make me feel like shit? DM, why did you have to make me like this?

Because I’m like that. You’re basically me, if I was able to directly interact with reality. I can’t ignore imbalances, or disturbances, or other malignant forces that try to tip the scales in the wrong direction. It is my job to keep Reality going, it’s your job to do what I can’t.

“I don’t know if I should be humbled, or get a big head about that.” My comment to the open air confused the Homage claptrap before suddenly I felt two big, strong, firm claws grasp my shoulders, making me gasp and shudder.

“Well! About time! I paid out the nose for these guys.” I shivered, feeling Avarice almost pressed up behind me, vague memories of an unplanned shared night….

‘Oh no~! Am I falling into my changeling nature? Bad thoughts, out of head!’ “Hey Avarice, thanks for the fucking army.” I said, gesturing to the entire demolished garden. It was already nearly leveled from Bubbles having fun out here apparently, but the digistruction of all these units destroyed what was left, and now the royal gardeners were off to the side, weeping about their fruitless efforts.

“Well, I felt a contingency was in order, and look; you ended up needing them right?” Avarice asked as he leaned over me, pressing his sexy rock-hard body into me, his face was so close…his lips looked so soft, his eyes so beautiful...I just had to lean up a little more, and we’d be kis-.

‘NO!’ I pushed his handsome pony face away, and he chuckled! Asshole! “Damn it Avarice!”

“I’m Fertility Dox. Arousal is just part of the territory. Thanks for sharing that secret with me. Well, if that’s all, when you’re done send me home...I have a few...deals to make.” His dark chuckle did not fill me with confidence as he leaned in and kissed my cheek, leaving me stunned as he turned into a serpent and slithered off.

‘Fucking! Damned pansexual ass! Stop making me question my sexuality!’ I shook myself off, getting the warm feeling of his hard, strong body out of my system. “Okay! Let’s go!”

“This was awesome.” I stood on top of the highest building in Blackreach, looking over the enormous ruin and all the burning corpses and bones below. The Homages were master tacticians and warriors in their own rights, and they organized the Loaders so well, we only lost about twelve of them to the initial tide of moving corpses. “Now, where is that thing that was calling to me?”

I leaped down to the courtyard, it was currently covered in dead bodies being prepared for cremation and loot the Homages ordered separated for repurposing. But in the center was a fountain that was too dry and conspicuous. Whatever was pulling on me, it was under this. I got into the fountain, and felt around, looking for the most subtle of...hey! A small indent in the very center of the top of the fountain caught my eyes, and I grinned as I took out the portal matrix and compared the half-sphere indent with the perfect orb. A match. “Damn, this thing is like the answer to all my problems. It must’ve been fate for me and Avarice to make it then.”

I put it in the small divot, and suddenly started falling. I didn’t scream because I knew I’d be fine, but I wasn’t expecting it and when I fell on my back on top of something enormous and hard, I groaned regardless. “Portals...why they think for themselves these days? I thought I was supposed to be thinking WITH them….”

“Sir! Are you alright?!” One of the Homages upstairs called down, and I looked up to see a portal the exact size of the fountain overhead, with the pedestal of the fountain floating in the center.

“Yes Homage, I’m fine!” ‘Gotta rename these guys….’ “No fall can kill me, so return to your assigned tasks!” I called out, standing as I dusted myself off, and froze at the sight of what had clearly been calling on me. In front of me stood -well, floated, I don’t really know how to say it- four soul gems, with a large soul in the middle of them. The soul itself was making a faint moaning noise.

“Heeeeelp meeeeee.” It moaned.

“I SENSE! A BARGAIN!” I was shocked when suddenly a gigantic eye was peering into the portal from overhead. Fuck, damn it Avarice! The gigantic green slit eye shined red. “The unbound soul! Name it!”

“A vessel...please….” The soul moaned.

“Knowledge, tangible, is the price. Acceptable?” Dude, Avarice. Just help the guy!

“Not… from you….” The soul moaned. It seemed to turn towards me. “Him….”

“Hmph, another stickler. Very well then. Dox. When you get back, there’s a surprise waiting for you. I’m ready to go home now.” Oh, that’s why he’s down here?

“Alright then.” I said to Avarice. “I’ll be expecting it. Avarice, our Contract is Complete.” I turned back to the soul, but my pal’s thunderous evil chuckling as he burst into blue flames did not fill me with confidence at all. “So, what do you mean, me?”

“I…. am Blackreach….” The soul moaned. “My heart…. is lost…. Please…. Restore it….”

“But where is your heart?! What is it?!” I asked.

“Aetheirum….” The soul moaned. “Trap me…. in Aetherium.”

“But that’d take…..” I started before realizing that I could just make some, myself. “Alright, here goes nothing.”

