~~000~~

Tales of the Multiverse Bit 198

"So, what's your story?"

After realizing that all of them are equals in strength, Andy the Ragdoll & his crew and Karasu decided to do a truce, and are currently having a conversation somewhere in the island.

~~000~~


Later that day inside the infirmary somewhere in the Royal Officer Academy, we see Lisesharte Atismata resting on one bed when her eyes slowly began to open, she then sat up while rubbing her head and at the same time, she is trying to remember what just transpired earlier.

"Finally..." a gentle voice uttered, "... you're awake.'' it said.

This made the princess slightly jolt in surprise before turning to her right to see Lux Arcadia sitting on a chair right next to her bed, "L-L-L-Lux!" she stuttered in surprise, "What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed with a red face.

Lux chuckled nervously in response, "Well..." he uttered, "... I decided to look after you while you recover.'' he answered which made her face even redder, "So..." he trailed, "... are you feeling well?'' he inquired.

Lisesharte then took a deep breath before speaking, "I..." she uttered, "I'm fine." she replied, "Nothing to worry about." she reassured.

"That's good." Lux accepted, "I was really worried when you passed out after your duel with Mister Cross." he stated in relief.

Lisesharte's eyes soften when he mentioned the duel, "Hey, Lux..." she called out softly but was more than enough for Lux to hear.

"Hmm?" Lux hummered in response, "What is it, Lisha-san?" he asked.

"The duel..." Lisesharte mentioned, "... I lost right." she concluded very solemnly.

Lux stares at her for a minute before taking a deep breath, "Yes, you lost." he confirmed.

Lisesharte looks down, "I see...'' she acknowledged while clutching the hems of the blanket, "I..." she uttered, "I underestimated him too much, didn't I?" she admitted.

Lux nodded in response, "I had to apologize but he is way out of your league." he pointed out, "And I had to admit..." he trailed, "... even I had no chance in beating him." he admitted.

Lisesharte looks at him in surprise, "Why did you say that?" she asked.

"I can't really put what I just witness to words..." Lux trailed, "But all I know that he is a lot more experienced fighter and according to his friend, the strength he just demonstrated during your duel was just a quarter of what he really can do." he explained and he really had to admit that Darren is a force to be recon with.

"H-How he can be that strong?'' Lisesharte asked in confusion, "During our fight, I can't help but wonder why he remains so calm.'' she thought out loud.

"Remember what he said to you before he took you down?'' Lux reminded to which the princess nodded in response, "I believe that was the source of his strength and add the fact that his life was on the line on the battle, it further motivates to win." he explained.

"I see..." Lisesharte uttered in acknowledgement, "I understand why he defeated me so easily and I understand why he is a lot stronger than me." she admitted despite the frustration inside of her.

"But he did say something nice about you." Lux mentioned.

"What is it?" Lisesharte asked while keeping her head down.

Lux chuckled, "That you were a great fighter." he shared, "And he wouldn't fighting you again." he added which made the princess' eyes wide in surprise, "That means he acknowledges your strength and talent.'' he pointed out with a smile

Lisesharte smiled back, "I see..." she uttered, "... then I can forgive from what he did last night." she declared.

Lux chuckled in response, "Seriously?" he mused

And with that, the two burst out laughing.


The next day, Lisesharte had recovered from yesterday's duel and is currently seen alongside Lux walking across a hallway somewhere inside the academy.

"By the way, where is Mister Cross right now?" Lisesharte inquired.

"His team just arrived this morning." Lux replied, "They're were a strange bunch but they're really friendly." shared, "His team alongside everyone are currently in the cafeteria." he mentioned.

"How strange?" Lisesharte asked in curiosity.

"There's one really big guy and the girls are already fawning over him, there's a girl with an eye patch, one girl has wings and another girl is seen floating around in mid-air." Lux listed off before letting out a chuckle, "Like I said they're strange but everyone likes them." he commented.

"Woah.." Lisesharte uttered in aw, "... then I can't wait to meet them." she expressed in anticipation.

"There is also a noble in the team." Lux added.

This surprised the princess in response, "Really?!'' Lisesharte squawked.

Lux nodded in confirmation, "I believe she's called a Flemish Noble." he recalled, "I had the suspicion that she's a noble from her stance and speech patterns, and turns out I was right." he stated.

"Wow..." Lisesharte uttered, "... Mister Cross' team is really interesting." she commented.

