Our last episode left Xelloss with the newly stolen Seal of Maguffin and not-so recently 
stolen Sword of Duality, our seven heroes empty handed and very upset, a phoenix with no 
feathers on his head and a mad scientist that had to deal with the 7 of them. Needless to 
say, Demota was in quite a bit of trouble.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT WAS THE SEAL?!?!?"

Okay, he was in it deep.  Way deep.  

Demota eyed the group and noticed right away that he would have to choose his words 
carefully cause they might be his last.  He also knew that, if he came up with the right 
words, they would calm down and be reasonable.  That with the right words, they would take 
him and welcome him as one of their own.  That with the right words, they would join 
forces, overcome Xelloss and go on to get all the seals.

"Um... It's not my fault?"

Those were not the words. It is at this point that the author decided to spare Demota the 
lengthy, descriptive, beating-and-torture scene for a nice peaceful scene of the forest 
and a tortured yelp from our unfortunate scientist.

:p :p :p

Otaku Wish Fulfillment Theatre
Created by Scott Schimmel
Chapter 11: New Powers, Old Jokes and Mysterious Bad Guys...Oh My!!
Written by: Rift

^_^ 

After quite a mile of walking, our band of heroes finally reached the entrance to what 
seemed like a ghost town. 

"This can't be it, can it?"  Steve questioned looking around.

"These are the directions Demota gave us." Ard commented, "We could ask him again?"

With that said Illyria went to Damien and picked up a bruised and tied up Demota from the 
man-phoenix (or is that phoenix-man?) back. He unsheathed his sword, brought it to the mad 
scientist's neck and glared at him as to convey the message: "Talk or I shave you as bald 
as Damien"... well maybe not in 'those' words, but you get the picture.

"I swear this is it" Demota squirmed, "Just like heard it 'Have a problem? Go to Refuge, 
Talk to Rift'. Can you please put me down?"

And with that said Demota dropped like a stone.

"The sign does read 'Refuge'. Maybe something happened before we got here?" Kate inquired.

"Could you investigate, Kate?" Dan asked.

Kate simply nodded, put on her mask and became a blur. A few minutes passed and Kate was 
back, looking a bit confused.

"Well?"

"It's strange. All the buildings are shut tight except for a big one in the middle of the 
town. Other than that, it seems like there's nobody here."

"Seems like? Didn't you go into any of the buildings?" 

"I told you. They were shut tight. I couldn't get in. As for the one that was open... I 
didn't go in. It just creeped me out.  I know sounds crazy. I was invisible the whole 
time, but I could have sworn that... that..."

"What? What happened?" Steve asked, now curious along with the rest of the group.

"Someone saw me. I didn't see anyone, but I felt someone watching me?"

"You know what that means? That place is haunted!! " Scott said with a frightened tone in 
her voice.

Scott, of course, was suffering from natural fear magical girls have towards all 
supernatural except for your average youma.  Against youma and other dark creatures, they 
have no fear or suffer any shock at the sight, touch or scent of the creature no matter 
what the form. Against a ghost however, they turn into Jell-O.

Dan thought for a moment. "Kate, you talked to Rift more than we have. You think he might 
be in there?"

"I don't know. Haunted houses never came up in any conversation we had. I think we should 
look. At the very least well get more experience and money." 

"And if he's not there," Steve added, "we can leave Demota with the ghost."

Demota gulped at the thought of being left in a haunted house. Then again, when he thought 
about what they might do him if they decided to punish him themselves, being left in a 
haunted house didn't seem so bad.

0_0!

The group settled in the lobby on the large room. Kate now started to feel the presence of 
somebody along with the feeling of being watched.  Illyria and Ard also began to have the 
same feeling since their archetypes allow for such things.  Scott would have felt 
something, but she was currently too scared to notice.

Dan looked around the old house and saw that it had the classic look of a haunted house.  
Broken down staircase, mold and spider webs on the walls and creepy art with dust on it 
everywhere.  Then, as if on cue, Steve says the one thing you should never say when you're 
in a haunted house.  

"So what's so scary about this place?"

All of a sudden all the doors and windows slam shut making Scott gloomped the nearest 
person, which just happen to be Demota.  He wouldn't have minded so much, if she wasn't 
crushing the life out of him.  The room was suddenly filled with screams of anguish and 
moans of sorrow. Small flame spirits that represent souls in RPG's suddenly appeared; 
lighting the room enough for everybody to notice the walls were now bleeding and that most 
of the screams and moans were actually coming from the paintings and sculptures.  The 
stairs suddenly opened up and an eerie white glow came from the opening.  From that 
opening a dark figure started to come out.  Illyria drew his sword.  Ard got into a ready 
stance. Scott grip on Demota tightened. And then the figure showed itself.

