Everybody Loves Large Chests

Year of the Chest 7

“Arms, where are you right now?” Boxxy called out.

“I’m on my way over to see who has the balls to enter your place, boss,” she replied through the mind link.

“What, on foot?”

“Nexus Access won’t work since there’s an intruder around.”

Right, that was a thing. Though the dungeon core had some great functions, many of them were unusable if there were unauthorized individuals around. Boxxy had forgotten this part since this was the first time they’ve had a ‘visitor.’

“What about Ambrosia?” it asked.

“Haven’t seen her around,” replied Kora. “I tried shouting but she didn’t answer.”

And it was unlikely she would get one. If the dryad was still linked to the dungeon core, she would have responded to the intruder immediately. Since her ‘liberation,’ however, she had reverted to her old self, one who was largely unconcerned with the trifles of small existences. Unless Boxxy was around. Then she’d show up almost immediately like clockwork to greet it. Which was definitely a good thing for the shapeshifter, but it still wished she paid closer attention to its lair and hoard.

But, as things stood, Arms was the only one around who could respond to this intruder alert since Claws and Snack were currently on standby near the tower that Keira was visiting. Recent events had made their master somewhat paranoid, so it wanted to have as much combat support as feasibly possible while on this expedition. It couldn’t bring the archfiend along since she was about as stealthy as an erupting volcano, but it would seem that had turn out to be for the best.

“Do what you can to subdue the intruder,” it ordered. “Alive if at all possible. I can’t interrogate a corpse.”

That wasn’t entirely true since Boxxy could absorb a dead body’s memories through Broken Reflection, but that ability could only access the most recent ones.

“Whatever you say, boss! I’m just glad this boring-ass guard duty finally paid off!”

“Snack, Claws - you two continue making your way back. Let me know the instant you’re in range of the dungeon.”

“Yes, Master,” replied the two familiars in unison.

The webstalker was naturally nimble and quick and the djinn could fly, so the two of them would be able to make it back to town on their own. As for Keira, she was only just now stepping through the portal Imiryl had opened for her. Her insistence to hurry things along very nearly caused the nosy people she was with to accompany her out of worry, but she was able to talk them out of it.

“Arms, status report,” it requested while its transportation was being arranged. “You’re taking a lot of damage.”

“It’s cool, I got this!”

“I’ll be the judge of that. Keep them busy until I get there.”

Once stepping through the high elf’s Gate Spell, Boxxy found itself standing in a specially prepared ‘arrivals chamber’ within the Central Consortium. It was a place where adventurers capable of spatial travel could teleport to without worrying about accidentally arriving in someone’s living room. It also meant that Boxxy was not as close to its destination as it would’ve liked, but it was still good enough. It bolted out of the building, through the alleyways, down into the old sewers and went up through Ambrosia’s hollowed out root. Alternatively it could’ve climbed the colossal tree’s trunk, but this was by far the quickest route to the Dryad’s Domain. It was also the most likely entry point for this intruder, so it expected to see who or what it was the instant it arrived.

Which was precisely what had happened, though the appearance of the invader left it quite speechless. Standing at a little over 130 centimeters tall was a radiant white mithril golem who was currently holding her own against an archfiend literally twice her height. From the exquisitely shiny countenance to the unflappable manic grin on its face, it was without a doubt the shapeshifter’s most shiniest of shinies. Fizzy had finally made her return.

At the same time, however, this was not the same golem from Boxxy’s memories. Her appearance was not one of a highly detailed statue come to life, but more of a machine designed for war. She had an extra layer of heavy mithril plating covering her entire body, with her ‘boots’ and forearms being especially thick. She now had all her limbs attached, but the shield on her left arm was exceptionally large. Her ‘hair’ and pigtails had transformed into a proper helmet and a pair of electrified mithril orbs.

