Finally had a break from all my tests at college.
Well, here we have, people! The closing for the Act II! And to comemorate... a skit:
This one has Raine, Ratatosk and Lumen on it. Enjoy!
Raine and Ratatosk
Ratatosk: Ok… why are you following me, woman?
Raine: Oh, nothing. I just wanted to ask you some questions if you don't mind.
Ratatosk: Really? Then let me end your hopes right away: I don't remember anything about my previous existence, save by some memories here and there.
Raine: Is that so? I heard Lloyd say you have retained your knowledge over the demons.
Ratatosk: … he did?
Raine: Yes.
Ratatosk: … he's dead.
Raine: Why do I have the impression you and the Centurions consider my presence a little… unsettling?
Ratatosk: It's not the fact of you being there. It's more like the look that you give them each time they reveal something that you mortals didn't know about.
Raine: That's just pure, academic curiosity. Nothing more.
Ratatosk: I would say more like obsession. You creep me out even more with that Ruin Mode of yours.
Raine: Creep… you out?
Ratatosk: Yeah. Not even demons give me the chills that I feel when I see that crazed gleam in your eyes and…ouch! H-hey, what are you? OW! OUCH! CUT IT O… oh my… GAAHHH!
Raine: Humph. You have no manners whatsoever.
Lumen: Um… why is boss lying on the floor, bleeding and with a blackboard on his head?
Fear Professor Raine and her ability to turn schollar material into deadly weapons!
Ok, now enough with the nonsense. Let's rock this joint!
Chapter 16
Deals and Merchants
One would think that five against four, with one of the members of the team being able to summon monsters at will, would be good odds in a fight. However, Emil and the others soon learned that it doesn't work that way when you are facing demonic powers.
Alice proved to be a real threat. She summoned demons after Sheena and Lloyd killed the monsters the honey-eyed girl brought. Two tiger-like creatures with two saber-like fangs, spikes along their spines, sharp, ebony claws and tails with spikes on the point jumped out of two ports with unknown runes. Ratatosk called those beasts Ravagers.
While Sheena and Raine took care of the creatures, Marta tried to fight off Alice. The blond girl had great control over ice magic and used her transformed ice-claw-like hand to defend against most of the blows. Marta tried using her wind enhanced Artes, but the wind blades and disks bounced off harmlessly on the half-demon girl's icy protection.
"Aw, what's the matter Martmart? Having problems?" Alice taunted with her baby voice and sweet smile while Marta attacked her with a flurry of spinner slashes and kicks, just to have them blocked. Alice then smiled her fanged, malicious smile. "Maybe you should…" Alice ducked under an attack and grabbed Marta's leg with her ice-clawed hand. "Lie down!"
The Desian General flung Marta over her and threw the brunette on the ground. Marta tried to counter using her spinner, but Alice had already stepped back as the reincarnated Sylph stood. The blonde took the chance while Marta was still trying to regain her balance and unleashed a sequence of blows with her whip-rapier, each one brimming with chaos energy, which made Marta feel like her skin was burning. Alice then pointed her weapon at her rival's chest and unleashed a powerful charge of chaos energy in the form of lightning.
Marta felt her muscles going numb as she had to knelt, unable to stand still, her clothes charred at the chest. Alice smiled sweetly as she was about to deal the killing blow when, suddenly, she was bound and attacked by a Brilliant Shackles spell. While Alice recovered, Raine cast Recover on Marta, making the numbness go away. Alice glared at the silver haired woman, before summoning two ordinary demons with purple bodies, bloodstained halberds and skeletal wings; Chaos Soldiers.
Sheena came in and repelled the two demons with a well-placed Demon Seal and Raine dealt a good amount of damage too with a Ray spell. Alice scowled, but then remembered that she still had her own battle to fight when Marta got up and charged at her, spinner's blade ready.
The brunette fighter unleashed several slashes and a flurry of kicks. The slashes caught Alice, but the half-demon girl managed to use her transformed, icy hand to block the kicks. She then casted Icicle which Marta defended using Damage Guard, only for Alice to attack using her icy, clawed hand.
Marta's defense was broken as Alice slashed at her belly. The reincarnated Sylph charged wind energy in her spinner's blade, extending the reach of it for a counterattack. However, when she was swinging it, a wall of ice appeared between her and Alice, taking the attack, which left a scratch on the solid ice. Marta's surprise soon turned into fear when she saw a spike forming from the wall and aiming for her head.
The petite brunette jumped back when the spike moved along the wall, almost cutting her. Marta saw Alice behind the wall, her whip-like weapon seeming to enter inside the solid ice, which explained how the spike formed. Alice smiled maliciously again as she retrieved her weapon and slashed at the ice wall like it was butter. She then pointed her palm to the upper half of the wall and it immediately cracked, exploding in ice fragments that flew to Marta's direction.
Marta used Damage Guard again to defend from the rain of icy projectiles, almost getting buried in them, and, as soon as her bubble-like shield dropped, started slashing at the shard that flew towards her. Some left minor cuts on her cheeks and clothes, but nothing too serious. When the attack passed, she saw Alice sitting cross-legged on the remaining half of the ice wall. The blonde smiled sweetly at her rival, like the two were simple having a friendly talk. Marta gritted her teeth.
