Coco: Okay, guys, this chapter is basically going to be very similar to one of the chapters in the old story. There will be a few obvious changes, but mostly it's the same. And I do have chapter 4 done (which is most more different than its previous version), but it needs to be edited. However, I don't think I'll have the time before going into work to edit it. So, you might have to wait until next weekend to see it since I don't have wifi at my house (which I'm returning to tonight), and have to go to my grandma's on my days off to borrow hers XD (though I'm the one who pays for it, but whatever) XD
Now, let's get started!
"Gees, this waitressing crap is annoying." Monroe said as she got more ale from Meliodas.
Monroe had no idea that when Meliodas and everyone went into the village that they'd bring the village back with them. Apparently, things ended well though, which is why the Boar Hat is packed with happy partygoers.
"You seem to be doing well though." Meliodas said as he wiped down the bar.
"Yeah, unlike someone," Hawk said looking towards Elizabeth who again tripped.
She sent food flying at one guy's face and it went splat. The man took it rather well since he just blinked. Monroe sweat-dropped at the umpteenth mistake Elizabeth made though the princess actually saved that guy's taste buds. So, that had to count for something.
"Oh yeah, there won't be any shortage of scraps for me tonight." Hawk said.
As he walked over to eat the fallen food, Monroe shook her head then delivered the drinks to her table.
"Hope you enjoy." Monroe said smiling.
She then went over to Elizabeth to help the princess off the ground. She moved Elizabeth to the side.
"Perhaps you should take a break, Pri—Elizabeth." Monroe said while quickly correcting herself.
It was a bad idea to let just anyone hear that Elizabeth was a princess, so it was decided both girls would drop the honorifics. At least while working or in crowded areas. The two then turned to Mead when he let out a laugh.
"Ha, you haven't done a day of hard work in your life, have you?" Mead teased. "Oh, it's totally obvious. You completely suck at this job."
He then cried out when Monroe lightly bonked him on the head with her tray.
"You're one mouthy kid, aren't you?" She questioned. "Tell me, kid, how many hard days of work have you actually done?"
Mead pouted up at Monroe looking like he was about to mouth off again, but he was interrupted by his auntie.
"That's enough." She said firmly. "Don't go mouthing off again. Didn't you learn your lesson today? Children who get too big for their britches get taken out and left in the Forest of White Dreams."
As Mead gasped in horror, Elizabeth and Monroe exchanged a glance. Monroe has heard about the Forest of White Dreams but has never been there.
"Oh no, not there!" Mead begged.
"Forest of White Dreams?" Elizabeth questioned.
"It's a place so spooky even Holy Knights won't travel through it." Mead explained.
He then went back to begging his auntie not to send him there as Monroe hummed. The place certainly sounded interesting. A place where Holy Knights wouldn't go also sounded like a place someone trying to avoid them would stay. Is it possible a Sin could be there?
Monroe shook her head then returned to taking care of the patrons. She went to the bar to get more ale when the door was suddenly opened. Monroe and Meliodas looked up curiously when Elizabeth suddenly left. Monroe blinked wondering where Elizabeth was going. She then stiffened when sensing something was coming.
"Gilthunder." She murmured recognizing the power heading this way.
She looked towards Meliodas to see if he had sensed it as well. He glanced towards Monroe as she was looking at him in question. He gestured that she should stay there. She nodded her head knowing he would handle things. He went outside as Monroe and Hawk were left taking care of the many customers inside.
"Maybe with Meliodas outside, you can cook food that actually tastes good." Hawk said hopefully. "Then I'll get some decent scraps."
"Actually, I'm probably worse than Meliodas when it comes to cooking." Monroe said honestly. "I was so focused on putting my entire being into training and returning the kingdom to its former glory that cooking never even made it on the list of things to learn. If my cousins didn't know how to cook, I would have starved a very long time ago."
She hung her head shamefully as she said this. Hawk sweat-dropped wondering how there could be two people in this world who cook that badly. Monroe set some drinks on a table as the power she sensed earlier struck and clashed with Meliodas's power meaning he had intercepted the attack.
"Squee!" Hawk exclaimed as the flash of light appear outside followed by the ground shaking a split second later. "What was that?"
He ran out the door with everyone else following him, but Monroe remained in place. She silently returned to work while cleaning up the mess left by the villagers. There was no point in running out there. Meliodas was fine and she was sure he'd return the warning tenfold. But still, she had this gut wrenching feeling that she'd be seeing Gilthunder again very soon. And she wasn't sure what would happen or what would be said. Something she was certain of though is that a fight would be involved.