In fact, it wasn’t just her head, but her entire frame that was clad in an aura of crackling electricity. Glowing blue cables the likes of which Boxxy had never seen ran down her body and underneath her outer armor plates, likely the source of her newfound elemental properties. It was quite clear Fizzy had Ranked Up into some sort of highly advanced golem, but her new countenance rendered the shapeshifter unsure of what to do. Seeings it Bane flaunted so shamelessly naturally gave the monster pause, yet it was impossible to deny it only amplified her shininess. It was a sight both beautiful and terrifying in equal measure, confusing it as to whether it should be fearful or appreciative.

So for the moment it sat back and watched. It watched as the golem’s shield knocked aside a full force kick as if it was nothing, knocking the fiend off balance. It observed as she swung an oversized mechanized wrench with a circular head like a mace, breaking the demon’s bottom left arm through sheer brute force. It looked on as the former gnome disappeared in a flash of lightning and reappeared in the air above Arms in the next instant, delivering a devastating dropkick that broke off her middle horn. It stared in awe as the mechanized fighter’s odd weapon floated into its familiar’s gut at high speed, almost as if an invisible arm was swinging it. It also did not miss the moment when the golem’s right hand opened up, allowing a vented barrel of some some sort to extend out of her oversized forearm.

“Suck it, psycho!”

Fizzy’s metallic voice rang out as she launched some sort of glowing blue projectile. Boxxy could only see it for a split second before it splashed into the fiend’s chest, melting a rather sizable hole into it. The demon roared in anger and pain and lashed out with an extremely low uppercut-like blow. Her being a Berserker only meant she got stronger and faster the more she was injured, meaning that this attack was beyond anything else she had thrown in this duel.

“Shield Wall!”

Her opponent had seen it coming though, and countered with a defensive Martial Art. Her transformed diamond-shaped shield momentarily glowed with a red light as Arms’s armored fists collided with it. This produced a loud clang that reverberated throughout the cavernous trunk, but the well-timed move had completely nullified all the force and momentum behind that blow. The block also served to finally grab the attention of the tree’s owner. Well, it was either that or Boxxy’s return. Regardless of the cause, the green-skinned dryad finally popped out of the ground between the two clashing powerhouses with an irate expression.

“That’s enough,” she declared in a commanding, authoritative voice.

“Out of the way, grass-tits!” growled Kora.

“Yeah! This has been a long time coming!” exclaimed Fizzy.

However, even though they said that, neither of them were willing or stupid enough to challenge a dryad in her own domain.

“I know not what grievances thou have with one another,” continued the plant-woman, “but doth thou not realize you are disturbing milord?”

Both the oversized and undersized psychopaths followed her eyesight to where a simple oaken chest was currently sitting. One with a yellow cat’s eye on the front, in the spot where a lock would normally be.

“… Boxxy?” muttered Fizzy, the green light pouring out of her eyes flickering intensely. “Boxxy!”

She completely forgot about everything else and dashed towards the Mimic with arms wide as if to hug it, but stopped dead in her tracks barely four steps later.

“Fizzy! We talked about this!” she chastised herself. “You promised you’d take a harder stance, remember?”

“Yeah!” she agreed with herself. “You said you wanted things to be different this time around, but you’re acting like nothing’s happened!”

“But-!”

“No, buts! Calm your shit and do this like we planned!”

It would appear the Paladin’s Parallel Plot Skill was still active, and that she was currently having some sort of internal dispute with herself. Boxxy already knew Fizzy had an optimistic alter ego called Plus inside her head, but it would appear she had developed another personality since it last saw her. One that, by the sound of things, was far more aggressive and confrontational than either of the other two. The shapeshifter really did not know how to respond to this development, so it kept silently staring at the golem while she argued with her alternate selves.

As for Kora, she was just as silently ordered to shut the fuck up and get the fuck out. It was clear she abused the gap in her master’s orders to assault its precious shiny for kicks while intentionally ‘forgetting’ to report on her identity. However, that act of insubordination was something that could be dealt with later. Right now Boxxy had to focus all its attention on Fizzy, who had apparently reached some sort of internal consensus. She deactivated her Parallel Plot Skill, taking away her alternate selves’ control over her body, then stood firmly before the chest-shaped monster.

