AN: So, here we go. Enjoy. :)

Chapter 29: Take Them Off!

On the screen before him there sat an item that taunted him. His special spin-to-win reward for purchasing his race upgrade made him nervous. He was debating on whether to activate it now or wait till he'd regathered his forces.

"This... is this even serious right now?" Scott shook his head then laughed a little. What kind of overpowered reward was this?

Congratulations on winning a special prize!

Class II Companion Ticket

A randomly selected class two companion from a world in the game network will be brought to your side. This companion will be selected based on three criteria.

- The companion will have great meaning for you due to factors such as nostalgia or popularity. Further, this companion will actively wish to work with you.

- The companion will be capable of fighting at your side in many different world-settings.

- The companion will not have a base capacity higher than your current level.

If this character belongs to a world-setting that you have not unlocked, you must undertake both a solo introductory mission and a story mission of at least [Normal Difficulty] in that world-setting before the companion can become a permanent ally. The story mission may possibly allow for a full-team.

This ticket is good for ten days. If you must undertake a story mission for this ticket, that mission will count as a weekly story mission. The companion selected may have to return to their world of origin from time-to-time due to storyline developments and personal concerns.

Scott sighed after a moment and shook his head. "No. No more running off on solo missions for now. I know my luck. This thing will summon a companion from an unlocked world, and I'll have to run around naked again."

The ticket was good for ten days. If he waited to use it then he could undertake the missions listed and use that as a means of knowing what sort of story mission would be available in advance.

Decision made, Scott turned to Saelil. "I'm heading out... You should stay he—"

"I'm ready for travel as well, beloved," said Saelil before Scott could finish his statement.

He eyed her briefly then blew out a breath. Was it really too much to ask for her to stay here so he could get the situation sorted properly? It wasn't like he was actively dating either of the other girls, but there was no chance that this situation would not end in an argument.

In the end, Scott quietly decided to just say, fuck it. It was better to rip the bandage off quickly than to pull it slowly and make it hurt more. "Sure, let's go."

Scott and Saelil walked over to the mission door. He opened it with a touch and nodded to her. "You should go first. It might close behind me."

Saelil nodded then walked through the door of light. Scott followed after and stepped right back into the exact position that he'd occupied days ago. Saelil was nowhere to be seen. Her lack of presence was alarming, but there was nothing that he could do about it at the moment.

The world suddenly began to move again without warning. Kitty's laughing voice cut through the air. "I wouldn't bet on it. We should get some hand sanitizer just in ca—" Kitty's words died as she realized something was strange.

"Uh, hey Kitty. It's been a while..." said Scott slowly.

The cat girl's eyes widened in surprise. "Who? What?"

Scott's reasonable fit and athletic form had suddenly shifted to that of a perfectly sculpted badass. There was no other words to define it. He now looked like his body was carved from stone and made flesh. Her mouth hung open slightly as she processed the rapid change. A moment later her eyes spotted a certain appendage hanging from Scott's suit, one that she had not yet seen.

"So... Some things happened..." began Scott.

"You have a tail..." she said slowly. The tail lashed to the side and her eyes followed its motions. "A cat tail..."

A hint of drool escaped from the corner of Kitty's lips as her head whipped from side to side as she followed the movements of his tail. A strange scent permeated the air as well, one she could not quite place. However, she suddenly felt that it was quite warm in this room.

"Yeah, about that... I—" Scott's words were cut off as a loud shout echoed from outside.

"Damn..." he said, before turning and rushing out of the room. He suddenly knew exactly where Saelil must have appeared. Fucking game admins...

"Wha— Wait for me!" cried Kitty before she trotted after him, a bright smile on her lips. Her fluffy tail trailed whimsically behind her as she moved in hot pursuit of the exciting new development in her life. She just had to hear this story.

The sound of thunder rumbled nearby as lightning struck the earth. Scott appeared on scene just in time to see Samantha rolling rapidly away from a blast crater. She fired repeatedly at Saelil, only to have her shots slap against an invisible shield. The dark elven sorceress began to move into another spell casting position, though she panted heavily while doing so.

"Stop!" called out Scott. "Stop fighting both of you!"

"Beloved?" asked Saelil excitedly, her opponent forgotten for a moment. "There you are!"

Suddenly everything stopped. It was not the frozen time of the system messages. Instead of was the absence of speech. The original members of the group slowly turned to look at Scott, their faces filled with confusion, and surprise.

"Beloved...?" asked Kitty curiously. Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest. "That better be one interesting story."

