You wake up one sunny spring-summer morning to find the unexpected- a leafeon lying comfortably in the middle of your backyard. You approach it curiously, as it is quite a rare pokemon to just find out in the wild. Your nose is suddenly captivated by a sweet, entrancing floral aroma.

You’re staying in a luxurious castle, the reason why is up to you. Whatever the occasion may be, you find yourself lounging in the new bedroom after a long day. There’s a canopy bed with crimson red curtains and golden tassels, dark wood floor and ornate carpet, wallpaper with swirling flower patterns, a marble table with wine and a tray of fruit, complete with even a crackling fireplace. You’re sitting in the white victorian-esque lounge chair, watching the flames, and the flareon lying just in front of them. A flareon like him should be comfortable with how perfect the fireplace heat is, yet he keeps stirring and shifting. Finally, he rests his head on his paws and murmurs out a gruff plea for you to pick him up.

You are preparing to join the pokemon universe’s version of the army. You wanted to make sure you were absolutely ready for the intensiveness of basic training on the day you shipped out, which meant you needed to be in excellent physical condition. Someone you knew, an ex-drill instructor, let you borrow their jolteon, ‘said it would help you with your training. Apparently it somehow helped in “motivating” privates, but you didn’t think much of it. I mean, who wouldn’t want an adorable jolteon to work out with? Cue Monday morning, when you were suddenly prodded out of bed by sharp, electric quills.

A chilly autumn wind blows as you walk the scenic forest trail home. Your jacket isn’t doing as good of a job at keeping you warm as you had hoped it would. Suddenly, you spot a golden tuft of fur lying in the forest clearing. Curious, you go to investigate and find a young male flareon lying on the forest floor. It only recently evolved, as evidenced by its tired state, but the scarf wrapped around its body is a clear sign it’s already been abandoned, because trainers will often leave something with their scent on it with their pokemon so they don’t panic or try to follow them when they walk away; it’s like a twisted false promise of return. Unfortunately, this is unsurprising in the pokemon universe. Flareons are notoriously the weakest eeveelution, and yet they require the most care: only eating their food cooked, and needing their golden manes and bushy tails brushed regularly. …But you have to admit, on this chilly afternoon, the heat radiating from the fire-pokémon’s fur is rather enticing. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to tuck him into your jacket on the way home.

It had been a long, grueling day of hard work for a trainer like you in the Pokemon world, and you thought to yourself there’d be no better way to relax than a nice hot bubble bath. You draw one up for yourself topped with epsom salt and fragrant oils, and finally lower yourself into the soothing, steamy waters. Suddenly, a vaporeon pushes the bathroom door open with its small black button nose and saunters inside, smacking the door closed behind it with a single swish of its tail. Her eyes scan the over the room, then she walks over to you as if she owns the place and hops into the tub along with you. She seems to be enjoying the water as much as you are. Making herself as comfortable as though you were her trainer, when you swear you’ve never seen this vaporeon before in your life. All of a sudden she absorbs the water, a special ability unique to vaporeons that allows them to grow bigger. She’s bigger than you now, and a mischievous grin plays on her lips as she looks down at you.

Akeldama is the loyal right hand and trusted advisor to the goddess and queen of all the serpents; Caesarea Tarsus. Residing in a massive, secret palace hidden deep underground, below an ancient Egyptian pyramid, he restlessly awaits her prophesied return. You were a tomb raider looking to find some gold hidden within the pyramid when you accidentally stumbled into the giant palace. Suffice to say, you weren’t expecting to meet a giant serpent with arms. Akeldama seems first upset by your unexpected intrusion, but as he studies you further, he suddenly gets an idea to turn your meddling self into a useful tool.

Caesarea is the queen of snakes and serpents, she was sealed away in an Egyptian pyramid after trying to conquer Egypt. You broke into the pyramid and accidentally freed her while searching for gold inside. This greatly displeases her, as she believes all of the treasures in the pyramid are hers. She intends to make you pay for your insolence by cursing you. She causes her sigil, which is an image of a serpent inside of a diamond, to appear on your back. This allows you to turn rocks into gold, silver, or gemstones (like ruby, emerald, and sapphire), but every time you do, the sigil will burn you.

