Chapter 42: Of Foxes, Catians and Determined Swordswomen: Part 1 of 2: First Battle with Widdershin
Widdershin smiled darkly and said to Kanonno. "It is good to see you again, Descender of Pasca. I have not forgotten your betrayal when you joined with the Descenders of Terrsia and Yaoon."
"Who is that guy? Wait… he has one of Summeril's trinkets." Zerva tensed as he got his scythe out.
"He is one of Summerill's Dark Generals, a Descender named Widdershin. A Descender is a warrior born from a World Tree in time of its world's need, but he is an evil one…" Etna frowned as she got out her spear and pointed it at Widdershin and the girl who has a dark ring on her finger.
"I…I don't even know you!" Kanonno shook her head in fear.
"Don't tell me you have forgotten me already, Kanonno…" Widdershin frowned, then he remembered something. "Ah, I see… It is because of Summerill's failed summoning spell that has given you amnesia." He chuckled darkly.
"So Summerill is responsible for our lost memories! But… how did this Widdershin guy kept his memories?" Noire gritted her teeth as she got her rapier ready and transformed into her CPU form.
"Unlike you lot and the former Dark General, me and my fellow Dark Generals kept our memories when Summerill summoned us from across different dimensions." Widdershin made a flick from his hand in ways villains do in movies, TV shows and anime with a dark smirk. "We need to gather almost all the trinkets Lord Summerill has lost over the years since his defeat and the Bracelet of the Coveant which is vital to his plans to conquer the entire omniverse."
"So this Summerill guy intends to gather anyone who has one of his cursed trinkets so he can proceed with his plan to enslave every race and world…" Kai crossed his arms and frowned as he glared at the Dark General who in turn glared at him with a more vile look.
Lloyd turned to Kanonno, something about how Widdershin knowing who Kanonno is may be connected to her and some of the otherworlders' lost memories. "Kanonno, is this true? You know this Widdershin guy?"
"I…" Kanonno looked away, rather shamefully and fearful if she does say she knows this dark man with a cruel heart. "…Y-Yes, I do…"
"Now, will you come along with your friends, Kanonno?" Widdershin questioned with a unpleasant smirk and dark intentions.
Kanonno however got out her sword and pointed it at Widdershin with a hateful spite, for some reason, she hates Widdershin for something he did in the past, but she is not sure why.
"No! I won't come with you to Summerill! Neither will my friends!"
"Yeah! Yeah!" Colette nodded in agreement as she got her chakrams and got into an offensive position.
"Hmph…" Widdershin sneered, but before he turn his head slightly to the left, still smirking that diabolical smirk. "Very well. However, I won't fight you." He gestures to the purple haired girl. "Meredy will fight you in my stead. Don't worry, I will fight you when all three chosen madiens for this land have been gathered." Widdershin then disappeared in a flash of light.
The girl apparently known as Meredy got out a whistle and glared at our heroes, determined to fight them as if she has a reason for fighting them.
Tyson however, laughed at Meredy's choice of a weapon. "Haha! What's that whistle gonna do? Make music!"
Meredy then spoke in a language that seems alien to our heroes, but Clank, being the perfect translator he is, can decode it in an instant. "She said "This whistle will summon my guardian and loyal friend, so he'll make you regret those words!""
"Whatever, I bet this guardian is a weak little-AHHHHHH!" Tyson was at first filled with sarcasm, but then a blue small furry wolf like creature dashed out of the bushes behind Meredy and tackled Tyson through a headbutt so strong, it knocked him to the ground and Tyson was struggling to prevent the wolf from biting him to death.
"Get it off me! Get it off me!" Tyson wailed as he kicked his legs in a panicked frenzy as the wolf made snapping lunges at him.
"What should we do?!" Dita glanced at Ladius, worry evident on her features.
Ladius closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, blocking out Tyson's screams for help. For what he can tell, this girl seems to be part of Summerill's army… but for what reason? He managed to convince Millia that he is not her enemy, so maybe someone else who is a good friend to the girls in his group can perhaps presude Meredy?
An idea came to Ladius in an instant. He shot a glance at Ellis and told her with "Ellis, can you try to persuade this girl into joining our cause?"
"Huh?!" Ellis blinked in surprise when Ladius requested this idea to her. "M-Me?"