"You... have a tail?" asked Samantha. She seemed to intentionally avoid looking at Saelil. Though, it was easy to see why. Scott's newly formed appearance was much more interesting. "Is... That is you isn't it?"

"Hey, I'll explain everything in a moment, but we're starting to draw a crowd," he said. In the distance, a small number of zombies shambled toward them.

"You smell different..." said Kitty suspiciously.

"I'll explain it in a moment. We need to finish getting everything loaded and get out of here," said Scott. Was he buying time? Was he attempting to keep them on task? Yes.

"Who is sh—" began Kitty while pointing at Saelil. Scott broke in briefly, "In a moment, please."

Samantha stood up and dusted herself off. "Whatever. Let's just get finished here."

Saelil looked around at the others then focused her attention on Scott. "So, these are the Kitty and the Samantha whom you told me about?" she said, before casually adding the word, "Beloved."

Scott reached up and rubbed the bridge of his nose before muttering, "No wonder I prefer solo-RPGs."

"I'm going to grab that handful of items that I forgot while running out here. You ladies can stay here and deal with the crowd we're drawing, or you can argue. Either way," said Scott before heading back into the house. There were still a few things like gold coins and a few crystals left in that hidden area. The book went with him to his home, but the other items were still there to be picked up.

Not long after he reached the stash he heard the distinctive sound of energy weapons fire, and a few loud feminine shouts. He sighed and shook his head. "Either I'll have less headaches or less zombies when I go back up."

Scott stored the items in his spatial storage then went back outside. Nearly a dozen dead zombies were scattered around the area. More were coming, but they were quite a distance away.

"Great work ladies!" said Scott cheerfully. Before any of them could speak, he continued, "We're done here. Let's mount up and head back."

He ran around to the other side of the vehicle, and then hopped into the truck with a high-pitched laugh before he fired it up. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, neither of the girls got in. He looked out the window and saw them chatting with each other. Samantha and Kitty sandwiched Saelil and asked her rapid fire questions.

Scott rolled down the passenger window, honked twice, and called out, "Let's go already..."

"So, you're saying that he confessed his love to you?" asked Samantha in a curious tone.

Scott's left eyelid began to twitch a little. There was no getting out of having the discussion right that moment. He sighed loudly, more like groaned, and shut the truck off. "This is going to take a while, huh?"

He hopped out of the truck and walked over to where the girls were talking. Saelil smiled prettily while looking and back forth between the girls. It was obvious that she was asserting her perceived position.

"Yes, my beloved boldly placed the ring upon his finger so that we would be together forever," said Saelil happily.

Scott flatly responded, "I kicked her ass, saw a cool ring, and put it on."

Saelil giggled warmly at him. "Yes, and don't you just love it?"

He rolled his eyes then snorted loudly and waved his hand around. "Are we really going to have this conversation out here in the middle of all this apocalypse?"

"Yes," said Samantha coolly.

"Absolutely," said Kitty with a pout.

"It seems so, beloved," replied Saelil, her smile growing wider.

Scott looked at each of them then lashed his tail once. "Fine... I'll tell you now."

He related the tale of his recent adventures to his team mates. Scott spoke of the choice given when he found the book. He regaled them with his naked repeating death sequences. He even told them about the damnable murder scarf.

"Hey, wait," said Samantha.

"Hmm?" asked Scott.

She answered him by shooting down a few of the zombies that had drawn close. They looked around briefly to see if there were any others, but they were alone for the moment.

"Alright, go ahead," said the pink clad mercenary.

"Right..." said Scott before returning to his story. For the next few minutes he spoke in depth about how he'd found and battled Saelil. He stressed the reason why he put on the ring, while Saelil smiled and gave him expectant looks. The expressions shown on her face, occasionally told the other girls a story counter to the things that Scott said.

He eyed Saelil for a moment after he finished the Fear Rune part of his tale. For someone who claimed to spend most of her time studying during her original life, she was quite skilled at social dominance. Were even the supposedly bookish members of the dark elf race capable of social schemes and political advancement through conversational manipulation?

"Anyway, once I got back from the mission I bought some upgrades. One of them was my new race," he said before he curled his tail around his waist. He neglected to mention his weak point. He kept a few things to himself that he deemed unimportant at the moment. Basically, anything that might be used against him.

Scott finished his story and then took a deep breath. Immediately, he wished that he hadn't. The nearby corpses were more than a bit ripe.

"So, you're not really engaged?" asked Kitty curiously.

"What?" asked Scott.

