Chapter 2: The Hyperactive Girl and the Black Swordsman

Renee and her new companions walked down a cliff side road. Ellis looked at Renee, inspecting her clothes. They were unlike anything she had ever seen. Perhaps too advanced in her world.

"Miss Roberts?" Ellis asked.

Renee looked at Ellis with a small smile. "Please, call me Renee. What is it, Ellis?"

"I was wondering about your clothes. They're unlike anything I have ever seen." Ellis' gaze was transfixed on Renee's clothes. Where could she get some that were like that?

"..." Renee looked at her clothes like they were nothing special. Perhaps she stood out wearing them? She finally spoke after ten seconds. "They're from wherever I'm from. Problem is I have no idea who I am or where I came from..."

Leonhardt and Ellis both snapped their gazes towards Renee's face.

"Wait... Could it be that you have... amensia?!" Leonhardt gasped.

"She's not the only one..." Yuri said for the first time in ages. "The Princess and I also lost our memories of our homes and perhaps real names..." He sighed as crossed his arms and closed his eyes in introspection..

Noire huffed again and crossed her arms. "W-What did I tell you about calling me princess, knight?" she muttered.

'Knight'... Yuri frowned at the word. The nonchalant yet mature air he carried himself with drifted away as feelings of spite grew in his person, ending up in his clenching right hand. The sensation was only momentary, though, and he calmed himself down soon after.

All of a sudden, Borgnine stopped and the others followed suit immediately after. A huge boulder blocked their path. It was so large that it would be impossible to get around it.

Yuri frowned. "Damn... This is the only way to Ellis' village..."

"Now what should we do?! Head back and faced whatever soldiers Leonhardt keeps talking about?!" Noire shouted.

The mysterious woman with Leonhardt stepped forward. "If you want to reach your goal... sometimes, you have to use brute force. Do you understand?" she stated stoically.

After a moment of thinking, Leonhardt nodded. "Of course, Dyshana. Everyone, we must destroy that boulder blocking our path!"

"Dyshana, huh? That's your friend's name? If she suggests it, then let's crave a hole through that boulder!" Yuri smirked as he unsheathed his katana and held it out in his left hand, ready for a fight.

"If my blade breaks, you're responsible for this, Leonhardt!" Despite her aggression, Noire stood tall and upright as she pulled out a rapier that she made materialize in a flash of light.

Borgnine got into a battle stance. Ellis got out a wand with feathers on it.

Leonhardt got out his sword that reflected the sun brightly off its golden tip.

"... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah..." came the faintest of screams from above that was accompanied by a faint whistling.

Renee, like the others, felt her adrenaline dissolve in confusion. "What the..." she muttered.

Ellis, looking up, gasped and pointed. "Leo! Look up there!"

Everyone looked towards the sky where the young girl was pointing. The details were hard to make out this far away but something — or, rather, someone — was falling.

"Waaaaaah! Why am I always falling?!" the little girl above screamed. As she got nearer, the party could make out their appearance more clearly. Her white hoodie-dress, complete with light blue stripes on the arm sides, a large purple 'N' zipper head and purple hood, flapped viciously in her descent much like her arms that were trying oh so hard to slow her down. The splaying bangs of her light purple hair, which was decorated with two white d-pad hairclips, were also shaking wildly. Her legs also viciously kicked in the air, allowing the party to see her white and light blue knee socks, purple and white shoes with an N on the 'tongue'.

Suddenly, her screaming stopped. She opened her eyes and looked down — or, rather, 'up' from her perspective — to see the party below. "Hey look, a cute g—"
She was abruptly interrupted by her collision with the boulder. The collision carried so much force that the boulder was completely annihilated. The group coughed as dirt and dust were flung into the air. As it settled, they opened their eyes and saw the girl laying on the ground, unmoving.

The young swordsman rushed up to the falling girl and checked her pulse. Fortunately, she was still breathing.

Yuri whistled. "No one could have survived a fall like that. Guess she was lucky or something." He shrugged.

Noire, for the first time since the party's formation, was shocked silent. She walked up to and bent down to the girl. As she inspected her, she felt small sparks at the corners of her mind, flaring at every individual detail Noire subconsciously observed. She didn't know how but she knew this girl. The sparks became more and more insistent as they tried to jump-start her memory.
Noire's eyes widened as those sparks turned into a full-on lightning bolt.

"We have to get her to Ellis' village, NOW!" she shouted as she turned to Leo.