Meanwhile, Lloyd and Emil were trying to fight off Decus. The blue haired man had great strength and resistance, mainly to fire attacks, which Lloyd discovered after entering in spirit form and trying to use his fire enhanced Artes against him. Decus also turned out to be quite a competent swordsman, swinging his broadsword with ease and using some rather flashy Artes (such as plunging his sword on the ground and using the handle as a pole to swing his body in the air and spin in the place, kicking the two boys away).
Emil tried using his element enhanced Artes on Decus, but the young man either blocked with his sword or simply avoided them. Lloyd used his speed, seeing Decus wasn't too fast, but even when he landed some blows, those seemed to do little harm to the half-demon, half-human man. Decus then took the chance when Lloyd left his guard open after attacking and punched the dual swordsman in the belly with one hand, bringing his sword down on him with another. He used his demonic strength to bring Lloyd to the ground, before a pillar of purplish flames erupted, raising the reincarnated Efreet.
Emil used Dark Fang, only to have Decus block it and counter with a combo of sword blows, most which Emil blocked, but the blonde was unprepared when Decus scarred the ground with his broadsword and released a wave of flames with it, which engulfed Emil, pushing him away and burning him in the process.
Lloyd returned to the fight, unleashing a Flaring Tempest, but Decus just smiled as he held his broadsword with two hands and swung it like it was baseball bat against the spinning blur of red that was Lloyd. The friction between the swords caused sparks to fly, none being able to push the other away. Emil used that chance and jumped, releasing a Raining Delude. Decus saw that and his smirk widened as he put a little less pressure on his attempt to push Lloyd away, causing him to slide back.
The human Desian then jumped back the moment the water sphere was almost upon him. He got some minor cuts, but Lloyd was hit by Emil's attack and drenched in the water of mini-geyser that the Arte produced. When the water lowered, Lloyd had his hair covering his eyes and his wings had disappeared, probably being put out by the enchanted water.
"Uh... sorry Lloyd," Emil said with an apologetic tone.
"What are you doing, you idiot? Look out!" Ratatosk yelled through his mental link with Emil. The blonde saw another of Decus' personalized Blazing Fang coming his way and used his defensive Arte:
"Kharlan Shield!" a bubble-like shield enveloped Emil, this one seeming to be made of multicolored flames, which repelled the fire from Decus' Arte. When the shield went down, Emil saw Decus near him, at striking range. The blonde brought his sword up in reflex and almost had it knocked out of his grasp by the strong blow that followed.
Decus was about to cut Emil in half when Lloyd stepped in and blocked his sword with his twin blades. Decus jumped back again and looked at the duo, saying:
"Huh. Seems you improved, Emil."
"Why are you doing this?" Lloyd asked.
"Because this is Alice's wish," Decus answered in a simple tone.
"What?" both boys asked.
"C'mon. Are you both that stupid?" Ratatosk said to Emil. "This guy practically kisses the ground that little bitch walks on. I bet the only reason he became a demon was so he could stay around her."
While Emil found that romantic to a certain degree, he couldn't help but have mixed thoughts about Decus' obsession with Alice. The blue haired man attacked again, however, before he could reach the boys, a violet blur stood on his path and a shout of "Pyre Seal!" echoed as Decus was forced back by the explosion of energy created by magic seals.
Alice saw that and before she could summon more demons, Marta threw wind blades against the blond girl, which hit her in the back and broke her concentration. Decus ran to Alice's aid and stopped the other wind blades with his broadsword.
"Hmph. Looks like they're strong... to some degree," Alice said, her face had a neutral expression and her sweet tone was gone.
"Alice. How about we attack them together?" Decus suggested.
"Hmm. Yeah, I think that will do," Alice said, looking to her companion, who smiled to her.
"Holy Lance!" Raine proclaimed as several light swords started appearing around Alice and Decus.
The half-demon girl summoned an ice dome around her to shield them from the attack. The ice absorbed all of the magical attacks and when the spell stopped, one hole opened near the base of the icy dome and a column of fire shot from it. Lloyd, Emil and Sheena had to jump to the sides to avoid being hit.
More holes opened in the sides of the dome in a rapid succession, each releasing a column of fiery flames. Raine saw Alice and Decus inside when one hole opened and the fire attack was shot in her direction. Decus was using his personal Blazing Fangs as Alice controlled the dome.
Emil, Marta and Sheena decided to approach the dome and stop the two half-demons, however, they realized too late that was exactly what Alice and Decus wanted. The dome shattered and broke, a strong wind started to blow and picked up the shards, which flew against the trio and collided with them, cutting their bodies as the shards seemed to fragment even further.
"Decus..." Alice called, staying in the eye of the great, ice tornado, together with Decus. She put her hand on the shoulder of her admirer and transferred some power to him while casting a spell.
"As you wish, Alice!" Decus replied.
The blue haired man suddenly disappeared from sight, just to reappear above Sheena and dive, seeming completely unaffected by the wind, pointing his broadsword down while flames enveloped his body. Sheena saw the human Desian coming and twisted her body to stay out of the way of the blade, but she couldn't avoid the flames that burned her skin and part of her clothes.
Marta saw Decus teleport again and entered in her spirit form to try and cancel the winds, but Decus was faster and cut her with his blade while flames licked at Marta. The half-man, half-demon teleported four more times, striking at each member of the group. Sheena also entered in her spirit form, but noticed her energy and defenses were somewhat reduced. It seemed the injuries that they took in their human form had a direct effect on their spirit form.
