Speak to self
Speak to Ghost
Joseph traverses through the forest, it was hard for him to see with the trees covering the moonlight, so he decides to put on glasses that he made with the help of Bulma, he taps the side of the glasses as it activates a night vision mode, "with the possibility of Malty and her forces following us, we shouldn't use you as my light as it would reveal our position." Joseph said
"Sounds like a good idea, not sure what that princess can do…" Xeno said.
"Well, she gives this "if nothing works out for me I'll winge like a bitch until all attention is on me" vibe" Joseph said
Xeno chuckled, "I can see that happening." he said. "Say, what do you think about the heroes after you fought them?" asked Xeno
Joseph sighs and thinks about the performance of the three heroes. "Sloppy. Ren was the least sloppiest, while Itsuki is the sloppiest. Motoyasu is a caring man, but a fool… he cares too much for Malty, he's playing right into her hands it's almost pitiful to watch." Joseph said.
Xeno materializes next to Joseph, "anything you want to document?" he asked
"Yeah, three categories, Ren, Motoyasu and Itsuki." Joseph said.
Joseph hears a rustle next to him, Joseph draws Ace and aims towards the bushes as Raphtalia draws Young Wolf's Howl and has the tip close to his neck.
The two lock eyes and they both loosen up.
Joseph lowers Ace, "Jeez, I almost shot you Raphtalia!" Joseph said
"S-sorry!" Raphtalia apologizes.
Joseph checks his behind to see no movement of any infantry, "Is Naofumi with you?" he asked
"We're here." Naofumi said.
Joseph looks over Raphtalia's shoulders and sees the group crouching behind bushes. Joseph passes Raphtalia and crouches with them. "Was able to weaken their forces, won't be able to follow us in this night so we better get moving in this small time frame before they strengthen us the security of the walls." Joseph said.
"We saw you shot Itsuki." Naofumi said.
Before Naofumi can say another word Joseph lifted up his hand, "Ah, before you say anything, that bastard deserved what was coming, he tried to kill Xeno." Joseph then spoke in a more threatening tone, "and I don't care who or what you are, you have the ability to kill Xeno and you actually attempt to kill him? I'll make sure you regret it." Joseph said. "Xeno is like a brother, he's been there with me when I became a Guardian, he helped me with rough times, he is not a tool or robot, he is the brother I haven't had in eleven years." Joseph said.
"Is Sir Itsuki dead?" Raphtalia asked,
"No, if a hero dies, I suspect that Ren, Motoyasu and Naofumi will have to fill the hole in which I made." Joseph said. "I do have common sense guys, I'm not that stupid… well, that's what I believe heh," Joseph said.
"What about the soldiers that got in your way?" Melty asked.
"I killed all of them, I counted twenty seven of em." Joseph said.
"Oh…" Melty said, who sounds dreadful.
Joseph sighs, "We all can't get the answers we want, as long as your safe from harm, then that's fine by me." Joseph said. Joseph turns his attention towards Naofumi, "Well, any idea where we should go?" he asked.
"Well, with the commotion we caused, they'll tighten up the security on those walls…" Naofumi said.
"Well, thats a bummer… hmm… well, the best we can do is-" Joseph detects someone behind him, he turns as he has his hand close to Ace, ready to draw and fire.
The group sees a dark cloaked woman with a masquerade mask. She kneels as she has her head down.
Raphtalia readies her sword as well.
"Wait! She's on our side." Melty said.
Raphtalia and Joseph ease up their weapons, Joseph leans on a tree next to Naofumi. "So what is she?" Joseph asked.
"She is one of the Shadows, an espionage squad under the queen's direct control." Melty explained
"So like Ikora and her Hidden… right." Joseph said under his breath.
The Shadow speaks, "Sir Shield Hero, this is the first time I'm meeting in this form, I dare say" She said.
Naofumi does not recognize the woman, "'Dare say' what's that about?" He questioned, but he remembers a woman who said the same phrase as he stormed out of the King Aultcray's throne room.
The Shadow speaks again, "Allow me to get straight to the point." she said. Everyone's attention is on her, "Sir Shield Hero, you are hereby requested to meet with her majesty the queen." she said.
"With the Queen…" Naofumi said
"The roots of this commotion can go deep, you understand. I dare say we would appreciate all the help you can give. This abduction and the events leading up to it, were set up by those who find your accomplishments alarming." Joseph speaks before she could say another,
"So the church is afraid of his accomplishments? The 'Devil' helping the kingdom where the others can't seem to do, heh, really wanna burn that shit down." Joseph said. "What would Naofumi gain meeting the Queen?" Joseph asked the Shadow.
