Chapter 1: Jason - How do you move on when you rolled a Natural 1?
Chapter Text
It was over. Jason couldn’t believe it. They had all survived through the night, and had an incredible adventure along the way. As Charlie led the 5 of them out of the dank, dusty basement still lined with the same bugs as before, Jason breathed a sigh of relief. He was going home to see his sisters and family again.
Stepping outside, he stretched, taking care not to ruin the silk top that Joy and June had procured for him from his older sister’s closet. He did promise to take care of it after all. Thankfully, whatever power Moth -er, Danny- used had preserved his clothing in pristine condition. The same couldn’t be said for his mentality, unfortunately. Can’t think about that now. I need to get home. Make sure everyone else gets home safely, too, Jason thought to himself.
He was so deep in thought that he barely had time to register that Smarmy Jay and his gang of bullies were walking towards them. “Well, well, well! Looks like you actually won the bet.” He said, grinning. “Not that this really proved or changed anything, nerds. You all prob-” He was cut off mid sentence as Charlie absolutely decked him across the face, knocking him to the ground without hesitation. “You have ZERO idea what we just experienced, jackass. Not that we would bother explaining it to you anyway.” he said, fuming.
Morgan, who was still snapping photos, looked at Charlie with a concerned look, before her face also hardened. “What Charlie said. Don’t come near us ever, Smarmy. You and your gang of jokers.” Gabe just looked on, disgust in his eyes. “I know why my mom said not to get involved in conflict now…” he muttered, barely audible. Jason leaned over to Charlie, gripping his shoulder. “It’s over now. Let’s just go home.” Xander helped Smarmy to his feet, making a motion that no one could see.
“Uh, Xander? Why did you help Smarmy?” Jason asked, while they walked away from the spooky house. Xander chuckled, “Well, how else was I going to get my twenty bucks?”, he said, holding it up with a devious grin on his face. Gabe, Morgan, Charlie and Jason all stared at him. “What? He owed us that for winning the bet.” Xander said nonchalantly. Jason sighed, then laughed. “This is why you play the party’s rogue, buddy.” he said, gripping Xander from the side. Oddly enough, Xander didn’t squirm that much. And was he blushing?
If only I could roll Insight right now- NO. DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW. Jason shook his head. “Tell you what. Before we meet up with Camp this afternoon, let’s head back to my house and rest up for a little bit. We can get out of our costumes and just chill. And eat. Now that I think about it, I am STARVING.” He said, and at that moment, all of the party’s stomachs growled. “Food. Yeah, I vote for food. And preferably something that isn’t made by my mom.” Gabe agreed.
The party headed to Jason’s house, trying to think about what they were going to say and how they were going to explain what had happened to them during the night. “We could always just tell the truth, and when they don’t believe that we just tell them we slept the whole night there.” Morgan offered, letting her snake Brutus coil around her arm. “Yeah. Or counter-argument: We just say we slept.” Charlie said, shouldering his bag on his shoulder, hearing the jars of bugs clinking against each other.
As they arrived, Jason stopped them. “Alright. We don’t talk about anything else other than sleeping. Oh, and Morgan? Don’t let Joy and June see Brutus. Or they might get hurt trying to pet him repeatedly.” Smelling the delicious smells of a Saturday morning breakfast, Jason opened the door and led everyone inside. Jason’s mom and stepdad looked at them over their morning coffee.
“Well? Did you all have fun in the spooky house?” The stepfather asked. The gang all looked at each other. Gabe piped up, “Uh, well, uh…” Sighing, Charlie stepped in. “How did you know, sir?” he asked genuinely. The stepfather looked at all of them with thoughtful eyes. “Simple. We asked y’all’s parents. Did you at least get the money from that bully?” Jason’s Mom looked at him sideways. “You’re awfully calm about this, dear.” The stepfather laughed. “Honey, look at all of them. They’re fine. And they stood up for themselves and proved that rich kid wrong. I can’t say I approve of how they did it, but I’m still proud of them.”
At that moment, Jason’s siblings came into the kitchen. Joy and June ran up to their brother, so happy to see them. Jacqueline walked up to him, ruffling his hair. “You make that costume look good, little bro. Well, as good as any man can anyway.” she said, teasing him. Jason had a half smile, hiding that her remark actually stung in some weird way.
“Well, anyway. We made a lot of breakfast, and I’m sure you’re all very hungry.” The mom said, smiling. “Come on, guys. We can put our stuff in my room.” Jason offered, leading them all down the hall. Setting down his fake gear, he took off the tops and put a T-shirt on. Morgan took off her horns and went to wash off her makeup. Gabe took off the beard and his outer cape/robe. Xander took off his cat ears and beanie. Charlie took off his armor and set his bag with Morgan’s bugs and Brutus rested. “Jason?” Joy peaked her head in. “Me and June made something for you. Big sis wrote something on the back too.” She handed Jason a little picture, and giggled at Xander.
Xander, confused as hell, looked at the picture. He gave a small smile as he looked at it. The picture was of Jason- no, Syreen- playing a kazoo, looking carefree and happy. Jason flipped it over, and read what Jacqueline wrote. “Hey, bro. Tell you what- you can keep the tops. But only if you continue to be the twins Mermaid Princess. They really look up to you and love you. I also think you're brave, especially for showing that asshole Smarmy what's good. Proud of you, little bro. -Jacqueline”. Charlie clapped his shoulder gently. “Guess you can keep dressing up as Syreen now, Jason,” he said. Gabe sat on the bed, laying out. “Honestly? I don’t want to think about playing Gabe for at least a day or two.” Everyone muttered in some degree of agreement, as Morgan came back into the room.
All of the party sat down at the table. “So Jason? Do you and your friends have plans today?” His mom asked. “Well, Camp is supposed to be back in town later. We were going to rest, and meet up with her later.” The mom nodded. “Alright. But only if you take the twins with you. They’re eager to get out of the house after Trick-or- Treating again last night.” Jason winced, but nodded. “Yes, mom. I will.” Xander looked at him thoughtfully, then spoke. “Mrs. Van Blair, would it be alright if we stayed here to rest? We probably should have asked sooner.” The mom nodded. “Of course. It’s no trouble. Help yourself to whatever you need, okay?”.
The party ate and went back to Jason’s room. Having a rather large room, he could thankfully fit all 5 of them comfortably and gave them some blankets to lay on. Laying down to sleep, Jason tried to rest.
All of the emotions flooded to him immediately. The excitement of last night. The fear. The confusion. The panic. The intrigue. He saw flashes of Moth, and the house. Him as Syreen, talking to Xander as Xander was his Tabaxi self in that cramped half bathroom. The awful taste of the apple in his mouth. His sister’s faces in that damned room.The fear of being scared to cross that gap. The pain that he felt when he was hit by the Spider Mom. The feeling that washed over him when he was making his mental death saves. Jason’s emotions overwhelmed him, and he shouted in his dream as he felt all of this at once.
He woke up in a sweat. Checking the time, it was only noon. He got up, and headed to the porch to sit out there and try and process what had happened. Unknown to him, Xander had snuck up on him. “Can’t sleep either, bro?” he said softly. Jason jumped, almost swearing. “Xander, hi. I didn’t hear you follow me.” Xander sat next to him. “You must be really distracted then. Same thing as me?” Jason nodded. “Well, I know one thing we’re doing. Once we get Camp, we’re going shopping.” Jason looked at him, confused. “Shopping? For what?” he asked.