“You did horrible things to my past self,” she stated bluntly. “You lied to me, kidnapped me, got me thrown in jail. You broke me out, but only so you could treat me like your slave. You forced me to do things I never thought myself capable of. You even violated me, which drove me to abandon my flesh and become an unfeeling, unhinged monster.”

“Yes, I did,” replied Boxxy. “And you are much stronger and shinier for it.”

“I’m not arguing that point. I understand why you did what you did, and I do not hold it against you. However, the fact that you killed Cornie Fizzlesprocket is not something I can run away from any longer.”

The mimic wasn’t sure where this conversation was going, but it didn’t seem to be a tasty direction. It then remembered something that made it nervous. When the gnome abandoned everything she once was, she made a certain oath, a sacred Pledge of Arms that she would support Boxxy to the best of her ability. That was why Boxxy wasn’t worried about Fizzy betraying it all this time, as nondescript horrible things were to happen should she break that oath.

However, much like the demonic contracts, it was quite likely that too had come undone with its death. Meaning she was now free to attack it without fear of divine retribution. This put the monster on edge, as it had already established this was not the Fizzy it knew. She was almost like a completely different entity, both inside and out.

“Okay, and what are you going to do about it?” it asked warily.

“No need to be so defensive,” she claimed. “Like I said, I do not blame you for it. Part of me even wants to thank you for purging that pathetic weakness of mine. A larger part still yearns for your attention, for nobody can truly appreciate or understand me as well as you do. So in light of all that, there is only one thing left for me to do.”

The mithril Paladin paused, took a deep breath to center herself, then uttered three words Boxxy never expected to hear in its life.

“I forgive you.”

“… Okay?”

“I know forgiveness doesn’t mean anything to you, but it’s important to me. Especially if we are to once again work together. You do want that, right?”

“Of course!” Boxxy replied eagerly. “I would like nothing more!”

“That being said, I do not wish to be your servant, your plaything, or possession. I want to be more than that.”

Fizzy gave her new oversized wrench a flourish, slamming it into the ground next to her while white arcs of electricity crackled through the air around her.

“I am a chosen champion of the Goddess of Happenstance,” she boasted, “Head Paladin of the Order of the Gilded Chest, High Templar of the First Underworld Crusade, and Honorary Queen of Understone. My name is Fizzy Rustblood, the first and last of my lineage, and I demand your respect.”

Ah, now it was starting to make sense. The proud mithril construct wanted to be more than just ‘Boxxy’s thing.’ She wanted to be treated as an equal, someone who can make her own judgement calls, her own decisions, and her own demands. Not just a fanatical follower, but a co-conspirator. Someone to be trusted rather than just ordered around like a pawn. Frankly speaking, it was an unthinkable request to make of a monster, especially one as devious, treacherous and untrusting as a doppelganger.

But Boxxy wasn’t just any old doppelganger. It was the Hero of Chaos. An entity whose current appearance as a wooden chest matched the mentality it had been stubbornly clinging onto despite having outgrown that ridiculous shape many times over. It showed that, deep down inside, it was still that same colossal moron of a box that walked into Fizzy’s shop all those months ago. A creature driven by its most basic desires, no matter how superficial or ridiculous they were. Even if it knew and understood the risks involved, its mind had been made up even before it started tallying them up.

“Alright, I accept.”

“… What, really?” asked Fizzy, her bravado wavering. “Just like that?”

“I still get to stroke, clean and polish you, yes?”

“Uh, yeah. I’d like that very much, actually.”

“And you will help me crush my enemies?”

“With great gusto!”

“I also assume you won’t be stupid enough to expose my Facade.”

“That’s a given. Nobody would believe me anyway.”

