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ACT I: Voyage

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Episode 1: Duke Terror

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The alarm on the floor jarred the teen from his sleep. The boy had dirty blond hair that had ruffled itself about like feathers overnight. He looked like any other you would meet on the roadside, with the exception of the two pointy ears on his head and the spines and tail jutting from his back.

He opened his mouth wide, yawning to reveal a larger-than-normal pair of canines. His hair jutted about all over, covering most of his face. He swept it partially to the side, revealing that he slept with his glasses on. He opened one eye, all the while rubbing the other, to reveal deep pinkish-red irises. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, folding his blanket and futon and storing them both in the closet.

He suppressed another yawn as he pulled on a blue t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts and a belt. He walked to the bathroom in his socks and began to get ready. He brushed his teeth, grinning as the light reflected a small glint off of his canines. He picked up his cobalt blue comb, and with one quick flick of the wrist, his hair fell back as to where it should be.

He heard the doorbell ring, and leapt down the stairs, two at a time, before walking quickly to the door. He pulled it open, looking around curiously when he came face-to-face with nothing but air. He shrugged, before closing the door and turning back towards the room.

Suddenly, the window blasted open, and the teenager, David, shielded himself from the flying bits of glass. He looked from the stone on the floor, to the gaping hole in his window, where another teenager with dark blond hair and a scar across one eye was standing. The newcomer also had an extra pair of ears, these ones more bear-like.

"Yo, mornin'." The teenager smirked.

"Is it really necessary to throw a rock through my window every time you come over, Chad ? !" David sighed, shaking his head. "I'm going to start giving you my hardware bill!"

"Aw, come ahn, cahn't you just feel a bit a' nostahlgia?" Chad growled.

David sighed once more, chuckling a little. "It's good to see you, buddy!"

"You too, friend!" Chad raised his fist, and the two bumped their knuckles together.

"Man, how long has it even been?" David smiled, memories flooding back to his head. "The last time we saw each other was the last time the Shadow Creatures attacked."

Chad grinned, resting his head on his knuckles. "Yeh, a yeah can do that to a goi." He twitched a bit, looking over to his friend. "Oh, rahght, how's Nick doin'? Does he still hehv that headache prahblem?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not sure." David placed a hand to his chin. "I haven't spoken with him in months..."

"Does he still work at the Clahw?"

"I think so..." David grinned, walking briskly to the door and pulling on his sneakers. "Wanna go pay him a visit?"

"Hells yeh!" Chad pumped a fist in the air. "It's been fah too lahng since I got the chance to f*ck wit' his head!"

/-/-/-/-/-/

"Here's your drink, sir."

A young teenager approached one of the round wooden tables of the tavern, carrying a tray of glasses. The man at the table grinned, grabbing the glass by the handle as the teenager set it down. "Thanks, little lady-"

"Boy."

The two stayed silent for a moment, before the man smiled awkwardly. "I'm sorry?"

"Boy...I'm—I'm a boy..." The child raised one hand to his face, trying to hide his blush. It was easy to see how the customer could confuse his gender as far as physical traits went; his brunette hair, which was topped by two large fox-like ears, was waist-length, his eyes were bright green, and his eyelashes were dark and long.

His chest and hips were the least feminine aspect about him, and even then, his waist was higher up and his hips were larger than the typical twelve-year-old, followed by a fox-like tail protruding from his waist. His voice was also relatively high-pitched, and he spoke somewhat quietly.

As soon as he was safely behind the counter once more, he readjusted the collar of his red turtleneck, still attempting to conceal his blush a little. He'd made it perfectly clear to his friends that blushing was possibly the worst thing that could physically happen to him; whenever it happened to a large enough degree, there were migraines that followed shortly after.

The bells at the front of the tavern jingled, and he spun around, grinning. "Hello, and welcome to the Harpy's Claw Tavern." He greeted. "How may I serve you?" As soon as he realized who it was, his smile widened. "David, Chad!"

