Hey there folks, welcome back. =D So we finish up chapter 2 this time and we meet a mysterious stranger. I wonder who~ Also, more Axel...

Enjoy ;)

Chapter 2: Rozalin the Liar; Of Buffoons and Jerktowns

Tink: A servant of Overlord Zenon and a childhood friend of Rozalin. After a mysterious person attacked Zenon's castle, he was transformed into a frog. Tink is notoriously lecherous, rude, calculative, cowardly and protective of Rozalin. Tink also has somewhat of a split personality: When Tink turns red; he has a voracious sexual appetite, is obnoxious, and is provoked easily. When Tink is blue, he is slightly less obnoxious, and is more level headed. When he changes into his red form, the words "Draak-Tink-Mahalaak" will turn him blue and calm him down.

Location: Zenon's Palace

Axel was pacing up and down a hallway within Zenon's Palace, checking out the scenery.

"This isn't an ultra classy, 5-Star resort like I'm used to, but it sure beats sleeping outside again."

Axel clenched his fist and looked up to the ceiling. "Heh, battling that wild tribesman… He just got lucky. If I wasn't distracted by the crew, my Superfly Death Rush would've-"

At that moment, the Director, followed by his camera Zombie, ran towards Axel in a panic. "Oh, oh, oh my god, Axel darling! I just heard a rumor that we were killed by mountain men. Everyone thinks we're dead!"

Taking a moment to take this information in, the blonde demon stared at the Director blankly. "…Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!" He screamed out in a panic.

"Really, what's wrong with everyone? I keep calling the network, but they keep saying, 'you're dead!' and yelling 'Ghost!'" I think the network execs are trying to get rid of us…" The old man said with a grimace.

"No way! That's impossible! I'm the Dark Hero! I'm crazy famous!"

"That's why I said you're living in the past!" The Director yelled frustrated.

"They can't do this!" Axel yelled loudly. "This episode of Tripping with Axel is gonna be a historical event!"

"Axel…" He turned his back to the Director.

"The Dark Hero will live forever! When everyone hears that I'm still alive, I'll make my triumphant return!"

The Director looked at Axels back and sighed.

Location: Zenon's Palace; Room of Despair

Meanwhile, the party had entered through another door and arrived to the next area of Zenons Palace. It was a large and long hallway-like room.

As they strutted through the long hallway, Rozalin explained to Tink the events that happened leading up until they met him.

"Aha, so zat is how Adell summoned ze Princess." Tink said after hearing the entire story prior their meeting.

"Zat being said, Adell, my friend, you are very brave to want to face Overlord Zenon." Tink told Adell with a radiant smile.

Adell, still uncomfortable around Tink, merely nodded as he continued to look around with Marc and the others.

Tink slyly edged closer to Rozalin and gently nudged her. ("Princess, princess.") He spoke in a whisper so as not to be overheard by the others. ("Zis human is a top level buffoon. Is it wise to stay so close to him?")

("He is a rather dangerous fool. We should keep our eyes on him for now.") Rozalin spoke back, also in a whisper, as she looked at Adell darkly. ("I shall never allow him to confront my father. Never…")

Tinks eyes also lit up. ("Ah, très magnifique, Princess. You really are evil. Oh ho ho ho ho…!")

Roy and Celeste watched as the two demons schemed from a distance.

"I wonder what those two are talking about." Celeste wondered out loud. "Probably nothing good…" Roy said pessimistically, as he watched the pair watch Adell with an evil grin.

"Do not always think the worst of people, little brother. Miss Rozalin and Sir Tink are childhood friends; they probably have a lot to discuss."

Roy shrugged. "I agree. But the problem is; the subject of their discussion is likely how to get rid of our boss. And if our boss gets his ass killed our reward goes 'poof'."

"Boss, over here!" Marc called out to Adell. "What's up?" Adell said as he walked over.

"Here, look at the ground." Adell crouched down next to Marc. There were faint traces of footsteps on the floor. "It seems there was someone here not too long ago."

"Hmm… It might be more of those puppet things. We should stay alert."

As they steadily continued through one of the many corridors, Marc and Adell suddenly came to a halt.

"Why are we stopping?" Roy asked the pair.

"Someone's here." Marc said as he put his hand on the handle of his axe. "How's about you stop hiding and come on out!" Adell called out loudly.

"Hah, to think I was detected, you guys are pretty good~."

