By the time the guests were welcomed and ushered into the dining room, the sun had set. The moon, full and bright, began its climb upwards into the heavens. It pushed back the darkness of the night and cast its light down upon a world ravaged by war.

As the factions held their meeting, the waters of the lake parted slowly. Delicate fingers slipped out to grasp at the muddy river bank. Slowly, those fingers helped draw forth a curvaceous figure from the water. Gasping for air, she continued forward. Though it would prove difficult for anyone to spot in the darkness, her face was flush with exertion and the promise of what was to come.

"Darling... wait for me," whispered the mermaid after she collapsed into the mud. Her body burned hot as the full moon shone down atop her innocent maidenly flesh. A sound reminiscent of cloth tearing erupted from her fishy tail as the effect of the moon made itself known.

She flopped over and cried out ecstatically, "Ahht!"

"Oh, it hurts..." she whispered softly between gently panted breaths, "Be gentle with me."

Her eyes soon roved over to a large plastic sack that she carried to this location earlier. Its contents would finally be put to use that night. She need only wait for her body to finish its transformation. "Forever, my sweet darling..." she whispered softly.

Meanwhile, back at the House of Badass, the meeting was well underway. Many surprising revelations were already part of the conversation.

Cia pointed her fork toward Eloa. "So, let me get this straight. You basically saw him and decided that you had to have a peace of that man candy?"

Scott groaned at her, but Eloa's first reaction was bright smile. She replied, "Of course. The primary reason to be in this world is to stake a claim. The highest legitimacy includes human acceptance."

"You would have taken anyone, then?" asked Brittani smoothly. Cia, waiting for a further answer, began to take a sip of the wine that Rosa and Michael broke out for the occasion.

Eloa shrugged her shoulders prettily. "If they were strong enough. My sisters deserve the best chance to survive and thrive. Scott more than met the base requirements, and as time passes I find that my interests in securing a second mate are lessening."

"That a fact?" asked Brittani softly.

"Yes. I frequently find that my loins burn and tremble whenever I think of the size of his genitals and how they felt inside of me," replied Eloa without a hint of shame.

Cia spat out her mouthful of wine then blinked like an owl. She immediately realized what she had done, then set about cleaning the table while she smiled sheepishly at anyone who looked at her.

Nearly all eyes soon drifted toward Scott. He grunted nervously then tried to hide his burning red face behind one of his hands. Of course, embarrassed or not he did not correct the opinion of the others. His man-tackle was only large in comparison to that of lizard men on average.

"T-that a fact, as well?" asked Brittani in a slightly defeated tone. However, she did glance toward Scott, a specific look in her eyes. It was a brief expression, but the girl clearly wanted certain answers.

"Yes. Master does have large genitals," replied Harley. The robo-girl scooted her chair slightly closer to Scott and acquired a dangerous expression.

"Wait. How does she know that..?." asked Michael, a strange edge in his tone.

"Harley is observant," said Harley. She leaned forward and stared into Eloa's eyes. "She sees everything."

Scott grunted once more. "When my class change happened my old clothes were destroyed and I reappeared naked."

"Ah..." said Michael.

Brittani looked from Scott to Harley, and then to Eloa. This situation, she was losing. Wasn't she?

"The confident manner in which he mated with me is quite an arousing memory. In truth, I now desire to be bred by him at every possible opportunity," replied Eloa in a simple matter-of-fact tone.

A threatening growl rumbled from Harley's throat in a sound reminiscent of a revving engine and a chainsaw. Brittani's face actually acquired a hint of pink, a heavy blush for one such as her.

Scott coughed loudly, a slightly manic expression on his face. In the interest of not spontaneously combusting due to pure embarrassment, he looked down at his dinner, a taco. Such was the grand feast that he ordered. It was Tuesday. Since Brittani was coming over to the house he figured tacos were in order.

Several types of taco were crafted for the event. Now that she was not explaining the glory that is Scott's genitalia, Eloa seemed entirely entranced by her fish taco. The awkward moment of conversation passed, and once again Brittani took a look at her own dinner. Her nostrils flared slightly and her eyes sparkled a little whenever she noted that it was indeed a selection of tacos.