Xander got up and went back inside, speaking over his shoulder something that Jason agreed with. “We’re buying some moth-themed jewelry.” Jason turned back to look at the sun. He didn’t want to head back inside yet. But he also didn’t want to stay. Internally he knew one thing: If I had to roll a constitution save to move past this, I would easily be rolling a Natural 1. No matter what conditions or modifiers I have…
Chapter 2: Xander: Honoring the past- with a good sense of fashion
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Xander walked back into the house, leaving Jason where he was. Sitting down on the couch, he looked idly at the TV, not really paying very close attention to what was on the screen. Joy and June were drawing in front of him on the floor. It almost looked like they were filling out character sheets, but were stuck on the math part and had just decided to draw their characters.
Joy got up and showed it to Xander. The drawing looked very similar to Syreen, but more like an actual mermaid than a Tritoness. “What do you think, Xander? Is she as pretty as Syreen?” Joy asked. Xander offered her a soft smile. “Yeah. She is.” Looking closer, he saw the stat sheet. Joy had made her mermaid a rogue, just like his Tabaxi rogue. “A rogue. Has big brother been telling you about our characters, too?” Xander asked, genuinely curious. "A little bit. He talks about your cat thief a lot." Joy responded, giggling.
June got up and showed Xander her character too. Another mermaid, but this one was a fighter instead. The twins looked at each other, and June spoke up. “Please don’t tell Jason, but we may have snuck into his room and looked at his books.” Xander laughed. I can’t wait to hold this over his head for a LONG time . “You’ve got the right mindset, kids. Tell you what: Bring those with you when we go to meet up with Camp. She might be able to help you with the math for their stats.” The twins lit up with joy, and Xander got up to check on the others.
Morgan was awake, laying with Brutus. Charlie was examining his dice and cardboard armor from last night. Gabe was reading a stat book- Typical, Xander thought- and Jason had come back in. Xander sat down on the bed next to him, looking at his character sheet.
Charlie spoke up. “Alright. Let’s get down to it- How are we going to explain what happened last night to Camp?”. Jason sighed “No clue. Follow up question though: How do we keep the twins from hearing this? I really don’t think they need to hear about…” he stopped, and Xander knew he was thinking about the fear room. Xander put a hand on his shoulder. “Simple. We leave that small detail out, and just talk about the giant bottomless pit that you almost fell down. Y’know, before I caught you and Gabe gave you Feather Falling.” he said calmingly.
Jason looked at him for a moment, then turned away. Xander noticed that he was… blushing? Internally, Xander was incredibly confused, but put that to the side for right now. “Anyway, do any of you think that Camp will believe us if we tell her the truth?” he asked, thinking. Morgan spoke up, “You’ve met Camp, right? The Camp I know has all sorts of crystals and meditates constantly. And does tarot readings for most of us.”. Gabe looked annoyed. “I used to say that I didn’t believe her, since that doesn’t make any scientific sense.” He sighed. “Guess I can’t say that after last night, huh?”.
Charlie stared at him. “Gabe, you’re just salty that she said you wouldn’t pass your mom’s Health test. And her prediction came true.” Gabe scoffed. “That had nothing to do with it. I just needed to study more, that’s why I didn’t pass.” Morgan jumped back in control before Charlie could say something else, “What I’m curious about now is: How is Moth doing?”. Xander shook his head. “We don’t know. Not unless…” He thought for a moment before his eyes shone with the light of an idea. “That’s how we’ll explain this to Camp. We have her talk to Moth.”
Everyone just looked at Xander. “What? Moth was once a ghost. We just need to have Camp make a spiritual connection to them. Can’t be that hard with someone of her caliber of spirituality.” Brutus slithered into Morgan’s lap, as she pondered this. “Sure. One problem- The most spiritually active day of the year is Halloween. And remember, that was yesterday.”
Jason thought for a moment. “The most spiritually active day, sure. But that doesn’t mean that other days of the year aren’t spiritual. Such as…” Everyone thought before the answer came to them at once: Friday the 13th. “Okay. We have Camp commune with Moth on Friday the 13th. That will work, since we can just have our session for that weekend then.” Charlie summarized. “In the meantime, we show Camp the pictures and explain what happened. She’s not one to mistrust us. She is our DM, after all.” Xander stated. Jason held himself, thinking again. “How did we do everything we did last night? Like the saves? The attacks? The insight?” He asked out loud.
Everyone went silent. “Jason, a character’s stats are descriptions of themselves, and a dice roll is what determines our success in an action. But that dice roll is the embodiment of chance in life. What happened last night with our actions were invisible mental dice rolls that we did before making an action. It’s something we loosely controlled by making that decision to act, just like in a normal session.” Gabe explained. Charlie nodded his head. “That would explain a lot. Including what felt like a LOT of Dirty 1’s on my end.” he added with disdain. Morgan laughed as Brutus rested around her neck. “Dude, you need to get a new metaphorical D20.”, she said, clapping his back. Charlie smiled at her, knowing it was true. Xander looked up at the time. “Ok, it’s 3 PM now. Let’s get our stuff and go meet Camp. She should be in our normal room in the school club area by the time we get there.” Jason got up. His parents had already left, and Xander guessed Jacqueline went with them. Probably for some college thing.
“Joy! June! Get ready, we’re about to leave soon!” he heard Jason call. The gang gathered their things, and headed to the school to meet up with Camp with the twins in tow, eager to follow their mermaid princess as much as they could. Xander let Joy have a piggyback ride on him, while Jason had June on him. It wasn’t long before they all reached the school. Heading back to their familiar room with soft chairs and books on the shelves, they found Camp scribbling in her DM journal. Probably planning how to “torture” her players next, Xander thought mentally. Well, it’ll be pretty challenging for her to torture us. After last night and our adventures with Moth, we’ve all become a little more confident and mentally tougher.
“Hi, guys! Glad you made it! And Jason, you brought the twins with you? Aww!” Camp said, the biggest smile on her face. The twins ran to hug her, pulling out their character sheets. “Camp! Xander said you could help us!” Joy said eagerly. “Well now. Let’s see what we have, little guppies.” She said, looking at their character sheets. “Alright! Someone’s taking after their big brother! So, here. This is what you do…”
Camp explained how to make your character’s stats, then the twins went to the other side of the room to roll. While that happened, the gang explained everything from last night to Camp. Morgan gave her the pictures and her camera back. Charlie showed her the bugs (Camp was a little repulsed, but hid it very well). Xander told her about Moth, and the family dispute. Jason talked about how they all had transformed into their characters. Gabe added how weird it was to be possessed by Moth. Camp looked at all of them. “Well, sounds like you all had a very eventful Halloween. And Smarmy?” she asked. Charlie spoke up, “Well. I may or may not have decked him in the face after we got out of the basement this morning.” Camp just stared at him, her jaw wide open. “Hey! At least I didn’t steal his money or anything!” Charlie said defensively. Camp almost fell out of her chair. “Who did, then?!”. Xander leaned forward and smiled. “It’s me, I’m the bitch.”
Everyone lost it right there. Camp started laughing so hard that she actually did fall out of her chair. Jason held him again, and once again Xander blushed beet red. Maybe I really do… Xander shook his head. “So, Camp? We need a favor.” Xander continued. “We want you to meet Moth. Is it possible for you to meet them if they’ve passed on?” he asked.
Camp shook her head. “If a spirit has entered the afterlife, then it’s not possible to speak with them directly. But, I do have an alternative. We can imbue certain items with their spirit. That way, we could have a connection to them without them having to leave the afterlife.” Jason frowned. “Items? Like what? Clothing?” he asked. “Not exactly. Jewelry, pins, other items that you would have a personal connection to that could represent Moth.”Xander smiled. “Alright. We’ll get the items and on Friday, November 13th, we’ll speak to Moth.” The group all nodded, and at that point Joy and June brought their completed character sheets back to Camp. “Good work, little guppies! You’ve got their stats and weapons made out!” She turned to Jason. “Jason? Should they come with us on that Friday?”