"Yeah, you're good at being a good mother like when you raised Ladius after he was born." Bart nodded, figuring out Ladius's brilliant plan to perhaps turn the tide around and avoid any unnecessary bloodshed.
"W-Well…" Ellis looked away a bit, feeling a bit distress, wondering if she can pull a miracle and get Meredy on their side. But after a few seconds of expressing doubt and thinking, she nodded and turned to Meredy who glared at the high elven woman.
"Why are you helping Summerill? He is nothing but bad news for every living thing in the omniverse!" Ellis began by moving her hand vertical like most anime females do when trying to talk some sense into people who are doing this for either profit or their own reasons.
Meredy again spoke in the language which Clank translated with "If I don't do what Summerill says, he won't restore my memories!" Is what she said."
"Do you really think Summerill will be true to his word?" Ellis glared at Meredy as she said those words to the mysterious girl. "Think about the horrible things he has done to our friends and some of their worlds! If you travel with us, your memories will return." Ellis pleaded with her arms clasp together.
Meredy was hesitant for a moment before adding this statement which Clank translated "Are you sure my memories will return if I travel with you people?" Ellis nodded with a small smile. Meredy sighed before giving a small smile of her own by blowing her whistle, the wolf puppy stopped attacking Tyson and ran up to its master, but not before peeing on Tyson's shoes.
"Augh! Those were my favorite shoes!" Tyson screamed as he took off his shoes and smelled them which gave him a disgusted look. "I can't believe you whizzed on my shoes!" Max laughed out loud as he clutched his stomach and struggled to breath and rolled on the ground in laughter.
"Glad that's over with." Tokai sighed in boredom as he sat down on a tree stump, before adding his sentence with "But the question is… How the hell are we gonna understand her weird language?"
"I got it!" Ratchet smiled as an imaginary lightbulb clicked in his head, he rummaged through his small bag which can house many items though a subspace dimension due to his universe's advanced technology before getting out a small metal choker and walked up to Meredy and gave it to her before saying slowly "Wear… this… so… we… can… understand… you… Ok?"
Meredy somehow understand what Ratchet was saying and nodded in understanding as she placed the choker around her neck. After a few seconds of waiting, Meredy spoke in a language everyone can understand which is "Thank you for the translating thingy, mister kitty!" Meredy closed her eyes, titled her head and smiled.
"Uh… Yeah, no problem." Ratchet rubbed the back of his head nervously as a small blush appeared on his cheeks.
"My name is Ladius von Busser Ragian. It is a pleasure to meet you, Meredy." Ladius did his family's salute with a kind smile that makes women and girls blush.
Meredy giggled, "Yes! It is a pleasure to meet you, Mister Ragian!" she happily says while bowing lightly to Ladius.
"Please, Ladius would do." Ladius closed his eyes and smiled softly.
"Meredy…" IF began as she can tell Meredy has lost some of her memories. "You're like us, lost some of our memories and binded to one of Summerill's cursed trinkets?"
Meredy looked down a bit, feeling a bit desponded. "Yes… I woke up in this land with no clue of who I am and where I came from. After exploring this area a bit, one of Summerill's Dark Generals, Widdershin told me Summerill can restore my memories if I have helped him and his followers in conquering the omniverse. But after you convinced me that my memories will return if I travel with you, I happily accepted.' Meredy closed her eyes and gave a small smile.
"Glad to have you aboard, Meredy!" Tachibana closed her eyes and gave another of her cheesy grins.
"Looks like we gain another ally into this strange wayward band of warriors." Winfeld gave a chuckle while sweat dropping.
Zerva nodded with a smile. "If this keeps up, we will become an army that even the Demon King will fear."
"Hey Meredy?" Ling piped in, looking at her cute guardian wolf with sparkles in her eyes. "What's the name of this cute wolf like creature? Or bunny for that matter."
"Cute?!" Tyson snapped, holding a grudge against that thing. "It's evil and may bite you in the butt!"
Meredy frowned at Tyson's immaturity as the creature hopped into Meredy's hands while glaring at him. "Don't make fun of Quickie! To answer your question, Quickie is the name given to him by a friend of mine… But I don't remember him, I'm sure it'll come back to me eventually."
"Enough bantering. Let's move on." Vashtor ordered sharply as he walked towards the path coldly.