Most of Team Badass remained silent throughout the meal. There was simply too much going on for them to risk missing any of the juicy details. Eventually, the meeting did shift from Scott's genitals into something even more interesting.

"Wait, so you're having money troubles even though you have an official faction?" asked Brittan. Her expression one of genuine confusion, she asked. "How is that even possible?"

Scott drew back a little. Why was she so surprised by that fact? "Of course it's a problem. Everything is ridiculously expensive and night hunting isn't going to cut it."

"Night-hunt—" Brittani put down her half-eaten taco then shook her head. "You're trying to fund your faction solely through combat in the streets?"

"What else can we do? We need money to take buildings and turn them into useful locations..." said Frank in defense of Scott.

Brittani glanced at Frank briefly then looked back to Scott. "You really don't know? Weren't you briefed on how to earn money quickly?"

"No? I was given a few tidbits of information, but most of that requires that I spend our money to make more in the long run," said Scott. "This is all pretty new to us."

Eloa stopped nibbling on her fish taco then swallowed a mouthful of the fishy goodness before she spoke. "You probably haven't done much since you became a faction. Do you make any goods? Gone on any raids? What level is your dungeon?"

"We don't really have the resources to make trade goods, yet," said Scott. "What was that about dungeons, though?"

Brittani and Eloa shared a look then turned back to Scott. Almost in unison, they asked, "You haven't set up your dungeon?"

"I didn't even know we had one!" exclaimed Scott. He looked around at his people. "Did any of you hear anything about it?"

"No wonder money is a problem for you! That's like goal one for any faction..." said Brittani, an incredulous expression on her face. "I mean, unless—"

Eloa tapped her finger on the table briefly then asked, "You just changed classes, right? Have you even reached level two again?"

"I guess not? I hunted all night the other night. Harley and I defeated the Night Horde outside of the shopping arcade, but I did not level up this evening," admitted Scott.

Brittani smiled. "Not bad. You beat the night horde. That'll help people all over town for a while."

"How many tier-two opponents did you face?" asked Eloa.

"I'm not sure, but I do know there were two of those blood red ghouls," said Scott.

"That's the problem. Once you gain a tier, you earn little to no experience when you beat a lower tier opponent. That's why a dungeon is vital," said Brittani. "You should be told how to get one when you reach level two, but I could tell you now? It's not a secret, after all."

"That would probably help... but what good is a dungeon?" asked Scott.

Eloa chuckled. "Everyone wants a dungeon. Numerous opponents spawn there, and experience gain is bolstered overall even if a lot of that experience is absorbed by the dungeon itself. There are treasure items to be found, and special resources that can only be gained there."

"Well, if you are like us and come to this world already at Tier-Four you are simply given a dungeon seed." Brittani smiled at Scott. "You, however, have to do it the hard way."

"What's the hard way, then?" he asked.

"You need to find a unique beast and defeat it in combat. These creatures are all second-tier, first level, and cannot grow beyond that point," she said. "There is only one of each type and I believe only four were released into this region."

"Can you think of any monsters that you have never seen more than once? They would be easily remembered," said Eloa. "No one can plant more than a single dungeon seed, so these beasts are usually only killed if a rival human faction learns that you are after it. If a non-human faction defeats the beast, it will just respawn somewhere else in the area."

"Most of the monsters that I've seen aren't unique. I mean, non-human wise there's that mermaid girl but I think you said there were more mermaids in the river?" Scott looked askance at Eloa.

"Yeah, she definitely doesn't count," said Eloa with a laugh. "She's a bit unique, but not in that way."

"What about that vampire?" asked Frank.

"Vampire?" asked Brittani suddenly. She leaned forward and stared at Scott. "You've met a vampire?"

"Yeah? Earlier. She pretended to be human and tried to compel us to let her inside..." he said slowly.

Brittani acquired a sarcastic expression. "Was her name Amber?"

"You know her?" asked Scott.

Brittani mumbled something that sounded like 'that bitch' then sighed. "She really went for it."

"She was a weird girl who wanted to make master her plaything," said Harley.

Brittani's eyelid twitched a little. "Did she?"

"Yeah," said Scott with a snort.