"I have no doubt you'll understand better after you have met, I dare say." she replies
"Heh, ma'am, you sure remind me of Riven." Joseph said, he hears a thud and notices the woman disappeared as a bag is in her place. Joseph chuckles, and remembers what Riven told him, "Most of those who 'bargain' with me do not win. O murderer mine." Joseph chuckles, "Never been good a bargainer, Taro would usually do the talking… miss him already." Joseph said.
Joseph hears Naofumi asking Melty a question. "Hey Second Princess, do you know anything about this country?" asked Naofumi
Melty responded by turning her head away from Naofumi.
"Oh yes, Second Princess, you know how to use magic don't you?" Naofumi asked Melty.
"Don't call me that." Melty says softly.
"What was that second-"
"Stop calling me Second Princess!" Melty interrupts Naofumi.
"What's gotten into you?" asked Naofumi
Melty gets up off of the rock that she was sitting on and sits between Naofumi and Joseph, who's leaning on the tree, "I have a name and it's Melty that's what!" she said, ``Melty looks at Naofumi, "Why on earth are you calling me Second Princess? Sir Shield Hero?" Melty asked Naofumi. "You just keep treating me like an outsider!"
"Hey, you're the only one whos calling me Shield Hero y'know." Naofumi responds.
"Well then, I'll have to call you Naofumi, and you can call me Melty, which is what I prefer anyway." Melty said. She looks at Naofumi, her face a little red on the cheeks, "So tell me Naofumi, what's it going to be?" she asked Naofumi.
Joseph felt a scent of jealousy in the air, coming from Raphtalia.
"Straight from his first name…" she said softly.
"Well Second Princess, see it's like this,"
"Hey wait!"
"Okay, Melty. Happy now?" asked Naofumi.
"Once again please." Melty asked.
Naofumi groaned as he was weirded out with Melty's different attitude.
"Say my name one more time!" she ordered Naofumi.
He gives in, "Fine, Melty." Naofumi said
"Good! And I suggest you don't forget it either!" Melty said as he turned her head away from Naofumi. "One more thing, thanks for that."
Joseph notices Melty smiling as she slightly blushes. Joseph smirks and chuckles, as he sees Raphtalia gets up trying to hide her jealousy.
Then, Joseph and Raphtalia smell smoke, "uh, is it just me or… someones doing a barbeque nearby?" Joseph asked.
Joseph notices something is wrong, so Joseph materializes Xeno, "X, check what's going on." Joseph said
"Alright, I'll see what's going on." Xeno flies up enough to see the end of the forest. He sees a blazing inferno that's probably half a mile away from their location. "Oh no…" Xeno said.
"What's wrong X?" Joseph asked from his comms.
"The forest… i-its on fire!" Xeno said.
"What!? Who could- that BITCH! Desperate to kill Melty and put Naofumi behind bars, she'll snuff us out in a forest fire? Thats so fucking low!" Joseph yells. His fist glows in arc light.
Naofumi puts his hand on Joseph's shoulder, "Calm down Joseph, there's nothing we can do." he said.
Joseph refuses to think that, "No! you guys can't do anything, but I can!" Joseph said.
Joseph calls Xeno's name, "Xeno! Control the Fat Elephant! There's a large river nearby! Gather the water with the ship and dump the water onto the fire!" Joseph said.
"Ok Joseph!" Xeno dissipates as a large Jumpship, heavily armored, flies above them.
Xeno flies the jumpship to the nearby river, Xeno lowers a long pipe, where it would suck in hundreds of gallons of water. Xeno was able to gather over two hundred gallons of water. Xeno flies the jumpship as he flies over the forest fire. Xeno released the water as it covers the large area of fire distinguishing the flame, the strangling flame soon decreased its size due to the wet environment.
"The fire is now clear Joseph, landing the Fat Elephant to a hidden location." Xeno said.
"Alright, thanks X," Joseph said.
"Your welcome," Xeno said.
Joseph sees the Fat Elephant off as it lands in a far location. "Well, we got the fire, shall we move?" asked Joseph
Naofumi was quite impressed that he was able to distinguish the fire and surprised that he cared about forest fire. "Yeah, lets." Naofumi said.
The group walks through the forest, Joseph in the front, listening carefully so nothing would jump them.
