For Damon, it was like watching a heroic Marvel battle. He and Fiora were in an alcove, almost a hundred feet above the floor, so his view was clear. Kim had leapt over the mutt mindslayers impressively and avoided the largest of them, clearly a boss. She then raced to the wall. The next part wasn't as clearly heroic because from his vantage point he could only see the top of her head.

  He had not wanted to watch passively. He had suggested Fiora swoop down and get her, but she'd explained that the moment a mindslayer's mind whip hit her she'd fall to the ground and her brainpan would be sucked out and then he would die because he was useless without her.

  Next, he'd gone through his items to see if he could help. The staff wasn't of any use to throw down to her as a weapon. And both his spells had turned grey. They needed to recharge.

  Mutt mindslayers: the name stuck in his head. It crossed his mind, steeped in all things 80s by his father, that 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' was on an album produced by Mutt Lange. This world had so many interlaced ideas and songs that echoed Earth's heavy metal. It was as if he'd been thrown into a medieval Headbangers Ball.

  Kim, while he was busy thinking, had been busy avoiding the boss. Fiora was now, with the greatest of ease, pulling Kim up with the rope in a hand over hand method. The mutt mindslayers flailed, flagellated and hissed below them like a crowd caught in a mosh pit.

  His stomach rumbled, and for the first time in this world he felt hunger pangs. How long had it been since he'd eaten? He was craving his comfort food: pancakes.

  He perused Fiora's numbers while her head was turned. The numbers were orange, which perhaps showed she was healing.

  Metal Health: 94

  Kind: Dragonspawn

  Type: Class 7 Warrior - Hellish Headbanger

  Metal Skill: Class 6

  Roadie - Allthingfinder

  Metal Mana: 10023

  Proclivity: Shadow Walker

  Special Ability: Rainbow Scales

  Metal Mana was something in smaller writing. It had to measure her experience. So, the more metal mana, the higher class she'd reach.

  Fiora turned toward him and narrowed her blue reptilian eyes. "What are you looking at?"

  "I'm impressed with your rope-raising skills."

  She grunted, then turned back to her task.

  "It's about time you got here," Fiora said. The dragonspawn gave the rope a jerk, and Kim flew in the air towards them, only to be caught by Fiora's steady hand. "That was quite an outstanding balls to the wall battle. Great idea to let them suck your memories–"

  "Hey, you used balls to the wall correctly," Damon said. "Most people think it's a lewd reference, but it's a saying that comes from pilots. In the old planes, they would put the ball of the control stick right against the wall to go fast."

  "If you interrupt me while I'm complimenting her, I will go balls to the wall in dismembering you. And balls to the wall is referencing hitting castle walls with balls of fire."

  "Oh, that makes sense," Damon said. "Please carry on."

  "As I was saying, it was a great idea to let them suck your memories and then attack the mindslayers when they were groggy from feeding. Risky too! As your brain could have collapsed. And you finished with an excellent and entertaining use of mind stalks. You rocked!"

  "Well, I'm glad you found it entertaining." Kim looked back and forth between them. "You abandoned me there. You took Damon instead."

  Damon raised both his hands. "I didn't have a choice."

  "I had a choice," Fiora said brightly. "And it was the right one—you proved that! I chose the adventurer who was least likely to survive."

  "Least likely to survive?" Damon said.

  "It's an observation," Fiora replied. "Mages are weak and wimpy. Would you have lulled the mindslayers into a stupor and survived tangling with the boss?"

  "I didn't get the chance to show my ingenuity," he said. He saw a flash on Kim's belt. There was something hanging there that looked like tiny shoes.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Destroyer Boots Of Major Metal Destruction: +5 speed, +5 destruction

  "You got something new," he said.

  "Oh, yeah," Kim said. "They are like a shoe trinket. They came out of one of the mindslayers."

  "Well don't lose them," Fiora said. She peered over the edge. Damon did the same.

  The mutt mindslayers, including the boss, continued to move about below them. The word sugar echoed in a pleading manner.

  "Speaking of observations," Damon said. "I wish I knew why the mutt mindslayers are humming Pour Some Sugar on Me. It's disconcerting."

  He knew how to play that song on the guitar. As his fingers twitched, remembering the chords, the Screaming Eagle Staff vibrated. He tapped a bit more, his metallic fingertips making a click click. Suddenly, a glowing guitar string appeared on the staff. He plucked it, and a low E note rang out.

  Both his companions stopped. And turned.

  "Oh no," Fiora said. "You've got a power string."

  "A power string?" Damon did a trill. It felt as solid and responsive as the Power Slinky Ernie Ball strings on his guitar. "It's amazing." He played a few more notes.

  "I didn't know you could play guitar," Kim said.

  "One more thing to keep me away from the big, bad outdoors." He was happy to see this got a smile from Kim. He noodled a bit more. Noticed his armband was glowing:

  KK Bracelet of Power +2 picking

  So his armband, the only thing to come with him from Earth, made him a better guitar player!

