Chapter 23: A New Mission and Bonding
A few days later...
In Zelzagun Fortress, Luana returned with some news from King Gunther.
"What did King Gunther say?" Tsubasa asked, crossing her arms.
Luana smiled warmly which made Jean drooled and she replied with "His Majesty trusts your discretion. The troops from Rigulus are under your command, if you required them."
Ellis looked at Leo and Renee worriedly and asked them in concern "Is there going to be more fighting?"
Leo looked at Ellis with caring eyes and told her "Forgive us, Ellis. The last thing we wanna do was involving you." The Spirit Vessel closed his eyes and added "Teonor would be furious with me if he knew I had put you in so much danger."
"You don't have to fight if you want to." Renee told her like a motherly figure.
"I do not think he would. Besides, I have both you and Renee with me along with Borgnine." Ellis closed her eyes and kept a smile under the peer pressure.
Leo smiled as well and he replied with "Yes, I am. I promised to protect you, at any costs."
"True." Renee let out a small smile.
"With you and Renee to protect me, I could never be scared."
Leo smiled and nodded by replying "I see..." His smile faded as he turned to face Luana and asked her "Luana, what word from Gridamas?"
Luana frowned by reporting "I have sent my envoy to Pleuron, but Gridamas has been silent so far."
Winfield crossed his arms and asked suspiciously "Strange... They've lost their foothold on the Frontier... Why had they not made a move?"
"I believe they must be planning something." Clank theorized.
"I agree with the little metal man on this one..." Zerva frowned, agreeing with Clank.
"I know little of plans, but strange things are afoot in Gridamas. The scout we sent to Gridamas has reported an attack by goblins, orcs and zombie forces." Luana stated in her report, then took a deep breath and added in "It was no isolated event: My scout says there are many reports of orcs, goblins and zombie minions of Summeril near Pleuron."
"Pleuron is near the Frontier... Orcs and goblins are nothing strange. But the zombies... That's another story." Winfield raised an eyebrow.
"Normally, I would agree with you, my dear, but it seems the orcs, goblins and zombies are organized. Their behavior suggests they are taking orders from someone." Luana closed her eyes and began to ponder this.
"Impossible. The goblins and orcs had sooner kill one another than band together. At most, they can manage small tribes. An alliance would be destroyed by infighting." Zerva deduced.
Borgnine then stepped forward and said stoically "I sense something familiar."
Ellis looked at her larva in confusion and asked him "What do you mean, Borgnine?"
Borgnine remained calm and muttered loud enough for the party to hear. "Something has been bothering me. The Dark Knight..."
"You mean the creep that we fought when we first met Winfield and the one who killed Leo before?" Rei asked, afraid that she and the others might fight that thing again.
Borgnine nodded and said calmly "He did not feel human... He felt like me."
"Like you? Oh my. That is hardly something we can ignore." Vira-Lorr gasped in mild surprise, then she added "Under normal conditions, we mortals cannot see larvae."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chris frowned, her arms crossed.
"This is because they are not of this world. They are gods."
"So that is its trump card..." Zerva frowned upon realizing that.
As the rest of the party pondered this, Leo turned to Largen and asked him "Largen, what is happening in Gridamas?"
"I have no idea. The whole country seems to have gone mad since the Dark Knight appeared. It has been worse of late, however... Ever since the attacks on the Frontier began, in fact." Largen sighed as he looked down, despontely.
"Maybe it's because a certain idiot broke the seal on the cave where the Bracelet of the Covenant was." IF guessed as she, Rei, Fyuria and Saya glared at Winfield who sweat dropped nervously.
Winfield sighed and looked down, defeated and muttering "You, ah, may have a point. I admit, the timing is a bit too perfect."
"It matters little... If you surround Pleuron, they will have little choice but to negotiate." Largen pointed out.
"I had hoped it would not come to this, but we have little choice if Gridamas refuses our envoy." Leo sighed.
"Then we must decide how we will move on to Pleuron." Elaine stated as she looked at the map of Lucrellia. "The southern route would be fast, but almost certainly heavily guarded." She pointed to the southern route, then to another area. "We could also circle around the Mudus River, and attack from their flank. It would be a bit of a detour, but the chances of encountering resistance are next to nothing." Then Elaine pointed to a lake. "We could also travel across Fuvemill Lake. It will be entirely unguarded, and the psychological impact of a surprise attack would be significant." The former female Gridamas general sighed by adding in "Unfortunately, transport is in short supply-we would be forced to leave much of our force behind. We would march on to Pleuron with very few men, and would likely be outnumbered. At any rate, we must make our decision quickly, lest we lose more time. We must surround Pleuron before they can solidify their defenses."
