Spies
Leila cursed her bad luck. In a family with a long history of sons, she was the only daughter. Not only that, but the family tradition held that the children were to be trained in the Rogue's arts. So ever since an early age, she'd been given a penchant for cross dressing to please her father; who's only son had died in an accident a hundred years prior. Now, she had the luck of being drafted into the service of Kriechevskoy's brat, Laharl, as the Netherworld's only Female Rogue. Somewhere…she was sure that some god was laughing at her; just like the other Demons did when they found out she was a female.
"Snap out of it Leila," she would mutter, "Don't listen to them. It's not your fault that you're the only one to carry on the family traditions. Just become a good Rogue and show everyone that just cuz you're a girl, you're no weakling." It was as close to a mantra that the young Demon woman could get.
S...S
So one day, when Lord Laharl asked her to go on a spying mission to check out the lay of his Netherworld, she began to feel like she was walking on air. For once, Leila was not just a freaky cross dresser! She was a vital part of her Overlord's military strategy. Beaming with pride, the young Space Pirate began to gather her supplies for the mission. Nothing could go wrong this time; she'd show them.
"This is my day at long last! I'll prove myself to Lord Laharl. Then nobody can look down on me! They'll all recognize that I can be anything that I want to be," Leila said as she rode the small buggy away from the castle. It was an invention created by Quess; a Knight that hung around the castle. She didn't do anything to help Lord Laharl, like most of the rest of his father's vassals, but she did like to play with machines. Usually, the other vassals dismissed them. However, Leila wanted to get this done quickly.
Her reverie was interrupted by a high pitched voice inquiring, "Hey! Leila! Where are we going? Is this going to be fun? Will I find any souvenirs to bring back and show my Big Brother?" The young Space Pirate felt her heart drop into her chest. She hoped she was hearing things; of all people to come along on this mission. But it couldn't be her. Laharl had wanted Leila to go alone. There was no way in all the Netherworlds that Jessica, the ditz-o-matic Shogun, would be following her to help her complete it.
She continued to concentrate on the road ahead; watching for stray Demons and other enemies that might jump out at her. 'It can't be Jessica. She's back at the castle annoying her older brother like always. Focus, Leila. You're just worried because of the stress this mission has put you under. No one is in the back seat of this vehicle. Once I get to where I've got to go, everything will become a lot easier.'
"Hey! Jessica," another high pitched voice exclaimed, "I don't think Leila heard you. Maybe she's too busy driving. We'll try to get her attention again once we reach wherever Laharl sent her." This time, Leila hit the breaks rapidly out of surprise; sending both Jessica and Flonne into the front dashboard. Not only that, but the young Angel's staff managed to knock Leila upside the head; throwing her into a state of unconsciousness as well. Luckily, the vehicle didn't hit a tree or a rock before this happened.
S...S
"Leila! Leila! Oh please be ok. You should be more careful; that's why nobody uses Quess's inventions," Jessica said to the just-waking Space Pirate. Instantly, the girl got on the defensive. Why in the world were these two here? If Laharl wanted to send someone to assist her, he certainly wouldn't have thrown in the two most high strung members of his court; he'd have sent someone with brains or tracking abilities like Jet the Shinobi or perhaps Etna. So what did these two have to do with the mission?
Flonne added, "We wanted to help you out; this being your first solo-mission and all. So, Jessica and I decided it was a good idea to come along and fight alongside you. After all, when you're out in the open and looking for something, three heads are better than one. You just might need our help on this."
Leila felt her temper build even more at the Angel girl's words. "You two are the last people I would ever ask for help. You're loud, obnoxious, and giggle like there's no tomorrow. Spies need to be nice and quiet or else they might get caught by the enemy. What good could you two do for me now?"
"Well, Seraph Lammington did select me for the assassination mission," Flonne reasoned, "So I guessed that since I could be an assassin, I could be a spy. As for Jessica, she's the closest friend I have in the Overlord's Castle. So we thought it would be fun to go together and work as a team on this."
"He selected you for something else you lamebrain! Either your Seraph is an idiot not to realize that the king was dead for two years, or he has some sort of plan and knows you'll be perfect for it. But with the way Angels and Demons get along, I doubt him mentioning the true nature of the plan would have helped any. So he had to go and make up a full story about an assassination in order to cover the tracks of what he's doing. I didn't think an Angel could be so devious until I heard about this; makes me think that there's hope for you Celestians after all," Leila replied; the first smile crossing her face that day.
Flonne exclaimed, "You don't know him like I do Leila! Master Lammington would never plan something sinister. He cares about other people. The assassination mission probably had some good thoughts behind it; despite the fact that I was going to kill someone. He probably got something mixed up; that's why it was backwards. There's no plot going on in Celestia that you have to concern yourself with."
Leila scoffed. "Sure! Angels can be just as diabolical as Demons if given the chance; you've shown us that easily. Just go on thinking everything is goody-goody and angelic; see if I care. Don't come crying to me when everything falls down around you. And it will; nice guys always finish last kid."
"The point she's trying to make Leila," Jessica interrupted, "Is that we're here and ready to help you out. Just because you think we're weak, doesn't mean that we are. I've been training long and hard with my sword; ever since I was a child. So I've got skills. And Flonne asked Virginia to teach her some attack magic to support from behind. We'll do anything possible to help Lord Laharl out in his quest."
