Pearlyblue: Welcome back again! The Weird Ones are proud to announce that with this chapter, Mary Sue Goes Berserk is officially in the double-digit league! In other words: For your amusement, we humbly present… chapter TEN!
Wakko: Yaaaaay! (Puts party hat on Pearl's head, kisses her on the mouth before she has a chance to ward her off and then presses a glass of wine into her hand) Let's celebrate!
Pearlyblue: (sputters, spits and chokes) …T… T… Tongue!
Ladybug: (runs in with pompoms and streamers, leaving little firework-explosions in her tracks) Ten! Ten! Chappie ten! Woo hoo , go us!
(The party is suddenly interrupted by the sound of an approaching plane, shortly followed by a gentle rain of sparkly rainbow dust, accompanied by a quiet, sweet tune.)
Pearlyblue: …What the h- ll ?
Wakko: Uh… Ick ! It's in my hair!
Ladybug: (Stops, stares into the sky, then starts bouncing excitedly) Oh! Oh! They're here! They're heeeree !
Pearlyblue and Wakko: (Exchanges worried looks)
Pearlyblue: Ladybug… what have you …
Wakko: (looking up into the sky) WHAT's that coming down from the sky?
(All three watch as three boxes comes gently falling down through the sky. One has a blue parachute, another yellow and the third is red. The boxes are marked )
Pearlyblue: (Warily edges over to the box with the blue parachute and pokes it with a stick) ? Microsoft? (hopefully ) Have you… ordered computers, Ladybug?
Ladybug: (Is eagerly trying to get the lid off of the box with the yellow parachute) Wha ? Nonono, Ladybug write to , Like Pearlyblue said. Ladybug ordered animal companions! Pearl and Wakko got one each, too, so you wouldn't get jealous! (Grins ear to ear)
Wakko: (Gives Pearlyblue a dangerous glare) I thought you said you made it up!
Pearlyblue: I thought I did…!

(TBC...)

Chapter Ten: Sylvia In More Conflicts.

"Hey, Corkus, wait up!"

Corkus halted, his angry mulling temporarily interrupted, and sent the blond scout a mildly annoyed glance. He hoped whatever it was that the scout wanted wouldn't take long – he didn't really feel like talking to anyone right now.

"What?"

Judeau flashed him a big smile and trotted up next to him. "I just… Wow… what do you think of Sylvia's mother, huh? That was…" Seemingly at a loss for words, Judeau finished that sentence with a low whistle. Corkus grunted affirmatively and kept walking, hoping Judeau would get the hint. He didn't, easily keeping up with Corkus and still smiling.

"Man," he went on, "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Sylvia's really something… every fairy tale ever – and more – just comes to real living life, all around her! Magic and demons and…" he interrupted himself with a light-hearted laughter, "It gets just a little too much, sometimes, eh?"

Corkus snorted again, frowning deeper now. "Yeah." He curtly admitted.

"But… somehow… just because it's her, you know… It's okay. It's like… it's not half as scary as it could – and should – have been. Because it's her. Haven't you felt it, too?"

Judeau's stubborn refusal to leave him alone and his constant blabbering about Sylvia, understandable though it might be, was really starting to get on Corkus' nerves.

"Yeah, sure, I guess," he sighed, hoping against hope that the scout would be happy with that and go away already, but no.

"Yeah, she sure is special." Judeau leisurely put his hands behind his head and stretched, muttering in a lower, more contemplative tone of voice: "I wonder if Griffith's gonna let her fight now, though, after that."

Corkus didn't bother to comment, and increased his pace. Judeau matched it, still smiling innocently.

"Are you okay, by the way?"

Corkus instantly ground to a halt and turned to Judeau in surprise. "What?"

The scout's smile had become a little bit more concerned. "Well, you've seemed a little out of sorts, lately. Weirder than usual. What's wrong?"

Corkus glared at him, feeling his heartbeats speed up alarmingly. "Nothing's wrong!" he growled, a bit too harshly and a bit too fast. He tried to calm down a bit and took a quick, deep breath. "Nothing's wrong with me," he stated, a bit less explosively, "I don't know what you're talking about. Now, excuse me, I've got some things to do."

