Disclaimer: You know the drill by now.
Extraneous: Ditto.
The bills were passed with the greatest of ease,
but the Oricaltos still had to descend into the Item World.
But before the Gate was reached, the hybrid received a surprise:
One of the three had escaped the Dark Court,
and she was determined to help the mage out.
With the local Overlord in tow,
the Oricaltos descended to the twenty-first level,
only to confront the abductor, Saul, upon entering the courtroom...
The battle was fierce, but brief,
and Saito came out on top.
However, before he could take his allies and escape,
the judge had him arrested and put on trial...
-Prophecy di luce e di ombre: Lines CLIII-CLXIV
Chapter 4: Oricaltos on Trial
What happened before:
Both of the bills passed with relative ease, and Saito was soon on his way to the Dark Court. However, just before reaching the entrance to the Item World, the Oricaltos received a pleasant surprise: apparently, Maria had escaped from the Dark Court, with a little help from the courier, Alan (a Galaxy Skull). The group then proceeded to the twenty-first floor of a Legendary Arcadia, killing almost anything that got in their way. Upon arriving in the main courtroom, Saito challenged and defeated the kidnapper, Saul, in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, before he could free either Pram or Senrael, he was arrested on orders from the judge. We now rejoin the Oricaltos minutes later, as things are about to take a turn for the weird...
Following Saito: Main Courtroom: Dark Court: Floor 21: Item World: Arcadia
Time: Nearly ten minutes have passed since Saito was arrested.
The Oricaltos rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Oh, come on! That is a complete and total lie, and you know it, Saul!" he snarled from the defense table as the Chaos Soldier attempted to turn Maria against him. However, the cleric refused to listen to a word that came from Saul's mouth, and she instead placed her trust in Saito. So far, the trial had only been running for ten minutes, but Saito caught Saul lying to two witnesses on at least five occasions. Things were not looking too well for the Chaos Soldier, but then she arrived, and threw the entirety of the courtroom into turmoil.
"Excuse me, Your Honor. I just received your summons and arrived as fast as I could." All of the Gunners stared at the door in disbelief, and then they looked at the defense table. The Oracle was standing in the doorway, but they were stumped to find that she was also sitting next to the Oricaltos at the same time. They all started to talk at once, and the Prinny judge banged his gavel several times to try and quiet them down. "ORDER!" he yelled, and the Gunners all fell silent. The judge looked from the doorway to the defense table, a puzzled expression on his face. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, pointing first at one Oracle, and then the other. The Pram who had accompanied Saito sighed aloud before rising to her feet. "Allow me to explain. You see, we came from an alternate timeline, and all we want to do is return home. Is that so difficult to understand?" "Yes," the judge sneered at her, and Saito's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Looking at Adell, the Oricaltos issued a mental command. Overlord, see if you can direct the judge's thoughts towards the Lord of Terror. Have an idea, Saito? Yes, and I have a feeling that it will work WONDERS...
"Your honor, do I have leave to speak?" Adell asked, rising from his chair, and the judge nodded. "Go right ahead." "We have already heard from this young man that Baal also exists in his timeline. What do you make of that?" The judge snorted a laugh. "Don't try and screw with my head, Overlord. I know where this is going..." "And exactly where would that be?" Saito inquired, his eyes glittering dangerously as they shifted from light-blue back to gold with slit-pupils. "He wants me to admit that this is just a stall tactic to keep you here..." "which is exactly the case!" the Oricaltos retorted, raising a hand to cut-off Saul. "Don't get me wrong, but I smell a rat here, and it looks to me like this judge is anything but normal." Laharl nodded his head. "I have to agree with you there. I just sense malevolence towards all of us, and not just you. This is no ordinary Prinny."