"What's up, Nick?" David asked as he sat down. "How's life been treating you?"

The brunette nodded. "I'm fine, how about you two?"

"We're greyt!" Chad replied, cracking his knuckles, before looking downward. "...I see ya still a trap-waitin'-ta-happen."

"F*ck you!" Nick cried, raising his hands to his cheeks as they became dark red. "I told you not to make me blush like that! Stupid!"

"Whatevah you say, lulita-boi."

"Pinhead!"

"Junk-in-trunk."

"Damfool!"

"Goil-face."

"Dumb-ass!"

WHAK!

The brunette fell over as a frying pan was thrown at the back of his head. Leaning out of the order window was a girl with wavy brown hair who couldn't have been more than a year older than him.

"Nick, how many times have I told you not to call the customers rude names?" She growled, a vein popping on her temple.

"That was one time, and I already told you, I only called that guy a pervert because he groped me!" He pouted. "Besides, Chad started it!"

WHAK!

"AOW!" Chad exclaimed, falling backwards and rubbing his forehead as another frying pan flew out from the window. "What da hell, Ehvahnya ? !"

"That was for flicking my boob and calling me flat the last time you were here!" The girl growled, preparing another pan.

"That wahs a yeah ago!"

"I know how to hold a grudge!"

Nick pulled a pocket-watch out of his jeans pocket, sighing at the time. "Well, my shift is over. Do you guys wanna do anything?" He turned to his two friends. "I mean, it's been a year since we last saw each other, and I wanna hear about every single detail!"

"Goooiilyy." Chad snickered, mocking him in a sing-song voice.

"SHUT UP."

Evania grabbed his shoulder. "Hold on, Nick! Chrissy's not back yet, and I don't have anyone else to wait the tables." She explained. "Do you think you could work just a bit longer until she gets here?"

The boy sighed, slumping over. "Alright...Where the hell does she keep disappearing to, anyways?"

"Hey, she's a womin." Chad shrugged. "If she gaht up late, she's prah'lly doin' somethin' goily."

"Speaking of Chrissy, how is she?" David grinned.

"The same as always." Nick replied, scratching his cheek. "The only difference is that for the last few months, she's been coming in as though she hasn't gotten a lot of sleep."

Chad snickered, placing a hand to his mouth. "Uh-oh, David! Looks like yuhv gaht some cahmpetishin!"

David's brow twitched and he grinned awkwardly at his friend. "What're you talking about?" He asked through gritted teeth. "What the hell do you mean, competition? You say it as though I should be jealous."

"No, not like that, you idiots!" Nick shook his head, sighing. "From what I can tell, it's probably just a a case of insomnia, or maybe she's gotten a second job that requires her to work at night."

SLAM

The door nearly flew off it's hinges as a blue, red, and green blur flew past them, straight into the kitchen. A few seconds later, and Chrissy stepped out, dressed in uniform for work and smiling. "Hello, and welcome to the Harpy's Claw Tavern!" She greeted. "How may I serve you today?"

"'Ey, Chrissy." Chad waved. "Ya don't haveda bothah wit' da whole 'welcome' spiel, Trahp-Fellah heah ahlready gave it ta us."

"FOR THE LAST F*CKING TIME I'M NOT A-"

"Yeh, yeh, whatevah you say, Jen Lopez."

"-"

CRASH

"AGH!N-NICK, JUS' CALM DAHN!"

"THIS AIN'T A SCENE IT'S A MOTHERF*CKING GODDAMNED ARMS RACE, MOTHERF*CKER!"

"WHAT'S DAT GOTTA DO WIT' THIS ? !"

"DON'T KNOW, DON'T CARE, IT SOUNDS COOL TO SAY!"

"WHAGH! STOPPIT, SOMEONE'S GONNA GET HURT!"

"WHAT'S THAT YOU CRY ? ! MORE ? ! VERY WELL!"