Jason looked dumbfounded that Camp would even suggest that. Xander leaned on him and put his arm on his shoulder. “It’s too late to say no, buddy. They’ll fight you until they’re blue in the face like Syreen.” he said with a chuckle. Jason groaned. “I know they will. Alright, you can come with us. But only if you promise to behave.” The twins jumped with excitement.
“Alright. Let’s meet tomorrow one more time, and we’ll go accessory shopping.” The group all agreed, and Jason turned to take the twins home. Xander grabbed his shoulder before they left. “Hey, Jason? I, uh…” he started to say, but then changed his mind. Jason smiled, both of them blushing slightly. “Yeah. Let’s honor the past- with a good sense of fashion.” he said, as the Van Blair gang walked home in the fading sunlight.
Notes:
Surprised? Joy and June are joining their big brother on their wacky shenanigans! Sure would be a shame if someone decided to interfere with their plans on that fateful Friday... *Looks at the pissed of Smarmy Jay with ideas forming in my head,*
Chapter 3: Smarmy Jay- Passing a Stealth Check- Odd, for a Barbarian...
Summary:
This one is fun, because of the multiple perspectives in this one. Don't worry, each section is headed with who's perspective it is. Hopefully you all like the gang getting all geared up for their special session!
Chapter Text
Smarmy Jay (He/HIm)
Smarmy’s face still stung with pain. He felt it as he drove to the mall in the morning. That loser shouldn’t have been able to hurt me that badly, he thought with a simmering rage in his mind. I’m going to get back at them. I WILL get back at them…
Smarmy made it to the mall. Looking around, a revenge plot began to form in his mind. It was simple. Those geeks loved their silly Dungeons & Dragons game, right? Smarmy was willing to bet that’s how they all survived in that spooky house all night- especially Jason in that ridiculous costume. Just sitting there playing their game, not paying any attention to what happened to him that night.
From there, a plan took shape. But it would require some help, particularly from someone with the knowledge of the game. Fortunately for him, he could blend in at the local book store and read up on the most recent regulations of the game. In the meantime, a visit to his aunt's medium store would be useful. I don't really believe in that nonsense. But, on the off-chance I can make this work, then a little spiritual help would go a long way to showing those nerds not to screw with me…
Gabe (He/Him)
Gabe never really cared for jewelry. His mom had always told him that it was for women and men that were married. And yet, right now- Gabe was having the time of his life trying to find something that was fitting for him and represented his bond with Moth and the others. Morgan had found a cute button with a lunar moth on it, and Charlie bought a watch with a moth face on it.
Gabe, Xander, and Jason were looking for something to fit their personality. Gabe thought about his wizard character, and what he would probably want. And then he found it. A ring wrapped with the wing patterns and antenna of a hawk moth, with a very small jasper in it. And not very expensive either. Xander wandered over to look at it. “Oh. Good choice, Gabe. Fits your wizard very well.”
Gabe played it off, but he was actually happy that the others liked the ring choice. Once he bought it and put it on, he showed Charlie and Morgan. As they were looking at it, Gabe felt a weird feeling behind him, as if someone was watching him directly. He turned, and saw someone duck back out of sight. Unfortunately, it was too fast for him to tell who it was. “Gabe? Is something wrong?” Morgan asked, seeing that he wasn’t paying attention.
“Uh, I’m pretty sure someone was spying on us.” Gabe responded. Morgan and Charlie immediately started looking around, but they didn’t see anyone out of the ordinary either. “Did you catch any glimpse of who they were?” Charlie asked, still looking around. “I’m not sure. I did see a letterman jacket with ou-er, your school colors.” The other two didn’t catch that little slip up, thankfully. I want to keep it a surprise for now. Can’t let them know that I’ll be going to their school starting the week after our special session.
Jason and Xander joined them shortly. Xander was wearing a leather bracelet with a moth emblem on it. Jason had found a lustrous moth pendant, and two small moth pins for Joy and June (It was decided that the twins would need them if they came with the party on the 13th). “Would have been nice if you were out here earlier, Xander.” Gabe said nonchalantly. Xander cocked his head to the side - almost like a cat, Gabe noted. “Why?” he asked, confused. “Gabe said that someone was spying on us from a distance.” Charlie explained.
“Huh. Interesting. And I should have been here because..?” Xander prompted. Morgan shrugged her shoulders. “Because you’re the party’s rogue. Stealth is kind of your thing, dude.” she said. “Oh. That makes sense.” he replied, looking around. “Well, have you seen anything suspicious?”. Gabe shook his head. “No. The only clue we have is that whoever it was went to your school, because they were wearing a letterman jacket with the school colors.” Jason, always the athletic minded boy he was, spoke up. “Believe it or not, that actually narrows it down significantly. There aren’t many athletes that wear their jackets out in public like that.”
Xander covered Jason’s mouth. Gabe noticed Jason was blushing for some reason. “Guys, think for a moment. Who do we know has a letterman jacket and would be interested in what the 4 biggest nerds in the school + Gabe would be doing here on a Sunday afternoon?” he said, with a tired tone in his voice. Charlie sighed, “Good ol’ Smarmy Jay…” Everyone groaned.
“Well, great. That jackass probably knows what our plan is. Or at least, the non spiritual parts of it, anyway.” Gabe said with an irritated edge in his voice. “Alright. What do we do now?” Jason asked, clearly worried for the safety of his sisters. Xander responded in a steely calm tone. “Simple. We go, and beat him at his own fucking game.” The group left the mall, on edge more than ever, and split their separate directions to go home. Wow. Someone tried passing a Stealth check- Odd, for a Barbarian. Gabe thought to himself, walking home in the afternoon sunlight.
—LATER THAT EVENING—
Smarmy Jay (He/Him)
Smarmy ducked into his room, still breathing hard. Dammit, that was close. That dweeb almost saw me, he thought. After ducking back, he had maneuvered closer and kept himself hidden, listening in. “So, those nerds are also going to take the spiritual route. Sure would be a shame if someone messed with their plans..” He said quietly with a malicious grin on his face.
He looked over the notes that his aunt had left him after meeting up with her earlier. It surprised him how few people knew about their school’s dark and battered history. But right now, Smarmy could use that information and lack thereof to everyone else to his advantage. Get ready, nerds. That night is going to be one you’ll never forget…
—NIGHT TIME—
Jason (He/Him)
Jason had just repacked his backpack for school tomorrow. He knew it was going to be a long day with wrestling practice and everything else. And yet, he felt that the days would fly by until Friday the 13th.
He checked on Joy and June. The twins were fast asleep in their rooms. Jason hadn’t told them about the moth pins or what will happen on that Friday. Hell, he hadn’t told them anything about Halloween night at all. Everytime he tried, it felt like his throat would seize up and he couldn’t get the words out.
Sighing, he looked at his dice in his room. If I’m taking them with me, then we’re gonna do this right. I’m getting them their own dice and notebooks. He smiled in happiness at the thought of his little sisters wanting to learn from their big brother. I really am their hero, aren’t I?, he thought to himself. Well, I don’t want to be a hero. He paused before he thought about what he wanted to mentally say next.
I want to be their Mermaid Princess…
Chapter 4: Charlie - How does the Paladin in Cardboard Armor still have a higher AC than the Wizard?!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Charlie (He/Him)
The weeks had gone by fast. Normal class studies, the looming threat of finals. Pretty typical for a normal teen’s lifestyle. At lunch, the gang would plan what they wanted to say to Camp about a new idea they had: Putting Moth as a permanent NPC in all of their home campaigns from now on. Charlie himself had been crafting at home. His armor from Halloween had been good, but it had a lot of structural failures when adventuring around the house before they had encountered Moth. Even then, the rest of the gang’s costumes seemed to have been fine. Charlie’s armor had taken a severe beating during the final boss fight with the Demon Mother.
