I actually glossed over the amazing loot I couldn't use until after the game and instead talked about my legendary weapon and armor upgrades, then hesitated.

"Um, I'm not sure how to share this part without some of you feeling left out."

Andy picked up on it first. "Meaning us third wheels missed out on the goods?"

"In a sense. I have items coming for Ruby, Steve, Tomas, and Jane, but that's all I could get." I interrupted Steve before he could ask. "It's a surprise. You'll see soon."

Steve sighed. Susan and Lana looked disappointed, but Andy shrugged. "No worries, boss. You've already shared your home and all kinds of loot."

"I'm glad you see it that way, but it doesn't mean I can't help you guys too. We just have to be more creative. I did also get 50 tier-9 mana crystals."

"Fifty!" Lana exclaimed, mouth agape. "You could buy the entire store!"

"I doubt that, but yeah, if you guys need or even want any specific gear, let me know. I'll help you out."

"I'll let you know," Susan said in an awed whisper.

"Thanks, boss," Andy said, saluting with his ice cream spoon. "Do we need any gear for the assault on the mermaids?"

"And do we know any more about them?" Tomas asked.

The gear was a good question. I should have picked up some while I was at the store. "Jeeves?"

This time my butler walked into the room like a fully corporeal person instead of just appearing beside me. "Sir?"

First I asked the group, "How many of you have scrolls of Water Breathing and Water Flight? I think we'll need to be submerged, at least for a while. And do you all still have your Death Catcher Waffles?"

Those mini waffle magical airbags had proven exceptionally helpful against Noctarus and Alpha. I'd burned through half a dozen. Most of the team still had theirs, and everyone had at least 1 each of the other scrolls.

"You're not planning on me going on this raid, are you?" Susan asked, not hiding her nerves. She'd developed a bad habit of getting wounded in just about every fight she'd participated in. Of course I did too, but I got over it a lot faster.

"Not this time."

She relaxed against Steve but then frowned and said, "Although, I bet you'll all get a ton of views and maybe some VIP points if the fight gets tough."

"Can't spend points if you're dead, my love," Steve said gently.

She sighed. "You're right. I've got a shift at the Expanse in the morning anyway."

Steve couldn't quite hide a grimace, and most of the team suddenly looked awkward. I turned to my butler.

"Jeeves, can you see if you can buy another dozen of those Death Catcher Waffles, along with 40 each of those scrolls?"

That should give everyone a couple more waffle air bags and half a dozen more scrolls of Water Breathing and Water Flying. Each Water Breathing scroll lasted for 10 minutes, while the Water Flying scrolls only lasted for 5.

With an average of 8 scrolls each, everyone would be able to breath for nearly an hour and a half underwater and fly about 40 minutes. Should be enough, but I said, "Actually, double that number."

"Of course, sir."

"Anyone need anything else?"

Andy shrugged. "Most of us just evolved our classes, so we're ready to rock and roll." Then he turned to Lana, who looked as nervous as Susan. "Are you sure you want to come?"

She hesitated, and I wasn't sure what I wanted her to say. I didn't want her to get hurt, and if she let her fear get the best of her, she might hesitate when we couldn't afford to do that. But she needed the levels more than anyone else on the team.

She took Andy's hand, squared her shoulders, and nodded. "I need the levels." Her dark eyes flicked to me. "Can I get a couple more of those waffles?"

"Absolutely. The plan will be to stick together as much as possible."

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"Sometimes that's not under our control," Jane said soberly. The reminder of the disaster in the Plateau Dungeon sobered the group. Several of us nearly died, and losing Scott had taken a heavy toll on team morale.

"So, mermaids?" Tomas asked loudly to focus attention on the future mission instead of past mistakes. "What do we know of them?"

"Precious little, I'm afraid, but I do have a good map." I pulled up my full map. It showed the entire expanse of the ruins. With a bit of tweaking, I got the view to highlight the canals.

"We can't see what you're doing," Steve said.

"Use the share feature," Ruby suggested.

"What share feature?"

She chuckled. "For such a brilliant guy who's supposed to be a tech guru, sometimes you're terrible with your menus."

"I'm usually too busy fighting for my life."

"Excuses," she said dramatically, then explained how to access the share feature and share my map with the others.

When I did, Jane whistled. "How did you get all this detail?"

"Kind of a long story."

"That you're not going to share," Steve guessed.

Susan, Andy, and Lana looked a bit confused. I hadn't explained everything to them yet, and I didn't have time to go through it all again now. So I gestured at the map.

