Chris paused as a commotion erupted nearby, sounds of people yelling rising up over the general din the amusement park usually put out. "Do you think that's related to us? It isn't one of my subordinates."

"Maybe?" Beth frowned. "Either way, we should probably check it out. See if there's anything we can do to help."

"I suppose." Chris agreed with a shrug, getting to his feet. "Jello, T'ka, we're going to check out whatever is happening over there. You can stay and keep watching if you like."

"That is unnecessary. I believe the ending to this story is clear. Princess Pear will be won over by Lord Serbow's superior power, and they will both subdue this upstart Marco, making him their slave." T'ka replied, getting to her feet as well.

A little girl turned to her mother. "Mommy? Is Marco really going to lose?"

"No, sweetie, of course not! He's going to beat that mean old Serbow, save Princess Pear, and they'll both live happily ever after!" The mother assured her, shooting T'ka a nasty look.

"What I don't get is why Serbow kidnapped Princess Pear. He should have eaten her to gain her essence and mutated! Then Marco wouldn't have any chance to beat him!" Jello commented.

"Mommy!?!" The little girl whirled towards her mother again with a panicked expression.

"Okay, on second thought, I think you two have had enough of this for a bit." Chris muttered, moving them away from several sets of judgmental glares being shot their way. The four of them soon arrived at the source of the commotion, finding a group of people going absolutely nuts as two men faced off on a small stage, slowly circling each other. Chris frowned. "Is that Daniel?"

Beth's expression twisted. "What is he doing here?"

"Fighting that dude, apparently." Chris shrugged as Daniel's opponent suddenly rushed him, fire coating his fist. Daniel dodged almost lazily, his opponent stumbling past him as he sent a blast of energy at his back, causing him to cry out in pain and collapse.

"Another victory for the Vanguard!" An announcer stepped up onto the stage, along with a few healers who quickly moved to take care of the downed man. "Are there any more challengers who wish to test their metal against our fair City's most elite fighting force!"

Beth burst out laughing. "They have him on a recruitment drive! Oh he has to be miserable right now."

The announcer suddenly zeroed in on the laughter using some sort of sound based ability, grinning slowly. "Oh my, is that the sound of amusement I hear? Did someone tell a particularly good joke out there?" He narrowed his eyes at Chris. "You sir! Surely if you have the guts to make jokes, you have the guts to put your words in action, yes? Unless you're all talk, eh?" He chided, a few people in the crowd snickering along with him.

Chris frowned. "I didn't say anything."

"Oh-ho! Taking it back the moment you're called out, eh?" The announcer shook his head. "Show some courage young man! You don't want to look bad in front of your lady friend, now do you?"

Chris shook his head. "I really didn't-"

"Come on people, give him some encouragement!" The announcer amped up the crowd as they began to chant 'do it!' and 'fight!' over and over.

Chris sighed, glancing at Beth. "This is your fault."

Beth flushed. "I didn't think he'd just latch on like that." She muttered in embarrassment.

Chris grunted. "World fuckery. Definitely."

Beth nodded in agreement, before hesitating. "So… will you do it?"

Chris raised an eyebrow at her. "I wasn't planning on it. Why?"

"Well… don't you think it'd be nice to show off a little? Show everyone how far you've come?" Beth asked.

Chris frowned. "Eh? I mean, it isn't like it matters, right?"

Beth rolled her eyes. "Not to you, but- ugh, look, I'm just- if we're going to be getting back into that high society bullshit, showing people you actually have power will keep them from trying to walk all over you."

Chris paused. "Alright, why not." He finally shrugged, before heading up to the stage.

"And here he comes!" The announcer crowed. "Let's have a round of applause for our next challenger!"

Chris rolled his eyes as he stepped onto the stage, meeting Daniel's glare. "Hey, Daniel. Been a bit."

"Chris." Daniel growled, gritting his teeth.

"Oh my, do I sense some history here?" The announcer asked conspiratorially.

Daniel snorted. "Let's just get this over with." Chris shrugged in agreement as he shifted into his monstrous form and Daniel blinked. "That's new…" He muttered, falling into a fighting stance. He had no idea.

Chris flicked his tail, setting a few portal points around as he and Daniel began to circle each other, slowly increasing his control over the area as he considered how to go about this. Should he make this a fight? Or should he just crush Daniel completely?

"You can do it, big brother!" Jello yelled.

"Crush him, Master!" T'ka shouted as well, getting a few strange looks from the rest of the crowd.

"Kick his ass!" Beth whooped.

