Dex said, "So, why pickpocketing, Eddy?"
Eddy smirked and replied, "You never know when you might end up with a weak character and have to rely on stealth. I prefer to be ready for anything. What about you—going for a battle mage or something?"
Dex scratched his chin before answering, "Nah, just picking up anything that seems useful. Not sure how I'm gonna raise my magic's rank though."
Eddy tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
Dex sighed and said, "I already asked my watch. It says we have to learn proper forms of our skills to rank them up."
Eddy adjusted his glasses and explained patiently, "Yeah, but Skyrim magic is already a proper form. Once a skill says 'novice' next to it, you're on a proper learning path. For example—your swordsmanship skill literally says 'swordsmanship,' which means you're not even a novice. You're just someone who can swing a sword and not miss."
Dex facepalmed, groaning. "I feel stupid. So you're saying that once I reach novice rank, I'll learn and grow naturally?"
Eddy chuckled and nodded. "Yep. Once you learn a sword style, the watch will record all information on that style and slowly feed it into your mind the more you practice."
Dex let out a frustrated laugh. "Oh my God, I feel stupid for not asking the watch any follow-up questions."
Eddy patted him on the shoulder. "Hey man, at least you know now."
At that moment, Rey and Eliza walked up. Rey crossed her arms and said, "Hey Eddy, you're gonna have to carry this one in some of the tougher worlds. The hardest game she's played is Ninja Gaiden."
Eliza's cheeks flushed red. "Rey! You said you wouldn't tell them."
Rey gave her a look. "No—it's important your partner knows your weaknesses so they can cover your ass." Then she turned to Dex. "Anything I should know about you?"
Dex rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. "I think I might be a battle junkie. At first I thought I was being influenced by Saki, but Saki is sadistic—not a battle junkie. So…I think that's all me."
Rey pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh fantastic. Then I'll be keeping you in check, which sucks since we both have a bloodlust meter to keep track of now."
Then Tet walked up with a grin and said, "Well, not all the time. The Berserk and Xstatic forms aren't available with other characters. Also, I need to mention—your character draws will only be synced up when you're on missions. Outside of missions it'll be completely random. Anyway, let's get your homes sorted. Who wants to go where, and what do you want as your house?"
They all stared at him for a long moment before Dex finally said, "We're not living here."
Tet rolled his eyes. "Obviously not. This is your office, not your house. Who wants to live at work? No—I've decided to let you live anywhere in the multiverse and have whatever homes you want. And while I'm at it, you each get a debit card with no spending limit."
Eddy pushed his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose, frowning. "Lord Tet, why are you going so far for us? This seems a little much for four people you brought back just because you felt bad."
Tet's expression grew serious. "This is an investment. I'd rather each of you focus on growing stronger instead of worrying about where and how you're gonna live. I am your employer, so forcing you to work side jobs to support yourselves wouldn't make much sense. Now, you guys figure out where you're going."
Rey looked at the others and said, "I think it would be best if we each live with our partners. That cool with you three?"
Dex, Eliza, and Eddy all nodded in agreement.
Tet smiled. "That's fine with me. Better than living by yourself anyway."
Dex and Rey started discussing things while Eliza and Eddy did the same. After a moment, Dex said, "Me and Rey wanna go to Onechanbara, and we want the Abbey from Midnight Suns as our home."
Tet raised his brows. "Wow, you guys just did not hold back, did you? That said—the Abbey is a great choice. It's got everything you need: a training yard, a pool, a hot spring, a forge, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, library, a big living room, a home bar, a training dimension, an armory,a command center, and tons of land." He paused, frowning slightly. "But are you sure about the world you've chosen? It's where your characters are from, you know."
Rey answered calmly, "We thought about that. We plan to make contact with Aya and Saki eventually, because who better to help us master our abilities than other Baneful? On top of that, the world has tons of mobs to fight."
Eddy grinned. "Great minds think alike. We pick the Ninja Gaiden universe, and for our home—we want Croft Manor."
Tet laughed. "Wow, your choices are almost the same. Alright—granted."
He snapped his fingers, and two shimmering kaleidoscopic portals opened in the air. "You'll be home once you enter. Also, your homes exist in a separate dimension so no one can invade you. I think, anyway. But don't worry about getting around—you'll have a gate that can open anywhere you want and take you back. So go on, enjoy your couple weeks off. I'll have new missions for you soon."
With that, they all departed, stepping into their respective portals.
Dex and Rey stepped out of the shimmering portal, which snapped shut behind them with a faint whoosh. In its place, two doors materialized. One looked like a heavy iron gate, while the other was the same runic door that had once taken them to their mission worlds—except now, it had two dials embedded into its surface.
Curious, Rey stepped forward and twisted the first dial. Glowing words appeared across the top of the door: Resident Evil. She twisted the second dial, and the words shifted again: 2 and 3 Remake. Another turn, and it read 4. Another turn after that, Code Veronica. She twisted the first dial once more and the words changed to Left 4 Dead. One more click, and finally the glowing runes read Tet's Realm.
Rey folded her arms and raised a brow. "So it looks like this door will allow us to travel back to any world we've been before. And instead of just selecting locations, we can select different parts of the timeline we wanna enter."