This particular Friday, Morgan was over in the corner. She had come over before they had all agreed to meet at the school that night. Jason and the twins were getting ready (Charlie was pretty certain the twins were dressing Jason up again). Xander and Gabe were with them next door, also adding some wardrobe upgrades to themselves. Gabe noticeably had decided that his wizard had shaved his beard. Xander had obtained some new bracers with space for knives in them.
Not that any of them were actually bringing weapons, of course. There wasn’t any need. They weren’t going to be in any danger. Charlie had made upgraded versions of all of their items. Morgan had a better set of horns to more accurately depict her Tiefling’s horns. Jason’s trusty kazoo had been decked out with a rustic design and increased sound volume. Gabe’s staff had gotten some comfortable grips on it. As for Charlie himself, his armor had actual PVC parts on it, to give it some structure. Topped off with padded foam and a subtle layer of metal gray paint, the armor chestplate was looking really professional. Morgan looked over at it once he had finished it. “Charlie, you could have a serious career in prop making, you know that?” she said in admiration.
Charlie flushed a little. He still wasn’t used to people complimenting his work. “Of course, that means you have to be good at taking a compliment first, buddy.” she added, teasing. Charlie smiled. “Well, here’s to hoping that I can get over that.” He looked around. “You got your stuff? Moth Button? Brutus?” he asked.
“Check, check, and check.” Morgan said, as Brutus slid into the backpack that was her inventory. “Let’s grab the other peeps.” she said, heading for the door.
Jason (He/Him)
“Annnnnd, finished! Open your eyes, Jason!” Joy said. Jason looked at himself in the mirror. The twins had outdone themselves. Jason looked even more like Syreen now than he ever had before. Xander looked at him from the bathroom door. “Good work, girls. I think the Mermaid Princess is ready to roll. Don’t you, Gabe?” he added, turning to Gabe, elbowing him when Gabe didn’t respond immediately.
“Ow, Xander!-” Gabe cried out. Xander glared at him. “Yeah, Jason. The twins did great with your look.” he said in a sincere voice. Jason smiled softly, not wanting to let anyone in the room know about the internal conflict in him right now. “Thank you. Xander, want to help the little mermaids get ready for their first session?” Xander was caught off guard, but quickly smiled. “Sure thing, Syreen. Joy, June? Ready to get dressed up?” he said.
The twins wandered off with Xander to get into their outfits for the night, and Gabe stayed with Jason in the living room. Gabe coughed a little, then spoke. “So, Jason? Why do you blush whenever Xander talks to you?” he said. Jason froze. “I-uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said, turning away so that Gabe couldn’t see his face.
Gabe leaned back, smiling. “I won’t push it, I promise. Just know: Whatever you decide, all of us will support you, okay?” Jason nodded, trying not to have tears fall while he had his makeup on. Xander came back out, with the twins in tow. Joy and June both had pants with bell-bottom cuffs and long, flowy sleeve shirts. Joy had her hair down and curled, while June had her hair in a set of braids on her sides.
“That’s dressing with style.”, a voice said from the door. Everyone looked at Charlie and Morgan leaning at the door. “Alright. Does everyone have everything? Girls, Character sheets? Moth pins?” Morgan said, leaning down to make sure. The twins nodded in affirmation and showed their pins. “Alright. Let’s go meet Camp then, shall we?” Jason said, leading the way.
Charlie leaned over to Jason as they walked. “Listen.” he said in a whisper, “We don’t know what Smarmy’s plot is. This could be dangerous.” Jason looked back at him. “I know,”, he continued, “And that’s why I’m counting on you, Xander, and everyone else to keep my sisters safe along with me.” Charlie nodded. “We will do everything we can to keep them that way. I promise.”
Joy and June walked ahead with Xander. “Hey, Xander? Why are we all dressed up like Halloween?” June asked. Xander smiled. “It’s something we like to do occasionally. We’ll have a session in our cosplay just for the fun of it.” June looked confused. “So, what does Camp wear?”
Xander paused for a moment. “It honestly changes. Since she’s our DM, she doesn’t have a set character. So she usually wears something dark and flowing. Like a dress, or a long sleeve shirt and skirt.” “Oh. Do you think she wishes she could play sometimes?” She asked. Jason jumped in. “June, Camp doesn’t really care about being a player. She’s much better at storybuilding than acting in certain scenarios.” he explained.
June nodded her head. The group arrived at the school. The twins were absolutely ecstatic, but the party was looking around. The school was unusually quiet. Even after school hours, there were usually sports practices or games happening. As they made their way inside, most of the lights were off. “Uh, guys? The schools are usually not this dark, right?” Gabe said as they moved to their room. Camp was there, but she seemed very on edge.
“Camp? What’s wrong?” Jason said, sensing something was off. “I did a tarot reading on myself while I was waiting for you all to get here. Something’s about to happen. Something…unusual.” “Well, let’s remember that for later.” Charlie said, pulling up a chair. “Camp, do you still have what we agreed on?” Jason asked with a mischievous smile on his face.
Camp pulled out two small sacks and handed them to the twins. “Your big brother wanted me to give these to you two as a gift for your first session.” She said with a smile. “Your very own sets of dice!” The twins eagerly opened them. Joy’s were a bright pink with blue lettering, and June’s were a dark purple with green lettering. Then, she pulled out a tape recorder with a cassette in it already.
“Alright. Here’s what we need. Everyone put your moth themed items around the tape. We’re going to hold hands, and play the tape. While it plays- Charlie, Morgan, Jason, Gabe and Xander, you all picture Moth in your heads.” Everyone held hands. “Alright. This should work, but I’ll be honest gang- this has never been attempted before.”
Camp hit play, and the song played. Jason recognized it as the same Blink-182 song that they played in the house at the dining room table. How Camp guessed that, he’d have to ask later. Now, he focused on Moth. Floating, carefree, nerding out over their room and laughing about the first time they had all transformed into their characters. Jason felt calmer, almost relieved.
The song stopped, and everyone opened their eyes. In front of them, their items were glowing a faint, greenish blue light. Jason cheered, “It worked! Moth, can you hear us?” No sound, but the item’s glow faded. Camp looked up, satisfied. “Alright. That worked. Go ahead and put on your items, guys.” Everyone put their items back on, Jason helping Joy and June with their pins.
Camp put her anklet back on, and started to say. “Alright, shall we get-”, and then froze. Everyone else had heard it too. Maniacal laughter. Suddenly, the room filled with red mist. “Jason? What’s happening?” Joy and June asked, terrified. Jason huddled them towards him. I don’t know what’s happening, but I know it’s not related to what we just did. Whatever this is, someone just made a massive mistake… he thought. When the mist cleared, the entire room had changed. Now they were in a stone dungeon, surrounded by tall walls and thick chains.
“What the hell?” Xander exclaimed, backing up from the walls. Camp focused for a moment, then opened her eyes. “Someone’s tampered with the balance of the spirits in this area. They’ve forced them to manifest and created this dungeon for us.” Gabe touched the wall. “Well, it’s not an illusion. That’s real stone.”
Suddenly, all of their Moth items glowed a bright turquoise. A familiar shape appeared in front of them: A teenager with pajamas and a patterned blanket. “MOTH!” Morgan cried out, happy to see him. “Hey, guys! Good to see you again!” the teen responded, smiling. Looking around, he saw Joy and June. “Look who we have here! Hi there, little ones! I’m Moth!” he said with a smile.