Seemingly out of nowhere, a lone girl appeared in front of the party. The girl had blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and wore a brown jacket, a rather short pair of trousers and a brown hat with two pointy ends. She had a pair of goggles fastened to her hat.

"Who're you, one of the guards?" Adell asked the girl, on guard.

"Hehe, of course not silly~. I'm just a humble treasure hunter on an adventure~" The girl answered with a devious smile.

"So, you're a thief then." Roy said in conclusion.

"Ugh, how rude. That's why I hate little brats." The girl said crossing her arms.

"Who're you calling a brat!"

"Sir Tink. Could this be the perpetrator who assaulted you earlier?" Celeste asked the blue frog. "Zat is not ze case. It was someone much, much scarier!" Tink said shivering at the memory of the event.

"In any case." Marc said, breaking the atmosphere. "If you're not one of the palace's guardsmen, we don't have any business with you. We'd appreciate it if you let us pass."

"Oh, by all means~" The girl said with a smirk. "Just make sure to leave anything of value you have on you here with me."

"What'd you say!" Roy spat out disgusted.

"What? It's obvious isn't it? I could hardly find anything worth pawning in this run down palace, so I might as well take your stuff off your hands right?" The girl looked at the party with an evil smile. "And I recommend you don't even think about resisting."

She snapped her fingers. As the sound reverbed loudly throughout the hallway, a large number of thieves armed with daggers and bows appeared around them. "You might get hurt…"

They were flanked by two groups of archers and in front of them stood a number of thieves armed with daggers. Before they had time to move, the archers readied their arrows and fired.

"Shield!" Celeste cast the protective spell just in time before a volley of arrows rained down upon the party.

"Take out the archers!" Adell called out loudly as soon as the volley ended.

Marc and Adell dashed towards and jumped head first into the two flanked parties of archers before they could fire another round; thoroughly knocking them out in the process.

"What're you waiting for, go get em~!" The girl in charge yelled to her troops.

The thieves ran towards Rozalin, Celeste, Roy and Tink but were instantly blasted by a Mega Fire from the young mage. "Heh, you shouldn't bring knives to a firefight." Roy said cocky.

But a few thieves leapt from the smoke unharmed; they had used their comrades as a shield.

"Gyaah, princess, zey are still coming!" Tink screamed at Rozalin. "Quiet down, Tink." Rozalin said calm. "I have yet to punish these lowlifes for attempting to steal from my father's palace…"

Rozalin lowered her hands as she reached for something in front of her. "Even the most beautiful of flowers may have hidden fangs…" Out of thin air, Rozalin grabbed a giant machine gun and aimed at the oncoming thieves. "Rose Thorns!"

The resulting onslaught blasted the leftover thieves out of action, leaving only the boss of the group standing.

"WOW that was FAST!" The thief exclaimed exited. "You guys are pretty strong!"

"Thanks for the compliment, but you do realize you're next, right?" Marc and Adell had stood up and dashed towards her. The girl took out two pistols and aimed at Marc and Adell. "Will it really go that easy though, I wonder…"

She fired a number of rounds at both Marc and Adell, forcing them to evade to the side. "Boomerang axe!" Marc yelled as he threw his axe at the girl.

The thief quickly dove to the right evading the axe. "Go, boss!" Marc yelled to Adell. "Yeah!" Adell had gotten close to the thief and threw a punch at her. But the girl had already anticipated this.

"Not fast enough, I'm afraid." She already had her pistol aimed straight at Adell's face. As she pulled the trigger, Adell managed to lean back and evade it by a hair's breadth. He jumped backwards to get some distance but the thief pursued, rapidly shooting at him. "Some fancy dance moves you got there~!" The thief jeered at Adell as he continued to evade.

"Mind if I cut in?" Marc rushed in and swung his axe at the thief, forcing her to jump back.

"Let's do this, Marc!" Adell called out. "Leave it to me, boss!"

The two dashed towards the thief, running in a zigzag pattern, while avoiding her bullets.

First Adell dove in close to her and just as she aimed at him, kicked the gun out of her hand.

Following up, Marc jumped via Adells back and struck down fiercely with his axe, giving the swift thief no time to retaliate.

The girl however did manage to barely avoid the strike with nothing but a tear in her sleeve. She jumped back and held them within range of her last pistol.

"Whew. You guys are intense…"

Adell shrugged. "You're not bad yourself."