"No," he said after he realized what she'd asked. "We're definitely not engaged."

"Sadly, no," replied Saelil with a sigh. "We're merely living in sin together."

"Not even remotely true," said Scott in a flat tone of voice.

Saelil pouted at him then said, "Oh, boo. You don't have to deny it so vehemently, beloved."

"If I'd thought that I'd actually hurt your feelings, I'd apologize," replied Scott lightly.

The elf girl's pout slowly transformed into a devious smile. "It's nice that we do things together."

"Right," said Scott before acquiring a flat expression. "I take you to all the nicest places."

"What kind of places?" asked Kitty suddenly. She made a curious meowing noise and stepped a little closer to Scott. It was only to hear his answer better, of course.

"Well, he took me home with him," replied Saelil helpfully.

"Really..." said Kitty with a dangerous undertone in her voice.

"My home point, Samantha's been there," said Scott before looking to the blond woman.

Instead of offering input, the mercenary girl merely turned away and scanned the area for zombies. Her silence only added to the confusion of the moment.

"So, you take every girl home with you but me..." said Kitty. Her tail lashed to the side and the pupils of her eyes narrowed to slits.

Saelil placed the point of her finger to the bottom of her chin and acquired a vacant expression. "Oh dear... Have I said something that I should not have?"

Scott glanced at her then shook his head. This girl was dangerous. He knew it. He'd experienced it already, and yet somehow she still managed to get ahead of him. Damn her elven wit!

"Kitty, wanna go home with me?" asked Scott lightly, in an attempt to redirect the mood.

"Rraow... Dunno if I want to go now..." She said before turning her noise up slightly.

Before Scott could reply, the cat girl blinked then looked at Saelil. "You were both naked, right?"

"Quite naked, yes." Saelil smiled sweetly at Kitty then glanced at Scott. "I suspect that was the real reason he defeated me. He offered quite the masculine distraction."

Samantha fired on another zombie that had come within range before saying, "Yes. He does have a tendency to be a naked distraction."

Saelil oriented on the pony-tailed girl after hearing that. "Does he?"

"Yes," replied Samantha quietly. She did not speak further on the matter despite the fact that Saelil waited for another juicy tidbit of gossip to latch onto.

Kitty frowned a little. "Somehow, I think I've been missing out on something..."

"No, you've been great," said Scott.

She murmured slightly, but then said something Scott did not anticipate. "So, if you were naked where did the clothes come from?" The question was asked to Saelil, of course.

"Oh this old outfit? My staff and dress were things that I used to own that my beloved returned to me." Saelil performed a cute little turn that caused her dress to flare outward from the hem. In doing so, she revealed the footwear she wore.

Kitty's eyes shot down to the simple but elegant dark-red high heeled boots. Her breathing became a bit more rapid. "Such nice boots..."

"Ah! These?" asked Saelil. "My beloved bought them for me! Aren't they simply lovely?"

Kitty's hand rose to her chest and she took a step back. Her rapid breathing increased in intensity. "Take them off..."

"What? Say now..." said Saelil.

"Take those boots off, now!" exclaimed Kitty heatedly.

"And here we go..." muttered Samantha before she unleashed a soft laugh.

"Kitty, come on... Calm dow—" began Scott.

"I'm calm," said Kitty. She looked to Scott. One of her pupils was exceptionally wide, while the other pupil was narrowed to a serpentine slit. "Don't I look calm?"

"Look, there's no need to be hostile over something as simple as a pair of boots," said Saelil lightly. She then offered a warm smile and said, "Besides, it's not like you can even wear boots with feet like yours."

Samantha blinked and then glanced over to the new girl before quickly looking at Kitty. She immediately walked over to the other side of the truck and squatted down. Scott started to ask her what she was doing, but a sudden noise rose up beside him that caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.

Kitty unleashed a hellish caterwaul for a brief moment, and then screamed out, "You whore!" before launching herself at Saelil with her claws extended.

"Goodness!" cried Saelil before dodging to the side in a bid to avoid the incoming attack. She was greatly surprised when the fleet-footed feline actually reversed direction in mid-air and kicked out with both feet.

Saelil went flying back as the furry feet of justice slammed into the dark elf's chest. She kicked away with great force and lost her grip on her staff in the process.

Kitty's body flashed as she moved forward at a speed too quick to see. She landed atop Saelil and started to claw at her with furious swipes. "Take them off! Take them off!" she screamed.

"Holy shit!" Scott rushed over and tackled Kitty.

"No! Let me go!" cried the cat girl. "That bitch has my boots!"

