Episode 1: Bezelbebe Forest

Sho keep throwing rocks and the boomerang keep spinning on the goblin.

"Biggy baddy by the tree. Biggy baddy by the sword. Biggy baddy eat a stone."

With all other goblins mostly eliminated and incapacitated, Dylan thought...

"You can handle these Tony, I'll go support the others."

Dylan moves towards the others who are dealing with the big goblin. He uses the tentacles that emerge from his shadow to bind and hold down the big goblin.

"Wait.. What?"

Without Veronica, Mica, and Dylan, it's up to him to deal with the lone goblin mage. He could consider himself a mage as well so this one's a bout between two mages. He can not leave Mica and so it is up to him to Time Freeze the last Goblin mage.

"You're a dead goblin now!" Nel swings Alf's sword diagonally across the goblin's chest.

What happened? Am I dead? Nel groans, a while ago he was in a battle with a goblin that turned into a giant snake and now he's...

In the living room of his childhood home, playing a role playing video game with his brother. Nel's just watching his brother play.

I remember this day.

Nel can recall what day it was from the clothes he and his brother were wearing. Black suit and tie. It's after his father's wake, they just got home from the service. Nel and his brother can hear their mom crying at the kitchen as the two boys are leveling up their warrior named Rex. It's not their character that they were playing, it's their dad's.

Young Nel's sobbing on the sofa that afternoon and his brother tried his best to cheer him up.

"We gotta help Dad reach heaven." His brother told him.

Flashback to yesterday evening, at a seedy bar called Buddy's. Can't be too choosy on the gig, he needed money. Dylan remembers that he and his girlfriend Veronica had a fight that night, Veronica wanted Dylan to focus on other things other than music but Dylan wouldn't want to give up his passion.

All smiles in front of the few patrons of the bar, Dylan played the guitar and sang his piece. The set he played contained songs ranging from Beetles to Beach Boys. He sang one song for Veronica but before he could even finish his piece, Veronica left her table.

After finishing his set, he grabbed a beer and went looking for Veronica. Then outside Buddy's he saw Veronica and the manager kiss. That was when the world stopped for Dylan who almost dropped his beer.

He tried to confront the two but in front of them he just froze.

They explained, they've been dating for months. Dylan wanted to cry but he just left the two and went drinking on his own, replaying the song he wrote over and over on his phone.

Names, faces, they are all in a blur but in his dream he sees himself reading letters to a sick woman, sleeping in a hospital bed. Tony can see his younger self crying but could not understand why.

Moments later, a man enters the room. He couldn't hear the words but he knew what the man came for. He was there to take Tony away.

Tony punched the man in the face and ran out of the room and into the rooftop. Later a man that looked like Dylan came and talked to him. He understood that it was a friend telling him to stay strong and that the guy would always be there for him.

Sho is standing in a classroom. There are tears running down his young visage. In front of him is his old teacher, the first and only one who believed in him.

The teacher was telling him that his imagination was a gift. Nobody had ever told him something like that. He had been called slow, dim-witted, useless, a waste of space. Now, he was hearing that not only maybe he was gifted, but that he had the ability to enjoy freedom and happiness. As long as he could create those worlds in his mind, he could explore, travel and discover his own joy and sorrow. He could be important.

If he put that imagination down on paper, he could even share this freedom with other and be appreciated for it. This was the moment Sho knew he wanted to write.

Magnus...wakes to blackness, he remembered the fight, the goblins, the giant snake. All the others. Bunny dude, dragon man, a wizard? There were quite a few new faces. He stumbled about. He was lost, he felt lost. Then suddenly, he was in the barracks quad.

The place looked great, the guys had gone all out. Hell half the platoon was there. Wienerstien was proudly listing off the six bottles of various alcohols he had place in the half of giant water melon in front of him. He was spooning out a fruit and liquor slurry with a ladle, and just pouring it in everyone’s mouths. Kellz was trying to flirt with the new commo girl from the company across the street, pulling long drags on his black-n-mild. J.R. was at the grill arguing with Duttine, steaks only needed s&p, Duttine wanted to through on some curry and adobo. Khader and Hauss were arguing about Call of Duty. It was a good memory.

Magnus...no...in this place he was Theo.

Theo stepped out onto the red rocky gravel, the familiar crunch leading him to the others. He smiled. They had all come home this time. This BBQ was the night after they had touched ground stateside. Look at them all. He was young, they all were. Young and dumb. He soaked in the moment, remembering why he held onto this memory so hard. Shrek...Shrek was about to cause a ruckus. Almost on cue the large german blooded bastard made his way over to another group of people on the quad. It was the medics from two buildings over. He got loud, they got loud, everyone got loud. Theo lost himself in the moment and rushed over to the gathering crowd. Shrek was certain one of those damned medics had his iPod. They denied it. Words...more words...then fists.

A brawl broke out. That part is a haze. The next clear part is the whole lot of them. All 23 junior members of 1st Platoon sitting zip cuffed on the basketball court. The whole chain of command was coming to give them a talking to. He looked at his battered brothers and smiled again. They were always a team. He chuckled and bumped his shoulder into Shrek. Shrek bumped back...and they both cracked up laughing when they caught sight of Shrek’s iPod...it was the one still hooked up to the speakers. Still blaring music. The song as the memory fades. "Friends in Low Places"- Garth Brooks.

Rama appears in the forest clearing. He crouches, claws splayed wide to each side, and looks about. His blue skin seems almost black on the shade, his tail twitching with erratic movements. Seeing no immediate threat, he stands. His vest and leather pants accentuate his athletic build. His features are Hindu Indian but for the horns and fangs.

Looking at the people there, he sees they are sleeping, rather than dead. Their bodies and eyes twitch as if dreaming. What's a devil to do? Should I whisper dreams of sin and torment? Or build a fire.

He quietly gathers dry wood and piles it near, between them. When a large enough pile, he summons a fire sphere and coaxes it in between the wood, holding it until the fire catches.

Then he sits, waits.