The rest of the party caught up and held their weapons at the ready.

"Oh phooey, and I was just starting to get into it." She said with a playful smirk. "Oh well, I already got what I wanted anyway~" The thief said as she flashed a pair of wallets.

Marc searched his pockets to find his wallet missing. "How did she-, I mean when did she even..?" He looked at Adell flustered. It seemed he was also mugged.

"Well, I'm out of here. Be seeing you~" The girl waved as she disappeared from sight as sudden as she had appeared in the first place.

"Man, she got us good…" Marc said with a sigh.

"Who the hell was she anyway?" Roy complained in a loud voice. "Having this many people with her following her orders… Makes you think she might be part of some sort of group."

Celeste nodded seriously. "Yes perhaps, but to use your comrades in such a cruel way…"

She looked over the knocked out group of thieves with pity.

"Standing around here won't get us any answers guys." Adell said breaking the mood. "Let's keep moving."

Everyone nodded solemnly and complied, following Adell into the next part of the palace.

{-}

Location: ?

The Masked man appeared before Overlord Zenon. "…Overlord Zenon. Your orders have been carried out…" he said as he bowed down before his lord. Zenon turned to face him.

""Hmm. Did you discover the whereabouts of the Princess?"

The Masked woman also appeared in turn and bowed down in front of him. "…No. She is still nowhere to be found…" Zenon looked down on his servants with eyes filled with malice.

"If anything should happen to her, even a little scratch, and the two of you will suffer tenfold…" The pair bowed down even deeper. "…Yes, master. We are well aware…"

Zenon turned his back to his two servants.

"I don't care how you do it. Find the princess and isolate her from the outside world immediately!"

"…It shall be as you wish, my master…" The masked man and woman disappeared from Zenons chambers.

{-}

Location: Zenon's Palace; Sealed Room

The party arrived at the last door on the highest level of the palace. There appeared to have been a lock on the door but it lay, in pieces, on the ground.

"Looks like someone broke into this room…" Adell said, inspecting the broken lock. The party entered the room and found…

"Gahhhh! It's the wild tribesman from yesterday!" Axel stood before them, visibly shocked upon meeting his 'killers'.

"…What the hell makes you think I'm a tribesman?" Adell told the eccentric demon deadpan.

Adell walked towards Axel. "D, don't come any closer! Don't invade my personal space!"

The director, standing behind axel with his camera zombie, pushed Axel forward.

"Wh, what are you waiting for, Axel? Aren't you the Dark Hero!"

This woke Axel up from his shock. "Huh? Oh yeah! I am the Dark Hero! Feared by men! Loved by women! …But…I always use a stunt double."

"Oh, I get it." Adell said suddenly. "You're just a stupid celebrity."

"I'm not just a celebrity!" Axel yelled loudly. "I'm the Dark Hero! The amazingly talented Dark Hero!"

Adell shrugged as if saying he didn't care.

"If you want to throw down with me, prepare for the consequences! You'll have screaming teenage girls calling you all day long!"

"That sounds like a pain…" Adell said sweatdropping.

"Hahaha… You stupid B-Movie celebrity." Rozalin stepped from behind Adell and looked at Axel with downsizing eyes. "You desecrate my father's palace with your insolent behavior. I will not forgive you."

"Huh? Desecrate your father's palace…? What are you talking about, lady?" Axel said confused.

"Do not feign ignorance!" Rozalin said as she held her left hand in front of her. "My name is Rozalin! I am Overlord Zenon's only daughter!" A glowing emblem shaped like a four-leaved clover appeared on her hand. "Do you not see this emblem of the four-leaf clover!"

Axel looked at the seal shocked. "O, Overlord Zenon's daughter you say!"

Pleased at her foe's shocked face, she puffed out her chest in pride. "Hmhmhmhm. Not so exuberant anymore? If you wish to beg for mercy, now would be the time."

Axels' entire body started shaking violently. "Y…Y…Y…YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!"

He suddenly screamed fired up. "This! This! This is it, Director!"

"W, what do you mean, Axel darling?" he asked confused.

"Picture this. A beautiful demon, none other than Overlord Zenon's only daughter, Rozalin imprisoned in a deserted palace."

Axel started explaining furiously, wildly swinging his arms in the process. "And the only man who can rescue her from the villains and pester Zenon for a hefty reward is the Dark Hero, Axel! Isn't that a great set-up! It's perfect for launching my comeback!"