Well, that cinched that. Chris grinned slightly as in an instant he disappeared and reappeared behind Daniel, only for Daniel to immediately jump forward into a roll, popping back up to face Chris a bit of sweat beading on his skin. "You- gah!" He yelped as Chris teleported once again, ducking into another dodge roll to avoid a swipe of Chris's tail, only for Chris to meet him on the other end of the roll with a swipe of his claws. A blast of energy pulsed from his side, sending his careening away, only for Chris to be there again, only this time he wasn't using his claws, he was bearing down on him with some sort of force ability! What the hell was happening here!?! Chris wasn't supposed to be able to do any of this!

Daniel let out a growl as a wave of energy burst out of him, dispersing the force of Chris's attack and throwing him back, immediately focusing another beam of force on him, burning a hole in his side before he disappeared yet again, reappearing a moment later, fully healed and burning as he threw himself back at Daniel. They continued to fight back and forth like that, Daniel dodging around as Chris teleported around the arena, throwing attacks at him which he fended off using his superior ability. Nothing Chris had could make it through Daniel's defenses, since the highest ability he had was a mid-tier, and combined with his mid-tier physique that only got him to about the middle of high-tier, while Daniel was clearly nearing the peak of it.

"Fucking- fuck- fuck! I give!" Daniel finally exclaimed, collapsing in exhaustion after a good five minutes, unable to keep up with Chris anymore. "What happened to you?!?"

Chris paused, shifting back to normal, before shrugging. "I grew."

Daniel just stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head incredulously. "That's not growth, that's a freaking metamorphosis."

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"Congratulations to our first victor!" The announcer began as he rejoined them on the stage. "What a battle, right folks?" He asked as the crowd roared. "As promised, here are your winnings." The announcer turned to Chris, handing him a small package. "If you're ever interested in joining the Vanguard yourself, you know where to find us, eh?" He winked.

"Sorry, I'm already in the Scouts." Chris shrugged, before walking off the stage and rejoining Beth.

"You did it!" Beth exclaimed happily, jumping into his arms.

"Eh, I tired him out." Chris grimaced. "I didn't really beat him."

"Chris, you stood your own against one of the strongest high-tiers in the entire City." Beth retorted. "A few months ago, you were dying to goblins. That's a huge turnaround! You should be proud of yourself! Plus, did you see the look on Daniel's face?"

"He was pretty shocked." Chris agreed with a nod.

"I don't know why I ever expect you to get excited." Beth sighed, shaking her head, before pausing and glancing at the package he'd gotten. "So, what'd you get?"

"Let's see." Chris muttered, tearing it open. "Huh, a new phone. And a gift card."

"Oh. Well that's nice, isn't it?" Beth shrugged.

"I guess… not a big fan of Banana phones." Chris muttered.

Beth rolled her eyes. "Come on, it's been a while. Let's see if we can find some of the others."

*

"Victoria!" Beth yelled, waving her down as they arrived at the arcade.

"Oh, hey guys." Victoria waved back. "What's up?"

"Nothing, just wandering around." Beth shrugged. "What have you guys been up to?"

"She's been going around trying to get the high score on every machine in the place." Derek grumbled.

"Trying?" Victoria retorted. "I have been getting the high score on every machine!"

"That isn't the point! You don't even enjoy these games! You're just doing it to win!" Derek protested.

Victoria blinked. "And?"

Derek let out a groan. "I should have gone with Greg and Thad."

"What'd you think she'd be doing when she went to play games, if not playing games?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I thought she'd play a few games and then move on! Who comes to an amusement park and spends hours in the freaking arcade!?!" Derek exclaimed.

"What? I'm not into rides and I like games. What's wrong with that?" Victoria shrugged. "Besides, you're free to leave whenever you want."

"I'm not leaving a pretty girl all alone in the middle of an amusement park." Derek rolled his eyes. "Do you know how many guys I've had to scare off already?"

"Four." Victoria replied. "And a few girls as well, which… somewhat disappointing."

Derek blinked. "So… you know why I can't leave you alone!"

"I can handle some guys hitting on me." Victoria snorted. "I'm perfectly capable of being awkward and obtuse enough that no one will bother me for longer than a few minutes. That, or they'll like me anyway, and that's a sign of someone I'd actually want to date."

"Honestly, Derek, it's a bit patronizing to think she, or any woman, needs you to protect her from the advancement of other men." Beth commented, crossing her arms.

"I- I was just trying to be helpful!" Derek protested. "How was I supposed to know she actually wanted to be approached by random creeps?!?"

"Did you try, maybe, asking?" Beth replied, raising an eyebrow. "You wouldn't take a friend's bag without asking, even if it looked heavy, right? Just assuming people need help means that you assume they're somehow incapable, either of performing their task or of asking for help when they need it. Also, if you don't communicate that you're helping someone, how are they supposed to know they can rely on you? So even if you think someone absolutely needs your help, asking them if they actually want it is just basic courtesy."

