We looted all the dead and left the Atrium behind. I had more notifications to read but decided I could do that on the way back to the apartments. I did take a moment to glance over the list for any major updates and wasn’t surprised when I got the several level up notifications I had expected and a new passive ability I would look at later. Brother Coyote leapt to his feet to greet Kaia and Lulu and licked their armor then looked expectantly at Johnny. To which Johnny produced Brother Coyote’s matching piece with a toothy smile. All Johnny had to do was hold it up and Brother was pressing his head to it. It snapped into place like it had for the others.

The one armed girl and the little blonde boy looked at us anxiously but didn’t say anything. Junipher saw the condition of the girl and boy and looked at me expectantly. “Samantha… was it? This is Junipher, she was held captive back there with the other… woman who we’ve yet to get a name from.” I waved to the girl still hiding under Alyssa’s cloak.

“Hello, Samantha. Does it still hurt?” She nodded to the stump of the girl's arm that was still red from Johnny’s hasty healing.

Samantha looked cautiously at her then me, I nodded and she looked back at Junipher “It does… I…”

“Shhhhh” Junipher calmed her gently and slowly approached the girl and took her stump in one hand, placed another to the base of her neck “I can’t replace it, but I can remove the pain.” Samantha began to cry and Junipher began to sing her healing song. The boy which had clung to Samantha tried to mumble something from his tongueless mouth then shifted so he could hug both women’s legs. Junipher gave him an appraising eye then moved her hand from Samantha’s stump to the back of the boy's head and sang some more. The boy tried to mumble something and Junipher shushed him too “Your tongue will grow back, I have ensured it. It will take time, don’t try too hard to speak until you can feel your teeth with it.”

Needless to say I was impressed with the plant woman. In fact, I might have to toss me some salad tonight. No sooner than the thought entered my head the woman shot a sultry look my way. FUCK! CAN SHE READ MY MIND!?!?

“We ready?” I asked the group.

“Yeah, let's get the hell out of here! I think I need to take a dip in the river though.” Alyssa looked at Johnny and me, “Actually, I think we all do. Check your messages, Dick reached out.”

We marched with the rescued out the front of the dungeon and looked around for any signs of trouble. When we didn’t see one me and Johnny stripped down to our underpants and fell into the shallow bank of the river. Alyssa looked hesitant then I saw her run off down the bank a ways where a large cropping of flagstone and went behind it where we couldn’t see. Makes sense, she’s essentially running commando right now. We grabbed our bloody clothes and rinsed them as well as we could before setting them on the rocks to dry a little in the hot Arizona sun. I looked back and saw Junipher standing with both arms out and her feet together ankle deep in the creek.

Her leafy hair had turned into reeds and water lilies and the joy in her being was evident. She saw Johnny and me staring and spoke “The water is delicious, and the sun feels soooooo good. I could stand here all day.”

“Uh… I don’t see you… uh… drinking anything?”

“My roots are.” She smiled when I looked down at her feet. More reeds and water lilies formed in an area around her of about 3 meters. This might be the most uniquely beautiful woman I have ever met. “I’m glad you approve, Karl”

I stuttered “C- Can you read my mind?”

“Oh no, my people are natural empaths, though your emotions are very strong. I felt the rage you felt when you killed Shaad and I have to admit, it terrified me. But I also see how much you care about the people around you, even though you don’t want them to know.”

Johnny chuckled and left the river. “What’s so funny?” I said with an offended look.

He paused and responded “The spirits say the same as she.”

I frowned and followed him out of the river while Junipher continued to smile mirthfully at me.

She sang while we dressed and Alyssa shortly rejoined us. I walked up to the woman who had yet to give us her name. She had the God-Chosen’s cloak wrapped around her naked body. She looked at me without flinching finally, though she lacked confidence.

I knelt on my haunches and slowly raised my left hand palm up “I’m Karl. You ready to tell us who you are?”

She looked at my now clean face and took a breath and my hand in hers “I.. I’m Danielle.”

“Well met, Danielle, you think you’re ready to answer some questions?”

She nodded and stood keeping the cloak wrapped tightly around her. Then my attention was distracted by the message notification that was flashing in my vision.

Incoming Message: URGENT!!! From: Dick

“Hold that thought. You guys get that urgent message from Dick too?”

Alyssa and Johnny nodded and we all opened the message and began reading.

HEY GUYS! WHERE ARE YOU!?!? WE GOT SOME KIND OF DEMONS ATTACKING! The white apartments behind us have been wiped out. Stragglers ran to us when they saw us fending off all the crazy which in turn led the demon things to focus on us. We need that safe zone yesterday!

“We gotta go guys.” I said while climbing on the back of Kaia, he sensed my urgency and barked his brother and sister into order. They had been frolicking in the river while we bathed. I summoned my armor and mask while the others equipped themselves and mounted their coyotes. Samantha and the boy climbed up with Johnny, and Danielle hesitantly mounted behind Alyssa. Junipher smiled sweetly then literally hopped onto Kaia’s back behind me.

“Lets go at a steady pace, but not rush, don’t want to get ambushed on the way out. Johnny take the lead, I still have questions for Danielle here and we can do that on the move.” Johnny nodded and headed out with a spear in his right hand and his left on the pommel of the saddle he sat in. We settled into a ground eating pace, it was still a good 10 miles back to the apartments so we had some time.

