Chapter 11: Guild Work in Progress 1
It's gonna be one of those days...
Firefly: What days! What is it! Am I gonna die! Oh no, oh no! Too scary!
Relax, I just mean it's one of those chapters in your life that portray actual guild work. We'll be seeing a lot of them in the coming days, just not in a row. Enjoy!
The cookie scented house
After Kimberly knocked three times, the door was swung open by a gust of wind, the strange part was the wind was coming from the windless inside, rather than the gentle breezing outside.
"Well we best go inside, and finish our assignment-e-excuse me, but what did I say about following me from behind?" Kimberly scolded as Milky suddenly rushed towards Kimberly's back, and clutched her dress tightly.
"I can't help it! I'm part scaredy cat when it comes to the unknown" Milky confessed.
"Good, foreboding entrance, I must learn to master the 'violent self swinging door' technique" Limbo said.
Kimberly went inside as daintily as a princess, and as fearless as a warrior despite the shacking grip of Milky.
"If I suffer a wardrobe malfunction because of you, I shall ensure you suffer a brain malfunction from my arrows" Kimberly warned.
Eventually Milky released her grip, but stood in place nervously looking in all directions.
The house itself was well lit with electric lamps, but the majority of the light coming from a small, plain chandelier with only a half dozen bulbs, and made from a slightly dusty bronze metal with very few decals. The floor was wood with most of the center enveloped in a round, turquoise rug that was very soft to the touch. A fireplace stood at the opposite end of the door, a closer inspection hinted that it may have rarely ever been used seeing as how there was very little soot, the logs were untouched, and felt cold. A Sofa for two stood at the center of it all colored turquoise, and seating only two people with a small round table at both sides. The wallpaper was striped with blue, and green, making the room feel...'minty' if that were possible. To the left they saw a rectangle opening where a door would have been, possibly the kitchen, and to the top left of the room was a spiral staircase fashioned from wood.
"A little under-furnished for my taste" Kimberly comented.
"I guess this isn't so bad..." Milky said calming down a bit.
"Is that a sign?" Limbo asked pointing at it, or at least trying to.
"I take it it is in the direction you are looking at?" Kimberly asked seeing as how Limbo was unable to point at the direction.
"Yes~" Limbo moaned.
The sign was very flat, and stood just behind the staircase. At first glance it appeared to have been constructed out of crystal, but a closer look revealed that it was simply very pure ice reflecting the rays of the sun from a nearby window.
"How did we miss that?" Milky asked.
"It must have been recently made...I take it our client wishes to meet with us upstairs" Kimberly said.
"Let's investigate" Limbo said.
"Can't we just leave, and say we did?" Milky asked.
"Unfortunately there is a problem with that plan of yours dear Milky, and that is the fact that Walker will be expecting us to return with pay." Kimberly said.
"Oh...right..." Milky said realizing her plan had a serious flaw.
With Kimberly leading, Milky, and Limbo ascended up the staircase.
"Is that giggling I hear?" Kimberly noticed.
"Sure enough the trio eventually heard the faint sound of children laughing.
"Sounds like...Berry Melon?" Milky noticed.
"And it's not just one girl's laughter, I hear a second." Limbo said.
"It sounds as if our letter was misleading if only by a small margin, regardless we better complete our assignment." Kimberly said.
Climbing the estimated twenty steps up the team made it up towards the square opening in the ceiling. The second floor was just a room, equal to the size of the living room, with the square hole surrounded by long wooden guard rails save for the side the stairs lead up towards. A door to the left side lead to a possible main bathroom below the kitchen. The room itself was much more stocked compared to the plain living room on the first floor. Several toys, dolls, and stuffed animals littered the floor, a similar round rug with same color as the one on the first floor had covered the hard floor making it comfy to lay down on. A queen sized bed was at the top center of the room, and each of it's side had a single cabinet where socks, and other personal unmentionable where possibly stashed. A large dresser attached with a long oval mirror stood on the opposite side of the bed. The room lit by a large lamp above the pyramid shaped roof.
"Where is our client? Hello, anybody home?" Kimberly called out.
A flush from the toilet was heard, followed by the shuffling of feet, bursts of giggles, and a faucet activating.
"Well it sounds as if our employer knows when to wash their hands" Kimberly commented.
The door's knob turned, the door opened, and out skipping was a Green Mage. She turned towards her guests, and waved excitedly.
"...Hello?" Kimberly said.
Despite the warm, and cheerful greeting there was a unsettling silence, no one dared to speak first, well except...
"Oh for goodness sake both of your unnecessary silence will not make our guild look any better. I will calm your nerves, and converse with our client, *ahem*. Excuse me miss mage, but I can't help, but overhear your faucet still running, it's an honest mistake I'm sure, but wasting water even if it is a demon attribute for being wasteful. It is still quite expensive, and should only be left to those with large financial savings of-" Kimberly was educating.
During her lecture the faucet heard from the bathroom suddenly stopped, and the Green Mage looked towards the bathroom with a happy grin. Then out of the bathroom came a Blue Mage.
"Done?" The Green Mage asked.
"Done!" Both the Blue, and Green Mage exclaimed simultaneously giggling soon afterward.
"Oh, I see then..." Kimberly realized.
Outside with the rest of the Guild
"They're not gonna make it" Aegis said.
"Well isn't that a darn shame...why should I believe you?" Walker said.
"I have lived in this town for several years, enough to now my way around town blindfolded. From what I've heard about that house were not normal, the owners left that building long ago so frankly I was surprised we've even received a letter from that vicinity. Supposedly you could see the silhouette of a demon, but the shape was so plain it was difficult to identify what the shape was exactly. We've just sent our allies into the unknown." Aegis said.
"But a house that smells like cookies can't be all bad" Berry Melon said.