Decus reappeared behind Alice, who was smiling sweetly again as Decus put his hand on her shoulder. She nodded as they gathered power and unleashed it, transforming the cyclone around them in a raging, icy inferno.
"Extreme Poles!" the two proclaimed as Sheena, Emil and Marta were attacked by the combined Arte. The thermal shocks caused the reincarnated Summon Spirits to revert back to their human forms, their already compromised defenses being broken.
Sheena, Marta and Emil fell to the ground with a thud. Alice's smile widened and turned into her malicious one as she transformed her left hand in an ice claw once again. However, before she could attack her fallen rival, she sensed an agitation in the chaos energy and heard Raine chant:
"Neran Liard!" a runic circle appeared above Alice and Decus, paralyzing the two as several lance-sized, green poison arrows fell over them, cutting through their defenses and part of their bodies.
"Alice!" Decus shouted as he saw his so-called love being cut by the rain of chaos lances. He managed to shake the paralysis off and threw himself at Alice, taking them out of the area of the circle as a massive sword of chaos energy fell and released waves of energy, which pushed the two half-demons away and further harming their auras. "Guh! Alice, are you alright?" Decus asked, from his position over the blond girl.
Alice merely nodded, still seeming a little shocked from the attack. The two stood and Alice turned to Raine, pouting and stomping her feet on the ground as she said:
"What do you think you were doing, you witch? You almost killed me!"
"If you're not ready for that possibility, you shouldn't have challenged us to begin with," Raine said, in the tone of somebody that tried to teach something to a spoiled child.
Decus bared his teeth, scowling and pointing at Raine:
"You… ! HOW DARE YOU TRY AND HURT MY ALICE?"
Raine noticed Decus' already unstable aura agitate even more as the blue haired man charged at her, just to be stopped by Lloyd, who grunted when he blocked Decus' attack, given the force the half-human, half-demon applied to the attack. Lloyd countered it by bringing one of his swords back, while holding Decus' blade with the other, and using quick, successive thrusts.
"Sword Rain: Flare!" each thrust was enchanted with fire and the final one caused Lloyd's sword to ignite, launching a jet of fire on Decus and pushing him away.
Alice rushed to her companion's side as the two glared at Lloyd and Raine. Marta and the others were trying to stand when Alice and Decus' aura started to vibrate stronger and the others felt the concentration of chaos element within the two raising. It was clear they intended to transform into their demonic forms.
However, when the air around Alice started to get cold, the blonde's eyes suddenly widened as she started to fall forward, her aura suddenly stopping to agitate. Decus noticed it too late as he was knocked out cold as well.
Lloyd the others were immensely surprised when they saw Netrioh and Algrioh standing behind Alice and Decus. The black haired demon swiped his forehead like he had been sweating while he let out a sigh of relief, saying:
"Man, that was close. Things were really getting ugly."
To say the reincarnated spirits were shocked would be an understatement. The Centurions reappeared, seeming as surprised as Emil. Ratatosk took control and stood, walking to Netrioh, who gave a grin to his old "friend" as he approached.
"Hey, buddy. Are you al... ?" before Netrioh could finish his line, Ratatosk punched him in the face. The blow didn't carry much strength, but was enough to force Netrioh to lean to the side.
"What the hell is your problem? If you wanted to rescue us, you should have done it sooner!" Ratatosk complied.
"Glad to be of service," Netrioh said, passing his hand on his sore cheek. The others couldn't tell if the demon was being sarcastic or not.
"B... but... why?" Sheena asked.
"Oh, c'mon. Did you really think I would let my pal Ratatosk be taken by those two? Please," Netrioh said in what sounded like an offended tone.
Raine decided to just let the situation be and healed the party. The group approached the two merchant demons. When Marta repeated Sheena's question, all that Netrioh said was:
"I told you before; I don't care what the army's business is. I'm not here to fight or anything."
"Then what exactly are you here for?" Lloyd asked.
"Sorry man. Business' secret."
Lloyd sighed in frustration and decided that Netrioh was on their side, at least for now.
"Anyway, we should leave," Aqua said.
"Oh yeah, we also came here to warn you," Algrioh started. "That brat girl sent a demon runner to warn the troops stationed at the blockage in Hakonesia."
"What? There's a blockage there?" Emil asked.
"Yes. It probably reached them by now."
"Then what do we do? Do you think we can escape from here in time?" Ignis asked.
"I didn't sense Alice summoning any demon and sending it to warn the troops. She probably sent it before coming to confront us," Tenebrae pondered. "The demons should have the peninsula's access road closed off by now."
The others didn't like that in the least. With their escape route cut off, they would have to fight their way through hordes of demons to get away. However, with what they saw at the Tower of Mana, it was clear they still weren't ready to face a whole troop with a general. The probability that Kvar was still looking for them was also high.
"If that's the case, how about you come and hide in my place?" Netrioh offered. The party looked at the demon with their eyebrows arched. "The troops won't think of looking for you there and nobody knows that Ratatosk and I are buddies."
Lloyd and the others looked to Emil. Ratatosk took control and sighed, nodding to what Netrioh said.
"I think I rather face the demons," Sheena grumbled.
"Sheena, this is serious," Raine said. "Considering our situation, that's our only option at hand."
The ninja sighed. The group decided the ones who could fly would carry the others to Netrioh's fort. Algrioh would show them the way while Netrioh would take Alice and Decus' unconscious forms to the road and leave them somewhere for the troops find.