"The thing you can do to help is to go back to the castle. Your loud, obnoxious voices can be heard a mile away by the enemy," muttered Leila. Luckily, Flonne and Jessica were unable to hear what she'd said. They simply both grabbed one of Leila's arms and pulled her away; rushing to find out what the conditions they had been sent to spy on were. The Space Pirate sighed; this was one of those days.
S...S
Sometime later, the team looked over a ledge at a gang of Warriors hanging around below. Each was armed with a large blade; with the exception of a Cleric or two who stood in the back and held staffs. They were obviously planning a rebellion of sorts against the newly crowned Overlord. Leila looked down with delight. If she could foil this operation, then she'd finally be recognized as a real warrior by her allies.
However, Jessica spoiled her plans by shouting, "To arms; warriors of the Overlord! These rebels must be stopped at all cost! If you value your lives, throw down your swords!" Then, she jumped into the fray with Flonne in tow. Leila could only watch; this was not the stealth they would need to win.
But she couldn't just leave the two of them to die; if she did, she'd catch it from Etna later. Then, she jumped into the camp as well; swinging her sword in time with her instincts. Jessica and Flonne smiled as they saw the young Rogue fighting. And Leila found herself enjoying the bloodbath that this battle had become. "For the Overlord! You shall not succeed in your ambitions of power and treachery!"
"Take this!" screamed Jessica, "Winged Slayer!" She instantly jumped into the air, flew down through a group of enemies, and landed on the ground where she'd started. Leila, not having as high a sword mastery due to the Rogue's low skill level in all weapons, could only strike out with Blade Rush. But she vowed to train harder in order to go after the higher level creatures she saw during spy missions.
"Let's do this! Tera Star!" called Flonne. She summoned the power of the Heavens to her aid and swift death rained down upon nine more of their opponents. When one tried to go for the young Angel, she swiftly turned and dodged the attack; then countered with her own slap of the staff. The fact that she was an Angel, as seen by her wings, shocked a few of the Demons at first. But then they were back on their feet and ready to go at it again; to kill the girls and continue with their own little rebellion.
Leila, noticing one enemy going for Jessica's back, rushed forward and swung her sword down to deal the death blow. She then struck out against two others who came close; showing her prowess in a different way. Though not as fast as their Shinobi ally, Jessica's big brother, she still was a quick little girl.
She told them in a low voice, "You shall not get by me. I may be a girl, but I'm as quick witted as any Rogue. Get ready to die!" Then…she spotted something very interesting. The leader was equipped with a powerful Amano-Hahakiri; the third most powerful sword in the universe. Salivating at the thought of using such a weapon, Leila grabbed one of her Bandit's Hands and rushed the enemy. Before he knew what hit him, his blade was gone; being tried out by Leila in a killing sweep of some of his allies.
The angry Warrior felt his face grow red. "You little cross-dressing bitch! You're going down for that!" He ran for Leila…and stopped short. Jessica had jumped in front of him and was holding her own Arondight in a threatening manner. As the enemy began to turn tail and run, she struck; knocking him into the air and slashing him repediatly as per the Nightsever technique. He then fell to the ground; dead.
"You were great Leila!" exclaimed Flonne, "I've never seen someone steal something so fast before; not even Etna when she's ransacking one of the enemy's castles. That's why I always say that teamwork is the best. After all, if you pool your strengths together, there's nothing you can't accomplish."
"Well I guess it's time to head back to the castle now. Say, Leila, where is that little vehicle you rode us here in?" inquired Jessica. She'd thought it was supposed to be there. But when their eyes scanned the clearing they'd parked in, Quess's invention was nowhere to be found. Leila felt her eyes bug out; if it wasn't one thing it was another today. Where else could that stupid thing have gotten to?
Suddenly, the sound of a motor running diverted their attention. The girls ran forward…and their jaws dropped at what they saw. There, playing in Quess's buggy, were a pair of Nekomatas; wildly driving around a barren field. Screams of delight lit up the air as they zoomed past the three young girls.
Leila exclaimed, "Flonne! Jessica! You two didn't forget to take the keys out of the buggy when you took me out of it to lie down! How could you be so irresponsible! Now we have to explain to Quess that her invention is now in the hands of some punk joyriders; KitKats are known for their playful nature and love of making a mess over anything serious. You two better think of a good excuse now!"
Flonne looked confused. "Key? I don't know what the key looked like? I thought you ran it simply on some type of button or switch inside the vehicle. You should have told me that there was a key to make it run." With those words…Leila fainted once again; not wanting to believe her horrible luck.
"I guess she's not feeling well," Jessica commented, "We'd better get her back to the castle."
Teefa's Last Words...
To start the series off, a little humor. This is based on the fact that I had access to Rogue class long before seeing one or using my own so I didn't know they were guys; they look sort of in-between to me. Besides, the way the shirt is loose on the official art made me think "she" had breasts; not to mention that the entire cast sans the Succubus, KitKats, and Priere are incredibly flat.
I put in the action sequences to break the tension and have them all show their power a little. The buggy thing is to give a use to that darn Knight that stands near Pleniar and does diddly squat; always saying the same thing every chapter. She's an inventress in this story and things go out of hand when she makes something.
Anyway, all of the names are my actual soldiers/shop owners. The party I had was named after the cast of Wild ARMs 3 along with my fanfic OCs. But they're not the same characters, they, sans Leila who is a female variation of the Rogue, are all supposed to look like the 6th Tier Class they represent; F. Savior, Shinobi, Shogun, M. Cosmic Hero…ect.