A/N: REVIEW FOR IT FEEDS THE ENGINE OF CREATION~!

So, the troll is back

Troll is back!

Their name is, and I quote:

RyanDuffGetsAIDS.

...yeah, that.

At this point, I think its a girl that's been threatening me/telling me to kill myself. I've been getting some pretty nasty mysoginistic threats. Don't believe me? Look at anything I've updated recently. They've plastered it with their vitriol. As ever, I appreciate your support dear readers and thanks for sticking with me through this. Don't worry, I won't be quitting; all your reviews and PM's help me get through the day and for that, once again, thank you.

Now, then...

...WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME OVERLORD ACTUALLY GOT A SEASON THREE, OI?! Here I am, twiddling my thumbs and then surprise surprise, what do I see in my recommendations? NEW EPISODES! I've just spent the last day catching up! Sooooooooooooo many plans!

Also...damnit, Arche!

And holy shit on a stick those invaders (SPOILERS) got massacred.

Now, for those who fear the idea of other characters from different franchises getting involved in this, don't worry. Beyond Esdeath and Jibril we won't be seeing many. After all, the last thing I want is for this fic to go too far off the rails...

...oh who am I kidding?!

Its going to be mad enough with just the two of them, I honestly don't think this story could handle any more!

So, in lieu of a long winded spiel, lets get the ball rolling once again.

No journal entry this time; just a bit of a refresher for fun.

'Tis but an interlude, a primer of what is to come.

I REGRET NOTHING~!

"Ah. I understand now. There's a fundamental difference in the way we think. I can respect that."

"And what difference might that be?"

"Let me present you with a likely scenario; if intruders were to infiltrate your home, you'd likely kill them as a matter of principle, would you not? Yes, you would. You'd slaughter them to a man. Why? Because you'd consider that a mercy. I, on the other hand, would give them a choice. Call it the whim of someone who's lived entirely too long, but I believe in second chances. Let us say someone, or several someones, were to assault my home in the Great Forest. I would give each of them one chance; one opportunity, to lay down their weapons and swear their allegiance to me."

"Isn't that a bit foolish of you, Sage? Some might even call such a mindset woefully naive."

...of course, if each of them refused my most generous offer, they'd have to die."

"I may not agree with you there, but I can understand your decision."

"Well said! What do you say, then? Do we have an accord...?"

~A very very crazy, very strange discussion.

Light and Dark (Interlude)

"Ara, and who is this?"

The child blinked.

As did Naruto.

An ethereal beauty in every sense of the word, she seemed almost perfect. Truly a superior creature, framed in battered-looking rags that seemed entirely too large for her petite frame. Hair the color of the palest snow framed a cherubic face from which wide eyes stained a strange red-blue-but-not-quite-violet shone. The one flaw, if one could call it that, was the tiny fang peeking over her lower lip. Was she a vampire? His couldn't be certain, indeed, he wondered about that but quietly filled that tidbit away as she turned her gaze upon him.

"She one of yours, Ains?"

"No," the contemplative tone told him all he needed to know. "I can say for certain that I've never seen her before."

"How odd." Shaltear hummed. "She seems almost familiar...

"Which begs the question...

Exhaling softly, Naruto knelt before the little girl, careful to seem as un-threatening as possible. She tilted her head at him, regarding him with confusion and...a hint of awe? Even so, he remained cautious. Couldn't make any sudden movements now, could he?

Wouldn't do to spook her, after all.

"Hey there, chibi." he remarked quietly, careful not to frighten her. "Are you lost? Where's your mommy?"

Those eerie eyes regarded him for a moment.

A tiny finger rose.

Pointed.

Past.

Him.

"Mama."

Shaltear's jaw clicked open.

"HA?!"

"Oho!" Naruto cried! "She broke character! Didn't think that was-

Then that finger swung towards him.

"Papa."

A dark pall fell over his very soul.

"Eh? You're joking right? There's no way I'd ever-

"Papa." the little one repeated firmly, her gaze never wavering from his own.

"EH?!"

"Oho?" a deep, menacing voice resonated behind him. "I entertain you in my home and this is how you repay me? By sullying Shaltear?"

He didn't have to turn to know he'd erred.

