The beginning of the game was slow, as Kory explained the rules to them all, and then had to help Myri along. Not that it stopped them from having fun together. The point of playing the game wasn’t to slay monsters or go on an adventure. Well, maybe a little bit the adventure, but for them at least it was more about just being together and enjoying themselves.

Charles had known of campaigns that had never left the city because all the party wanted to do was open a tavern instead of following the campaign’s script. Sure, they had usually all burned to death in the end when the evil dragon or whatever nefarious monster was the flavor of the week got sick of waiting around for them. However, until then, they’d had an absolute blast playing their chosen characters.

It was no different this time, they were simply there to have fun. Everyone was letting Myriam and Silvi dictate which direction the game would take. Even Kory and Krystal, the Gamemasters were taking their cues from them.

“That was fun,” Myri mumbled through a yawn, her partially eaten dinner sitting forgotten to the side of the map spread across the table. “Can we play more tomorrow?”

“Sure sweetie, whatever you want.” Kory kissed the top of her head and picked up her food. He took a quick picture of the table, to record where everything was, and then began clearing it of everything as well.

“Thanks, Kory, thanks Kisstal,” Her slight, sleepy lisp coming through on Krystal’s name.

Charles picked her up as she yawned again. “Okay, I think it’s time for you to go to bed. Give them both hugs and then we’re heading home.”

She hugged them and waved as they walked out the door, her head drooping tiredly onto his shoulder. “Thanks for spending time with Myri.” She mumbled softly, speaking in the third person. It was an odd habit she had when she was tired or insecure.

“Of course, you’re family. I can’t say we’re always going to be able to, but we’ll at least try.” He hoped she could understand.

Her soft red hair tickled his chin as she nodded, and her breathing changed into something deeper and more even. She had fallen asleep in his arms.

“Are you ready to go?” Charles asked Kira once they had put Myri to bed. Silvi would be staying behind to watch over her.

“Let’s do it. Sierra should have had plenty of time to gather everyone together by now, and if not, you can go find James while I help her.”

“Go on, I’ve got everything here covered.” Silvi gave them a push, her tail wagging in contentment behind her.

A doorway down to Dungeonville opened in the middle of the room, and moments later, they found themselves standing on terra firma.

“Why don’t you go check with Sierra, and I’ll go meet with Scott. If you finish first, I’ll probably be at the lab, or their apartment.”

Kira nodded and hurried off, leaving him alone to hopefully meet with James.

Charlotte and Scott were waiting for him when he entered the lab, impatiently tapping their feet. “There you are finally! Where have you been? James came by earlier, expecting you to arrive any moment for some reason, but you never did.”

“Is he still here?”

“No, said he’d be back tomorrow in the morning.” His sister answered, standing up. “What’s going on?”

“I finished the town creation quest today.” He ground out angrily. “Apparently, Bob was the one who was supposed to help with the reward of retrieving our parents. Except he is still hiding or missing, I don’t know. Either way, Gaia is the one who has to take it over now, and I have to talk with James to see what she can even do. Hopefully, she learned something from the kids.”

“I want to be there when you go and meet with him tomorrow!” She demanded. “I’ve missed out on everything else related to this quest. I won’t miss what could potentially be the last step in rescuing our parents.”

“Different skills sis, we each have our place in the world. Yours is in a lab creating and making everything better. While mine is apparently stomping through the hordes of monsters and playing caretaker to people I don’t know.” The initial shine of adventure had long since lost its luster in his eyes. “Speaking of places. The space station has been expanded now. There is enough room for your lab and equipment as long as you’re willing to take over one of the apartments.”

They would need to wait a little longer for the actual workspace to be built. However, for now at least they had more than enough dorm apartments that they could spare one or two for something like this.

She hesitated, sharing a look with her husband.

“Come on Charlotte, Scott. It’s time to make the move. You can still come down to train people if you want, but distance is a good thing. Just think, there will be fewer people constantly bothering you, interrupting your experiments, and asking for help.”

They both perked up at that thought.

“You know what, little brother? You make a lot of sense. I agree it is time for us to make the move to the space station. Don’t you agree Scott?”