After setting everything, the reincarnated Summon Spirits and Centurions took the air and followed the bird demoness. Sheena and Lloyd were carrying Raine, passing their arms around the female half-elf's back, and Marta carried Emil. The Centurions followed closely.
Ignis asked Algrioh what kind of place was the fort where she and Netrioh were staying. Algrioh smiled with mirth as she said:
"Oh, it's very fun. You'll soon see."
"Really? Sounds good," Ignis said, in her typical ditzy tone.
Knowing Netrioh, I can image what kind of "fun" she's talking about... Ratatosk thought.
"Oh, c'mon. The guy says he's your friend," Emil said. "Surely it can't be that bad."
- / - / - / - / -
"What were you saying again?" Ratatosk asked in an "I told you so" tone. Emil didn't reply.
Marta had her mouth agape at looking around the fort and seeing its crew. She looked like she was ready to pass out here and there. Lloyd was scratching behind his head at the sight. Raine was acting as regal as always, as though none of that mattered to her and Sheena had the look of someone who had been expecting that.
Aqua and the other Centurions looked mildly surprised as she asked:
"Are all of your crew women?"
"Hmm. As far as I remember, yes," Algrioh said.
"Oh, I imagined that much," Sheena grumbled.
The group walked through the corridors of the fort, passing by several female demons, who either waved to them with smiles on their faces, winked when Lloyd or Emil looked to them, or simply greeted Algrioh in demonic language. Even though knowing that he was surrounded by demons, Lloyd didn't feel unsettled or in danger, rather, the place actually transmitted a cozy mood, but the dual swordsman could also sense the permanent aura of second intentions emanating from each demoness.
They passed by the double doors that lead to what looked some great hall and from there came the smell of food, probably the dining area. Marta seemed to have finally recovered from her shock as she asked:
"Excuse me... um... Miss Algrioh..."
"Just Algrioh, dear. I'm nothing more than a demon of Great ranking."
"Ok... Algrioh. I thank for all the hospitality, but I think we should really get going. Right guys?"
Marta looked to her companions, hoping that they would all agree with her. They simply looked back at her. Tenebrae then spoke:
"Lady Marta, it would be careless to go out with demonic search parties searching for us. We would likely be killed trying to get out of the Balacruf region."
"Indeed," Ventus said. "It would be more prudent to wait until they leave the area."
"Ugh! I know that…" Marta said, sighing.
Sheena and Lloyd could very well see why Marta was so uneasy about them staying here. Even Sheena wasn't sure if she liked the idea of sleeping in a place full of demonesses, no matter how friendly they seemed. Lloyd was also getting quite unnerved by the way some demonesses looked at him; with full, blown desire and smirks that seemed to spell "how about a little fun, handsome?". He could swear he saw one licking her lips at his direction.
The red clad swordsman started to wonder if he should feel embarrassed by the attention his looks were getting or worried about the hungry gaze of some of the female workers. He noticed with some surprise that Sheena was also receiving those looks, though she didn't seem to pay any heed to them.
Algrioh lead the group to the sleeping quarters. They passed near two scantily clad women, who, at seeing Sheena, wolf-whistled to her. The voluptuous young woman raised her eyebrow at the demoness, who spoke something to her in demonic tongue.
"It seems they liked you, Lady Luna," Algrioh said. "I also must admit: you surely picked a fine body to reincarnate into."
"Uh, thanks… I think," Sheena said. After a minute of hesitance she asked. "What's up with them, anyway? Are they lesbians or something?"
"Actually, most female demons have bisexual tendencies," surprisingly it was Raine who answered. "Male demons tend to have a varied vision about sex, ranging from purely for procreation, to simple amusement, but their tendencies remain heterosexual according to what I know."
"I don't think I even want to know where you learned all of that from."
"Wait. Does that mean… ?" Marta asked, her tone sounding horrified. "Th-That they could… go after me too?"
The brunette knew about that kind of attraction, but never imagined someone of the same sex having that kind of thoughts for her. The concept was very foreign and scared her a little.
"Relax. Nobody here will do anything you don't want to," Algrioh assured the brunette. "Besides, you're Master Ratatosk's girl, aren't you? I'm sure he would be quite angry if we took you without his permission. Master Netrioh is just the same when somebody wants to play with me without asking him first."
"That's kinda mean," Lumen said. "I mean, you should have the right to play tag or hide 'n' seek with anybody you want. I'm sure boss would let Marta, right boss?" the Centurion of light asked, putting his goofy smile on.
The group stopped and stayed silent for some time. Algrioh had a confused look for the first time since she met them. She then spoke:
"I've heard many analogies from many different worlds to it, but I think it's the first time I heard those kinds of words."
"That's because he isn't capable of understanding what you meant," Aqua said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Really? What does she mean then?" Ignis asked, earning new silent stares from the group.
"You're all quite an interesting bunch," Algrioh mused.
- / - / - / - / -
After showing the group their rooms, Algrioh said they would have dinner soon, so they should go to the dining hall of the fort. She also answered questions, as why all of the rooms had king sized beds (it seemed Netrioh liked to pay night visits to his subordinates at anytime and liked to be comfortable).
"You don't have to worry about any noise. We have silence runes drawn in all of the doors after people started to complain about all the moaning and wild parties. I couldn't sleep until they got them drawn," Algrioh admitted.