“If all I need to do to earn all that is treat you as an equal, then I have no objections.”

“You’re actually serious?”

“Fizzy, you’re the one that asked for this.”

“Well yeah, but I know you,” she said defensively. “You’d never agree with me so readily if you actually meant it. If you were serious, you’d be trying to argue with me to get some sort of better deal with yourself.”

“I’ve been through a lot since we last saw each other. As have you, judging by the look and sound of things. Neither of us are as we were.”

“I suppose that’s a fair point, but how do I know whether or not you’re just saying what I want to hear?”

“You don’t. That’s how trust works, remember?”

“Oh. Right.”

She talked big, but being a monster herself had made it difficult for Fizzy to retain certain things from her meatbag days.

“Words are cheap anyway,” continued Boxxy. “I say forget that stuff and let actions show our intentions while we figure things out. So what do you say, partners?”

The Paladin paused briefly to consult with her inner self, after which she lunged at Boxxy with arms wide open and a goofy smile on her face.

“Yes!”

Only to have the chest-shaped monster leap backwards, avoiding her embrace as if its life depended on it.

“Hey! What gives?!” she protested.

“Uh, can you tone down the zappy-zaps? Those look like they’d hurt.”

“Oh, right. Sorry, got a little excited.”

Fizzy stood perfectly still for a few seconds as she intentionally lowered her body’s electrical output. The crackling arcs of lightning around her disappeared, the glowing cables dimmed until they looked like dull silver, and the violent blue spark in her mechanical eyes died out.

“Better?”

“Much. Just to be sure, that’s not dangerous is it?” asked Boxxy.

“It’s fine,” stated the golem. “I need the electrical charge to move around freely, but it’s not necessary for my survival. Enough about that, let’s just hug it out already!”

The monster had no more complaints, so it hurled itself at its returned shiny and smashed against it like a side of raw beef hitting a cliff. It coiled itself around her in a mess of soggy tentacles as it eagerly licked up every nook and cranny of the golem’s new body. It reached between her cables, underneath her plates and even slobbered up her eyeballs. But Fizzy did not complain, just the opposite. She stood there in something approaching bliss as she felt the nearly forgotten sensation of being worshipped as if she were the greatest thing in existence. To say nothing of the odd sensation of being ‘watched’ that only Boxxy’s MLG could bring her as the monster thoroughly explored every last millimeter of her construction.josei

After about an hour of this borderline lewd ritual, Fizzy was left completely spotless. She was shiny before, but having been cleaned and polished so thoroughly made her feel better than she had ever since Boxxy died. Speaking of which, the two then decided it was probably best to catch up on what they’d been up to, with the golem starting first.

Long story short, she had gotten herself involved in a war between a bunch of surviving dwarven ancestors and the Original Artificer’s otherworldly mechanized army. The conflict was resolved with some divine assistance, but not before Fizzy evolved into something called a dynamo golem. Apparently it was a subspecies of War Golem, a rare, advanced type of metal construct that was a living weapon rather than a work of art. Not that the murderous box could tell the difference between the two to begin with.

The upgrade came with a slew of rather unfair abilities. To begin with, maxing out her Metal Golem Job gave her Geomagnetic Grip, a Skill that allowed her to manipulate metals around her similarly to Boxxy’s own Phytokinesis. Advancing her species had given her two innate abilities - Static Field and Lightning Affinity. The first of those was the source of the electricity coursing through her frame and she could expend MP to raise its output to quite lethal levels. The second racial Skill she obtained completely nullified any lightning-based damage she took while amplifying her own electrical attacks.

It didn’t stop there, though. Her new War Golem Job allowed her to use Lightning Warp to teleport short distances once every ten seconds. Alternatively, she could decimate foes from afar with the pseudo-plasma shots of her arm-mounted Magitech Cannon. Up close she could take advantage of the passive stabilizing properties of Shock Absorption or the so-called ‘Pure Skill’ ability that gave her a small chance to do massively amplified damage with each attack.

