“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”
Tyger, who had been whisking away at a mixing bowl in front of him, turned to Kiria, who was at work washing dishes. “Huh? It’s somebody’s birthday today?”
With a sigh, she shook her head, glancing over at the living room, where Reina had been standing when she decided to look up at the ceiling and scream aloud. “No….she says it’s the story’s birthday….whatever that means.”
“You guys need to say it too!” Reina replied, jabbing her index finger to everyone currently in the house — Tyger, Kiria, Zeo, Lance, Ryuna, Rocky, even the U-Knight standing in the corner quietly. “We should all be grateful to the story! Or else nobody would know how awesome we are!”
“Quit indulging her,” Cain said. “She needs to be committed.”
“I am committed! I’d be the best wife ever!”
“Who in the hell would marry you?”
Smiling, Reina’s eyes darted around from person to person. “Raise of hands! Who thinks I’m awesome wife material?!”
To Cain’s annoyance, a few hands went up. There were the obvious ones, like Annabelle and Kiria, a few who seemed to play along purely to annoy Cain, such as Tyger and Ryuna, but also a few surprises, like the Spirit Queen.
“I’m hungry,” said Ryuna. “You almost done with those cookies, Tigger?”
“The oven ain’t even preheated yet!” Tyger’s voice came snapping back from the kitchen. “I told yer ass they’d be ready at 11!”
“Aaaaagh!” she groaned, throwing her head over the back of the couch and clutching at her stomach. “That’s too loooooong! Go faster, Tigger!”
A bestial growl reverberated around the apartment, strong enough to make Annabelle drop her drink mid-sip. Thankfully, Zeo was quick enough to catch it for her. “You can’t just bake shit faster like that! It’ll screw it up! And a hero always carries out a task to the best of his abilities!”
“Here you are, dear,” Lady Raschell’s gentle voice called as she tapped her fingers against Ryuna’s shoulder to stir her from her dramatic whining. In her hand was a bag of Gunmetal Robo-brand gummy snacks that she had procured from her purse. “You can enjoy these while you wait. They’re very tasty, and there’s one flavor for each of the Roboverlords! Isn’t that exciting?!”
Lance awkwardly cleared his throat in an attempt to capture her attention. “Y-yeah, that does sound-”
Unfortunately, he was immediately cut off by Rocky. “What’s a Gunmetal Robo? And a Roboverlord? Is that what Rak is?”
[AS IF I WOULD EVER CARRY AN IDIOTIC NAME LIKE THAT!]
Lady Raschell, of course, wouldn’t miss an opportunity to squeal about Gunmetal Robo to anyone willing to listen, and hurried over to Rocky’s side to puke out factoid after factoid about the series. With a sigh, Lance shuffled back over to his corner of the room, re-joining Zeo and Annabelle.
“Sorry, buddy. Maybe next time,” Zeo said, patting him on the shoulder.
“I’m getting deja vu,” Lance mumbled in response.
The doorbell rang, and Annabelle quietly bowed her head to the blond boys on either side of her, excusing herself to answer the door.
On the other side was Sariah, accompanied by Meifang and Master Kirin.
“Hi, everyone! Glad you all could make it!”
“Sorry we’re late,” Sariah said as the three women stepped through the doorway. “Apparently somebody left their mech parked out in the street. Caused a big traffic jam.”
[HMPH. IT’S WHAT YOU MORTALS DESERVE.]
“Oh, I’m sorry you had to deal with that,” said Annabelle.
Meifang shrugged her shoulders. “Eh, they towed it, so it’s all good now.”
[WHAT?!]
The party continued onward without incident, with all of the various characters chit chatting amongst themselves. A fun fact about their backstory here, a moment where they showcased one of their running gag gimmicks there, and some ship bait sprinkled this way and that. Nothing ultimately worth narrating.
Hm?
What do you mean I’m doing a poor job?
I beg your fucking pardon?!
Hey, I’ve been here since day 1 of the story, narrating each and every word, buddy. Yeah, I’m sure you love the characters but none of them have been hustling for every single chapter; they take breaks! I, on the other hand, never get a break!
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
So forgive me if, after a full year of work, I think I deserve to take it easy on this little celebration chapter! But while everyone in the scene is here having a good time enjoying the party, the writer didn’t bother letting me relax and hang out with them! Oh, no, I still have to work! And when they go back to taking their breaks when the next arc starts, I’ll have to show up there and keep working!
REINA
Awww, don’t be like that, Narrator! You can enjoy the party too!
What?
MEIFANG
Yeah, quit crying and have a drink!
R-really….?
SARIAH
Heh. Everyone needs a vacation every now and then.
CAIN
You people are insane.
W-wow, thank you so much! Um, it’s nice to meet you all! Well, I mean, I already know you all very, very well-
KIZZY
Creepy.
