"So, before we go into mortal danger, we should probably run down what everyone can do and what our roles are," Del said as they climbed from the truck.

Steven pushed down the flair of suspicion that rose in him. The woman already had a general idea of what they could do, and if she was working with them, then some details were vital.

Healthy caution—good. Paranoia—bad.

But how did he know which was which.

Hmm.

Micheal pointed at himself. "Support you have to rescue from danger to get the buffs. I also have a taunt." He pointed to Steven. "Shield, bro," then to Margie. "Crazy dog lady," and lastly to Markus. "Frontline bruiser who is scarily good at fighting."

Steven pursed his lips and nodded. Well, that‘s good breakdown, I guess.

Del laughed. "Alright. I can fight up close as well as support. I have a Skill that increases or decreases a target's strength and another that does the same for durability. And both Skills are 25% more effective when I use them on myself."

Micheal rubbed his chin. "Hmm. another buff is nice, especially since you can throw it out at a moment's notice."

Del waggled her hand. "I'll be frank with some details here. Each buff lasts for 15 seconds. I have two charges of each, and both have a 30-second cooldown."

Micheal paused. "Short duration, but you can throw it up whenever," he paused. "Since you're being open about cooldowns, my buff lasts for...actually, I'll just show you."

He glanced at Steven. Steven raised his hand, and three Hand-Shields appeared.

"Alright, Del, you're going to need to save me."

"Huh?"

~<>~<>~

10 minutes later, everyone had Micheal's buff, even Noodle.

"Alright!" Steven clapped his hands together. "Where is the Scenario's edge?"

They looked around for a minute before Markus caught it. "There," he pointed to the middle of the street.

Steven squinted. About fifteen feet ahead of them, the air shimmered, as if in a mirage.

Steven took a deep breath. "We need to be ready to be attacked the instant we step through. Buford first, then Markus, then me, then the rest of you. Any objections?"

Del frowned. "I should go in front of you. As I said, my buffs are stronger on me. And you're ranged, so it makes more sense for you to be further back."

Steven opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. She was right. If she could make herself more durable than she could make him, then it made sense for her to go ahead of him.

Why was I about to argue then?

He sighed internally. Because you don’t want to risk anyone else getting hurt.

He ignored that thought and nodded. "Fair enough."

Margie patted his shoulder before speaking up. "Everyone ready?"

"Born ready," Markus said.

"What he said but with less gusto," Micheal added.

Del smirked, and Steven laughed.

Without another word, they lined up and stepped into the shimmer.

~<>~<>~

There was a brief flash of light, a sense of motion, and then snowmen were trying to kill them.

Steven had enough time to process that the snowmen were, in fact, snow men. About six feet tall, with red scarves, and coal for buttons and eyes, with pipes in their face that glowed with a ruddy light.

Their stick arms held knives and clubs, and the snow burst up in clouds as they furiously hopped toward them.

Steven acted. A Hand-Shield snapped out, crashing into one snowman as it swung for Buford.

The dog leaped for another as Markus caught a club swung for him.

The snowman Steven struck rocked back, and its coal eyes narrowed.

It leaped, clearing his shield and sailing toward him like a falling boulder.

"Gack!" Steven called his Tower-Shield. It formed as Margie stepped into the Scenario.

His shield snapped into place with a thump before Steven, and the snowman smacked against it, pancaking on the flat surface before slowly sliding down.

"What in the fuck!" Margie swore.

Del trampled the snowman as she ran past, heading for one on the left.

Steven dismissed the shield and ran forward, only to skid to a stop a few steps later.

Between Buford, Markus, and Del, the half a dozen snowmen were now piles of mushy scarves and coal.

Micheal started at the piles, then at the others. "What?"

The System took that moment to answer him.

"Welcome to fortress wars! Look to your right."

Steven looked to the right and gasped. They stood on the top of a hill overlooking a vast valley, with six domes of clear ice lining one side.

He looked up and realized they were in the leftmost dome.

At the bottom of their dome was a snow fortress, but not like the snow forts Steven would make as a child. A literal fortress, albeit a small one.

Though that was measuring by the size of medieval castles, the structure was still the size of a two-story home, and Steven could see snowmen patrolling its walls.

In front of the fortress was a yard with what looked like a snow barracks on one side.

"...Okay," Del said. "What the hell are we supposed to-"

"IF YOU'LL LOOK TO THE LEFT."

They all looked left, and Steven's stomach dropped.

At the other end of the valley, a massive snow fortress the size of an actual castle stood in front of a small glacier.

Small was once again a relative term here since it was still at least a hundred feet tall, but that was nothing compared to actual glaciers.

Steven paused. Was there...was there something inside the glacier?

He looked back to the right, ignoring the fortress as he looked behind them. There was a glacier on their side as well. And inside it- Steven choked. "What on earth!?"

The others followed his gaze.

Markus blinked, then stroked his mustache. "Well then. I suppose we know what the boss is."

Standing in the glacier, its massive coal eyes staring out at the world, was a snowman. It stood taller than the fortresses, thirty feet tall if it was an inch, with a giant scarf, pipe, and a button smile.

"Did you know that Snowzilla was an actual thing in Anchorage?”

”Yeah, I saw it when I was little.”

The System kept going as if he hadn't said anything.

“Guy named Billy Powers made a twenty-five-foot tall snowman in his front yard in like 2005 or something and he kept doing it each year.”

“It became quite the local attraction, though one year the city told him to take it down. He did so, but it mysteriously appeared in his yard a few days later. Hehe.”

“Your objective is simple. Clear the fortresses and free your snowzilla before the snowmen in that big fortress free theirs."

The System laughed. "Good luck!"