Monroe let out a yawn as she walked slightly in front of Meliodas and Elizabeth with Hawk at her side. They were trekking through the Forest of White Dreams while Meliodas thinking that another Sin might be here. Monroe hoped so. Besides, if she was going to be hiding from Holy Knights this is here she'd come.
"Hey, Meliodas, are you sure about this?" Hawk asked. "We've been out here for three hours now. There's no sign of any animals let alone any humans either."
"You're right, Hawk." Elizabeth said then glanced back at Meliodas. "Sir Meliodas, do you really think we'll be able to find one of the Seven Deadly Sins here?"
"Probably." Meliodas said casually.
Well, that was good enough for Monroe, so she kept walking up the slope with the others falling slightly behind her.
"You mean we came here without any solid evidence?!" Hawk demanded before huffing as he turned around.
"His hunch is good enough for me." Monroe said from her spot in the front of the group.
Monroe then stepped over a log as she continued to look around. She had her sword with her today, but she still felt naked. She blames this uniform. She misses her jacket and her corset top. This shirt just doesn't make her feel...secure.
"After this, we should head for Baste Prison." Monroe said. "I know for a fact Ban is there due to asking the right Holy Knights. I was going to go for him first since I knew his exact location but taking the princess near that place didn't seem like a good idea. But now we have you, Melly. And if another Sin is here we'll have even better odds."
Meliodas nodded his head while glad to hear where another one of the Sins were.
"Any of the others you know about?" Meliodas asked.
"There's rumors about King being seen around the Necropolis." Monroe said. "Apparently, he's been snooping around there."
She learned this from an old friend who knew Death just as well as she did if not better. Though she was a bit worried about going to the Land of the Dead since she'd have to tread very carefully, so to keep certain things under wraps.
"Then there's a pretty stretched rumor that Merlin left the kingdom." Monroe continued. "There's supposedly been sightings of her in Camelot."
"Camelot?" Meliodas murmured. "Why there?"
Monroe shrugged since she had no idea. She just knows what she's heard here and there. And the rumors about the other sins were even more farfetched than that that she didn't give them the time of day to even consider.
"Then shouldn't we just head to one of those places first?" Hawk asked. "We don't even know if a Sin is here. This could be a waste of time."
"We won't know that until we look." Meliodas pointed out.
"Besides, I wouldn't bother with wondering if a Sin is here or not." Monroe added then turned her head to smile at her companions mischievously. "I'd be more worried about what else is lurking in this forest."
Hawk and Elizabeth both looked around nervously, which had Monroe chuckling in amusement as she looked forward again.
"I heard there's a terrible monster that lurks around here watching…waiting." Hawk murmured.
Elizabeth suddenly screamed out, which had Hawk and Monroe whirling around.
"What is it?!" Hawk asked.
"I…I can feel something grabbing me from behind." Elizabeth whimpered.
Monroe, who looked behind Elizabeth for this threat, had her hand on the hilt of her sword ready to draw it if needed, but paused when seeing Meliodas had his hand up the girl's skirt. Monroe huffed in annoyance as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Hey, relax." Meliodas said as he continued to grope Elizabeth's butt. "It's just me."
"Oh, what a relief." Elizabeth said sighing.
"What kind of reaction is that, Princess?" Monroe asked sweat-dropping.
If someone grabbed her like that, she'd coldcock them right in the face for such an action.
"He's such a creeper!" Hawk said.
Monroe reached down to calmly pick up a rock from the ground. She tossed it up a few times in her hand to test its weight before sending it flying at Meliodas's head. Elizabeth gasped as the rock bounced off of Meliodas's forehead. Even when blood started to trickle down, Meliodas was unfazed. But the message seemed to be clear since he dropped his hand.
"Well, putting that aside for just a minute." Meliodas said.
"Good, I thought you'd never stop." Hawk grumbled.
Meliodas ignored Hawk's grumbling as he stepped up slightly while looking around.
"I might have a little evidence." Meliodas said. "Traveling through the Forest of White Dreams through horseback is more difficult than you think. It's so hard to get your bearings that even experienced travelers go around it."
That was all true. Monroe would never bring a horse in here. She'd rather not put the poor creature through something like that.