"She also mentioned another weird girl who wanted master, but would not say her name," said Harley. The robot girl gazed intently at Brittani.

"Oh? Did she? What did she say—" asked Brittani while she attempted to sound cool. She took a drink of her wine in a sophisticated manner.

Harley's voice changed to imitate the vampire girl. She even impersonated her laughter as she spoke, "Yeah, she's got it pretty bad for you. If it were any worse, her heart might start beating."

Brittani would not act in a manner as inelegant as Cia previously. However, her eyes did widen and she did choke on her wine a little. Her cheeks became bright pink. "Uh, aheh—"

"T-these tacos are great," said Brittani, before she reached down and stuffed one into her face, "Sho good," she said around a mouthful of food. She refused to look anyone in the eyes, however.

A gentle round of laughter echoed across the table, but no one pressed the issue. The poor ghoul was obviously embarrassed.

The conversation turned back toward faction business. They worked out a deal with each other for free travel through each other's lands, though Eloa kept her part of the deal when it came to Scott's people moving across her bridge.

Brittani bit her lower lip a little then looked down when the time came to discuss the terms of movement through her territory. She mostly ran the ghoul faction east of the bridge. Her people would be disheartened if she did not get something out of the deal.

"Well, we don't really know each other intimately so... That— it wouldn't," said Brittani with a sigh.

Scott reached across the table and lightly clasped her hand. "What would it take to make you feel comfortable enough to allow us to travel unmolested on the other side of the bridge?"

Brittani glanced down at his hand atop hers. Several sets of eyes followed her down to Scott's gently clasping hand.

"I, well." Brittani smile shyly for a moment then she said, "We could hang out and stuff..."

"Aww!" cried Cia. "That's adorable!"

Brittani's face threatened to make an effort to blush once more as the other girls chimed in with how sweet the moment happened to be. Scott, however, squeezed her hand then asked... "And what would it take for you to withdraw from the housing area south of the bridge road so we could use that as a place to grow this faction?"

She gasped at him. She bit her lower lip and shook her head gently. "Scott that's quite the thing to ask a girl. I don't know you well enough to answer that right now."

"You jerk," said Rachel.

"Ugh. Player," said Cia.

Scott turned blithe eyes toward the yammering duo. "Really?"

"Can't you see her heart's not ready to help your 'faction' grow?" asked Cia with a snort.

He groaned loudly. "Whose side are you on again?"

Brittani's expression and inability to look him in the eyes did not help matters, either. Scott looked from her to the girls then sighed.

The conversation continued for a while. Eventually, another topic came up. It was a subject that could make or break the deals that were currently set to be made.

"We've heard a little about how things work, but why should we trust you?" asked Michael. "From our perspective roughly one week ago the world was nothing like this and then you were all here doing whatever you wanted."

Eloa was the one to speak. "If it wasn't us, it would be someone else. I can't speak to the details, because I don't know them. However, this world was always slated for something like this to happen."

Michael grunted, "That's what we were told... It seems awfully convenient."

Eloa shrugged. "The situation is as the situation has become. Make alliances, or do not. Those who hold onto the old ways, human or otherwise, will not survive long enough to rebuild anything."

He bit down a scathing retort then turned away. They could not afford to offend possible allies while they were so critically weak.

The conversation continued in that vein for a time, but the devolved into general gossip. The main aspect of the meeting was complete. Now everyone could get to know each other better.

Brittani proved to be extremely popular with Cia, Hana, and Rachel. In some ways she seemed like a sweet older sister type who was into clothes and trendy things, albeit she might decide at any moment to crack open their skulls and slurp out their brains.

Eloa held the interest of the men, and Rosa, most keenly. Her corset, and its barely constrained contents, did help that situation along, but she was the quite direct on military matters.

Scott excused himself then stood up to use the bathroom. Once he took care of that business he started back toward the dining room. However, a knock came from the door.

"No non-human could be here without being invited because of the barrier..." said Scott. Was it a survivor? Daniel and his crew would have probably tried to sneak in the back door if they planned to attack.

Everyone was inside for the get-together. Harley's sensors would easily detect danger. Whoever the one knocking on the door proved to be, they were probably not much of a threat.