Then there was the second Parallel entity she developed while she was away, one she had aptly named Minus. This personality appeared to embody the more aggressive and primal part of Fizzy’s psyche, one that always assumed the worst out of any given situation. In short, she was the polar opposite of Plus in pretty much every sense of the word, though this was hardly to the golem’s detriment. Being able to hear conflicting opinions was a good thing, as it helped keep things in perspective whenever difficult decisions had to be made. That wasn’t even accounting how effective the three of them were while Parallel Plot was active, as it allowed them to utilize all of Fizzy’s physical and magical abilities at once.

If Boxxy were to be completely honest, it was insanely envious of the Paladin. She didn’t have a slew of Jobs, Skills or Attributes like it did, but everything she had worked extremely well together. Her rare and naturally powerful race gave her strength and toughness that most Paladins could only dream of, while her faith-derived Spells and Skills turned her into a one woman army. That wasn’t even taking into account the Arclight Artificer Job and all the specialized weaponry she could make for herself.

The bottom line was that despite her Status looking nowhere near as impressive as Boxxy’s or Kora’s, she still held her own against the archfiend. If anything, she was arguably winning, as both her armor and her defence were far too tough for the demoness to penetrate. Even the Mimic personally felt it would much rather run away and hide than have to fight the current Fizzy. And not because it didn’t want to hurt it’s prized shiny or anything. That was part of it, of course, but even without that it had serious doubts whether it could win against a finely tuned literal war machine that knew most of its tricks, habits and weaknesses.

When the golem finished, it was then Boxxy’s turn to explain what had been going on in her absence. It told her about its interactions with the Foundation, starting with its revival and ending with their attempt to capture Snack. The topic then moved onto the succubus’s Rank Up into a djinn, followed by Claws evolving into a webstalker with shiny bits of her own. This naturally moved the conversation to its attempts to track her down, which culminated in the highly profitable assault on that ice-themed dungeon.

Next came the heavy topic of Ambrosia. Though the dryad and the Mimic had mostly reconciled, she still felt a certain amount of animosity towards Fizzy. This was partly because she was a golem made of metal, but mostly due to how the two of them parted ways the last time she spoke. But she ultimately tolerated her presence and allowed Fizzy and Boxxy to carry on with their reunion, mostly for the sake of her surrogate shapeshifting child’s happiness. However, she made it clear in no uncertain terms that she would not allow this ‘animate ornament’ to harm the Hylt hybrid, be it physically or emotionally.

Ironically enough, this was also how Ambrosia’s own adoptive mother, the Goddess Nyrie, felt towards the dryad’s questionable relationship with Boxxy, but that was besides the point.

The Mimic then moved onto more recent events, such as its ‘dealings’ with the Hero of Death and the Hero of Magic, including the special Quest Mortimer had given it through Demons ‘R’ Us. This topic intrigued Fizzy quite a bit since, even if she was Faraday’s servant, she was still a Paladin that held the rest of the pantheon in decent enough regard. These were her own opinions, though they could be mistaken for her mimicking her patron deity’s feelings on the matter.

“Wow. A whole lot happened while I was away, huh?” she let out after that long-winded explanation.

“Yeah,” replied Boxxy. “I still haven’t gotten to the worst part, though.”

“The Gilded Hand raid? Yeah, I heard about that when I was crossing the border a few days ago, they really beefed up security since then. Were the humans actually targeting Keira like the rumors say, though?”

“No, they were after Nao, the other Hero. I had Snack slip away as my Facade while I stayed behind to protect my investment. However, I made a mistake, and my identity as the Hero of Chaos got exposed by one of the Gilded Hand officers.”

“… Shit.”

“Tell me about it.”

“So, what happens now?”

“I’m not sure. It’s probably best if I abandon the Facade and make a new one, but…”

“But you don’t want to give up on it after putting almost half your lifetime into it.”

“Something like that, yeah.”

