(Or: Knight Hunter E)
(I bet you thought this was gonna be that lame John Lennon song.)
So I guess we're already leaving the wonderful Murderland to have peace negotations with the von Peasantkickings. Boy, I sure hope they're reasonable cartoonishly-evil tyrants and won't cause this Plan A to blow up in their faces.
"Remember when Rain got killed?" Count: 13
"Remember when Indow got raped?" Count: 9
"Baddies Never Smile" Count: 17
And always remember: Linkara (the author) considers this his masterpiece.
RecapShow
(What our heroes should be thinking, but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.)
I think I'm gonna have to split this up into the general plot and all the other shit, otherwise this will get even more confusing and incoherent.
The Plot
So the fellowship enters Olac, the capitol of Murderland. And for absolutely no reason, we are blessed with a White-Raven-style overexplanation of Hirode's backstory.
Long story short, her literally insane mother performed an abortion with a knife on her because she got preggers from being raped at the tender age of twelve. Funny how Indow never had to deal with pregnancies during her various orgies. I blame magic and/or catgirl DNA.
They meet up with Enrike again, who informs them that the reason Total Thief Death has been enacted in Peasantkicking is because some rookie thief got caught and broke under torture. Somehow our heroes are shocked and amazed at the existence of a Thieves' Guild while standing in the capitol of an entire country run by assassins.
Of course the logical course of action for these even more outlawed outlaws is to join forces with the assassins and plan a hostile takeover of Peasantkicking. They have a problem, however: They can't hope to defeat the enemy on the battlefield because they've spent all their time and resources on training glorified acrobats with knives, instead of dudes who can hold spears and move in formation. But they also can't wait until the apparently inevitable economic collapse of the country because the assassins don't know how to handle anarchies or something. It's a terrible way to create tension, basically.
Instead they plan a revolution involving fifth columnists from Peasantkicking itself, which will somehow result in a different kind of bloody violence than the economic collapse would generate. But their main plan is to have peace negotations first, because those can't possibly go wrong.
Linkara finally returns to a semblance of his previous self and starts giving a shit again about the plot once he finds out that the crystals are in another castle have not been stolen by the assassins after all. We get some classic "Face of an ANGRY GOD" whining from him, which I find a bit baffling because these assassins have literally no reason to give a shit about how bad of a day he's had. Luckily his shocking display of cringe at least convinces them to let him squat in their place I guess. This should probably keep him content for a week or so until he starts bitching about the food again.
His nap is interrupted by some assassin, who somehow manages to put up a decent fight against the guy with superhuman strength and endurance and magical armor that will shock anyone who touches him. I suspect a contrived excuse for him to bring back the fan favorite crotch kick from Book 1.
The assassin turns out to be some teenager who is obviously mind-controlled/possessed by Thesia or one of her Shadow Nazgul. He quickly reminds everyone about the red herring that is this demon overlord and then breaks his own neck or spine.
I'm not entirely sure what Thesia is hoping to get out of this ruse. Linkara continues to not give a shit. In fact he's only mildly annoyed that someone tried to kill him and then committed suicide in a most unnatural way. Fucking sociopath, man.
Though even worse is that no one else gives a shit. As far as they know demons will overrun Sin in a couple of months or so, and their best trump card has decided that it's none of his fucking business. And nobody is worried.
The Subplot
Gyaru Casca is apparently thrilled at the discipline showcased by the assasins, which is rich coming from the chick who thinks it's normal to try and kill your superior any chance you get.
She also dreams about the Kienian army having this kind of discipline. If you ask me their main issue is an image problem, what with the army apparently being a dumping ground for losers and undesirables.
In order to have something to do this book, she meets up with Hirode and challenges her to a sparring match - which on Sin apparently means "They are literally trying to kill each other".
Besides their dumb animu duel, they also have a dumb duel of words were they throw their nonsensical philosophies at each other until they gain a mutual understanding as fellow crazy bitches. I hope they make out eventually.
Also she is shocked and amazed to realize that assassins are kinda like murderers. At least I got a slight chuckle out of that one.
The Murderland Iceberg explained
Holy shit this country is a hot mess. It's like at least 4 mutually exclusive concepts mixed into a blender or something. JFC. WTF, even. I'm pretty sure the editor has abandoned the project before Linkara wrote this chapter, 'cause I can't imagine this getting any kind of seal of approval by someone who is not Linkara (the author).
Even without the worldbuilding issues I'm gonna rant about soon, there's the main issue that the assassins are the third most evil faction so far in this series.
Their entire country revolves around training and managing hired killers.
They apparently have thousands of them. All over the world. Dunno how long an assignment usually takes, but I'd say it's fair to assume that at least one person dies every day because of these guys.
And our heroes think they're cool.
Oh sure, they allegedly only kill important people if it benefits the Greater Good (tm). But they also need the money, assassins are usually not hired by very nice people, and they allegedly can't - or don't want to - tard wrangle their own people. Also Hirode's ramblings about their life philosophy sound like the manifesto of a serial killer.
It's safe to assume their brand of ethical terrorism is bullshit, is what I'm getting at.
The description of their capitol is confusing af. At first it appears to be some kind of military/concentration camp with lots of trees. Then they have trees big enough to carve buildings out of them. And then it turns out the trees are the size of the fucking Mana Tree because they have literal tree houses and branches big enough to have dumb animu duels on them without fear of falling down.
(A typical assassin building)
And the reason they live in these jumbo trees is because that's easier for them than just building fucking houses - when in fact this only adds more work because now you need an elaborate system of lifts to get anything into those rooms. Or at least anything not directly carved out of those trees.
