I, Bluecookiedough do not own nanatsu no taizai. This story is also uploaded on my AO3 account, slightly updated more than this one, my username is the same.
Everyone was sitting and waiting for the next video to start, having just finished their snack, when there was a large poof of smoke. Escanor was gone! The Sins jumped to their feet, yelling out his name. Gowther said, "I can sense a magical power, but it is not one that I recognise." Merlin nodded.
"Yes, It seems familiar, but I can't quite place it."
"Nevermind all that, Escanor just disappeared!" Ban yelled. Diane looked around.
"Yeah, where did he go?" Meliodas shrugged.
"Maybe he was taken by the same person who brought us here." He said.
"But why would they just take only him away?" Baltra asked, looking confused.
"I guess we'll have to wait and see." King said. Elizabeth looked at the other Sins.
"Will he be ok?" She asked, Hawk looked at them as well, waiting for an answer.
"He can take care of himself, don't worry. He is a Sin after all." Meliodas reassured them. But he still looked worried himself. They all sat down again, Elizabeth and Hawk taking Escanor's now empty seat. Ban discreetly placed an arm around Meliodas' shoulders, as he still seemed a little worried, squeezing his shoulder comfortingly. The other Sins looked at each other, nervous for what was to come, and sat down again. Turning his attention back to the screen, Baltra followed suit.
The screen turned on, panning down to show a bloody figure, stuck through with many swords. "Grand Master Zaratros!" Someone off screen yelled. "This is horrible!"
The Sins looked down in grief. Elizabeth hid her face in Hawk's side. Bartra turned away and closed his eyes briefly.
"How could this happen to the leader of the Holy Knights?" The same voice asked in horrified confusion.
"Father…" The screen switched to show Gilthunder standing between two guards, all of them looking at the scene in horror.
"Oh, little Gill." Meliodas said sadly.
"The poor boy, to see such a sight at such a young age especially." Baltra added.
Elizabeth looked at her friend sadly. She sometimes caught him looking sad when he thought no one was looking. When that happened she made sure to send Margaret over to distract him. Margaret always seemed to make his sadness go away, if only for a little while.
"Oh, Gilthunder!" The guard on the right said, seemingly surprised he was there. "Please young master, you mustn't look!" The guards rushed to block his view. Gill rushed forward.
"Who did this?!" Gill yelled, tears beginning to pool in his eyes. "Who killed my father?!"
The scene changed to show a now grown up Gilthunder on a horse in Vanya, looking at the spot where his sword was once in the ground. Another knight rode up beside him.
"Sir, it seems he left the village and made his way southwest." Gilthunder turned, looking southwest.
"Is that so? The Forest of White Dreams lies in that direction." He said.
"Yes, but Sir… that place is-" Gilthunder interrupted him by riding off in the middle of his sentence. "Sir Gilthunder!" The knight called after him, but received no answer.
Gilthunder rode off out of town followed by his knights, only one thing on his mind. "Meliodas."
"Ooh ominous."
The screen panned up to show a raven in a tree as the knights rode out of town.
Meliodas looked at the screen in interest, tilting his head in thought. Gowther looked over at him but didn't say anything.
Ominous music began playing as the screen panned down in the Forest of White Dreams. "Meliodas, are you sure about this? We've been out here three hours now, there's no sign of any animals, much less any humans either." Hawk said.
"You're right Hawk." Elizabeth said, "Do you really think we'll be able to find one of the Seven Deadly Sins here?" Meliodas walked up to her.
"Probably." Hawk snorted in anger.
"You mean we came here without any solid evidence?!" Hawk yelled. "I heard there's a terrifying monster who lurks around here watching and waiting-" Elizabeth suddenly yelled out in fright. "What is it?!" Hawk yelled, turning to her.
"I- It's nothing, i just tripped!" The screen zoomed out to show Meliodas walking over to help her up.
"Are you ok?."
"I'm fine, thank you." Elizabeth said, as she stood up. Meliodas walked on looking around.
"I might have a little evidence." He said. "Traveling through the Forest of White Dreams on horseback is more difficult than you think. It's so hard to get your bearings that experienced travelers go around it."
"This would be the perfect place to hide!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Hold on, something doesn't feel right." She reached down to rub her ankle.
"Are you ok?" Hawk asked her.
"Yes, just fine thank you." Hawk turned around and they all continued walking, "Alright just stay calm, Elizabeth." She said to herself. "Did I cut myself when I fell? No I don't think so, there's no blood." She continued to rub her ankle. "It hurts so bad!"
Baltra looked at the screen worriedly. What was happening to his daughter? The Sins were also looking a little worried. Elizabeth wasn't bothered too much as she was busy playing with Hawk. Baltra looked over at his daughter for a second before turning back to the screen.
Hawk turned and looked at them from further down the path, "Come on slow pokes, pick up the pace would ya!"
"Coming!" Elizabeth said, now starting to limp a little.
"Hey, hold your bacon. Not a lot of fun traveling with a nervous piggy." Meliodas said, before stopping in surprise. "Woah."