"Let's not keep Vashtor waiting any longer, shall we?" Vira-Lorr closed her eyes and grinned.
And so they continued on, they had to deal with monsters and Tyson's constant complaining to reach the next town. It took them two days, but they reached Renda Town.
"Finally, we can rest…" Tyson moaned as he dragged his body heavily and collapsed into the ground. "Are there any cheeseburgers and hot dogs or nachos here?"
"And what about ramen?" Naruto raised his hand up, he loves ramen and he can't live without it.
Yayoi looked at Tyson with a confused expression. "Cheese… burgers? Hot… dogs? Na…chos? What are those?"
"AUGHHH! What kind of backwater place is this?!" Tyson began to whimper as tears fell out of his eyes at the thought of living without his favorite food made him shudder and whine even further.
"Tyson, give it a rest." Max sighed as he shook his head. "We just have to eat whatever food they have here. It won't kill us."
"Yeah, but it sure will kill me." Tyson grumbled from the ground.
Vashtor stepped forward and began elaborating their planned route. "If we continue northwest from here, we should reach Fensarril soon enough." He glanced at Ragian's Army remaining soldiers who are not otherworlders or chosen maidens or something. "We will have to make do with what remaining soldiers we have left." Tyson moaned again at the thought of walking more.
Zerva then scratched his chin in thought. "What shall we do next?" He asked. "I imagine there are those who will join our cause in fighting the forces of darkness and Grugund." He looked at the villagers, some of them were looking at our heroes oddly.
Ladius closed his eyes in thought and said "My only purpose is to defeat the hordes of darkness and seal the pillar."
"Whoa, back up." Ray interjected. "What do you mean seal the pillar?"
Some of the veterans of Ragian's Army looked at the newcomers of their steward group with serious and desponded expressions. It was then Noire spoke up before looking away a bit before mustering up her courage and said with a depressed tone "He means he's going to sacrifice himself to seal the pillar by becoming one with it along with his future bride…"
"WHAT?!" Max's eyes were wide as dinner plates. "But we only just met Ladius. He's cool. Why would he sacrifice himself to seal this pillar thingy?"
"His father made a contract with Dyshana over there." Renee gestures to Dyshana who remained silent and mysterious as always, Haruhi, Asbel, and some others were feeling down when Renee continued on. "There's no way to break the contract. Even if Tyson does something, it won't break the contract…"
"But-But…" Tyson was trying to counter what Renee was saying, but Ed stopped him.
"Just drop it, Tyson. Even if you're a famous celebrity in your world, you can't do anything to change Ladius's fate." Ed frowned as he crossed his arms.
"Gwagh…." Tyson looked away, feeling desponded that he can't do anything to change Ladius's fate.
"Uh, I have a question about most of your companions, Ladius." Ray raised his hand and immedintaly pointed it at Borginine who remained calm and full of mystery. "What kind of creature is Borgnine? He's not a demon, but what exactly is he?"
Ellis smiled softly as she placed her hands on her hips with a proud look. "Hehe. It's because Borgnine is my larva and friend. He only calls me master. I summoned him somehow back in Lucrellia and he's really strong!"
"Whoa. So she must be a summoner or something." Jade gasped, arms crossed and amazed by Ellis's well matured air. "I'm beginning to like Ellis."
Ladius cleared his throat. "Back to what I was saying… If we need it, I would appreciate their help, but I will not force them. Renee walked up to Ladius with a concerned look on her face.
"Ladius, can we talk for a moment?" Renee asked him, he nodded in response. "It seems orcs, goblins and zombies from Takashi's world have made camp along the south coast. They are doing a great deal of damage and the people of this village have banded together to fight them."
"Are they that foolish?" Chris grunted. "Aren't Fensarrils's armies supposed to be dealing with those sort of things?"
Yayoi turned to Chris and relayed the message the townspeople have told her. "The army says it will take them time before they arrive at the south coast."
Ladius turned to Renee and asked her "How fares the people of the coast?"
Renee frowned and told him "The surrounding towns and villages are in shambles. Many have come here for shelter."
"The army must be tremendous, to take this long to prepare." Vashtor theorized as he looked at the passing villagers who are either hurt or injured. It was then, Winfield, Daxter, Jean and Prinny walked up to Ladius.
"Have you heard, commander?" Winfield asked with a worried expression.