"No you don't," Judeau said, confused, as Corkus tried to turn away. "We're still technically in a meeting with Griffith, and he could call us back any minute. Why don't you want to talk about it?"

Realising that he couldn't actually run very much further than he'd already gone from the command tent, Corkus stopped and heaved a very irritable sigh. He turned back, still glowering. "Shut up, blond little weird guy," he growled. "There's nothing to talk about! There's nothing wrong with me! Just leave me alone, okay!"

Judeau had raised one eyebrow, and now his grin suddenly gained an edge. "'Blond little weird guy'? Oh, come on, even you could come up with something sharper than that. Really, Corkus. Something's terribly wrong with you, and you know it. And it's something about Sylvia."

Unable to form any words nor maintain eye contact with the scout, Corkus just snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. His heart was suddenly thundering in his ears – but he could still hear Judeau's calm, even casual voice:

"I mean, here's the hottest girl that ever set foot on this soil, literally throwing herself at you – for some odd reason – and you… push her away? That's just not the Corkus I know. Now, just what is that about?"

Corkus sputtered angrily for a few moments, scrambling for something to say – damn, but it was hard to concentrate with all the noise his heart was making!

"I… She's… it's… not… none of you business! I… So what if I'm pushing her away! Have you not noticed that she's a demon? She's freakishly strong, kicks more ass than Guts… She's as unfeminine as they come! And fucking scary! Maybe I just don't find her attractive! At all!"

"Hum," said Judeau, no longer smiling but certainly not ruffled. "Well, I think you're just about the only guy in this whole army who feels that way about her, then. Nobody else really seems to care… why should you?"

Corkus knew that he was blushing and scowled even deeper, hoping to convince the scout that it was all due to anger and rage. "Well… I just do, okay? It's not something that you can just forget about, you know!"

"Oh?" Judeau cocked his head to the side and looked just a little bit too innocent. "I thought you just said that you, just like the rest of us, had felt that she somehow just made it all manageable."

" Hnninnhinnh …!" Corkus really wished he could have gotten something more intelligent out of himself right there. He crossed his arms even tighter around himself and glared over at the innocent-looking scout with real, growing anger. How dared he be logical at a time like this?

The innocent look on Judeau's face slowly dissipated, leaving room for a much more sly grin.

"She does, doesn't she? You do feel it too." It wasn't really a question, and Corkus couldn't find any way to answer it anyway. Judeau's grin disappeared with a little sigh and the blond scout walked a little closer, now looking merely calmly confused.

"So what is it, then? I could tell you really liked her at dinner… what happened after that? She's only been nice to you, and she really does like you – don't ask me why... but why are you hurting her like this?"

Corkus just glared at him, knowing full well that he was blushing worse than ever now. After a few moments, he had to look away.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?" he muttered. "Just let it go. I don't see why it's even bothering you in the first place…"

"It doesn't really bother me, per se, it's just… not you at all. I was thinking that maybe you'd gone insane or something… or suddenly turned gay, I don't know."

"I am not… That is not what it is! Do you want to get your ass kicked or what?"

Judeau just smiled and waved disarmingly at Corkus . "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Just… I'm stumped here, pal. What the hell is wrong with you? Any other guy in this camp would be thrilled to be in your place."

Corkus sent the blond man a threatening glare. "I said: Let it go. It's for the best, anyway."

Judeau studied him thoughtfully for a few seconds, then sighed in defeat and shrugged. "Alright. Okay. Sorry for prying. I suppose you've got your reasons. Right. Do you want to head back to the conference tent?"

Corkus glared at the scout commander for a little while longer and then stomped past him, back towards the big tent. "I do," he snorted as he passed by.


Griffith watched the gorgeous maiden nervously walk up to him, more intently than he let on. He gave her a politely questioning smile and asked as calmly and steadily as if meeting terrible, threatening Demon Queens was an everyday occurrence:

"Yes, Lady Sylvia?"

"Um…" The demon Princess shyly looked down and drew little circles on the ground with her dainty toes. "I know mom can be a bit much every now and then, and I'm not saying you shouldn't take her very seriously – because you really, really should – but, but, but… She really has no idea of how good I am in battle! I'd… just… pleasepleaseplease don't let her scare you into not letting me fight with you! I'm the only demon here, and nothing un-demonic can hurt me and the only demonic things around are my own things and no one else could possibly wield or use them so please, please, pretty, pretty please let me fight with you!"