Having an entire country run on nothing but assassinations is pretty fucking weird, but it gets even dumber when we find out that they literally do nothing but assassinations and have to import everything. And I mean everything. Even food. They can't even grow their own crops because their soil is some very special kind of fucked up in that apparently only shit that can't support human life grows there, like those trees. And they don't herd sheep or similar critters because either they're too cool for dirty peasant work, or the grass is poisonous. Who knows. It's never brought up.
So they have keep the entire country fed using nothing but imports.
Imports who apparently have to come by land, because if they actually bordered on water they could at least try to fish. Unless that's also not cool enough for them.
Imports who have to use an infrastructure that doesn't exist because the assassins don't care about roads.
And then they have those multi-story tree complexes that make storing and distributing those imports extra annyoing.
This shit don't work, and I have no reason why it is even here to begin with. It just makes everything more confusing. I guess Linkara (the author) thought the assassins wouldn't be cool revolutionaries if they still had to rely on farmers - which they still do, just not native ones.
The assassin's government structure is a load of bullshit as well. It's some kind of commie or ancap utopia, where there's no actual people in charge (good luck keeping everyone fed), everyone votes on what to do (what about the thousands of assassins killing people all over the world?), and everyone can do whatever they want.
Except they can't. This is Murderland, where your only jobs are "assassin", "pencil pusher for assassins" and "scientist who has to figure out why the soil makes no sense". Also you're typically trained as an assassin the minute you can walk, so there's probably a lot of indoctrination going on.
There's no way you can tell me that everyone is 100% on board with being an assassin in this grand wonderland where everyone can follow their own path towards personal fulfilment and happiness. People don't work like that.
And then there's the philosophical nonsense between Gyaru Casca and Hirode.
Warriors only care about winning and honor? Who doesn't want to win, especially if the alternative is fleeing at best and dying at worst? Also winning and honor don't necessarily go along, as winning might require some less honorable means.
Assassins only care about killing? No? What you should care about is fulfilling your contract - a sort of winning by killing, if you will.
Worldbuilding tidbits
- The people of Sin don't know how to preserve meat. I assume Linkara (the author) didn't know how people did it before the invention of freezers.
- The buildings of Olca employ various kinds of sitting furniture. We don't know how they look like, but I bet they are great places to use your writing devices on.
ChapterShow
Because the assassins didn't trust the Sam Tun Fahl Royal Family to simply allow Louis and his group back into their land without military escort, it was decided that they would not travel from Danab back directly into Sam Tun Fahl. Instead, they would travel to a land that was adjacent to both Danab and Sam Tun Fahl - Lahren. Lahren, although having more surface area than both Danab and Sam Tun Fahl combined, lacked military and technological strength. They were told that they would only encounter difficulties if they went into villages and towns with Indow, since magic-users were forbidden to enter the land. Fortunately, since they didn't plan on stopping in any place where there were lots of people, the group didn't expect any trouble.
The days following the attempted assassination were uneventful. The assassins massed for war in case Louis' negotiations failed. Louis and the others planned their route through Lahren. The capitol city of Sam Tun Fahl had been renamed Lithmenar eighteen years ago by the royal family to honor the birth of their son. However, after two years had passed since his disappearance, they had made the city's name Selmonar again, something that made Lithmenar more than a little pleased. After he had left Sam Tun Fahl, he had opted for a more discreet life of crime without anyone knowing of his heritage. Having an entire city named after you wasn't exactly something inconspicuous.
Halfway to the city, the group had found an inn along the dirt roads for them to stay the night. It was unusually large for such a remote place, possessing two stories and a tavern. However, the party was more than content to sleep there as opposed to the ground, although Lithmenar complained about it at first. The assassins, fortunately, were more than generous in handing out funding to the group for their expedition in case they would need it, and so there was more than enough money for accommodations at the inn.
Louis and Indow shared a room with two beds, something the innkeeper was a little confused about. However, after seeing the amount of money that they were carrying and quickly hushed up, acquiescing to anything they wanted.
Indow looked at her image in the mirror and gently brushed her long hair, smiling at the reflection that she saw.
"We should be in Selmonar in a few days. Are you sure that we won't encounter any difficulties entering Sam Tun Fahl again?" Indow asked him.
Louis nodded and replied, "We sent a message ahead of us through diplomatic courier that we were on our way to attempt to negotiate peace. Right before we left, we got a response saying that they were willing to hear us out. As such, I presume that there will be no difficulty going back into Sam Tun Fahl."
Louis sat on his bed, looking at the history book that Indow had given to him so many months ago.
"Are you sure you don't want to share the same bed? We could have a little fun before we went off tomorrow," Indow suggested, winking at him.
Louis chuckled and shook his head, still looking at the history book and only spotting her wink through peripheral vision. "Indow, as tempting at that offer is for this warm-blooded teenage male, I'm going to have to decline. You know the risks as much as I do at the moment, and after all we've been through, I'd hate to have something like an STD be the reason one of us dies. When we get to Earth, we'll check with some doctors that we can trust and see if it'll be a problem."
Indow paused, her smile fading away as she resumed brushing her hair.
"Yeah, when we get to Earth," she said in a more hushed tone.
Louis kept his eyes firmly in the history book, but he sighed, recognizing the way Indow was speaking. It confirmed his worst fears.
"You're not going back to Earth with me, are you?" he asked her.
Indow stopped brushing her hair and looked over to Louis, her face drooping in sadness. Louis gave a half smile and put down the book.
"I've been suspecting it for awhile. I know you weren't exactly keen on the idea of me leaving in the first place," he stated, his smile only going so far.
"I'm sorry, my love... It's just that I am not ready for the consequences of what would happen if our fears are right and time really is off-balance between our worlds," she explained.
