The Angel Armor Saga by Lewis "The Lightbringer" Lovhaug

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Book 2, Chapter 17 - The Corbomite Maneuver
(Or: Bitches bewitched by Blood)


(What? This one also had a ghost waifu.)

Will the Terafellas ever be a real threat? And will the story continue to introduce new surprise allies despite the fact this book has only 3 more chapters and an epilogue to go? Just read on, reader!

"Remember when Rain got killed?" Count: 13
"Remember when Indow got raped?" Count: 6
"Baddies Never Smile" Count: 16

RecapShow

Past


It turns out the Terafella beam gun is some kind of Martian heat-ray or Star Trek phaser set to its highest output, and in what might just be the most anticlimactic usage of beam weaponry in the history of fiction, Linkara's titular Angel Armor is revealed to be capable of effortlessly absorbing the beam, and is even friendly enough to show Linkara that he can fire the energy back.
This was even somewhat foreshadowed in that Linkara didn't even try to dodge it and just went "Oh well, guess I'm gonna die now" like he did in Book 1 when he had to face two Dark Knights at once. It's like he is contractually obligated to include one such scene per book, and they always end with someone (or something) bailing him out via Deus Ex Machina.

We are also blessed with moronic levels of ineptitude from both sides:

• Rohaq first fires the beam at a nameless Linkster goon instead of the guy that compelled him to request the gun in the first place
  • Of course this was likely a clumsy plot contrivance to show off the terrifying power of the beam before it is rendered useless by Linkara's armor, but there were a number of ways to make this less dumb.
    I mean, just have Linkara be the target. He could use his superhuman reflexes to dodge it by a hair's breath, and then the beam hits the castle instead and blows a huge hole in the wall.
• Rohaq then demands their surrender - including Linkara's, even though he had multiple violent fantasies involving Linkara and the beam, and he should know from the interrogation disaster that you can't take Linkara prisoner.
• Now it's Linkara's turn to be a moron, so he uses his absorbed beam shot to kill a nameless Terafell goon instead of the guy who keeps ordering the Terafellas to annoy him and his nakama.
  Sure, there's a good chance they'd eventually send a replacement for Rohaq, but disrupting their chain of command might just buy them enough time to reach the border unmolested for once.
• With the Terafellas being shocked and amazed at their ace in the hole being rendered useless, Linkara seizes the opportunity by ordering a full retreat instead of just charging Rohaq and beating the shit out of him.

So now our heroes are once again besieged by Terafellas. Maybe this time Linkara can make them build him a rocket launcher or something.
Then again this chapter is named after the famous Star Trek TOS episode where Kirk tricks a superior enemy foe by making up some bullshit super weapon - except in this case the good guys are the superior foe, and the bad guys actually are evil instead of enlightened beings who were just testing a lesser species.

Present


Garick's hanging out alone in a new dungeon cell when a ghost knight lady just shows up. She's not somehow tied to Soyah or the Dark Knights. She just accepted the "Help out some dipshits in Soyah" side quest, so we have a new friendly neighborhood ghost out of nowhere. Random, but sure, why not.

Meanwhile Indow and Lithmenar wake up and come to the shocking realization that they're stuck in a sewer level. Somehow the grizzled thief and scroundel is more whiny and bitchy about the whole situation than the upper-class priestess.
We are also blessed with an oddly anachronistic discussion between the two where it is revealed that being a thief is really all about being a punk who sticks it to the man, that a French revolution is just around the corner if the kings try anything funny, and that the real deep state has been the church all along.
Then they hear some growling in the distance, but knowing these cliffhangers it's probably just a cute doge.

ChapterShow

Jordahn flipped through the pages of the history book, her face close to the writing in an attempt to look for specific words and descriptions. She sat at a desk and only read by candlelight as Louis paced from one end of the room to the other. His fists were clenched and his face was one of confusion and thought, his teeth grinding together. Chreydo sat in a chair in one corner of the room, his mouth agape with shock, looking over the events of the last battle over and over again in his mind.

"Any luck?" Louis asked, stopping only for a moment to look at Jordahn.

"Nothing! There's no mention of anything like this in the history book! I've spanned the entire 100-Year War and a hundred years afterwards, and I can find nothing that gives mention to a weapon that shoots lightning from it's barrel!" Jordahn replied, slamming her hand on the book repeatedly.

Chreydo spoke up: "What kind of magic could be so destructive as to utterly destroy someone?! Perhaps an Emphen-Sol, but that always leaves remains of some kind..."

"That was no magic, Chreydo." Louis replied. "It was technology."

"I've never heard or seen any technology that could do what that thing did!" Jordahn said.

"This doesn't make any sense! You people are still having trouble mastering crossbows and catapults because they're such new inventions! Where in the hell does he get an energy weapon?!" Louis shouted.

Louis let the question sit in the air a bit as he tried to come up with a logical reason behind the appearance of such advanced technology in a medieval setting. The others winced, Jeremis himself standing off in a corner and looking out a small window to the area outside of him. Jeremis looked away and offered his own suggestion to the matter:

"Perhaps there is a third party that has supplied them with this... device."

Louis sighed. "But who has that kind of power and doesn't just exercise it themselves? What is there to gain?"

"Possibly attempting to play both sides against the middle so that they, themselves, can stand on top when the fog of war settles. They probably do not have the kind of force of arms necessary to take power." Jordahn suggested.

"What about that temporal distortion we encountered in the forest? This weapon... If it is of technology that is still not developed, could one of these distortions have lasted long enough for some of these weapons from the future to be taken from the distortions and then brought to the Arbiters?" Chreydo asked.

"Very possible. Still, there's no mention of it in the history book, so that makes me a little worried about our chances in the coming fight. All right, gang, rest up. Chreydo, we may need an emergency leave with that spell, ready or not, if we can't think of a way to beat the guy out there with the phaser." Louis stated.

*

"Is something troubling you, Captain? You have been very quiet and solitary for the past few hours." Jeremis said, walking up to Jordahn.

Jordahn sat upon a wooden crate, her eyes shut in silent meditation. They were in the cellar of the castle, where Jordahn had requested to be her lodging. Her hair's once- natural beauty and strength had long-since disappeared into a disheveled, brittle mess. She took in a deep breath and exhaled, staring at the candle that lit the room. Jeremis merely stood in the doorway, waiting for Jordahn to respond. Jordahn looked up at him and shrugged.

"I do not think you'd understand. You're a scientist from an age where war is not your way of life." she replied.

Jeremis shrugged. "I'm not really much of a scientist. My parents brought me up to be an aristocrat, to study literature and art instead of science and innovation. However, I am also a study of human behavior. Your behavior suggests regret, confusion, and anger. Am I correct?"

Jordahn continued staring at the flame, but her eyes narrowed. "All I ever wanted was to be the Captain of a Unit. Unlike most of the others of the Unit, I was deliberately enrolled into the Kien military by my parents. They wanted me to be an imposing figure, a warrior! I've risen through the ranks, fought countless battles, and for what, Jeremis? One day, the Unit has a relaxing break from the harshness of war, and then this pompous little boy comes in and announces that he is now leading my Unit. I didn't think for one minute that he'd get me into a situation where many friends that I have known over the years would be killed and that I'd be questioning my own faith."

"You are of the New Blood Order?" Jeremis inquired.

"Yes. How did you know?" Jordahn asked in response.

"Your hands have various cuts on them, no doubts from many of the blood rituals you've had to endure. Also, the tattoo on your right arm seems to indicate that you are of the Veralta sect of the Order. There are not many Veraltas in my time." Jeremis explained.

"The tattoos have only been introduced recently to distinguish ourselves from the other religions..." Jordahn said.

"They are commonplace in my time. You have been questioning your faith?"

"Louis is supposed to be the Linkara, isn't he?"

"Louis himself is not sure of his role. According to his close friends from the present, he has his own beliefs and religion."

Jordahn shrugged. "Actually, there is a ritual that I have been delaying for some time now. I'm wondering if I should even bother with it. It's something every member of the Order does once a year, and it is my time to do it."

"Then please perform the ritual. I would very much like to see it." Jeremis stated.

Jordahn looked up at him for a moment, considering it in her mind. She then quickly stood up and revealed a knife from a sheath at her side. She quickly sliced the blade into her palm and held the open wound above the ground, letting the blood drip down from it. Jeremis tilted his head, examining the sight before him with great interest.

"Blood is life..." she said softly.

She paused, as if trying to remember the words.

Jordahn then continued: "Blood is life. My blood is of the human. It is of the Orc and the Dwarf, of the Elf and the Anako. It is of the birds and the fish, of the Ko and the dragon. It is of all things living, of flesh or plant."