Jason laughed. “Moth, this is Joy and June, my little sisters. Kids, this is Moth. He’s why we have our items.” Joy and June looked scared at first, but slowly warmed up to him. “Don’t be afraid! I’m friendly!” he said. Camp stepped forward. “You must be Camp. their DM. What I wouldn’t give to play at your table!” Moth said with excitement. Camp gave a reserved smile, then focused. “Moth? What happened here? Why did the school suddenly change?”
Moth giggled. “You guys! Don’t you know that today is Friday the 13th? After all, your school is filled with spiritual energy!” Everyone looked confused. Moth stopped circling. “Wait. You didn’t know that? That means…” Moth suddenly looked very afraid. “You…didn’t do this. Oh no.” Charlie stepped forward. “Moth? What’s wrong?”
Moth turned pale. “Someone else here has raised the spirits of who used to be here. And they’ve manifested this dungeon over the school. Someone with very malicious intent.” Moth narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. “I can sense that there’s one part of the school that hasn't changed. Come on, follow me.”
The ghost led them to the pool area. Jason and Camp kept the twins close as they went. The halls had been completely changed. Lockers were now storage closets, and the lights were replaced with torches and chandeliers. “Camp, talk to me- what are you sensing?” Gabe asked, leaning over. Camp stared at him. “Wow. Meeting Moth must have really shifted your perspective on the spiritual, huh? Well, it’s better for me to get to where we’re going. Then I can get a complete reading on the energy around us.” She replied.
The gang entered the pool area. The cover hadn’t been put back on, and the lights were on but dimmed considerably. “Aright. This is a good staging area.” Moth said, then turned to Camp. “Well, you seem to be the most spiritual out of all of us. What do you think or see?” he asked. Camp went to meditate, and immediately yelped out of fear. “I know what happened.” She said, breathing heavily. She stood up, and looked towards the direction of the principal's office.
“Someone has my notebook for the campaign. And made a spiritual connection with it.” she said calmly. All 5 of the players stared at her. “Wait, so you’re saying…” Jason said, as he put it together. “OH, SHIIIIIIIIIIT. We’re in our campaign?!” Xander caught him as he stepped back. “Easy buddy.” He turned to Moth. “Moth. We’re in a bit of a pickle again, it seems. But, you helped us fix the last one.” Moth raised his eyebrows, and smiled a huge grin. “Just lay out your character sheets. I’ll take care of the rest of it.”
Moth looked at all of them, and when he got to the twins, all he said was that “It’s a good thing we’re in the pool room.” The twins looked at each other in confusion, but Jason knew exactly what was about to happen. He took a deep breath, and knelt down to the twins. “Alright. Joy, June? I need you both to stay calm, okay? This’ll be fun. You’ll finally get a chance to play mermaids, okay?” The twins nodded, and Jason stood up and nodded at Moth.
“Okay. Remember- it’s the same rules and logic as my house. I can help you if you get low, and I’ll do my best to keep you alive as much as I can.” Everyone nodded. Camp looked confused, but didn’t say anything. “Alright. Time to Rock and Roll!” Moth said, and everyone’s items glowed the same color as him.
Jason felt an all too familiar feeling- shrinking, gills, something else happening that they were not going to talk about in front of his sisters. When he blinked again, he looked at his skin. Same pale blue as Syreen. He turned to the rest of the group. Xander was in his Tabaxi form, flicking his tail anxiously. Gabe no longer had his beard, but he looked wiser. Charlie’s armor looked even more defensive than last time. Morgan’s horns and Tiefling makeup looked incredibly realistic.
He did a small twirl, looking at himself. Just as he remembered. He was Syreen now. He looked at Camp. Noticeably, she hadn’t changed. But her eyes had changed to more of a soft gold color, as she looked at everyone. “Hol-lee SHIT. I wish I had seen this the first time it happened.” She said, her eyes full of excitement. “Little guppies! Look at you!” Jason turned to look at his sisters.
Joy and June had completely changed. They had each grown a foot, and their clothing looked more natural for a merfolk. Their pants were blue with scale patterns on Joy, and green with scale patterns on June. They both had fin ears and gills. Jason held his hands to his mouth. “You two look so cute!” he said. Joy and June looked at each other and squealed. Counting to three, they both sat at the ledge of the pool, and dipped their feet in. Immediately, they shone with a green and blue light respectively, and when it faded, their lower halves were mermaid tails.
Moth floated around them, giddy. “You two look so pretty! Be careful of water though! You don’t want to sprout fins during combat.” He added with a giggle. The twins looked at their brother. “Jasonnnn! You look like Syreen now!” Jason blushed. “That’s because of Moth. His power lets us do this in very specific circumstances.”
The party formed up. Moth could communicate in spirit, so he offered to stay and watch Joy and June. The other 6 got ready to set out. Jason still laughed at how much taller and stronger Charlie was in this form. “Charlie, I just want to say- I still think it’s funnier that the Paladin that wore Cardboard armor STILL has a higher AC than the Wizard of the party.” Everyone laughed, Gabe snorting.
Alright. We’re doing this again. Thankfully, we do know a little bit of what we’re getting ourselves into. Jason looked back at the mermaid twins, with a defensive look in his eyes. Moth, I know you’ll defend them as much as you can. It’s time to do this. Joy, June. It’s time to see the Mermaid Princess in action…
Notes:
Here we go! Moth's back for round two, babyyyyyyy! What do you think of Joy and June getting to live out their dreams?
Chapter 5: Camp- Remember: the DM is the deity of this world
Summary:
TW! Mentions of family conflict. panic attacks, small violence warning
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Camp (She/Her)
Camp stayed in the middle of the party as they explored their transformed high school. Charlie led the way, holding a broadsword. (Where he got it from, Camp had no idea.) Xander and Morgan were looking around, trying to find any clues. Gabe and Jason - Syreen?- brought up the rear. Looking at Jason specifically, she had so many questions about the impact of Moth’s powers. For example: How Jason just switched genders seamlessly. Camp shook her head. I can think about that later. Noticeably, Camp herself hadn’t changed. She looked and felt the same. Xander had told her that her eyes had shifted from their pale blue to a soft gold. What that was about, she did not know.
Charlie held up his hand. “Hold up.” Everyone looked around. “This would be where the Senior hallway is. Guess that’s why there’s rows and rows of torture racks…” Xander commented. Camp looked at them, then rubbed her eyes to see if it was a glare in the light. Above the rack, there was a line of text in the same turquoise light color as Moth.
“Don’t touch. Player trap. Will deal 1d6 of stabbing damage if not disarmed…” She muttered out loud. Everyone stared at her. “What? Don’t you see the text above this rack here?” she asked, confused. Jason squinted. “No. I can’t see anything.” He made a movement for the rack.
“Wait! Don’t touch that!” She exclaimed. Jason stopped. “Ohhhhh, right. Gotta think D&D style.” He turned back around. “Alright. Time to investigate.” And as soon as he said that, Cam could see a numerical value on the rack. 12 . At the same time, Jason had a d20 roll in his head. 18. Jason disarmed the trap without any damage.
“Guys? I think I know how Moth’s power changed me.” Camp said. Grabbing one of Xander’s knives, she made a stabbing motion towards her arm. “Camp?! What are you-” Xander yelled out, then stopped. The blade had phased through her arm, leaving Camp completely unphased. “You all have your characters. Meanwhile, I don’t have one. And why is that?” she proposed.
Everyone understood at once. “Oh my… Camp! You’re the deity of this world! You’re basically immortal!” Morgan exclaimed. “Sure. One catch- I don’t have any stats. So, I really can’t perform any actions. But I can advise you all from time to time.” Camp’s eyes flashed gold, and looked ahead. “It seems that the way to the office is blocked by a few locks. And the keys are scattered all over the place.” She walked forward, scanning around. “There’s one in the Auditorium, or what once was the auditorium, anyway.” She sighed. “I can’t see the others. We must be too far away.” Gabe looked forward. “Okay. The auditorium is this way.” And went west. “I’m sorry. Is no one going to question how he knows that?!” Charlie exclaimed, as the rest of the party followed behind.