Derek frowned thoughtfully. "I guess that makes sense…"

Beth smiled victoriously. "Of course it does. So, how about we leave Victoria to her games and go check out some rides?"

Derek hesitated for a moment, before letting out a sigh. "Yeah, why not."

*

The now five person group headed off to check out the rides, leaving Victoria to complete her task to get the high score on every machine. Literally, she'd gotten a task for it, and it was even worth a decent amount of points, a full forty! The only thing that would have made it better was if the games were actually fun. Not that they were terrible, honestly, but besides the few games with the guns she'd finished first, the rest were pretty basic. You could only play so many games about running and jumping before it began to feel repetitive. Still, testing her skills against the countless players that came before her and coming out on top was satisfying, even if she did have a stat advantage.

"You're pretty good at this, huh?" One of the arcade employees commented, leaning up against the machine.

"I think I've verifiably established that I'm the best." Victoria commented, nodding her head at the long line of machines with VTS at the top of the list, for Victoria Thomas Soul.

The woman hesitated. "I- sorta overheard your conversation back there. You… like women?"

Victoria paused, glancing over to give her an evaluating look, though still paying enough attention to keep up with the game she was currently playing. Or at least trying too… Multitasking was still not her strong suit, so she quickly lost due to a small mistake. Thankfully she'd already had enough points for the high score, it just bothered her that she didn't have as high a score as she could have. The woman was cute, though she looked a bit young… maybe sixteen or so? Though thinking about it, she looked sixteen or so… aging up this body wouldn't be a bad idea at some point. Though, at some point it would happen naturally, so maybe not. "I do."

She flushed awkwardly. "I- also like women… sorry, I've just- I- I've never seen anyone be so open about it."

Victoria blinked. "Is being gay a taboo around here?"

"Ye- yeah?" The woman frowned. "What do you mean by 'around here'?"

"Uhhh…" Victoria trailed off, not sure how to answer that, since any truthful answer would make it clear she wasn't from the City, and any other answers she could think of would just be weird. "Nothing?" She offered hesitantly. "I'm Victoria." She quickly introduced herself, trying to move past it.

The woman eyed Victoria weirdly for a moment. "I'm Emily… have you been through the Trial yet?"

"No, I haven't." Victoria shrugged. "You?"

"I have." Emily replied, sounding a bit disappointed. "But that's pretty obvious, isn't it?"

Victoria cocked her head. That meant she was at least eighteen, right? Was she just young looking? "Why would it be obvious?"

Emily blinked. "I- work here? It isn't like I could get a job before the Trial."

"Right…" Victoria muttered.

"How close are you to the Trial?" Emily asked next, clearly trying to figure out how reasonable it would be to still pursue her. After all, it'd be a shame to miss out on something if she'd be through her Trial in just half a year or so. Particularly since it was so hard to find other lesbians. It wasn't like it was illegal or anything, but it was definitely frowned upon, so people rarely advertised it.

"Uh…" Victoria trailed off again as she wondered how to answer. Physically she was fifteen, which was obviously way too young for this woman, but mentally she was eighteen or nineteenish… it was hard to judge when you hit your birthday across Worlds. She was of the opinion that mental age was the important factor here, so she'd like to say she was eighteen, but then she'd wonder why she hadn't taken the Trial yet. Also, she was physically fifteen… Was that an issue? She wanted to say no, but that did sound like the kind of 'legal loli' logic some people used, which… seemed off to her. Though then again, she was physically mature, so there wasn't the issue of someone lusting after a prepubescent body… ugh, just thinking about this stuff made her feel like a pervert.

"Look, my situation is weird, but let's just say age is probably not an issue here." Victoria eventually replied with a sigh. "Unless you're like thirty or something… but even then, it isn't exactly a deal breaker."

Emily frowned. "That- is not a reassuring answer."

Victoria smirked. "Fair. But it's the only answer I have unless you want to learn a bunch of things that you probably don't want to know."

"O- kay?" Emily responded, giving her a weird look. "I'm- not sure how I feel about that."

Victoria shrugged. "Sorry, it's just kinda the way things have to be, at least at first. I mean, you can't expect me to spill all my secrets just to get a first date, right? After a point, they aren't really secrets anymore, are they?"

"I- suppose not?" Emily agreed hesitantly. "So… would you like to get dinner sometime?"

"Sure, why not?" Victoria agreed with a smile. "When do you get off work?"

Emily flushed. "A- a few hours?"

"Alright, I'll meet you here then?" Victoria offered.

"That- yes, okay." Emily nodded. "I'll see you then."