Sheena and Marta decided they would stay with their respective crushes. Marta was worried some demon vixen might attack Emil in the quiet of the night and Sheena didn't want to even think about what those demonesses could do to Lloyd. Netrioh she could easily repel. After all, demons also had sexual organs.
"Do you want some company, Raine?" Lloyd asked, more out of courtesy than anything, since Raine would stay alone in her room. "Maybe one of the Centurions could..."
"Don't worry with me. I can take care of myself better than most of you. I'm actually more worried about you and Emil," the older woman said.
"Oh, don't worry, Lady Undine. I assure you my girls would be very gentle to them," Algrioh said.
Raine decided not to reply to that, leaving Lloyd and Emil blushing.
After settling themselves in the rooms, the group left for the dining hall. Passing the double doors, they saw the room was just as big as the entry hall which gave a good view to the path down the mountains. There were several round, big tables, with space for at least ten people. They looked for a free table for all of them to sit together until Emil saw Netrioh coming. The master of the fort said:
"Hey guys. I already dropped that little brat and her corrupted boyfriend at the road, away from the Mausoleum. The troops will probably think that they were knocked out while you all made your escape from the region. Now come here. You're sitting with me, since you're our honored guests."
The group followed him to a table where Algrioh was already sitting. The red headed demoness greeted them as the group sat down too. Netrioh asked if the Centurions didn't mind, seeing as they didn't have enough seats, to what Ventus replied they didn't need to eat, since they could absorb energy naturally.
Netrioh then snapped his fingers and several demonesses came from a back door, bringing the most exotic-looking food the group ever saw. One of the waitresses almost brushed Lloyd's shoulder, who was too occupied analyzing his meal to notice the look that the female demon shot at him. Sheena also couldn't help, but notice the waitresses were wearing little more than underwear beneath their aprons.
Netrioh and he certainly would make best buddies. Sheena thought.
"What's this?" Lloyd asked, looking at a piece of steak with a brown sauce, which seemed to be bubbling.
"Steak with Revah, a special hot sauce right from Niflheim," Netrioh said.
"And this?" Emil asked, pointing to something that looked like salad, except by the dark and blue color.
"Vitrius and Grutoh Fruits Salad. Very nutritious."
"Is there something edible to humans?" Marta asked.
"Oh, yeah. Forgot about that," Netrioh said, snapping his finger again. A female waitress immediately appeared, bowing to her master as she asked in demonic tongue what he wanted. "Human Course Number 2, please."
The demonic waitress bowed again and left for the kitchen. Before the group could say anything more, Raine reached for the exotic dishes and took a portion of each in her plate. Lloyd was about to ask her if she would really risk eating the strange dish when he noticed the gleam in Raine's eyes. Netrioh looked mildly surprised as he said:
"Sweet cheeks, you know these aren't edible to you, don't you?"
"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to eat it," Raine said, not even looking at Netrioh and already taking out her note book. Sheena widened her eyes in surprise at seeing Raine carried the book even during the meals. "This is actually the first time I had the chance to see a real sample of the so-called demonic cuisine. It's even more impressive than I thought," Raine said, her eyes gleaming as she took a piece of the steak and smelled it.
Netrioh dragged his chair a little away from Raine, since he was sitting to the Professor's left. He decided to dismiss the disturbing expression on the half-elf's face and started to talk with Ratatosk. Emil was the one that engaged in the talk, since the rash Summon Spirit refused to talk with Netrioh.
The meal for Lloyd and the others arrived after four minutes of wait. The reincarnated Efreet was really thankful the cookers had made enough for ten people, because he sure was hungry. As the red clad swordsman and the others started to dig in, two demonesses approached their table and stopped right behind Lloyd.
When the young man felt their presence, he looked from his food to them. A blue haired demoness wearing what resembled a swimsuit made of leather that had a slit that came from her collar to the middle of her belly and was held by several strings talked something to Lloyd in demonic with a smile on her face. He didn't understand a word of what the girl just said, but both she and the other demoness were looking very anxious for his answer.
"Uh… sorry. What did you say?" Lloyd asked, swallowing his food.
"They asked if you want to come to their room tonight for a party," Algrioh translated.
"Really? A party?"
"You're not really thinking of going, are you?" Marta asked.
"Well, I don't know. Can Sheena come?" he asked the demonesses. The one that talked answered in what seemed to be an affirmation.
"I take it you never went to parties before, did you?" Sheena asked with a questioning glance.
"No. Never," Lloyd admitted with a nod.
"Really? I heard that the humans were supposed to live in desperation, but that's just plain cruel! Man!" Netrioh said in reprobation, as if the idea of one not being able to come to parties was a mortal sin against universe itself.
"Anyway. If those girls are talking about the kind of party I'm thinking of, here's what's going to happen…" Sheena then inclined near Lloyd and whispered in his ear. The young man blushed a crimson tone as he exclaimed a loud "WHAT?". "Don't tell me you honestly didn't consider the possibility. Just look at who owns this place," Sheena pointed at Netrioh.
"What?" the bird demon asked, seeming genuinely confused.
Lloyd asked for Raine to help him, since she was the only one in their group that knew how to speak demonic (he didn't even want to ask Netrioh or Algrioh in fear the two might confirm his presence). Raine had stopped studying Niflheim's dishes once their food arrived and decided to help Lloyd. She spoke something to the demon girls and the two showed disappointed looks before leaving.
