By the time of their agreed meet-up Monday morning, Michelle wasn't certain that she was ready – and she was even less sure that everyone else was. Not for something like the intensity that Nikki had implied was coming... and that wasn't even the only concern.

  Reese, as it turned out, was free Monday, though his sister had forced him into a commitment for the latter part of the week. Not babysitting, this time; he'd agreed to go with their family to a professional football game, on the road. He'd expressed interest a while ago, and he meant to get to know his brother-in-law better, and they'd all be safer with him there. He made a lot of noise like he needed an excuse, but Michelle thought he seemed happy. They'd be driving, and doing a little light tourism, so it'd be a good three days trip.

  Everyone agreed that was fine, though on the phone and again the next morning, Nin seemed restless. She always had a tendency to ramble, but when she was anxious, she'd repeat herself or go on rants that she later admitted had no point or purpose. All of which was fine – Michelle liked listening to her talk – but she did notice the stress in her friend's voice and posture, and was sure to stick next to her as they entered Pearland's Alpha Portal.

  Because of that, when they entered the Run lobby and the Soulforged was again meditating on his tall translucent blue column, Nin noticed her immediate stress.

  "You okay?" She was quiet about it, but Michelle just gestured towards practice rooms with a shake of her head. She didn't quite make a bee line, but she also wasn't trying to hide her concern, except behind all the normal filters that she used in public.

  When a man stepped out of seemingly nowhere, into their path, Michelle knew that she had definitely been recognized. He had a bit of a wild look to his eyes, and some kind of strange smile on his lips that didn't look either happy or angry. He had a Dungeoneer level over his head – but it was stuck at 42, an insanely low number considering the three 250s he was standing in front of.

  "I don't mean to interrupt," he said, clearly meaning to interrupt them, with no apparent shame or fear. "I suppose this means you've heard of us, miss...?"

  Reese didn't need prompting to insert himself into the space, and he was large enough that both Michelle and Nin could have cowered behind him, if either were the kind to cower instead of fight. His hand clenched like he was considering bringing his war hammer out, but waited to see if cooler minds would prevail.

  "Can I help you with something?" Reese was polite, but his tone and manner were clear.

  Michelle sensed a nearby spiritual flicker. Nin... Michelle had warned her, but neither had really been sure what to think about the whole spiritual bait thing. Even if she tried to school her reaction, though, Michelle easily noted the momentary flinch and tension in her friend, without really looking.

  Reese would probably not have moved if he had sensed it, but Michelle suspected he didn't, from the unwavering spirit the man exuded.

  "Just trying to make friends," the man ahead of them said, with all the smooth insincerity of a practiced liar. "We have something in common, you see."

  Jerry is watching. Michelle focused her mind on that fact. It was beyond question; this was his territory, he'd warned them about exactly this, and Michelle had reserved a room before she left yesterday. With that in mind, she pushed down the discomfort of being confronted by a weird person and stepped up past Reese. "You could be less creepy."

  He gave a very theatrical shrug. "We've found that if we don't confront people, they ignore us. Almost like they find us strange and off-putting." He dropped the movement and his smile widened into a self-satisfied grin. "We get the best results when people have to deal with us one way or the other. And while we are quite comfortable taking 'no' for an answer..."

  "The answer is no," Nin said, also stepping up in front of Reese.

  "...we also find that an informed rejection is much more valuable and definitive than being rejected because we seem a little creepy." He held both hands up in front of himself. "You know as well as I do that I would be stopped if I tried to do anything. You're quite safe, here."

  Nobody missed that little bit of emphasis. Michelle... she wasn't exactly sure, looking back, exactly how much time she actually missed; it might only have been a few seconds, or even less, but when she stopped feeling overwhelmed by a moment of being strangled by something inside of her, when her eyes started working right and she could unclench her jaw, when she could process the things that she heard again, even then it took another few moments before she understood the sounds.

  By the time she had straightened up, leaning against one of the planters that Jerry had placed throughout the lobby, there were more than a dozen people leveling weapons at the creep who'd gotten in the way, and two or three more who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and tried to counter-threaten Reese and Nin.