She slowly descended to her knees and held her bleeding hand over the candle. "Blood is life and blood is soul. Joined with my souls are the souls of those who have come before me. Their spirits, their wisdom, and their strength are mine to call upon when my soul is in danger.

"I give of myself the spirit of all things living into this flame and this soil. May the spirits of those who wished for peace from the mortal coil escape, and let those who wish to stay and live on in my flesh continue."

She then removed her hand from the flame and closed her eyes, putting her other hand over the wound to apply pressure to it. She took in one more deep breath and exhaled before she continued.

"Blood is life and blood is soul. May the life and souls of those who have come before me live on within this form and continue to bless me with their wisdom. Nahat tet o'raht t'jahl."

And with that, she stood up and smiled. "That felt good."

Before Jeremis could voice on his thoughts, Louis came running down the stairway to the cellar and called out to them.

"Guys! I think I have an idea how we can get them to leave us alone! Come to the meeting room!" he shouted.

*

"He's completely and utterly insane." Jordahn growled. "I can't believe I actually thought he was the Linkara."

"Insanity has nothing to do with it. He'll be telling Rohaq part of the truth." Chreydo said.

"He has done nothing since he arrived here but bluff and thrust himself into any situation that comes before him simply out a childish desire to do so. He should've been killed a thousand times before, and now he shall be killed because he actually thinks this is going to work. What makes it worse is that he will not only get himself killed, but the rest of us in the process." Jordahn said.

"The Linkara has had his rise and fall from his headstrongness. Frankly, I don't think even with my recent studies and experiments I could get any more than four of us back to the present." Chreydo said.

Then let us pray that Louis knows what he's doing. The Arbiters fell for something like this the last time, but we don't know if they'll fall for it again." Jeremis said.

What the group was talking about was the fact that Louis was slowly walking out of the castle to face Rohaq and his troops. The amount of Arbiters had increased, and now there were seven Arbiters that held the energy weapon that had earlier vaporized one of the Unit soldiers. Louis was punching down any doubt or fear in his mind and heart. He knew that if his plan was going to work, he couldn't let Rohaq see any signs of cowardice or fear, lest he immediately open fire on the rest of the Unit, and even though the armor protected him from the power of the weapons, he knew he couldn't fight so many of them on his own.

Rohaq kept his weapon poised at Louis, but told the rest of the Arbiters to merely observe and not take any action until he said so. Louis quickened his pace to get to Rohaq, and walked up to him with a serious face and eyes that had enough fire to melt steel. Rohaq returned the stare in full, trying to intimidate Louis with his own unique gaze. Louis stopped walking when he reached five feet from Rohaq.

"Chief Enforcer Rohaq, I am not a violent person. I'm actually a pretty nice and fair guy when you get to know me, so that's why I'm giving you a chance to save yourself from the abyss. You will order your men to retreat or my Unit and my companions will come out here and slaughter every last one of you." he said loudly.

Rohaq laughed, but also looked around to make sure no one else laughed until he said so. He knew some of the Arbiters were smiling beneath their helmets, but knew their loyalty would prevent them from laughing at Louis' threat. Rohaq took a step forward and aimed his weapon at Louis again.

"Do you take me for a fool, Lister? I outnumber you five to one, I have superior firepower, and I have the force of will and mind to send you to the Judgment Halls so that Terafell may condemn you to the Chains of Torment. Please explain to me why I should not charge the front of your castle and ram a pike through your head?" Rohaq asked, grinning from behind his helmet.

"If you attempt to charge these gates, all you will be is a fool! No, I take that back. You will be a dead fool! You saw what happened earlier when you attempted to use your little laser there to kill me, right?" Louis asked.

Rohaq narrowed his eyes. "Your armor absorbed the energy and reflected it at one of my soldiers."

"That's right. Do you know what my armor is, Rohaq? It's possibly the rarest metal Sin has ever known. It is called Corbomite. It's nearly indestructible. My armor was originally the only known Corbomite to exist. When I was being interrogated, I was asked what my mission was. Prince Algaren, who you were going to execute, had found a secret mine and stash of Corbomite. Enough Corbomite to forge at least ten more armors like my own. He told us of the location just before he was shot by one of your archers. We did not know of its defensive properties against your new weapons before, but now we do. I have grafted enough of the Corbomite onto the armors of the Unit so that your energy weapons are useless." Louis explained.

"And your flight and wing powers? Do they come from this substance as well?" Rohaq asked, now intrigued.

Louis laughed. "My wise adversary, if such powers could be bestowed by a simple metal, then King Leaonedis would have sent more than just one Unit to retrieve the Corbomite. No, my wings are my own invention; a simple aerodynamic tool that I incorporated into it. Unfortunately, because Corbomite is so lightweight, it is the only armor that the wings work with. If we both survive this war, I'd be glad to show you them. However, as I said, we are more than ready to defend ourselves with the full power of the Corbomite. If you wish, you can choose not to believe me, and you will most certainly lose this battle. I recommend you retreat. You can inform your superiors that your mission was a success and none of us survived. The simple fact is that Corbomite is something we cannot artificially reproduce with any known metals or alloys. All we have are the samples, and they are to be used only for our finest warriors, who will eventually die by some other way, anyway. The decision is yours, Rohaq."

Rohaq looked into Louis' eyes, trying to find some evidence that he was lying. However, Louis' eyes only responded with seriousness and honesty. Rohaq smiled from behind his helmet and nodded.

"Very well. We shall withdraw." he stated.

Louis smiled and nodded, turning around and walking back towards the castle.

What a schmuck. Louis thought. Still, thank God for Star Trek...

*

Myrrha rubbed her arm, flexing its muscles for a moment. She was applying some relaxant herbs to the arm, the soreness and pain of the Lokmanwo still present in parts of her body. She sat on her office couch, sighing happily as the relaxants took effect and numbed the pain. She then stood up and removed her chest plate, hanging it on a metal rack that was attached to the wall as she proceeded to her desk. White Raven stood just outside of her door, waiting for Myrrha to let her step inside the doorway.

"You can come in now, Raven." she said calmly.

White Raven nodded and entered, standing in front of Myrrha's desk as Myrrha herself sat down at it. White Raven's expression had not changed since she had entered the room. Her face was straight and serious, not showing any indication that she ever smiled or laughed. Myrrha rolled her eyes at the fact that White Raven wasn't smiling and merely decided to ignore it.

"Wonderful news, Raven! According to the worked [sic] involved in creating the platform, the Genesis Ceremony should be able to be ready by tomorrow!" Myrrha said.

"Excellent, your highness. What do you require of me on the subject?" White Raven inquired.

"Well, I'd prefer to have two people executed at the ceremony. One person, even if it is the Head Priest of the First Church, just doesn't have enough finesse or style to it. If the Eclipsed Legion is going to begin with as much power and reverence that I want it to, then we'll need to show to the people how we're here to stay." Myrrha stated.

"I agree, of course, my Queen. So you wish for me to go in search of another person to execute?" White Raven asked.

"Yes. It doesn't have to be someone important, just someone who can bleed a great deal." Myrrha said.

RiffingShow

Jordahn flipped through the pages of the history book, her face close to the writing in an attempt to look for specific words and descriptions. She sat at a desk and only read by candlelight...

Well, there aren't exactly a lot of other light sources in this era, provided the sun isn't still up.

"Any luck?" Louis asked, stopping only for a moment to look at Jordahn.

"Nothing! There's no mention of anything like this in the history book! I've spanned the entire 100-Year War and a hundred years afterwards, and I can find nothing that gives mention to a weapon that shoots lightning from it's barrel!" Jordahn replied, slamming her hand on the book repeatedly.

So the Terafella's super weapon was so rarely used it's not even a historical footnote. Okay.

Chreydo spoke up: "What kind of magic could be so destructive as to utterly destroy someone?! Perhaps an Emphen-Sol, but that always leaves remains of some kind..."

Isn't that the suicide bomber spell from a few chapters ago? Why would you use that one for suicide bombing if the spell is actually a general Explode Creature spell? Just make the other guys explode, not yours.

(Or maybe they're gaming the system and the spell allows for a Saving Throw, which you can fail on purpose if you're willing.)

"That was no magic, Chreydo." Louis replied. "It was technology."

The self-insert has spoken, so it must be true.

(Fun fact: It's not uncommong for sci-fi weapons in old gonzo D&D modules to be reskinned wands.)

"This doesn't make any sense! You people are still having trouble mastering crossbows and catapults because they're such new inventions! Where in the hell does he get an energy weapon?!" Louis shouted.