"True, but there are occasions when a Venus Fly Trap would smell suspiciously like nectar to draw insects to it's mouth." Aegis said.
"I don't know about that, Firefly was pretty much the same, she didn't came out of her house until just recently. I bet none of you even knew you had a Magic Knight in town" Walker said.
"Just pointing out the many possibilities" Aegis said.
"I'm just not feeling it though, I can smell a trap a mile away" Walker said.
"Yeah it's the pranks that get him" Sasha added.
"As I was saying, I wasn't feeling anything foreboding about that house at all, in fact it felt minty. Did any of you feel that minty air around it?" Walker asked.
"My breath is always minty...you know because I'm a healer, and all" Elfie admitted.
"Well aren't you Miss Perfect" Sasha said.
"Oh goodness me, going so far as to compliment me, I don't deserve it~" Elfie bashfully replied.
"You're slower than molasses in the winter" Sasha said.
"Heh, I was gonna say she's as slow as a snail traveling through peanut butter, but I liked your saying better" Walker commented.
"That's one for me, and zilch for you" Sasha gloated.
"Slow? I can curse you! Turn you slow! Curse now?" Peach Basket asked.
"No thank you Peach Basket" Elfie respectfully declined.
"Curse? No...no like Peach Basket curses..." Peach Basket said suddenly feeling down in the dumps.
"Aw~ come on don't be like that...you've already been hired!" Walker groaned.
"You shall deliver all the curses in the world to the men behind the curtains" Phoenix assured.
"I believe she told me once that curses on her pack, and curses on her enemies are two opposite sides of the same coin. Though they have the same effect...*sigh* her curses towards her allies derive from a positive emotion such as happiness, and friendship, ugh~. While her enemies suffer from hate embedded, anger fueled hexes." Lloyd said.
"Sad pack-mate is right. Peach Basket want to give-*sniffle*-curses to pack as sign of new pack togetherness..." Peach Basket glumly replied.
"When did you two become so buddy, buddy?" Elfie curiously asked.
"She followed me to my house if you would recall, and took some dolls from my collection to create hex dolls for us" Lloyd recalled.
"Well you both seem to be about the same height so I guess I can see the similarities" Sasha said.
"I don't believe you should judge such close teamwork merely by height" Firefly said.
"Humans judge close relationships with the silliest reasons all the time" Sasha said.
"...We're not humans" Walker replied.
"All the more reason why our reasons should be even stranger" Sasha said.
"...In a weird sort of way, she is completely right" Phoenix said.
"We got way off topic here, we're we discussing Peach Basket here? She's still wiping away tears" Walker reminded.
"Oh right, okay then how about this. At the end of the day during dinner time you can curse us. You can chant us up a couple of curses even with your mouth full of food." Elfie invited.
"Peach Basket can't wait for night time food!" Peach Basket exclaimed suddenly perking up again.
"That's so much better!" Berry Melon cried out happily.
"I don't think you should be happy at the idea of getting cursed" Walker said.
"We are nearing our destination, soon we shall depart" Aegis called out.
"I take it you are following the map correctly?" Walker asked.
"Of course, and our client is only a handful of houses away to our right, a little further ahead will be Phoenix's stop at the senator's building." Aegis said.
"Excellent, I shall move on head to unveil the picket signs I have stashed near the building, I shall met my selected team there" Phoenix said jumping onto the rooftops, and dashing ahead.
"I really need to get myself a pair of shoes" Walker said.
"You already have boots on silly" Berry Melon pointed out.
"I mean to equip so I can move faster, jump higher, and farther, you know the one I mean" Walker said.
"So you'll be wearing shoes...on your boots?" Firefly asked.
"No, I'll be wearing my boots on my shoes" Walker corrected.
"I thought I had multiple layers of armor" Aegis said to himself.
"Then where would your socks go?" Sasha asked.
"...Are we there yet Aegis?" Walker asked.
"On our right actually. Sasha, Misha we're departing" Aegis said.
"Whatever cowpoke, don't slow us down will ya?" Sasha said, turning a hard right.
"Meow~, mew, mew, meow" Misha howled.
Translation: (I can't believe I'm doing this, but I won't lose myself so easily, at the slightest moment of weakness I shall hold dominion over thee, and turn your so called 'guild' into a dark cult)
"I'll miss you two Misha!" Berry Melon exclaimed while giving Misha a quick hug before departing.
"...Still wearing your 'cowards fleece' I see" Sasha suddenly said.
"I see someone's upset that their miniscule bullets are suddenly ineffective" Aegis retorted.
"Just need a bigger gun. Personally I can't find myself relying on some plate of metal when I can just as easily dodge stuff" Sasha said.
"You honestly believe you can avoid all incoming attacks?" Aegis said.
"I have a thin waist" Sasha answered.
"Meow!" Misha replied.
Translation: (The door! One of you knock on it this very instant you insects!)
"Oh look the door, better let me do all the talking" Sasha said.
"Meow, meow!" Misha excitedly proclaimed.
Translation: (At last for once you imbeciles have finally understood me!)
"Calm yourself cat, you will have something to eat later tonight" Aegis said.
Sasha knocked on the door, after a short time of waiting they got a response.
"Who are you, and why should I let you in?" A woman's voice demanded.
"Cautious, but for a good reason, tell her who we are" Aegis said.
"We're your hired muscle partner! Open that door nice, and easy like so we can do our job" Sasha called out.
"...Prove it" the voice said.
"Oh for crying out loud, allow me" Aegis said gripping the letter.
"Oh I see, your gonna slip that letter under the-" Sasha began.
Then Aegis punched through the wooden door with the letter gripping fist.
"As you can see this is your letter, with your penmanship now let us through...I think I felt something in my knuckles besides wood" Aegis said.
There was no response.
"She's not talking to us, way to go you big galoot!" Sasha scolded.