There were a few close calls on the way to the auditorium. Mostly involving petty traps and in one particular instance, a giant fucking centipede. Morgan handled it with her canny knowledge of bugs (And a mental dirty 20). Once the centipede left, the team went into the auditorium. Or they would have, if not for the massive skeleton guarding the door.
“Excuse me, sir?” Charlie spoke. The skeleton just stood up, and looked at them, brandishing an axe. Camp could see the stats on him, but she could also see that there was an easier way out. She turned to Gabe. “Gabe, make a persuasion check.” Gabe inched forward, trembling slightly. “Uh, sir? We need to uh, uh, check the security of the, uh, the key inside?” he said, not confident at all. Camp looked again. The skeleton needed a 14 to be persuaded. Gabe had rolled a… 7.
The skeleton didn’t budge. And even worse, it moved its axe to point towards Gabe. “Gabe, swap out!” Gabe backed up. Jason ran in, and said, “Making a persuasion check!” Camp saw the dice roll, and a small little confetti explosion as Jason rolled a nat 20. With a buttery soft voice that seemed equal parts female and male, Jason said “Come on, mate. We need to get inside and make sure the key is safe. From people on the inside, anyway. Surely no one can get past you out here, right?” he said with a forced smile on his face.
The skeleton dropped his axe, bowed, and opened the door. Once everyone was inside, it left the door open and disappeared in a puff of red smoke. Morgan, ever observant, commented “Whoever this is, they sure do love red…” Cam looked forward, seeing a red glint on the stage. “Morgan, you’re more right about that than you think.” she said, pointing at the key.
“Aright. Let’s take it slow-” Xander was saying as Cam walked calmly to the stage. “Guys. There’s no traps.” She said confidently. “I wrote this. So unless someone tries writing in the notebook, no one can change the campaign.” Jason nodded. “Yeah. Sure. That- That makes sense.” he said, still trying to comprehend what Cam just said. Cam grabbed the key, and it disappeared into her bag.
“One down. We should keep Moth informed.” she said. The group nodded, and made their way back to the pool. Inside, Joy and June were swimming underwater, having the time of their lives. “Jason. Why don’t you get them out so we can tell them, too.” Jason shuddered. Xander leaned on him. “Go on, Syreen. Jump on in with them.” He said in a teasing voice. Camp noticed that Xander had made Jason’s pale blue skin blush a deep purple. He leaped in, heading underwater.
Jason brought Joy and June over to the edge, and they stayed there, flipping their tails to occasionally splash Jason. “Okay,” Charlie began. “So, we need keys to get to the office. How many did you plan for, Camp?” he asked, turning to Camp. “Four. One guarded by the Skeleton. The other three have an odd property to them. Once someone touches them, the only way for someone not to be in possession of it is to bring it to the door, or to give it to someone at the cost of them taking 1d4 of thorns damage.” she explained.
All at once, Moth, Joy and June all looked at each other. Camp saw this, and continued, “Uh, Moth? Little guppies? What’s….” She stopped as soon as she saw Jason’s face. “Oh no. Girls, be honest with me. Did you find two keys at the bottom of the pool?” she kneeled down. Their faces sold them out: As well as the blue and green keys that they grabbed out of their pouches.
Jason took a deep breath in, calmly stepped outside, and yelled at the top of his lungs. Xander went to go get him, while Moth floated over to the twins. “Camp? Is Jason mad at us?” Joy asked, tears forming in her eyes. Moth sat down on the ledge. “No, little ones. Your brother is not mad. He’s actually very scared right now. He doesn’t want anything bad to happen to you two.” They sighed. “I wish I had a brother like him when I was alive…”
Jason (He/Him)
If it wasn’t for taking damage, Jason would have put a fist right through the wooden door next to him. After yelling, he just slouched into a ball and leaned against the wall. “No, no, no. This can’t be happening. I promised to keep them safe, and now they’re-” He said, clearly panicking. “And now they need their big brother to believe in them, more than ever.” a voice said from behind them. Jason looked up, tears in his eyes. Xander was standing over him. Leaning down, he sat next to him, softly patting him with his beans. Oh yeah, he has beans. Forgot about that… Jason thought to himself.
Wiping away his tears, he leaned into Xander. “Xander, I’m so scared for them. We’re not giving someone extra damage, but I also don’t want them to be at that boss fight. If it’s anything like that Spider Mom, then we could be in big trouble.” Xander held him softly. “Jason. We will not let anything happen to them. All of us will put ourselves in between them and whatever danger we may find.” He said with a firm and calm voice.
Jason leaned into Xander’s shoulder and sobbed. “Jason ‘Syreen’ Van Blair.” Xander said firmly. “I need you to keep it together right now. Your sisters need you, and we need each other in order to get out of this hellscape. Moth and Camp are talking with them right now.” Jason looked up in shock. “So that’s why your illusion worked so well on Gabe…” he muttered. Xander helped him up, and they went back inside. Joy and June looked at him with soft, pleading eyes. “Come on, let’s take a swim for a moment.” Jason said, diving in.
Underwater, Jason settled himself down on the floor. He had to admit- the gills and the phenomenally increased swimming ability were great. Joy and June swam to him underwater. “You two swim so elegantly now.”, he said with a forced smile. The twins inched towards him carefully. “Come here, little mermaids.” Jason said, and held his arms out. Joy and June swam into him, laying him flat. Their tails curled around him, as he held them in a tight hug.
“I’m not mad at either of you, okay? I also don’t want you giving up your keys, okay? I need you to be brave and strong, like I know you can.” Jason said, petting their heads. Joy and June nodded. “Yes, your highness.” They said in unison, making Jason blush again. “You guys…” he said, sitting up. He could see the entire party looking at them through the ripples in the water. Moth floated down to them, and layed there next to them.
“Jason. Moth said they wish they had a brother like you growing up. Was Moth not very loved growing up?” Joy asked with innocent eyes. Jason and Moth both looked at each other. Uh, not with details, please? Moth mouthed to Jason. Jason nodded, and turned to his sisters. “Well, let’s just say that Moth’s parents weren’t the best at getting along and agreeing on things. Because of that, Moth got put to the side a lot.” Jason explained, reaching a hand out to Moth.
Moth took it the best he could, and the group swam up to the surface. Xander leaned down and helped Joy and June out of the water. As soon as they were out, their tails disappeared and they stood up. Jason walked out and shook himself off. Gabe handed him a towel, and Jason dried himself off as much as he could.
Camp stepped up, and took charge. “Ready, little guppies? You’re going to need some tools to get to the final area.” Joy reached into her inventory pouch, and pulled out a rapier with a belt, much to Jason’s shock. June did the same thing, and pulled out a simple trident. Jason almost passed out from sheer surprise factor. “Dude, you’re going to have to pull it together.” Xander said, catching him. “We’ve still got a long way to go until we get to the boss room.” He teased, pushing Jason to his feet.
Right. He looked around. Everyone was armed and ready, including Moth with his Necrotic Touch. Camp looked out of place with everyone else. That would be true, but we need to remember: The DM is the deity of this world. And nothing can change that. The group set out once more, this time fully partied and ready to kick some ass.
Notes:
So, 3 keys down. And the twins are ready to start fighting their way out of this. But who caused this whole mess to begin with?
Guess you'll have to keep reading, then./lh
Chapter 6: Morgan - The benefit of being a Cleric over a Wizard? More HP.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Morgan (She/Her)
Morgan kept a careful eye on the twins as they moved towards the final key. Having been an only child growing up, it was weird to be watching after another child, she’d admit. Even stranger that it was two. Morgan put those thoughts aside for now. Instead, she started scouting for the traps she could feel were ahead.