If this is supposed to be Sin's Iron Age or Early Middle Age they should've figured this shit out already. Certainly haven't heard anyone doubting the crossbows the Terafellas have been toting, and the only indication that someone might be off is that their catapults have been described as "primitive".

Louis let the question sit in the air a bit as he tried to come up with a logical reason behind the appearance of such advanced technology in a medieval setting.

Ah, so the past is still part of the Middle Ages. Well, better a late clarification than none at all.

Jeremis looked away and offered his own suggestion to the matter:

"Perhaps there is a third party that has supplied them with this... device."

Louis sighed. "But who has that kind of power and doesn't just exercise it themselves? What is there to gain?"

"Possibly attempting to play both sides against the middle so that they, themselves, can stand on top when the fog of war settles. They probably do not have the kind of force of arms necessary to take power." Jordahn suggested.

Or they just want money.
The acquisition of those guns certainly sounds like a pain in the ass, and your little hypothesis has the major flaw that we know nothing about whether or not the good guys could also buy those weapons.

Thankfully these guesses aren't from the self-insert, so there's a good chance they're not true.

"What about that temporal distortion we encountered in the forest? This weapon... If it is of technology that is still not developed, could one of these distortions have lasted long enough for some of these weapons from the future to be taken from the distortions and then brought to the Arbiters?" Chreydo asked.

To be fair, after Rain's empty grave travelled back in time just to trigger Linkara, anything is possible.

(Still hoping that Overlord Terafell is actually Lord Vyce or Xenu, though)

"Very possible. Still, there's no mention of it in the history book, so that makes me a little worried about our chances in the coming fight."

It'll likely be such a crushing defeat for Rohaq that he decides to tell no one about it.

"Chreydo, we may need an emergency leave with that spell, ready or not, if we can't think of a way to beat the guy out there with the phaser."

Oh, so casting the time travel spell now has always been an option?
Also you've already beaten the guy out there with the phaser. You just decided to run away for no fucking reason.

*

"Is something troubling you, Captain? You have been very quiet and solitary for the past few hours." Jeremis said, walking up to Jordahn.

Oh~ho~ho~, I think there might be a romance subplot afoot.

Her hair's once-natural beauty and strength had long-since disappeared into a disheveled, brittle mess.

How did she maintain that natural beauty and strength? Linkara would've loved to know how to pull it off without shampoo.
At least back when he still had hair.

"I do not think you'd understand. You're a scientist from an age where war is not your way of life." she replied.

Since when is Jeremis a scientist?

Jeremis shrugged. "I'm not really much of a scientist. My parents brought me up to be an aristocrat, to study literature and art instead of science and innovation."

Oh, so he's not a scientist after all. How did she get that idea, anyways?

I've risen through the ranks, fought countless battles, and for what, Jeremis? One day, the Unit has a relaxing break from the harshness of war, and then this pompous little boy comes in and announces that he is now leading my Unit.

Fucking ageist bitch. You can be a leader at any age.

"I didn't think for one minute that he'd get me into a situation where many friends that I have known over the years would be killed and that I'd be questioning my own faith."

Too bad we'll never know who these friends are, since the rest of "the Unit" are just a name- and faceless blobs. Does Linkara even keep track of how many of them have already been killed?

"You are of the New Blood Order?" Jeremis inquired.

"Yes. How did you know?" Jordahn asked in response.

"Your hands have various cuts on them, no doubts from many of the blood rituals you've had to endure. Also, the tattoo on your right arm seems to indicate that you are of the Veralta sect of the Order. There are not many Veraltas in my time." Jeremis explained.

Oh, so they're not just Vegans who bathe in animal blood. They also cut themselves like goths.

"Louis is supposed to be the Linkara, isn't he?"

"Louis himself is not sure of his role. According to his close friends from the present, he has his own beliefs and religion."

"He's only a 100% perfect fit for the Linkara prophecy and did everything the prophecy said he'd do, but we will never know for certain!"

Jordahn shrugged. "Actually, there is a ritual that I have been delaying for some time now. I'm wondering if I should even bother with it. It's something every member of the Order does once a year, and it is my time to do it."

"Then please perform the ritual. I would very much like to see it." Jeremis stated.

"Oh, yesss. Leave nothing out, Honey. Smear that blood all over your hot body!"

Jeremis tilted his head, examining the sight before him with great interest.

You're a weirdo, Jeremis.

She then removed her hand from the flame and closed her eyes, putting her other hand over the wound to apply pressure to it. She took in one more deep breath and exhaled before she continued.

She would later die from an infection.

"Blood is life and blood is soul. May the life and souls of those who have come before me live on within this form and continue to bless me with their wisdom. Nahat tet o'raht t'jahl."

Gesundheit.

And with that, she stood up and smiled. "That felt good."

Depressed woman becomes happier after cutting herself. So goth-y.

"Guys! I think I have an idea how we can get them to leave us alone! Come to the meeting room!" he shouted.

"So there's this weapon in my world called a boomstick..."

*

"He's completely and utterly insane." Jordahn growled. "I can't believe I actually thought he was the Linkara."

He's not your messiah, anyways.

"He has done nothing since he arrived here but bluff and thrust himself into any situation that comes before him simply out a childish desire to do so. He should've been killed a thousand times before, and now he shall be killed because he actually thinks this is going to work.

Yeah his plot armor is kinda ridiculous. And have you forgotten that the beam weapon can't harm him?

"The Linkara has had his rise and fall from his headstrongness. Frankly, I don't think even with my recent studies and experiments I could get any more than four of us back to the present." Chreydo said.

How inconvenient.

Then let us pray that Louis knows what he's doing. The Arbiters fell for something like this the last time, but we don't know if they'll fall for it again." Jeremis said.

Well, Rohaq still believes that Linkara would make a fine prisoner...

He knew that if his plan was going to work, he couldn't let Rohaq see any signs of cowardice or fear, lest he immediately open fire on the rest of the Unit, and even though the armor protected him from the power of the weapons, he knew he couldn't fight so many of them on his own.

If only you dealt with this shit when there was only one guy with a gun.

Louis quickened his pace to get to Rohaq, and walked up to him with a serious face and eyes that had enough fire to melt steel.

"Chief Enforcer Rohaq, I am not a violent person. I'm actually a pretty nice and fair guy when you get to know me, so that's why I'm giving you a chance to save yourself from the abyss. You will order your men to retreat or my Unit and my companions will come out here and slaughter every last one of you." he said loudly.

Holy shit, he actually started the conversation straight away, without his trademark awkward silence.

Rohaq laughed, but also looked around to make sure no one else laughed until he said so.

"Please explain to me why I should not charge the front of your castle and ram a pike through your head?" Rohaq asked, grinning from behind his helmet.

Because he will just dodge it and kick your ass?

Rohaq narrowed his eyes. "Your armor absorbed the energy and reflected it at one of my soldiers."

"That's right. Do you know what my armor is, Rohaq? It's possibly the rarest metal Sin has ever known. It is called Corbomite. It's nearly indestructible. My armor was originally the only known Corbomite to exist. When I was being interrogated, I was asked what my mission was. Prince Algaren, who you were going to execute, had found a secret mine and stash of Corbomite. Enough Corbomite to forge at least ten more armors like my own. He told us of the location just before he was shot by one of your archers. We did not know of its defensive properties against your new weapons before, but now we do. I have grafted enough of the Corbomite onto the armors of the Unit so that your energy weapons are useless." Louis explained.

I see where you're going, but when excatly would you have had the time to mine the bullshit metal?

"If we both survive this war, I'd be glad to show you them. However, as I said, we are more than ready to defend ourselves with the full power of the Corbomite. If you wish, you can choose not to believe me, and you will most certainly lose this battle."

You do know they could just shoot the castle and bury you under the rubble? The reason the bluff worked in Star Trek was because OG Corbomite just creates a system-shattering kaboom for a most mutually-assured destruction.

The simple fact is that Corbomite is something we cannot artificially reproduce with any known metals or alloys.

Yeah, that's how metals work.

"Very well. We shall withdraw." he stated.

See you next chapter, you Saturday morning cartoon villain...

What a schmuck. Louis thought. Still, thank God for Star Trek...

Well, the bluff was a different one, but I guess coming up with an original fake name for a bullshit substance would've been too hard for you.

*

Myrrha rubbed her arm, flexing its muscles for a moment. She was applying some relaxant herbs to the arm, the soreness and pain of the Lokmanwo still present in parts of her body. She sat on her office couch, sighing happily as the relaxants took effect and numbed the pain.

White Raven's expression had not changed since she had entered the room. Her face was straight and serious, not showing any indication that she ever smiled or laughed. Myrrha rolled her eyes at the fact that White Raven wasn't smiling and merely decided to ignore it.