He allowed the anxious beauty to inhale and catch her breath, and when he felt certain that she had said all that she wanted to say, he allowed his smile to widen reassuringly.

"Lady Sylvia, I assure you, I had no such intents."

As she looked up into his face with wide, surprised and hopeful eyes, he gave her the look that he knew gave his eyes a deep, sincere glow and lowered his voice just a little:

"Your mother might not believe in your abilities, my Lady, but I do. I am sure I could not do this without you, and I would be honoured to have you in the foremost front of my army. I would, in fact, ask you to ride with the raiders."

Her delicious little gasp brought the most spectacular sparkle to her eyes, but he barely had time to notice it before her arms were around him again, hugging him tightly.

"I get to fight with the raiders! Oh my god! Oh thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh, you have no idea what this means to me!"

Griffith suppressed the smugness he felt and gently, politely returned Sylvia's hug. She caught herself right about there and pulled back, blushing as usual.

"Oh… Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I should try to be more professional now that I'm a… a soldier! A part of an army! Oh, this is huge… thank you, Sir, I won't let you down!" She even finished that sentence off with a little salute, snapping her heels together and everything. Griffith couldn't keep the amusement out of his smile and saluted her back, almost without thinking about it.

"I'm sure you won't, Lady Sylvia." He smiled. "So, was that all you wanted?"

Still shining like a golden-red little beacon of happiness, Sylvia nodded.

"Right, then could you call the others back, please?"

"Yes, Sir! Right away!"


"She's going to what?"

Corkus found himself caught in a strange mix of emotions at the announcement of Sylvia's new position in the Hawks. On one hand, he was remarkably disappointed – and at the same time relieved – that she would be fighting so far away from his preliminary position, but on the other it was damn funny to watch Guts completely freak out like that.

Griffith was of course unruffled as always, staring the raider commander down with that know-it-all little smile on his face.

"She's going to fight with the raiders, Guts."

"But Griffith, come off it! She's a girl!" "A remarkably skilled and dangerous woman, yes."

Corkus wondered just what the demon Princess herself would have reacted to this, since she had left them after her little conversation with Griffith and therefore couldn't really comment. He dared a glance over at Caska , not surprised to find her scowling darkly. As always she looked like she wanted to speak her mind – and skin them both with mere words while she was at it – but everyone knew she wouldn't actually say anything in Griffith's presence.

Guts might just get his head seriously chewed off later, though.

He hoped he'd be around to see it.

"Listen, I'm not going to babysit that… woman!"

Oooh, yeah. A definite head-chewing coming up.

"She needs no babysitting, Guts, so that is fine."

"I don't want her in my ranks! Who knows what effect she's gonna have on the men!"

"The men are used to fighting alongside a woman, I believe."

Guts hesitated in confusion, making a small movement as if to look around the room before he caught up with himself and remembered. Bad, bad move.

"Well… I mean a woman like that… you know, that looks like one ."

On second thought, he'd probably get himself killed after this. Corkus just had to be there. Even Judeau and Pippin were surreptitiously edging away from the female commander's general vicinity.

"Really, Guts, that was uncalled for. And I do believe your men have a bit more discipline than you're giving them credit for. Now, do you have a real complaint or can we end this conversation?"

Berated and visibly ashamed, Guts backed down with a barely audible, muttered apology – whether it was directed at Caska, Griffith or both was anyone's guess. It sure didn't placate the fury of a woman scorned, though.

"Very well, then. Everybody else knows what they're supposed to do, so that concludes our meeting for today. Get your men ready to move out. Dismissed."


Sylvia had found a calm and private enough spot to sit and talk to Garou and Sparkles (The heavy two-handed flail, a living weapon that had bonded to her and allowed her to name it herself), and get some much-needed cuddling done. Oh, and to explain the current situation to them – she was absolutely certain that none of her companions would tell her mother about this, but it was only fair to warn them that she was going to go against the wishes of the Queen. In case she found out. Which she probably would, one way or the other… but that was a bridge she'd have to cross when she got there. Maybe she'd even have proven her worth by then, too!

