Chapter 43: Of Foxes, Catians and Determinded Swordswomen: Part 2 of 3: Sherufanir Returns! Enter the Catian Female!
Ladius was sleeping peacefully for about a few minutes or so until he heard some battle noises. Getting up with a puzzled and serious expression, he got out of bed, made it up so he wouldn't feel like a pig and exited his room. He headed for Ellis's room.
"Ellis, Ellis, wake up." Ladius knocked lightly on her door. He heard some moaning for a while before the door opened and he sees a tired Ellis looking at him with a tried and somewhat weaken state.
"It's 3 in the morning, Ladius… What are you doing up?" She asked with sleepy features on her cute face before she yawned.
"I heard a commotion coming from outside one of the inns we're staying at. Perhaps we should check it out." He suggested.
Ellis thought about it for a good few seconds. What if Summerill or Grugund decided to attack this peaceful village? She nodded in understanding and said only "OK."
The foster mother and her foster son exited the inn and looked for the source of the noise. It was getting louder and more intense from the forest. Figuring that's the source of the noise, the two of them headed deeper into the woods.
When they reached a clearing, they see Renee in her Mew form using her whip to grab a boulder. And then, with all her might, she flung the boulder with a mighty yell and it flung into wooden training dummies, smashing them to bits. The wolf Mew Mew panted heavily as sweat ran down her face she used her hand to wipe some sweat from her face. She heard some applauding from behind and turned around to see Ladius and Ellis appalduing her skills.
"You have grown stronger, Renee." Ladius commented on her skills with a smile.
"But why are you up? It's bad for you to stay up this late." Ellis scolded slightly. "It's not good for your health, you know?"
"…" Renee was silent for a moment until she spoke with a soft tone. "Some of my memories have returned to me tonight."
"Is that so?" Ladius arched an eyebrow as Ellis did the same.
"Would you mind telling us more about some of your returned memories?" Ellis asked, wanting to know more about Renee's past.
"Hmm…" Renee scratched her chin in thought and soon began telling them about some of her restored memories.
"Well, I was born on Earth, not the Earth that is affected with Summerill's undead curse. You know about that, right?" Ladius and Ellis nodded. "I was born in a wealthy family and I soon became a world famous idol."
"You mean a singer of some sorts?" Ellis's eyes glittered in amazement. "Wow, my respect for you has grown even higher, Renee."
Renee chuckled nervously as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment while blushing. "Um… After I became an idol, I was soon given the mark of a Mew Mew due to the Red Data Animal which my wolf ears and tail are based on." Renee showed the wolf silhouettes on her stomach. "I think I remember that once the threat to my world, even Summerill is defeated, the tattoo will fade away and I will become a normal girl again."
"So what is this threat other than Summerill to your world?" Ladius asked again, wanting to know more about his second foster mother.
"An alien race called the Cyniclons who are bent on controlling my Earth's environment. How they're trying to do this is still a mystery to me since I have lost memories regarding their true intentions to invade my Earth. It will come back to me eventually." Renee looked at the moon, it was shining in a beautiful moonlight. "The Cyniclons used monstrous parasites called Predicites to possess animals and even humans to turn them into killer monsters. The only way to return the human and animal to normal is by beating it in battle and freeing it of the Predicite that has taken control of them. And that is my job as a Mew Mew to defend my world from them."
"These Cyniclons sound scary…" Ellis shivered, but retained her adult maturity and added "You sure have a tough life being a Mew Mew."
"Heh." Renee smirked. "Almost all my memories have returned. The only memories I have left are the names of my friends and the true intent of the Cyniclons."
"I admired that you fight for your world's safety, Renee." Ladius smiled as he placed his hands on his hips. "But now you need to rest up for the coming trials ahead."
"You mean saving this woman Winfield and his idiotic perverted friends are talking about?" Renee sighed as she shook her head and returned to human form.
"Unfortunately, we had to unless they whine and complain about it for days." Ellis nodded in disgust.
"Let us head back to the inn and rest up for tomorrow." Ladius smiled and closed his eyes.
As the three headed towards the inn, they heard a commotion occurring from the restaurant that they ate at when they first arrived. Tyson was complaining about food and such, so Ladius and his friends took their newest members to this restaurant to shut him up. Curious, the three heroes walked up to the restaurant where it serves some really good fish.
They see the chef gathering his things and left the restaurant in tears.
"I wonder what made that chef leave in such a sorry state…" Ellis looked at the fleeing and crying chef with sympathy.
Deciding to find out what happened in the restaurant, Ladius, Renee and Ellis entered the restaurant and saw something that made them wonder how an unearthly habit can be possible.
They see a 16 year old woman who wore what looked like a high tech red and white suit with a cat bell around her neck eating all the food much to the dismay to the waitress and owner of the restaurant. She has a fine bust, but the things that made her stand out is her cat ears and tail.
The girl finished her plate and shouted happily "More, please!"
"Madam, that's enough! You forced the chef to leave town to get some more ingredients for our restaurant." The waitress sighed as she used a fan to try to prevent herself from fainting at the sight of all the food consumed.