The Smile Counter has increased (16 -> 17)

"Wonderful news, Raven! According to the worked [sic] involved in creating the platform, the Genesis Ceremony should be able to be ready by tomorrow!" Myrrha said.

Fuck yes!

"Well, I'd prefer to have two people executed at the ceremony. One person, even if it is the Head Priest of the First Church, just doesn't have enough finesse or style to it. If the Eclipsed Legion is going to begin with as much power and reverence that I want it to, then we'll need to show to the people how we're here to stay." Myrrha stated.

"I agree, of course, my Queen. So you wish for me to go in search of another person to execute?" White Raven asked.

"Yes. It doesn't have to be someone important, just someone who can bleed a great deal." Myrrha said.

"Just killing the head priest of the world's largest religion wouldn't give us the right Feng Shui. Go find me some random hobo who can bleed real good!"

Raven going around the hood being like:

Next Time: The long-awaited third part of the "Allegiances" chapters. Maybe this time Raven will realize that she's part of the baddies.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Book 2, Chapter 18 - Allegiances III
(Or: Indow knows what you're jerking off to)



The time has come for Raven to decide if she's a good girl or a bad girl. I dunno about you, but I'm at the edge of my seat.

"Remember when Rain got killed?" Count: 13
"Remember when Indow got raped?" Count: 6
"Baddies Never Smile" Count: 17

RecapShow

Past

The Band of the Linkster does some short brainstorming to figure out why the fuck the Terrafellas have lazor beams, though all bets seem to still be off.
Then Linkara vaguely remembers a Star Trek episode and decides to bluff like a mofo and tell the Terafellas that everyone has beam-absorbing armor know. Rohaq falls for it and fucks off for now.

Yeah, that's basically it.

Present

Here we have even less shit happening. Myrrha's just chillaxing in her office and orders Raven to find her some random nobody to slaughter like a pig for the great Genesis concert, because just killing Indow's dad isn't quite enough for her taste.

We also got nothing on either Garik and his new ghost waifu, or Indow's and Lithmenar's situation with that one cliffhanger. Maybe this time?

ChapterShow

One would think that Indow would have gotten used to running by now, but she was having difficulty after a full two minutes of nothing but running. She and Lithmenar were still half-blind, the Light spell that she had cast only allowing for so much illumination ahead of them. Indow had to keep her mind focused on the spell while sprinting through the damp sewers, lest she and Lithmenar be plunged into complete darkness. Sweat was rolling down her forehead and starting to get into her eyes as her legs ached from the constant movement.

Lithmenar, on the other hand, was more than capable of running at the same pace he was at for several more minutes. Although he indulged in ales and whiskey once in a while in celebration, he maintained a healthy eating and exercise pattern. His favorite exercises consisted of stealing an item in plain-sight of the owner of the item, then evading his pursuers. He had never been caught yet, and had usually abandoned the item he had stolen or simply used it to get something better. The process left him with strong, young muscles and graceful athletic abilities. However, two things were bothering him: Indow's gradual collapse and the stamina of the creature that was following them.

Lithmenar took hold of Indow's free hand, much to her anger, and led her onwards through the sewers. Indow yelled at Lithmenar to let go, but he was determined to not let the creature reach her or him, even if he had to drag her through the pipes.

"What is that thing that's chasing us, anyway?!" she yelled, pausing from her pleas to be released.

"I believe it's a Terpa! In their youth, they can easily consume waste and feces! However, because they grow to rather large sizes and develop carnivorous tastes, they're killed off after their first children are born!" Lithmenar explained.

"How old is their natural lifespan?" Indow asked.

"No idea, since they're killed so young!" Lithmenar said.

"If you're right, then we've got a 300 year-old one who probably hasn't tasted flesh for some time!" Indow implied.

"Which is why you should shut up about me pulling you along!" Lithmenar responded.

Indow rolled her eyes, but quickly went back to being serious. "Can it be killed by your daggers?"

"Unlikely! Their skin is hard as stone!" Lithmenar replied.

"Then I shall attempt to slow it down!" Indow states, and she quickly tore herself from Lithmenar's grasp.

Lithmenar winced and turned around. He knew his knives would have no effect on the beast, but he still pulled them out in case the Terpa had eyes that he could blind. Indow let the Light spell vanish momentarily as she focused her thoughts on a new spell. She was mouthing words that Lithmenar couldn't recognize, and her eyes glowed briefly as she finished casting the spell.

Lithmenar winced and turned around. He knew his knives would have no effect on the beast, but he still pulled them out in case the Terpa had eyes that he could blind. Indow let the Light spell vanish momentarily as she focused her thoughts on a new spell. She was mouthing words that Lithmenar couldn't recognize, and her eyes glowed briefly as she finished casting the spell.

"PROTECTION!' she yelled.

Indow aimed her hands out away from her, and the white energy shield formed up, encompassing the area it was cast in. The Protection spell gave off it's own natural light, but Indow still recast the Light spell in her hands and turned to run in the opposite direction. Lithmenar stayed for a moment, looking through the partly transparent spell to see the Terpa itself. It had black, leathery skin and a very wide jaw. It didn't have any visible legs, as if it traveled like a slug or snail. A single eye was upon a stalk leading from its forehead, and it was constantly moving from one place to another, seeing all the things around it.

The Terpa's large jaw had several rows of teeth, some of them sharp and menacing while others were flat molars that only seemed to be used for chewing vegetation or roughage. It roared for a moment as it slammed itself into the Protection spell, colliding its forehead against it. The spell held, but Lithmenar knew that it was only a temporary solution. Seeing that Lithmenar was not following her example, Indow turned and grabbed onto his arm to pull him away from the hungry creature. The two didn't look back as they proceeded through the sewer.

*

The Unit continued onwards, uninterrupted, for another week. Each day brought them closer not only to Jilad but also to the perfection of the Tempil Gadrius spell. The more that Chreydo experimented, the more he was rewarded with success. The Jilad border was another two weeks away, but the Unit wasn't in a hurry. The victory that Louis had scored with his bluff had given him a wide berth in which to explore. As such, the Unit was stopping more times to rest. Their spirits had indeed by renewed, but they were only now beginning to grieve for those who had fallen on this failed mission.

The original Unit of fifteen had been whittled down to six. Three slain from the first battle with the Arbiters, two more when they were fleeing from the Arbiters, three more died from the Arbiters’ ambush in the forest, and one final one had been vaporized by the energy weapon. They finally gave each one a proper memorial, Jordahn explaining the customs for each one, since she was the only one who knew without difficulty the customs and rituals of the people she had served with for some time. Louis also grieved, but was able to hold his head up high.

For the moment, they were stopped at a lake to replenish their water supplies and take another break from walking. However, they also knew that it was times when they were most relaxed when trouble seemed to come and take them by surprise.

On their third day of resting at the lake, the trouble finally arrived. While he was walking towards the lake for some water, one of the Pertits was suddenly and unexpectedly decapitated by an unseen force. They ran to his aid, but another Pertit was stabbed through the chest. The group drew their weapons, forming into a circle to see what was attacking them. One more was killed before the unseen force finally tried to attack Louis. It’s sword slammed into his armor, and the electrical defense of the armor immediately shot through the entirely metallic sword (the hilt was made of metal, as well), and shocked the creature into revealing itself.

Although the humanoid creature that they now faced was now visible, it didn't appear to be fully on the normal plane of existence. When it moved, its body seemed to phase the air around it, making it wave and appear as a mirage instead of being totally clear. It was dressed in gray and black rags, it's face shrouded from sight. It didn't have any sort of armoring on it, but it did still hold the metal sword, which was also completely black. Louis sent his blades straight at the shadow, but they passed through it harmlessly.

Jordahn, Jeremis, and two other soldiers tried with their own weapons, but were just as unsuccessful. The creature sliced at Jordahn's stomach, cutting into it slightly before she dodged to the side. Louis focused his mind on allowing the electrical properties of the armor to form so he could actually hit the shadow. He tried once again to stab it, but it immediately dodged his blows and let go of the sword in one hand. The shadow jumped up and kicked Louis, making him fall onto his back.

The shadow landed right on top of Louis and covered his face with his hand. Louis struggled only for a moment before the shadow's hand glowed and Louis stopped resisting. Jordahn roared and was about to charge the shadow, but Chreydo reached out and grabbed her, keeping her at bay as the blood continued to flow from her wound. "What are you doing?!" she demanded to know.

"Look at the way they're both not moving! That... shadow is performing a Mind Recovery spell. It allows him to enter himself into Louis' mind and either heal damage... or cause damage, itself." Chreydo explained.