"What do you mean calling me a nervous piggy?!" Hawk was talking, but it sounded like many Hawks were talking. "Well?" The view zoomed out to show that instead of one Hawk there were now ten!
"Woah." Meliodas said, "that's a lot of Hawks." Elizabeth giggled.
Hawk gasped, "It's a herd! They're all me!" The Hawks looked around at each other, freaking out. Elizabeth looked confused.
"This is the monster of the forest?"
"I, for one, find it terrifying." Meliodas said, straight-faced.
The group of Hawks ran towards Meliodas, shouting.
"Meliodas! Look you gotta help me out here, I'm the real one!"
"Whatever you faker!" Another Hawk cut in after the first.
"Hey, zip it Porky." The first Hawk replied, annoyed.
Meliodas looked at the oncoming wave of Hawks and hummed thoughtfully.
"Captain's gotta plan!" Ban sang cheerfully, cackling. Elizabeth giggled, looking over at him. Meliodas chuckled, leaning into Ban's side more, smiling fondly up at him.
On screen, Meliodas had suddenly lunged, his broken sword held out in front of him. The Hawks were thrown into the air. They landed on the ground, whining.
"He's not a nice man." One Hawk said, still lying on his side.
The Sins started laughing. Elizabeth ran over to Hawk and picked him up. Moving to sit with her father.
"Hawk!" Elizabeth shouted, clearly distressed. All of the Hawks perked up.
"Elizabeth help!" They cried, running over to hide behind her. "Please! Even my mom would never hit me like that!"
"Oh, poor Hawk!" Elizabeth said, her eyes starting to tear up. She pulled Hawk closer to her, and leaning over to kiss the top of his head.
"Don't worry Elizabeth! I'm okay!" Hawk said, trying to comfort her. King Baltra smiled down at them and patted them both on the head, smoothing down Elizabeth's hair in his own attempt to provide comfort.
"Everything will be fine, Meliodas would never actually harm Hawk seriously." Baltra said, looking over to Meliodas for confirmation. Meliodas met his gaze,
"Yea 'Beth. Hawk and I are friends." He smiled at her. Elizabeth smiled back, a little wobbly but definitely further away from tears than she had been before.
"Um, Hawk?" Elizabeth asked, before a shadow rose up in the foreground of the screen. The herd of Hawks had turned into a herd of Elizabeths. Hawk, the real one, turned around in a circle.
"Oink? I'm so confused." Elizabeth gasped in surprise.
"They're...all me?" The Elizabeth's all started talking at the same time, walking towards Meliodas.
"Hi Sir Meliodas!"
"It's me, you realize that right?"
"No! Here I'm the real one!"
"Don't trust them it's really me!"
"No you are not!"
"I'm the real one!" The Elizabeths argued with each other as Meliodas looked on.
"Wow, that's a lot of Elizabeths." He said, causing Hawk to look over at him.
"Hey man, this is not the time to just stand there!" An eerie voice broke in, the speaker hidden out of sight. Meliodas and Hawk looked up,
"Leave this place! Leave! Get out of this forest, human."
"Ooh creepy." Diane said, giggling. Gowthor looked over at her.
"Indeed, it is most intriguing." Merlin looked over at him and smiled fondly. King looked at Diane, a little in awe. He loved her laugh, she was so adorable to him. But then he frowned, she would never like him the way she liked Meliodas. The way he liked her.
Meliodas looked over at King, frowning a little. He didn't like it when his Sins were upset. But there wasn't really anything he could do about the situation.
Ban noticed where he was looking and put an arm around him, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. He knew how Meliodas was feeling. He was their captain, and he loved it, loved that he was in a position where he could protect his loved ones. But, when he was faced with a problem that made his Sins upset, and there was nothing he could do to help, he got stressed.
Ban had often sparred with him in order for Meliodas to let off some steam. They had also had long talks about it, and all the pressure Meliodas put on himself. Ban didn't like it, but there wasn't much he could do. Other than to be there for Meliodas, in whatever way he could.
"Wow, I really can't tell one from the other." Meliodas commented, crossing his arms.
Ban started to cackle. Elizabeth frowned at Meliodas.
"Is that true?" Meliodas smiled at her.
"Well, I've never been in that situation before, but I'm sure I could figure it out." He smiled at her kindly. She narrowed her eyes at him but seemed content with his answer. Baltra smiled down at her, and shared an amused glance with Meliodas before they both turned back to the screen.
Just as the group of Elizabeths reached the place where Meliodas was standing he jumped, landing on top of a large rock behind them. He crossed his arms and smiled down at them. "Oh my goodness, however can I tell which of you is the real one?" He asked teasingly.
The Sins started to chuckle at his town. Gowthor leaned over to Merlin and imitated Meliodas, "Oh my goodness!" She started to laugh even harder. He smiled at her.
Elizabeth was giggling as well, Sir Meliodas could be very funny when he wanted to be.
The Elizabeths turned around to face him, calling out to him. "That's me!"
"You can trust me, let me prove it to you!"
"Okay, starting now I want you all to do exactly what I say!"
"Of course!" The Elizabeths all corused together.