"'Lo all."

"Rift?" Kate asked, "Is that you?"

"Yeah. What's going on? What did you guys do to get Pepe so riled?"

"Pepe?"

"Yeah. The house. Pepe. That's quite enough, Pepe."

Upon hearing the command, the house immediately reverted back into its original state.  
Scott finally calmed down enough for her to notice the death grip she had on Demota. She 
blushed a little and let him slump to the floor to recover. The rest of the group looked 
around a little amazed at the sudden transformation of the house.

"So you guys want something from me?"

"Well, it's a long story." Kate said "You see, we in this forest..."

^_^

Xelloss stepped up to the pedestal in front of him.  Making sure to note which side was 
positive and which was negative, he placed the seal into the opening and threw the switch 
illuminating the room.  Finally, the tower had its necessary power source. He had worked 
very hard to build it.  This tower reflected him perfectly. It was sneaky, cunning and 
secretive.  Suddenly, a thug (since he's not that important lets just call him Thug A) 
appeared in the room with a phone.

"Boss," Thug A said, " It's the Master. He wants you to bring him the Sword of Duality 
right away."

"Tell him that I'll be on my way. And please make sure that all the puzzles are ready in 
case those heroes actually find their way here."

"Sure thing, Boss. By the way, boss. Can I ask you something?"

"You want to know who I'm leaving in charge, right? Well..."

"Um... it's a secret?"

"You catch on quick, boy."

:p :p :p

"Hmm... he did that." Rift commented as he gathered the tools "Then he's probably headed 
towards Himitsu Tower; his pet project. I heard the tower had some problems with the 
power. He'll probably leave the seal there. However, you won't be able to use Damien to 
get there. He's not like a chocobo; he can't cross rivers or swamplands like they can.  On 
top of that, Damien looked kind of pooped to me. Maybe that's the reason I can't get the 
feathers on top of his head to grow back. It's that or he's molting. Anyways, that's the 
reason I have to install these parts. Understand?"

Dan looked up from the table he was currently strapped to look up.  He was currently in 
his mecha form and was hooked up to some machines. 

"Just one thing. How many times have you done this?"

"Relax. I've done this plenty of times on games like Robotrex and Super Robot Wars."

"I meant physically."

"Um... well... you're the first"

At that moment, Dan got very religious.

:p :p :p

Steve looked around the room of what appeared to be a gigantic store room that Rift had 
taken him to.  He said he had something that could give him a better chance in battle.  An 
improvement.  An upgrade.  And not just for him, for the whole group. To tell the truth, 
he was very excited about it. In all the recent combat they've had, he had been falling 
behind.  He knew that the others levels were beginning to rise and if things didn't change 
soon he would become little more than a moving target that drew attention away from the 
others. Still, there was one thing that was bothering him.

"How can you make upgrades for us?"

"Well, it's a long boring story." Rift said while rummaging around in the cabinet, "but I 
did get to examine the items in question and that's where I got the information and data 
to produce these upgrades and a lot of this other stuff."

"And how did you get to do that"

"Easy, Ash let me."

"Ash Ketchum?" Steve said in a shocked voice.

"Yeah. He seemed to have 'em and he let me take a peak. Kinda weird thought that he hasn't 
gotten back. Well, maybe he just got lost or something. There! I found it! Eh? What's 
wrong?"

"N-N-Nothing!! Nothing's wrong! Is that the upgrade you have for me?" Steve pointed at the 
odd looking thing in Rift's hand.

"Yep. This is it. Stick out your hand."

Steve did as he was told and Rift touched the back of his hand with the object. A big "N" 
immediately appeared where the object touched him.

"Cool. What does this do?"  Steve beamed.

"It gives you the power of Nerf"

"Nerf?"

"Yeah. You can now summon up any type of Nerf weapon."

"What good is that? Can't you give me anything better?"

"Hey! It took me forever to come up with this. None of the elements bond with you and 99% 
of technological weapons won't even work for you. Tell me, what  was I supposed to do?"

All Steve could do was groan at the statement and curse his luck.

:p :p :p

The scene was that of a classic old dojo.  In it, two fighters could be seen sparring at 
great speeds.  Suddenly the female fighter's fist begins to shine as the she drove it onto 
her sparring partner.  The man managed to block the incoming blow but the force sent him 
back a few feet. 