Scott opened the door and blinked. On the other side stood one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen in his life. Dressed in a pure white wedding gown with a low cut bodice that barely constrained the maidenly innocence that threatened to burst out at any moment, and a shimmering crystalline tiara on her head, the girl was the epitome of the perfect bride.

"Who—" began Scott only to find himself the recipient of a flying body tackle that even he was too slow to avoid.

"Darling!" cried the girl as she dropped him to the floor and sat astride his crotch. "At last!"

"What's going on?" cried Frank from the dining room. The thunder of running feet echoed briefly as the dinner eating crew rushed over to see what was going on.

"The hell!" cried Scott as the overly amorous bride wriggled her hips atop his groin and leaned down to look him in the eyes.

"Did you miss me?" she asked him in a sweet tone, her soft pink lips parted tenderly. "I could not stand being apart from you any longer, darling."

"Darling?" asked several girls in simultaneous incredulity.

Eloa was the only one to openly laugh at the situation. "Scott, you never told me that you were inviting her. That's so nice of you."

"Hah?" he asked her, his eyes wide.

Brittani's left eyelid twitched, though the rest of her face was impassive. Harley stared down at the beautiful bride, a murderous look in her eyes despite her stoic expression. She did not even growl like a chainsaw. Yet, somehow that made her expression even more disturbing.

"Darling!" cried the bride once more before she lunged forward and kissed him softly on the lips. His eyes widened even as several people gasped loudly.

"Scott, who is this?" asked Rosa in a calm, even, tone.

He shrugged at her, his eyes incredibly wide. Eloa placed a finger to her lips. "Seriously, to think that I've lost to this extent in but a few short moments."

"Forever, my darling," whispered the bride as she wiggled her hips.

Brittani snorted loudly then shook her head. "Of all the brazen..."

Scott's brain finally started to work well enough to move his body. He gripped the amorous girl by the shoulders and pushed her back. "Who are you?" he asked incredulously.

The girl sat up and thrust her chest forward. "I'm your moon bride, silly. Now we shall be together forever... my sweet darling."

Scott did not move for a moment. His brain needed time to process whatever it was that she had just said to him. It was Eloa who spoke up, "Can I be a bridesmaid?"

"You're alright with this?" asked Brittani in annoyance. "That fish-girl just declared her intent to marry him!"

"Yes? Of course I am. Besides, as a bridesmaid I get to be part of the wedding night," said Eloa.

"What?" asked Brittani, confusion evident in her eyes.

"Is that not how it works for humans? A man and woman marry, and then on the wedding night the husband shows his masculine prowess by mating with her and her chosen maids?" asked Eloa in a curious tone.

"Who told you that?" asked Cia, her eyes now as wide as Scott's.

"It was information discovered by one of my sisters. I believe it was an instructional manual on human marriage customs," said Eloa.

"What was this manual called?" asked Cia in a suspicious tone.

Eloa tapped her lips gently. "I believe it was called 'Big Round Asses: Here Comes the Bride.' My sisters are quite taken with it at the moment, as it has proven most informative."

Cia stared at her for a moment then slowly shook her head in disbelief. "Can I buy drugs from you?"

"Hmm?" Eloa offered the girl a curious gaze. Was there something about her appearance which caused the girl to think that she was an alchemist?

"Please Darling, don't hold back..." said the bride. She gazed down at him with heartbreaking innocence in her eyes, "I've done this all for you."

"I don't even know—" he began to say, only to stop mid-sentence. Now that he had the chance to take a good look at her he realized who she might be. "The mermaid who wants to drown me?"

"Darling!" she cried tearfully. "You remember me!"

Scott groaned aloud when she lunged forward and drew his face to her breast. Gasping for air as her feminine architecture threatened to smother him, his arms flailed around in all directions.

"Look, will someone tell us what this means?" asked Harold. The patriarch of the Weiss family did not speak much during dinner, but he could not be silent on this matter. There was simply too much going on.

Brittani grumbled lightly under her breath, so Eloa was forced to explain. The lizard queen sighed softly. "She gave up her neutrality and has declared for your faction. The mermaid queen has officially surrendered her people into your care and now wishes to merge factions."