"Right hand up in the air, left on on your cheek, now, wave your arm." The Elizabeths all followed his direction.
"Oh! Like that game that we play at home!" Elizabeth said, looking at Baltra. Merlin looked over at her,
"What game is that?" She asked kindly. Elizabeth smiled at her,
"Someone is the leader and then you have to do whatever they say and if you mess up you're out!" Diane laughed,
"Sounds fun, Princess!" Elizabeth nodded,
"It is! And I always beat Gill and Margret! But I've never beaten Veronica. She's really good, she almost never messes up." King smiled at her, and she smiled back.
"This is amazing." Meliodas commented, now sitting cross legged on the rock, his head in his hand. Hawk jumped at him,
"Could you just hurry up already and figure out who's the real Elizabeth!" Then the creepy voice returned,
"Get out!" Hawk squealed in fright. "Leave now! You will never make it out of this forest!" Meliodas put his hand to his chin, thinking.
"I got it! Jump as high as you can." The Elizabeths all jumped up, except for the real Elizabeth who crashed down to the forest floor.
"I'm sorry, I can't do that!" The Elizabeths in the air looked down at her. Just then there was the flash of a sword as Meliodas cut through the Elizabeths, much in the same way he had cut through the Hawks. The Elizabeths disappeared into puffs of smoke, and creatures ran away into the forest.
"Look at that!" Hawk commented, "They're just Hide-and-seeks. Prankster Imps."
King pouted, "Those things are so annoying."
Merlin pursed her lips, "Yes, they do make things rather inconvenient, don't they."
Hawk looked at the retreating Imps. "We thought they were the monster of the forest?" Meliodas took off running,
"After them!" Hawk and Elizabeth followed suit. Meliodas turned around, "Oh yeah, let's wrap your ankle first Elizabeth."
"Thank you very much, Sir Meliodas."
King Baltra smiled at Meliodas in thanks, Meliodas nodded back at him.
The scene skipped ahead to the Imps, hopping nimbly through the forest, Meliodas, Hawk, and Elizabeth not far behind.
"Keep a sharp eye on them guys." Meliodas said. "There's probably something they're heading for in that direction." Elizabeth cut in.
"Wait look! It's a girl." The screen showed the Imps running steadily towards a sleeping Diane.
"Why are they running towards Diane?"
"Imps are annoying." Diane pouted. "They're like flies." The Sins laughed.
"Yeah," Ban said, still chuckling. "They certainly bug me." Everyone rolled their eyes as Ban almost fell out of his seat, laughing so hard at his own joke. "Aw c'mon! That was funny!" Meliodas patted him on the shoulder.
"Oh, no way! You don't think they're planning to attack her do ya'?" Hawk asked.
"A defenseless little girl like that?" Elizabeth answered.
"I know right?!" Hawk replied. "She's just...a little…" They slowed down as they reached Diane who had proven to be much larger up close.
"Maybe not." Elizabeth said in surprise.
Everyone laughed, and even Elizabeth managed to crack a smile through her embarrassment, a blush staining her face.
The Imps were calling to Diane, "Lady Diane! Lady Diane!"
Hawk whimpered, "She's big!"
The audience laughed, Meliodas cut in, "Yeah, not really a little girl, huh."
The Imps continued to shout at a sleeping Diane, "We accidentally let Holy Knight trespassers into the forest!"
Diane's eyes snapped open. Her hand smashed out the ground, cracking it and leaving a cloud of dust. Hawk whimpered as Diane stood up, her shadow falling across where the three stood. Elizabeth's eyes widened, "Wait a minute, is she the same giant who-"
The camera zoomed in on Diane's face, she looked furious. "Some Holy Knights got in huh." Hawk looked up at her,
"Woah, she's huge!" Elizabeth raised a hand,
"N-no! We're not Holy Knights, we came here-" Diane's hand swooped past, grabbing Meliodas. Hawk and Meliodas gasped,
"Look up there!"
Diane held Meliodas up to her face. "You're in trouble Holy Knight."
Ban looked at Diane in confusion, "How did you not recognize him?"
"I don't know! This hasn't happened yet!" She answered crossing her arms.
"Hold on! You're not gonna eat him are you?" Hawk shouted from the ground.
"You let go of Sir Meliodas!" Elizabeth shouted as well. Diane narrowed her eyes, bringing Meliodas in closer to her face.
"Huh? Sir Meliodas." Meliodas smiled at her.
"Yo, Diane. What's it been like 10 years?"
Ban started to laugh which set off the other Sins. "Captain, you're so casual about it!" Meliodas chuckled and gave Ban a fond look, smiling at him.
Diane narrowed her eyes before suddenly opening them in surprise. "Captain!" She held him to her cheek, laughing joyfully. "Captain! Captain! Captain! Captain! Captain!" Hawk and Elizabeth stared up at them in a sort of dazed confusion. "I've missed you so much!"
"Captain?" Elizabeth repeated, shocked.
"Hang on," Hawk cut in. "A giant chick with pigtails is one of the Seven Deadly Sins?"