Lumen then asked what Raine had said to them and the half-elven woman told them:
"I said that Lloyd is Sheena's mate and that she is territorial about him."
"I think you have it wrong, Professor Water," Lumen said. "Marta is the territorial girl here."
"That's quite true," Tenebrae agreed with a nod.
"I'm not territorial!" Marta protested in a huff.
While Marta discussed with Tenebrae and Lumen, Netrioh had a sweatdrop running behind his head at seeing the discussion. He then turned to Lloyd and decided to engage in a conversation with him:
"So… is Luna really territorial?"
"Why do you keep calling us that?" Lloyd asked. "That's not our names."
"Hey, chill out, man. It's just easier for us demons to recognize you and your friends by your auras, just that."
Lloyd thought about that. Most demons always regarded him and the others by the names of their previous incarnations. He always felt that whenever the demons called them by their Summon Spirit's name it was like they were neglecting the fact they were different people now. Like their human part was insignificant.
Lloyd was brought back into the conversation when Netrioh said:
"Anyway, I know how girls can be demanding. If you want some tips, just ask good ol' Netrioh. I can even give some pointers and you can ask some of my girls for some practice," the demon bird said with a smile, as Lloyd blushed. Before he could protest, Netrioh continued. "But I seriously recommend you not to go for the Succubus, since you're a beginner, unless you're into wild things."
Lloyd was about to say something about Netrioh's sentences (considering he could feel Sheena tensing at his side. A fact that Netrioh seemed to have completely overlooked), but Emil beat him to it by saying, while stuttering:
"Th-There are S-S-Succubi here?"
"Yep. And man, are they tireless. Having them in a party is practically a blast," Netrioh replied.
"But… don't they… suck your vital energy or something?" Emil asked.
"Um… nope. They never did this to me. Well, of course, it might be because we're both demons, but…"
"Actually, contrary to popular belief, they don't," Raine suddenly said, calling the group's attention. "If that was the case, they would completely wipe out all of the male population of a species within months, considering the frequency with which they seek partners for intercourse."
"She's actually right," Ventus joined in the lecture, using his wise tone once more. "Younger Succubi, who can't control their powers well, are the ones that gave fame to their kind, since the more mature ones could blend with the population without their presence being known."
"O-oh... that's good," Emil said, sighing in relief.
"What? Don't tell me you have fear of some of those demon whores," Ratatosk said.
Th-That's not it! Emil replied.
"Really? Then what is this memory that I'm seeing of you asking your parents about demons and you freaking out when they told you about the ones that can suck the person's life out of them?"
I-I was only a child then!
As Emil kept arguing mentally with Ratatosk, the Centurions decided to discuss on the more important matters with the group, such as how they would proceed from then on. Aqua asked Netrioh about the blockade in the Hakonesia peak.
"I couldn't gather anything more about it. Seems like they'll stay until they hear you all have gone to another area," the merchant demon said.
"In that case we're cornered. Going back to Luin would have the Grand Cardinal Kvar breathing down our necks," Raine surmised. The entire group looked to her with a serious look.
As they thought on a solution for that predicament, Ignis suddenly asked Netrioh:
"Can't you help us, Sir Netrioh?"
Ratatosk's eyes widened while Emil was still in control. The Lord of the Monsters was about to make Emil speak to deny that request, but the damage had already been done:
"What? You really want my help?" Ratatosk was about to take control and yell out in refusal, but Netrioh didn't give him the chance. "Of course I can help my good buddy Ratatosk!" the demon said with a smile.
Ratatosk cursed Ignis, but thankfully Emil was able to keep in control, so the insult didn't leave their minds. Tenebrae asked Netrioh how he could make them pass through a whole army of demons without being noticed. The demon merchant gave off a confident smirk as he said:
"Just leave that to me. I have a debt to pay to my buddy anyways."
Lloyd, Marta and Sheena looked with curiosity from Netrioh then to Emil. The blonde tried to ask for an explanation from Ratatosk, but the Summon Spirit diminished their link, leaving it clear he didn't want to be bothered with that. The swordsman then asked the Centurions if they knew something.
"Sorry, Lord Emil, but we were created after the War for the Young Aselia," Tenebrae said. "As such, we do not have any memories from the time."
"Lord Ratatosk passed his knowledge about demons to us when we were created," Aqua said. "But we never actually had any direct contact with them. I'm sorry."
"No, it's ok," Marta said.
"Ok, now I think it's time for you all to go to bed," Raine said.
"Who are you? Our mother?" Sheena complained.
"No, but I'm sure you're all tired from today's battles, so it's best that you go rest," Raine said, although her tone made the younger members of the party remember their mothers.
They all got up and eventually left the dining hall. Raine, however, stayed behind, still sitting in the table while watching the others go. Once she saw that they all had left, she turned to the master of the fort and asked:
"Netrioh. Since you have information on the demonic invasion troops, would you also happen to have some sort of list of the names of the Desians?"
"Sure I do. But why are you asking me about that?" Netrioh asked, at first in the friendly tone he used to talk with Ratatosk, but soon reverting to a business-like one.
"Do you often question your clients' motives?"
"Who asked what?" Netrioh said with a charming smile.