Keira Morgana was a false identity that had come a very long way since her inception, to the point where she could be considered a separate entity from Boxxy. The doppelganger’s method acting was so good that even Nao’s LIAR was confused. Apparently the Hero of Magic asked it what Keira’s favorite food was out of curiosity, and for the cheap price of 30 GP it informed him it was salmon. It was still the right answer though, as there was only one ‘Keira Morgana’ in the world, even if she was a fictional character. Frankly speaking though, the idea that a Divine-ranked item considered her to be distinct from the ‘actor’ playing her was a little frightening.

Speaking of which-

“There is some good news though,” claimed Boxxy. “Turns out I had Virgil’s Divine item on me this entire time.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“… That’s a pretty subdued response.”

“Very little surprises me after hearing the shit you’ve been up to since I was gone. I mean come on, you came back to life and got revenge your own killer by deciphering the divine script that was keeping you prisoner? Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“So anyway, what is this Divine item and what does it do?”

Boxxy then briefly explained all that it knew about the once-pink gem while showing it to the golem. Surprisingly enough, Fizzy seemed to realize something when it heard the term ‘instant dungeon.’

“The Atlas of Dreams,” she said while cupping her chin. “I’m pretty sure that’s what the item is called.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. There’s references to an object with those abilities in the lore revealed to me through the Holy Scripture Skill.”

The Skill in question did more than simply allow her to use a bunch of Holy Spells. It also had the effect of imparting knowledge of religious rites and texts related to her faith, similarly to how Boxxy’s Demonology made it an expert on things related to the Beyond. As such, Fizzy was able to piece together that name after hearing all the things this gemstone was capable of. She wasn’t a hundred percent certain, but at least ‘Atlas of Dreams’ sounded much more impressive than ‘pink shiny.’

“Still, instant dungeons don’t seem like that great a thing,” she continued. “I guess being able to fight monsters without having to go anywhere has its own merits, but I doubt Eleanor would make something so straightforward. There had to be more to this thing than it first appears.”

“Oh, there is.”

Boxxy, who had reverted to its preferred treasure chest form, opened its lid. A pale arm stretched out of it and showed a fist full of strangely orange sand to Fizzy.

“I grabbed this on my way out of the Fun in the Sun instant dungeon,” it revealed.

“Okay, and?”

“And, it’s still there. Long after the space that created it ceased to be. So unless I miss my guess, I should be able to keep any goodies I loot for good!”

A thing created purely through magic, yet was also permanent. The implications of this rule-breaking property would surely make Nao and Imiryl insanely interested in the gem. Which was precisely why Boxxy kept quiet about it. Now that it knew the function of this so-called Atlas of Dreams, it would take its time testing its limits and monopolizing everything that could be gained from it to the best of its ability. Fizzy was a sharp girl, so she quickly picked up on its intentions, leading her to let out a small sigh.

Seeing Boxxy so visibly excited at the prospect of obtaining never before seen shinies really served to reinforce the fact that it was alive and well, and that she was now home.

“Still, that name is rather curious,” mused the shapeshifter. “I wonder if it has any sort of connection to the Vessel of Dreams I picked up.”

“The mithril chest Goroth gave you, right? Mind if I see that, actually?”

“You don’t need to act jealous, you’re at least 62% shinier.”

“I am not jealous!”

“Sure you’re not. Well, hop in and I’ll take you to the treasury.”

Boxxy then opened its Storage portal, inviting Fizzy to step inside.

“Do I have to?” she whined.

“It’s faster this way.”

The golem already knew that normally the only way in and out of that place was through the dungeon core’s Nexus Access function, which she could not use. And neither could Boxxy, so long as she was still seen as ‘an intruder.’ She therefore sighed once again and willingly entered the dark, depressing space of the Mimic’s pocket dimension. She was brought out a few seconds later, finding herself surrounded by gold and jewels of all shapes and sizes, yet her own radiant countenance made them look like little more than smooth pebbles in comparison.