"This would be the perfect place for someone to hide out." Elizabeth said beaming. "Hold on…something doesn't feel right."
Monroe glanced back at Elizabeth wondering what was wrong as she was touching her butt. Monroe turned to frown at Meliodas, but he just kept moving as if he did nothing wrong, which she highly doubted.
"You okay?" Hawk asked.
"Ah, sure just fine!" Elizabeth practically squeaked.
Monroe wasn't completely convinced but shrugged it off as she continued trekking forward. She didn't even pause when Hawk turned to shout at Meliodas and Elizabeth to pick up the pace.
"Hey, hold your bacon." Meliodas told him. "Not a lot of fun traveling with a nervous piggy…whoa…"
Monroe turned around at Meliodas's stunned tone with her own eyes widening when she saw more than one Hawk behind her.
"Who are you calling a nervous piggy, huh?!" the Hawks demanded in unison.
The real Hawk squealed in shock as he looked around seeing there was more than one of him.
"It's a herd!" Hawk said. "They're all me!"
The other Hawks all started acting upset and talking at once as they moved around, which made it impossible for Monroe and the others to tell them apart.
"This is the monster of the forest?" Elizabeth asked.
"I—for one—find it terrifying." Meliodas said.
"I find it annoying." Monroe said getting the Hawks to turn towards her. "However, with all this extra pork around, we have a few days' worth of food right here."
The Hawks all squealed in fright as they looked at Monroe with wide eyes. Monroe grinned at them in return, which had then shaking in fear. They all then turned running towards Meliodas.
"Meliodas, help me!" One of the Hawks cried. "Monroe wants to eat me!"
"No, help me because I'm the real Hawk!" Another insisted.
"Hey, zip it, Porky!" A third one shouted.
Meliodas hummed in a thoughtful manner before he jumped forward using his brute power alone to hit all the Hawks at once without the aid of his sword. They all fell in a heap around him with their ears ringing from the hit.
"He's not a nice man." One of the Hawks whimpered.
"Oh, Hawk." Elizabeth said in worry.
All the Hawks jumped up crying while hurrying to hide behind Elizabeth as Monroe moved down to stand beside Meliodas.
"Elizabeth, help!" The Hawks whined. "Please, even my mom wouldn't hit me like that! Let alone think about eating me!"
Elizabeth looked at all the Hawks in uncertainty since she didn't know what to do or who to help. She couldn't tell them apart at all. Suddenly the Hawks started changing shape to take on the form of Elizabeth. Monroe frowned wondering what kind of creatures were capable of this magic. As Elizabeth and Hawk looked around in shock, Monroe and Meliodas exchanged a glance.
"This just keeps getting weirder and weirder, Melly." Monroe said as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"True, but I like this form they've taken on much better." Meliodas said grinning.
As he was saying that the Elizabeth copies all called out to him in unison while smiling. They then tried to convince Meliodas who the real one was as Hawk stumbled backwards to stand beside Monroe.
"Wow, what a bevy of boobies." Meliodas said appreciatively.
"Look, this is not the time, Man!" Hawk said.
"He's right. We need to focus." Monroe agreed while pinching Meliodas's cheek. "I could ask them personal questions, but these creatures might have the ability to copy the original copy's memories."
That was true. Besides, there wasting a lot of daylight because of this. Of course, it was nearly impossible to tell what time of day it was in the Forest of White Dreams.
"Leave this place." A voice called from somewhere in the mist.
"Leave," Another voice called out. "Get out of this forest, humans!"
Monroe didn't like their demanding tone of voice at all. They better hope she doesn't get ahold of them, or she might have to teach them some manners. However, Monroe couldn't worry about the seemingly disembodied voices since the Elizabeth copies were moving in.
"Sir Meliodas." They called as they got closer.
"Huh, I really can't tell one from the other." Meliodas said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Well, there had to be some kind of way to tell those girls apart from the real Elizabeth. If not, they really would be there for days.
"Sir Meliodas." They said again while jumping at him unison.
Meliodas grabbed Monroe to throw over his shoulder, which had her gasping. He then jumped up off the ground making the ground crack slightly, which had some of the Elizabeth copies falling over. Meliodas landed on a large rock behind the copies before setting Monroe down behind him where she'd be safe in case those things turn into anything else that could be dangerous.
"Oh, my goodness, however can I which is the real one?" Meliodas asked.
"That's me." One said.