"WH—YOU JAHCKAHSS, I SEAD STAHP!"

"A SWORD SANDWICH WITH PAIN ON TOP AND A SIDE ORDER OF KILL COMING RIGHT UP!"

"NICK CAHLM DOWN! YA GONNA BRING THIS ENTAIAH TAHVUN DOWN AHN AH HEADS-"

CRIK

SNAP

CRASSSSSSSSSHHHH

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"And just what the hell were you thinking ? !" Evania shouted, hands planted firmly on her hips.

"We're sorry."

"If you two hadn't held back, someone might have died in there!"

"We're sorry."

"I mean, a sword isn't much of a problem, but energy attacks, too ? ! Deflecting the attacks when they got too close so that they destroyed more of the tavern ? !"

"We're sorry."

While Evania was busy yelling at Nick and Chad(and forcing them to rebuild whatever had been destroyed), David and Chrissy stood to the side, the blond sighing at his friends' stupidity. "Anger issues versus troll. Winner; no."

Chrissy turned to him, smiling. "So, how've you been? It's been so long since I last saw you, I want to know everything!"

"Oh, nothing much." David grinned back. "Since there haven't been many Shadow attacks, it's been really quiet this last year. What about you? Nick said you've been coming into work tired. Is everything alright?"

The red-haired girl nodded. "Everything's fine, I just haven't been getting much sleep lately. You know, it's that time of year when they start showing the horror movies and everything."

"You mean like those B-Rated movies you like to watch all the time?"

"Oh, come on! GodApe was a great movie!"

"They were using puppets and clay."

"I like tradition!"

"There's tradition, and then there's GodApe."

/-/-/-/-/-/

Eventually, the tavern was fixed, and Evania nodded in approval, hands on her hips. "Nice job, boys! Now remember, don't do it again," she held up a throwing knife, "or else next time, I won't miss." She smirked approvingly, before marching back behind the counter and into the kitchen. As soon as she was out of earshot, Nick shuddered.

"Why must she be so frightening?" He whimpered.

"'Ey, dun lookit me." Chad shrugged. "She's your duhminatrix, Trahp-Boi."

"FFFFFFFFFFF-"

"Wait WAIT NO I DIN'T MEAN—AAAHGH!"

David winced as a loud CRAK! echoed throughout the tavern, followed by a few quieter cracking sounds, before Chad rolled out from behind the counter, his arms and legs folded like pretzels.

"..." Chrissy and the blond-haired boy stared nervously at the brunette, who simply stared back, calmly. "What? He deserved that."

"For once, I have to agree." David jumped in surprise as another voice spoke up. Without anyone noticing, a boy, slumped over, with dark gray-blond hair and brown eyes had approached, clad in a pair of jeans, socks, and a rumpled long-sleeve polo shirt; each crease seemed deliberate and planned out.

"Eddie, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that?" Chrissy growled, a small sweat droplet appearing on her temple. "How do you even get in here without making that bell-dealie-thingamabob-whatever ring? When you do, it makes me look bad as a greeter-slash-waitress!"

Ed grinned slightly, opening his mouth just a little bit and somehow glazing his eyes over. "How I do it is something you will never find out, my dear."

"I'm not your dear!"

"So," Nick smiled slightly, leaning against the counter. "What're you doing here? It's not often we see you in town."

Ed sat down on one of the stools, smirking. "I believe I have some information that could prove useful concerning Dark's next move." He explained. "You remember that old lecher that lives a mile or two away from town?"

"You mean Duke Terror?" David raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that old pervert." Eddie nodded. "Well, I heard that he may know something about Dark's next potential attack target." His smirk grew. "All we have to do is infiltrate his mansion."

"Tch." Nick scoffed. "Duke Terror may be a hopeless perverted womanizer, but he's not stupid. He's set up a battalion of guards around the place, and it's near impossible to take them down; they're dumbasses, but they're strong as oxen...kinda like Chad."