"Heh. It looks like you're not as slow as I thought, Overlord," the judge snarled, the darkness surrounding him growing deeper by the second. "Indeed, I am anything but ordinary. You see, I am merely a spirit without a body since mine was destroyed, but I have grown accustomed to sharing with a certain massive demon..." "Baal," Michael concluded, slowly shaking his head. "So you are the darkness that he is trying to eliminate inside of himself." "And he is failing miserably too, I might add," the Prinny stated, tossing his head back and laughing maniacally. "He will never succeed in throwing my influence off..." "unless he regains possession of his original sword, Cthrek Goru," Saito finished, pulling a pair of gloves from his belt and putting them on. He then reached around to the back of his waist, and allowed his hand to casually rest on a nearly-invisible hilt. In that instant, the sword and sheath materialized, and the real Lord of Terror hissed in anger and hatred. "DAMN YOU! How did you find it? I thought I hid it where no one could reach it!" Saito slowly shook his head, smiling at the idiotic question. "You hid it where only two could reach it: Soma Alejandro Cruz, and Count Vladislav Tepes III il Dragulia. Soma grabbed it in 2040, and he gave it to me to keep until I needed it." The Prinny nearly swore aloud as he mentally cursed both the immortal Lord of Chaos (Soma) and King of Vampires (Dracula). He began to retreat into the shadows, but not before Saito called-out one last time. "What is your name? You can at least tell me that, right?" "Yes," the Prinny snarled, his voice deepening as he faded further into the darkness. "My name is Corbin." He then vanished, leaving many of the Gunners dazed and confused. Saito slowly shook his head before speaking four words. "This court is adjourned." Everyone rose from their seats and then walked-out of the room.
Just outside of the door, Saito managed to catch Saul. "And exactly where do you think you are going?" he demanded, and the Chaos Soldier gulped nervously. "I was just going to go and fetch the other prisoners who were placed under-arrest by the judge's orders." "Lead the way, then," Adell said, gesturing towards the open door to his right, and Saul nodded before proceeding ahead of the group. Soon enough, they reached the cell-block where Senrael was located. However, much to Adell's surprise, there was a female ninja in the same cell. He recognized the young woman immediately. "Rachel? What in the name of the Netherworld were you put here for?" The female ninja shrugged before adjusting her face mask and running her hands through long, black hair. "I refused to testify against a fellow ninja, and was sentenced to stay with him until I changed my mind." Senrael nodded in agreement as Sita was busy picking the lock. "She helped me out of a tough spot, Saito. I owe her." The Oricaltos nodded in agreement before turning to Saul, but the Chaos Soldier was already gone. It was then that Saito felt the absence of something, and Laharl started to swear profusely under his breath. "Damn that sorry traitor!" "What are you talking about?" the Oracle of Veldime asked, and the dhamphir gestured towards Saito's belt. "The Dimensional Gate keys are gone." The mage's eyes narrowed to slits, the outer rims growing darker and darker with each passing second. "Sita, see how many other prisoners you can free. Adell?" "Yes, Saito?" "Come with me. We have a Chaos Soldier to catch!"
Dimensional Gate: Adell's Castle: Veldime
"Let's see... Now how do these things work again?" Saul muttered to himself as he flipped through the keys he had stolen from Saito's belt. A voice behind him caused the man to jump, and he spun on his heels. "You won't be needing those after I finish with you," Saito snarled, and Adell nodded before cracking his knuckles. "Mind if I get the first crack at him?" he asked, and the Oricaltos laughed once before gesturing. "Knock yourself out, Overlord! Just save some for me." "I intend to," the Overlord of Veldime responded, pulling-on black leather gloves before adopting his stance. Saul swallowed nervously before drawing his axe again and taking a swing, only to have the axe-head buried in the ground where Adell had once been. "King of Beasts!" the Overlord called, kicking the Chaos Soldier into the air before beating the crap out of him. By the time Saul landed, face-first, he had suffered two broken ribs, a separated shoulder, and a fractured collarbone. Adell landed easily on his feet before gesturing for Saito to step forward. "He's all yours, Saito." "Why, thank you, Adell!" the Oricaltos happily responded before "flickering" his hands into claws and rushing forward. He moved too-fast for Adell's eyes to follow, but when he abruptly stopped, the Overlord noticed the blood dripping from his claws. Looking at Saul, his eyes widened as the multiple slash wounds became visible. When Saul finally dropped to the ground, Adell whistled once. "Remind me to never piss you off," he remarked, and Saito laughed. "I don't think that I'll ever need to do that," he replied, and Adell slowly shook his head before both burst into laughter.