Moth stopped short. Ahead of them was the school cafeteria. Now, it looked like a grand banquet hall. The stone here was much more smooth, and the walls seemed brighter. Camp looked around. “Okay, this is the great hall. This is a safe zone that I wrote about in the campaign. Around here, there should be some empty chests that can spawn in some healing items.” she said. Xander stepped forward, moving to one of the chests, making a motion to open it. When he did, he stepped back quickly, breathing hard.
“Camp. That is not a healing item.” he said in a labored voice. Camp looked again, seeing the skeleton in the chest, and frowned in confusion. “They all should be. Wha-” She stopped. “Oh no. Someone changed something in the notebook.” Camp said in a worried tone. Joy and June looked at her in confusion. “What does that mean?” They asked.
Morgan looked at them. “That means we need to get the key and get out of here FAST. Or whoever’s in control of this spiritual stuff is going to completely change it and keep us trapped here.” She said in a calm but clearly nervous voice. The twins looked surprisingly calm, and turned to Camp. “Where’s the last key?” Joy asked, her voice determined.
Camp was taken aback slightly. “Uh, it should be in what was the gym. However, it’s guarded. There’s a mid level creature guarding it. Originally, it was a giant shadow wolf.” (Xander shuddered at that thought.) “However, if someone’s changing the book around, then there’s no way to predict what it is.” she finished, thinking. June stepped forward. “Okay. We can do it. Doesn’t matter what it is, I’m sure we can do it.” she said, unsheathing her trident.
Jason was looking on with a proud look in his eyes. Well, that’s comforting, Morgan thought to herself. Just gotta make sure his sister’s don’t get themselves in harm’s way. She grabbed her mace, and took the lead on scouting traps on the way to the gym. “Stop.” She held up her hand in front of the door. “This is too easy. Even if someone or something is guarding the key inside, there’s no way they left the door unguarded or undefended.”
Moth floated forward. “You’re right. There’s a security measure on the door.” They turned around. “If someone doesn’t disarm it as we try to open it, the door will seal itself in stone. Once that happens, we would have to blast it open.” Camp thought for a moment. “Alright. Charlie, you know defense measures, right?” She asked. “After all, I did have something planned like this specifically for you.”, she added with a smile.
Charlie stumbled forward. “Alright. Yeah, sure. Let’s take a look here.” he knelt down, and Morgan saw Camp’s eyes glow faintly. Charlie began investigating, and Camp got more and more concerned with what she saw. “Charlie?” Morgan called. “You good, buddy?” Charlie looked up with a nervous smile. “Y-Yeah, I think so.” Morgan knelt down to June, since she was a rogue. “June? What do you think?” she asked.
June shook her head. “I don’t know. But I think he’s scared.” Morgan leaned over to Joy as well. “You know, in D&D, if someone’s trying to perform an action, and someone helps them, that person has a higher chance of success.” she said with a gleam in her eyes. Both twins looked confused, but then understood. “Well? You want to try and help Charlie get a better roll?” Both of them nodded, and ran to where he was.
Camp walked forward, as did Jason. “Morgan, I- Uh, thanks. You gave them some confidence as well as some time for fun.” Camp giggled. “Good thing, too. Charlie had rolled a 3. He needs at least a 13 to clear the trap.” Her eyes glowed again, and she smiled. “And that is a 17 with the advantage from the guppies.” she said, grinning. Charlie stood up, and saw exactly what needed to be done.
“Hey, Xander? I know how to disarm it. But I think this requires a rogue’s touch, if you know what I mean.” Xander walked forward, stretching and flexing his beans. Joy stayed to assist, while June stepped back with Charlie. Jason high fived her as she came back. “Great work, June! Way to step in and help out the team.” June giggled as he said that. “Alright, Joy’s turn.” Camp said.
Xander and Joy looked at the door, then drew their weapons. Xander hit the door at the top spot by the hinges, and Joy took a large swipe at the bottom. The door fell in, opening the way. Inside, the gym was covered with weapon racks and training equipment. The weapons were all shined and in perfect condition. Only problem was, they were locked in the structures by chains that led into the darkness. “One second, guys.” Gabe said. He drew his quarterstaff, and casted Light on it, illuminating the area. And everyone took a very sharp breath in.
In the center of the room was a tall, pale figure. Humanoid, by what they could tell. With short dark hair and a wild look in their eyes. “Hmm. Finally, something to do.”, the individual said. It easily snapped forward with the chains, and snarled. “Oh, shit-” Morgan and Jason said at the same time as both of them recognized what was in front of them. Moth sighed, “Whoever stole your book is not the most creative person ever, Camp. Really? Replacing a shadow wolf with an actual werewolf? Come onnnn, there were so many other things to choose from.” they said with disdain. “Uh, Moth? All things considered, this is still pretty bad.” Charlie said, standing in front of Xander, whose ears were pinned flat against his head and hair was standing on end.
The werewolf smiled. “Ah. A Tabaxi. Haven’t seen one of you in a long time. Then again, it’s not like your kind likes to come near me anyway.” Xander began shaking, right as Joy and June stepped in between them with determined looks on their faces. Camp looked at the situation, and could tell that there was no other way out of this. “Guppies? You’re gonna have to be careful, alright?” She said. Joy looked at her. “What? Why? We’re not fighting it anyway.”
Xander backed up. “Uh, girls? What are you planning?”, he said, his voice full of fear. “Oh, not a lot. Just gonna see if our Mermaid Princess can convince it to be nice.” June said in the most polite voice. Jason’s jaw dropped. “Oh. Okay, gotta think.” Morgan nudged him. “Dude. Do you remember that trick you did with the wolf in Moth’s house? Try that. If it sits, then I can cast Thaumaturgy and lure it far away from here.” Jason nodded.
“Well, now. Sounds like you’ve got a plan.” The werewolf remarked. “ But tell me, Tritoness. Do you actually believe it will work?” it said with a mocking tone in its voice. Jason strode forward with all of the bravery he could muster, and casted Command word: Sit. Camp looked for a moment, then shuddered. “Dude, you are so freaking lucky. You needed a 19 to succeed. You rolled a Natural 20.” She said, breathless. Jason relaxed, and as he did, the werewolf shifted to full wolf form and sat, wagging its tail.
“Nice job, Jason. It's my turn now. Thaumaturgy of a deer mating call, in the club area!” she said. Joy and June both said “Let’s help.” and stood next to Morgan. “15. Good job.” Camp remarked. The wolf ran out, eager to run after whatever it just heard, its hunting instincts kicking in. “Thanks, kids. You two learn quickly.” Morgan said, patting them on the back.
The final key was laying on the podium where the werewolf once was. Camp leaned forward and picked it up, adding it to her inventory. “Cool. That’s the last of the keys.” Moth remarked. “Now, to get to the office and take out the final boss.”
“Oh, it won’t be that easy.” A familiar voice rang out behind them. Everyone turned, drawing their weapons and pointing them at the source of the sound. A cloud of red mist appeared in front of them, swirling fast as it took form. A large male, with pale skin and long hair, dressed in what looked like formal royal wear. “The Vampire king? But he shouldn’t ever leave his room…” Camp exclaimed.
“Oh yeah? Guess again, nerds.” And everyone there except for the twins looked in shock as the vampire lifted his hand, holding Camp’s DM notebook. “The notebook! But then, that means…” Jason said, then put two and two together. So did Morgan. The voice. The words. Him calling us nerds. That’s why it sounded so familiar.