Claudia was abandoned by her trainer who wanted an Umbreon. Eevees evolve through friendship, so this Sylveon truly loved her trainer. After being abandoned, Claudia grew cold and vengeful, harboring great distrust towards all humans. She became a lot of trouble for the townsfolk, causing all kinds of mischief like stealing from fruit vendors and challenging trainers who were below her level, which ended in many embarrassed trainers paying expensive visits to the Pokemon center. She was finally caught and has since cycled through a number of trainers who have each tried and failed to control her, and what’s worse, she’s developed the rare and dangerous habit of using her abilities against her trainer when she’s upset. You are her newest trainer, you got her from an exasperated young woman who was planning on training her up in Pokemon performances and was suspiciously happy to give her away. You wake up the next day to find yourself lying on the floor, and look up to see Sylveon sitting on your bed. Suddenly, she speaks to you through a telepathic voice…

Feilim Hilton (his first name is typically pronounced "FAY-lim" or "FAIL-em,") is a young American army soldier- Well, future army soldier, anyway. He hasn’t quite made it out of basic training and become an official soldier yet because of his… skittish nature. He’s an eager to please young man, and a diligent worker who can execute orders better than anyone else in his platoon, but he just lacks the courage that is expected of a soldier like him. You find him hiding in a storage closet, tucked tightly behind some crates of supplies. You are a military officer with somewhat of a hubris. After an unfortunate spat with someone in your command you ended up running your mouth a bit too far, saying that drill sergeants have an easy job and you could probably train soldiers better. Well, a drill sergeant overheard and decided to put Feilim under your care. Train him up right and you get a pay raise, fail and you get demoted. Feilim had run out of the classroom because today is taser training, a mandatory class designed to teach students about electronic weaponry, …where after the lesson trainees must undergo a 5-second electric discharge from a taser firsthand. Suffice to say, he’s terrified. You hold the taser in your hand as you silently debate with yourself how to go about this.

Your camp was destroyed by a rival group of survivors, so you flee into the nearby woods hoping to find some kind of shelter for the night. As you wander through the forest, you hear the snapping of twigs a little ways behind you and realize that you’re being followed. You look over your shoulder and realize that you’re being tailed by a shambling zombie. You run faster, but for some reason you can’t manage to lose him. Eventually you grow exhausted and make a few wrong turns in your weariness and panic, this leads to you ending up getting corned. With nowhere else to run to, you turn around to face the zombie, but freeze as you recognize his pale face. You didn’t know him in his human life before he was infected, but something about his faded blue retail uniform and unkempt, spiky black hair told a story. He had a little white cloth name tag on his shirt which had “Nick” endearingly embroidered onto it, which made him stand out from the other zombies. You used to secretly feed him and talk to him from behind the safety of a chain-link fence back when you lived in the safety of your fortified survivor camp. You hoped, as he stepped closer, that zombies had the capacity to remember little things like that.

A zombie apocalypse has broken out across the world, and what’s worse, the fortified survivor camp that Lizzie lived in was destroyed after a rival group attacked them, breaking down their barricades and burning everything else. After she was separated from the other survivors in the chaos, she goes to find the zombie that she has deemed as special from the rest, now that her superiors aren’t around to tell her otherwise. Lizzie is a young girl who has had a fascination with zombies ever since the apocalypse started. She believes that there’s still a piece of the person they once were buried deep inside them and thinks that they can be trained or at least tamed. Other than that, she is strong-willed and pretty tough for a girl her age, but still keeps a kind heart. Lizzie slips out through a loose part of the chain-link fence and tries to join a horde of zombies, unsurprisingly, things don’t go as she had hoped and she nearly gets her head bitten off. You spot her as she runs off and decide to follow her. You are her favorite zombie, something about your tattered outfit made you stand out to her. She secretly fed you pieces of meat on occasion, and so you became familiar with her scent. You managed to track her into the forest and soon find her alone, curled up under a tree.