Lux chuckled in response, "They sure do.'' he said in agreement when remembers something, "Oh!" he gasped, "By the way..." he trailed, "... there is a very small girl in their team, small like a twelve years old but she's actually twenty and this girl had a very, very complex issues about her height." he shared, "Tillfar-san made a fun of this girl's height earlier and Tillfar-san got the worst lashing of words she ever received in her entire life." he explained.

Lisesharte blinks in surprise, "Okay..." she uttered, "... I'll keep that in mind." she acknowledged, "Seems like Mister Cross' team is actually more than meets the eye." she commented.

A few minutes later, Lux and Lisesharte arrives in the cafeteria where they noticed Celistia Ralgris and Shalice Baltshift making their way towards them.

"Miss Lisha." Celistia greeted, "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm doing well, Miss Celistia." Lisesharte reassured, "Thank you for the concern." she expressed in gratitude.

"Sorry about the duel." Shalice apologized, "We're still kinda shock that you lost." she admitted.

Lisesharte shook her head, "It's no problem." she reassured, "It's pretty much my fault for underestimating him too much." she admitted.

"But I'm still in shock with that man's strength." Celistia admitted, "Our Drag-Rides are indeed powerful but to witness that man demonstrating his strength was really marvelous." she commented.

"Looks like your opinion about him just changed." Lux pointed out.

Celistia looks away with a huff, "Don't misunderstood." she clarified, "I still haven't forgive him for the incident last night." she revealed, "But I'll admit that his strength is something I can respect." she admitted.

"By the way, where are they now?" Lisesharte inquired.

Shalice responded by pointing a finger at one table, "They're over there." she replied.

Lisesharte turns to the direction where Shalice was pointing and her eyes went wide in amazement. Like what Lux had mentioned earlier, the team was a strange bunch and just one look at them proves that.

One of them was floating in mid-air, one of them had wings and one of them had a snake-like creature stuck on her ear, and the princess can't help but stare at them in awe.

"Yeah..." Lux uttered in amusement, "We had same reactions, Miss Lisha." he admitted which made the princess pout in response.

"Let's go and meet them all." Shalice beckoned, "I'm pretty sure you want to say something to Mister Cross." she pointed out.

Lisesharte sighed in response, "Let's get this over with." she replied.

Meanwhile at the Cross Guard's table, we see the team having a chat while laughing at the same time, much to Darren Cross' expense.

"Hahaha!" Chad Mordetzky hollered, "First Stella and then the princess in this world." he listed off while tapping Darren's shoulder, "You surely had a serious Princess Issues!" he pointed out, "I think you should find a cure soon.'' he joked.

"Hahaha!" Darren laughed in response with a 'Squidward'-like accent, "Very funny, Chad." he snarked while taking a bite of sandwich.

"But seriously!" Wesley Bryans exclaimed, "You had a case of serious Princess Issues!" he pointed out with a finger quote, "You really need to deal with it soon or else you'll be in serious trouble." he stated.

"Thanks for the advice Wesley, I really appreciate your concern." Darren grumbled in response, "Still..." he uttered, "I'm surprised that Miss Aingram decided to let us stay in this academy while we rid every Emotionless in this world." he admitted.

"You may wanna thank Sandalwood for that." Laura Bodewig beckoned, "He did put a good word for us in this academy." she explained while taking a sip of her drink.

"As expected from our resident Eco-Kid." Sylvia van Hossen complimented with a smile of appreciation.

"No prob!" Sandalwood replied with a thumbs-up.

"Thanks to that..." Raya Amanda uttered with a grin, "... we don't have to worry about paying an Inn every night." she stated while leaning on her seat.

"I agree." Squigly said in a agreement, "And it seems the girls in this academy are very thrilled that were staying here.'' she pointed out while looking at a group of girls from another table.

Raya then jab a thumb at Chad, "I think our handsome beefcake had something to do with that.'' she pointed out with a blank look.

Chad smirked in response, "What can I say..." he mused, "Chicks dig me..." he trailed while slicking his hair back, "... anywhere I go.'' he concluded.

Maya Sparrow rolled her eyes in disgust, "Don't push your luck." she admonished while taking a sip of her drink.

"Zzzz... zzzzz..." Karizza snored loudly while floating above them with a pillow under her face.

Darren stares at the sleeping Karizza, "I swear..." he uttered in annoyance, "... this blonde was awake a minute ago." he pointed out.

"Mmm..." Karizza mumbled in her sleep, "Marcus..." she uttered a name.

Maya grimaced in response, "She better not be dreaming what I think she's dreaming.'' she grumbled.

Raya chuckle in amusement, "Don't worry..." she reassured, "... I believe she's having some sort of coffee dream with Marcus involve in it." she assumed.