Algrioh looked to Raine with interest. She had been with Netrioh long enough to know how he did business and what his strategies were and before that she had been in the Merchant Clan long enough to recognize what kind of client they were dealing with. Netrioh and Algrioh could tell Raine was the kind of client who liked to get to the point and have her request done with within the stipulated time with no questions asked. Raine then asked:
"Would you be so kind as to tell me if there's a certain name in the Desian rankings?"
"Sorry. Even if you are one of my pal's girls, I don't do business out of charity, since that concept doesn't even exist to us demons, babe," Netrioh said with a light smile.
"If you want it, you'll have to pay. And we're not talking about the currency you use here," Algrioh said, referring to Gald. "That doesn't have any value in our realm. We only take relics."
"You mean, valuable artifacts?" Raine asked, raising her eyebrow.
"If by valuable you mean powerful or with some kind of magical properties, yeah," Algrioh said.
Raine thought for a moment. She indeed had some materials that could be considered valuable to the demon, but the problem was in the fact that they all belonged to the history of the civilizations of Aselia and were very important research materials. She would rather have to cut off one limb than to lose any of them. Seeing her expression, Netrioh said:
"If you don't want to give up any of them, we accept favors," Raine shot a glare to the merchant demon. "Whoa, whoa! It's nothing like giving me your soul or anything," Netrioh shook his hands in front of him while saying that, before reverting to his business pose. "It's just like that saying you humans have here; 'you scratch my back, I scratch yours,'" Raine continued to glare at Netrioh, who knew that look very well, although he received it from few other clients. "Ok, ok. Nothing of sexual favors. Damn. And you looked like the type that has intellectual hotness."
"Are you into girls?" Algrioh asked, hopefully. However, Raine shook her head. The demoness sighed.
"If you accept these conditions, it's a deal," Raine said.
Netrioh agreed, though a little reluctant. Still, he couldn't refuse an opportunity to collect favors whenever it came to him. Even more if it was from a Summon Spirit. He held back his grin at thinking the green envy in the faces of everybody back in the Merchant Clan as he shook hands with Raine, sealing the deal.
"Alright then..." Netrioh said. "Who's the guy you're looking for?"
- / - / - / - / -
Lloyd woke up as the sun was beating down on his face. He squinted his eyes at the clarity and tried to move, but discovered there was something around his midsection that was restricting his movements. Opening his eyes, the red clad swordsman saw that it was Sheena, who apparently had hugged him in their sleep and wore a content smile on her face.
He remembered Sheena insisting that they share the bed the other night and he had given in. She also had put a seal card on the door as a "security measure". Lloyd couldn't help, but notice how beautiful the voluptuous woman looked while sleeping with that smile on her face.
The dual swordsman then picked up a smell in the air. Lavender. And it was coming from Sheena's hair. She probably washed it. He found out he quite liked the smell and it fit her somehow. Sheena then snuggled closer to him in her sleep and now Lloyd felt she pressing herself against him, also giving the young man a good view of her cleavage.
Lloyd felt heat crawling up his face at seeing and feeling Sheena's ample bosom. Sometimes, he wondered how a guy like him ended up in situations like this. It was not like he had anything special to attract the attention of a woman like Sheena (not minding the Summon Spirit thing). Sheena snuggled even closer, pressing her entire body on him. Under the five shades of red in his face, Lloyd started to wonder what she was dreaming of.
It was then a loud "thump" sounded, followed by the sound of electricity clacking and an "OW!". That woke Sheena up, who slowly opened her eyes. She then noticed her position with Lloyd, who was now sweating and wondering if he shouldn't have tried to escape before. However, the female ninja just smiled at him, saying in a soft tone:
"Mind if I go back to sleep? It's so comfortable this way," before Lloyd could even answer, there was another "thump" and an "OW!" at the other side of the door. Sheena grumbled under her breath at the noise. "Oh, for the love of…" the violet haired woman got up and walked to the door, opening it to find Netrioh in the hallway, holding his apparently smoking hand. "What do you want?"
"Sheesh, sorry if I interrupted," Netrioh said. "But sweet cheeks said for me to wake you all up. By the way, did you seal your door?"
"It was just a safety caution in case you or any of your crew decided to sneak in," Sheena replied in a sharp tone, removing the seal card from her door.
"Just so you know, I only get in threesomes if it evolves two girls, one bed and..."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sheena said, slamming the door on Netrioh.
After she heard the demon bird sigh and go away, she and Lloyd started to dress themselves (with their backs turned to each other). After getting ready, the two exited and met Ignis and Lumen in the hallway, who greeted them in a cheerful voice:
"Rise and Shine!" the two Centurions said, with smiles, at the same time.
"What's that all about?" Lloyd asked.
"Isn't it what humans do when they greet each other in the morning?" Ignis asked.
"Not exactly."
"Oh. Ok then," Ignis said. Five seconds passed before she spoke up, apparently having forgotten what they just talked about. "Rise and Shine!"
Sheena sweatdropped at that.
Lloyd, Sheena and the two Centurions went to the dining hall, where the others were reunited. They joined their friends and asked how they passed the night. Marta was the first to start complaining:
"Can you believe those demon hags knocked on our door and asked if we wanted room service?"
"What's wrong with a midnight snack?" Lloyd asked.
"Apparently, they only understand room service as being the signal for them to start stripping in your room. I had to enter in spirit form to push them away with a typhoon. Poor Emil almost passed out," she said the last part with a visibly softer tone as she looked to Emil, although it was Ratatosk who was controlling the body now.
