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In the midst of all the chaos of the bomb threat, and Ruffnut being annoyed at somehow missing the trip to have an adventure with the rest of the Vikings, the blond warrior had been kidnapped by everyone's favorite insane computer program.

No feeling even more dissatisfaction with life on Stacy Ruffnut had retreated to the sensoriums to relax.

It was night on the isle of Berk. A cool breeze rolled along the hilly field making the grass dance as Ruffnut walked along spear slung casually over her shoulder watching the stars. It was a rare moment of contemplation for the viking woman. She didn't like to spend too much time deep in thought after all. It was a waste of time as far as she was concerned. Still the stars and the field had a calming effect on her. Even the slices of cake grazing in the field like sheep were soothing to watch.

...it seemed that the unfulfilled promise of still in Ruffnut's mind.

"One side wimp!" A force from behind sent her crashing to the ground. The calming time was ended as a computer generated Tuffnut knocked into her playfully earning a sharp kick for his troubles. "Look who's talking. At last I made it of Berk alive loser."

"Your a loser!" Came the not terribly clever retort.

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"Well, that seems a waste. It's too bad we can't get this one out of the sensorium. Or get you enough mana to wish for one." Go figure. The ship saved robots, but not dragons? What were the standards here anyway?

"Yeah, I mean at least Hiccup got Toothless...that's his dragon. Still vikings fought for generations against dragons so these Ohm bug things can't be that big a deal right?"

"Hyaaa ha ha ha ha!" Zetta liked this girl's style. "Finally, someone with some spirit!

"As near as I can tell," he said more seriously, "they've got numbers on their side. That gives them power. It's obvious they fear me--" his voice just oozes smug arrogance "--since they went to the trouble of tampering with the Sacred Tome. But I'm still in this fight. I intend to see their asses kicked, and my Netherworld restored!"

"Yeah you're real impressive." Ruff couldn't help teasing, "You'll give them the worst papercut those bugs ever had."

"Like I haven't heard all the book jokes a thousand times already!" Zetta at least seemed amused. A little time as a book and those wise cracks had seriously lost their bite. Besides, as he keeps reminding everyone, "I'm still the most badass freakin' Overlord in the cosmos!"

"I'm not even sure what a cosmos is." Ruffnut admitted without shame at her ignorance, "But whatever at least you were strong enough to survive the big bugs tearing apart your world so that's worth something."

"Hmm. Well, the cosmos is everything," Zetta said. "And thanks for the sentiment--" it sounded a little sarcastic when he said it, but he actually meant it a little. He had the impression, given what he'd seen, that the girl didn't have a ton of tolerance for weakness. "But actually, the Ohm didn't do anything to my world. They tampered with the Sacred Tome. That's the book." Said book actually flipped open, to reveal the blank pages within, before it snapped shut so the face could look back at Ruffnut. "It's the center of my Netherworld. The Ohm tampered with it--" and you set it on fire, Zetta, you never mention that part "-- which resulted in the destruction of my Netherworld and everything in it. Cheap trickery -- because they knew they couldn't handle me one-on-one, straight up! Hyaa ha ha ha ha ha!"

Ruffnut took in the story as well as she could and nodded clenching her fist "Buncha cheating losers." She agreed, though it would be a lie to say vikings were above fighting dirty.

"So what can you do in that form?" She asked curiously trying to imagine what unholy power he must have held before the transformation.

No one had really asked him that so straight-out before. And so far Zetta had just been damn fine with that. Not that he wasn't still badass! He totally was!

"Well, for one, I can still summon my army of loyal battle-monkeys. They're not quite as good as real people, but they have their uses." Like transport. Books kind of had a hard time moving on their own.

"Also, the Sacred Tome is still the foundation of my Netherworld. Even if it doesn't exist any more. So anyone who writes a wish in the book, and has enough mana power to fuel it, will have their wish granted. That's not a small thing."

He didn't mention ZETTA BEAAAAAM.

Ruffnut listened nodding grinning at the term "Battle Monkeys". She'd seen a monkey once on the shoulder of a trader. Monkeys were cool.

As for the wish thing..."What's Mana?" She asked racking her brain for anything that sounded close.

"Hmm. There's two real answers to that, actually." Zetta, for all that he comes off like an idiot, isn't really -- he's just painfully straightforward. Emphasis on pain. "Basically, mana is spiritual power. The easiest way to get it is by beating opponents. Beat someone in combat? Your spirit goes up, theirs goes down, 'cuz you've taken mana from them.

"Some people, or creatures, just have a lot more mana naturally, though," Zetta continued rather smugly. "For example. For a very long time, the strongest being in the cosmos was Dragon Overlord Babylon. Mine is stronger than his, now and then, of course. Some of us are just that awesome."