"Nice. You're getting the hang of using ki with your physical attacks." said Rift shaking 
the stinging sensation out of his arms.

"Your no slouch yourself" , Ard said catching her breath, "How the heck did you learn to 
do all this stuff?"

"Hey! When you have some of the best talent staying here, it's hard not to pick it up."

"What do you mean?'

"You know how this place is an actual 'Refuge' for all people who are unjustly persecuted, 
right? Well a lot of those people have great skill in some area. Martial Arts, Magic, 
Forging, Fencing... whatever skill you can name, there's probably somebody here that can 
do it. However, no matter how skilled a person is, they can't defend themselves forever. 
They eventually slip up or are forced to make some kind of sacrifice on behalf of their 
loved one. Like the saying goes: 'No matter how powerful the foe, there is always a to 
defeat him'. "

"Who said that?"

"Um... people. Anyways, thanks to that knowledge I was able to give all of you an extra 
boost in power that I hope to add to later on. In your case, I freed the flow of ki from 
you body so you'd be able to perform those types of attacks. Also remember to keep an eye 
out for the Temples of Fire, Earth, Wind and Water. You'll be able to get additional 
powers from them. Once you get all four elements, you'll be able to perform the greatest 
technique of all..."

"Call Captain Planet?"

"Funny. Well, enough talk for now. Let me see that ki blast.", he said taking a blocking 
stance.

"Are you sure? I don't really have that much control over my power yet."

"Don't worry about it. I know what I'm doing. Now let me have it."

With that said, Ard cupped her hands together and started to produce a white glow. In a 
sudden movement, she thrust her hands forward and let the energy go with a loud yell.

"Wai Cannon!!!"

This time Rift wasn't just pushed back, he was shoved. In fact, it was more like he was 
picked up, thrown thru the wall and stomped on the floor. Ard immediately rushed to the 
hole in the wall.

"Rift! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine", he responded in a low-pitched voice, "Maybe we should move on to test your 
ability to heal with your ki now."

:p :p :p

Rift started working over Illyria's sword.  A few more adjustments and the sword would now 
grow with the user, kind of like the swords in Magic Knight RayEarth.  With his hammer, he 
dinged away at the swords imperfections in total silence.  Normally, the ringing of the 
sword was noise enough for him, but not when he had company with him.  He glanced back to 
Illyria who was currently reading the book he gave him "1001 Techniques for 
Swordfighters".

"Your probably wondering why I would bother building a place like this. Well, when I first 
got here, I saw that besides authors a few characters fell in too. Some authors went on to 
just do their thing in peace, not hurting anybody. However, some other authors haven't 
done this. They've decided to take their knowledge and use it to oppress the people and 
chase down whomever they feel that deserves it. I built this place for them, for the 
people who can't defend themselves, for the characters that are unjustly persecuted, for 
all who want to live their life without the fear of being judged. This is my dream."

Rift turned to see Illyria's response. What he saw was Illyria turn the page of the book 
and continues reading. Rift returned to working on the sword, sharpening it now.

"You know, when I gave you that book, I thought you were gonna read it of the way over."

:p :p :p

Kate sat down along with Rift at the cafeteria table.  She was quite amazed at the 
selection they had.  It was almost like going to the castle restaurant in Suikoden 2.  It 
had the same vast selection in food and the chef even lets you choose the menu.  She was 
quite happy to be able to eat whatever she wanted.  She was even more happy to chat with 
someone just as exited as her to be in an actual RPG.

"So how did the house manage to see me, anyways?'

"Pepe doesn't see people like we do. If feels their spirit our."

"I figured as much. This place is something else. The top is just a ruse to ward enemies 
away, while the house serves as a docking place for whatever this place is. C'mon, tell me 
what this place is really. Mobile fortress like Figaro in FF3?  Battleship like in 
Xenogears? Or maybe...?"

"Can't tell you yet. At least not until you guys are further along."

"Awww..."

"Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough. Besides, I've got something for you." he said 
as he pulled a scroll out of his pocket and handed it to Kate.

"What is it?"

"A scroll."

"I know that! I mean, what does it do?"

"Let's you cast ninja magic. This one is Fire, I think."

"Coool. How does it work?"

"First you put it in your mouth..."

"Ewwww...."

"Fine. You can hold it in your hand, but won't look as cool. The important thing is to 
focus on the target and yell out the intended attack. Fire arrows, Fire column, Fire 
whatever... it'll let you do it. Just remember to phrase it correctly and keep your level 
in mind. If you try and cast anything out of your level. It'll backfire."