"You can trust me." Another said. "I'll do whatever you want."
"Yes!" Meliodas said. "Starting now, I want all of you to do exactly what I tell you to."
Monroe frowned not sure she was going to like what would be coming next, which she was sure going to be perverted. If King Bartra ever found out about this, he'd never forgive Monroe. The copies all looked unsure when Meliodas said that with such a wide grin on his face.
"What do you say?" Meliodas asked.
"Oh, yes, of course." The Elizabeths said in unison.
"Okay!" Meliodas said.
He then sat down on the rock with Monroe still standing behind him with her hands on her hips.
"Right hand up in the air." Meliodas said with the copies doing as ordered. "Left had on your cheek. Now call out my name and be naughty."
"Sir Meliodas." They called out while blushing shyly.
Monroe rolled her eyes because this wasn't helping them at in in finding the real Elizabeth.
"Now, squeeze your boobs." Meliodas ordered.
They all did that as well with mixed expressions on their faces, and Monroe wondered if this would help determine who the real one was. She was very doubtful.
"This is amazing." Meliodas said.
Hawk didn't seem to think so since he jumped up to grab a hold of Meliodas while looking pissed off.
"Can't you just find the real one?!" Hawk demanded.
"Get out." The voices started up again. "Leave this place. You will never make it out of this forest."
Hawk squealed in fright as he latched himself even tighter onto Meliodas as if for protection. Meliodas didn't seem worried as he sat in silence with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"I got it!" He declared while moving his arm, so it knocked Hawk off of him.
The pig whimpered while moving to stand behind Monroe. She reached back to pat him on top the head in a consoling manner.
"One last thing." Meliodas said. "Jump as high as you can."
All the copies went up into the air at his command, but Monroe instantly noticed when one did the opposite and sat firmly on the ground. Looks as if they found the real Elizabeth.
"I'm sorry I can't do that!" She said with her head low and a blush on her cheeks.
The copies all seemed shocked that she didn't do as ordered but didn't have too long to dwell on it since Meliodas quickly took them out. They puffed up into smoke before creatures in dark cloaks popped out of the smoke. They made a run for it while quickly trying to disappear into the fog.
"Look at that!" Hawk said. "They're just Hide-and-Seeks! Prankster Imps!"
Monroe ran after the imps while not stopping when Hawk called out for her to wait up. Monroe vanished into the mist along with the imps as the others watched her go.
"Well, we better go after them." Meliodas said.
Monroe soon caught up to the imps and followed them further into the forest. As they went farther up in the terrain, Monroe noticed a figure through the mist. Monroe squinted her eyes trying to get a better look at the figure as the others finally caught up to her.
"Wait, look!" Elizabeth called out. "It's a girl."
Monroe saw Elizabeth was right, and a grin spread across her face when realizing who was in front of them.
"It's Diane!" Monroe said happily as she picked up her pace.
She couldn't believe after all this time that she now found two of the Seven Deadly Sins.
"Diane?" Hawk asked then gasped. "Do you think those imps might attack her?!"
"A defenseless little girl like that?" Elizabeth asked.
Hawk and Elizabeth trailed off with their worrying words as the group finally reached Diane who was snoozing away.
"Lady Diane!" One of the imps cried.
"Lady Diane!" The other two echoed.
Diane didn't move an inch despite the imps calling out to her in panicked voices.
"Man, she's big." Hawk said.
"Lady Diane, we accidently let some Holy Knight Trespassers come in!" One of the imps said.
At first Diane didn't stir again, which just showed what a heavy sleeper she was.
"Lady Diane!" The imps tried again.
Diane's eyes finally snapped open to reveal two purple irises as she finally sat up off the ground while slamming her hand into the ground.
"Some Holy Knights got in, huh?" Diane asked as she stood to her full height.
Monroe's eyebrow twitched in slight worry while certain things weren't going to end pretty if Diane continued to think they were Holy Knights.
"Whoa, she's huge." Hawk squeaked.
"No, we're not Holy Knights." Elizabeth spoke up meekly. "We came here—!"
She was cut off when Diane scooped up Meliodas into her hand to hold him up at her eye level. Elizabeth and Hawk looked around in shock wondering where Meliodas went.
"He's gone." Elizabeth said.
"You both might want to look up." Monroe said pointing.
Hawk and Elizabeth followed the path that her finger pointed out, and gasped when seeing Diane had a hold of Meliodas.