Leo leaned back from Noire's sudden outburst but he nodded. The swordsman turned to Ellis with urgency. "How far is your village? This girl is alive but needs medical treatment."

"It's not far from here," Ellis answered. "If she's hurt, we need to hurry. Borgnine, carry her please."

"As you wish, Master," answered the large creature as he picked the fallen girl up in his large arms.

"Alright, let's hurry!" Renee stated. Everyone nodded in agreement as they hurried on to Ellis' village.

At a fortified kingdom, a man perhaps of 30 years with blond hair, silver armor with gold designs with a black cape and sword was having a meeting. His name was Melchior.

"The bridgehead to the Frontier is ours. All we need to do now is realign the troops and make our attack," he informed the old man sitting next to him.

Largen, a warrior who was beginning to show his age, wore light blue armor and a white cape. He rubbed his fingers together anxiously. "Was an army of that scale really necessary?" He questioned.

Melchior looked at the one questioning him with a serious look. "What a strange thing to hear. And from you of all people, Largen. Have you forgotten about Hovos? Do you not remember how much we lost in our attack on that puny settlement? Syrium and elves are relics of the past. They, along with their heretical powers, shall fall." Melchior turned and leaned towards Largen with an unblinking gaze. "Don't you agree?"

The old warrior looked down. "You are correct, of course... but this campaign is stretching our resources to the limit."

Melchior gave a small chuckle. "That is why it shall be a quick battle. Strength must be focused to be effective. Spreading our forces widely will not serve our purpose. Our countrymen will need convincing if they are to supply us with reinforcements. If this battle is successful, our case will be made. Will you help me?"

The old general was silent for about a minute. "... Very well."
-

Renee and her friends and their wounded arrived in Ellis' village, Dodone. They checked in at an inn where, very coincidentally, Ellis remembered that she had an affinity for healing magic. She wasted no time in using her talents to treat the purple haired girl's wounds.

Leo sat on the bed beside the girl and conversed with the tsundere. "Noire, do you know this girl?" the swordsman asked her.

Noire's face was slightly red and she kept her eyes away from Leo's. "Y-Yeah... I think... Her name's Neptune and she's... she's m-my..."

"Friend?" Ellis guessed.

Noire abruptly looked away. "S-Something like that. But we're more like rivals and that's all there is to it!"

Renee smirked. "You don't have any friends, do you?"

The crimson on Noire's face flared up. "O-Of course I have a friend! It's Neptune! W-Wait! Augh... damn it..." Noire rubbed her temples in frustration.

Dyshana cleared her throat, getting the attention of those in the room. "It is time you know about this world," she began as calmly as ever. "This world is called Agarest and, currently, it is besieged by darkness, a darkness known only as the Dark King, Summeril. Gridamas, the kingdom that Leonhardt once served, is being controlled by Summeril's forces and the kingdom has declared war on the Frontier."

Eyebrow raised, Yuri turned to Leo. "You were once a soldier in this Gridamas kingdom?"

Leo looked down in sorrow. "Yes... I helped Gridamas destroy homes and kill innocent people till I finally realized the wrongdoings Gridamas had forced me to commit and tried to fight back. I saved Ellis but it cost me my life at the hands of Melchoir's warrior. That warrior was pure evil and black as onyx..." Leo tightened his fist, the image of his dark adversary plaguing his mind once again.

"Wait..." Renee's started with hesitation, "if this Melchior guy killed you, then how are you still alive?"

Leo smiled and pointed to Dyshana. "She appeared when I was at death's door and revived me. In return, I offered my life along with those of my descendants'."
Dyshana said nothing as she folded her arms.

Renee was silent for a moment until she frowned. "If you're thinking of me helping you save this world, I'm not gonna help you."

"Same here. I don't deal with petty squabbles," Noire nodded.

Dyshana smirked. The effect was rather eerie as the corners of her mouth hadn't even twitched until that point. "What if I told you Summeril has something to do with your lost memories?"

"Pardon?"

"Huh?" Renee and Noire looked at Dyshana in question.

"Summeril is the reason you three, along with others, had been cast out of your worlds. Summeril wishes to expand his evil empire across the omniverse. If something isn't done, Summeril will rule all creation. If you travel with Leonhardt and those close to him, your memories will return. I am asking you to help save this world along with other worlds..."

Renee and Noire looked at Dyshana with serious looks till they sighed. "Fine..." they both muttered.

Yuri was silent as he looked away.