"OI!" Chad exclaimed, having finally untangled his limbs. "Aih risent thaht!"

"Which is exactly why I, being the brilliant youth of the group, came up with a plan." He smirked. "One of us will infiltrate his defenses by using his weakness against him."

"His weakness-" Nick stopped short, eyes growing wide. "Oh no...no, no, no, no...You're not seriously considering...?"

"One of us will pretend to be a maid for hire and then try to get him to spill the info." Ed finished, pounding a fist on his chest proudly. "Brilliant, non?"

"Tch." Nick rolled his eyes. "Good luck with that!"

"Nick's right, we are not sending Chrissy into that pervert's place!" David protested, growling.

"Ah, but there's the brilliance of it." His smirk grew. "We're not sending her in."

"Neh?" Chad raised an eyebrow. "But...what's thaht-! !"

The group stared intensely at the brunette, and Nick looked behind him, back to the order window. "No, I don't think Evania will do it, either." However, everyone simply continued to stare at him. "...What're...you guys looking at-! !" Suddenly, the situation dawned on him like a brick in the face, and he raised his hands up in defense. "NO! NONONONONO! NO, I'M NOT DOING THAT! YOU CAN ALL JUST GO STRAIGHT TO HE-"

/-/-/-/-/-/

"Aww, Nick, you look so adorable~!" Chrissy cooed. "You look like a little doll~!"

"Somebody...please just kill me. Just kill me now." Nick complained, tugging on the corset. He had been dressed up in a black-and-white maid uniform with long sleeves that flared out at the wrists. There was a tall collar that reached up to his chin, the dress reached down to his ankles, hiding his tail from view, and he had been given a headband, which made his fox ears look fake.

"Oh, come on." Eddie grinned. "It looks perfect on you, my bitch."

"This is stupid." The brunette whined, tears streaming comically down his face. "I understand the dress and headband, but was it really necessary that I wear the p-p-p-p-...you know what word I mean!"

"'Ey, we hadda be thorough." Chad shrugged. "Wouldn't be very incahgnito ivve decided to upskoit ya ahnd ahll 'e'd see is ya usual tahghties."

"Then why aren't I wearing a b-b-b-b-...you know!"

"Oi know mahny a male that lahves a bra-less flaht-chested goil."

Nick simply blushed more, shuddering. "You worry me...you worry me a lot."

CLICK

"WH—WHERE THE HELL DID THAT CAMERA COME FROM ? !"

"'Ey, gotta take pictchas while ah can." Chad snickered. "Man, the fangoils ah gunna lahve dis album!"

"WHAT FANGIRLS ? !"

Chad stared, surprised. "Ya mean ya neveh noticed the rahndom cahmera flahshes?"

"NO!"

"Heh." The blond placed a hand to his chin. "Well, anyway, I take pictchas loik this ahll th' taim, and lemme tell ya, the goils lahve 'em!" He held up a stack of photographs, which Nick snatched from his hand in a panic. Chad looked over his shoulder. "Heh. That one was from ya little sick-day a year ago. Mahn, the goils adoied that series!"

"...Chad, you are sooooooOOOOHH f*cking lucky that this isn't a felony in this country, otherwise, I would murder you. I'm dangerously close to doing so as it is." He growled fiercely. "Honestly, what on Mossoc would compel you to do this?"

"I have mah motives, mothahf*ckah."

"Before you head in, I'd like to hear your maid impression." Eddie grinned once more.

"...You can't be serious."

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"Ugh...fine." Nick blushed slightly, and clearing his throat. When he spoke up, he had raised the pitch of his voice enough that he sounded more like a girl than usual. "How may I serve you, master? I am yours to command."

The blond placed a hand to his chin, before shrugging. "Adequate, but it will have to do. Now then." Eddie spoke up, pushing Nick out from behind the bushes they'd hidden behind. "Good luck! Auf wiedersehen! Adieu! Bon apetit!"