The sound of raised voices interrupted her, just as she was starting to connect with the magical armour-bracer as well.

"Well, I said I was sorry!"

"Apology not accepted, damnit ! Just how the hell do you think you'll get away with such a pitiful 'm'srry' after what you did to me!"

"What? What did I do to you? You're just overreacting, like you always do! Stupid woman…"

"Oh, now I'm a woman? Not because I look like one, that's for sure!"

"But will you just get over it already? I just meant that… that… she's got bigger boobs than you!"

This was followed by a short, tense silence, so thick you could cut it with a rusty dagger. Then a low, threatening growl: "I want a proper apology, and I want it right now."

"Ah, but look, I didn't mean anything!"

"Well, you embarrassed me in front of everyone! I honestly couldn't care less if you meant to do it or not, you did it nonetheless, and I want a proper apology! I deserve that!"


Judeau had "incidentally happened" to walk in the same direction as Caska and Guts, and was now sitting conveniently close to the epicentre of the argument – on the other side of the closest tent, to be precise. You know, just in case.

Well, at least he was more subtle about it than Corkus, who was peeking around one of the other tents with a very unsubtle aura of utter sneakiness about him, occasionally snickering to himself.

The voices had just reached an alarming crescendo when Judeau caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up, seeing Sylvia striding purposefully towards the danger zone. He was just about to stand up and try to intercept her in some way, when he froze and stared in surprise. Trailing Sylvia, fluttering through the air at about the same height as her golden-red head, was a little creature. It looked remarkably like a… dragon.

And strangely enough, the thought that first flew through the scout's head was: "But… I thought dragons were a lot bigger…"

And then the moment was gone, and Sylvia had walked right on into it. Judeau jumped to his feet and ran around the tent just in time to see Sylvia, standing right next to Caska, thrust an insolent finger at the tall, powerful raider commander.

"Yes, she sure does! You know, you should really show this woman a lot more respect than you do! Now, I don't know a lot about this world, mind you, but I can put two and two together – since she is the only female in this army, I'm betting she had to fight very hard to get where she is! And she's a commander, to boot! So, just what did you say to her that made her so upset?"

Guts just blinked in shock at the accusing little finger and almost looked like he was about to back away. Then his brows furled in an attempt at concentration and he cleared his throat.

"I… I just… listen, she's overreacting, all I did was… I accidentally compared her to… you, and…"

"Overreacting!" Caska seemed to have snapped out of her surprise a bit faster than Guts. "First you claim that having her among your raiders will make it hard for the men to concentrate- " Sylvia gave Caska a look of utter confusion, but did not interrupt. "-And when Griffith points out that they've already fought with me you say, 'well, I mean, someone that looks like a real woman'!"

Sylvia's confusion was gone in an instant, and her jaw dropped almost to the floor.

"He said what? Oh! Ohh ! That… You… You brute, you! You… musclebrain! Oh… my… god, mother was right…"

Guts made a last, desperate attempt to redeem himself:

"But I didn't mean anything!"

"Well, that doesn't matter much, does it? You hurt her feelings, you insensitive butt! You should apologise right now, and you'd better mean it!" As she spoke, her demeanour – and, to some degree, her appearance changed. Judeau could suddenly see the clearly that this girl was the daughter of the Demon Queen. "You said that she doesn't look like a woman… Ohh… were you trying to hurt her? That is so not true… just look at her! I mean, anyone with eyes in their heads could tell that she's a girl – and a very pretty one, at that! You said that just to be mean , didn't you?"

Caska's face had undergone an interesting change as well: the scowl had disappeared in a flash as her eyebrows had skyrocketed in surprise, and the cutest little blush had coloured her cheeks. Judeau realised with some surprise that this was probably the first time Caska had gotten a nice, apparent compliment without any ulterior motives or scornful intents. She really did look quite taken aback. And really cute.

Guts sputtered half-heartedly about not meaning anything with his thoughtless comment, but Sylvia wouldn't have it. She calmed down some and took a few steps up to Guts, placing one delicate hand on his massive shoulder.

"Okay, listen here," she said patiently, "Maybe you didn't mean to hurt her. I can understand how you sometimes say things that come out a lot differently than you had intended, and you are a man, after all, so this must happen to you all the time…"

Guts froze for an instant, and finally managed a proper syllable: "…What?"