Wesley then looks at the numerous coffee mugs just below the sleeping and floating blonde, "Well..." he uttered, "She did drink a lot of coffee and still managed to fall asleep.'' he commented with a blank look.

"She really needs to fix her caffeine addiction." Cecily Campbell beckoned.

"Good-luck with that." Luke Ainsworth replied.

A few seconds later, Lux, Lisesharte, Celistia and Shalice arrives at their table and greeted them, Lisesharte then apologized to Darren for the way she treated him but Darren reassured her that it's fine.

After all, Lisesharte is definitely not the last person whom will have a hostile reaction towards him and he is not afraid to admit that. They then had a conversation and were later joined by Krulcifer Einfolk and Philphie Aingram.

"Zzzz... zzzzz..." Karizza snored loudly, "Marcus..." she uttered a name once more.

Krulcifer stares at the sleeping blonde above them, "Does she sleep all the time?" she inquired, "Is she narcoleptic?" she assumed.

Chad took a sip of his soda, "Nope!" he replied, "She's just plain lazy and loves to sleep most of the time.'' he shared with a casual smile.

"By the way, who's Marcus?" Lux asked.

Darren took another bite of his sandwich, "A really good friend of ours and a fellow leader of mine." he answered, "And is Karizza, Raya and Sylvia's boyfriend.'' he added with a blank look.

This taken the locals(except Philphie) by surprise, "Ha?!" Lisesharte squawked in shock.

"Are you saying that those three are in a relationship with one man?!" Shalice pointed out.

"Actually..." Wesley uttered, "... there are five girls in a relationship with one man." he corrected rather bluntly while referring to Malvina Rasputin and Yukino Yukinoshita.

"What kind of man is this Marcus?!" Celistia exclaimed in disgust, "To have a relationship with five females!" she pointed out, "That's is so inappropriate!" she admonished.

"Marcus..." Squigly mentioned, "From the short times that I interacted with him..." she recalled, "Marcus is pretty rude and slightly insensitive." she shared, "But above that, Marcus is a very nice person." she added.

"I agree with Milady." Leviathan quipped in agreement

"And before you go say that Marcus is some sort of womanizer, a playboy or a seducer." Darren interrupted, "Marcus just had these weird charm, which I can't explain to be honest, and had the tendency to attract girl without even trying." he explained.

The local girls then turns to Lux, whom had the same traits as Marcus in terms of attracting girls and the aforementined boy could only look away from embarrassment.

"Are you people are okay with this?" Krulcifer asked.

Chad nodded in response, "Well..." he uttered, "... it was shock at first." he admitted, "But if this is something that would make them happy, then who are we to stop them." he stated with a smile.

"Plus..." Raya uttered, "... we got the blessings from our parents, though Marcus' hasn't told them his yet, so entering with this kind of relationship is not bad." she explained rather smoothly.

While Celisita is still trying to fathom from what she just discovered, the rest understood that they're from another world, so they acknowledged that some laws are different from their's.

Shalice then spoke, "By the way, aside from those three sharing the same man, does the rest of the team in a relationship?'' she inquired.

Wesley and Squigly raised their hands up and surprisingly, Sandalwood and Laura which caused Darren to do a spitstake, "What?!" the pinkette exclaimed in shock, "You two are in a relationship?!" he shouted at the latter couple.

"Well, duh!" Sandalwood quipped with a grin, "We are in a relationship." he confirmed, "Don't tell me, you didn't know?" he questioned.

"Well, duh!" Darren quipped in annoyance, "Of course, I didn't know!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"There's a lot of things that you don't know Darren." Laura pointed out with a blank look.

As everyone continues to have a lively conversation, Lisasharte can't help but smile on how friendly the team are with each other when an idea came to her mind, "Um, Mister Cross.'' the princess called out.

Darren turns to her with a casual smile, "Yes, your highness." he answered, "And please, call me Darren." he suggested, "Mister Cross sounds like my, ugh, dad." he reasoned with a nervous grin.

Lisesharte nodded in response, "Could you teach some of your swordsmanship skills?" she asked, "It was really interesting and I want to try it with my Drag-Ride." she explained.

Darren thought about it, "Well..." he uttered, "... any swordsmanship and Drag-Ride is pretty similar, so why the hell not." he mused before smiling, "Okay, your highness, I can teach you a thing or two.'' he accepted.

Lisesharte smiled in response, "Thank you every much.'' she expressed in delight.

A/N: Inspired from someonestupED, damnlastwords, Jamesdean5842, Hope the Victor and Ace Neptune. All OCs and concepts not created by moi were given permission for me to use by it's respected creators.