Louis walked over to her and hugged her tightly. "I really do wish you were coming with me, but I understand... Hey, maybe we will consummate our love before I leave, eh?"
The two shared a brief laugh before returning to their embrace.
*
"What about Louis? Didn't he want to play, too?" White Raven asked, pulling up a chair to the table.
"I asked him, but he said he wanted to do some thinking alone for awhile," Lithmenar said as he sat at the table and began dealing the cards out to his compatriots.
Lithmenar, White Raven, Indow, and Jordahn all sat in Lithmenar's room at the table, stacks of their money sitting in front of them along with the cards that were being given to them.
"Why is this game called Poker? There's not a single bit of poking involved in it and there are no sharp edges to anything that would even resemble a poker of any sort," Jordahn pointed out as she pulled her cards up in front of her face.
"No idea. Louis actually told me that the fact that both Earth and Sin have poker is another piece of proof for the idea that we're actually in parallel universes. Ante up," Lithmenar replied as he tossed a gold coin into the center of the table.
Lithmenar looked at his cards and nodded. "Check."
"Check," White Raven announced as she looked over at Lithmenar. "Is there anything else we should know about your parents before we meet them again?"
Lithmenar shrugged. "Not much else to tell. They absolutely despise being told they're wrong. Any negotiations with them will break down right away if you tell them they're wrong about something."
"Duly noted. Check," Indow replied.
"I raise the bet to another gold coin," Jordahn said as she tossed another coin into the pile.
"I'm in for that. So am I still the only one who's accompanying the kid back to his world?" Lithmenar queried, slipping a gold coin over to the pot.
"I still wish to pursue Myrrha when this is all over with. I will also stay with this bet. You might want to consider the possibility that the negotiations will go well, Lithmenar, and that you can have the chance to rejoin your parents," White Raven suggested.
Lithmenar shook his head and gazed at his cards saying, "If Analee would not forgive them for what they did, then why in the pit should I forgive them?"
Indow shrugged her shoulders and put her cards facedown. "I will not continue this hand."
Jordahn smiled and upped the bet once more. "Well, I have changed my mind about trying to get back to the past. Lithmenar, you and I shall both be traveling to Earth. I raise again."
"Really?" Lithmenar asked as he met the bet. "You were the one who felt the most alienated among us. The kid is far away from his own home, Indow is always traveling everywhere and has little time for herself and her interests, especially considering that Louis is going home without her, White Raven hasn't had a home since the Dark Knights disbanded, and I left a life of riches and luxury to be a mangy, vagrant thief. You, however, have been constantly in a state of sorrow over the fact that you left your men in the middle of battle and you no longer are in your own time period. Louis has adjusted by being the leader of a religion. Indow is still a relatively young woman in terms of her social development and will probably get over the kid. White Raven has built a new role for herself outside of the Dark Knights. I could really care less about being a vagrant. However, you don't fit in because the world you knew has long since disappeared. Why the sudden change of heart of returning to your empire for honor and glory?"
White Raven folded, so Jordahn leaned in, grinned, and winked at Lithmenar. "Because I have come to some very simple conclusions, thief. When I was in Danab, I was confronted with what could possibly be considered my antithesis. It is to kill without honor or regard for victory. I wanted to return to my time to win glorious battles and fight an evil enemy. However, the glory of the individual cannot be given through such a war as that, where it has already happened, and the sacrifices of those who have been lost are not truly appreciated by the world. I have looked to the past to try to find myself, but I have forgotten that a Kien warrior always looks ahead for what is to come next. The assassins are caught in limbo, teetering on the edge of honor or death and unable to make a choice as to which they want. Although their methods and training are unparalleled, they do not have the true spirit for combat. Such a sight inspires me to see new things, fight new battles instead of ones in the history books, and seek new ways to improve my people and myself. Are you still in?"
Lithmenar smiled back at her and tossed a new coin into the pot. "Call.
Jordahn smiled and laid out her cards. It was a full house consisting of three jacks and a pair of twos. Lithmenar grumbled at his three eights and Jordahn laughed as she pulled the money towards herself.
*
Louis sat in the tavern section of the inn and looked thoughtfully into the glass of water in his hands. He rolled the glass to and fro in his palms, his head tilting slightly as if he saw something in the reflective liquid that got his attention. However, his thoughts were too convoluted at the moment to say that he was thinking about any one thing. Louis' mind was storing information like mad, analyzing and reanalyzing each new conclusion and fact that entered into the process. All at the same time, he was thinking of Minnesota, Indow, pizza, the assassins, his hair, television, and school. Each little bit made him sink even lower into his seat. However, his attention was diverted from his glass to the appearance of a stranger before him.
The man wore a long black coat with armored shoulder pieces, a black shirt with matching trousers, and a round black hat that covered his face. His boots and gloves were similarly colored and Louis saw that the man had a rather long sword hanging from his belt. As the man approached, Louis smiled and offered the chair in front of him to sit down. The man sat down in the chair and looked at Louis, examining him in a manner Louis had been examining the glass a moment ago.
Taking the initiative, Louis spoke first: "So, I didn't know there was an anime convention at this place. Your 'D' costume is quite convincing; you even have the broody demeanor down."
The man stared at him, confused.
Louis shook his head. "Never mind. It was a joke about the way you're dressed, and not even a particularly funny one, anyway, since nobody gets the punch line."
"Who are you?" the man asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Oh, no, I'm not telling anybody else who I am. Every time I've told someone who I am over the past month, they end up either wanting to worship me or kill me," Louis stated.
"Fair enough. I must admit, you look and sound very... bizzare."
Louis chuckled. "Yeah, I get that a lot. What are you doing in this neck of the woods, smilie?"