"Well," Sylvia explained, unfazed, "My mother always told me that women think better than men, 'women think, men do,' she said, 'that's why they need us to think for them and point them in the right direction, so they know what to hit.' So you see, I understand. But that doesn't make it okay to hurt people. I'm a woman and I still say stupid things sometimes, but I always apologise, because that's the right thing to do."

"Wait, wait, wait… you're saying that… women are smarter than men? That we are all stupid?"

"Mr Guts, are you going to apologise for saying something mean or aren't you?"

"But…" "Lady Sylvia…" Caska finally managed to involve herself in the rather one-sided argument, "Listen, I appreciate this, but I don't need your help here…"

"That's okay," Sylvia chirped cheerfully, "I'm only too happy to. We girls have to stick together, especially when we're the only ones in the entire army!"

"Hey, don't ignore me!"

"But, Lady Sylvia… really, I can handle this…"

"I know. You're cool. But I just get all riled up when I hear people being so mean to each other, when they're supposed to work together."

"Hey!"

Judeau wondered in the back of his mind why the hell the tall man didn't take the opportunity to sneak off and wait for things to cool down before venturing near either woman again. Well, now it was too late: Sylvia had turned her attention back at him.

"Hm? Are you ready to apologise now?"

This time Guts jaw dropped. "Am I…? You… Haven't you… God! Women!" And with that, he threw his arms into the air and indignantly stomped off. Sylvia let him go with a little sigh, and then turned to Caska with a concerned little frown.

"You know, he's probably feeling threatened by you. You should let him feel a little manly every now and then... Mother says that women need to do that, sometimes, to make sure that men like him don't feel so insecure about themselves."

Caska had been right on the verge of saying something, but her words were interrupted but a long, snorting sound as she tried to choke back a sudden burst of laughter. Judeau, too, had to clamp his hand over his own mouth to hold back his mirth, but from a nearby tent came a loud, familiar guffaw. Sylvia turned her head to the sound as if enchanted by it.

"Corkus?"

The raucous laughter was cut short and replaced by some heavy coughing. Corkus appeared for an instant, managing a quick, strained "I gotta go," before hurrying off between the tents. Sylvia made a few awkward movements in his direction, but halted herself. She sent Judeau a quick glance filled with unspoken questions but then looked away again.

"Well…" She mumbled, all the strength suddenly gone from her features, "I… suppose I have stuff to take care of, too. I'll… hrm. See you around, Lady Caska."

The little dragon flew up to her shoulder as she turned away and gently leaned against her alabaster cheek, and the ribbons of the flail fluttered about her as if trying to comfort her as well. Judeau wasn't so sure that they weren't.

Caska remained, looking after Sylvia. Judeau had known her long enough to know that though she seemed to be completely still, her mind was in turmoil right now. Too many conflicting emotions. He walked up to her, making sure that his usual smile was firmly in place.

"Yeah," he said, "That's a dragon."

She turned to him in surprise and then wanly returned his smile when she recognised him. "Really? I… I thought dragons would be… bigger," she said, sounding somewhat dazed.

"You know, that was my exact first thought as well." He grinned. "I guess it's a special kind of dragon… wouldn't surprise me, really."

Caska looked back at the direction in which Sylvia had disappeared.

"No. she's… really something else, isn't she?"

"Oh yeah." Judeau nodded gravely. "Oh yeah. You know… those ribbons on her weapon… I think they actually purred, before." She turned back to him again. "Purred!"

"Uh-huh. Like a cat. Either the ribbons or the weapon itself, I don't know… but something in there purred, I'm sure of it."

Caska brought a hand up to her forehead as if she was starting to develop a headache, but with a confused smile on her face.

"Oh my."

"Indeed," he almost laughed. Then he took her elbow and pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. "Come on, let's steal some wine, share it with some of the guys and pretend that everything is normal."

Her smile widened somewhat as she looked up into his face. "I… I think I'd like that. Thanks."