Neptune groaned and stirred as she began to wake up. She opened her eyes and noticed Leo sitting next to her. She screamed in surprise, catching the attention of the others who were surprised in turn (except for Dyshana, obviously). "What did you do to me?!" she shouted at the swordsman. "Did you take my virginity or something?! Noooooooo! Now I'll never meet a cute boy!" Neptune clutched her head and rocked back and forth.

"W-Wait! You got it all wrong!" Leo waved his arms up and down frantically. Perhaps sitting next to the girl was a bad idea.

"Geez, Neptune, do you have to jump to conclusions?!" The tsundere growled as she puts her hands on her hips.

The girl in question blinked as she looked at Noire and asked "Who are you? And how do you know my name? Are you like a fan of mine or perhaps a stalker?"

Noire lost her hubris and scowl. Her face softened as she looked at the girl she called a friend. "D-Don't you remember me, Neptune..?"

Neptune tilted her head and stared at Noire. She continued staring for roughly twenty seconds until she gasped. "Holy crapparoni! Noire?!" She got out of bed, knocking Leo to the floor inadvertently, and tackle-hugged the tsundere.

"Aaaaaaah! Get off me!" Noire growled as her face turned beet red.

After everyone got back up and their limbs untangled, Leo and his friends introduced themselves (except for Noire, obviously).

Neptune's eyes glittered with excitement as she beamed energetically. "My name's Neptune and I guess I'm one of those secret DLC characters!"

"Huh?" Leo, Ellis, Renee and Yuri merely sounded.

Noire sighed. "Don't ask... So, what's our next course of action?"

The rest of the party thought seriously. Ellis then perked up. "I know! We should visit my grandfather further from here!"

"Excellent idea, Ellis," praised Leo with a smile. "I shall see to it that you get back to your grandfather's place. He might be able to help us."

"Coolios, we got like a planned route or something. What a plot twist! Me and Noire have amnesia along with two others like us and some evil dude is out trying to conquer this world! This is the best virtual reality game ever!" The hyperactive girl pumped her fist in the air.
Yuri sighed and shook his head, muttering something under his breath.

Soon after, they left Dodone and were on their way to Ellis' grandfather's home.

"I'm hungry..." Neptune moaned, much to the dismay of her acquaintances as they trudged along the path. "Are we there yet? Can we take a break?"

Yuri sighed, rubbing his temples. "You've got a hell of a friend there, princess."
"Stop calling me princess!" Noire shouted back.
Neptune perked up. "Princess? Oh, that's a cute name! Can I call you that, Noire?"
"NO!" Noire yelled.

Ellis forced out a chuckle. "It's not much farther, miss Neptune. Once we cross this forest, we'll be at my grandfather's home."

That brighten Neptune's mood. "OK! Leo! Renny! Noire! Elly's leading us to the right path!"

"We know, Neptune..." Renee stated through gritted teeth. Suddenly, Borgnine tensed as he got into his battle stance.

"What's wrong, Borgnine?" Ellis asked her larva in concern.

Suddenly, bandits appeared with their blades drawn.

"Damn it, bandits!" Leo growled as he grasped the hilt of his sword.

"Hand over your possessions and maybe we'll let you live," one of the bandits 'suggested' with an unpleasant smirk.

"Over our dead bodies!" Noire got out her sword and slashed the first bandit five times with her rapier.

"Azure Edge!" Yuri used his katana to kill a bandit with two slashes empowered with wind magic.

Renee was cornered by three bandits but remained unfazed. She grabbed two of the bandits by their collars and leaped up into the air. She threw a punch at each of them, knocking them out, and dropkicked the third on her way down.

Two bandits tried to slash Borgnine but the larvae killed them with his claws before they could reach him.

Neptune made a wooden sword appear much like how Noire summoned her rapier. "Cross Combination!" she shouted as she slashed five bandits five times, killing them.

Leo killed a bandit with a downward slash and looked around for more enemies.

"AH!" Ellis screamed, making everyone turn to her. The bandit leader held a knife to her throat as he stood behind her, using her as a shield.

"All of you hand over your gold or this elf gets it!" the bandit leader growled.

"Well, I can safely say I haven't seen this kind of situation before," Yuri remarked with a roll of his eyes.

"Damn you..." Noire growled. However, completely from out of the blue, the bandit leader screamed in agony as he coughed up blood. His dead grip loosened on Ellis, who took the opportunity to run over to Leo and hug him.

The bandits, now trembling after seeing their leader dead, ran away.