"You're in trouble, Holy Knight." Diane said glaring at Meliodas.
"Hold on, you're not going to eat him, are you?!" Hawk asked in concern.
"You let go of, Sir Meliodas!" Elizabeth ordered.
"Take it easy, Di." Monroe added. "Try not to break Melly."
Diane blinked at that nickname she hasn't heard in ten years before also noticing this young woman called the man in her hold "Melly" while that blonde woman had called him "Sir Meliodas", which were names Diane knew.
"Melly?...Sir Meliodas?" Diane murmured before looking closer at the blonde.
"Yo, Diane." Meliodas said casually. "What's it been? Like ten years?"
Diane was quiet a moment longer as she looked at Meliodas even closer as if still not sure. However, soon her entire face lit up when she really did recognize him.
"Captain!" She cheered in delight then gently rubbed her cheek against Meliodas's head. "Captain! Captain, captain, captain, captain, captain, captain! I missed you so much!"
Monroe smiled at the reunion as Hawk and Elizabeth continued to stare with flabbergasted looks on their faces.
"Captain?" Elizabeth asked.
"Wait, a giant girl with pigtails is one of the Seven Deadly Sins?!" Hawk asked.
"That's correct." Monroe said. "She's Diane the Serpent Sin of Envy."
Elizabeth and Hawk looked at Monroe in shock while not believing a giant was once part of the Holy Knights and one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Said giant looked in their direction when hearing them talking.
"Captain, you've thought of everything, haven't you?" Diane asked. "You remember how much I love whole roasted pig!"
"Hey, don't eat me, lady!" Hawk begged.
Diane went reaching for Hawk, but Monroe quickly got in between them with her arms held out.
"Sorry, Di, but Hawk isn't for eating." Monroe said.
Diane blinked when she was called that nickname again. Did she know this woman or something? Diane tilted her head as she narrowed her eyes. Something about her was familiar. Diane's eyes widened when realizing this girl was an older version of Asthore's daughter.
"Roe!" Diane squealed happily before reaching down to scoop Monroe into her other hand. "You're all grown up!"
Monroe gasped at being picked up so suddenly, but she smiled at Diane as the giant held Monroe in front of her face.
"You aren't the cute the little girl I remember." Diane said. "Well, you're still cute, but not little. Well, I guess compared to me you're still little too."
Monroe laughed at Diane's rambling, but did know what Diane was trying to get at.
"So, you're traveling with the Captain, huh?" Diane asked then turned to frown at Elizabeth. "And, uh, who's that?"
"That's Princess Elizabeth." Monroe said. "I promised the King I'd protect her, so I brought her along with me to search for you guys."
Diane hummed then turned to look down at Meliodas with an unreadable expression. She then placed Monroe on her shoulder, which had the younger girl blinking.
"So, it's been you and Roe and this girl traveling together, Captain?" Diane asked.
"Plus, a talking pig." Meliodas pointed out.
"Oh, is that so?" Diane asked.
"Yep." Meliodas said nodding.
Meliodas went to continue explaining, but Diane didn't let him say another word. She threw Meliodas into the ground hard enough to crack the ground and send dust and dirt flying everywhere.
"You filthy womanizer!" Diane shouted as he skipped like a rock cross it before hitting a large boulder that caved in slightly at impact.
Monroe let out an impressed whistle from her perch on Diane's shoulder. Diane must really be mad now.
"Sir Meliodas!" Elizabeth called out in concern as Diane fell to her knees crying.
Monroe reached forward to gently stroke Diane's cheek in a consoling manner as the giant continued to cry.
"After all this time, I'm finally back with the man I love, and he's with another woman!" Diane cried. "You've just broken my heart into a million pieces. But still…if you have an explanation, I'm ready to listen."
"Honestly," Meliodas, who walked back up to Diane, began. "There's not a—!"
He didn't get to finish again since Diane started hitting him rapidly with her fists.
"Whoa!" Monroe exclaimed while having to grab onto Diane's hair tightly, so not to be thrown off.
However, grabbing onto her hair proved to be a dumb mistake since it was whipping in different directions due to Diane's fast, sharp movements. Monroe tried to tighten her hold on the hair, so not to be sent flying, but she was feeling as if she was losing her grip.
"I don't want to hear your excuses!" Diane snapped.
She kept shouting and punching, which had Monroe sweat-dropping. She forgot how jealous Diane could get.