The man ignored the comment about the fact that he wasn't smiling.
"I am fleeing an army of religious fanatics who wish to retrieve a mystical object and the witch who stole it from them. I am accompanied by the aforementioned witch and a woman who seems very... average to be a vagabond. What is your business here, if I may ask?"
Louis leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm assisting an exiled legion of thieves and a country of assassins in overthrowing a dictatorial empire by sneaking into their capitol and attempting to negotiate with them. If they refuse to give the peasants the rights that the people demand, I'm supposed to lead a violent revolution against the oppressors. I'm accompanied by a priestess, a thief, a mass murderer, and a warrior who's misplaced in time. You know, I just realized that my life has been complete and utter insanity ever since I landed on this planet. Normally, I'd swear loudly at a time like this and utter a few curse words in anger at the fact that I've been drawn into so much when I just want to get home, but I'm just sick of it."
"Do you fancy yourself a hero?" the man questioned.
Louis nodded. "Yep. You?"
The man nodded. "For the most part. I fight evil where I encounter it and oppose the strong who would harm the weak. In fact, if I were not already engaged in my own matters, it is very likely that I would join you in your quest of overthrowing these dictators you spoke of. Do you ever feel like giving up on it? I have grown rather weary lately of the constant battle."
Louis sighed. "All the time. However, I have to remember that there are bigger things at stake than my own personal wants. I, for one, am a romantic about a lot of this. I believe that, although things don't always turn out for the best, I try as hard as I can to make sure that they do. That's why I'm one of these."
"A white hat? I don't understand the reference," he said.
"If you were from where I come from, you would. Essentially it's a marker that I'm a good guy and I intend to remain as such no matter what. I like to think that everybody's got a neat little spark in 'em that wants them to do right and good with the world, no matter how seriously messed up they are. I apologize if I sound like some clichéd movie tag line, by the way."
"You are very optimistic about this profession. You haven't encountered the things that I have. You're... young."
"Darn tootin', baby. A little youthful optimism is something more people should embrace; I personally have found it to be better than the alternative."
"The alternative?"
"A twilight that refuses to accept more light out of fear and anger over things lost or what might be lost. Sure, I like the broody superhero once in awhile, but you can't just live your life in the shadows, otherwise you'll become so attached to them that you won't be able to tell the difference between them and the things you're supposed to be fighting."
"The world is not so simplistic, boy. You have not experienced all of the horrors of it and the mistakes that can arise."
"I defeated a big blob of evil by ramming myself into it like a torpedo, got sent back in time and killed without regard to circumstances in the name of vengeance, got my mind raped by some shadow thing, and have had the distinctive honor of being shot at, stabbed, betrayed, smacked around, hit, and chased around. I'm no stranger to pain or misery, my black-clad friend. I've made plenty of mistakes and ones that I feel deeply sorry about, but sometimes you just have to stick with the plan you had from the start, otherwise you get buried in a bunch of debates that have no end. I'm not saying that you shouldn't change the little things in order to help you out, but the goal should remain constant and your attitude towards it probably should remain the same."
Louis stood and extended his left hand. The man couldn't help but see the gauntlet on his right hand, but didn't think much of it considering Louis' attire at the moment.
"Well, it's been a pleasure waxing philosophical with you, but I need some sleep. I'll see you-"
The door to the tavern burst open. Louis and the man in black turned their heads over to the doorway as the few remaining patrons of the bar either fell asleep from drunkenness or walked away uncaringly. A group of knights were walking in, their leader immediately looking over at the man. Louis clenched his right fist in preparation for a fight against these new intruders. The knights wore silver armor with a mixture of half-spherical helmets and others that covered the entire face. The lead knight, clearly indicated by the small metal wings attached to the sides of his helmet, removed his head armor and glared at the man.
"Friends of yours?" Louis asked, looking over at the man in black.
"We have met, sadly. They are knights of the Hahlo Unification," he responded, reaching for his sword.
"I give you another chance to surrender the girl and the staff. We will track you from one end of the Sin to the other if we have to, but we will have them back," the lead Hahlo Knight proclaimed.
"And I must say 'no' once again," the man replied, looking over at Louis to address him. "They have been imbued with some kind of mystical force that I have not encountered before. They cannot be killed."
"Can they be knocked unconscious and then tied up?" Louis suggested.
The man nodded. "I do believe they can."
Louis looked over at the bartender, who appeared to be shaking with fear as he looked from the two heroes to the Hahlo knights.
"Barkeep, you wouldn't happen to know anybody who'd be interested in taking some Hahlo knights as prisoners or something?" Louis shouted to him.
The barkeep shakily nodded. "I... I know a few people who might be interested."
Louis grinned. "Give us five minutes."
The Hahlo knights drew their swords.
"...Maybe ten!" Louis added on just before leaping forward at the Knights.
The nearest knight tried to slash at Louis as he leapt at him, but Louis landed outside of the range of the sword and extended his arms out, the gauntlet's blade immediately sliding out. He brought the blade forward to slash at the knight's side, but the knight blocked with his sword. Louis pushed against the sword, trying to force it back against the knight. The other knights stepped forward, but when the man in black stepped up, they decided to move back to the outside instead of fighting in the tavern.
Louis pushed himself away from the knight but continued to slash at him in order to force him back outside. The knight quickly fled back, rejoining his comrades as Louis and the man advanced. Louis shivered as he entered the outside, but it wasn't because of the temperature, since it was still relatively warm outside. When the man in black got a look at Louis again, he saw that a new gauntlet had formed on his other arm, as well as some new armor was coming up around his torso. A new set of golden greaves came around Louis' feet.