"Then we must stop it!" Jordahn yelled, struggling to be released.

"No! Both of their minds are in a different state of being, now! If we attempt to interrupt, the shadow might break his hold unnaturally, and Louis' mind will not be able to leave the state that it is in! No, the battle Louis must now fight is in his own mind..."

*

Garik sighed and rolled his eyes as he heard the doorway to the jail cells open. He figured that Myrrha was once again going to stop by and taunt him by explaining in graphic detail how he was going to die. However, this time, instead of Myrrha coming down the stairs, it was White Raven. He clenched his teeth as he saw the girl quickly come down the stairs and notice him in the jail cell. He stood up, his fists balled up with fingernails digging into the skin.

"So now the traitor comes to try to frighten me? Save the words that will slip off of your vile tongue, you-"

"Shut up!" White Raven growled.

Garik raised an eyebrow as he saw that White Raven was inserting the key into the lock and opening the jail cell. He was particularly confused when she walked over to him and unlocked the chains that kept him in the cell. He stared at her for a moment as she began to walk out. When she noticed that he wasn't following, she turned and tried to hurry him out.

"What are you standing around for?! We've got to get out of here!" she stated.

"Why are you helping me, traitor?" he asked.

"Because I'm NOT a traitor! I never switched sides at all!" White Raven said.

"What are you talking about?!"

"It all happened back when we were first taken prisoner..."

*

"Think about it, Indow. I'm sure you can use that Linkaran Priestess intellect and all of your mental magic to figure out what I'm saying."

A little known fact about Anako Sorcerers and Sorceresses is that, unlike all other magic users, they have access to telepathic spells. I was tapping the side of my head, a sign that I wanted to speak with her telepathically. In case she didn't get the message from that, I told her to 'think about it,' and use her 'Linkaran Priestess intellect,' and all of her 'mental magic.' She closed her eyes and initiated the spell, allowing us to communicate with one another as quickly as our minds could, much faster than verbal communication.

"Indow, this is just a ruse. Myrrha is completely and utterly insane, and we have
to stop her." I had said.

"So you're just joining her so you can act as a spy?" she asked me.

"Yes. However, you shouldn't tell the others. They need to act genuinely angry with me."

"Good, then we can eliminate all of these Dark Knights when the time is right."

"Actually, Indow, I don't think we should."

"What?"

"Despite the fact that Myrrha's insane, she did have one good point: the Dark Knights need a place to call home. Our quarrel was with the Darkness, not with his Knights."

"They had a choice and they chose to follow him."

"But now they have a second chance. A chance to work together and live in peace. Most of them are not truly evil. We can't just punish all of them for picking the losing side."

She sighed. "All right, I'll try to convince the others that we only need to kill Myrrha, but that will not be easy. As long as Myrrha lives and convinces the Dark Knights to act in violence towards the other people on Sin, we shall never achieve that. Even then, the Dark Knights can't have any military strength. As long as they remain a threat to the rest of the five lands, there can never be peace."

"I know, Indow. I know. All right, you need to find a way out of here. In the meantime, let's try to keep up appearances."

*

"That's quite a little story you have there, Raven. Still, why should I believe you?" Garik asked.

"It's either that or be killed in the Genesis Ceremony tomorrow night." White Raven replied, handing Garik a sword.

Garik took the sword and shrugged. "Just make sure you never do something like that again."

White Raven smirked and nodded. She drew her bow and arrow, readying herself for a fight. She didn't want to harm any of the Dark Knights as they escaped, so she would aim for legs and arms in attempt to slow down pursuers. Garik and White Raven ran up the stairs, immediately seeing the fact that the guards for the jail cell were unconscious. Garik wondered if the jail cell was simply cursed, since it was about the fourth of fifth time that week that the guards for this jail cell were knocked unconscious.

Shrugging off his humorous thoughts, Garik charged through the door of the jail cell and out into the busy streets of Soyah. The Dark Knights in the immediate area gasped in shock. White Raven was with Garik, and it was quite apparent to anyone that they were escaping from the city together. White Raven kept her weapon trained on most of the people near them, shifting her aim towards a different person every few seconds. Garik himself was walking towards the front gate instead of running, since he knew that trying to run would encourage more people to chase them.

"So what do we do after we leave the city?" he whispered.

"Contact General J'Vok and convince him that we should only arrest Myrrha and not the rest of the people here. Perhaps if we-"

"PALE BINDINGS!"

White Raven winced and leaped out of the way from Garik, who was completely taken surprise by the fact that his arms fell to his sides. He dropped the sword and fell over, his arms and legs suddenly immobile. His arms were completely bound to his sides by an unseen force while his legs were stuck together. White Raven repositioned her arrow up at a nearby building's roof. Upon that roof stood Myrrha and two Dark Sorcerers. The Dark Sorcerers' spell had missed White Raven and now she seemed ready to kill any one of them who made the slightest move.

"Tell me, Raven, do you think I'm a complete imbecile? I knew you would never abandon your friends!" Myrrha shouted, calling down to White Raven.

"An imbecile? No. I think you're completely insane, but not an imbecile!" White Raven called back.

"And I'm insane for wanting a future for our people?! You would have me be like the Darkness!" Myrrha replied.

"No, you're insane because you kidnapped, tortured, and raped a Linkaran Priestess! You're insane because you asserted yourself as the ruler of the Dark Knights and you think that only you can lead them into glory! You're insane because you take pleasure at the suffering of others and drink Autas over the dead bodies of the innocent! You do not seek peace, you witch, you seek power and conquest! Like the Darkness? No. You are the Darkness!" White Raven growled.

"So what will you do now, Raven? Kill me? Perhaps you haven't noticed, but these people here have come to know me for who I really am! The vision of what you perceive me to be is a fantasy, a fiction! If you kill me, I will be a martyr and live on in the hearts of these people who know me for who I really am, and not the evil blob that you associate me with! What makes it worse is that if you kill me, there will be a power struggle for the throne! You were my second-in-command, Raven! We still haven't organized the local government yet, which means that dozens of people will be claiming the throne as their own! And who will win in the end? The most ruthless, the most cunning, and the most devious General in my army: Varek the Destroyer. And despite whatever opinions you hold of me, you know that if Varek were King of the Eclipsed Legion, then the Legion will be a force for evil. And you can't let that happen, Raven."

White Raven lingered for a moment, her eyebrow twitching slightly as she kept her arrow aimed at Myrrha. Her best instincts told her to release the arrow, to let the weapon soar through the air and spill her blood and brains out onto the shingles of the building. She wanted to have that smile on her face turn into fear and shock, to just let this being that radiated evil from the very air she breathed fall to the ground in a crumpled mass of flesh and armor. However, she couldn't do it. Because, despite Myrrha's evil, despite her deceptive, demonic nature, she was absolutely right. Her allegiance may not be to Myrrha, but it was still to her people, the Dark Knights.

And so, White Raven lowered her weapon, allowing for the other Dark Knights to come to her and hold her at bay.

RiffingShow

One would think that Indow would have gotten used to running by now, but she was having difficulty after a full two minutes of nothing but running.

Man, you may not look 150 years old, but that body of your's sure is feeling the sands of time.

And I take it the growling did not come from a puppy? Guess those cliffhangers are serious news after all if you wait a chapter to resolve them.

Sweat was rolling down her forehead and starting to get into her eyes as her legs ached from the constant movement.

All that fur and eyebrows not helping you? You must be sweating like a fucking fountain.

Lithmenar, on the other hand, was more than capable of running at the same pace he was at for several more minutes. Although he indulged in ales and whiskey once in a while in celebration, he maintained a healthy eating and exercise pattern.

I didn't know punks worked out.

His favorite exercises consisted of stealing an item in plain-sight of the owner of the item, then evading his pursuers.

That has nothing to do with running or stamina.

He had never been caught yet, and had usually abandoned the item he had stolen or simply used it to get something better.

Really sticking it to the man there, comrade.

However, two things were bothering him: Indow's gradual collapse and the stamina of the creature that was following them.

Well, once she collapses completely the creature will be busy eating her...

Lithmenar took hold of Indow's free hand, much to her anger, and led her
onwards through the sewers. Indow yelled at Lithmenar to let go, but he was determined
to not let the creature reach her or him, even if he had to drag her through the pipes.

How's that gonna help once her knees buckles like Rachel's? Are you gonna drag her along the ground?

"What is that thing that's chasing us, anyway?!" she yelled, pausing from her pleas to be released.

"I believe it's a Terpa! In their youth, they can easily consume waste and feces! However, because they grow to rather large sizes and develop carnivorous tastes, they're killed off after their first children are born!" Lithmenar explained.