"Bon apetit?" Nick raised an eyebrow. "How does that fit the situation?"

"It means," David hissed, trying to be quiet, "there's a guard coming your way!"

"Hey!" Nick flinched as he heard a voice boom behind him. "What're you doin' 'ere, little girl ? !"

"EEP."

/-/-/-/-/-

"Duke Terror, sir." The guard shouted like a soldier, holding Nick up by his wrists. "We found this girl wandering around the estate unsupervised, sir! How should we dispose of her, sir!"

"Dispose of her? Nonsense!" In front of them was a large, muscular man with bright blue eyes and short black hair, which had begun to turn to gray. "Put her down, Kavnarov."

The guard complied, roughly placing the brunette on the carpet. "Duke Terror, sir! What should we do about this breach, sir!"

"That will do for now, Kavnarov, thank you." The man grinned wholeheartedly, raising a hand up. "Now then, miss." He placed a hand on Nick's shoulder. "I apologize for my subordinate's rude behavior. Please, forgive him, he's spent so long in the military that he simply doesn't know any better."

"N-No, it's alright." Nick gulped. "U-Um...I...I u-um...I'd like to apply for a position here...sir."

Terror grinned, but Nick could feel a kind of beastly lust behind his blue eyes. "Well, I can see that from your uniform, miss. I don't usually do this, but how about I give you a 24-hour trial? If you can exceed my expectations within that time, you will be legible for the job. If not, however. I'm afraid I must ask you to leave."

Nick simply nodded, still not quite believing that he had been talked into this situation. "Th-Thank you, sir."

Terror, still grinning pleasantly, called to his right. "Teresa, we have a new trainee!"

A few moments later, and Nick felt the ground begin to tremble beneath him. Suddenly, the door blasted open, revealing a tall, gorilla-like maid glaring down at them. Even though Duke Terror had to be at the very least six foot eight, the woman still made him look minuscule and unimportant.

"Ah, there you are, dear!" Terror grinned. "Now then, I trust you know the standards for maids, being one yourself after all. I would like you to show this young miss the ropes, if you please."

The woman nodded, speaking with a heavy Euranian(1) accent. "As you wish, sir. You," she pointed at Nick, "come with me."

"Y-Yes ma'am." Nick reluctantly followed. As soon as he was certain no one was watching, tears flowed comically down his cheeks. "How do I get myself into these messes ~ ? !"

/-/-/-/-/-/

"Looks like the bass took the worm." Eddie smirked as he and the rest of the group looked in through the windows. "Now all we have to do is wait for him to find evidence that Terror is with Dark."

"Yeah, unless Terror figures out he's not really a girl." David's cheek twitched. "What'll you do if that happens, Mr. Prodigy?"

Eddie stared for a moment, before grinning once more. "We all must make sacrifices."

"...Why does it sound so unfunny when he says it?"

/-/-/-/-/-/

Nick sighed, a sweat droplet forming on his head. "Alright...now that that lady is gone, maybe I can start my search." Teresa had left him a while ago in order to finish her own jobs, trusting him with cleaning up the duke's office. "Let's see...notes...novels...papers...PlayBoy magazi—OH FOR FRICK'S SAKE!" He cried in alarm, flinging the magazine away from himself. "He could at least put that somewhere more inconspicuous instead of right there on his desk!"

A half hour passed, and Nick groaned, disheartened.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing in here that proves he's working with Dark..." He leaned against the chair. "...No...No, I can't give up!" He growled. "I dressed up as a freaking maid just to get in here! I'm not turning tail now of all times!"

He marched over to the shelves once more, shuffling through the books and papers. "No...No...No..." He reached higher, trying to grab a hold of a notebook, only to trip, bringing the notes down with him. "Ah! Oh no!" He cried, trying to pick up the papers. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! Let's see...um! This paper goes first? N-No, this one! Ah! Some of them slid under the bookcase!"