"They're my boots, you flea-ridden beast!" snapped Saelil. She was no longer in the mood for witty banter. "Beloved! Hold the she-beast down so that I might incinerate her!"

Scott took one look at Saelil and then let Kitty go. The dark elf's eyes widened in surprise as the feisty feline leapt for her once more.

While the two girls fought, Scott walked over to where Samantha was positioned and squatted down beside her. "So, hey."

"This is my hiding spot. Go find your own," said Samantha with a smirk.

"Die you pointy-eared slattern!" cried Kitty.

"Be gone you overly busty, worm-infested, she-demon!" snarled Saelil.

The sound of flesh smacking flesh, and the tearing of cloth echoed through the area. Scott decided to stay out of it this time. Those two needed to work things out, much like Samantha and Kitty had done so earlier.

"Say, do you have any..."

"No, you can't have one of my grenades," said Samantha.

"Get your scandalous whore vagina out of my face, you undead witch!" snarled Kitty.

"I could say the same for you, you beastly slut! I have no desire to stare at such an unwholesome abomination!" snapped Saelil.

Scott instinctively began to rise up from his squatting position to take a look at what was going on, but Samantha sighed and dragged him back down. "Just stay down. It's safer."

"Uh... yeah," said Scott intelligently. "Safety... and stuff."

They sat down together and tried to ignore the shouting fools behind them. Neither of them seemed to be pulling out any significantly damaging abilities, so there was little reason to stop them. Samantha had the right of it. Let them get it out of their system.

"If I find so much as a single flea on my body, I'll turn you into a blanket, you useless fur ball!" cried Saelil.

"Take off my shoes! Take them off now!" snarled Kitty.

Samantha scanned the area for threats while the other girls fought tooth and claw over something more important to either of them than a simple pair of boots. After a moment, she looked down at the ground.

"It's good to see that you didn't get caught up in all that..." said Scott softly.

The pony-tailed mercenary nodded once. "Yes."

They remained quiet for a moment, though the battle raged in the background. Eventually, Scott spoke up again. "Samantha, look I—"

She lifted her hand and shook her head. "There's no need to explain any more. We have a new member of the team... That's all."

"Yeah, but that's not what—"

Samantha shook her head. "There's no need..."

"It's just that you've been so quiet," said Scott.

"I'm often quiet," said Samantha.

"Well, I know that, but..."

She sighed loudly then leaned her head back against the body of the truck. "Why do you think you need to explain anything to me?"

Before Scott could respond, she continued. "What am I to you, or you to me, that you think you need to explain about your choices?"

"Well—"

She interrupted him, "I'm a mercenary. I was hired to do a job. That's all."

"Oh," said Scott quietly. "I thought..."

"You were wrong," she said flatly.

Scott drew in a deep breath then nodded his head. "Fair enough."

"Ha! I got one!" cried Kitty.

"Give me back my boot!" shouted Saelil.

"Whose boot?" asked Kitty in a snarky tone.

Scott ignored the weird interplay between the two fighting girls. Instead he spoke up, "Even so. When stuff like this happens I'll explain it anyway."

Samantha nodded once then looked away. She did not speak aloud, but after a moment her eyes lost focus. She spent a little time lost in thought. Scott did not pester her for her thoughts. Instead, he sat silently and waited for the girls to calm down.

The battle went on for a while, however. Eventually, Scott felt the need to say something. "You know, I don't really drink."

Samantha unleashed a weary sigh, "Seriously. You don't need to do this. We drank a little wine and ate dinner together. It's not like I'm some lover whom you cheated on."

"That's fair, but I still want you to know that nothing really happened," said Scott.

It was Samantha's turn to be quiet after that. She was not certain what to think of his persistence. Did he think her some fragile little flower who would wilt at the very idea of him spending time with someone? She was paid to do a job, not sit around and eat spaghetti with her employer.

"I didn't confess to her, you know," said Scott softly.

Samantha groaned a little, and looked away, but said nothing. After a moment, the barest hint of a smile appeared on her soft pink lips. "That's really none of my business..."

"It's still true, though," said Scott.

Quite a bit of time passed before Saelil and Kitty ceased fighting. Neither Scott nor Samantha spoke again until the battle ended.

Both girls had a look of foolish guilt about them, a look that someone wears when they know that they had done something stupid when Scott addressed them. "Well, have you girls got it out of your system?"

Neither answered him. Instead, then turned away from each other and snorted in unison. The battle was over, but the war was not yet won.