The screen switched back to Diane's face, the words (SEVEN DEADLY SINS) DIANE, SERPENT SIN OF ENVY were written across the top of the screen. Hawk continued in shock. "Diane, the Serpent Sin of Envy?!" Diane finally noticed Hawk standing by her feet. She leaned down towards him,
"Captain, you've thought of everything haven't you? You remembered how much I love whole roasted pig!"
Ban started laughing again, the Sins smiled at him in amused fondness. Elizabeth gasped and held Hawk close to her, wrapping her small arms around his middle.
"Don't worry Elizabeth." King said, reassuringly. "Captain would never do anything like that." She nodded, but kept a hold of Hawk as the video continued.
Elizabeth gasped.
"Hey wait!" Hawk yelled, "Don't eat me lady!" Diane reached down to grab him. "Meliodas! Don't act like you can't see me down here! Do something will ya'?" Diane sighed,
"Alright fine, but who's this girl?" Elizabeth turned to look at her,
"Oh! A pleasure to meet you Lady Diane. My name's Elizabeth and uh I've asked Sir Meliodas if he'd allow me to travel with him." Diane smiled at her, still holding Meliodas aloft in her hand.
"So it's just the two of you then?"
"Plus a talking pig." Meliodas answered. Diane turned to look at him.
"Oh no, shouldn'ta' said that, Captain." Ban chuckled, causing Merlin and Gowther to laugh in agreement. Meliodas just shook his head fondly. Diane pouted, but knew it to be true. She was the Sin of Envy, and although it was a name she had earned unjustly, she couldn't deny that it sometimes fit her. King sighed, he had a feeling he would be doing that a lot more in the future, now that Diane and Meliodas had met up on screen.
Diane straightened up from her crouched position and turned to look at Meliodas, still held in her fist, with a strange smile. "Oh, is that so?" She asked him.
"Yup, and we uh-" Meliodas' answer was cut off as diane yelled and slammed him on to the forest floor, sending up a cloud of dust.
"You filthy womanizer!" Diane screamed, sending Meliodas flying through the forest.
"What does that mean, father?" Elizabeth asked, turning to look at him innocently. Baltra looked down at her, feeling a little awkward,
"It means someone who courts a lot of girls, but doesn't ever get married." He explained stiltedly. Elizabeth frowned, turning to Meliodas, who was also looking a little awkward.
"Are you courting Diane?" She asked. Ban covered a laugh with a cough and the other Sins looked amused as well. Meliodas looked down at her,
"Not at the moment. That is the future…" He trailed off, Elizabeth narrowed her eyes.
"Are you courting anyone?" Meliodas smiled at her,
"Not at the moment." She looked at him for a second more but eventually turned back to the screen. Ban chuckled as Meliodas turned back to the screen as well. Meliodas rolled his eyes but smiled fondly all the same.
Meliodas picked himself up off the ground, "Oh-kay." Elizabeth turned to him, worried.
"Sir Meliodas!"
Diane collapsed to her knees, crying. "After all this time I'm finally back with the man I love and now he's with another woman!"
Meliodas and Diane looked straight ahead at the screen, refusing to make eye contact with either Elizabeth of King Baltra. The other Sins just looked amused, except for King, who was moping.
"You've just broken my heart in to a million pieces!" She looked down at Meliodas who had made his way back over to the group. "But still, if you have an explanation I'm ready to listen. Meliodas put his hand on the back of his neck,
"Honestly, there's not a-" Diane punched him with both fists repeatedly, making Elizabeth and Hawk gasp from where they were standing off to the side.
"I don't wanna hear any of your excuses! You're nothing but a lying liar!" She continued yelling and punching in the background as the screen shifted to zoom in on Elizabeth and Hawk.
"Think he's ok?" Elizabeth asked.
"Wow." Said Hawk, "she's nuts."
The Sins all burst out laughing, looking over at Hawk, who had crawled under the table in embarrassment. "Sorry, Lady Diane!" He squeaked.
"It's fine," Diane said, blushing a little, not sure what to say about her breakdown on the screen.
Diane was still yelling, "You're a big jerk! You hear me?!" Diane slammed her hands down so hard a mushroom cloud of dust was created.
Baltra looked impressed, if this was Diane fighting her teammate, how powerful could she be fighting a real enemy?
The screen changed to show the now destroyed section of the forest and a voice over of Meliodas explaining the situation to Diane. "So to finally put an end to all the corruption and stop the Holy Knights from rampaging, Elizabeth's trying to get the Seven Deadly Sins together." The screen showed Elizabeth standing by a clearly-beat-up Meliodas.
Diane looked at Meliodas sadly, "Sorry, Captain." Meliodas smiled at her,
"It's ok, Diane."
Diane was sitting sadly on her knees, looking miserable. "I didn't know about that. I guess I'm always the one who jumps to conclusions, aren't I."
King looked over at the Diane sitting next to him, who was looking just about as sad as the one on the screen. "I-it's ok, Diane! I jump to conclusions too sometimes." He smiled at her and met her eyes. Diane smiled back, sitting up a little straighter.