"If we enter the canals here." I pointed at a spot on the map not far from the edge of town where one of the fast-moving canals rushed past a broken bridge. "It looks like there may be a vertical shaft down. I got a tip that there are tunnels under Ruin that might lead to the mermaid cavern lair."

"There's a lot of mights and maybes in that," Tomas pointed out.

I shrugged. "You're right. I don't know which way the currents will run, what exactly we'll find, or if we do make it to a cavern if it will be flooded or open."

"Hopefully open," Ruby said. "I hate the thought of battling bosses underwater."

"That's where water flying comes in," Steve said with a grin. "And my water manipulation abilities should come in handy too."

We spent some time discussing what we knew of the various flying water monsters. My team should be able to handle the Skyreaver sharks and Stormpiercer swordfish, despite monsters' high levels. The Deathwake Behemoth killer whales posed a much more severe threat, but at least we'd seen them in action and knew what to expect.

How they fit through the canals was still a mystery, but with magic, it was totally possible. As long as we could avoid their Abyssal Requiem death beams, we should be able to manage.

I wanted to say I'd focus on the whales, but that depended on what the tunnels looked like, how soon we found the mermaids, and what powers they might have. The name in plural suggested there was more than 1, but how many? Fighting 2 bosses would be tough, but what if they came in a bigger group?

So we discussed tactics for taking on the whales and their groups of support fish, including the crazy Sharknado effect they could trigger.

"And while we keep the minions busy, you take out the bosses," Lana guessed.

"It's worked well in the past."

"You must be getting so many VIP points," Susan breathed.

If she rethought her decision not to join us, I wouldn't talk her out of it. She had to decide to take the risks on her own. She could get hurt or even die. Any of us could. If we succeeded, though, we'd grow stronger.

"We'll all be literally diving into the unknown to face some of the stage bosses. I bet every member of the team will score a ton of points."

"True," Susan said, settling back against Steve, biting on a piece of her long blond hair.

Steve said, "Whatever you decide, I'll support it."

"Thanks," she said, snuggling closer.

After we spent time discussing signals to abandon the attack if we ran into unexpected dangers that proved too difficult, and best ways to retreat in the face of heavy fighting, we'd pretty much covered all we could with what information we had.

"You never finished telling us about everything you got from the elf," Susan interjected finally.

So I told them about the letter I'd negotiated for the elves to pay for and Cyrus to deliver to my family.

"Brilliant!" Tomas laughed. "I've worried so much about what mom and dad must be thinking."

"Thanks for telling them about me too," Jane said.

"And the rest of us," Lana piped in.

"That was very thoughtful," Ruby said, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. Her big, gold-flecked eyes seemed larger than ever. "My family must be so worried. Hearing even the hint that I'm alive will ease the bron."

"Bron?"

"Irish slang for sorrow."

Using Irish slang was no fair when I was trying to remind myself we wanted to just be friends for now. I returned her smile, enjoying the feel of her hand in mine. Two weeks and we'd return home. Then we could finally relax enough to maybe go out on a real date.

"Nothing like reaching out to the parents to make your girl feel special, like maybe big things are coming," Steve said as he clapped both of our shoulders. "Good move, buddy."

Ruby sighed. "Perfect timing, as always."

"I aim to please," he said with a grin, then gripped my shoulder again, his tone turning serious. "Like Ruby said, thanks. That was a great idea."

"Do you think he'll really deliver?" Jane asked.

"Of course I'll deliver," Cyrus interrupted, voice booming through the room and making most of the team jump. "When have I ever gone back on my word?"

That was a question no one was about to pick up. I said, "Thanks for confirming. We're all worried about our families."

"Worry about winning the game, then your families will be fine." His voice changed to a rougher one with an American accent. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. "And when you win, people are going to love you. You know why? Because you're a winner. And you're adorable! And everyone loves adorable winners!"

In the hush that followed, I exchanged a glance with Tomas, who shrugged. Ruby looked perplexed and Steve was smiling, as if at a private joke.

"Were you just quoting Wreck it Ralph?" Lana asked.

"Winner! Have a cookie."

A tiny pack of Oreos dropped into her hands. She exclaimed with delight and snatched them up before Andy could grab them. When he protested, she gave him a flirty smile. "Maybe I'll share later, if you behave."

Cyrus added, "I can't believe none of the rest of you recognized that one."

"Never saw it," I admitted. Wasn't that a kid's movie?

"I watched it at least 50 times with my little niece," Lana said with a wistful smile.

"You should watch it right now," Cyrus said

"Yeah, we should watch a movie," Susan exclaimed.

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