Morgan looked back at the vampire, with a grim look on her face. “Fancy meeting you here. Smarmy Jay…”
Notes:
Yep. It's a cliffhanger. Come on, can't end the story this early. Gotta let the BBEG introduce himself a little bit before the campaign ends lol.
Chapter 7: Jason - My mermaid sisters aren’t high enough level for this campaign…
Summary:
Hello, everyone! Bet you never thought this story would get an update. While life was a bit rude in many cases, I finally found the time to get back and continue writing this story. Hopefully, I can keep consistently uploading this one, because I really do care about this story, the characters, the background: Everything about this fic.
Up front, there are TW!s for Gender Dysphoria and light panic.
So, sit back, relax, grab your favorite snacks and drinks, and let's rejoin our party as they try and get out of their current predicament....
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Jason (He/Him)
The vampire- No, SMARMY- stood in front of them, still holding Camp’s notebook. “Shouldn’t have left your precious notebook sitting out in the open, dweeb.” He said with the snarkiest look on his face. “Say that again.” Jason replied with a dangerously low voice. Smarmy turned to Jason. “Well, well, well! I knew that you had made your character a girl, but this? This is pathetic. You look so stupid.”
Jason felt his words hit him, and it felt like they drove an arrow through his heart. Joy and June stood in front of him. “Jason looks incredible! And we won’t hear anything else from someone like you, you bully!” they said fiercely, gripping their weapons. Smarmy smirked. “What’s wrong, Syreen? Need your little sisters to fight your battles for you?”
Camp moved forward. “No, he doesn’t. And you are in deep shit, Smarmy. You’re messing with powers and concepts that your tiny brain can’t possibly understand.” she said, her voice calm yet just as dangerous as Jason’s was. Smarmy snorted. “Yeah, sure. Admittedly, I doubted my aunt when she told me about the history of this place, and the spirits that could have laid here.” he started, gesturing around.
“But I was pleasantly surprised when all of that spiritual mumbo jumbo actually turned out to be real.” He turned to the party. “Let me guess: You have no idea what used to be here in the past, do you?” Everyone looked at one another. Moth floated a little further forward, in front of the twins. “No. They don’t.” Smarmy raised his eyebrows. “Oh? And you do…” he stopped.
“I know you! You’re that kid that made me look like a fool in front of all of my friends! You’re the reason they left me and don’t talk to me anymore!” He gnashed his fangs together. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy this.” His eyes flashed bright red, then dimmed. “No. Not here, not now.” Unusually, he held himself back and put the notebook back in his clothes. “We’ll settle this in the office. I’m sure you’ll love what I’ve done with the place.” He said in a cackle. Swiping his cape in front of him, he disappeared into a cloud of red mist, his laughs still echoing throughout the gym turned training room.
Jason dropped to his knees, still hurting from what Smarmy said. Joy and June sat next to him, hugging him. Moth moved towards them, floating next to Jason.”Jason…” he started, laying a hand on him (ignoring that it phased through him). Jason stood up, his face still screwed up in pain. “Let’s go back to the pool. We need to talk about our next steps.” he said, walking out of the gym.
—-BACK AT THE POOL—
Jason swan dived into the pool, and curled up on the floor, finally letting tears spill out after holding them in for most of the night. He was grateful that his makeup wasn’t makeup anymore. Even then, his whole body, his fear for his sisters, his feelings towards Xander: Everything raced around in his head, and he couldn’t hold it in anymore. He sobbed, not caring who heard him or who was looking at him.
Looking up, he saw Xander peering over the pool. Jason knew he was fighting all of his Tabaxi instincts to shy away from the water. Jason sat up, and made a motion to wipe his eyes of tears, forgetting that he was underwater. Gently floating his way up, he surfaced, careful not to splash Xander. “Jason, I know the answer I’m going to get, but I’ll ask anyway. Are you okay?” Xander asked carefully.
Jason shook his head. “No. I’m not. There are so many thoughts swirling around in my head right now.” Xander sat by the edge of the pool. “Okay. Talk to me. Let’s sort through them.” Jason blushed, and this time Xander caught it. “You too, huh? Well, we can talk about that one AFTER we get out of the spirit dungeon created by our highschool bully, eh?” He said, trying to ease the tension in the air. Jason nodded.”Yeah. I do still worry about my sisters being here. I know-” He said, before Xander started. “I know. But I’m their older brother. It’s my responsibility to be concerned for them.”
Xander patted his head gently. “And that’s what you should do. Now. I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that the last thing that’s tearing you up inside is what Smarmy said about your character and how you look.” Jason’s voice lodged in his throat, but he nodded regardless. Xander hugged him from the side. “Look, we’ve been through this before. You are still you, no matter what you look like or what anyone else says you look like. All that matters is that you’re comfortable with who you are.”
Jason heaved a sigh. “I know. But this?” He gestured to himself, “I’m a woman in this body. But normally, I’m a dude. I’m so confused.” He held his head in his hands. Xander leaned over and gave him a side hug. “I’m sure. Even doing this once before, this is not normal in the slightest.” Xander ran a bean through Jason’s hair, causing him to blush deep red. “We gotta keep it together right now. And if it’s any motivation…” Xander said as he got up, “You can throw it in Smarmy’s face that he got his ass kicked by a dude that looks better than his girlfriend ever dreamed.”
Jason swung himself out of the pool entirely, standing up. Joy and June came and hugged him gently. “Don’t listen to that bully, Jason. You’re still you.” June said. Jason wiped away new tears, and rejoined the group. “So, Camp? Can you see any changes made to the area?” Morgan asked.
Camp looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief. “No, the path seems clear. Except for the fact of the door locks, but we already knew that.” She frowned, looking at Joy and June. “I never realized, but I can see your stats almost like your character sheets. And I’m seeing something really concerning.” Joy and June glanced at each other, not sure what to think about that statement.
“Uh, Camp?” Charlie cut in, after a long silence. “Mind filling us in?” he asked. Camp sighed. “Well, you all are level 6 now. I’m guessing you’ve leveled up after the Spooky house. Smarmy, er the Vampire King, is Level 7. Not too difficult for you all, IF you all were at the level you needed.” It hit Jason like an ironclad blow to the stomach. “Joy and June aren’t leveled high enough for this mission.” he said, breathlessly. Camp nodded, her tone low and resigned. “And we all know what happens to characters that aren’t at the right level-” she started, before Jason cut her off.
“No.” he said, firmly. “I am NOT letting that sack of shit drop my sisters down to 0 HP. It’s not happening.” Jason said, a sharp edge in his voice. Xander came up and put a paw on his shoulder. “And we won’t let it happen.” he said, his voice calm and steady. “Camp? Normally we run campaigns on the Milestone system. Is there a way to level Joy and June up to us?” Morgan asked, trying to think of solutions. Camp frowned, thinking. “The only way that’s possible is through the notebook. Otherwise, I can’t affect anything inside of here.” Moth, who had just been floating next to the twins, suddenly lit up. “Maybe we don’t need the whole notebook.” he said, a plan slowly forming on his face. The group huddled up, deciding how to best even the odds against their long time bully. This is the last time I let them come to a game session like this, Jason thought mentally. Regardless, if anyone’s going down tonight, it’s gonna be Smarmy. And I’ll see to that personally….
Notes:
Wow. This chapter got real Bungo Stray Dogs themed at the end, huh? Definitely not intentional, but I'll take it. And just what is the party planning?
Guess you'll have to wait and see./lh
MageRaven on Chapter 1 Fri 03 Nov 2023 05:51PM UTC
Comment Actions
LeePoal (Guest) on Chapter 4 Sun 05 Nov 2023 06:44PM UTC
Comment Actions
Kylapon on Chapter 7 Thu 24 Oct 2024 03:49PM UTC
Comment Actions