"What would it be, Leo?" Renee turned to the Spirit Vessel for answers.
"We'll travel to Fuvemill Lake. However, such an action with it a not so insignificant amount of risk. If we can attack from behind while the enemy falters, we could settle this battle in one fell swoop. It is, no doubt, dangerous, but if we should succeed, the effect will be tremendous." Leo calculated.
"Then you would avoid a battle, and frighten them into submission?" Winfield figured, then smiled and added "A decent plan, but much of it depends on our timely arrival."
"Then let's get prep for the journey then." Jak agreed.
"I'm with ya on that." Ratchet nodded in agreement.
With preparations being readied, our heroes took the time to have some R and R in Zelzagun Fortress. Leo took the time to check on some of his companions. First up, Charlotte.
Charlotte checked her amulet of Summerill in worry. Will she ever get it off before she becomes the Demon King's slave forever? She heard a knock on her door.
"C-Come in." Charlotte spoke nervously. Leo opened the door and came in.
"Charlotte, I just wanted to check up on you to make sure everything is okay." Leo smiled as he looked at Charlotte.
"A-Arigato, Leo-kun." Charlotte bowed her head lightly in gratitude. Leo and Charlotte looked at each other for about 30 seconds until Charlotte said "...You're really nice like Ichika."
"Ichika? Who is that?" Leo asked, eyebrow raised and arms folded.
"He's someone I admired back in my world. When I enrolled at the IS Academy, I met him when posing as a boy who can somehow use a IS which stands for Infinite Stratos. He was really nice and showed me to reveal my true gender to the other female students of the Academy." Charlotte blushed as she looked away, rather shy.
"So... Why did you enroll in this IS Academy?" Leo asked, a gentle smile across his lips.
"..." Charlotte looked down, rather depressed. Leo could sense it.
"You don't have to tell me if you want to." The Spirit Vessel reassured her.
"...My father have me enrolled there as a spy for his company that develops ISes. His company was on the verge of ruin and the only way to save it is by stealing data from other IS companies in other companies. Somehow, he knew that Ichika can use a IS even if he is a male and wants me to steal data on it... If I don't do as he says, my father might wage war on the countries of my world..." Charlotte looked at the mirror, she can see a sad reflection of herself.
"You should expose your father for the villain he is..." Leo frowned.
"Hmm?" Charlotte looked up and turned to face Leo, a bit shocked.
"When you get Summerill's trinket off of you and returned to your world with your friends, you should use what connections your family has to bring your father down. Even if it means the end of your father's company, you always have friends who looked after you." Leo smiled.
"I-Ichika said the exact same thing to me when he cheered me up, minus the Summerill part. ...Leo, thank you." Charlotte smiled softly. "...Would it be alright if you called me Char as in a nickname?"
"Of course, Char." Leo nodded with a smile. He looked over his shoulder to see Paiway Underberg hiding away. He figured she must have overheard the conversation. He knows some of the Vandread females are still unhappy with him as their leader due to their slight resentment of males. He will make sure Paiway doesn't do anything stupid that'll make her friends revolt against Leo.
Leo then decided to check up on Gascogne.
He sees Gascogne shuffling some cards. She noticed Leo and smiled softly by saying "General Leo. Come on in. I can use some company."
"Of course." Leo nodded as he took a seat in Gascogne's room. "I didn't know you were into cards, Gascogne." Leo asked, looking at the card which is alien to him.
"Been playing poker since I was born. I am the best in my crew. Say... Let's say we have a little game, shall we?" Gascogne smiled as she shuffled her deck. "Tokai never managed to beat me, since you're a damn good strategist, I wanna test your skills at playing cards. These cards are different from your world cause they came from my universe. I'll show you the ropes."
"It would be a honor, Gascogne." Leo smiled as Gascogne teaches him everything about poker and blackjack.
One hour later...
"Royal Flush." Leo smirked as he lays his cards down, he has won the game on his first try.
"Well I'll be damned. You beat me on your first game!" Gascogne whistled. "You're no rookie in strategy, aren't you? Where did you learn such good tactics?"