"Thank you, it's not everyday someone calls me lazy considering the work I force myself to do" Aegis said.
"Now what?" Sasha said.
"We can't go back empty handed...I think I can reach inside, and unlock the door" Aegis said.
"Go for it" Sasha said.
He fumbled his hand around the door making an even larger hole.
"My hand is far too thick, and muscular to bend it anywhere near the lock" Aegis declared.
"Figures...time for plan B, Misha go unlock the door from the inside" Sasha ordered.
"Can a Catsaber even accomplish such a task?" Aegis asked.
"*Hiss!*" Misha replied angrily before jumping through the hole.
Translation: (Your death shall be slow, and painful large one)
"You don't suppose that door is coming out of our pay will it?" Aegis asked.
"I can just sell it for more than it's worth, give me time, and a sucker, and I can double our pay" Sasha assured.
A loud click was heard from the door, and Misha jumped out of the hole.
"Excellent now to business" Aegis said opening the door
Peering inside the small living room they saw an open window providing much of the light for the interior though a electric lamp at the center of the room would provide for light during the night. They also saw a rectangle table with a light blue table top cover, the floor was wood neither clean, nor entirely dirty, a door leading to the bedroom, and a path to the right side leading to the possible kitchen. A lone couch behind the left side window was colored a pale brown. Then there was the unconscious body of a Lady Fighter near the front of the door.
"Good going dumb muscle you knocked the poor girl out" Sasha scolded.
"A female fighter has plenty of defensive capabilities, and have been known to take a beating, I'm surprised a single punch could bring her into unconsciousness." Aegis said.
"Defense? Look at her! She's so poor all she has to wear are two belts, and very tight biker shorts that make it seem as if she's wearing nothing at all...nothing at all" Sasha said.
"Not entirely true, she does have some very impressive leg wear" Aegis said.
"But you punched her face not her legs" Sasha said.
"How did that old saying go again?...You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet?" Aegis said.
"Not if our omelet is paying us...those shorts are really tight, if they are shorts...they kind of look like they're just black paint with some after polish to give it that sleek shine, genius" Sasha said.
"Well why don't you ask her once she regains consciousness" Aegis said.
"Meow, meow, meow!" Misha cried out.
Translation: (I'm surrounded by buffoons, I can feel my high intellect depleting with each moment I spend with them, is this a test dark one? Have I not proven myself worthy in your eyes!)
Back to Walker
"I trust Aegis will be able to keep Sasha in line, and Misha shouldn't be much of a hassle to either of them" Walker said.
"Can you feel it? We're getting close. The air is heavy with corruption from the greedy corporations buying out the senators" Phoenix was heard saying as he returned to the group carrying several signs.
"Every demon does that all the time, although I always thought of bribing as sort of ironic. You know even if it's for our own selfish cause we are still gifting demons just so we can have what we want in exchange. Call it an ugly word, but giving is still giving" Elfie said.
"You're thinking too deeply about this, all you need to concern yourself now is doing a good job" Walker said.
"I hardly think at all~" Berry Melon said.
"And to think you were once considered a genius in our hometown" Walker muttered to himself.
"Few demons truly understand the significance change one goes inside, and out when you're reincarnating into something completely different, but there is always a little part of you that sticks, it's just overshadowed by your new persona" Elfie explained.
"Lesson learned! Peach Basket knows!" Peach Basket said.
"That lecture was pointless, as were most of your lectures during your times here" Walker said.
"I just wanted to show off my new found intelligence, I was such a bimbo when I was a Lilim" Elfie said.
"M-maybe I can do something like that t-to regain my confidence" Firefly muttered.
"I'm too far gone for any reincarnation to effect me" Lloyd said
"I believe it is time for us to depart, I shall return your team at nightfall when there is seldom any demons worthwhile to see us protest." Phoenix said.
"I hardly doubt four people will be anything less than pathetic" Walker said.
"True, but once they see our determination, and hear our chanting of the truth they will join us. Then you shall see the true power in numbers." Phoenix said.
"We shall see you make a laughing stock out of yourself, and if you do I'm charging you extra" Walker said.
"We haven't actually discussed how much I'll be paying you" Phoenix said.
"Just drop some HL in a sack, and I'll tell you when to stop" Walker said.
"Fair enough" Phoenix said.
"S-s-so we're not gonna fight, or anything right?" Firefly asked.
"Normally these occupy movements on the human world would involve zero violence...we shall not mimic that. We will fight-on sight-any demon attempting to stop us" Phoenix said.
"Peach Basket loves good fight, but no spear! No poking stick!" Peach Basket
"I think I actually have something here...let me just pull this sign out." Phoenix said dropping the picket signs, and focusing on a single picket sign reading 'Wake the hell up, seriously why won't you guys listen to reason for crying out loud you are being deceived, and your HL stolen from you when your le-' in small letters barely legible. He pulled the sign out of the stick which turns out to have a pointy, but chipped blade at the top.
"I'm not too handy with spears, but you seem capable, take this Beginner's Spear" Phoenix said.
"Me like~" Peach Basket moaned with greedy desire as she snatched the spear.
"Alright well take my teammates, and...pay me right now actually" Walker said.
Phoenix paused for a brief moment, then shifted towards his inventory, and grabbed a sack full of HL, and placed on Walker's palm. He felt the weight, tossing it up, and down, then nodded to himself.
"Didn't think you'd get my desired pay the first time, pleasure doing business with you. Firefly, Peach Basket, Lloyd, don't screw up" Walker ordered.
"My life is pain, darkness all around me" Lloyd said.
"...Okay?" Walker said.
"Curses...stabbing...*drool*" Peach Basket moaned.
"Uh, right...Firefly, watch over them, be their temporary leader, or something" Walker practically pleaded.
"T-that's too much pressure! I-I can't carry such a b-burden!" Firefly said.