"That's just because he's a wimp. Honestly, passing out just by seeing a woman stripping off her clothes," the Summon Spirit said.
"Yeah, Lord Ratatosk didn't even pass out when Celsius did it in front of him," Ignis said.
"WHAT?" Marta shouted and Ratatosk choked with the fruits from that world brought to him.
"You mean ice-queen Celsius?" Netrioh asked. "Man, I heard she was the hardest of the Summon Spirit chicks to get. Way to go buddy!"
"I-It's in the past! It's not like it makes any difference now," Ratatosk said.
"And what exactly is in the past?" Marta asked, her tone a dangerous one.
Ratatosk gulped and tried to dodge the question:
"What was that that you were asking Ventus?"
"I didn't ask anything, my Lord," the bird-like Centurion said, but Ratatosk cut him off before he could continue.
"Yes, you did! Now spill it!"
Marta continued to glare as Ratatosk engaged in an one-sided conversation with Ventus. Raine and the rest of the group asked Netrioh about his offer to help them leave the region.
"They arrived just this morning and are already loaded with supplies for you all to leave," Netrioh said with a proud smile.
"'They?'" Sheena asked.
"Come with me to the landing balcony and I'll show you."
After the group ended their breakfast, they all followed Netrioh and Algrioh to the balcony he referred to. It was actually a large, circular platform with some short of emblem drawn from the stones in the ground. They could see the sea from that point and around the platform, seeming to be waiting for them, were...
"Dragons?" Lloyd voiced everybody's thought.
Three sky-blue dragons with oranges horns, wings and claws were positioned around the circle with saddles on their backs big enough to accommodate two people. Netrioh spoke up:
"Yep. The best carriers I've ever seen in this world."
"We needed some kind of creature which could transport heavy charges to our agents spread around this world," Algrioh explained. "So, we came across these creatures and decided to use them."
"Yes, but they're my servants, you know?" Ratatosk said, eying Netrioh by the corner of his eye. "So I'm taking them back."
"Oh, c'mon, Ratatosk, my pal. I've been taking good care of them. Can't you at least let me borrow them for a while?" Netrioh asked.
Ratatosk was about to reply, but Marta, who had went to check on the dragons with Raine and the others said that the monster were, indeed, in a healthy shape. The brunette had stayed around Emil/Ratatosk long enough to understand some things about monsters.
"I don't see why we shouldn't let your friend use them, if he has been taking good care of the dragons during this entire time," Tenebrae said.
"Alright, alright. Fine," Ratatosk said, sighing. "But I'll summon them should I see the necessity."
"Yes! Thanks a lot, buddy! Anything you need at all, just call me; the greatest merchant and dealer in all over the world of Aselia," Netrioh said, flashing a smile at Ratatosk, who immediately started to regret what he just said. "Anyway, where are you guys going? I don't think it's a good idea you hanging around this region and the forces on Palmacosta are on high alert in case you pass through the Hakonesia peak without them noticing."
"I guessed as much and already devised a route with the help of Ventus," Raine said.
"Since we don't have any other leads to the reincarnated Summon Spirits, we should go back to our previous quest and collect the Centurions' cores," Ventus said.
"In that case, we're going to the Meltokio region," Emil said. "But I doubt that we can use these dragons seeing that they couldn't stand traveling across the sea."
"We won't. We're going to stop at Iselia and take a boat to Meltokio."
"Ok, then let's go!" Lloyd said. He then turned to the dragons. "I'm actually pretty excited to ride on one of these dragons. That sounds awesome!"
"Yep, it is," Ignis said.
"Ignis, you never actually rode on a dragon before," Aqua said.
"Of course I did," the Centurion of fire protested. "Don't you remember that time when the humans were hunting for dragon scales for the production of anti-magic armors? I had to lead an entire colony while you and the others lead the dragons of your respective elements into hiding so the species wouldn't be hunted down to extinction."
The entire group stayed silent at Ignis' tone. Raine was even more surprised that Ignis was actually correct about that particular event during the Kharlan War. Netrioh whistled, saying:
"Never figured you were that smart," he then turned to Emil. "But thinking again, my buddy always had a pretty refined taste for girls, am I right or not? Heh?" he gave nudged Emil with his shoulder. The blonde could feel Marta glaring at him from behind.
The group selected who would ride on each dragon; Marta decided to go with Raine for a change (although she clearly was still angry at Ratatosk), Sheena and Lloyd would ride together while Emil would go alone on his dragon, but since he had Ratatosk's knowledge about monsters he would be fine. As they adjusted themselves on the saddles, Algrioh and Netrioh gave their farewells to the group, the former saying:
"Come whenever you want, buddy. And bring your friends so we can have a mad party!" the merchant demon winked at end of his phrase in a not-to-subtle manner.
"Hell no!" Ratatosk exclaimed on Emil's mind. "I already have enough trouble without that idiot adding fuel to the fire."
The group took flight to the northwest skies, keeping themselves above the clouds to avoid possible aerial scouts. After they passed above the Hima mountains and the Altamira sea, they would arrive near the Triet region once more, from there they could make their way to the capital Iselia, one of the biggest centers of the Church of Cruxis in Aselia...
End of Act II
Notes: As you can guess, Chaos Soldiers are the "Demon" monsters from ToS 1.