Man, that was really something! Now, let's go check on the progress of the rest of Saito's allies...
Following Sita: Cell-block C: Dark Court (lower level)
The thief stuck her tongue out as she worked on the lock. It was anything but easy to do, and she soon saw the reason for it. The man was sitting in the back of the cell, away from the light. Bound by heavy manacles on both his hands and his feet, the figure made no effort to move towards the door when Sita finally managed to get it open. She was about to proceed inside when Rozalin grabbed her. "I'll handle this," she whispered before entering the cell. At her light footsteps, the man slowly raised his head. There was much pain in his nearly-black eyes, and his long white hair was hanging loosely around his shoulders. He wore no clothing except for a pair of jean shorts, and his arms were covered in what appeared to be rather large patches of red ink, as if he had been tattooed. His voice was tired, and he spoke with an eloquence that stunned the Overlord's wife. "Why have I been released?" he asked, and Rozalin sadly smiled. "You were arrested by the judge, weren't you?" she asked, and the man slowly nodded. "He had me locked away for a crime that I didn't commit, and I've been sitting in here for the past thirty-eight years, wondering what went wrong." "You don't need to worry about that anymore, my friend. It turns out that the judge was actually the dark spirit of a past Lord of Terror, and he wanted revenge," another voice replied from the doorway, and the man slowly raised his head to look at the Overlord of Veldime. "Ah, master Adell. It has been quite a while since I last heard your voice." Adell smiled at the convict, and then he helped the man to rise to his feet. "The feeling is mutual, Sorin. It has been too long since I last heard from you. I'm glad to see that you're still alive after all of that." The man snorted a laugh. "You thought he could break me? Yeah, right," he grumbled, bringing a smile to many faces outside of the cell. Sita stepped in and offered a tiny hand to the rather large man. "Come on, Sorin. Let's get you back to the hospital and see what they can do about those scars of yours." "I'm coming, Sita," the man responded with a smile as he took the thief's hand and allowed her to help him from his cell.
Once all had been said and done, a grand-total of twenty-three prisoners were freed by the Oricaltos and his allies. After dropping most of them at the hospital, Saito proceeded back to the Dark Assembly. There were only a few things left to do, but he needed to make sure that one thing was done first...
Following Saito: Dark Assembly: Adell's Castle: Veldime: Alternate Timeline
Time: Three hours after the discovery that Corbin was judge...
"Do we have to do this?" the Oracle of Veldime whined, and Pram slowly shook her head. "Saito, just get this over-with. I want to go home, and this is taking way too much time." "Agreed," the Oricaltos responded as he crossed his hands and once more began the incantation. "All powers, both light and dark, I ask that you grant me this request: Fuse them together in mind, body, and soul, so that they may be perfect in all aspects. CROSS-FUSION!" the mage roared, uncrossing his arms and taking a step backwards. Both of the Oracles combined in a brilliant flash of light, but it quickly faded away, leaving a fairly happy Pram behind. "I think we should combine both versions of Zetta next," she suggested, and the Oricaltos nodded in agreement. "After all, we still have plenty of work left to-do before we can regain his body." "I agree. Now will you please stop taking so long?" the confined Overlord complained, and everyone cracked a smile. Some things just never change... Saito thought as he began the process once again.
Three hours and six Cross-Fusions later...