Naruto blanched at Ains's menacing aura. It would've been funny, really, if he wasn't so confused. Really, none of this made any sense. A child? Between him and Shalltear. How? He hadn't so much as touched her in such a way, let alone done that to her. His last memory of the furious vampire was their magic colliding, slamming against one another in a battle for supremacy. But...no. Surely such an event couldn't have produced a miracle like this, even in this brave new world. No. Of course not. That was impossible, right? Right? Hence the confusion.

And the terror.

Did he mention terrified?

As if on cue, the child pivoted on one heel and turned towards Ains.

The Overlord paused, momentarily taken aback by the frightful intensity of her gaze.

Had he been in full possession of his faculties, Naruto would've taken the opportunity to bolt right then and there. As it stood he found himself juxtaposed; wanting nothing more than to gather up his allies and flee, yet helpless but to watch the eerie drama unfolding before him. Somehow, he knew what she was going to say next. Time unfolded like a spool of yarn as she swung around and leveled a pale finger at Ains.

"Grampa." she lisped.

The lich's jaw clicked open softly.

Shaltear made a soft, squelching sound.

The silence that followed proved nothing short of deafening. And then:

And then.

"SAAAAAGE~!"

"N-Now wait a sec! I don't understand what's going on! I swear by my ancestors, I never-

A skeletal hand snapped up in the same instant, fingers splayed wide.

"Triplet Maximize Magic: CALL GREATER THUNDER!"

"Wait, wait, wait!"

If not for Naruto's reactive armor, Ains's spell might've inflicted debilitating damage upon the unprepared blond. As it stood, the latter's health suffered a rather substantial hit; he felt rather than saw his flesh cook beneath the hardened helm even as his back slammed against the nearest wall. Snapping the faceplate back, the blond bolted upright and upended the table between them, using it as an impromptu shield against the next flurry of bolts that came howling his way. By comparison these didn't so much stagger him as they did sting; now that he'd managed to muster some sort of defense he could trust in his armor to hold.

His surroundings, however...

...not so much.

"Oh, dear. A betrayal!" Esdeath's delighted whispered rang in his ear despite his previous order to stand down. How unexpected."

"How can you be so nonchalant about this?! No, nevermind! Don't do anything! No attacking!"

"But where's the fun in that?" Jibril whined.

"Will you just both stop?!" Aghast, he flung up his arm in a vain attempt to ward off yet another slew of spells. "Oi, Ains! I can explain! Er...I think...

As quickly as it had come, so too did the storm of spells subside. He almost wished it hadn't; for when he finally dared to peer over the edge of his battered shelter, death awaited him beyond. Mana rose from him like a broken sieve to send the lich's robes fluttering in that unseen breeze, a hellish black-and-blue bruised glow that reminded the whiskered warrior of a gaping pit, a bottomless plunge with no end in sight. Ains was all coiled muscle-despite the distinct lack thereof-his eyes twin pits of hellish flame, ready to swallow him whole.

"Oho?" the word emerged as little more than a raspy hiss. "Do tell."

"Can you put the aura of despair away first? Its annoying."

...you're made of sterner stuff, I'll give you that."

For a fleeting moment the Sage honestly considered simply bugging out and leaving the elder lich to his own devices. Surely an alliance wasn't worth losing his life. Yet a thorn of pride pricked his heart and held him back. Not only did his spirit rankle at the idea of being framed for a crime he didn't commit but he genuinely wanted to understand the foreign being before him. In this moment, he felt more alive than he had in centuries. Beyond his own life, he genuinely had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Besides, if Ains truly was another player as he suspected...then he felt a bit of kinship with him. He might be cold at times, but he too, was one who'd stayed with YGGRDASIL until the very end. One who hadn't been willing to let this world go to waste.

"Look, if we just cool our heads and think rationally, the answer is obvious." he paused, waiting for the weight of his words to sink in. "Neither of us is to blame for...

He gestured expansively at the still-silent child now nuzzling herself into a stricken Shaltear's side.

...whoever she is. I'm sure there's a perfectly logical reason for all this.

"Is that all you have to say?"

"Oi! If I wanted to run away I would've used my damn ring and bolted back to my guild!" thus speaking, he thrust up his hand, revealing the glistening sapphire there for all parties to see. "The fact that I haven't speaks for itself! Ask the vampire loli if you don't believe me!"

Now it was Shaltear's turn to balk as the lich's gaze found herself.