"Is there something the matter, lady?" Renee asked, arms crossed and glaring at the cat eared woman.
The cat eared woman turned to our heroes with a cheery expression and told them "Oh, I was just tasting the fine foods of this world as part of my mission to make peace with the inhabitants of this dimension."
"Huh?" Ellis blinked. "So you're eating all the food of this restaurant to learn more about this dimension?"
Renee then eyed the white amulet around the girl's left arm. "Where did you get that amulet?"
The cat eared woman looked at her amulet for a minute before smiling at our three heroes and saying "It's the prettiest amulet I found when my friends and I arrived here by my spaceship's new Catian Dimensional Warp Unit. Isn't it pretty when I found it on the ground while exploring this village?"
"Did a voice told you to put it on when you found it?" Ellis interjected.
"Yes. Why?" The girl asked, still smiling that naïve smile.
"That…" Ladius began with a frown. "…is one of the Demon King Summerill's cursed trinkets, it has the power to make you immortal, but also makes a growing darkness inside you and if Summerill is not killed or the trinket is removed, you'll go mad and become Summerill's slave forever."
"Oh…" The cat girl said for a moment before closing her eyes, smiling and saying "Ok!" Ladius and his friends nearly anime fell at this girl's nativity.
"Um… Who or what are you?" Ellis asked, feeling a bit rude that shoe forgot to ask who this cat girl is and what race she is.
"Ok." The girl smiled again as she stood up from her seat and bowed politely. "My name is Eris, an ambassador of the Catians." That left Ladius, Ellis and Renee confused expressions.
"Say, Ellis. Have you heard of the Catian race?" Renee turned to the high elven girl.
"No…" Ellis shook her head no. "I don't believe I have heard of this race."
"That's because the Catians are from the planet Catia. We're aliens." The cat girl explained in a cheerful tone.
"Come to think of it, one of our companions is an alien along with a robot. Say, what's your name, girl?" Renee asked her, arms crossed and glaring.
"My name is Eris. And I didn't come alone. My mate and co-mates are exploring this village of the world." Eris bowed politely.
"Do any of them have trinkets that won't come off?" Ladius asked, figuring where this is going.
"Yes. You say they are the cursed trinkets of an evil demon king, right? I better inform them right away. Come along, new friends!" Eris closed her eyes and smiled as she walked out of the restaurant, the staff of the restaurant let out a sigh of relief now that this restaurant eater has left the joint. After saying some apologies to the store staff, Ladius and his foster mothers exited the restaurant.
Outside, the four saw three people walking up to them, one is a 16 year old boy with glasses, a short brunette who is probably the same age as the boy and a girl with black shoulder length hair and glasses and they modern clothes like Renee and other people from alternate Earths and futuristic worlds. Oh, and each has a dark bracelet around their wrists.
"Oh, there you are Eris. We told you not to run off." The brown haired boy smiled as he placed one hand on his shoulder.
"Sorry Kio, I was just checking out that restaurant of this world." Eris pressed her fingers together nervously with an embarrassed chuckle.
"And who are your friends? Are they native to this world?" The brunette then eyed Renee. "No, one of them wears the same modern day clothing as us."
"Friends of yours, Miss Eris?" Ellis turned to Eris with a smile.
"Yep!" Eris nodded with a toothy cheesy grin. "The boy with glasses is my mate, Kio Kakazu, the two women who are also his mates are Aoi Futaba and Manami Kinjou."
"M-Mates?!" Ladius has a sweat drop formed around his head.
"Well, according to Catian Law, a male can have all female lovers who have feelings for him." Manami closed her eyes and smiled nervously.
"I-I see…." Ellis smiled, a twitch on her lips.
"Um… Do you mind telling us more about this world since we arrived here by the Catian Dimensional Transporter?" Aoi looked away, rather shyly.
And so, Ladius, Ellis and Renee explained to Eris and her group about Agarest, the situation so far and their goal of defeating Summerill and freeing Renee and the otherworlders including Eris and her group from his cursed trinekts.
"I-I see… Unless this Summerill is killed or the trinkets we're wearing are removed, we'll go mad one day and become Summerill's slaves forever." Kio adjusted his glasses with a frown.
"Looks like we have no choice but to join you on your quest to defeat Summerill and save the omniverse from his evil and undo his damage on the worlds he have conquered." Manami frowned, arms crossed.
"We really appreciate the help." Renee bowed lightly. Ellis yawned.
"Well, it's getting late, why don't you stay at the inn we're staying at?"
"That would be super special awesome!" Eris beamed excitedly, her friends sweat dropped at her energetic personality.
(The Next Day…)
"Looks like we have more travelers in our wayward army." Winfield closed his eyes and grinned.
"And they're babes!" Daxter winked at Jean and Prinny, they nodded in agreement. Raigan's Army are walking down the path to the orc coast fortress and they were discussing about the newest members of Raigan's Army.
"I can't believe one of them have bigger boobs, Ino-Pig…" Sakura frowned as she and Ino glared at Eris and her buddies.
"I agree, Iron-Brow, they better not take Sasuke away from me…" Sakura glared at Ino and both of them turn away from each other and huffed.