"Well, that turned-out much better than I anticipated," Laharl commented, admiring his hands. Since his Cross-Fusion, the Overlord had grown slightly taller and a little broader, but he had not gained the weaknesses of his counterpart. Etna and Flonne had undergone the same thing, and they were happily chatting with both Maria and Yukimaru. Adell wandered over and rested a hand on Saito's shoulder. "So, how are you feeling after all of that?" he asked, and the Oricaltos winced slightly before rubbing his temples. "I've seen better days, but I think I'll survive. How is Sorin holding-up?" "Well, I just checked-in with the hospital, and they said that he had already left. He should be here any minute now..." As if on cue, the white-haired man stepped into the room, an axe slung-over his left shoulder and a bow slung-over his right. "Looks like you made quite a fast recovery," Saito commented, and the former prisoner nodded. "I had to learn how to recover quickly. Saul gave me near-daily beatings, and he was always torturing the others for fun." Saito shrugged and smiled coldly. "Well, you will never have to worry about that ever happening again," he remarked, and Sorin looked at him, slightly puzzled. That is, until Adell took him to one side and explained exactly how Saito had dealt with the Chaos Soldier, and then the man's expression changed from bewilderment to sincere gratitude. "Thank you for dealing with him, Oricaltos." "You're very welcome, Sorin," Saito responded easily before looking at Pram. "Are we ready to go, or do you think it would be wise to spend the night here?" The Oracle shrugged before answering. "I don't really care, but I think that it would be better if we stayed here overnight. That way, we can all recover from what happened today." Saito blinked twice before nodding his head. "I agree. Besides, I think we all could use a little rest around here," he commented, seeing Sita bare tiny fangs with a rather large yawn. "Okay everyone, listen-up! We're going to be spending the night here so we can recover and get a fresh start in the morning. Understood?" Everyone else nodded, and then Adell led the way into the guest quarters, where he had set-up several beds for Saito and the others.
SLEEPY TIME! Anyway, we rejoin Saito and the others the next morning, as they prepare to exit Veldime and return to their own timeline...
Dark Assembly: Adell's Castle: Veldime: Alternate Timeline
Time: Ten hours have passed since we last checked-in with the allies.
"Well, I guess that this is where our paths separate," Saito said, and Sita lowered her head rather sadly. "All of a sudden, I don't want to leave. I want to stay here and serve Master Adell in any way possible!" Saito looked down at the young thief before gently patting her head. "You don't have to come with us if you don't want to..." he replied, and Sita slowly lifted her head, tears glittering in her golden eyes. "Thank you for the offer, Oricaltos," she whispered as she turned away from her newfound friends, and then promptly sprinted out of the room. Saito slowly shook his head before looking around at his allies once again. "Does anyone else want to stay here?" he asked, and nobody moved. The Oricaltos nodded, and then he turned to help the Oracle prepare the Makai Gate to take them home.
Sita rushed out of the Dark Assembly, tears streaming down her face. The little thief was not watching where she was going, and ran blindly into a rather solid figure. "Hey, Sita. What's wrong, little one?" The man's voice cut through the fog in Sita's head, and she furiously swiped at her eyes, trying to wipe-away all of the tears. "I just don't know, sir. I thought I wanted to go and see the Makai, but all I really want to do is serve you in any way that I can," she managed to choke-out before lowering her head against the man's chest. Adell gently smiled before kneeling next to the little thief. "I'll tell you how you can serve me the best." "Really?" she asked, managing to dry her eyes as she looked-up at her Overlord. "How can I do that?" "By joining us when we go to ask Saito if we can accompany him, of course!" Rozalin called, causing Sita to stop and stare in bewilderment. "You mean that you want to see what the Makai is like, too?" "Of course we do!" Adell responded with a laugh. "As a matter of fact, we're on our way to ask him now. Do you want to come with us?" "I would love to!" Sita happily replied as she turned back towards the doors, a smile on her face.
"Hey Saito! Have room for any more travelers?" a familiar voice called from the doorway, and Saito turned to look at Adell, smiling all the while. "I was wondering when you were going to show-up and ask that question, Overlord. As a matter-of-fact, I think we may be able to bring along ten more people when we return to our timeline." "Is that an invitation to join you?" Sorin called from the door as he strode in, leading a rather small group of vassals, and the Oricaltos grinned at the black-eyed man. "What do you think it is, a refusal? Get over here, and let's go home! The Assembly is already starting to grind on my nerves." "I here ya," Adell responded with a laugh as he walked-over to the mage. Inwardly, Saito was smiling. Heck, I didn't even need to persuade them to join me! This is getting better and better each time! He rested his right hand on the orb atop the Makai Gate, and it glowed a brilliant blue-white from beneath his palm. "The Makai Gate is now active." "Destination?" "Home." And in a flash of light, they were on their way.