Harley, surprisingly, was the next one to speak. "She is offering to marry master and let him rule her tribe."

"What does that mean for our alliances?" asked Michael.

"It doesn't change anything. The mermaids were neutral from the start because they are not numerous in this area," said Brittani. "Though, it does mean that a precedent has been set..."

"What kind of precedent?" asked Michael.

"Well..." Brittani stopped her answer and sighed heavily.

Eloa spoke up, "She is declaring herself a moon bride. On the night of the full moon a mermaid becomes incredibly aroused. They take on a humanoid form and basically mate with the first man, or manlike thing, they see."

"So, it could have been any of us?" asked Frank curiously.

"It only happens if they leave the water. I'm sure the others probably stayed home underwater somewhere that they could not see the moon," she replied.

Eloa pointed down at the mermaid bride. "She went a step further. By declaring herself a moon bride, her biology is now tuned to accept one person only. She can't mate successfully with any other, and might even die if that union is not consummated before the moon sets on her wedding night."

"You're kidding?" asked Rosa a hint of an edge in her tone.

"No. She isn't," said Brittani. "This scandalous hussy just made it so that either Scott consummates their wedding, or she could die. Worse, that means the only way to even consider merging factions will be through marriage, unless he rejects her and makes her faction a permanent enemy."

"There were other ways to merge factions?" asked Frank.

"Yeah, through mutual agreements and the like. A promise of an engagement, or a high political appointment such as making the former faction leader a general, would be enough." Brittani sighed.

"Now it is marriage, or bust?" asked Cia.

"Something like that..." Brittani frowned prettily. "Grandfather would never allow such a thing, not with the current abilities of your faction..."

"You make it sound like it would be fine if he married more than one person," said Harold.

"It wouldn't be fine, but it is... somewhat expected." Brittani sighed again. "Any faction, even a non-human one, could conquer this region. However, they do it by destroying or by unifying the other factions. If no one is married, then political appointments are fine..."

Eloa finished for her, "It's about personal honor and tribal dignity. If Scott does not reject this girl, let her die, then no other female faction leader has a choice. If she wants to be seen as equal to the other leaders and only have Scott above her in rank, she will have to marry him."

"Ah!" Michael was the one to first to comprehend the situation among the humans. "It's a hierarchy thing. Basically, no one wants to be seen as subservient to anyone but the master of the head faction?"

"Exactly. The highest rank one can achieve at the moment is basically king or queen of this region. Whatever the official name for the leadership role might be does not matter," said Eloa. She looked from the squirming mass of struggling meat that comprised Scott and his amorous mermaid bride to the other members of his faction. "If you are married to the main faction leader, your power is as close to equal to theirs as it is possible to be. If a faction leader has a lesser position, it also means their faction has less authority than the other tributary factions."

"That's crazy..." said Cia, "You would all just marry the same guy?"

Eloa shrugged at her. "If it gets my tribe situated in a high-seat of power and true legitimacy in this world? Yes. Besides that, I would have insisted on marrying him at some point anyway if he wanted my tribe to permanently join with yours."

"For that legitimacy you speak of?" asked Michael.

"Yes, and because it is the only way that I would be able to have his actual children." Eloa smiled warmly, "Royalty is beyond the status of a mere noble. The selected king of this region could pretty much ignore differences in species when it comes to procreation. We would have a multitude of beautiful children born directly from both of our bloodlines."

"So, if that's the case then anyone who marries him could have his kids?" asked Cia.

Harley's face turned bright red. Brittani's cheeks became slightly pink. Neither could look directly at anyone in that moment.

Eloa ignored them both. "The power of a king is absolute, even nature must obey and allow for births to occur in order to maintain his bloodline and faction status. There is no such thing as an impotent king, unless his throne has been usurped."

The gathered throng of people grew silent upon hearing those words. All eyes turned toward Scott and the mermaid bride. He did not even know the girl's name, and yet he would have to decide her fate before the moon set. Did he marry her and seal their vows in the ancient way, or did he reject her and allow the girl to die? The fate of every faction in the region hung in the balance as his choice would set the standard for all future faction alliances and mergers with his people.