Ladius nodded and told them "Renee and Yayoi just informed me of the situation."
"I supposed it would be in poor taste to ask what your plan may be regarding that issue…" Daxter rolled his eyes and shook his head in disapproval.
"We have many numbers due to some of them being from other worlds, but there is no room for an army." Ladius sighed. "Without any information, getting involved would only complicated matters further."
Zerva nodded in agreement. "That seems wise. If the orcs, goblins and zombies are well organized, we cannot be too careful. We must avoid unnecessary haste. Remember Pleuron…"
"That may be true, dood. We were few in number even with some of us otherworlders. I mean, we merely died, dood!" Prinny nodded vigoursly.
Ellis turned to Ladius with worry advent in her features. "Ladius…"
Ladius closed his eyes in thought and said "I do not wish to turn back on these people… If I could help them by fighting, I would. But I am responsible for the lives of many people… I cannot forget that responsibility." Yayoi looked at him with a worried expression.
Arbol walked up to the gang. "Ah, you are together then? Are we ready to leave?" He smiled with a calm demeanor.
"Well, we won't accomplish anything by sitting here." Alice D. nodded as she stretched a bit.
"I suppose not." Arbol nodded in understanding. "The demons of the south coast will have to wait then." Then Arbol remembered something really important. "Ah, a moment… A woman set out, only the other day, bound for the coast. The people of the coast did their best to convince her otherwise, but her curiosity would not be denied."
Devious and perverted glints appeared in Winfield, Daxter, Jean and Prinny's eyes. "Arbol, tell us more about this woman." Wnfield began.
"The villagers said it would be only a terrible waste if the woman is captured by the orcs, goblins and zombies. They were quite emphatic on that point… Such a waste, given all the money she'd come into, they said." Arbol explained.
"Oh no…" Ellis moaned as she faced palm and shook her head as she sees the perverted grins on Winfield and his fellow perverts.
"There is no time!" Winfeld declared as he stood on a pole and imaginary waves struck behind him. "We make post haste! To the south coast!"
"Idiots…" Tsubasa moaned as she shook her head to remain calm after seeing the four idiotic perverts' love for women.
"But why would a woman like that visit a place as dangerous as that?" Saya frowned as she crossed her arms and looked away in disapproval.
"It could be a trap." Yuri added as he looked at the four perverts with an angry frown.
"A trap seems unlikely, and if all she intends to do is observe, her adventure should be reasonably safe." Vashtor frowned. "I do not know this woman's abilities, but it's unlikely she would be a match for the orcs, goblins and zombies. If she has only gone to observe, she should return presently. Perhaps as soon as we leave."
"In mine and Vashtor's opinion, it would best if we continue on with our plan and make for Fensarril." Magno suggested.
"Only Master Commander Ladius can decide what to do!" Jean pumped his fist in the air. He turned to Ladius with a pleading look. "Commander Ladius, sir! We have to help this woman!"
Ladius sighed and rubbed his temples in agviation and he muttered "We make for the coast…"
"See?" Daxter grinned trumpihaly from Winfield's shoulder. "He knows what makes us men, men!"
Ladius frowned and corrected them. "You mistake my intentions. Does no one else find the appearance of the orcs, zombies and goblins here strange?"
"Yes. Why do they gathered so suddenly?" Houki nodded.
"And why on the south coast?" Jak added his answer on this question.
"I supposed it does resemble what happened in Lucrellia." Saeko nodded with arms crossed.
"So it may help if we strike first when they are few in number." Takashi nodded in agreement.
"We agree with this plan, commander?" Meia questioned as she focus her gaze on Ladius.
"There will be no unnecessary fighting. We will merely assess the situation.
"Yippee!" Prinny leaped for joy. "You read our thoughts, dood!"
"Tonight! We rest!" Jean clenched his fist in a proud and leading role. "Then we set for the south coast!" Most of the gang moaned and shook their heads in disapproval of these four perverts. It's gonna be a long night…
To be continued…
Next chapter: Of Foxes, Catians and Determined Swordswomen: Sherufanir Returns! Enter The Catian Female and Sacred Blacksmith!
A/n: Sorry it took me awhile to finish this chapter. I have to divide it into two parts. Anyway, next chapter will have more characters joining our heroes, so stay tuned.