The Hahlo knights began to spread out to divide their focus between the two. There were six of them total, but instead of going equally, four went against the man in black while the remaining two faced off Louis. The second blade came out of the new gauntlet as he charged at one of the two knights, doing a horizontal slash across the knight's chest to try to distract his guard. It worked, since the knight brought his sword up to block the attack. Louis used his second blade to go down low and stab the knight in the stomach.
As he pushed the knight away, Louis turned and readied himself to fight the other knight. "Does this happen to you often?"
The man in black blocked the sword swipe of one of the knights and dodged two others.
"What do you mean?" he asked in reply.
"Being attacked by obviously inferior swordsmen in a somewhat pointless battle," Louis explained.
The man in black slammed the hilt of his sword into the helmet of a knight. "Lately, it has been happening more and more frequently. It is becoming rather... annoying."
Louis deflected several more attacks from the other knight before slamming the ends of both blades into the side of the knight. The knight gasped before falling back, the pain too much for him to handle.
"Well, these sort of things can happen with our lives, we just have to muddle through them the best that we can," Louis continued.
In one clean swipe, the man in black sent his sword through the torso of another knight, cutting him clean in half.
"I fear that they shall never give up hunting and this shall become too regular an occurrence for me," the man in black replied.
Louis joined the man in black's side to fight off the last few knights. The two slashed and struck at the knights, who could only block and deflect their blows.
"It seems this battle is coming to a quick end," the man pointed out.
Louis rammed his blade through the chest of a knight, blood staining his weapon. "What were you expecting, a glamorous display of fireworks and a heroic ending after a one-liner is spouted off? Sometimes a battle's just a battle, and an ending is just an ending."
The last knight, the leader of the Hahlo knights, sent a throwing knife at the man in black to try to kill him in one fell swoop, but the man dodged to the left and the knife planted itself in a nearby tree.
"The ending doesn't have to be anything special, it just has to be an ending..." Louis continued.
The man charged forward and swept at the lead knight, who nimbly jumped backwards to avoid it. Louis then ran ahead of the man in black and took to the air, jumping higher than the man in black or the lead knight thought possible for a human. He came down quickly and slammed his armor-covered foot into the knight's forehead, sending him onto his back and into unconsciousness.
"...or, better yet, a to-be-continued," Louis finished.
Louis sighed and panted a bit, chuckling as he examined the unconscious knights. He then glanced over at the man in black, who was putting his sword back into his scabbard.
"Perhaps you're right. Would you like to meet tomorrow for breakfast and 'wax philosophical' some more, as you so colorfully put it?" the man in black invited.
Louis grinned as his blades retracted into his gauntlet. "Glad to. What was your name again?"
They call me the Black Master."
"Cheery," Louis said as the two walked back into the tavern to inform the bartender that he could tie up the knights now.
*
"Have all of the arrangements been made?" the King asked.
The servant before him kept his head held low, but nodded in response. It was considered illegal in Sam Tun Fahl for the servants to look into the eyes of their masters. The King hustled him away as he stood and walked over to the Queen, who was standing by the window and overlooking the capitol city. Selmonar was beautiful, but it still possessed the same elements about it that were hitting every town in Sam Tun Fahl. The King put a hand on his wife's shoulder and looked out into the countryside himself.
"It's done now," he said to her.
The Queen did not respond.
"With luck, they'll be bringing Lithmenar with them," he pointed out.
She nodded and looked down at the streets below. "I wonder what he will be like after having spent years among the filthy. We will have to clean him thoroughly."
The King nodded. "I am aware of that, Menarar. Don't worry, we'll have him in royal robes again soon enough."
Queen Menarar's eyes began to water and she went into the King's arms, embracing him tightly. The King closed his eyes and rubbed her back, returning the hug.
"Oh, Lithores, I miss him so much!" she cried, tears quickly flowing down her cheeks.
King Lithores nodded and opened his eyes, looking down into the streets and wondering if Lithmenar was already there, simply waiting and biding his time before he saw them again.
"I wonder if he knows about-" Lithores began to say, but his wife put her finger up to his lips, silencing him.
"If he had known, he would've already come home. For the moment, we are in the times between the important points of our lives. Soon, this time will resolve and we might even have our son again, but for now, just hold me, Lithores... Just hold me..."
And that's what he did.
The days following the attempted assassination were uneventful. The assassins massed for war in case Louis' negotiations failed. Louis and the others planned their route through Lahren. The capitol city of Sam Tun Fahl had been renamed Lithmenar eighteen years ago by the royal family to honor the birth of their son. However, after two years had passed since his disappearance, they had made the city's name Selmonar again, something that made Lithmenar more than a little pleased. After he had left Sam Tun Fahl, he had opted for a more discreet life of crime without anyone knowing of his heritage. Having an entire city named after you wasn't exactly something inconspicuous.
Halfway to the city, the group had found an inn along the dirt roads for them to stay the night. It was unusually large for such a remote place, possessing two stories and a tavern. However, the party was more than content to sleep there as opposed to the ground, although Lithmenar complained about it at first. The assassins, fortunately, were more than generous in handing out funding to the group for their expedition in case they would need it, and so there was more than enough money for accommodations at the inn.
Louis and Indow shared a room with two beds, something the innkeeper was a little confused about. However, after seeing the amount of money that they were carrying and quickly hushed up, acquiescing to anything they wanted.
Indow looked at her image in the mirror and gently brushed her long hair, smiling at the reflection that she saw.
"We should be in Selmonar in a few days. Are you sure that we won't encounter any difficulties entering Sam Tun Fahl again?" Indow asked him.