  She only noticed that there was a dragon behind her when it growled. She looked, and found that it was hers – that it was White Fang, in a more elder form than she'd seen so far. She knew she hadn't summoned him, and when that shocked her fully out of her stupor, she looked around to find another dozen NPCs in absurd locations surrounding the conflict, all evidence of direct intervention.

  "What a way to introduce yourself." That voice cut through everything else, and Michelle didn't need to recognize the voice to know it was Jerry. It carried an unmistakable authority that resonated throughout the space. "Everyone, this little fuck-nugget's name is Clarence Cactus. A scoundrel, an idiot, and a Fool, but not half as dangerous as he seems. That having been said, Clarence."

  All at once, most of the NPCs were pulled into the sky as if by puppet strings, and Jerry's avatar descended from nothing. The various Dungeoneers who'd jumped immediately into the conflict mostly stepped back as he touched down on the ground, with Nin and Reese immediately retreating back towards her.

  "I did spend a fair bit of time wondering just how in the hell you were going to fuck this one up, but somehow I didn't expect you to unconsciously grind salt in the wound of a person who just very recently experienced trauma. Bad on me, I suppose, for just assuming that you could be normal for, what was that, less than two minutes? Yes, that's way too much to expect from you." He glanced at the two who were still sticking to Clarence's side, as though there was going to be a fight an Administrator that the three of them together might win. "Buzz off or be removed."

  Both stepped back, but only hesitantly, and a moment later, with a violent twist that she could feel, both were blipped out of existence, or at least, out of the room.

  "I did nothing of the sort," Clarence said, standing straight and putting on an offended face, as though maintaining his poise in this kind of situation was the only thought rattling around in his head. Not that his "poise" stopped him from shaking like a leaf.

  "Oh can it, Clarence. If I was the only one here who was watching and listening to every word of what happened, you'd still be banned, but now, I get to put on a show where you and your friends get very publicly shamed for not having two brain cells to rub together."

  This time, Clarence did take a step back, but only one. When he tried to move back further, there was a hand on his back, and not a supporting one. When he turned to look, there was an awkwardly tall humanoid man in a black suit, with skin that was deeper than black except where it was crossed with white static. His eyes and mouth were portals into a blazing firey abyss, and when he smiled, his mouth stretched far too wide.

  "You'll leave when we're done with you," Dungeon God Slenderman's voice didn't sound so bad to her, compared to what she knew it actually sounded like, but she suspected he was focusing all of that on the person in front of him. "Speaking of which, Jerry, kindly let me do the lecture this time?"

  Jerry threw one hand in to the air dismissively and turned towards the three of them. With a wave, they were somewhere else.

  "Damn," Nin said once she processed the movement. "I wanted to hear the speech."

  "Oh believe me, I'll record it for you. Chelle, how are you doing? Do you need anything?"

  Michelle blinked, and a moment later, remembered to breathe, too. That moment came with a sudden tiredness, and she shook her head. Behind her, White Fang moved in supportively, and somehow, she felt comforted instead of afraid. In contrast... the Administrator himself didn't comfort her with his presence. "I..."

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  There was a knock at the door. It took a moment for Michelle to realize that didn't make sense, because they were in a Run prep area, and the doors were teleporters. But when she looked, there was a priestess peeking through a half-open door, as though the other side was a hallway and not a fancied-up closet.

  "Do you need any help?" The woman's voice was kind, earnest to the point that it hurt. "I know it's a bit crowded in here, but if you need any healing..."

  Michelle stood suddenly, making Nin and Fang, and even Jerry and Reese step back. "I am not a fragile little doll," she snapped, suddenly. "I know I'm hurt. Traumatized, whatever. I get it. But I don't need to be coddled."

  Everyone else, even Nin, looked at her strangely, like they didn't understand. But the priestess just smiled at her.

  "Come take a walk," she said, holding out a hand. "Just a walk. We don't have to talk if you don't want to."

  Michelle didn't need to be asked twice. Before she knew it, she was in some random dungeon room – a farm, it looked like – with a long walking path that wound its way over gentle rolling hills. From here, she could see it ran by a pond and then through a small rural village.

  Michelle found herself just walking, without saying anything, and although she wasn't expecting it, when she turned and found the priestess still following, she... felt a little better. Not enough to want to talk, and she wasn't sure what the thought exactly was. But she would have believed that the woman understood.