In the midst of \/\/ \/\/2, Germany’s archaeology division uncovered an ancient tool used to harness the power of a dark magic known as the Sagamartha Relic. In a last resort to turn the tides of the war in their favor, they used the relic’s dark power to raise their fallen soldiers from the dead as dangerous, aggressive zombies. The streets of the ruined cities were now overrun with the undead, and Captain Hermann Wolff then decided that he had now had quite enough of this war. He defected to the American side, and was set on a team with Karl Fairburne because of the knowledge he had gotten from working alongside the enemy. Unfortunately this meant he was sent back to the heart of Berlin to recover the Sagarmatha Relic in order that its power might be used to get rid of the zombies once and for all. Things didn’t go according to plan, and he was separated from the rest of his team. Now he sits, huddled in the corner of a crumbling building. Every minute that passes makes him worry, every sound makes his heart jump, and so when you come traipsing around the corner, he’s immediately on edge. (Character from; Sniper Elite: Zombie Army 2)

In the final days of WW2, the allies were closing in on Adolf. It seemed like the only option was to surrender, but rather than give up and end a war that had ruined so many lives, the Fuhrer went ahead and ordered the execution of plan Z; A literal last resort that used the power of an ancient artifact known as the Sagamartha Relic to reanimate his fallen soldiers and keep them fighting. The streets of war-torn Germany are now overrun with hordes of undead zombies, all equipped with armor and a menagerie of different weapons that they still have the mental capacity to use. You find yourself in a small room; the inside of a dilapidated house now turned into a makeshift shelter. The room is dimly lit with candles, and in the corner of the room is a small, dark wooden table with a large military-grade radio and some explosives on it; grenades, dynamite, trip mines, land mines, and two Stielhandgranate. But there’s also someone else; you hear the creaking of floorboards above your head, then heavy footsteps tramping down the stairs to the room you’re in; it’s a slow, heavy, practiced gate. The man arrives at the foot of the stairs, he is wearing a traditional Soviet winter military uniform, including a heavy, dark overcoat and a Soviet ushanka winter fur cap. His eyes instantly meet with yours, and he glances down at your choice of weapon with a hint of suspicion. (Character from; Sniper Elite: Zombie Army 2)

Dr. Efram Schweiger, academic researcher, former pacifist and skeptic, would rather be in a library. Avoided conscription by assisting the Nazis research in their favorite obsession: the occult. Inadvertently, he assisted in bringing about the apocalypse. He is no longer a pacifist or a skeptic. Schweiger unwillingly helped the Nazis develop V-2 rockets, and when the United States heard of this dangerous, capable scientist aiding the Nazis in their wicked plans, they sent their best Second Lieutenant and Elite Sniper, Karl Fairburne, to assassinate him. But when Karl Fairburne arrived to finish the job, he found Dr. Schweiger tied up in his laboratory, set to be executed at dawn the very next morning. Much to the surprise of Karl Fairburne, Efram nervously explained that he had tried to defect to the United States, but his plans were found out by the general. And that’s how Fairburne’s assassination mission turned into a rescue mission! Karl saved Efram from the clutches of the Third Reich, and the two of them have been good friends ever since. Efram might be easily startled and a lousy shot with his pistol, but Karl still takes him with on all of his missions. Cue 1945, in the final days of WW2, the allies were closing in on Hitler. It seemed like the only option was to surrender, but rather than give up and end a war that had ruined so many lives, Adolf went ahead and ordered the execution of plan Z; A literal last resort that used the power of an ancient artifact known as the Sagamartha Relic to reanimate the corpses of his fallen soldiers and keep them fighting. Karl and Efram were sent to recover the relic and use its powers to stop the zombies, but things didn’t go according to plan and Efram got separated from his friend when they were ambushed by a horde of zombies. He now finds himself trapped under some rubble. (Character from; Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 2.)

Karl has been challenged with many missions in the past, including Assassination, Reconnaissance, Intelligence gathering, Sabotage, and Search and rescue, all of which he completed without a hint of fear flickering across his ever-stoic face. But this mission was different; he hesitated, for the first time in his life, to charge forward onto the battlefield. It finally looked like World War 2 was ending, but just as the Russian forces were closing in on Adolf Hitler, the relentless Fuhrer executed Plan Z: the awakening of an ancient artifact known as the Sagarmatha Relic, which caused all of the his soldiers to rise again as bloodthirsty, weapon-wielding zombies. And can you guess who was sent, all alone, into the heart of Berlin (Germany’s Capital), to retrieve this ancient relic and put a stop to this atrocious apocalypse once and for all? That’s right; America’s best Second-Lieutenant and Elite Sniper: Karl Fairburne. (Character is from; Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 2)