"You'll never know unless you try, see ya" Walker said walking away from the team.
"He's right, that's one of many reasons why I do the things I do. Today we shall show them the power of our demon numbers! Now everyone grab a sign, and stand at the center of the street" Phoenix said.
"Or burn out like a dying star" Lloyd said.
"Good, good, but I want you to focus your depression on the system, they didn't care about you, and this is what you've become. Demonstrate your sadness, and express it through loud words" Phoenix encouraged.
"Either way they sadden me by either ignoring me, or not helping me...I'll do so" Lloyd said.
"Peach Basket will go over there! Curse at random demons! One could be target!" Peach Basket said.
"Maybe...now come on we should start grabbing a sign, and start waving it around" Phoenix said.
The building they were protesting at was the size of several of the houses, and the only one with a visible third story. Large, defiant, and important looking with a slick black paint job over the brick, and dark red roof over it's head. How Walker had not noticed such a building as he passed it several times is beyond anyone's guess, but once you see it, you could not un-see it. Standing over it so close the team was already feeling the auras of several powerful demons...in town, but Phoenix seemed quite unimpressed despite the fact that at his current level he will stand no chance against the majority of the council. The party went to work, Lloyd was spewing random acts of pain he has endured, and blamed it all on the system, Firefly was avoiding as many eyes on her as possible while still waving her sign frantically due to embarrassment which only drew more attention from naughty minded demons. Peach Basket was jumping about every shouting random hexes which sounded like complete gibberish which in any other moment would have sounded utterly terrifying, and Phoenix extended several signs urging others to follow in their example. For a while no demon were interested until a Onmyo Trainee who's face was covered by a large book of Feng Shui accidentally bumped into Phoenix.
"Ah I see an intelligent demon who wishes to join our movement" Phoenix said.
"Eh?" The Onmyo Trainee muttered, too distracted to pay any full attention to Phoenix.
"Excellent, take this sign, and wave it about in this particular spot." Phoenix said.
"...Meh" the Onmyo Trainee muttered as he grabbed the sign with his left hand, and continued reading with his right.
"You see! We already have one person joining us, soon this whole town will be moved by our occupy movement!" Phoenix assured.
The Onmyo Trainee muttered something too softly to be heard, and continued waving the sign around while primarily focusing on his reading.
Returning to Walker
"*Sigh* the people who hire us huh?" Walker muttered
"I think they're very colorful" Berry Melon said.
"Wouldn't it be hilarious if we're the only ones who screwed up our jobs?" Elfie said.
"If by hilarious you mean utterly shameful then yes, It's gonna be a riot" Walker said.
"We won't let you down, we're your very first recruits, your top of the litter!" Berry Melon exclaimed.
"Being the first to join doesn't necessarily mean your the best" Walker reminded.
"Couldn't you pretend that was the case, for your sake" Elfie asked.
"I'm not saying you guys are complete failures, in fact I think you two are really...satisfactory" Walker awkwardly said.
"He approves of us" Berry Melon whispered.
"He likes us~, what a softie" Elfie whispered back.
"My hearing ain't what it used to be thanks to all those loud guns firing directly besides my ear during training, but I can still understand the gist of what you two are whispering about. Do I have to dock your pay?" Walker threatened
"No~" both Elfie, and Milky groaned
"Looks like we're nearing the fountain, anyone out there that stands out?" Walker asked.
"Besides several demons, and monsters?" Berry Melon asked.
"Well there's that oddly dressed fellow chatting to a set of Lady Fighters, and now getting slapped by one of them." Elfie said.
"I've never seen his kind around these parts before, could he be a rare spawn? A demon that's not in a genre of class, but an actual original demon!...I though those were just legends" Walker said.
"Hm~ he is rather strange dressed, nothing in my studies of this Netherworld fit his class description, maybe he is a original demon, this is so exciting, I always wanted to see a OD's special skill!" Elfie excitedly said.
"...I remember! He's a Ranger! A male archer like Kimberly except he's a boy! I saw a few of them at Maritsu Evil Academy" Berry Melon pointed out.
"So that's why there were no records of his class in this Netherworld, his kind live in another Netherworld. He must have travel through the public dimensional gate" Elfie said.
"I knew those stories about original demons were nothing more than fairy tales, I bet all those reports about our president being a OD must be some kind of gimmick too." Walker muttered sounding disappointed.
"I'm sure they are out there Walker after all, they are not called rare spawns for nothing" Elfie said.
"Yeah right, don't believe in every hogwash you listen to will you? Anyways enough about that, let's greet this guy. If anything he's most likely our client" Walker said.
"Yoo-hoo~! Client, we're here!" Berry Melon cried out.
"Not like that!" Walker exclaimed.
The Ranger looked over at the sudden call, realized it was female, and rushed over to their direction.
"Huh...I guess he really was our guy" Walker said.
The Ranger paused in front of them, looked away, and slicked his recently messy hair back to normal before confronting them...or at least one of them.
"Hey there good looking, I may not be a genie, but I can make your dreams come true" The Ranger introduced.
"Well that's very nifty" Elfie said not getting it.
"Excuse me?" Walker sternly said clearly getting it.
The Ranger ignored him.
"So how's about we make a bet? I bet you dinner you'll go to dinner with me tonight" The Ranger said
"I'm a little busy at the moment, with my master, and all" Elfie awkwardly said moving closer to Walker.
"Don't call me master" Walker said moving away from Elfie.
The Ranger spotting another cutie decided to change tactics.
"Hey there beautiful, why is it that all of a sudden the most prettiest girl in this town has suddenly showed up?" The Ranger said.
"Oh my~ that's nice, but I'm a little-" Berry Melon was saying
"So how about we spent some time together, and make like fabric softener, and snuggle?" The Ranger invited.
"Well..." Berry Melon said.