He rolled his eyes and nodded. “Just give us a few minutes to gather everything up and then we’ll be ready.”

“That’s fine. I’ll be bringing Sierra and all her kids up in a few minutes anyway.” He watched them hurry off to store the last few items they needed for the move. Both had been preparing for it since it was first suggested and had nearly everything stored already. All that remained were the items they had been using throughout the day.

He went to stand outside, where Kira would be able to easily find him. To his surprise, he found her already coming towards him, a gaggle of children and young teens at her back. Each of the younger kids was carrying a box with their items in it. Until they were old enough to unlock the system, they also didn’t have access to their inventory. Sierra took up the rear, making sure no one ran off.

“Was he here?” Kira wondered as Charlotte ran out of the building.

“I just need to get the rest of our stuff from the apartment. Give me a couple of minutes to do that and then we’ll be ready.” She called out behind her.

“I guess they’re coming with us.”

“Yeah. I’d say let’s wait inside, but the lab isn’t exactly the best place for kids. Why don’t we head to the apartment building and just wait in the foyer for her to finish?” He suggested as Scott came out and closed the lab door behind him.

“She won’t be long. It’s mainly just a few clothes and other odds and ends that we left lying around that she needs to store. My inventory is all full at this point. She had to be the one who collected most of the items in my lab, actually.”

Like Charles, Charlotte had a larger and slightly different inventory system from the rest.

Regardless, the foyer was warmer than the outside, and all the kids were freezing by the time they got inside.

“Crap, I should get Kate, Beth, and the rest of the Coopers now as well,” Kira muttered, looking at the number of people before them. “This has got to be enough, along with what we already have up there to unlock the dungeon.”

She took off at a run before he could say anything, letting in a brief burst of cold air from the open door in her wake.

Charles sighed and held some fire aloft from his palm, sending a pulse of warm air through the area to offset the sudden chill. Their trip was quickly getting extended again, and he fought back the feeling of annoyance that came with it.

This was for Kate and Beth; they were family or close enough. Just because he was annoyed with James and the world, in general, didn’t mean he was allowed to take it out on everyone else around him. It was a lesson his mother had told him many times growing up, if not in those exact words.

He had been a difficult child growing up. Looking back, he could see that now. In many ways, he was still a difficult person. He had simply learned to mask certain behaviors and conform to what society expected of him.

Maybe that was why Charlotte had done so well in everything, whereas he felt like he hadn’t. She had refused to conform to their expectations and had just always been her brilliant self. He shook his head, no, they were simply built differently. He could no more understand how her mind worked at times than she, his.

Breathing in, he held the breath for a few seconds before releasing it. He repeated the simple exercise a few times, concentrating on his breathing as a form of meditation. It helped him to forget about the world around him when it worked. Which it didn’t always.

He preferred not to think about the times it didn’t. Those had been bad times in his life. Even his mother had been lost about how to help him during those times. All she could do was take care of him and wait for the episode to pass.

Now he wondered if there was more she could have done? What were the limits on her Godly powers while she was on Earth? She had certainly never seemed like anything more than normal to him.

Charlotte tapped him on the shoulder. “You’re doing that breathing exercise again. Are you alright? I haven’t seen you do that for a long time.”

A wan smile flickered across his face. “Just trying to keep everything under control and thinking about the past a little at the same time.”

“Well, stop it. You’ve grown a lot since back then. Besides, if everything becomes too much for you to handle, that’s what you have us for. Kira, Silvi, me, and Scott. We’ll still get mom and dad back, Charles, but that won’t happen if you shut down because of everything.”

“I know, and I had it all under control for so long, until we began seeing more… horrors at the prospective towns. Then this mess with the quest just sort of nudged me right onto the edge. I hadn’t even realized how close I was until tonight when I got that message. It just-” He clenched his fists and growled. “I just can’t keep doing this. I…”

Charlotte put her arms around him. “It’s alright Charles, I might not have seen everything but I understand. We’ll figure something out. There has to be another way to save these people. If everyone is just depending on one or two people then we’re all doomed anyway.” She finished with a short somewhat forced laugh.