"My father, Lord Ragian taught me everything he knows about battle tactics and war. He taught me before he was slain by Melchior and the other houses of Gridamas..." Leo sighed, looking down, memories of his father's death came flooding in.
"Oh... Sorry to hear that." Gascogne said in sympathy for her new commanding officer.
"It's alright. I learned from my past mistakes and have met such wonderful friends from this world and other universes. I know almost all of you are wearing the Demon King's cursed trinkets. But I will do whatever it takes to get them off all of you. You have my word." Leo did his family's salute. (AKA the Attack on Titan salute.)
"I'll keep your word on it, General Leo." Gascogne smiled as she copied Leo's salute.
Next up, Tsubasa.
Leo heard singing from Tsubasa's room. Curious, he decided to enter the room after he knocked.
"Singing a song, aren't you?" Leo asked with a hearty smile.
Tsubasa noticed Leo and bowed lightly. "Oh, Leo-san. Yes, I am singing. Singing is my hobby actually while saving the world as a Symphongear. It's my way of remembering Kanade." Tsubasa sighed, looking at the window depressed.
"Is she... a friend of yours?" Leo asked, feeling sympathy for his friend.
"Yes..." Tsubasa nodded as she began explaning. "She was my friend and partner before Tachibana came around. We were an unstoppable team, saving the lives of minions from the Noise. But then, one day, after my concert, Tachibana was attacked by a Noise. Kanade sacrificed her life to save Tachibana's life which her powers were transferred to Tachibana..."
"I'm sorry to hear that..." Leo looked away, despondently.
"It's okay. At first, I refused to let Tachibana as a replacement for my dear friend, but overtime she has proven her worth and became my friend and partner along with Chris." Tsubasa smiled slightly.
"Yes. Friends are a wonderful thing to cherish as long as you protect them and make them happy." Leo nodded with a smile.
"You're right. Leo... Thank you for listening to my story." Tsubasa bowed lightly, Leo returned her bow. Leo again spotted Paiway spying on him and she quickly hide. Leo knew he has to take care of this sooner or later.
So he decided to go to Paiway's room.
"Ho ho! This will get that Leo guy off our backs and make Commander Magno our leader again!" Paiway grinned deviously as she checked her notes.
"I thought I told you Leo and Renee will be our leaders in this world, Paiway." A voice Paiway knows asked annoyed.
Paiway yelped and nervously turned around to see Leo with his arms crossed and Magno pissed off at Paiway's immaturity.
"C-Commander Magno! I-It's not what it looks like!" Paiway waved her arms up and down in panic.
"I heard from Leo you and the other females are plotting to overthrow him as leader of our group. As punishment, I want you to write a 500 word essay on why men and females get along in this world." Magno ordered.
"Y-Yes ma'am!" Paiway nodded hesitantly as she tore apart her papers to get Leo in trouble and work on Magno's essay.
Magno turned to Leo with a elderly smile and said "Thank you for telling me about Paiway's scheme. She can be a real hassle sometimes."
"Anytime, by the way, are all females in your group resent men?" Leo asked her.
Magno shook her head and said "Not all women in my group resent men, there's Dita who has taken a liking to Tokai even though she gets on his nerves and Gascogne and the others who respect men."
"I see..." Leo nodded thoroughly and told her "I hope I can be a good example to why men and women loved each other and are equals."
Finally, Leo decided to check on Alice M.
Leo played patty cake with Alice M. "So Alice M... Are Takashi and his friends your only family?" Leo asked, wondering how Takashi and the others adopted a young girl in their world during Summerill's Outbreak.
"Yes... Ever since Daddy died by mean people..." Alice M. looked down in depression.
"I'm sorry to hear that..." Leo was also depressed by Alice M. losing her father during the Outbreak.
"But Uncle Takashi, Aunty Rei, Grandma Saya, Aunty Saeko, Uncle Kohta and Aunty Shizuka take good care of me when bad things happen." Alice M. closed her eyes and smiled.
"Alice M., I will do whatever it takes to end Summerill's evil on your world, undo his undead curse and avenge your father. I don't know if I'll live to fulfill that promise, but my descendants will finish the job for me... " Leo smiled slightly.
"Thank you, Uncle Leo." Alice M. giggled as Leo hugged her. Unbeknownst to him, Renee was overhearing the conversation. She remained silent as she looked down despondently and quietly walked away.
To be continued...
Next Chapter: Love at First Sight: If Human and Syriums Loved Each Other