And then, she heard the sound.

“… What is that muffled ringing noise?” she asked.

“That’s a very good question. Hold on.”

Boxxy leaped over to a particularly large pile of lockboxes and coffers in the corner, whereupon it started rummaging through them. Upon opening one in particular, the aforementioned noise suddenly became much louder. The shapeshifter reached inside and pulled out a Comm-crystal, one of the souvenirs it kept from the war. The palm-sized magic item was pulsing with a blue light in addition to its auditory alert, indicating that someone was trying to contact Boxxy. Or more specifically, its Sandman persona.

The doppelganger glanced at Fizzy questioningly, but all it got in return was a shrug and a befuddled expression that seemed to say ‘don’t ask me, I just got here.’ It then briefly deliberated whether it should answer that call. It wasn’t sure who was holding onto this Comm-crystal’s matching twin, but it was a safe bet to assume it was either the Federal Intelligence Bureau or the Foundation.

Whoever it was, they were quite insistent on having a chat, which did not make Boxxy any more willing to oblige. It was possible its location could be traced through the link between the two magic items, but was that really so bad? The Sandman was already known to have a personal relationship with dryads, so its presence within one of Azurvale’s twelve Hylt trees would not be surprising in the least. The only thing this information would confirm was determine which one among them it was, and that was only if it gave them enough time to trace the signal.

It wasn’t sure how or why, but the monster had the strangest sensation that things would work out, now that Fizzy was back in the fold. It therefore made the rather questionable decision of answering that call. After throwing on the Sandman disguise, of course.

The illusory image that appeared above the Comm-crystal was of a masked elf. One that looked eerily similar to the leader of the group of Foundation agents that tried to imprison Snack and hold her hostage. Boxxy put strength into its fingers in an effort to smash the object, unsure of why it did such a foolish thing as giving them a single moment of its time. However, the words that poured out of the figure on the other end kept it from breaking the item.

“Hear me, my good fellows, lend me thy ears.”

“… For I have left mine in my other trousers?” it answered warily.

“It is good to see you in good health, mister Morningwood. Or do you prefer Sandman?”

The elf then removed his mask, revealing a face that Boxxy had not seen since the events of Armageddon Day, and for good reason.

“You look good for a dead man, Primus Underwood.”

“I could say the same,” replied Silus.

“Okay, enough chit-chat. What do you want?”

“The same thing I always want, mister Morningwood. To make sure that this Republic of ours, for all its flaws and shortcomings, lasts another year.”

“Speak quickly.”

“Alright, to the point. The Foundation is tired of butting heads with you. I have been able to convince my superiors that cooperation is by far the better option. To that end we are prepared to offer you a deal. Prove to us you can be an ally to the Republic, and we will turn a blind eye to your crimes. Past, present and future, depending on how things turn out.”

Truthfully speaking, Boxxy would very much like for a truce to happen, as it didn’t want to waste its time and energy on them. Yes, it did die because of the Foundation’s trap and they did try to enslave it through its familiar, but it got payback for both of those crimes in spades. Not to mention that being paid to fight humans during the war was one of the most enjoyable and profitable experiences it had been through. It was but one of many things that helped turn it into what it currently was, and the elf on the other end of the line was the one who made it possible.

Its willingness for a ceasefire aside, the shapeshifter was naturally quite skeptical about anything the shady organization said. However, if Silus Underwood was willing to reveal he faked his death, then there was a good chance this was a serious offer. It would be foolish of Boxxy to just turn them away without at least hearing them out.

“Prove I’m an ally? How do you expect I do that?” it questioned. “I hope you’re not going to ask that I turn myself in.”

“Quite the opposite. We want you to use that terrifying power of yours to bring down what I can only assume is a common enemy of ours.”

Common enemy? thought Boxxy. They couldn’t possibly mean-

“We want your help in eliminating Edward Allen, former Spymaster of the Lodrak Empire.”

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