Dex grinned, his eyes lighting up. "Good. 'Cause I sorta called out Wesker. Be a shame if I can't keep my word."
Rey laughed, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "Tell me when—I'd love to punch that smug asshole in the face."
Dex chuckled but shook his head. "We should probably hold off for now and check out our place."
They turned, and their breath caught in their throats. Before them stood the Abbey in all its glory, towering and pristine. Excitement bubbling up, they approached the massive doors and stepped inside, finding themselves in the command room. Rey's fingers flew across the controls, her expression sharp and focused. After a few minutes, she leaned back with a satisfied smirk.
"I think I've got this figured out. I can listen in on any frequency—from the police to the Z.P.F. And judging from the date…the events of Onechanbara 2 only recently ended. We've got a couple months before the events of Bikini Samurai Squad begin. And I definitely want to participate."
Dex arched a brow. "Did we choose this world for training or fun?"
Rey flashed him a grin. "Why not both?"
"Fair enough," Dex said, heading toward the library.
Inside, he scanned everything with wide eyes. Rows upon rows of bookshelves filled the room, and near the fireplace sat a pair of plush couches, two recliners, and a polished coffee table. His excitement quickly turned into disappointment as he rifled through the books.
"Damnit."
Rey looked up from the console. "What's the matter?"
Dex sighed. "There's lots of books on martial arts and different types of weapon combat…but nothing on magic."
Rey groaned and ran a hand down her face. "Damnit. Oh well—we'll have to get tomes and grimoires the old-fashioned way."
Curious, she pulled up the shop menu. After scrolling for a bit, her eyes widened. "Ah-hah! I knew it—Skyrim stuff is in the shop."
Without hesitation, she purchased everything from the destruction and conjuration sections. A cascade of glowing light formed, dropping piles of books at her feet. Dex did the same, buying out the alteration and restoration spell books. Each of them lost about half of their shop income in seconds.
Dex frowned, his shoulders slumping. "I was saving up to buy out all the Resident Evil weapons…"
Rey patted him on the back with a small, reassuring smile. "There, there. It'll be worth it, I promise. But why'd you buy out the restoration spell books?"
Dex shrugged, stacking the tomes on a shelf. "No reason we can't learn them the hard way."
Rey blinked, then laughed softly. "Huh. Didn't think about that. Well, let's get these put away."
Together they stocked the books neatly across a shelf. When they finished, Dex stretched his arms overhead and said, "Alright, let's check the rest of the place."
They split up—Dex checking out the two master bedrooms while Rey explored the guest rooms. Both discovered their rooms were just as luxurious as in the game, but unlike the digital version, each had a fully furnished bathroom.
Dex let out a relieved breath. "Thank God."
Regrouping, they entered the main room. On the shelves surrounding the massive television sat every gaming console ever made—from the Magnavox Odyssey all the way to the PS5—all wired seamlessly into the screen.
Dex's jaw dropped. "Oh shit. We forgot to ask him to hook the TV up to our Earth's cable."
Rey's eyes widened. "Oh fuck."
They switched on the TV anyway, and their fears were confirmed. Only shows from the world of Onechanbara aired—off-brand animes and live-action series they didn't recognize. In unison, they groaned.
"Fuck."
Moving on, they checked the bar-slash-kitchen area. Rey reached for a bottle of liquor on display, only for her hand to smack against a glowing barrier. The words You're underage shimmered across it.
Rey scowled, pouting like a kid. "For real? What are you, a god or my dad?"
Dex burst into laughter. "I guess the alcohol is just decorative."
Their exploration continued into the forge, where they found not only smithing equipment but also a massive armory lined with display cases. Grinning, they each grabbed weapons from their inventories and began filling the cases.
Dex carefully placed the LZ Answerer, Karasu, and Hot Dagger onto stands. Then he mounted the Raiden, the Drake, and the Elephant Gun on the wall.
Rey whistled low. "Goddamn, man. I've only got Lei's weapons to display. You'll let me play with some of those beauties, right?"
Dex smirked. "It's our armory. As long as your stuff is fair game, I don't mind."
Rey grinned and shot him a thumbs-up. "I can't wait to start filling the displays. The only thing I love more than collecting weapons is displaying them in my base."
Dex chuckled. "Same. Maybe we'll go to Borderlands eventually—we'll get tons of guns that way."
Rey rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Yeah, but then we might run into Claptrap or Jack—and that's a headache I don't want."
Dex nodded. "Fair."
Finally, they inspected the training yard, pool, hot spring, and interdimensional portal. A note rested beside the portal, and Dex picked it up, reading aloud:
"Dear Dex and Rey, this portal will allow you to refight any foe you've ever faced. Don't worry—death inside the portal won't kill you, you'll just be ejected. It'll still hurt though."
Dex smirked. "Cool. When I get a bit stronger, I'll try fighting Nemesis as myself. I don't know about you, but I think I'm pretty tired. Catch you in the morning."
Rey stretched her arms overhead, yawning. "Same."
They headed to their rooms—Dex claiming the Hunter's room, Rey taking the Caretaker's. As Dex lay back on the bed, exhaustion weighing down on him, one last thought crossed his mind.
"There isn't someone sleeping in the mausoleum…is there? …Oh well. That's tomorrow's problem."
With that, he drifted into sleep.