The others looked towards the fallen bandit leader. Standing behind him was a teenage boy, clad in clothes black as his hair. Black pants, a black belt with a large silver buckle, a black V-necked shirt that was worn underneath a black trench-coat with gray lines going down the sleeves and black boots with silver plates to protect his shins made him look like a medieval knight from the modern era. He wore a silver plate on the left side of his coat and a pair of black fingerless gloves. A strap went over and then under his right shoulder to wrap around his left side. He carried two swords on his back, one green and one black. The most notable thing about him, however, was a black bracelet on his left arm. It was similar to Renee's but with a quartz.

The boy sheathed his swords and looked at the party. Neptune rushed up to him and giggled excitedly. "That was awesomesauce! You saved Elly before she was given the Game Over flag!"

The boy chuckled nervously. "Um... thanks. I couldn't stand by while this girl was about to be killed."

"You have my gratitude. Thank you for helping our friend," Leo smiled.

"No problem. My name's Kirito. By the way, can you tell me where the hell I am?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Kirito, huh? Name's Yuri Lowell." Yuri walked up to him before turning to the party. "Well Leo, this is where we part ways."

"Wah!? B-B-B-B-But why?! Don't you like to hang around with us or something?!" Neptune wailed, shocked as much as the others.

"Damn it, knight! Don't you remember what Dyshana said about traveling with Leo?! He knows this world more than we do! You can't just leave us like that!" Noire fumed.

"Please, Mister Lowell! Please don't leave us!" Ellis looked at the swordsman, begging with her hands clasped together.

Yuri looked at the elven girl's eyes. For some strange reason, he recalled that look, albeit faintly. He subconsciously remembered in greater detail, however, what that look was capable of. But, no matter what, he couldn't give i—

"Fine..." he groaned, frowning all the while.

Dyshana looked at the setting sun. "It's getting late. We must make camp," she informed them.

The campfire was made and Borgnine was keeping watch.

Ellis turned to Renee. "Renee? What's your world like? Are you... homesick?"

Renee looked back at the elf, slightly taken aback. She blushed slightly. "Y-Yeah, just a little... Well, what about you, Yuri? Have you remembered anything about your world?" She asked the sarcastic swordsman.

"Hmm? Well, I think I was a knight in my world, but damn... I can't remember anything else..." Yuri sighed.

Ellis turned to Noire and Neptune while the latter was eating some meat of a boar Leo killed.
"Miss Neptune, Noire... are you thinking about home? Are you worried about your friends and family?"

"What? Well, yeah... but I dunno if I had family or friends other than Neptune..." Noire muttered as she looked away.

Neptune finished her boar and patted her stomach. "Ya know, I haven't thought about family or friends since I have amnesia but I'm sure it'll come back to me eventually! What about you, Kirito?" Neptune winked at the black swordsman, who recoiled instinctively.

"I... I have no idea where I'm from. I woke up in this world when I found a bracelet like Renee's. I put it on and, next thing I know, it won't come off and I have a strange tattoo that is now part of my flesh. See?" Kirito took off his shirt to show everyone the tattoo similar to the ones Renee and Yuri had, only with a black and silver color.

"Damn... Guess you're in the same boat as us," Yuri sighed.

Leo looked at his friends. "I do not know what connections you have with those bracelets but I will do what I can to help you get them off. Perhaps Dyshana knows?" He turned to Dyshana, who was sipping her tea.

She looked at the party with her usual cold eyes. "I will explain at another time. Right now, we need to rest up for our destination."

"She's right. We need to get up tomorrow for the trip to Ellis' grandfather's place," Renee stated as she pulled a sheet over her body. It was nice of Leo to give her something to sleep in...

"Ok!" Everyone nodded in agreement. Soon afterwards, the heroes slept for the night.

To be continued...

Next chapter: The Path We Walk

A/N: Okay, folks. I decided to add a few more anime into this to go with the ones I mentioned in my ROAW Blog. Anyway, I decided to put in a character voting system in this story. So if you like the selected character to appear in this fic, here are the nominatees:

1: Medaka Kurokami from Medaka Box

2.: The gang from Bleach before Azien appears

3: Nobuda Oda and Yoshiharu Sagara from the Ambition of Nobuda Oda

4.: Card Captor Sakura and her friends

and 5: The Tenchi Muyou gang

Note only 2 will appear in Generation 2, the remaining 3 will appear in either Gens 3, 4 or 5.

Ok, enough from me, see you next time!