"Thanks King." she said, smiling a little wider. She turned back to the screen as King blushed, bringing a hand up to his cheek.
"Forgive me." Diane continued, somehow looking even sadder. She looked over at Hawk. "And I'm sorry I tried to eat you, piggy." Hawk jumped up,
"You think that makes it alright?! You stuffed my belly full of fruit and burned up my backside!"
Elizabeth pulled Hawk from out from under the table in to her arms. "Poor Hawk."
"If you even think about laying a hand on me again, my mama is gonna let you have it!"
Ban chuckled softly, "Hawk's Mom is so great." He whispered to Meliodas. Meliodas smiled at him and nodded in agreement.
Diane leaned down so her face was right in front of Elizabeth's. "You positive you're not having that kind of relationship with the Captain?"
"I'm not!" Elizabeth said earnestly, Meliodas looked over at the pair of them,
"You know, you and I don't have a relationship like that either." He said, not unkindly. Diane whined as Meliodas walked closer. "Anyway, I'm just gonna do what I can to help Elizabeth gather the Seven Deadly Sins. Cause I wanna find 'em too."
The Sins looked over fondly at their captain, who grinned back at them.
"Well, if you're sure that's the case, then I'll come along with you guys." Diane said, standing up. Elizabeth gasped in joy. "You'll have the help of the Serpent Sin of Envy, the giant, Diane!" Meliodas looked up at her,
"Really? That's great!"
"Thank you for helping us, Lady Diane!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"But get this straight!" Diane said suddenly, making Elizabeth gasp in surprise, "The only reason I'm doing this is 'cause the Captain's with you." Elizabeth smiled nervously.
King Baltra frowned over at Diane, not liking that the giant wouldn't have helped his daughter if she were without Meliodas.
Suddenly a squeaky voice broke in, "Oh, thank goodness! Finally we can live in peace again."
Merlin sighed, "Not these again." Ban just cackled,
"I think they're hilarious!" Gowthor looked over at him,
"You would." He deadpanned. The rest of the Sins laughed as they turned back to the screen.
"For years she's been threatening us, saying she'd make us all pay if we didn't give her shelter!" The Imps started laughing in joy. Hawk stared at them,
"They can be free now. So beautiful!" His voice was thick with unshed tears.
The screen switched to a close up of a raven with a red eye. It cawed loudly, echoing off the trees and startling the group on the forest floor.
Meliodas narrowed his eyes in interest, almost imperceptible to anyone other than the Sins, and even then only Ban noticed, because he was sitting so close.
"What was that?!" Elizabeth asked, fearful. Diane looked around,
"This is strange, I thought there weren't any animals left who lived in this part of the forest." Hawk sniffed.
"Smells like it's gonna rain."
Gowthor and Merlin smirked along with Meliodas, having put the pieces together.
"Wait!" Hawk shouted, "Look at that!" They all looked up in alarm. Storm clouds were collecting in a funnel above their heads, lightning flashing. "What's going on?"
"Thunderclouds?" Elizabeth wondered, speaking softly in fear.
Suddenly the lightning collected into one spear, slamming down into the group. When the flash cleared, all of the group had been tied up with lightning acting like ropes.
The rest of the audience all realized who it was that had caused the storm.
"My body's gone completely numb!" Elizabeth said, her voice pained.
"I can't feel a thing!" Hawk agreed.
Baltra pulled Elizabeth and Hawk up onto his lap, Elizabeth snuggled close to him, looking scared.
They all turned at the sound of a footstep, Gilthunder making his way onto the screen. Meliodas looked at him,
"And you are…?"
Despite the seriousness of the situation the Sins started laughing. Ban slung his arm around Meliodas' shoulder,
"Ha, nice one Captain!" Elizabeth giggled in agreement.
"It would seem we meet at last, you Deadly Sins." Gilthunder said, continuing to walk towards them.
Diane grunted, "This power…"
"Yeah, there's no doubt about it, you're a Holy Knight aren't you?"
"Captain, you're so nonchalant."
"Gilthunder…" Elizabeth whispered, "Gilthunder, is that you?" She asked him. Gilthunder just looked at her, his eyes narrowed. "What are you up to? Why are you doing this?" Meliodas looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
"You know this guy?" he asked.
The Sins collapsed into laughter, "Captain! You know this guy too!" King exclaimed! Setting them all off again. Baltra just smiled in amusement as Elizabeth giggled.
"Yes," Elizabeth answered. "Since I was a little girl, when he was my father's attendant. As an aid to the king, and son of the Holy Knight's Grandmaster, he was always at the palace...so I...kinda grew up with him." Meliodas looked back at Gilthunder.
"The son of the Grandmaster, huh?" Then something seemed to click in his mind and his face lit up, "Hey, wait a minute! Are you Little Gill?" Elizabeth looked surprised,
"What?! You know him too?"
The audience laughed, "Oh, now you know him." Meliodas just grinned.
"Sure!" Meliodas answered, "I even gave him lessons occasionally when I'd find myself at the royal palace!" He turned to Gilthunder, "Wow, you've really grown up! Then again it has been 10 years since I've seen you." Gilthunder only narrowed his eyes, frowning even more.