  Even so, they walked in silence for a good half an hour.

  "I don't..." When Michelle eventually tried to say something, she only found that she didn't know what she wanted to say. Or even if she did want to say anything, except that she knew she must. It was how she was supposed to be. She considered, but shook her head and stopped trying, and walked in silence for another few minutes.

  "I don't know..." When she tried again, she felt like she was closer to understanding what she was at least trying to say.

  "Why you got mad at your friends?" The Priestess's voice was calm, matter-of-fact. There was a mask there, but it wasn't trying to hide anything from her.

  Did she get mad at them? Did Jerry count as a friend? Or was she mad at Nin and Reese? She didn't feel like she ought to be, but when she had exploded, it had been at everyone.

  "In my experience, it's not about you, or about them," the Priestess said after a moment of silence. "It's about the situation, and that can be hard to understand, especially in the moment."

  The situation. Michelle considered that, but continued walking in silence for another minute. Unlike before, though, it didn't feel like she could just remain silent. They'd started a discussion, and she... she wasn't mad at this woman. If anything, she did seem like she understood, and Michelle didn't want to push that away.

  "I don't understand the situation," she said, though that wasn't exactly what she meant, and she paused, trying to find better words. "I mean..."

  "You're not sure what I meant when I said it." The Priestess moved up beside her, not having any difficulty with keeping up with the fast walk. "Can I tell you a story? It won't take long."

  Michelle considered. She was frustrated, even after a half hour of walking, and she didn't want to just put all those thoughts aside, but she nodded grudgingly.

  "My daughter's father ran away as soon he found out that I was pregnant." The words she spoke sounded completely out of character for the seemingly young woman next to her, and Michelle turned and gave the woman an appraising look. But the woman kept looking forward, not meeting her eyes, but not avoiding her either. "I had a long time to think about it after that, and I've come to the conclusion that he would have been a bad father. I love my daughter, and I always have, but when many years later, she had a child out of wedlock with a man who also ran away from her, I couldn't help wondering what I should have done better."

  Michelle felt several emotions run through her, all of them only confusing her more, but she also couldn't stop listening. As the Priestess continued, her voice became harder, and perhaps a little lower, though there was still a warmth to it.

  "I wondered many times: if I had let her father's neglect turn me bitter and cold, if I had taught her to be less earnest and kind, would I have saved her the heartache? Would I have saved us from having to raise that child ourselves?" She shook her head. "I try to focus on the good – not only the good in my daughter, and in my grandchild. There were people who came out to support us. All three of us, each in our times of trouble. And eventually, after the Dungeons came, I found Jerry, and he has been good for me, and not just because he supports us."

  "But perhaps more than that, I have started to understand something from being a Dungeoneer myself. Even though Priestesses are restricted in some of our abilities, at least while we choose the calling, we still have the same bodies, and we are still strong." The priestess looked at her, and Michelle saw that there was an echo in her eyes, of something from long ago.

  "I realized that both innocence and bitterness were the same. Both were me feeling helpless. On the one hand, I thought I could just stand there and let other people handle things. On the other hand, I felt that things were broken, and nothing I could do would fix it. People talk about strong people as though they can just do whatever they want, but even if I had been strong back then, I wouldn't have known what to do with my strength."

  Michelle found herself clenching her fists. "I don't know what to do," she agreed, feeling like the words were inadequate, even if they were true.

  "There are a lot of reasons for Jerry's new Dungeon," the Priestess said, looking away from her, and speeding up the walk just a touch, like now she was the uncomfortable one. "I'm one of the few Priestesses who have ever really done the Fool's Run. And believe me, I didn't do well, not the first time, and not any of the other times." She laughed, and it was very dry. "But the one thing I did find, eventually, was an answer to the question. Maybe not the best answer, though."

  Michelle waited, but it seems like the Priestess wanted her to ask, so she did. "The question?"

  "What is strength for? What do you do with it? In a world where there is so much you can't do, it feels like your strength is worthless. And the truth is, the world never expected you to win at level one." She stopped, and Michelle stopped a few steps behind her. The woman turned to look at her, and Michelle met her eyes, unsure what to read in her face.