I put my hands around the soul and the gems orbiting it and focused. I had to make Aetherium. I had to restore Blackreach. I had to help him. I focused as I remembered how the Low Elves did it, and levitated several chunks of gold that were littered around the massive chamber, and especially under whatever I was standing on. I used gravity to carefully crush them together, increase density. Soon I had a several hundred pound ball of gold between my hands, and then began the process.

Holy hell, this was tiring. I pumped and pumped and pumped more magic into it, and it just demanded more and more! It eventually started turning purple, into Thaumium, close, but not yet. I had to practically force so much magic out I thought my veins might burst, scratch that, nose already did. But after what felt like forever, I had a glowing blue-white ball of pure Aetherium, and I was gasping for breath.

“Thank...you….” The soul seemed to be more energized now, and then the orb of pure physical magic became a damn beacon of white light that blinded me, and I cried out as I closed my eyes before it was suddenly gone. Before I could question where it went, the gigantic object beneath me shuddered, creaked, groaned, and then I saw lights start to shine from various points across it. “I...live...again!”

The voice was clear as crystal now, it was deep and artificial with a hollow tone to it, and steam began erupting from...oh no…. A long section of the object extended out in front of me, and turned around to reveal the glowing blue-white eyes of a giant Dwarven Dragoon! I thought those weren’t canon! “I, am Blackreach.”

“...Hi?”

3rd Person:

Arbok slithered towards her team, dreading what her master might say about her decision, she stopped when she saw a shadow over her, “Char? [Regi?]”

The pitch black Arbok narrowed his eyes at his mother, “RRRrrkKeggg.” The Arbok frowned at his latest attempt at speaking english, sighing, he started speaking Poke’speak again, “Charrr? [You are staying here?]”

Arbok nodded, a bit curious at her son’s question. “Charr? [Yes, why do you ask?]”

Regi nodded, and turned away, “Charrr, [I was just curious, Violet and Star will miss you though.]” He started to slither away.

“Char? [What about you?]” Regi stopped moving, “Arbo? [Well you miss me? I’m not leaving forever if that’s what you’re worried about.]”

“Char, charbok, [Why would I be worried, you are not my mother, my mother died years ago.]” Regi said harshly.

Arbok frowned. “Char [Regi…. I know you don’t think of me as your mother and I know I can never replace her, but perhaps I can introduce you to-]”

“Char! [NO!]” Regi yelled, his yell echoed through the halls, “Arbo, [Goodbye,]” The black Arbok slithered away, “Char, charbork! [And don’t worry about telling the others, I will tell them, you have fun with…...father…]” He slithered away into the room where the other rockets were.

“Char…. [Regi….]” Arbok sighed and then entered the room too. Shortly, a flash and sound familiar to those who have seen the Portal Matrix occurred.

Dox POV:

Well, today was eventful. Way too eventful. So was yesterday. That Bachelor Party was a horrible idea...I have to do it again sometime. I dragged my feet, tired from everything that happened today. I mean, I helped fight a whole damn army of undead today. Sure, I had my own army too, but I still did a lot of fighting along with that issue with Blackreach itself. I told Blackreach I had to get some rest, which it was completely cool with and said it could wait.

i had barely made it to the private sector of the castle where mine and my lover’s rooms were, when I was suddenly tackled by a very familiar scaly lover of mine. “Bok! Charbok! [Dox! I have something to tell you!]”

“Oh~...what is it Arbok? Where’s the rest of-?” I was silenced when she kissed me on the lips, and I sighed out my nose before I realized something odd was happening. I felt something, TWO things, pressing into my chest as two OTHER things seemed to start wrapping around me. ‘WHAT THE FUCK?!’

She drew back, and my jaw almost fell off my face as my nose asploded. Before me, was a busty, shapely, Arbok Naga! She lidded her eyes as she flexed her hood which went down over her shoulders a bit wider. “Do you like it?” She asked in English, ENGLISH! “I made a deal with your friend for a few...things.” She took her new hands and hefted her admittedly huge H-cup breasts up, the darker purple nipples engorging as a few white beads left them. Oh right, while reptiles don’t lactate, she’s essentially somewhat mammal I guess, and she’s recently had kids...ugh...brain hurts. “I sent my team home. So, we could… Ya know.”

“Arbok, I’m really tired and I-.” I was shut up by seeing her tail lower body split into three, and soon STOOD a full anthro arbok, naked and with a familiar curvy body shape I could only compare to my other lovers, her long serpent tail sensuously curling around and teasing her new groin. “I suddenly don’t care.” I jumped up and grabbed her hand, dragging her to my personal room with her giggling behind me. The details didn’t matter right now, I was too turned on by my mate.

Author's Notes:

And that's the end of that bit. XD
Crossover with Darkstar709, Architect of Realities, and GameJunkie7 and their respective stories (Putting the link to the stories in there this time XD).

Anyways, this is DJ A String, a.k.a. Music Mod, signing off.
PS- I was at Scott Fest today, and somehow got a Katana, yay!