That's somewhat unhelpful once again.
So who's killing them? Are the children eating them? Do humans kill them, but leave the kids alone for waste disposal purposes?

"If you're right, then we've got a 300 year-old one who probably hasn't tasted flesh for some time!" Indow implied.

Also I guess it ate Dark Knight shit, so it might be extra evil.

"Which is why you should shut up about me pulling you along!" Lithmenar responded.

She didn't say anything regarding that?

Indow rolled her eyes, but quickly went back to being serious. "Can it be killed by your daggers?"

"Unlikely! Their skin is hard as stone!" Lithmenar replied.

"Then I shall attempt to slow it down!" Indow states, and she quickly tore herself from Lithmenar's grasp.

Ah, I see the spellcaster remembers that she's a spellcaster.

Lithmenar winced and turned around. He knew his knives would have no effect on the beast, but he still pulled them out in case the Terpa had eyes that he could blind.

You know all this shit about Terpas, but not if they have eyes?

Lithmenar stayed for a moment, looking through the partly transparent spell to see the Terpa itself. It had black, leathery skin and a very wide jaw. It didn't have any visible legs, as if it traveled like a slug or snail.

How about "like a snake?"

A single eye was upon a stalk leading from its forehead, and it was constantly moving from one place to another, seeing all the things around it.

The Terpa's large jaw had several rows of teeth, some of them sharp and menacing while others were flat molars that only seemed to be used for chewing vegetation or roughage.

So it's a one-eyed mammalian crocodile slug. Got it.

*

The Unit continued onwards, uninterrupted, for another week. Each day brought them closer not only to Jilad but also to the perfection of the Tempil Gadrius spell. The more that Chreydo experimented, the more he was rewarded with success.

Let's just hope this experimenting doesn't fuck up the space-time continuum even harder.

The Jilad border was another two weeks away, but the Unit wasn't in a hurry. The victory that Louis had scored with his bluff had given him a wide berth in which to explore. As such, the Unit was stopping more times to rest.

Sure, take your sweet-ass time until the next crisis.

The original Unit of fifteen had been whittled down to six.

Didn't you start out with 19?.
Other than that it seems Linkara (the author) does keep track of their number somewhat.

Three slain from the first battle with the Arbiters, two more when they were fleeing from the Arbiters, three more died from the Arbiters’ ambush in the forest, and one final one had been vaporized by the energy weapon.

The "two more" where Teret and Erenoth, and you will respect their names and memories, dammit.

For the moment, they were stopped at a lake to replenish their water supplies and take another break from walking. However, they also knew that it was times when they were most relaxed when trouble seemed to come and take them by surprise.

It wouldn't be a surprise if you were actually careful.

On their third day of resting at the lake, the trouble finally arrived. While he was walking towards the lake for some water, one of the Pertits was suddenly and unexpectedly decapitated by an unseen force. They ran to his aid, but another Pertit was stabbed through the chest.

Great. Now they have cloaking devices, too.

One more was killed before the unseen force finally tried to attack Louis. It’s sword slammed into his armor, and the electrical defense of the armor immediately shot through the entirely metallic sword (the hilt was made of metal, as well), and shocked the creature into revealing itself.

Linkara wins by doing absolutely nothing.

It was dressed in gray and black rags, it's face shrouded from sight. It didn't have any sort of armoring on it, but it did still hold the metal sword, which was also completely black. Louis sent his blades straight at the shadow, but they passed through it harmlessly.

Shit, they're Super Nazgul!

Also I think it might be one of Lord Vyce's minions.

(Either that or he ripped off Nazgul twice. Why did Lord Vyce dress up his robots as Nazgul, anyways? Besides the fact that the costume was probably cheaper, of course.)

Louis focused his mind on allowing the electrical properties of the armor to form so he could actually hit the shadow. He tried once again to stab it, but it immediately dodged his blows and let go of the sword in one hand. The shadow jumped up and kicked Louis, making him fall onto his back.

It appears the kicker has become the kicked. Oh, the sweet taste of irony.

"Look at the way they're both not moving! That... shadow is performing a Mind Recovery spell. It allows him to enter himself into Louis' mind and either heal damage... or cause damage, itself." Chreydo explained.

Not another mind battle...

(I swear if he turns into fucking Ash again I'm gonna fucking lose it.)

(Also it seems this world runs by either AD&D or Basic D&D rules. Certain spells could be reversed, so you could say cause damage with a healing spell.)

"If we attempt to interrupt, the shadow might break his hold unnaturally, and Louis' mind will not be able to leave the state that it is in! No, the battle Louis must now fight is in his own mind..."

Would be a shame if he got lobotomized...

*

Garik sighed and rolled his eyes as he heard the doorway to the jail cells open. He figured that Myrrha was once again going to stop by and taunt him by explaining in graphic detail how he was going to die.

You'd think she would have better things to do, now that it has become mandatory to fuck like rabbits.

Garik raised an eyebrow as he saw that White Raven was inserting the key into the lock and opening the jail cell. He was particularly confused when she walked over to him and unlocked the chains that kept him in the cell. He stared at her for a moment as she began to walk out. When she noticed that he wasn't following, she turned and tried to hurry him out.

Seems like Raven is still a good gal after all UwU

"Why are you helping me, traitor?" he asked.

"Because I'm NOT a traitor! I never switched sides at all!" White Raven said.

"What are you talking about?!"

"It all happened back when we were first taken prisoner..."

It's flashback time, bitches!


*

"Think about it, Indow. I'm sure you can use that Linkaran Priestess intellect and all of your mental magic to figure out what I'm saying."

A little known fact about Anako Sorcerers and Sorceresses is that, unlike all other magic users, they have access to telepathic spells.

They keep it a secret so they can spy on your dirtiest secrets without anyone noticing.
Man, no wonder Indow is horny all the time.

"Indow, this is just a ruse. Myrrha is completely and utterly insane, and we have
to stop her." I had said.

Thanks for that intel, Raven. I wouldn't have realized it without you.

"So you're just joining her so you can act as a spy?" she asked me.

In hindsight Myrrha was a bit dumb for trusting Raven.

"Yes. However, you shouldn't tell the others. They need to act genuinely angry with me."

"I don't trust their acting skills one bit."

"Good, then we can eliminate all of these Dark Knights when the time is right."

"Actually, Indow, I don't think we should."

"What?"

"Despite the fact that Myrrha's insane, she did have one good point: the Dark Knights need a place to call home. Our quarrel was with the Darkness, not with his Knights."

"They were only following orders!"
As a German, I can tell you that defense ain't gonna cut it.

She sighed. "All right, I'll try to convince the others that we only need to kill Myrrha, but that will not be easy. As long as Myrrha lives and convinces the Dark Knights to act in violence towards the other people on Sin, we shall never achieve that. Even then, the Dark Knights can't have any military strength. As long as they remain a threat to the rest of the five lands, there can never be peace."

Now is this gonna be Germany after WWI, or WWII?

*

"That's quite a little story you have there, Raven. Still, why should I believe you?" Garik asked.

The twist was failry predicatble (until Raven has gotten as batshit as Myrrha) and admittedly I can't find any glaring plot holes.
Okay, aside from the fact that Indow had secret mind-reading powers this whole time.

(I think there's a pretty good chance these telephaty powers will never show up ever again, or that Indow will start using them all the time, now that the reader has been made aware of them.)

"It's either that or be killed in the Genesis Ceremony tomorrow night." White Raven replied, handing Garik a sword.

Oh well. There are worse ways than dying to the soothing voice of Phil Collins.

Garik took the sword and shrugged. "Just make sure you never do something like that again."

You have no idea how pissed people can get if they fall victim to a ruse you didn't invite them in.

Like back in the klessik Super Hero Taisen movie where Kamen Rider Diend finds out Decade and Gokai Red had pranked him this whole time. Dude went "Fuck you guys, I'm gonna take the bad guys' Super Dimension Fortress and kill all of you".

(I wish I could find clips for the scene in question. The closest are mirrors for the entire fucking movie.)

White Raven smirked and nodded. She drew her bow and arrow, readying herself for a fight. She didn't want to harm any of the Dark Knights as they escaped, so she would aim for legs and arms in attempt to slow down pursuers.

Yeah, that's totally not gonna hit a vital artery or something.
Especially not considering your arrows somehow pack enough of a punch to rip someone's head off.

Garik and White Raven ran up the stairs, immediately seeing the fact that the guards for the jail cell were unconscious. Garik wondered if the jail cell was simply cursed, since it was about the fourth of fifth time that week that the guards for this jail cell were knocked unconscious.