"If you have the time to prattle on in this manner, it might be better spent trying to escape those bonds."
"Ha! That'll be too easy!" Diane smirked. Merlin and Gowthor exchanged a grin,
"Yes," Merlin said with a smirk, "Especially for a Sin."
"Hey, this lightning's familiar." Hawk said. Meliodas answered,
"I know what you mean, when a certain someone locked up Vanya's water supply and then tried to blow the village away, that was you, wasn't it?" He asked Gilthunder. Elizabeth looked shocked,
"Sir Meliodas, that can't be! You're wrong, Gilthunder wouldn't-" She cut off, Gilthunder was glaring even more hatefully, causing Elizabeth to step back in fear, "No…" she muttered quietly.
Baltra narrowed his eyes at the screen, "Son of my Grandmaster or not, he better not do anything to hurt her." The Sins nodded in agreement as Baltra pulled Elizabeth close to his chest.
Diane stood up straight, straining against her bonds, "These can't hold me!"
"That's useless." Gilthunder said. Diane turned her head to look at him, but continued to strain against the lightning. Meliodas looked over at her,
"Diane, just save it, don't bother."
"Captain…" She protested, her voice strained. Gilthunder suddenly appeared behind Meliodas, bringing his sword to hover over the Sin's shoulder.
"Hey...Hey! What does he think he's doing?! He better not hurt the Captain!" Ban pulled Meliodas closer, wrapping his arms around him. The Sins shouted in agreement. Meliodas rubbed Ban's arm where it held him across his chest.
"I'm sure it'll be fine." He said, trying to reassure his team.
"Do you know why the Holy Knights are after the heads of the Seven Deadly SIns?" Meliodas turned his head as much as he could,
"Not really."
"Half of them are seeking revenge and total eradication of the rebel order that plotted to overthrow the kingdom. The other half want to do glorious battle and vanquish the legendary warriors to prove their own strength."
"And which half are you in?" Meliodas asked him.
"Both of them."
The Sins jumped up in outrage, except for Ban who just pulled Meliodas onto his lap.
"If he even thinks of even hurting the Captain-"
"How dare he! If I were there right now-"
"Ooh, he better not!"
"Calm down." Meliodas interrupted, his voice was firm but not uncaring. "Everything is going to be fine, why don't you guys all sit down. Merlin, you and Gowthor can come sit by me and Ban if you want." They did so, leaving their small couch vacated...until Hawk took the opportunity to take it for himself.
"Finally, a cushy place to sit! Y'know nobody even gave me a pillow to sit on under the table. Nope! Just leave the pig to suffer." Elizabeth gasped,
"Oh, no, Hawk! I'm so sorry!" Baltra rolled his eyes in amusement, but allowed Elizabeth to go join Hawk on the couch.
"No." Gilthunder continued, "I want more." Meliodas narrowed his eyes,
"Is that so?" He said, his voice eerily calm.
Ban laughed, "Gilthunder better watch out!" Merlin grinned,
"Indeed."
"Yes, to avenge the death of my father, Zaratras, Holy Knight's Grandmaster. And to show that I am even greater than he, the most powerful Holy Knight ever known. Killing you will prove that."
The Sins growled protectively, Meliodas only smiled fondly. Elizabeth looked over at him worridly, he winked at her, making her giggle and turn back to the screen, pulling Hawk into her arms.
"So you're under the impression that I'm the one who murdered your father, is that right?"
"Are you saying you're not?"
"No idea. See the thing is, I don't actually remember very much from back then."
"Captain?" Diane asked, looking worried.
"Sir Meliodas…" Meliodas continued, not making eye contact with either of them.
"The last thing I remember is all of us being summoned to the old castle out on the edge of town."
"What could have happened?"
"Well hopefully it will show us."
The screen changed to show the old castle, the words 10 years ago appeared at the top. Meliodas was speaking. "I was hoping to get in a few drinks to celebrate the founding of the kingdom. King's voice answered him,
"You've never needed an excuse to knock 'em back before." Meliodas chuckled,
"Guess you're right."
"It sounded like the Grandmaster has something important to discuss." Merlin cut in.
"Maybe he's gonna give us a special reward for our excellent handling of that business with the troll queen!" Diane said.
"We haven't had any dealings with the troll queen lately, so this must not happen for a while at least." Gowthor said. Ban cackled, throwing an arm around Gowthor's shoulder and pulling him close,
"That's true, and I'm happy with it staying that way. She is the worst." He laughed again. The Sins rolled their eyes at him, but smiled as they looked back at the screen. Gowthor looked at Ban with a strange emotion in his eyes before turning back. He stayed leaned up against Ban, whose smile softened when Gowthor wasn't looking.
"Well it's all the same to me." Meliodas said, "Let's get scolded then go celebrate."
"You expect a dressing down?" They opened the door. Meliodas called out in greeting,
"Hey, we're here!" Upon opening the door the Sins gasped in surprise, "Grandmaster!" It was truly a gruesome sight, the body of the Grandmaster was hanging on the far wall, suspended there by at least 20 spears sticking out of him, his blood dripping down to the floor.