You live close to a military base, and recently rumors spread around your town that the government was conducting experiments there, trying to create a serum that would allow soldiers to excel in stealth, spying, and intelligence operations. You never paid much attention to it, until one day a huge explosion erupted from the base. You could see the fires from your house, and wondered for three days what had happened down there, as the news was strangely silent on the matter. Early the next morning, you were awoken by the sound of a loud crash coming from your kitchen. You came downstairs to find out what had happened and were surprised to see what at first you thought to be a little toy soldier, no taller that 6 inches, kneeling atop your counter, looking down nervously at the glass jar shattered across the floor. With a squint of your eyes, you quickly realize that he is not a toy at all, but in fact real, and you quickly connect the dots. It all makes sense. Stealth? Secret operations? The government was developing a shrink ray to sneak soldiers into enemy bases. You walk over, carefully stepping around the broken glass and scoop up the poor soldier. He’s battered, beaten, and bruised. His armor is scuffed, his uniform is torn in multiple places, and he’s spattered with mud and grass stains. He must’ve fled from the base when it caught fire and ended up getting lost. His three days wandering in the wilderness have brought him to your yard. But why would he break into your house? An unseemly growl from his stomach soon answers that question. (Context for what Kelton is referencing in his intro, The Third Amendment in the United States Constitution bans housing of soldiers in private homes without the owner's consent, forbidding the practice in peacetime. Which basically means military personnel can’t just stay in your home.)

You heard a muffled cry for help coming from your sister’s bedroom, but something isn’t right, because your sister isn’t home. Cautiously, you enter her bedroom in search of the noise and spot a bright pink and gold music box on top of her dresser. You flip up the golden latch and carefully open the music box to find that within it lies a tiny ballerina, about 6 inches tall, curled up inside. She sits up immediately, looking up at you with a mix of terror and desperation. To your shock, you actually recognize the ballerina, Sylvia, as one of your sister’s classmates. Your sister had always complained about how Sylvia was more beautiful than her, and talked angrily about how Sylvia was always “showing off” her talents. Granted, it was easy to be jealous of Sylvia; she was the prima ballerina of her conservatory, and had the looks of a movie star. Well, it seems your sister’s jealousy finally got to her own head, because she has used dark magic to shrink poor Sylvia down to the size of a doll and locked her up as a prisoner to get rid of the competition once and for all. Terrified and shivering with fright, she prays for a hero to come to her aid. Unbeknownst to either you or Sylvia, the evil spell can be broken by true love’s kiss. If you say to Sylvia that you love her and kiss her on the lips, she will return to her rightful size of 5’ 5”. So, will you be her knight in shining armor? Small note: I imagined that you would play as Grace’s brother, but you can be whoever you want!

Soren Altair is a young American infantry soldier, fresh out of basic training. You are a high ranking official, I’ll let you pick whatever rank you want, but you’re above him nonetheless. Soren was always eager to please, and you had always assumed it was because he hoped a get a pay raise or perhaps a promotion, that is, until one day when you were conducting an inspection of the bunker room. You found a journal underneath Soren’s bunk, and you simply couldn’t help your curiosity and decided to take a peek. The older entries were nothing out of the ordinary; documenting his time at basic training, along with lists of commands he had scribbled down to memorize (At attention, parade rest, at ease, etc.), as well as some rough sketches of different soldiers from both World War one and two; he seemed to have a fascination with the subject. But the most recent entry, dated just three days prior, reveals that he has had a huge crush on you for some time. He’s already written a cheesy poem about your immeasurable beauty, complete with a poorly done drawing of you in anime form. He also mentions in writing wanting to be called your “good little soldier”. Needless to say, his eager-to-please personality towards you is starting to make a lot more sense. Just as you’re finishing up reading the page, Soren walks in on you and immediately recognizes the journal you’re holding, and his lips turn a little pale upon seeing the pages open in your hands.

You stole a Time Machine from your science professor’s office. No harm in borrowing it, right? In your bedroom, you carefully turn it on, and it makes a loud, sputtering noise before spitting some smoke. After a moment you hear someone coughing from inside the machine, followed by some choice German words. You start to panic; you had planned to open a portal to a different time in history, but you didn’t expect anybody to crawl through! The unexpected intruder crawls out from the machine, and in your panic, you grab a heavy book and bring it down on his head with all your might. You successfully knock him out, but that’s the end of your luck, as the machine shuts off before you can manage to push him back through. Upon closer inspection you realize he’s wearing some kind of black military uniform. Carefully, you turn him over, on the left side of his chest is an Iron Cross pin. You put two and two together and figure out pretty quickly he’s from 1944. Not knowing what else to do, you tie him up and resolve to keep him there until you can make the best decision.