"Is… Is this guy an idiot..?" Roy wondered out loud.

"This kind of story has to make the Universal News! And then everyone will know that I'm still alive!" Axel said, finishing his explanation to the Director. "B, but Axel, darling, didn't you say you needed a stunt double?"

Axel suddenly calmed down and spoke in a cool voice.

"Moron…I'm the Dark Hero. Now shut up and get ready to see the greatest action scene ever."

"Oh, Axel darling. Mmm, you're so…"

"Oh ho, zis is too bad. Demon buffoons like him will give us all a bad name." Tink said as he looked at the strange pair. Rozalin stared at Tink ironically.

"Sometimes I wish that your other personality could hear you speak…"

Adell crossed his arms irritated. "…Damn. While we're wasting time like this, Zenon's curse could be getting even stronger… I just hope my family doesn't turn into real monsters while we're stuck fighting jerktowns like this guy."

"Hmhmhmm. You shouldn't underestimate the great Dark Hero; yesterday you just caught me off guard." The blonde demons said cocky. "Now, prepare to face the true power of the Dark hero!" Axel struck a fighting pose.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with…" Adell also stepped forward.

"Take this, tribesman! Sure-kill! Super-ultra- delicious-gigafly-aerial-deathrush!" Axel jumped forward and lunged at Adell.

The attack however was easily evaded and Adell punched Axel clean in his face, sending him flying off against the wall. "Axel darling!" the Director called out in tears.

"Nggh…Not bad…" Axel said as he stood back up and wiped the blood from the side of his mouth. "I guess, it's about time I got serious as well…" Axel ran towards Adell again.

"Triple-swinging-rockers-DABUHHHHHH-" Before Axel had even finished speaking, Adell had punched him in his face once more. "You should talk less and fight more." He said with a shrug. Axel twirled through the air again and landed on his face this time.

"…D, Director…" Axel's voice was soft and very much strained with pain. "Did you get some good shots?"

The Director took hold of Axels' hand. "Yes, they're absolutely wonderful."

"That's good… I can't wait to see tonight's broadcast… Gah…" Axel passed out and the Director dragged him off again.

"I kinda feel bad for the guy…" Marc said in a whisper. "Really? I thought the boss was still going too easy on the fool." Roy said with a dark smile.

"Hmph, that is what you get for vandalizing my father's palace." Rozalin said satisfied.

"You forgot the whole reason we're here, haven't you?" Adell asked Rozalin annoyed. "You were supposed to guide me to Overlord Zenon."

Rozalin snapped out of her satisfaction and stared at Adell blankly. "…Ah."

"Don't 'Ah' me!" Adell yelled angrily.

"N, Now, now. Don't get so angry. We should be happy that we punished my father's enemies."

Tink suddenly hovered in between the arguing pair. "Pardon, princess? Zey were not the ones who attacked ze palace."

This got the pair's attention. "Ah? Did I not tell you?" Tink flew in front of the pair.

"What do you mean! Who did this, then?" Rozalin asked him confused.

"Well, it was…someone I've never seen before. B-But , zey were really, really strong… Zey were atrocious. Zey turned poor, innocent moi into a hideous frog."

A fire started burning in Adell's eyes. "They're strong, huh? It might be fun to fight people like that." Rozalin looked at Adell amused.

"Hmph. You're a barbarian. You are even more violent than a monster."

"Hey, don't compare me to monsters! I'm fighting for my family!"

"Perhaps for now." Rozalin said with a smirk. "But, was that the glitter of interest I spied in your eyes?"

"You must not fight with zem. You cannot win, zat is for sure." Tink said as he continued his story.

"We wouldn't know that until we tried, right?"

Tink hovered away from the party and landed on the most elevated part of the room, leaving the others staring at him intrigued.

"It is impossible! I speak the truth! For it was the Demon Lord who opposes Overlord Zenon. Zere is no mistaking zis." Tink paused dramatically and waited until he had everyone's full attention.

"I know it had to have been Demon Lord Etna!"

Whew, end of chapter 2! I wrote the Marc/Adell vs Thief fight listening to Umineko ep 4 BGM, Mortal Stampede. Listening to this song while reading that part makes it more energetic somehow hehe~ ;P

I wonder who she was though~? Hmhmhmm, you'll have to keep reading to find out~ Welp, this is me, signing off. See ya next time! =D