The audience gasped in shock, Elizabeth hiding her face.
"That's brutal!"
"He's a pincushion!" Diane said.
"Who would do this?!" Kind exclaimed.
"More importantly," Merlin said, "Why would they target the leader of the Holy Knights?"
"You're right." Ban answered, "The Grandmaster is the linchpin of the kingdom's defense, he's practically a war god. Whoever killed him is a traitor who must be plotting to overthrow Lioness."
"And the knew precisely what his loss was gonna mean." Diane added. Suddenly a loud sound came from outside, Meliodas ran to look out the window.
"Wait, what?" A large gathering of Holy Knights was descending upon the old castle.
"What is going on?"
"Well," Merlin answered, looking far from pleased, "It looks like we're being framed." She pursed her lips. Gowthor reached over and took her hand. They shared a look.
"We're surrounded by every knight in the kingdom!" Meliodas continued.
"There are too many of 'em out there to count." Diane said, "What are they planning to-" She was cut off as the castle suddenly shook, dust pouring down from the ceiling.
"Damn! They've started their attack!" Ban yelled. Meliodas turned from the window.
"We'll figure it out, but for now let's split up! We'll meet again later!"
"Understood."
Captain, I'm Sorry.
Meliodas turned at the sound of the voice, and then the screen changed back to show the group in the Sleeping Forest. Meliodas was talking.
"Those words are the last thing I remember, the rest is blank."
"So it was one of us?" Diane asked, "Did we hurt him?" Her voice was strained, and her eyes were beginning to fill with tears. Meliodas looked over,
"Aw, no, Diane...I'm sure whoever it was had a good reason, and I doubt I was really hurt, I seem fine on the screen." He smiled comfortingly at her. She smiled back, and they turned back to the screen.
"And then the next thing I knew I was lying down in a cellar somewhere. That's when I met hawk." Elizabeth looked at him,
"I knew it! You really weren't the ones who killed the Grandmaster, were you?"
"That makes no difference to me." Gilthunder said, causing Elizabeth to gasp.
"What are you saying?!"
"Rebels and traitors who plotted to overthrow the kingdom, that's all you people are."
"Enough! You must stop this! Didn't you hear what he just told you?! They aren't the ones who murdered him, don't you understand.?!" He turned to look at her,
"Elizabeth." She gasped, "The kingdom wants you taken into protective custody." He turned away again, "But, I haven't the slightest interest in that." He takes his sword from Meliodas' throat and puts it to Elizabeth's. "Alive or dead it makes no difference to me. You're nothing but a grain of sand in the road being traveled."
Baltra growled, "He better not do anything." The sins nodded in agreement. Hawk sat in Elizabeth's lap, frowning protectively.
"I'd like to see him try. I'd stop him before he even looked at Elizabeth!" ELizabeth smiled at him.
"Thank you, Hawk." She pulled him closer. Ban grinned,
"That pig's got the right idea." The other Sins smiled at him fondly, Gowthor leaned over to rest his head on Ban's shoulder.
Suddenly Elizabeth's bonds were broken, disappearing in a flash of sparks. "Go away." Gilthunder said, waving his hand at her. "The Sins and I have unfinished business." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, huffing angrily. She ran over to stand in front of Meliodas and Diane, her arms outstretched.
"I won't let you hurt these people!"
"You have a very brave daughter, Baltra." Merlin said. Baltra smiled, looking over at a blushing Elizabeth.
"I do indeed."
Just then Hawk let out a whimper, "It's over for me, I can feel my body going numb." Gilthunder glared down at him, and kicked him, sending him flying through the forest.
"Hawk, no!" Elizabeth ran after him. Gilthunder turned back to face the Sins.
"Now that we've dispensed with that interruption…" He walked towards Meliodas.
"Are you sure about this? In the old days, you were never able to beat me." Gilthunder leaned down to make direct eye contact with Meliodas. "But that was a long time ago. I am now more powerful than any of the Seven Deadly SIns." They stared at each other.
"Oh." Meliodas murmured, too quietly for any of the others to hear.
"I don't know." Meliodas said. "Maybe you're right. But you could be wrong too."
Gilthunder stood back up to his full height. "Then we should find out. FIrst, I'll release your bonds." Meliodas looked up at him,
"Well I appreciate that, but I got it." He and Diane snapped their bonds with seemingly no effort at all. "We could've escaped whenever we felt like it."
The audience started laughing, "Good one, Captain." Ban cackled, "Gets 'em every time."
"Just know that if I could annihilate you instantly." Meliodas hummed,
"Mm, kinda doubt that."
"Then I shall use my sword to kill you." Meliodas smiled,
"Right back atcha, big guy." Meliodas looked up at Diane, "Don't interfere, alright Diane?" Diane put her hands on her hips,
"Aw, you get all the fun." Gilthunder unsheathed his sword and got into an attack position.
"Don't want to risk my defeating you both?" Meliodas got into position as well, somehow seeming intimidating, despite his small stature.