It's almost like the place is haunted or something.
You're not gonna tell her about your new ghost knight girlfriend, are you?

Shrugging off his humorous thoughts, Garik charged through the door of the jail cell and out into the busy streets of Soyah.

Why don't you shout "I'M ESCAPING, YOU ASSHOLES! JUST TRY AND STOP ME!" while you're at it?

The Dark Knights in the immediate area gasped in shock. White Raven was with Garik, and it was quite apparent to anyone that they were escaping from the city together.

Or you could have pretended like Garik was still a captive and Raven was escorting him somewhere. Most would've probably chalked it off as another one of Myrrha's crazy orders.

"Tell me, Raven, do you think I'm a complete imbecile? I knew you would never abandon your friends!" Myrrha shouted, calling down to White Raven.

Oh, you're just trying to save face.

"No, you're insane because you kidnapped, tortured, and raped a Linkaran Priestess!

The Indow Counter has increased (6 -> 7)

You're insane because you take pleasure at the suffering of others and drink Autas over the dead bodies of the innocent! You do not seek peace, you witch, you seek power and conquest! Like the Darkness? No. You are the Darkness!" White Raven growled.

And then Myrrha was the Darkness.

"If you kill me, I will be a martyr and live on in the hearts of these people who know me for who I really am, and not the evil blob that you associate me with! What makes it worse is that if you kill me, there will be a power struggle for the throne! You were my second-in-command, Raven! We still haven't organized the local government yet, which means that dozens of people will be claiming the throne as their own! And who will win in the end? The most ruthless, the most cunning, and the most devious General in my army: Varek the Destroyer. And despite whatever opinions you hold of me, you know that if Varek were King of the Eclipsed Legion, then the Legion will be a force for evil. And you can't let that happen, Raven."

Is there a particular reason why the "mostly peaceful" Dark Knights are gladly following crazy assholes? Also why would they follow the only motherfucker who prefers the old regime?
For as much as the plot tries to make us care for them, they're really nothing but mindless sheeple.

And has Raven ever talked with anyone else about the Myrrha problem? If she has no allies she's just a straight-up traitor. For all we know everyone else is fine with this setup.

Despite Myrrha's evil, despite her deceptive, demonic nature, she was absolutely right. Her allegiance may not be to Myrrha, but it was still to her people, the Dark Knights.

And so, White Raven lowered her weapon, allowing for the other Dark Knights to come to her and hold her at bay.

Looks like they now have enough victims for the Genesis concert ceremony. Phil Collins will be pleased.

Also thank Terafell for that. We spent like almost the entire book hyping this ceremony up, and watching the fellowship bust in and out of prison in various constellations.
This plot really isn't going anywhere without the Linkster, is it?

Next Time: Another past-only chapter. Take your bets on whether or not we'll see more Ash skinwalking.

[wulfenlord]

How is your mental health holding up, boss?

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

How is your mental health holding up, boss?

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Book 2, Chapter 19 - Nightmares in Light
(Or: Linkara goes Cline again)

Ah yes, another mind battle. A great duel of sheer willpower, where altruistic heroism shall triumph over selfish evil.

Why are there so many dead people, VORP?Show

(Hey kids, come see Ultra Zero Fight and watch Zero murder the fuck out of his friends!)

Wait, what was this about again?
>Angel Armor
Oh, right. Yeah, we're not gonna see any of that here, are we?

"Remember when Rain got killed?" Count: 13
"Remember when Indow got raped?" Count: 7
"Baddies Never Smile" Count: 17

RecapShow

Past

The Band of the Linkster decides to make a more leisurely march back to Kien, now that the Terafellas have apparently fucked off for good.

Then a Predator Nazgul pops out, who surprisingly enough turns out to be an even match for Linkara. The dude(?) eventually casts a mind rape spell on Linkara, forcing everyone to just wait with a thumb up there ass until the battle of the minds has concluded - because shit always just kinda stops whenever Linkara is busy with his fantastic mind adventures.

Present

We cut back to Indow and Lithmenar's great sewer adventure, where it turns out the growling they've heard came from a Terpa, some kind of one-eyed mammalian crocodile slug (probably some kind of synapsid, I guess; should take care of at least the "mammalian crocodile" bit). Props for creativity, I guess (unless he has borrowed the design from somewhere else).

Meanwhile Indow's dad is freed by Raven, who as it turns out was only pretending to have become evil again. She only let Indow in on the ruse, because I guess she didn't trust the others' acting skills.
Now how did she let Indow in on the ruse? Turns out Indow had secret mind-reading powers this whole time.
In fact all catgirl and catboy wizards can do this, and only they. Not only does this sound like a race riot in the making once this little secret becomes more public knowledge, but it makes me suspect that Sin runs on Basic D&D rules (where your class also determines your race; non-human races only got one class in the core, but the non-human Mystara Gazetteers often came with more).

Their attempt at one of the world's most conspicuous prison break (seriously they just charge out in the open during Rush Hour or something) is cut short because Myrrha has been expecting this betrayal from the start, and now she will probably use Raven as her second blood sacrifice for the Genesis concert ceremony.
Raven thinks about killing Myrrha with her OP arrows, but Myrrha's all "LMAO if you kill me they'll just vote for Varek as their new Discord channel admin!".

It's a bit weird. We keep being told that Total Dark Knight Death would be bad because nearly all Dark Knights are good now, but they keep trusting obvious crazy people and/or assholes to run their little operation.
I'm getting some "White Savior" vibes from this, but I guess the real reason is that Raven, Myrrha and to a lesser extend Varek are the only real Dark Knight characters, with everyone else just being an NPC.

ChapterShow

Louis opened his eyes and groaned in anger.

"Not again!" he shouted.

Louis was within the black realm once again. He was bathed in light, and he looked up to see if he could find the light source. However, the light was coming from his own body instead of a natural source, so he only reckoned that he saw himself as some kind of a light bulb in his unconscious mind. He clenched his fist and walked forward, looking from one direction to another.

"Where are you? Show yourself!" he yelled.

Who?

"You know goddamned well who- wait a minute, how the hell did you do that?" he asked.

I have not taken on a physical form yet.

"Well, listen up, buddy! I don't need this again! I'm not feeling like some angsty little idiot right now, so could you please just wake me up! I thought that there was some shadow thing that I was fighting..."

I AM that shadow thing you speak of.

Louis blinked. "Oh. Well, then what do you want? I'm kind of pissed off at you for killing my friends."

I want the secrets of your armor.

"It's a substance called Corbomite-"

Do not patronize me, Linkara! I am not some idle-minded Arbiter! I am the servant of a great power who wishes to know everything about the Linkaran armor.

"And how do you know that Corbomite isn't it?"

Because Corbomite is a ploy used in an episode of Star Trek.

Louis raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know about Star Trek?"

Louis didn't know how, but he just knew that the shadow was smiling. He continued looking in circles to find the shadow creature, wondering if he could actually see the thing. He rubbed his hands together and tried to focus, but found that in this realm, he couldn't entirely focus.

I know many things, Linkara. I know where you live.

"You know, when people say that, it's not as scary as you would think it is."

And what about your family? What would happen if perhaps...

Louis screamed and fell to the ground, images flashing into his head. The images depicted his family being horribly mutilated, their faces bloody and misshapen. He panted and closed his eyes, sweat suddenly rolling down his forehead. He looked up again, and saw the shadow standing over him. Its eyes were glowing a bright white, but curved slightly as if the face behind the dark shroud on its head was smiling.

"What was that?!" Louis cried out.

"An example of my power here, Linkara. I can sense your memories, see your worst nightmares and desires."

"If that's true," Louis panted, "then how come you think I know anything about my armor other than the fact that it works?"

The shadow leaned in close to Louis, his eyes narrowing. "Because there are parts of your mind that I cannot access as a result of your armor. Have you noticed that you no longer have your gauntlet?"

Louis looked down at his right arm. Indeed, his gauntlet had disappeared, and his arm was bare once again. He looked back up at the shadow and nodded.

"Your armor is hiding itself from me. It is sentient, in a way. It is intelligent enough to reach into the depths of your mind and protect itself, and that is quite upsetting for my ruler, so I think you might know more than I can sense."

Louis nodded and smiled. He quickly swung his fist at the shadow, but just as before in the real world, it passed through him. He fell forwards onto the invisible ground, hard, and the shadow merely laughed at his foolishness. He growled and stood up, but the shadow slammed his fist down onto Louis' back, sending him once again to the ground.

"How pathetic! Perhaps you don't realize just what you are dealing with?"