Suddenly a bright spark engulfed the Ranger's hair. He immediately began screaming, and shrieking, eventually jumping onto the fountain to douse the fire all the while Berry Melon was giggling at the whole fiasco.
"...I'll treat his third degree burns" Elfie reluctantly said.
"I'm reluctant to let you do so, but he is our client...I think" Walker said.
Kimberly's Team
"So there's two of you...you could have made that specific in your letter" Kimberly said.
"We're so close we're-" the Green Mage began.
"Like one person sometimes" the Blue Mage finished.
"So when you were writing that letter you were both..." Limbo said.
"Writing it together? Yes!" Both blue, and green mages said simultaneously.
"Well why don't you introduce yourselves, you could have also done that in the letter by the way" Kimberly said.
"My name's Noelle!" The Green Mage excitedly cheered.
"My name's Isabelle!" The Blue Mage excitedly cheered.
"Well fancy that, you may call me Kimberly, or milady will suffice as well. The little one attempting to crawl through the window is Milky, and our spirit monster is Limbo" Kimberly said.
"Play, play, play!" Noelle, and Isabelle happily chanted.
"Alright, alright what recreational activity do you wish to perform?" Kimberly asked.
"Wha~" Noelle, and Isabelle moaned in confusion.
"...What do you want to play?" Limbo asked.
"O~h" Noelle, and Isabelle moaned in a sudden realization.
"...They make better ghosts than me" Limbo said.
"Milky get off that window you'll ruin your hair...well your hat at least, come on you're gonna recreate with us whether you like it, or not"Kimberly assured pulling Milky off the window just as she managed to break the rusty lock off.
"We wanna play-" Noelle began.
"Doctor!" Isabelle finished.
"Well let's set the stage then" Kimberly said.
"Yay~!"
They cleared the excess toys, wrapped Milky in random parts of her bodies, Kimberly primarily focused on ensuring Milky will not escape even though she no longer felt any fear over their assignment. Limbo was given a role which involved him waiting just below the floorboards of the second floor, Kimberly, and Noelle wore nurse caps.
"Has the patient been prepped nurse?" Kimberly began.
"Aye! We did the best we could, but she's lost a lot of blood, and her heart beat is increasing at fast levels!" Noelle exclaimed.
"Beep...beep...beep" Isabelle...beeped?
"Why am I the one wrapped up like this?" Milky asked.
"Don't talk save your strength!" Noelle urged.
"Quickly we must apply the anesthesia, and then we're going under!" Kimberly declared.
"Y-you're not actually gonna cut me open are you!" Milky cried out.
"Beep, beep, beep" Isabelle beeped more rapidly.
"Don't you dare die on us!" Noelle shouted passionately.
"Oh no she started bleeding again! More bandages hurry!" Kimberly urged.
"Don't kill me off so quickly!" Milky said.
"Beep, beep, beep" Isabelle continued.
"It's worse than we thought, she has a fatal illness along with her fatal car injuries!" Kimberly declared.
"Don't tell me we're fighting a losing battle doctor!" Noelle exclaimed.
"Are you two even trying?" Milky asked.
"Bee~p" Isabelle bee~p.
"No~!" Noelle shouted letting herself fall onto Milky's chest in utter defeat.
"I'm so sorry nurse...we did the best we could..." Kimberly glumly said.
Suddenly Limbo floated upwards from the floor.
"I'm a ghost now? Oh no~" Limbo moaned.
"No~ my sweet patient! We we're gonna get married, and spend our golden years in Paris! You can't just leave me behind like this!" Noelle cried out.
"Why would you say that dear! We we're suppose to get married tomorrow!" Isabelle exclaimed with a gruff voice while wearing a random mustache.
"I never loved you! My hand was forced to wed with you by your wicked step-mother!" Noelle cried out while pointing at Kimberly.
"Yes, if she were to be your wife we would have had lived a life of luxury!" Kimberly said, not really sure of what to do since the twins had not mentioned any of this. She decided to improvise.
"My family heirlooms will never be yours!" Noelle defiantly proclaimed.
"You don't have a say in that any more, for you see before the accident I had forged your handwriting into your wedding papers! You are now legally bonded by my step-son, and therefore your mansion, and money are also mine as well!" Kimberly gloated.
"How could you!" Noelle gasped, tears beginning to show.
"I never wanted any of this, I just wanted you, please stay with me, I can make you happy!" Isabelle assured.
"Not so fast!" Limbo said floating through the bathroom door.
"This is a private room, I suggest you leave!" Kimberly ordered.
"I am the head of the police department, and during our investigations at the scene of the crime we discovered enough evidence to show that her death was no accident, it was on purpose...she had been murdered!" Limbo declared.
"Who! Who would do such an awful thing!" Noelle cried out.
"Our investigation has lead us to one of you in this very room to be the culprit!" Limbo declared.
Everyone gasped even Limbo for some reason
"I-I didn't do it! I swear, she was like my baby sister! I could never have hurt her, even if I was jealous of her relationship with my love" Isabelle exclaimed.
We know it was not you, the real culprit was-" Limbo began.
All of a sudden Milky began to groan weakly.
"Ah! Beloved you're alive thank evilness!" Noelle said.
Milky responded with another groan as she began to pick herself up.
"It's okay you don't have to say, or do anything just lie down, and rest" Noelle assured.
Milky ignored her, and soon embraced her all the while still groaning weakly.
"I'm so happy too" Noelle said hugging her back.
Suddenly Milky gave Noelle a gentle nibble on her neck.
"Ow! Darling what was that?" Noelle asked.
"Wait a minute...those eyes, the speech impediment, and her lust to feed...oh no!" Isabelle said.
"What's wrong?" Limbo asked.
"Mother, didn't you say she had an illness with her injuries?" Isabelle asked.
"Y-yes, but we couldn't identify it. We needed an autopsy.