"Alright. Any more of these around?"

"Not here. There might be more in some of the other dungeons you might visit. So remember 
the golden rule."

"I know. 'Search Everywhere'."

"Okay. Now that 'that' is over, how about telling me your adventures so far?"

:p :p :p

Scott continued to look in the closet.  She knew it had to be there.  It just had to be.  
It wasn't in any of the other closets, so it had to be in this one. She continued to 
search, but no avail.  It wasn't there.  She looked at the man that told her that it was 
here.  He was sleeping when he's supposed to be helping. 

"RIFT!!!"

"Ack!" was the only sound he made before falling from the chair he had been sleeping in. 
"That hurt! What's your problem?"

"None of these are any good. All these costumes just as revealing as mine and some are 
even worst. You said I could find something modest in here!"

"What I said was that there is a wide selection of magical girl costumes in this room and 
you took off and dragged me with you."

"And there is, but the only costumes that aren't revealing are the ones for 13 and under."

"That's because the only magical girls that don't do 'cheesecake' are the really underage 
ones. Scott, you should know this. You were a fan of these shows before became one."

At the truth of this statement, Scott did what any reluctant magical girl would do.  She 
whined.  It was at this time that Rift realized that Scott whine was just as annoying as 
any other magical girl's whine.  He also realized that sticking your fingers in your ears 
didn't help at all.

"All Right! All Right! I'll see what I can do, but it's gonna take time. Just stop 
whining, girl."

"I'm a guy!"

"Okay. Fine. Let's just go get you your new wands."

"Does it have to be wands? Can't you give me like a magical bazooka or a sword or 
maybe..."

"Just gimme a little time to develop the stuff. What you're asking for isn't standard 
issue, you know."

:p :p :p

Ard, Kate, Scott and Steve gathered in a large hangar bay, next to some large vehicle 
waiting for the rest of their group. Out of the shadows appeared Rift with a not so happy 
Demota wearing a collar of some sort.

"I already told you Demo. If I had known you were in the party, I would have made one for 
you too. Don't be such a... Good, your all here."

"Actually, were still waiting for Dan, Illyria and Damien."

"I'm right here."  The voice came from the vehicle parked beside them. "Illyria and Damien 
are inside."

"Did Dan's voice come out of that thing?" Steve asked. "Dan? Are you in there?"

"Actually," Rift said with a smirk, "Dan IS the vehicle. Meet the ATD. All Terrain Dan."

"Wow! Just like Wren in Phantasy Star 3. Can he turn into a jet and a boat too?' Kate 
asked.

"I'm working on that. Now Dan, don't worry about your time limit in this form. You won't 
change back in the middle of the trip."

"That's nice to know. What about my new weapons?"

"Make sure you use them as a last resort. You'll change back after you use them. They suck 
the power right out of your current battery. I'll try to improve that later on. Oh! I 
almost forgot."

Rift pulled out a suitcase out of nowhere and opened it to reveal 6 communicators. He then 
closed it and handed it to Kate.

"I made these especially for you guys so you can keep in touch with each other. You can 
also call me if you need any advice or directions, but be careful when you go into 
dungeons. They might not work in some of them."

"Thanks for everything, Rift" said Kate.

"No problem, guys.  Just make sure to give me call sometimes. Okay, open it!"

The rest of the party climbed on board as the gate began to open. Dan roared to life as he 
started his engines and took off thru the gate. The gate closed with a loud thud, leaving 
Rift in a well places spotlight.

"I hope your doing the right thing." said a male voice.

"There's nobody else. Besides, I think they've got a decent shot at doing it"

"I don't think so." chirped in a childlike voice "They still think that finding the seals 
will end their quest. Why didn't you tell them?"

"It's best for them to take things one step at a time. If they knew, they would try to 
defeat him now and fail."

"Fine. We leave them up to you. There your responsibility now." commanded a female voice.

"Fine by me. Don't 'you' have anything else to add?"

"As long as I get to do what I want, I don't really care."  joked another female voice.

Rift merely smiled at the last statement and the spotlight faded to black.

:p :p :p

"Dame, what's up with the wig?"

"Shut up Demota or I'll peck you eyes out!"

:p :p :p

Author's Notes:

Boy, it's been awhile since I've written anything for Impro. Shows, 
doesn't it? Hope it turns out okay. I'd like to thank all you supported me. 
Namely Kate Malloy, Demota, Scott and Rutt. Thanks guys. 

-Rift-