To be continued…


Ladybug: (Is now chewing on the box, making half-choked growling noises)
Pearlyblue: (Is carefully prying the lid open on her box, muttering) But this is not supposed to exist… I didn't write it… I don't understand…
Wakko: (Eyes her box warily. The box is making growling noises and shakes. It is also kept closed by double chains) What's this, then…?
Pearlyblue: (looks up, sees audience) Oh! Oh, hiya ! Right, we're almost forgetting the reviewer responses! Wakko ! Ladybug! We can open the boxes later. (Clears throat) Now, let's see…
Ladybug: (Looks up from the box for a brief moment) Oh! magical-flyingdragon! Don't run away! We… we're not going to end this story anytime soon… right, Pearl?
Pearlyblue: (Checks notes) No… at the moment, we're estimating 19 chapters. So... we're about half way through, actually. IF everything works out as planned. It might get longer.
Wakko: Thunder Mistress! Sorry to hear you're not agreeing with the site admins. And I don't quite agree that Charlotte sucks… she is so deliciously… corruptible.
Pearlyblue: (Mumbles) I think she's an utter pest, though. TALK about airhead… (Loudly) Portia! (Grins proudly) Glad you liked it! Please say more nice things.
Ladybug: (Is completely engrossed her box) Gnag! Gnaaarg! Rgnh… gnnrhg…
Wakko: (Cough) Anyway… Kahuda: Yeah, you just stick around and you'll see. (Grin)
Pearlyblue: Uli – Glad you liked it! Welcome to the fic - and we will, so stay tuned!
Wakko: Vitellio ! Yeah baby… ( bats eyelashes seductively) Are you trying to get me drunk? Honey, you don't have to go through all that trouble, I'm in anytime, anywhere with you… (Blows Vitellio a kiss)
Pearlyblue: You… say that to everyone, Wakko…
Wakko: …So?
Pearlyblue: Nevermind. (Reads the rest of Vitellio's review and starts to shake) Momma… momma… no, noo… please. Please don't… Momma, I'm scared…
Ladybug: Cware bwears? Wabybug knows fe Cware bwears… Wabybug pways with My Wibble Pomies an' Cware bwears aw fe tiwe… gnaaargh, rrgh… nnngghg!
Wakko: (Studies Ladybug for a moment, then points) You think it'd go faster to open the box if you pushed that button labelled "open"?
Ladybug: Hm? Hmmm? Oh! Lookie, sparkly button! (Presses button)
Yellow box: (Falls apart, revealing a lavender-coloured little kitten-puppy thing with big, blue eyes and a pink heart on its forehead)
Kitten-Puppy: Yuff! Yuff!
Ladybug: (Gasps, sparkles and blooms) Aww! He's too, too kyooooot! I will name him… Um… Mm… Yum… Yummy? Yum… Yum-Yum! Yaay! (Huggleglomps Yum-Yum)
Yum-Yum: (Blushes happily) Yuff! Yauurrrr… (Starts purring)
Pearlyblue: (Sweatdrops) Hm. Alright. Here goes… (Presses button on Blue Box)
White Winged Cat: (Emerges from the box and stretches languidly) (British accent) Oh, I thought I'd never get out of there…
Pearlyblue: It… talked!
Winged Cat: Of course I talked! I am an intelligent companion for a… supposedly intelligent owner. And I am not an "it", thank you very much.
Pearlyblue: Oh… sorry. I was just… taken by surprise. So, what's your name, then?
Winged Cat: (Sits up, straightening his glasses) I am Sokrates, pleased to make your acquaintance.
Pearlyblue: (Holds hand out to Sokrates) The pleasure is all mine. I'm Pearlyblue.
Sokrates: (Smiles and rubs his head against Pearl's hand) Pearlyblue, my Master.
Wakko: (Has liberated her beast already. It is a small, dragon-like lizard with many thorns, red eyes, and a grinning, fanged maw.) Hunh. Hiya.
Dragon-Beast: (Looks around, then stares at Wakko, hisses seductively and waggles its eyebrows at her)
Wakko: (Grins back, then leans forward and runs a fingernail up the underside of the beast's jaw) Well, aren't you a feisty little thing…
Dragon-Beast: (Swoons and purr-growls)
Ladybug: Oh, how cool! What is Wakko going to call it?
Wakko: (Cuddling Dragon-Beast) Does it need a name?