Ruffnut stared blankly. She'd never heard of spiritual power before just...spirits. Or fighting spirit. Either way none of her training lessons mentioned taking spirit from your enemies.

So logically she made the next jump in her mind to understanding "So...magic?"

"Close to it." Zetta frowned, not at her. "Calling it that is easiest. But you don't need to 'do' magic to have mana. But... okay, how about this? Think about some guy who's gotten his experience by beating, like, thirty guys, and another who just trained a lot. Even if they were the same level -- uh, about as good with weapons as the other -- couldn't you tell which one was the one who'd been in fights?"

Ruffnut pondered this for a minute...it seemed anything that required her to actually think took a minute.

The room followed along with her train of thought popping up two Vikings behind her, one that was grizzled and scarred and had clearly been through his share of battles.

On the other side was possibly the most handsome viking there ever was. flowing golden tresses of hair, not a scar on his face and a smile that had each one of his teeth.

As if she had forgotten what it was she was supposed to be pondering Ruffnut got a sly grin on her face which the other vikings clearly did not approve of as they went running off over the horizon.

What the--?

Zetta watched this spectacle with something of a dumbfounded look on his face.

"I, uh... I'm not sure that's what I was going for."

"Oh...um...the first one?" Ruffnut managed barely getting back on track.

Another thought struck her "But wait, I've got all kinds of scars without having been in battle because I've messed up but like...someone who's totally perfect at everything would never even get hurt right? How's that work?"

"Sure, but it's also a manner of carrying yourself. Experience shows. Call it a spirit of battle." Zetta held in the question for a moment... then said it anyway. "What got you all the scars?"

"Practice, training, fighting with my brother..." She left out generally being awkward and clumsy because...well in comparison to Hiccup everyone was more graceful. "I'm not afraid to push myself to the limit. Pain is just another rush!"

"Hyaaa ha ha ha ha!" The laugh was real, just... evil. That's how Zetta rolls. Non-evil laughs are barely even possible for him any more. "I like your style, Ruffnut. You've got the right sort of attitude."

Ruffnut let out her own laugh trying to sound big and tough "Bwah ha ha ha! I like your style too!" She declared and raised a hand to slap him on the back stopping when she remembered he was a book so she hastily switched it to a thumbs up. "Who's awesome? we're awesome!"

"Damn straight!" Either Zetta was buying the big and tough act, or he didn't care that it was an act. He's certainly in one hell of a good mood, either way. "So, we're in a sensorium. Show me what you can do in a fight?"

"Oh...uh...yeah alright." Ruffnut conjured up the first enemy that came to mind...a giant chicken.

She blinked and then called to Zetta "Shut up I'm hungry."

Without another word of justification she lunged for her feathered foe springing between his legs and scooping up her spear. The Chicken was fast though and kicked her mid roll sending her and her spear crashing into a tree.

Grunting the Viking girl hauled herself out of the splintered rubble using her spear and rushed the chicken once more screaming loud enough to startle the flock of cake slices into scampering to the far end of the field as Ruffnut threw herself at the chicken catching it square in the chest and knocking it head over talon backwards. She landed on top and thrust with her spear but a well placed wing knocked it away.

Ruffnut didn't stop for a second though, she began ripping out feathers painfully by the fistful.

Ironically, Zetta hadn't even given the giant chicken a second thought. Considering he numbered carrot-men and corn-people among his foes, it was downright normal.

The Netherworlds? Pretty weird places.

"Holy crap," the badass Overlord said, somewhere between amazement and awe, as he watched the display of serious berserker fury. That just plain wasn't something he expected to see from anyone on the ship.

As Ruffnut ripped out the feathers the chicken flailed and crowed in pain and anger rolling over on it's stomach and flattening Ruffnut into the ground before it stumbled to it's feet.

Ruffnut groaned in an appropriately Ruffnut shaped hole in the ground, grunting as she tried to push herself out of it.

The Chicken took this opining pecking brutally at Ruffnut's exposed back each beak tap hitting like a hammer into the leather armor and tearing at it. Ruffnut let out a cry of pain...and fury ripping herself from the earth sending grass and dirt everywhere.

She lunged out of the hole just in time to miss the next peck and scanned for her spear, running and dodging and making as much noise as possible to confuse the chicken like she would a dragon. It didn't work but it made her feel good. She scooped up the spear and spun hurling it with all her might at her massive feathered foe.

The spear flew high...and fell short. The chicken seemed as shocked as Ruffnut.

Okay, so... still low-level. That's okay. Even the longest game begins with a little level grinding.

"I can work with that," Zetta said out loud, since every word he spoke really did make the universe a more awesome place just because he was himself. "Spirit's more important than levels. You can grind the one, but not the other."