"It can't be!" Limbo said.
"It is! Darling get away from her, or else-" Isabelle exclaimed.
Noelle responded to this with a groan similar to Milky's.
"Oh no! Not you, not you too!" Isabelle realized.
"What is the meaning of this?" Kimberly wanted to know.
"It's the illness, it's not a disease, it's a virus, but not just any virus." Limbo said.
Milky, and Noelle both moaned.
"It's a zombie virus!" Isabelle cried out.
"Oh no~!" Limbo, and Kimberly exclaimed.
"Aw~ it looks like we ended up with the zombie apocalypse ending" Isabelle said now done acting apparently.
"You mean there were more endings?" Kimberly asked.
"I had no idea" Limbo said.
"Well we did our best what could we do?" Noelle said.
"Well is that all you wished us to do? It was awfully short" Kimberly said.
"We have another game-" Noelle began
"We want to play" Isabelle finished.
"C-can anyone untie me?" Milky asked.
"Very well what is it?" Kimberly asked.
"We want to play house!" Noelle, and Isabelle exclaimed simultaneously.
"Who's going as what?" Limbo asked.
"I'm still tied up here!" Milky said.
"We know that" Kimberly said.
"So untie me" Milky said.
Very well" Kimberly reluctantly agreed to.
"Honey I'm ho-what is going on! Who is this woman?" Noelle started things off.
"I-It's not what it looks like?" Kimberly awkwardly said.
"I sure hope so, that's our innocent little daughter" Noelle said.
"She was just playing with toilet paper...again" Kimberly said.
"I'm not a little kid!" Milky complained.
"Uh...bark, bark?" Limbo said
"You said it!" Isabelle said.
"Thank you talking lamp!" Noelle said.
"No problem! Need me to make the room a little brighter?" Isabelle said.
"No thank you, but we'd love to have you join our conversation." Noelle said.
"Thanks you're the best" Isabelle said.
"No problem!" Noelle said.
"So...how was your day?" Kimberly asked.
"Awesome!" Noelle replied.
"...Can you be a little more specific?" Kimberly said.
"Radical?" Noelle answered.
"...Works for me" Milky said as she stood up
"Perfect sense" Isabelle said.
"Bark, bark? (why did I decide this should be my role?)" Limbo asked himself.
"Well then I sure nothing bad happens that will completely-oh no! Zombies!" Noelle called out.
"Oh no~-wait, what? Zombie apocalypse again?" Kimberly said.
"Oh darn did I end it like that, sorry" Noelle said.
"So there were other endings again?" Milky asked.
"How would I know I'm a talking lamp" Isabelle replied.
"Well at least we're getting payed for going through zombie related scenarios" Kimberly said.
"I'm so glad none of us are zombies otherwise I'd be rather offended by now" Limbo said.
"But it's worth it in the end-" Noelle began.
"because the cookies we're paying you with will be very tasty" Isabelle finished.
"Cookies? Is that slang for HL these days" Kimberly asked.
"No, they're chocolatey-" Noelle began.
"And delicious!" Isabelle finished.
"Oh dear, Walker will not like this one bit..." Kimberly realized.
Aegis' Team
"Hey I think she's coming to!" Sasha said.
Lady Fighter groaned weakly rubbing her head slightly, and looked at the ceiling, or at least a portion seeing as how three heads were blocking her view.
"Are you okay?" Aegis asked.
"Ugh~ what happened?" the Lady Fighter moaned.
"You were knocked out cold" Sasha answered.
"What happened to my door!" The Lady Fighter demanded to know.
"Let me handle this, whatever happened to that door also caused you to get knocked out cold" Sasha explained.
"It must have been those damn monsters again, they must have chucked a rock at it, or something" the Lady Fighter said.
"Actually it looked more like a large boulder..." Aegis muttered.
"Meow, meow!" Misha said.
Translation: (You give yourself too much credit, my paw is the huge boulder in this group)
"Well they've pushed me around for the last time, come on, let's go after them!" the Lady Fighter exclaimed.
"Hang on, don't jump into the fryer just yet, let's get our introductions out of the way" Sasha said.
"Oh yeah! My name's Evelyn" The now named Lady Fighter said.
"I am Aegis, my comrades here are Sasha our gunslinger, and Misha our Catsaber" Aegis said.
"Great now let's stop those jerks before they strike again" Evelyn said rushing outside.
"One track mind?" Aegis said.
"I doubt it, she's just been through a lot" Sasha said as they followed Evelyn outside.
"Darn, I don't see them anywhere..." Evelyn said.
"It would help if we knew who we were suppose to be looking at" Sasha reminded.
"Well I recognized one of them as being a Zombie Monster Class, didn't look very bright though. The other two...I have no clue" Evelyn said.
"Elaborate" Aegis said.
"One of them looked like a puppet without anyone pulling on it's strings I could even hear it breathe, it takes deep creepy breaths...you know those wooden puppets you manipulate" Evelyn began to described
"I think I understand, keep going" Aegis said.
"The third one looked like he was calling the shots looks like someone put a pumpkin head on a scarecrow, and it always smoking a cigaret" Evelyn described.
"Those do sound odd, perhaps they are not from around here?" Aegis said.
"I know one of them types, the puppet one, it's a Marionette Monster Class, only found at the school, I remember cause Eli-I mean Berry Melon wrote about them a while back." Sasha said.
"What about the other one?" Aegis asked.
"I'm drawing a blank here..." Sasha said.
"Well they recently started targeting me for their stupid criminal acts. Of course I'm not the only one they strike, but I do seem to be the most common foe. Normally I would fight back, but a one on three fight is hard to win" Evelyn explained.
"Well now we'll have the upper hand, a three on four fight should be fairly easy." Aegis said.
"I like them odds" Sasha said.
"*Hiss*!" Misha said
Translation: (I shall make it rain in their blood)
"Do you know where their hangout can be found?" Sasha asked.