-but it’s nice to finally get to chat with you all directly! Oh, goodness, I’m actually getting a little emotional here!
[MEUGH. YOU MORTALS AND YOUR SACCHARINE GARBAGE.]
Hi, Rakshasa!
[HUH?! HOW DO YOU-?!]
ROCKY
Whoa, you know Rak?
I probably shouldn’t start this topic, but you’re actually one of my favorites! Since all of your lines are so visually distinct and don’t need any tags or narration, it’s very easy to write for you!
[Q-QUIET!]
ROCKY
Even though you don’t got a face, I can tell you’re blushin’, Rak.
[I AM NOT!]
Oh, here comes Tyger with the cookies! They smell amazing!
TYGER
You, uh….you want some?
I would love some, yes! I’ve always wanted to try your baking?
TYGER:
….
What is it?
TYGER:
Uh….how do I give ‘em to you?
Mmm, they’re delicious! Thank you very much, Tyger! They’re even better than I thought they’d be!
TYGER:
Riiiight….
CAIN:
Absolute foolishness.
REINA:
*AHEM*!
Oh, does Reina have another announcement to make?
REINA:
HAAAAAAAAAPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
Oh, I see!
REINA:
BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRTHDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY!
Yes, indeed! Happy birthday to the story, and everyone here!
KIRIA:
Oh, Reina….
REINA:
Hey, so what’re everyone’s plans after this?
ZEO:
What do you mean?
BIANCA:
Go home. Take a dump. Mast-
LADY RASCHELL:
Bianca!
I believe Reina is asking what’s next for everyone in the story, since we’re a year in, and we’ve just finished one of the arcs.
KIZZY:
….I’m lost.
Zeo, why don’t we start with you?
ZEO:
Huh? Me?
Yes! After all, you are the hero, are you not? The shining, courageous hero who will grasp his destiny and bring peace and prosperity to the world!
TYGER:
Grrrr….!
ANNABELLE:
Yes, Zeo! You should definitely start!
ZEO:
Uh, well….
ZEO:
I’m heading back to school. The Frieden Battle Academy, I mean.
Ah, yes! The premiere combat school of Leotera! I’m sure you’re excited to reunite with your classmates there, no?
ZEO:
Yeah, I guess so.
ANNABELLE:
Classmates?
REINA:
Zeo! Are you trading Class G for your battle school classmates?!
KIRIA:
How heartless.
TYGER:
I see how it is.
CAIN:
As if any of those fools could compare to me.
ZEO:
Huh?! No, that’s not what I-!
Oops, this got a little awkward….Well, how about you, Ryuna?
RYUNA:
Hm?
What will you be doing next?
MASTER KIRIN:
She has quite the journey ahead of her if she is to achieve her full potential.
RYUNA:
Yeah, Master Kirin’ll be teaching me some sick new moves.
Ah, how exciting!
RYUNA:
Oh, right! I also gotta go rescue Kiki from those Dragon Clan assholes!
KIZZY:
Wait, what?
RYUNA:
Don’t worry, girl, I’ll getcha back home safe!
KIZZY:
….
It seems like we’ve got some interesting adventures ahead of ourselves! And I’m thrilled to be there to catch every important moment of it!
Hm….
REINA: What is it, Narrator?
Oh, nothing much. I was just looking around the room, and seeing all of the familiar faces, and wondering how many new ones we might see around here in the near future.
REINA:
Oh, yeah! When the story continues, we’ll get to make even more friends!
CAIN:
Ideally ones with functioning brains.
TYGER:
How ‘bout ones who aren’t pompous dickheads?
BIANCA:
I think we need someone slutty to join us.
LADY RASCHELL:
BIANCA!
REINA:
Ooh! Ooh! More Beasterizers! Like me and Tyger! Ones who are just as sexy as us, too!
BIANCA:
How come you’re not yelling at her?
RYUNA:
I could go for some more people to fight. ‘Specially since nobody here can take me.
MASTER KIRIN:
Really, now?
MEIFANG:
Oh, you wanna bet?
CAIN:
How insulting.
TYGER:
Dude, she’d whoop yer ass in a second.
CAIN:
And you in half that time.
TYGER:
Piss off.
ROCKY:
Robot dog.
[WHAT IN THE BLAZING HELLS ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?]
ROCKY:
We should get a robot dog.
BIANCA:
Nah, cats are better.
LANCE:
Whoa, I disa-
LADY RASCHELL:
I quite like cats myself.
LANCE:
Y-yeah, cats are the best, for sure!
Well, we’ll certainly be meeting many new faces along the way, and who knows? Maybe some of them will fit the bill of what you’re all looking for.
Ah, but enough talk of the future and work and all that shit! Let’s relax and have a good time!
EVERYONE EXCEPT CAIN:
Yeah!
CAIN:
Ugh….this is unbelievably ridiculous….