YAHOO! More allies, and another enemy down! It's back to the Makai we go, and onto the next part of Saito's task...
Makai Kingdom: Zetta's Netherworld: Original Timeline
Time: Three and a half minutes since Saito activated the Gate.
There was a brilliant flash, and then Saito removed his hand from the orb. "Welcome to the Makai," he called to Adell, and the crimson-haired man smiled. "I always wondered where Zetta came from, but now I know for sure." "Yup!" Pram replied happily, but her eyes were already moving across the landscape. There was something wrong, but she couldn't sense anything amiss. Then, she saw the multiple flashes and heard the rumble of several fairly high-level spells, and she shook her head before stomping her left foot. "No, no, no! This should not be happening right now!" "What's wrong, Pram?" Saito asked, and the Oracle pointed towards the distant flashes of light. "Salome and Alexander have a few...unresolved issues." "Lemme guess: one supports Zetta, and the other just hates his guts, am I right?" "You nailed it," a rather breathless voice commented, and Saito turned rather worriedly in order to see that Trenia was leaning heavily against Solana. "Salome was Zetta's apprentice at one time, and she fell in-love with him. She became an Overlord to try and remain with him, but he had already been confined at that point. However, she has been the most active participant in the search for Zetta's body, and she even went as far as to challenge Alexander for supremacy." "Well then, let's get moving before someone ends-up dead!" the Oricaltos remarked as he turned and spread his wings before soaring towards the battlefield.
Half an hour and several miles later...
"Omega Ice!" the woman yelled, directing the icy spikes at her opponent. Alexander rolled to his right before rising to his feet and drawing his sword. "I've had enough of this, Salome! Omega Thunder!" he yelled, pointing his sword at the woman. She leapt back just in time to avoid the purple lightning bolt, but the G.O.D. was already moving. Cursing her rotten luck, the woman rose to her feet again in order to cast another spell. Then, the Oricaltos arrived, and time basically stopped. Neither of the two combatants moved as Saito landed between the two of them, his eyes blazing angrily. Pram landed shortly after he did, and rounded on Salome. "How dare you! I told you, and told you, and you still refuse to let that issue lie!" she yelled angrily, and Saito slowly shook his head as he examined the female Overlord standing before him.
Salome was nearly as tall as Alexander, but it was obvious to everyone that she was not a guy. Her outfit was black with a few gold designs, and did nothing to hide her figure. She kept her blonde hair cropped short, and her blood-red eyes glittered angrily as she responded to the Oracle. "If he had actually kept his mouth shut, then this wouldn't have happened!" she retorted, and Alexander shot her a glare. "What? I didn't say anything!" he defended himself, and Pram rolled her eyes at his antics. "Yeah, right," she grumbled sarcastically, not expecting a response. Much to her surprise, someone did respond. "Actually, Alexander is telling the truth, Pram. I heard the entire argument, and he didn't mention it even once." He's right, Oricaltos. I can tell THAT much, Babylon. How long have these two been going at it? Most recently, or are you talking in general? Most recently. Five hours straight: no breaks, no mercy, just pure Hell, Saito remarked, slowly shaking his head. "I've had enough with fighting for the time being. All I want to do is try and relax, and maybe find a way to retrieve Zetta's body." The white-haired man who had just spoken turned to look at the mage, and he snorted. "Who are you to be playing peacemaker?" "I am the Oricaltos, and you would be...?" "I'm the Underlord. My name is Seedle." "Enough with the introductions already," Salome snapped. "Why do you still refuse to help us find Zetta's body?" "Why does everything have to do with Zetta?" Alexander retorted, and the two started arguing once again.