Louis nodded and replied, "We sent a message ahead of us through diplomatic courier that we were on our way to attempt to negotiate peace. Right before we left, we got a response saying that they were willing to hear us out. As such, I presume that there will be no difficulty going back into Sam Tun Fahl."
Louis sat on his bed, looking at the history book that Indow had given to him so many months ago.
"Are you sure you don't want to share the same bed? We could have a little fun before we went off tomorrow," Indow suggested, winking at him.
Louis chuckled and shook his head, still looking at the history book and only spotting her wink through peripheral vision. "Indow, as tempting at that offer is for this warm-blooded teenage male, I'm going to have to decline. You know the risks as much as I do at the moment, and after all we've been through, I'd hate to have something like an STD be the reason one of us dies. When we get to Earth, we'll check with some doctors that we can trust and see if it'll be a problem."
Indow paused, her smile fading away as she resumed brushing her hair.
"Yeah, when we get to Earth," she said in a more hushed tone.
Louis kept his eyes firmly in the history book, but he sighed, recognizing the way Indow was speaking. It confirmed his worst fears.
"You're not going back to Earth with me, are you?" he asked her.
Indow stopped brushing her hair and looked over to Louis, her face drooping in sadness. Louis gave a half smile and put down the book.
"I've been suspecting it for awhile. I know you weren't exactly keen on the idea of me leaving in the first place," he stated, his smile only going so far.
"I'm sorry, my love... It's just that I am not ready for the consequences of what would happen if our fears are right and time really is off-balance between our worlds," she explained.
Louis walked over to her and hugged her tightly. "I really do wish you were coming with me, but I understand... Hey, maybe we will consummate our love before I leave, eh?"
The two shared a brief laugh before returning to their embrace.
*
"What about Louis? Didn't he want to play, too?" White Raven asked, pulling up a chair to the table.
"I asked him, but he said he wanted to do some thinking alone for awhile," Lithmenar said as he sat at the table and began dealing the cards out to his compatriots.
Lithmenar, White Raven, Indow, and Jordahn all sat in Lithmenar's room at the table, stacks of their money sitting in front of them along with the cards that were being given to them.
"Why is this game called Poker? There's not a single bit of poking involved in it and there are no sharp edges to anything that would even resemble a poker of any sort," Jordahn pointed out as she pulled her cards up in front of her face.
"No idea. Louis actually told me that the fact that both Earth and Sin have poker is another piece of proof for the idea that we're actually in parallel universes. Ante up," Lithmenar replied as he tossed a gold coin into the center of the table.
Lithmenar looked at his cards and nodded. "Check."
"Check," White Raven announced as she looked over at Lithmenar. "Is there anything else we should know about your parents before we meet them again?"
Lithmenar shrugged. "Not much else to tell. They absolutely despise being told they're wrong. Any negotiations with them will break down right away if you tell them they're wrong about something."
"Duly noted. Check," Indow replied.
"I raise the bet to another gold coin," Jordahn said as she tossed another coin into the pile.
"I'm in for that. So am I still the only one who's accompanying the kid back to his world?" Lithmenar queried, slipping a gold coin over to the pot.
"I still wish to pursue Myrrha when this is all over with. I will also stay with this bet. You might want to consider the possibility that the negotiations will go well, Lithmenar, and that you can have the chance to rejoin your parents," White Raven suggested.
Lithmenar shook his head and gazed at his cards saying, "If Analee would not forgive them for what they did, then why in the pit should I forgive them?"
Indow shrugged her shoulders and put her cards facedown. "I will not continue this hand."
Jordahn smiled and upped the bet once more. "Well, I have changed my mind about trying to get back to the past. Lithmenar, you and I shall both be traveling to Earth. I raise again."
"Really?" Lithmenar asked as he met the bet. "You were the one who felt the most alienated among us. The kid is far away from his own home, Indow is always traveling everywhere and has little time for herself and her interests, especially considering that Louis is going home without her, White Raven hasn't had a home since the Dark Knights disbanded, and I left a life of riches and luxury to be a mangy, vagrant thief. You, however, have been constantly in a state of sorrow over the fact that you left your men in the middle of battle and you no longer are in your own time period. Louis has adjusted by being the leader of a religion. Indow is still a relatively young woman in terms of her social development and will probably get over the kid. White Raven has built a new role for herself outside of the Dark Knights. I could really care less about being a vagrant. However, you don't fit in because the world you knew has long since disappeared. Why the sudden change of heart of returning to your empire for honor and glory?"
White Raven folded, so Jordahn leaned in, grinned, and winked at Lithmenar. "Because I have come to some very simple conclusions, thief. When I was in Danab, I was confronted with what could possibly be considered my antithesis. It is to kill without honor or regard for victory. I wanted to return to my time to win glorious battles and fight an evil enemy. However, the glory of the individual cannot be given through such a war as that, where it has already happened, and the sacrifices of those who have been lost are not truly appreciated by the world. I have looked to the past to try to find myself, but I have forgotten that a Kien warrior always looks ahead for what is to come next. The assassins are caught in limbo, teetering on the edge of honor or death and unable to make a choice as to which they want. Although their methods and training are unparalleled, they do not have the true spirit for combat. Such a sight inspires me to see new things, fight new battles instead of ones in the history books, and seek new ways to improve my people and myself. Are you still in?"
Lithmenar smiled back at her and tossed a new coin into the pot. "Call.
Jordahn smiled and laid out her cards. It was a full house consisting of three jacks and a pair of twos. Lithmenar grumbled at his three eights and Jordahn laughed as she pulled the money towards herself.