"Explain."

Indeed, the vampire's already ashen expression somehow turned positively pallid.

"Well, he did escape me but he didn't do that to me...

"That?"

The blond bristled.

"Oi, did you think I actually went and banged-

Behind him, the shadow intensified tenfold, threatening to suffocate him outright. Wisely he left that sentence unfinished. There were some buttons one simply did not press, and he knew better than to do attempt such a thing, no matter how irked he was with this situation. Besides, it was somewhat gratifying to see his adversary squirm in his place.

-but I don't know where she came from, Ains-sama!" the creature of the night has only just begun to wrap up her tale as he came back to herself. "This little runt might look like me but she can't possibly be my-

"Mama!" the girl interjected with a happy chirrup, sending Shaltear into a fresh paroxysm of agony as she held tight to her waist.

"In any case, we can decide who she is and what to do with her, later, can't we?" the vampire pleaded, trying in vain to wriggle free both from the weight of her master's gaze as well as her progeny's unyielding grasp, "If you'll just let me-

"No," Ains interjected forcefully. "She may stay for now. I'd like to get to the bottom of this while all parties are still present. Punishment will be meted out accordingly, if need be.

"Was that a threat just now, bone boy?"

"Consider it a promise, sage."

Something clicked just then.

The laughter, when it came, surprised him even more than it did his host. He nearly bent double, clutching in vain at his stomach, to no avail. A fresh set of guffaws ripped through him despite his best efforts and he nearly flung himself to the floor as his shoulders shook. Ah. Now it all made sense. He'd been like this, once. Regarding everything and everyone as an enemy, unwilling to trust anyone, unwilling to involve himself in mortal affair, or anything, such was his broken mindset. And while Ains might well be on the way to discarding such thoughts, he could sympathize with that.

It was...almost ironic really.

"The Great Forest hereby enters into an alliance with Nazarick!"

A beat of silence followed.

...what?"

"No, its just...I understand now. There's a fundamental difference in the way we think. I can respect that."

Those hellish eyes rounded on him with frightful intensity.

"And what difference might that be?"

Naruto raised a finger.

"Let me present you with a likely scenario; if intruders were to infiltrate your home, you'd likely kill them as a matter of principle, would you not? Based on what I've seen thus far, I'd say you probably would." he nodded. "You'd slaughter them to a man. Why? Because you'd consider that a mercy. I, on the other hand, would give them a choice. Call it the whim of someone who's lived entirely too long, but I believe in second chances. Let us say someone, or several someones, were to assault my home in the Great Forest. I would give each of them one chance; one opportunity, to lay down their weapons and swear their allegiance to me."

Was that pity or scorn in the lich's gaze just now? He almost challenged him, but in the end, thought better of it.

"Isn't that a bit foolish of you, Sage? Some might even call such a mindset woefully naive."

Tilting his head aside, the whiskered warrior flashed the elder lich a small rueful smile.

...of course, if each of them refused my most generous offer, they'd have to die."

"I may not agree with you there, but I can understand your decision."

"Well said! What do you say, then? Do we have an accord...?"

It came as something of a surprise when he nodded.

"Which brings us to the matter of the girl, then."

The girl blinked at them both, baffled.

"Well, she needs a name...

A/N: Decided to end things on a different note.

Also, names for Naruto and Shalltear's "daughter" would be nice, because I'm STILL bloody stuck. And yes, the previews are ALL coming, its merely a matter of when. Just because I've listed somethign doesn't mean it'll pop up in the next chapter ya know?

So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review, Would You Kindly? And of course, enjoy the previews! Hope it makes you smile. And Review! Or face the wrath of AINS!

Its going to be a nice LOOOOOONG chapter filled with action, humor, and all the good bits!

Remember that crystal Naruto swiped from Nigun?

*grins*

(Preview)

Ains laughed.

It was a deep, throaty sound that had no business issuing from a human throat, much less that of an elder lich.

In that moment, Naruto wondered if he'd blundered by suggesting this.

"A spar, you say? I would not be opposed to that!"


Regarding the intruders who'd dared to trespass upon his garden, the sage rose from his throne.

"Hello, hello! How are you! Welcome to Great Forest! How can I help you today?"

Thus clapping his hands, the elf leaned forward.

"Now then, will it be death or loyalty?"

R&R! =D