Saito closed his eyes and lowered his head, kneading his temples with the fingers of his right hand. Pram felt as if she were standing next to a pillar of pure, destructive force, and the thought frightened her. Saito's wings were in evidence, and his tail had reappeared once again. The mage was tired of all of the arguing, and he was about to do what he did best: negotiate through the threat of force. "Enough!" the Oricaltos roared, and, much to Seedle's amazement, both Salome and Alexander fell deathly quiet. The God of Destruction was rather pale, and Salome was looking around rather nervously. "I am tired of all of the squabbling between the two of you. You are acting like a group of immature brats!" Saito snapped, and Salome hung her head in shame. "All I was trying to do was..." She was cut-off by the Oricaltos. "All you were trying to do was provoke a fight with Alexander. But don't think that I'm letting you go that easily," he rumbled as he caught the turquoise-haired Overlord trying to sneak away. "I'm not done yet. You should both be ashamed of yourselves! Now, I want you two to put your efforts towards something more constructive, like trying to locate Zetta's body," the Oricaltos said, raising a hand to cut-off Alexander's complaint. "I know that you may not want to do it, but it MUST be done. Now get moving!" "Yes, sir," Alexander responded rather glumly before turning away. Salome stuck her nose into the air, spun on her heels, and stalked away from the group, leaving Pram, Seedle, and Saito behind.
As the Oricaltos "descended" (that is, went back to being normal), he slowly shook his head before leaning rather heavily against Pram. "Why do I even bother?" he lamented, and the Oracle reached up to hold his face in her hands. "It's not your fault, Saito." "Then why is everyone blaming him for whatever goes wrong?" Laharl asked, keeping a respectful distance from the mage. "I don't know, but it isn't really helping the situation at all." "You've got that much right!" Adell responded, and the others nodded their assent. "Come on, I think it's time that we left Saito alone for a while." "I agree," Priere responded, gently pulling the Oracle away from Saito. "I've seen him like this before, and he just needs to work things out on his own." Pram nodded rather unhappily, and then she allowed the Alternate Overlord to lead her away from the immortal hybrid.
Minutes seemed to stretch into hours, and Saito merely watched the time pass. He was so deep in thought that he did not notice the figure who was approaching him until the man was practically on-top of him. "What in the name of the Netherworld happened to you, Saito?" the man asked, his forest-green eyes slightly concerned. "I tried to mediate peace between Alexander and Salome." The black-haired man winced before sitting down next to the mage. "OUCH! I bet that it wasn't the most pleasant experience in the world." "You can say that again, Baal," Saito responded, raising his now crystal-blue eyes to look at the human form of the Lord of Terror. "We confronted Corbin in the alternate timeline, but he managed to escape from us." "Damn," Baal muttered, slowly shaking his head. "I thought that he would be gone for good." "Nope, just temporarily." "Anyway, before he retakes control of my body, I need to tell you something." "What is it?" The Lord of Terror whispered something to the mage, and Saito's eyes grew impossibly wide. "WHAT? You're kidding me, right?" "No, I'm being dead serious," Baal responded with a smile. "It's been there the entire time." "Thanks, man," the hybrid said as he rose to his feet and stretched. "I might as well go tell the Oracle." The other man also rose to his feet and stretched before turning away from Saito. "Just a word of warning: He occupied the body with a rather nasty spirit, so you guys will be in for one heck of a fight." "I hear ya, I hear ya. Take care of yourself, my friend. I look forward to the day when I can return your sword." "And I look forward to getting it back," Baal responded with a grin. "See ya!" he called as he vanished, and Saito shook his head, smiling. What was that all about? Oh, nothing really that important, Babylon. Could you go tell Pram that I know where the body is? With pleasure, Oricaltos. Just be careful. I will be.
Author's note1: I TOLD you that Baal would be making an appearance this chapter, ElementPriestess. Anyway, it's time for Saito to keep his original promise to the Oracle. What will happen when the Oricaltos and his allies encounter the body of Zetta? Will the battle be a breeze, or a nightmare? And what lies ahead for Saito and the others? Find out in my next segment, Dark Control: The Fight for Zetta's Body. As always, please remember to both READ AND REVIEW. Thank you.