*
Louis sat in the tavern section of the inn and looked thoughtfully into the glass of water in his hands. He rolled the glass to and fro in his palms, his head tilting slightly as if he saw something in the reflective liquid that got his attention. However, his thoughts were too convoluted at the moment to say that he was thinking about any one thing. Louis' mind was storing information like mad, analyzing and reanalyzing each new conclusion and fact that entered into the process. All at the same time, he was thinking of Minnesota, Indow, pizza, the assassins, his hair, television, and school. Each little bit made him sink even lower into his seat. However, his attention was diverted from his glass to the appearance of a stranger before him.
The man wore a long black coat with armored shoulder pieces, a black shirt with matching trousers, and a round black hat that covered his face. His boots and gloves were similarly colored and Louis saw that the man had a rather long sword hanging from his belt. As the man approached, Louis smiled and offered the chair in front of him to sit down. The man sat down in the chair and looked at Louis, examining him in a manner Louis had been examining the glass a moment ago.
Taking the initiative, Louis spoke first: "So, I didn't know there was an anime convention at this place. Your 'D' costume is quite convincing; you even have the broody demeanor down."
The man stared at him, confused.
Louis shook his head. "Never mind. It was a joke about the way you're dressed, and not even a particularly funny one, anyway, since nobody gets the punch line."
"Who are you?" the man asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Oh, no, I'm not telling anybody else who I am. Every time I've told someone who I am over the past month, they end up either wanting to worship me or kill me," Louis stated.
"Fair enough. I must admit, you look and sound very... bizzare."
Louis chuckled. "Yeah, I get that a lot. What are you doing in this neck of the woods, smilie?"
The man ignored the comment about the fact that he wasn't smiling.
"I am fleeing an army of religious fanatics who wish to retrieve a mystical object and the witch who stole it from them. I am accompanied by the aforementioned witch and a woman who seems very... average to be a vagabond. What is your business here, if I may ask?"
Louis leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm assisting an exiled legion of thieves and a country of assassins in overthrowing a dictatorial empire by sneaking into their capitol and attempting to negotiate with them. If they refuse to give the peasants the rights that the people demand, I'm supposed to lead a violent revolution against the oppressors. I'm accompanied by a priestess, a thief, a mass murderer, and a warrior who's misplaced in time. You know, I just realized that my life has been complete and utter insanity ever since I landed on this planet. Normally, I'd swear loudly at a time like this and utter a few curse words in anger at the fact that I've been drawn into so much when I just want to get home, but I'm just sick of it."
"Do you fancy yourself a hero?" the man questioned.
Louis nodded. "Yep. You?"
The man nodded. "For the most part. I fight evil where I encounter it and oppose the strong who would harm the weak. In fact, if I were not already engaged in my own matters, it is very likely that I would join you in your quest of overthrowing these dictators you spoke of. Do you ever feel like giving up on it? I have grown rather weary lately of the constant battle."
Louis sighed. "All the time. However, I have to remember that there are bigger things at stake than my own personal wants. I, for one, am a romantic about a lot of this. I believe that, although things don't always turn out for the best, I try as hard as I can to make sure that they do. That's why I'm one of these."
"A white hat? I don't understand the reference," he said.
"If you were from where I come from, you would. Essentially it's a marker that I'm a good guy and I intend to remain as such no matter what. I like to think that everybody's got a neat little spark in 'em that wants them to do right and good with the world, no matter how seriously messed up they are. I apologize if I sound like some clichéd movie tag line, by the way."
"You are very optimistic about this profession. You haven't encountered the things that I have. You're... young."
"Darn tootin', baby. A little youthful optimism is something more people should embrace; I personally have found it to be better than the alternative."
"The alternative?"
"A twilight that refuses to accept more light out of fear and anger over things lost or what might be lost. Sure, I like the broody superhero once in awhile, but you can't just live your life in the shadows, otherwise you'll become so attached to them that you won't be able to tell the difference between them and the things you're supposed to be fighting."
"The world is not so simplistic, boy. You have not experienced all of the horrors of it and the mistakes that can arise."
"I defeated a big blob of evil by ramming myself into it like a torpedo, got sent back in time and killed without regard to circumstances in the name of vengeance, got my mind raped by some shadow thing, and have had the distinctive honor of being shot at, stabbed, betrayed, smacked around, hit, and chased around. I'm no stranger to pain or misery, my black-clad friend. I've made plenty of mistakes and ones that I feel deeply sorry about, but sometimes you just have to stick with the plan you had from the start, otherwise you get buried in a bunch of debates that have no end. I'm not saying that you shouldn't change the little things in order to help you out, but the goal should remain constant and your attitude towards it probably should remain the same."
Louis stood and extended his left hand. The man couldn't help but see the gauntlet on his right hand, but didn't think much of it considering Louis' attire at the moment.
"Well, it's been a pleasure waxing philosophical with you, but I need some sleep. I'll see you-"
The door to the tavern burst open. Louis and the man in black turned their heads over to the doorway as the few remaining patrons of the bar either fell asleep from drunkenness or walked away uncaringly. A group of knights were walking in, their leader immediately looking over at the man. Louis clenched his right fist in preparation for a fight against these new intruders. The knights wore silver armor with a mixture of half-spherical helmets and others that covered the entire face. The lead knight, clearly indicated by the small metal wings attached to the sides of his helmet, removed his head armor and glared at the man.
"Friends of yours?" Louis asked, looking over at the man in black.
"We have met, sadly. They are knights of the Hahlo Unification," he responded, reaching for his sword.
"I give you another chance to surrender the girl and the staff. We will track you from one end of the Sin to the other if we have to, but we will have them back," the lead Hahlo Knight proclaimed.
"And I must say 'no' once again," the man replied, looking over at Louis to address him. "They have been imbued with some kind of mystical force that I have not encountered before. They cannot be killed."