He bent over, reaching as far under as he could before finally grasping the notes. "Phew..." He sighed in relief, before feeling an odd breeze. He noticed that while he was preoccupied with finding the mixed-up papers, his uniform had accidentally slid up his thighs, revealing the underwear he'd been forced to equip.

Nick blushed a dark red, quickly readjusting the dress and hiding the panties from view. "That...that would have been embarrassing...No, that was embarrassing..."

"Spy!" Nick flinched as Teresa's voice boomed through the room. "You are no maid! You are not even a girl!"

"Ah ? !" The brunette held up his hands in defense, blushing darkly. "N-N-No! I-I'm a girl! What do you-"

"It's easy to tell when you bend over!" The large woman shouted. "Duke! Sir Duke Terror, there is a spy!"

Nick was about to plead with her not to say anything more, but as soon as he heard the footsteps, he knew it was over. "WHAT AM I GONNA DO ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ? !"

"Teresa, what seems to be the problem?" Terror asked as soon as he stepped in the doorway.

The maid pointed at Nick, growling. "She is no girl! She is a boy; a spy sent to read your secret notes!"

"N-No!" Nick protested, waving his hands about. "I'm a girl! This is a misunderstanding!" He took a deep breath. "C-Could a boy do...THIS ? !" He spread his legs as far apart as they would go, doing a perfect split. "T-Ta-dah!"

"That proves nothing!" Teresa snarled. "Duke Terror-"

BING-BONG

Terror looked back into the foyer, sighing. "We'll settle this in a moment, dears. Try to get along until then?"

Without staying to hear a response, he bolted down the stairs, Teresa looking after him, silently peeved. Nick sighed in relief, pulling himself to his feet and sneaking nervously to the door.

"Hold on one moment!" Teresa stopped him, standing in the door frame. She glared down at the cross-dressing boy, before smirking. "Off."

"E-EH ? !" Nick blushed, instinctively pulling down on his dress.

"You are a girl, yes? Then you should have no problem with showing yourself to another woman?" The large woman's smirk widened as Nick's expression seemed to show more and more fear. "If you cannot, then I must conclude you are a boy pretending to be a woman!"

Nick shook nervously, gripping his apron and dress with an iron grip, reluctantly raising it up. "It's over. It's all over." He cried in his head. "My pride as a boy is ruined, the plan failed, and for the love of GOD, I hope this doesn't end like one of Chad's erotic games...If it does, then there goes my virginity as well..."

He felt tears enter the corners of his eyes as Teresa stepped forth.

"SOMEBODY SAVE ME ~ ~ ! !"

"Oh, Nicole!" Teresa and Nick looked to the side, where a girl with gray-blond hair tied in twin-ponytails stood, smiling. "I didn't know that you signed up for a job here as well!" She looked over to Teresa, tilting her head. "Oh, hello! I see you've made a new friend, Nicole!" She curtsied, grinning sincerely. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Evelyn, Nicole's friend! Thank you for taking care of her!"

"...You know this girl?" Teresa pointed at Nick, raising an eyebrow.

The blond girl nodded, wrapping her arms around him, inadvertently squeezing his head with her cleavage. "She's my bestest best friend in the world~! We're like sisters!"

Teresa looked from Nick, to the girl, before crossing her arms. "I see...Very well. I will leave this up to Duke Terror."

As soon as she was out of earshot, Nick sighed in relief, holding his chest. "Oh my god...that was terrifying..."

"You owe us big time, my bitch." Nick spun around in shock as the girl's voice changed to that of a male's. Also, when he looked closely, he could see the lining of the fake cleavage. "You're lucky we four decided to come in and save your ass from rape. If we hadn't, who knows what she would have done to you?" Eddie grinned oddly again.

"E-Eddie? ...'We four'? Y-You mean-?"