  "Stop plucking or I will pluck you," Fiora said. "Put it away."

  "How do I do that?" The string continued to glow, and he was very tempted to play another note.

  "Just picture it going away," she said.

  He did so. Nothing happened. Then, before Fiora could grow any angrier, he imagined his guitar case closing. The string vanished.

  "Good." Fiora turned to Kim and asked, "Do you have any musical talents? Thumping, strumming, or…" she paused as if she were about to swear. "Singing."

  "No," Kim said.

  "Good. Now what we should turn your tiny brains towards is getting out of this horrid dungeon." She faced the wall and, for the first time, Damon saw that a door was outlined behind them.

  "Maybe it will lead to a room with pancakes," Damon said.

  "Pancakes?" Kim said.

  "I was craving them earlier," he said. "It must be second breakfast by now."

  "Now you've got me salivating," Kim said. She gave Damon a punch that hurt more than he wanted to show.

  "What are these food items you crave?" Fiora asked.

  "Pancakes!" Damon said. "You don't have pancakes here? They are made of flour and stuff."

  "You've never made them, have you?" Kim asked.

  "No. My mom does. Every Sunday."

  "It's just flour, eggs, and oil," Kim said. "And you can add blueberries or chocolate chips—it's all mixed, and you put butter on top and syrup."

  "Do you cook it first?" Fiora asked.

  "In a frying pan," Damon said. "It's delicious." He wondered how he could be huddled against a wall and salivating while horrid mindslayers swirled below him.

  "Well, that was a pleasant distraction," Fiora said. "This next door might lead to freedom. That's just a guess because I've never made it this far before."

  "You've never made it past the fourth room!" Damon asked. "He really is a cruel dungeon master."

  "If I'd made it through earlier, I wouldn't be here right now to save your sorry hides. The task at hand is to open this door. We have used force, trickery, and blood, so what remains?"

  "Well, it must be something that we have on us," Damon said. "One of those coins? You haven't used yours yet."

  Fiora shrugged and drew a Dio coin from her belt pouch and said in rather angry tones: "Oh, coin of mighty Dio, open this door." The coin began glowing, and Fiora placed it against the door. It stuck there for a few moments, then popped off, bounced once on the ledge and fell to the swirling mindslayers below. The word sugar floated up as if in thanks.

  "Hades Bells!" Fiora said. "That was the coin I planned on using to cover Blayre's left eye when I sent him to the underworld. Now I'll have to gouge that eye out."

  Damon realized Fiora held grudges like some people hold a puppy, feeding it until it became a ravenous, monstrous dog from hell.

  "Well, we can still speak friend," Damon said. "Friend! Mellon!" His word echoed back to him. But the door didn't budge. "I really wanted that to work," he added.

  "There must be another way to open this portal." Fiora slapped it, hard enough to make a smack sound. But the door was undisturbed.

  "Love," Kim said. Damon raised an eyebrow at her.

  "In my experience, love leads to betrayal and destruction and ulcers," Fiora said.

  "I mean cooperation," she said. "The one thing Blayre doesn't expect. The pancakes made me think of it. We had to cooperate to remember the ingredients. So maybe if we all put our hands on the door at the same time and—"

  "Speak friend!" Damon interrupted.

  "No!" Kim said. "Something else. Something we all love. Or would love to have right now."

  They placed their hands on the door. Then they all said: "Pancakes."

  The door ground and shook, and then opened, revealing bright light on the other side.

  "Could we have said any word?" Damon asked.

  Fiora shrugged. "I do not think Blayre would know what pancakes are. They have nothing to do with hair oils or skin ointments."

  "You mean we could have said friend and entered?" Damon said. "I nearly had a dream come true."

  "Well, perhaps it will come true in the future," Fiora said. She looked from one to the other. "And be promptly stomped to death."

  Before Damon could chuckle, a Note of Power hit him in the back. It was pleasant and made him feel stronger. He looked over his shoulder to see that several smaller versions of the Notes of Power were popping like bubbles against him. His hair grew longer, his mind keener. The next time he threw a spell, it would be with greater skill and confidence. And he thought a third spell was appearing on his list, but couldn't yet read it.

  Kim had been hit by a large collection of notes and was visibly taller and stronger. With rock-goddess hair.

  Damon snuck a glance above her head:

  Metal Health: 21

  Kind: human, female

  Type: Class 3 Warrior, Pile Driver

  Metal Skill: Class 3 Diva, Crooner

  Metal Mana: 2007

  Proclivity: Lightbearer

  She was up another level! And Pile Driver had a fist symbol beside the name. He hadn't even reached the next class yet, Damon realized. Maybe he had to try harder.

  Several Notes of Power also went into the ceiling. Fiora didn't even notice the notes that flitted into her back. Instead, she raised a fist and said, "Get ready to Die with your boots on!" Then she pushed the door the rest of the way open.