I guided Kaia up next to Lulu, Junipher hummed in my ear as we rode and I began the interrogation of Danielle. Alyssa gave Junipher and me a sideways look then focused on guiding Lulu across the rocky Arizona desert. A little jealousy? Don’t worry girl, I’m sure there’s room for you when you turn 18. “Ahem, Danielle?”

She looked at me as we rode expectantly “So where you from, where’s your family, etc., etc.?”

Her eyes cast down thoughtfully before she spoke, “I’m from the Valley. My family is there… I hope. I came up here with some friends for the weekend. I…” She caught a sob forming in her throat.

Alyssa spoke without looking “Dead or taken.”

“Taken?”

She sighed heavily and finally looked at me directly, “The other room was a ‘breeding den’” She supplied with air quotes and a disgusted look. “When I defeated the boss of that room another being appeared.” She shuddered at the memory. “He was powerful. I didn’t even get a chance to analyze him. He congratulated me on killing Marty, yes, the boss's name was MARTY. Then he said something about collecting a debt and all the men and women in the room disappeared at the snap of his fingers.” She reached down and hugged Lulu’s neck with a small amount of shame. “He told me if I wanted to gain true power I should find him in Florida.” A tear had formed in the corner of her eye but it didn’t fall.

I thought about it for a moment and decided if Danielle’s friends were still alive they were now at the mercy of this all powerful being. Not something we are ready to face yet.

“We had heard rumor of a new demon lord that had been influencing dungeons on our world. Those dungeons were the worst, all had rooms with extreme sexual themes of slavery and bondage that forced parties to make questionable decisions. Rumor was this demon lord was from a different universe than ours, but his influence in his own universe was dominant and he had gained godhood.”

“Different universe?”

“Yes, the system spreads across the multiverse. It takes form to varying degrees in all universes.”

“So there’s a universe where I’m the plant man and you’re the angry outlaw?”

She squeezed my hips gently and whispered succulently in my ear “You will soon find out, I’m sure, that I am not all plant.”

Oh fuck, I’m doomed. I thought as my erection momentarily sprang to life. Right, on to more important matters.

“Alright, Danielle, shits probably going to hit the fan when we get back to our apartment. What do you want to do? Understand we have obligations where we are headed but once that is settled I’m sure we can figure some way to help you.”

She sighed like a load had been lifted and another had been placed on her shoulders right behind it. “Well…” she fluttered her cloak a little, “First I’d like to get some clothes…” She quirked the side of her mouth into an almost smile when she said this.

I chuckled at that “Yeah, I’m sure we can do something about that.”

“OH DEFINITELY! The system makes bras fit PERFECTLY!” Alyssa exclaimed.

The two young women began an animated conversation that I promptly disengaged from and rode up ahead a few feet from Johnny and Brother. Then I began the arduous task of reviewing all my level ups and such.

Over all I had reached level 13 in Outlaw and gained one skill and one ability.

New Skill attained:

Dirty Fighting (Basic) +1 Per, You don’t have a formal fighting style, you have the only one that matters, you fight to win. Who cares about fighting fair or gaining honor and glory. None of it matters if you are dead. Knees, Nuts, Neck, Nose, and Eyes. That's your mantra.

New Ability attained:

Cheap Shot: 50 Stamina, 1m cooldown. A melee attack usable with unarmed and one handed melee weapons that causes devastating and often debilitating damage dependent on the weak point struck.

All my other skills had leveled quite a bit, and I had gotten attribute increases for reaching thresholds in Rifle and Pistol Marksmanship. Cold Blooded Intellect reached the intermediate level and then evolved into Tactical Acumen which gave me +2 Intellect every 10 levels and was already sitting at level 5. Sweet.

“Veep. Skill evolutions?”

“Yeap, skills can evolve based on how you level. You use a lot of soldier type stuff while technically you are more of a rogue class. So the system is adjusting to your style. Skills that synergise well together can also merge, I’m actually surprised Cold Blooded Intellect and Keen Observation didn’t merge. Those abilities have seriously overlapping effects. Also, at certain Skill thresholds you may be prompted to choose a skill evolution from a list or bank it for a possibly rarer skill evolution later.”

“Good to know.”

We followed the river while I assigned free attribute points bringing my Endurance up even with my Strength and tossed a few more points into Agility for good measure. The Little Colorado roared with a flow of fresh water from an unknown source. Large chunks of asphalt tumbled in the turbulent waters indicating that at least one of the bridges along its path no longer stood. Soon enough we reached Old Route 66 about a mile from our apartment and found that it was in fact this bridge that collapsed under the onslaught of the newly surging river.

“That’s not good, a large part of Winslow sits in a flood plain.” Johnny commented. And sure enough signs that the river was spreading across that flat land was clear to the eye. If this was the new strength of the river I suspected much of the area would become a muddy swamp.

“I’m going to send a message to Dick, let him know we are about 5 minutes out.”

I sent said message and his relief was evident in his response. GREAT! BE CAREFUL, THE DEMONS ARE MASSING OUT IN THE FIELD NEXT TO THE COLLEGE. YOU COULDN’T HAVE PICKED A BETTER TIME TO GET BACK!