"I've never seen you so worried about a forest Joseph, why is that?" asked Raphtalia.
Joseph whose still walking turns his head, "Well, forests are where wild animals live yes? I've seen many animals homeless due to deforestation and forest fires. It's a sad sight to see. Those who have zero regard for the lives of those who don't deserve to die, are an enemy to me. Your sister Melty, she's on the list of people who I want to kill. Just a heads up." Joseph said.
"Are you seriously going to kill a princess Joseph?" asked Filo.
"I've killed a king and prince before, who said I can't kill a princess or a queen?" asked Joseph.
Filo, Melty and Raphtalia looked at each other, concerned. "You're scaring us Joseph…" said Melty.
Joseph sighs and stares at the girls, "Sometimes you gotta be ruthless if there's nothing left on your hand. To be honest, I hate the hand that I deal." Joseph went silent and walked faster. Conflict stirs with Joseph, been with him when he regained all his memories before he was a Guardian.
Naofumi walks faster, "Let me talk to him." Naofumi said as he caught up to Joseph.
Xeno materializes next to Joseph, "you've changed, a lot." He said.
"For the better or worse?" Asked Joseph
"To me, I think you changed for the better. When I revived you to be a guardian, you were confused and lost. When you gained your bearings, you gave no mercy to our enemies. After the incident on operation Crota's End, losing our friends made you more distant. You declined any help from any guardian and did strike missions solo. After you and Cayde became friends you were a better person but still ruthless when it came towards our enemies." Xeno said.
Naofumi walks behind Joseph letting the two talk, eavesdropping on their conversation.
"When we regained the Last City and regained your memories, it was like you were another person. You became more reluctant to kill a Dreg or Vandal, even refused to kill a single Dreg even though it attacked you. You were like a child whenever we relaxed with your friends, I never saw that side of you, only when you hung out with Cayde and Taro, you were very happy when you married Lillie and adopted a child. I… never seen you that happy before. Honestly it made me happy," Xeno said.
"To what I see, you are just troubled. Your best answer when encountering an enemy whether a human, Demi-human or an alien, your solution is to kill them. We never really tried anything else. Maybe the Fanatic is right about most guardians. But I know that we can prove him wrong. It just needs some baby steps. We shouldn't rush something that is difficult to change, it'll stir more conflict within you." Xeno said.
Joseph nods, "yeah… we shouldn't rush to change. I'm still troubled… I just need to find inner peace within myself." Joseph said.
"I'll be by your side to help you reach your inner peace." Xeno said.
Joseph felt a warmth in his heart, a feeling familiar but cannot recognize. He smiles "Thanks X."
Naofumi backpedals to the girls, letting Joseph and Xeno have their quiet time.
"So? What happened?" Asked Melty.
"Joseph is just troubled, he's had it rough where I believe that most of us wouldn't understand. Let him have his privacy; he just needs time to cool down." Naofumi said.
"O-ok… but will he ever turn on us?" Asked Filo
Naofumi closes his eyes and sighs, "Not likely. From what I have heard, he is just in conflict within himself. He will still side with us and do the right thing, it is just the matter of… how to do it. Let him be, he needs to do this himself." Naofumi said.
The girls are still concerned with Joseph, giving one more glance at Joseph and Xeno as they walk ahead of them in a distance.
"Joseph doesnt want us to worry about him. So we shouldn't. It might make things worse if we just mettle in his business." Naofumi said.
"Okay. But, it's unfair. He worries about us and we accept it, but if we worry about him, he disregards our help." Melty said.
"Sometimes that is what some humans are, they love helping others but don't like to be helped. For Joseph's case, he doesn't want anyone that isn't close to him, to help with his conflict within himself. I believe it is something that Xeno and Joseph's wife can do. For us, all that we can do is hope the best for him." Naofumi said.
"Master Naofumi is right," Raphtalia said, "Although we shouldn't help Joseph, we can still hope for him to relieve the conflict that resides within him." She said.
"I never knew, someone so strong and smart, has such conflict within him…" Melty said. "I do hope he is okay…"
"Same here Mel," said Filo.
…
Itsuki and Ren were horrified when they watched the interrogation footage, the captain refuses to spill the beans where Joseph responds with a knife drven right into the joint of the captain's knee.
Joseph kept on asking questions where the captain responded with answers or pleasing to not be hurt. Whenever he pleaded, Joseph responds with a torture method, whether placing a knife in the captain, burning him or electrocuting him. Everytime the captain was close to death, Joseph would simply heal the captain. The process continued for fifteen minutes until the captain snapped and revealed everything that he knew. After the captain revealed everything, Joseph did a mercy kill and headshot him with Eriana's Vow.