"No clue, but they've been bugging me nonstop, daily. They'll come to us if we walk around." Evelyn said.
"Well in that case let's just walk around aimlessly" Sasha said.
"Fair enough, I've done plenty of aimless walking to be use to it by now during missions" Aegis said.
"Meow, meow, meow!" Misha cried out.
Translation: (Fools, I can track a Zombie from anywhere in this feeble town, I can hunt them down with ease)
"You don't come across to many Catsabers around here" Evelyn said.
"Not one of a kind, but yea I don't regularly see any of your kind around here" Sasha said.
"You have no right to talk, you just got here" Aegis said.
"Meow!" Misha said.
Translation: (We remain hidden in the shadows awaiting a foolish travel to cross our trap...or sleeping on our warm baskets in some demon's home)
They eventually ended up at a large bulletin board at the center of the wide street, placed there purposely to disrupt vehicles, or anything with wheels on it.
"This is where I first saw the ad, I didn't care too much about it until I saw you guys in action" Evelyn said.
"Yeah we did kick some mighty ass" Sasha said.
"You were not involved in the slightest." Aegis reminded.
Unbeknownst to them Misha was staring at a very old missing demon poster. The poster was the exact same one Walker glanced at the first time he planted his ad poster. The missing demon poster still had the same picture of a Catsaber, though it was barely illegible, torn in many areas, and yellow from weather, and aging. Something inside Misha forced him to remember days of old, days he did not remember ever having. Playing with a Mage, and Skull, adventuring in the woods, a sudden landslide, the feeling of being separated, calling for help, then came the loneliness. Before he could remember any more he was suddenly picked up, and turned around facing five monsters all lined up horizontally.
"You were daydreaming there cat, we found our target" Aegis said
"Yeah that's them alright, but it looks like they've brought help of their own" Evelyn said.
"Would you look at that? Our favorite punching bag brought some extra dead weight so we won't have to wait to get our turn"Jackinson the Pumpkin Class Monster said.
"Why do I feel like his head is delicious, and nutritious?" Aegis wondered.
"I thought I was the only one" Sasha said.
"Meow!"
Translation: (I always envisioned eating the heads of my enemies, yet I feel with that beast, it would be completely justified)
"Duh~ boss man we gonna fight? Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk!" Howlwitzer the Zombie Class Monster stupidly chuckled.
"...Must be their top genius" Aegis sarcastically remarked.
"Such an educated gentle-demon" Sasha added
"*Huff* I haven't seen her around...*huff* I wonder how soft her skin is~" Patches groaned.
"Oh man~, kill it! Kill it with fire!" Sasha exclaimed realizing it was staring at her.
"...Unfortunately we don't have Berry Melon to do so" Aegis said.
"Well I'm glad it stopped focusing on me" Evelyn muttered.
"I'm guessing you three are her hired goons, not a very impressive bunch are you?" Frederic the Mothman Class Monster said.
"Big talk from such a defenseless bug with wings, you shall die at the hands of our Disgaea Guild!" Aegis threatened.
"Did my idiot Gunner actually named it such a stupid name? Must have been plastered..." Sasha said.
"Enough talk, as Orc Captain I order you all to fight! Or will you hand over your HL, and run away scared like you've always done" The Orc Captain Monster class named Orc Captain said.
"I'm gonna end you here, and now!" Evelyn assured.
"Even though I've never met you, I'm somehow really pissed off for some reason...I'm gonna enjoy thrashing you." Jackinson muttered.
"Battle Start!" Everyone shouted.
"Fi~ght!" A Wood Golem was heard shouting.
Phoenix's Team
"So you see, even though they have not been sighted in the Netherworld, it does not mean that the Illuminati does not exist here as well" Phoenix continued.
"Uh-huh" the Onmyo Trainee muttered while still reading his book
"By the way, what is your name new Freedom Fighter?" Phoenix said.
"...Lance..." the Onmyo Trainee muttered.
"Excellent, keep holding the sign like that, Peach Basket excellent curses, we're sure to land our mark eventually, Firefly keep drawing the crowd!" Phoenix said.
"I-I'm trying not to!" Firefly cried out.
"When you've obtain all the riches of the world what happens? You will die, and those riches will go to someone else, it all goes back like a demon's toy going back in the box. So you gotta ask yourself when you obtained the highest promotion, reached the ultimate level, gather every HL in existence, reached the top of the pyramid! Then what? What will you do once that feeling goes away? And it will go away...what will you do? How will you live knowing nothing more could be gain, no higher level can be achieved, nothing to save up for? It'll be an empty life you could never escape from..." Lloyd explained to the growing crowd
"Excellent speech, keep them coming!" Phoenix encouraged.
"Meh..." Lance muttered.
"Hang on there's plenty of signs for everyone, of course you could always make your own!" Phoenix said.
It was as if he released the flood gates once he said they could make their own. Several demons gathered through several blank signs, and written random demands. A Fighter wrote on his sign for tax cuts on weights, one Mage demanded more sugar to be injected in all food products, a Orc drew a picture of a walrus, and wanted every demon's opinion on it. Soon dozens of demons had signs which drew attention away to the movement Phoenix has started, but he didn't see it as that.
"I think so long as it looks like a lot of demons are protesting I still think it's a success" Phoenix said.
"Meh..." Lance mumbled.
"Taco Tuesday! Who's with me!" A Female Healer was heard shouting.
"Monkey Tires on all trees!" A Green Slime exclaimed.
"Free dog biscuits for every weapon-arf!" A Cu Sith barked.
"This isn't exactly how I expected it to be" Phoenix said.
"Success, or fail!" Peach Basket demanded to know.