"Can they be knocked unconscious and then tied up?" Louis suggested.
The man nodded. "I do believe they can."
Louis looked over at the bartender, who appeared to be shaking with fear as he looked from the two heroes to the Hahlo knights.
"Barkeep, you wouldn't happen to know anybody who'd be interested in taking some Hahlo knights as prisoners or something?" Louis shouted to him.
The barkeep shakily nodded. "I... I know a few people who might be interested."
Louis grinned. "Give us five minutes."
The Hahlo knights drew their swords.
"...Maybe ten!" Louis added on just before leaping forward at the Knights.
The nearest knight tried to slash at Louis as he leapt at him, but Louis landed outside of the range of the sword and extended his arms out, the gauntlet's blade immediately sliding out. He brought the blade forward to slash at the knight's side, but the knight blocked with his sword. Louis pushed against the sword, trying to force it back against the knight. The other knights stepped forward, but when the man in black stepped up, they decided to move back to the outside instead of fighting in the tavern.
Louis pushed himself away from the knight but continued to slash at him in order to force him back outside. The knight quickly fled back, rejoining his comrades as Louis and the man advanced. Louis shivered as he entered the outside, but it wasn't because of the temperature, since it was still relatively warm outside. When the man in black got a look at Louis again, he saw that a new gauntlet had formed on his other arm, as well as some new armor was coming up around his torso. A new set of golden greaves came around Louis' feet.
The Hahlo knights began to spread out to divide their focus between the two. There were six of them total, but instead of going equally, four went against the man in black while the remaining two faced off Louis. The second blade came out of the new gauntlet as he charged at one of the two knights, doing a horizontal slash across the knight's chest to try to distract his guard. It worked, since the knight brought his sword up to block the attack. Louis used his second blade to go down low and stab the knight in the stomach.
As he pushed the knight away, Louis turned and readied himself to fight the other knight. "Does this happen to you often?"
The man in black blocked the sword swipe of one of the knights and dodged two others.
"What do you mean?" he asked in reply.
"Being attacked by obviously inferior swordsmen in a somewhat pointless battle," Louis explained.
The man in black slammed the hilt of his sword into the helmet of a knight. "Lately, it has been happening more and more frequently. It is becoming rather... annoying."
Louis deflected several more attacks from the other knight before slamming the ends of both blades into the side of the knight. The knight gasped before falling back, the pain too much for him to handle.
"Well, these sort of things can happen with our lives, we just have to muddle through them the best that we can," Louis continued.
In one clean swipe, the man in black sent his sword through the torso of another knight, cutting him clean in half.
"I fear that they shall never give up hunting and this shall become too regular an occurrence for me," the man in black replied.
Louis joined the man in black's side to fight off the last few knights. The two slashed and struck at the knights, who could only block and deflect their blows.
"It seems this battle is coming to a quick end," the man pointed out.
Louis rammed his blade through the chest of a knight, blood staining his weapon. "What were you expecting, a glamorous display of fireworks and a heroic ending after a one-liner is spouted off? Sometimes a battle's just a battle, and an ending is just an ending."
The last knight, the leader of the Hahlo knights, sent a throwing knife at the man in black to try to kill him in one fell swoop, but the man dodged to the left and the knife planted itself in a nearby tree.
"The ending doesn't have to be anything special, it just has to be an ending..." Louis continued.
The man charged forward and swept at the lead knight, who nimbly jumped backwards to avoid it. Louis then ran ahead of the man in black and took to the air, jumping higher than the man in black or the lead knight thought possible for a human. He came down quickly and slammed his armor-covered foot into the knight's forehead, sending him onto his back and into unconsciousness.
"...or, better yet, a to-be-continued," Louis finished.
Louis sighed and panted a bit, chuckling as he examined the unconscious knights. He then glanced over at the man in black, who was putting his sword back into his scabbard.
"Perhaps you're right. Would you like to meet tomorrow for breakfast and 'wax philosophical' some more, as you so colorfully put it?" the man in black invited.
Louis grinned as his blades retracted into his gauntlet. "Glad to. What was your name again?"
They call me the Black Master."
"Cheery," Louis said as the two walked back into the tavern to inform the bartender that he could tie up the knights now.
*
"Have all of the arrangements been made?" the King asked.
The servant before him kept his head held low, but nodded in response. It was considered illegal in Sam Tun Fahl for the servants to look into the eyes of their masters. The King hustled him away as he stood and walked over to the Queen, who was standing by the window and overlooking the capitol city. Selmonar was beautiful, but it still possessed the same elements about it that were hitting every town in Sam Tun Fahl. The King put a hand on his wife's shoulder and looked out into the countryside himself.
"It's done now," he said to her.
The Queen did not respond.
"With luck, they'll be bringing Lithmenar with them," he pointed out.
She nodded and looked down at the streets below. "I wonder what he will be like after having spent years among the filthy. We will have to clean him thoroughly."
The King nodded. "I am aware of that, Menarar. Don't worry, we'll have him in royal robes again soon enough."
Queen Menarar's eyes began to water and she went into the King's arms, embracing him tightly. The King closed his eyes and rubbed her back, returning the hug.
"Oh, Lithores, I miss him so much!" she cried, tears quickly flowing down her cheeks.
King Lithores nodded and opened his eyes, looking down into the streets and wondering if Lithmenar was already there, simply waiting and biding his time before he saw them again.
"I wonder if he knows about-" Lithores began to say, but his wife put her finger up to his lips, silencing him.
"If he had known, he would've already come home. For the moment, we are in the times between the important points of our lives. Soon, this time will resolve and we might even have our son again, but for now, just hold me, Lithores... Just hold me..."
And that's what he did.