  "Strength doesn't mean winning. It means not losing, until you have a chance to turn things around. The point of strength is that, whether you have it or not, the world will be unfair. Surviving isn't enough, but it's all that's expected from a beginner. Everything else depends on that."

  Michelle watched her eyes, and the intensity of her face, and considered. She didn't exactly look away, but she found herself drawn inwards. "That doesn't feel like it's enough."

  "Right." The Priestess nodded. "And that's the question."

  Michelle looked up, tempted to echo what the other woman had said, but she thought about it instead. What is it for? Surviving doesn't feel like it's enough. That was the question. It felt like the words were right, but she still shook her head. "I don't understand."

  "Mm." The Priestess just smiled, her face suddenly bright again. "It's okay. You'll figure it out." She looked ahead. "Since we're here, do you mind if I introduce you to someone?"

  Michelle felt like that was a sudden turn for the conversation, but nodded. The Priestess gestured, and they moved off the path and back towards the village, which they had mostly passed, though the path more or less wound around it. But the fields of grass were well-kept, long without being bothersome, and never getting thick or weedy, and unsurprisingly, the ground underneath was always firm and even, with no sudden rocks or pits.

  Eventually, she was led to a largish house towards the center of the village, with a door that was subtly larger than a normal person would need, and the woman paused to knock on the door. A voice inside answered, and she stepped in, gesturing for Michelle to follow. Inside was an absurdly large man, bigger than Reese by a fair bit, not only in frame but in muscles. He was a tanned sort of white, and as he stood up from a desk filled with paperwork, Michelle thought that his face had a kind of gentle peace to it that was hard to put into words. He was also, quite clearly, an NPC.

  "Louise! Lovely to see you again. And who's this?"

  "Hello, Lived." Louise smiled, and gestured back at her. "Lived Thrice, this is Michelle Takoyaki. Michelle, this man was once known as The Devil."

  Michelle made a face at that, but the large man just laughed.

  "That was a long time ago now, Louise," he said, with an open smile. "But yes, miss, it's the truth. I was born a boss monster, supposed to act like the greatest evil among all evils. I had enough wits to know that it wasn't what I wanted, but no ability to do anything about it. At least, not until someone came by who could help." He shrugged. "It's a strange world, and strange things happen. The old me died, and I was reborn... only to die again. When I was finally brought back again, he asked me what I wanted to do. I said I wanted to travel, and see the world, and he let me. Sort of." He grinned widely. "I saw a lot of the things he was trying to do, tried to offer advice, though my heart wasn't really in it. Eventually, he asked if I would mind settling down and helping some people live an ordinary life. That sounded fantastic, so I said yes, and now, here I am. And I have to admit, I feel much better."

  Lived took a deep breath, and reflexively, Michelle breathed in, smelling the air. It smelled like the village felt – peaceful, rural, clean and well run, with faint smells of animals and people, plants and dirt. Wood, paper, leather, grass.

  This wouldn't be so bad, a part of Michelle thought, though she didn't take it very seriously.

  "Not to be that dramatic about it," Louise said to Michelle, bringing her out of her reverie, "But I think most people never need an answer to the question. And I suppose many of the people who need one never find it. I don't imagine a lot of people who live through hard times ever really have the opportunity. Lived was born with the question, but he didn't really understand it until he found his answer." She pursed her lips, but then added, "I've known the question for a while now, and I have an answer, but I'm not sure if it's my answer yet. That's as good as not having one, in a way, but at least I know what I'm looking for."

  Michelle considered that. As much as anything had... it was those last words that calmed her down. She was still confused... but maybe, being confused but also having a direction, was better than where she was before.

  "Thank you," she said, and meant it. She looked up at the large man, and hesitated, but gave a head bow. "And please to meet you, Mr. Thrice."

  "Pleased to meet you as well, Miss Takoyaki." Lived grinned down at her, and offered a hand. "Feel free to come around anytime if you like. Jerry's workers will let you in as long as you have my permission, and you do."

  Michelle offered the man a shy smile, and shook his hand before taking a step back. When she stepped out the doorway and looked around, she could convince herself that, strange as it might seem, it really was just a small NPC farming village.

  Considering Jerry essentially had no dungeon, and considering the restrictions he was under... why would he do that? Why spend his limited resources on NPCs that did nothing but care for themselves? Were they making food for the restaurant, or something else?