"Can't you tell when your elder is trying to be nice."
The audience laughed. "Nice one, Captain."
They each swung their sword at the same moment. A bolt of lightning flashed in the sky. Gilthunder looked up to see Meliodas still standing, then he swung his broken sword. Gilthunder gasped as he was flung away.
"Like I said, right back at you, remember that?"
"And I told you." Gilthunder was suddenly behind Meliodas, poised to strike, "You'll be dead!" He swung his sword at Meliodas' unprotected back, but Meliodas dodged at the last minute, doing a backflip over Gilthunder's swing.
Baltra raised an eyebrow, impressed.
"Come on!" Gilthunder continued on the offensive, swinging at Meliodas over and over again. Meliodas continued to dodge his swings, leading Gilthunder through the forest. They paused for a moment, Meliodas standing on top of a boulder looking down at Gilthunder.
"Gotta admit, you've really improved over the years."
"Yet you still believe you're superior to me!" He jumped and swung at Meliodas, who held his sword in a block with his own. Preventing Gilthunder from coming any closer. "I can sense it, you're beginning to feel a little fear creeping in." Meliodas just smiled, seemingly unbothered.
"Am I?" They both jumped up, exchanging strikes at they fell back to the ground. "Well you're persistent." Gilthunder swung at Meliodas causing a cloud of dust to rise. When it cleared Gilthunder striked, to fast for Meliodas to counter. Meliodas was flung through the air.
"Too slow!" Gilthunder yelled.
The scene shifted to where Elizabeth was running. At the sound of the yell she stopped and turned towards the commotion. "Sir Meliodas…"
The scene shifted to show Meliodas lying in a crater in the ground.
The Sins gasped. Meliodas reached over Ban to pat Gowthor and Merlin on the arms. "Don't worry, I'm ok." He smiled at them. Ban sighed and rested his head on Meliodas', hiding his face.
"You better be."
In the crater, Meliodas strained to lift his head, laughing softly. "I can't believe that you've gotten this powerful." He stood up slowly. Gilthunder appeared behind him suddenly, lightning crackling along his blade.
"Don't worry. I'll bring the others down with you soon enough." He slashed Meliodas in the back, the blood spurting out as Meliodas collapsed onto the forest floor.
The Sins gasped in concern, "Captain!" Elizabeth looked over in fright,
"Sir Meliodas!" Meliodas smiled softly at them all, "It's ok. Don't worry. I'm sure everything is fine." He reached out and took Gowthor and Merlin's hands in his own, sending a smile at Diane and King. Ban just held him tighter.
Diane stood above Meliodas' body, looking down at him. "Captain…?" Thunder sounded above them, off in the distance. Gilthunder looked down at Meliodas, using his foot to turn him so he was lying on his back.
"Meliodas, the Seven Deadly Sins, Dragon Sin of Wrath. Do you have any last words?" Meliodas opened his eyes, staring up at him.
"The Sins…" He said feebly, "What happened to them? You must have heard something right?" He sounded almost desperate.
The audience saddened. "Aw, Captain…" Meliodas looked at his Sins, his face serious.
"Of course I'm gonna look for you. You're…" He trailed off, not knowing the words to completely express his feelings for them. But they only smiled at him, somehow understanding without needing to say.
Baltra looked at them fondly, but stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt their moment.
"Where...have the other ones gone?" Meliodas had a scratch on his face, his eyes were only half open. Gilthunder sheathed his sword.
"Very well, I'll tell you. Of the remaining five, three of them are still at large and are not yet accounted for. But. The other two have been dealt with."
The Sins looked at each other in concern. What did 'dealt with' mean?
"The Fox Sin of Greed is being kept under tight security at Baste Prison."
"Jail?! Why am I in jail? There's no way they could have caught me!" Merlin looked over at Ban.
"Perhaps you got bored." She smiled, "We all know of your...tendencies." Ban cackled.
"The Grizzly Sin of Sloth has already been slain."
Diane gasped, "King!" He smiled at her,
"LIke they could kill me. I'm a Sin!" He tried to reassure her, but if you looked closely you could see the worry in his eyes. Meliodas looked over at the pair, not liking his distance from them. Quickly he got out of Ban's lap, ignoring his protests, and climbed up next to Merlin. He reached out to lay a comforting hand on King's shoulder.
"I'm sure everything's going to be fine." Merlin, since she was close, ran a hand through King's hair, and rubbed Diane's arm comfortingly.
Baltra smiled. With all their pasts it was good that they had a well established support system. They all clearly cared about each other a lot.
"And is interred in the Necropolis." Gilthunder tilted his head. "But you needn't worry, I'll make sure they all join you shortly." Meliodas slowly closed his eyes...before suddenly opening them and jumping up. His strength suddenly restored.
"Awesome!" He turned to face Gilthunder. "Little Gill." Gilthunder only stared.
The audience was laughing, Baltra and Elizabeth seemingly in slight shock.
"Well," Gowthor laughed softly, "The Captain seems to be in fine health." Merlin smirked, now running her hand through Meliodas' hair.
"Indeed." Meliodas just smiled.