"Don't you think Ladius is attracting too much attention?" Junko asked Dizzy and Mai with concern.
"I-I think Ladius is fine as he is." Dizzy pressed her fingers nervously with a small smile.
"Yeah, maybe it's a trait that his family has. Remember Fyruia, Elaine and Luanna? But in the end, Leo choose Fyuria as his wife." Mai closed her eyes and smiled.
"Y-Yeah, you have a point… But in my honest opinion, Ladius should be more careful about attracting an unwanted crowd…" Junko agreed.
Soon, our heroes arrived in a forested path, as they were walking down the path, a familiar seductive voice greeted them.
"My, my. I never expected to see you again in a place like this." It was Sherufanir, and by the way she's walking towards Ladius with that seductive smirk, she's happy to see him again.
"Is that… Sherufanir?" Ladius blinked.
Vashtor glared at her and asked "What are you doing here?"
Sherufanir frowned and crossed her arms. "I could ask you the same thing. I waited for you in Fensarril, but you never arrived."
"Then the woman who went to the coast…" Ellis started to figure it out, and Renee finished for her.
"Was Sherufanir…" She frowned and crossed her arms.
Sherufanir smirked with a seductive expression and added "Ah, so you have heard. You were nowhere to be found in the town, so I felt a little sightseeing was in order."
Winfield let out a perverted grin and said "Then the villagers were right and our instincts even more so."
Yuri sighed in aggrtitation as he did a face palm and muttered "Perverts…"
"I am glad to find you well. I knew you would be, but I was worried all the same." Sherufanir smiled slightly and bowed her head lightly. "It was my fault you were pursued, after all, I confess to a small amount of guilt regarding the matter."
Ladius smiled and reassured her "You needn't be. I did what I believed was right."
Sherufanir let out a small chuckle and said "I have never met anyone like you." She then formed a playful smirk. "You know, we might be soul mates, you and me."
Ladius blushed madly. "What…? Umm… I mean… I, ah, do not think that is the case…"
Millia frowned and folded her arms. "Why would a seductive fox girl like you try to flirt with Ladius like that? He hasn't even thought about it yet…"
"Miilord and Lady Millia speaks the truth!" Winfield rushed over to Sherufanir and held her hand with a perverted smile. "Your soul mate is I, fair maiden! Let us share the passion of young love!" His answer was a whack from the head by Ellis's staff as she dragged him away.
"You and I both know that will never happen. I doubt she has even noticed you exist."
"She beat us to the punch, Winfield…" Jean sighed as anime tears fell out of his eyes.
Sherufanir giggled and added "Meeting you here can hardly be anything but fate! Perhaps I should accompany you. I won't be a hindrance. What do you say?"
"I don't suppose reminding you of the danger will sway your determination?" Ladius questioned, arms crossed.
"Then we have a deal?" Sherufanir smirked.
"Sweet! Come to us, my foxy beauty!" Daxter spread his arms out like a hug, but on Jak's shoulders who rolled his eyes.
Sherufanir eyed Daxter and asked "Who are you?" Daxter face faulted as he went somewhere to sulk.
"W-Well…" Yayoi pressed her fingers nervously and looked away with a shy expression.
"Have you heard of a place called Yamato, in Alzai Fen? She was a priestess there." Ellis explained with a smile.
"She is quite powerful. She joined us at Dyshana's request." Yuri added with a small smile, arms folded and such.
Yayoi blushed madly and stuttered "Quite powerful? I-I think not… Ladius saved my life and I hope to repay him by helping him out however I can."
Sherufanir closed her eyes and smirked. "Ah, so we are rivals in love, then?"
Yayoi's face was even redder than before with embarrassment. "What? No… I…"
Sherfufanir giggled playfully and reassured her "Only a small joke, at your expense I fear. My name is Sherufanir. What is your name?"
"My name is Yayoi." Yayoi smiled slightly.
Sherufanir smiled and added "Yayoi… What a pretty name."
Yayoi smiled nervously and stammered "Th-Thank you. I am not terribly good at… well, anything, but please be kind to me."
Sherufanir turned to Ladius and asked "I gather you intend to investigate the situation on the coast?" Sherufanir smiled with confidence. "With this large a force, we might stand a chance."
"Did you see them?" Ellis asked with a serious frown.
"Their fortress was small, but looked weak. I did not see too many of them… Their numbers are really small."
"Then we'll take Sherufanir's word and strike them down. We make for the coast." Ladius nodded.
"We will nip them in the bud as they always say!" Winfield raised his arm up in agreement.
"An excellent decision. Come, I will show you the way." Sherufanir smiled as she clapped her hands in appreciation.
To be continued…
Next chapter: Of Foxes, Catians and Determinded Swordswomen: Part 3 of 3: The Sacred Blacksmith, and Solo Fighter: Attack the Coast Fortress!
A/N: Again, I had to add an extra part to this three party saga, final part of this saga will have the cast of the Sacred Blacksmith and Senel Coolidge joining our heroes and the return of Melona and her crew, so stay tuned. Peace!