Ed nodded. "David, Chad, and Chrissy are all downstairs with the other maids and Duke Terror. He told me to come up and get you."

"I...see." Nick nodded. "W-Well...um...we'd...better go."

As the two made their way down the stairs, towards a second flight which led down to what appeared to be a dungeon, Nick jolted, squeaking in fright as Eddie tapped his shoulder. "...What?" He hissed.

"I almost forgot to mention, but Chad was right." He grinned oddly. "You do have a girlish ass."

"..." Unexpectedly, Nick simply blushed, hands folded over his lap. "W-Well...um..."

"What, not denying?"

Nick remained silent, looking away slightly. "...Thanks."

"..."

"..."

"...For complimenting your voluptuous ass, or-"

"N-NO! FOR SAVING ME!"

Eddie grinned oddly again. "Heehee."

/-/-/-/-/-/

The dungeon-like room was abuzz with chatter, filled with at least twenty maids, and after a minute or two, Ed and Nick had found the other three. Nick placed a hand to his mouth, trying to hold back his giggles. "U-Um...Um...wow. Just wow." He smirked. "I love irony."

Chad, who wore a ponytail tied with a butterfly-shaped ribbon, growled, glancing to the side. "Shut ya meuth."

"How the hell did you even manage to sneak Chad in?" The brunette giggled. "He wouldn't fit in a with a crowd of girls even if he got plastic surgery!"

"Why are we even down here?" David raised an eyebrow. "It looks like some kind of jail..."

"You...don't wanna know..." Chrissy replied, looking slightly sick. "I just asked one of the maids, and they told me that...that this is a routine every night, where Terror chooses a girl to...'spend time' with..."

Nick's face dropped like a brick, before scrunching up in disgust. "UGH! That pig! Barbarian!" He glared at Ed. "YOU! You got us into this, you-"

The clamor ceased as someone played a triangle to get their attention. In front of the crowd was Duke Terror, smiling. "Now that I have your attention, I thank you all for showing up." He grinned. "I would like to introduce you all to our new arrivals, if they could please step up."

Nick's face fell again, and he glared at Ed angrily. "If we leave here with every single bit of everything intact, I'll still kill you."

The five stood in front of the duke, trying to act naturally. After a moment of studying them, he pointed at...

"Yes, I believe you'll do finely." Nick flinched as the finger was jabbed in front of his nose. As he was dragged up the stairs, he shot Eddie yet another glance.

"Yep." Eddie grinned once again. "I can tell from his glare, he's ready to kill me."

"...Why do you sound so happy while saying it?"

David sighed. "There's no time for that, don't you think we ought to go up there and help Nick?"

"Hold ahn." Chad muttered, putting a few rolls of film in his camera. "Lesse...ahlright, rehdy fuh ahction!"

"Dude, seriously, that's not funny, it's creepy."

/-/-/-/-/-/

The four had managed to sneak back to the foyer, and David looked up the stairs, hearing a conversation in one of the rooms. "They're up there, right at the top of the stairs." He muttered. "Alright, time to save our friend!"

"Nice try!"

Suddenly, a mass of dark creatures materialized, followed by Teresa glowering at them from the top of the stairs.

"I knew it." She smirked. "You are spies! Well, it's not much longer until your little friend is found out as well!" She cackled. "I will enjoy watching these Shadow Creatures rip you to shreds-!"

"Lady, you underestimate us!"

SHAA

In a mere moment, the Shadows were gone in a burst of wind, like dust, leaving the group standing there, glaring at the woman. "The Mach Seven doesn't back down!" David growled. "Now, move, we have to help our friend!"

"You...impudent brats...!" Teresa growled. "You dare defy his highness ? ! I'll crush you-"

CRAK!

Chad growled, rubbing his elbow. "Nuhmuhlly, oi wouln't hit a lady..." He glared at the large maid. "But ya no lady, lady!"