...
Shouldn't have killed that captain with Eriana's weapon, though I don't know her personally, I would get an earful from her killing a human with her weapon.
I wonder what was she like?
Guess the same goes for Wei Ning… I heard both of em had a romantic relationship.
A Titan and Warlock, a human… and an exo…
Eris said that Eriana saw Wei Ning being impaled by Crota
They must've had a very healthy relationship.
Crota took a Guardian's lover, a Guardian's fireteam and my fireteam. Killing Crota was the most satisfying thing during my early years as a Guardian.
If the Hive had not disintegrated into dust when we killed them, I'd might have made sure that I ripped his head off and placed it as a trophy. And so when Oryx was here for vengeance I would've shown it to him, now that would've pissed him off.
Getting sidetracked, well, the captain, he said that Malty is attempting to assassinate Melty to be crown princess and put the blame on Naofumi. Damn, what the hell is her problem? She accuses Naofumi that he raped her and now blames Naofumi for the death of Melty. Someone needs to do something about this or else… I have to put an end to her.
The Captain also said something about the Three Heroes Church. It seems like Malty is working together with them… but I'm not sure.
But what the hell is the Three Heroes Church? Is it mainly all the heroes except Naofumi who's the so-called Devil of the Shield? Must be…
Whatever that the church is doing, is something that Naofumi and his party should not trust. I should investigate and dig deeper, but that's why I have you, the watcher, listener, reader. There is something in the midst of the church, maybe an artifact of some sorts. Research the history of this land, maybe that'll get you somewhere.
If you are able to track down the possible location of a potential artifact, but cannot investigate on your own, my tablet can send messages to my phone, message me and I'll investigate the location myself. Do not trust whoever is in charge of the church, I have a feeling that they are bad news, even if the leader is an old hag.
Gotta get back to the group, and share what I know. I just hope that they'll keep me in their party. Melty has seen some shit, even heir to the throne and being a mature woman, she's still a child. Seeing someone who's supposed to protect you, turn on you then to see them turn into lifeless corpses by a guy whom you just met for an hour really makes you re-evaluate on who you should and shouldn't trust.
Funny thing is, Joseph vs the Heroes and Off The Grid were supposed to be published together, but I considered it a bit too long and I just couldn't figure out what to call the chapter.
So the next chapter will be about meeting Van Reichnott and facing Idol. I am pretty excited to do this section of the anime because Idol is just this bastard who tortures demi-human children, even killed Raphtalia's best friend. How Joseph will react when he is caught wind of Idol's cruelty and crimes, well… it won't be a surprise if I tell you yeah?
Just to clarify, Joseph does not want to give away much but that "much" is his ability of being immortal and his resurrection capabilities. Though Joseph did say that he can take down Melromarc's kingdom, which he definitely can. He is no ordinary Guardian where most would stay in one class. Joseph is flexible with the light, allowing him to use all three classes. Joseph is stronger than you think he is, the only reason Glass gave him difficulty was because of his lack of sleep and food, something that Xeno has to constantly remind him of doing like the big and little brother he never had in years. But that doesn't make Joseph untouchable. Even if he fights well rested, he can still get hurt; this will be seen later on in the story.
This is not to boast Joseph's strength. Technically, strength is just 25%, then there are tactics, the skill in your ability to fight, and what you use as weapons. A three Guardian fireteam can take down the kingdom as well, with the tech they have, their skilled experience in the battlefield and the powers that they have as well. Where the knights of Melromarc have bows and magic for range, Guardians have rifles to fight from afar as well, snipers, scouts, bows, linear fusions, even golden guns. They can even be overkill by bringing a Drake or interceptors into the fight. It's not all about brawn and the power that you possess.
If you use your power foolishly like Oryx, Ghaul, Eramis and even Guardians like Cayde, Wei Ning, Citan and ect, you'd end up dead. Though I hate adding Cayde and Wei Ning because they were badass and great Guardians. But Cayde let his guard down and Wei Ning's headstrong personality in battle is what got her killed. Don't feel bad for Citan though, he had what was coming, a shoulder charge in the face by Felwinter.
Gonna take a break for a bit, lacking sleep, even had this freakish nightmare where ear piercing screeches just filled my room and I couldn't even move a muscle.
Enjoy your morning, day or night, wherever you live.