"I'd say I brought attention to their deeds, once they don't meet our demands, as stupid as they are, they'll know how corrupted they will be, and rebel against them! I must say this is the first time such a huge crowd has ever joined me. I think you'll deserve a little extra for this!" Phoenix said.
"*Hm~*" Lance hummed to himself
"Your work is almost done, but I will remain here with the rest!" Phoenix shouted over the ludicrous demands from demons.
"More saloons!" A random Gunner shouted.
"I'm being loud, and no one can stop me-gii!" Shouted a passing Eryngi.
"Give me more HL for no reason!" A Zombie shouted.
"Yes, rise up! We can do it!" Phoenix shouted.
"P-please pay attention to the senator's building" Firefly pointed out.
"So many demons! So many curses!" Peach Basket shouted excitedly.
"So many demons. So many of them don't care about my troubles...*sigh*" Lloyd muttered.
"Peach Basket cares! Needs to document troubles to create curses for things that don't trouble!" Peach Basket assured.
"...I suppose that's the best I should hope for in my life..." Lloyd muttered to himself.
Walker's Team
"You cooled off yet?" Walker asked.
"...Yes..." the Ranger muttered.
"Speak up, I can barely hear you" Walker ordered.
"Don't like talking to men all that much..." Ranger muttered.
"But you'll listen to them?" Walker kept asking.
The Ranger nodded.
"So according to your letter you needed help recruiting for your own personal army, is that right?" Walker asked.
"In a way yes..." the Ranger muttered.
"*Sigh* Elfie talk to this guy otherwise we won't get much out of him" Walker asked.
"Only because you told me to...so why did you ask us for advice?" Elfie asked.
"Because of what I saw yesterday!" The Ranger declared loudly, all the while attempting to get close to Elfie.
"Name first, and then tell us your story" Elfie said bringing out a arrow, and threatened to poke him with it.
"I am called Schrodinger" the Ranger declared.
"Weird..." Walker muttered.
"I get it!" Berry Melon called out.
"R-really? Want to talk about it somewhere more private?" Ranger hinted.
"He's called like that because he's alive, but everyone wants him dead!" Berry Melon happily declared.
"I can see where you're going with it, but I don't think you grasp the complete explanation of that name" Elfie said.
"I'm sure his parents got drunk, and and picked a name out of a hat too" Walker said.
"...Actually...they got drunk, and shot an arrow at a wall of random names" Schrodinger muttered.
"Everyone is different Walker" Elfie said.
"So I've discovered." Walker said
"As for your second part beautiful, the reason I called you guys was because of him!" Schrodinger declared pointing at Walker.
"I thought your main focus was girls?" Walker asked.
While still looking at Elfie, "I moved here from Maritsu Evil Academy to discover new types of women! Yet I've seen all of the same! What a disappointment I know, but I figured I'd at least have more luck here." Schrodinger explained.
"I see it hasn't been working" Walker mocked.
"I thought for sure these women were into...well each other, but then I saw you! You were obviously the leader of a group consisting of mostly girls! I obviously need to know his secret! What pick up lines has he been using to get all of you to follow him!" Schrodinger wanted to know.
"...I don't remember, Walker what pick up line did you use to enchant me?" Elfie asked.
"I used no such thing! You came to me looking for a job!" Walker exclaimed.
"Oh yeah...well there's your story we don't take credit, cash only" Elfie said.
"That doesn't help my predicaement! Until I've recruited at least on female to join me, I won't pay a single HL" Schrodinger said.
"This is gonna be our most difficult task yet" Walker realized.
"So let's practice some of your pick up lines on these demon babes!" Schrodinger said.
"Let's skip that part, and try something that doesn't fail all the time" Walker said.
"Agreed!" Elfie, and Berry Melon.
End of Chapter
Special Sasha deal!
"Hey there demons, and delinquents have you ever had this problem? You got yourself a door with a peep hole, but you realize it's just too small to make out anything!" Sasha began.
"This hole is smaller than a rifle scope" Walker said with no motivation.
"Or maybe your peephole suddenly got filthy, but it's so tiny it's impossible to clean even with the thinnest cotton swab?" Sasha continued.
"Why can't I clean this peep hole? Why can't I do anything right!" Lloyd realized, crying softly to himself soon afterward.
"Well you can kiss those problems goodbye wi~th this!" Sasha excitedly shouted as she pulled on a nearby lever.
Lights behind her suddenly flickered on revealing a door with a very fist-sized hole at it's center.
"Gosh golly what is that!" Berry Melon was heard shouting with excitement.
"I'm glad you asked! It's the newest, latest, most trending door to ever come out of this millenium! The 'larger peep hole door'!" Sasha declared.
"Oo~h, A~h" Limbo, Elfie, Peach Basket, and Blank were heard from the background following with a 'dood' soon after.
"With this you won't have to shove your eye into a filthy pencil wide hole, and the round curves on the rims makes it easy to clean entirely!" Sasha explained.
"But something this amazing, and new must cost at least ten fortunes!" Kimberly cried out much too over-dramatically.
"You would think that, but if you call in the next ten minutes we'll drop the price from five thousand HL, to a measly two thousand five hundred!" Sasha exclaimed.
"But that's fifty percent off! How is this economically possible?" Aegis said having trouble reading from his script.
"Another excellent question, and the answer is-" Sasha began
"H-hey that's my door! You can't sell it yet, I still need it!" Evelyn was heard shouting.
"U-uh so remember call us as quickly as you can! And come back next week when I sell the greatest thing to be invented since slice bread!" Sasha excitedly shouted soon after she was immediately tackled by Evelyn
"Is it over, can I leave now?" Walker asked walking away anyways.
End of Chapter entirely
So much research on this one, primarily having to visit several bars to listen in on future pick up lines...which I could have done by searching...the...internet...why didn't I just do that from the beginning! Stupid, stupid, stupid...well anyways thanks for the reviews, support, and most importantly your patience!