The four jogged up the stairs, bursting open the door and taking stance.

"Give up, Duke Terror!" David declared, pointing. "We're Sector 10 of the Mach Seven Team, and we're here to stop...your...reign?"

"...Help~." Nick complained, tears streaming comically down his face once more. He had been bound by ribbons to the bed frame, Terror leaning over him in a rather compromising position.

"...Uh...r-right! We're here to stop your re-"

"Now now." Eddie grabbed David's shoulder, grinning oddly. "We don't want to interrupt their alone time, so kids, let's just leave mama and papa alo-"

"YOU BASTARDS GET OVER HERE AND HELP ME THE F*CK OUT!"

"What exactly is the meaning of this ? !" Duke Terror growled, standing up. David, Chad, Ed, and Chrissy all spun around, discarding their uniforms and reclaiming their street clothes.

In the process, David fired a small spear of energy at the ribbons, freeing Nick from his bindings and allowing him to jump away from the bed. He spun around as well, accomplishing only to do a feminine twirl, flaring his dress about.

CLICK CLICK CLICK

"Mai gahd, oi knew bringin' this cahmera wahs a good aideya!"

Nick looked down at his uniform, biting his lip nervously. "U-Um...h-how did you guys do that quick-change thing?" He quickly walked over to the door, blushing. "H-Hang on a moment, let me just...step out and...get changed..."

Chad followed close behind, and after a moment, came flying back in as Nick shouted at him, followed by a ton of random objects flying in and hitting the blond.

After a moment or two, Nick marched back in, pulling on his shirt and pulling his steel combat sword from his holster. "We never speak of this again. Let's just hurry up and get our information and go home already..."

"Who...who are you?" Duke Terror growled.

"We are the Mach Seven Team!" David repeated, pointing at the duke. "We know that you've teamed up with Dark the Chaos, and we're here to find out what you know!"

"Hmph!" The duke snarled. "And why should I tell you?"

"Because it you don't..." Nick grinned evilly. "I'll cut them off. Trust me, after what you almost did to me, I'm struggling not to."

"Screw that." Chrissy growled. "A lecher like him...I'll rip them off!"

Chad pounded one fist into his palm. "Ah'll crush 'em."

"I'll grind them to dust." David smirked.

"I'll dissect them." Eddie grinned oddly for the umpteenth time.

"...Is it just me, or do we sound strikingly similar to a role-playing video game?"

/-/-/-/-/-/

"So, as it turns out..." Nick whined. "IT WAS ALL FOR NOTHING ~ !"

"Well, at least we know that he's working with Dark." Eddie sighed. "Besides, we called the police on him about all the maids he held captive, so at least we did some good deed."

"Yeah..." David sighed. "Unfortunately, while I'm not about to regret saving them, I have to say, it sucks that we still don't have any leads on Dark's next attack target..."

As the five continued home, Chrissy glanced at her friends. "...Hey, c'mon! Don't look so down!" She grinned. "Why don't we all head to my place and watch a movie marathon together? It'll be fun!"

David grinned, shooting her the thumbs-up. "Sure, I'm in!"

"Me too!"

"Ah'll head home ehnd get some pahpcohn!"

"I'll go and get the scariest movies in my house."

Eyebrows were raised. "I thought you hated scary movies, Ed?" Nick muttered.

Eddie grinned again. "If a bloody scene comes up, I'll just hide behind you, my bitch. Forcing you to watch will brighten up my day in an instant."

/-/-/-/-/-/

The Mach Seven Team's adventures, though they have been fighting for years, have only just begun. What awaits our heroes down the road to victory, and what will they be prepared to lose in order to achieve it?

The battle begins.

/-/-/-/-/-/

(1)Euranian-the Mossoc equivalent to Germany.

Also, no offense to anyone who actually does have a Brooklyn accent. I just couldn't think of any other way to implement Chad's accent without exaggerating. Please don't kill m-*shot* x_x