The shadow's eyes glowed brightly once more, and Louis screamed as he looked down at his hands, which were suddenly covered in burns. The pain was searing through his hands, his cries for help going unanswered. However, as quickly as the pain had come, it quickly disappeared. He tried to lash out once more, but it was to no avail. He collapsed backwards onto his back as he began to breath quickly, his heartbeat increasing rapidly.

The shadow walked in circles around Louis, his head tilted as he stared down at him. He stopped right in front of his head, looking down at Louis with antagonism and contempt.

"Where does your armor come from?" he asked.

"I don't know! I just found the thing in an antique shop!"

"Unacceptable!" the shadow proclaimed.

Images were once again shot before Louis' eyes. This time, the images consisted of Indow's rape. Myrrha was forcing objects into her vagina and anus, and cuts were being made along her stomach and breasts. Louis screamed and clawed at the image of Myrrha, but touched and saw nothing afterward. Louis was treated to the images a second time, and Louis quickly balled himself up into a fetal position. The shadow glared down at Louis and his eyes glowed. Louis' clothes disappeared, leaving him naked and exposed on the floor.

"Insolence is not tolerated, boy. You have proceeded along with a superiority complex that would make Caesar blush, and have obviously not faced enough consequences for your actions. You lie here, even now, in the light, exposed as everything that you truly are. You are not a champion or a defender of the light, but a small little boy who believes he has a destiny." the shadow stated.

"I never asked for a destiny!" Louis shouted.

"Yet you did nothing to deny it! No, your ego was quite satisfied. The freshman in high school who thinks he has a purpose before God, before Heaven, before all the angels! If you should walk off a cliff, surely God will catch you, or send angels to ascend you to Heaven! You can walk on water and turn that water into wine!"

"You're twisting the facts!" Louis shouted, getting up.

The shadow waved his hand in front of Louis. Louis winced as he felt as if he was stabbed in the neck and he fell back to the ground. The shadow kneeled down, his eyes continuing to glare at him.

"So disobedient! No wonder why you'll never achieve all the things that the Linkaran Priests seem to think you'll achieve! After all, what kind of a God can't even stand up to a shadow?"

Tears flowed down Louis' cheeks, although he fought hard to keep them bottled up in his eyes. He opened his eyes once more, and another nightmare consumed him. This time, he was lying, naked and alone, in the middle of his high school. Students he had known for years, and others that were strangers to him, were all gathered around him and laughing at his embarrassing and disgusting appearance. He told himself not to believe it, to will the things to go away. He began humming to himself, singing 'Mary had a little lamb' over and over. Slowly but surely, the visions of the high school faded, bringing him back to the shadow.

"Oh my, are we still trying to win?"

Louis was suddenly lifted from his spot on the ground, and he floated above the circle, still naked. Cuts formed up all over him, and he yelped each time one was made. He stared down at him, blood trickling from his open wounds. When he fell back to the floor, he was once again without any kind of injury.

A new image was placed before him. This time, Lithmenar, White Raven, Garik, and all the others who had helped him on his quest were around him and laughing at his naked form. He clenched his teeth and tried to cover his ears, but his arms weren’t moving. He was bound to the ground, his flesh shown to all the people he had known and trusted over the past several months. He opened his eyes and looked around at them, finally noticing that one person wasn't present among them.

He looked past the images of his chuckling companions and saw a single Anako, her ears drooping down as if she were sad. Golden hair fell past her shoulders, a strange tattoo upon her left cheek. She had a single furry tale poking out of the back of her Linkaran robes, giving her a somewhat cute look to her. She stretched out her hand, as if she were reaching for Louis. Louis saw this girl and instantly recognized her as Indow. It wasn't an image of Indow in pain, in trouble, or in glee of Louis' humiliating position, but the friend and love that he had always known her to be.

Louis saw this image, and he drew strength from it. He took a single deep breath and stopped crying, even when the images of his friends started to beat on him while still laughing. He looked at each of the images of his friends, and he rejected those. He looked past each of the false images that the shadow was showing him and he searched for the shadow himself. When he found the spot that he was almost certain was the location of the shadow, he reached out his arm and gripped it around his neck.

The shadow gasped as the images disappeared from any form of sight. The shadow gagged and brought his own hands to Louis' to try to pry him off, but Louis wouldn't allow it. He squeezed the shadow's neck harder before finally pushing back and throwing the shadow onto his back. The shadow looked up and glared back at Louis.

"You dare...?!" he growled.

Louis stood up and glared right back at the shadow.

"Quite a bit, actually." he replied.

His clothes returned to him, along with a pair of sunglasses that formed over his eyes. He grinned and started approaching the shadow. The shadow waved his hand at Louis as if to push him aside, but it barely registered to Louis. Louis leaned over and grinned at the shadow.

"Funny thing about nightmares and dreams - as soon as you accept that they're not really there, you can learn to use them!" he stated.

He kicked his foot between the shadow's legs, eliciting a sharp scream of pain from the ragged entity. Louis encircled the shadow in much the same fashion as the shadow had done to him earlier, but with a quickened pace.

"Sure, I was feeling pain. But what is pain accept signals sent from nerves to the brain. False signals can be sent all the time, which is exactly what you were doing! Nothing here is real as long as I don't will it to be real! Your power is the cliché of any villain - fear and intimidation! You posses no real strength here!" Louis proclaimed.

The shadow leapt back up, backing off from Louis. Louis' brow furrowed as he held out his right arm from himself. He ground his teeth together as his mind began to focus on ideas of what would be the best form of revenge against the shadow.

"You threaten me with fear? You threaten me with worry? You threaten me with nightmares?!" he asked.

A leather work glove formed around Louis' right hand. Metal plating appeared over the back of the glove, extending outwards to sharp claws that were attached to the fingers. He had just formed the Freddy Krueger claw glove from the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Louis slashed his new claws in front of his face and grinned at the shadow.

"My dear shadow, welcome to MY nightmare!"

The shadow winced and got back up, a sword appearing in his hands. He brought the sword up, slicing at Louis. However, Louis countered with the claws, catching the sword in his hand. He grinned and punched the shadow with his other hand, knocking him backwards. The shadow growled and lunged forward once more, slicing downwards with his sword. Louis screamed in pain as the sword completely lopped off his arm with the Freddy glove. He gaped and moaned in pain.

“Not my arm!” he cried out, suppressing the urge to laugh.

The shadow cut once more, removing Louis’ left arm. Louis staggered backwards, still groaning and screaming. The shadow was content for a moment, but then noticed that the shoulders weren’t bleeding. In fact, the disembodied arms had disappeared from the black ground. He looked back at Louis, who was now smiling. He let out a cackle as the arms that had been cut off suddenly shot out from his shoulders. The shadow tilted his head, confused, as Louis moved his new arms in a circle to test them. The shadow jumped forwards once more, but Louis jumped up and kicked the shadow in the face, sending him to the ground once more.

“Here, let me show you how’s it done!” Louis laughed.

The Freddy glove disappeared, and Louis pulled back his flannel shirt, revealing a lightsaber from the Star Wars movies that was clipped to his jeans. He pulled it from his waist and activated it, a green energy cylinder rising and humming from the emitter. The shadow stood and tried to block with his own sword, but the lightsaber sliced the shadow’s sword in half, along with part of his arm. The shadow fell onto it’s knees, screaming in pain as black blood poured from the wound. The shadow looked up and saw Louis swinging the lightsaber right at its neck.

*

Back in the real world, the shadow arched his neck back and screamed, throwing himself from Louis' body. The shadow wallowed for a moment on the ground, screaming in agony from the pain that was shooting through his head. Jordahn and Chreydo ran over to Louis to help him up, but he had already picked himself up off of the ground. Louis turned to Chreydo, urgency in his voice and manner.

"Chreydo, ready or not, we need to activate the Tempil Gadrius!" he stated.

"But didn't you just kill it?!" Jordahn asked.

"I merely stunned it! I can defeat it on a mental battlefield, but in the real world, it's still more than a match for the rest of us! Chreydo, we need that spell NOW!"

Chreydo winced. "My lord... It is very dangerous! I must begin immediately and it's not just a simple casting, I must chant many phrases!"

Louis looked over at the shadow, who was beginning to get up, himself. He turned back to Chreydo.

"I'll try to hold him off for as long as-"

"You shall do no such thing!"

Louis looked back to the voice. It had come from Moleni, one of the higher-classes Pertits of the Unit. He and the other remaining Unit members were stepping forward, making a line between the shadow and Louis' group.

"What are you doing?!" Louis asked.

"It is the duty of every Kien soldier to die in the service of others! We shall fight against this demon! We'll buy you enough time to finish this magic!" Moleni said.

"But you'll be killed! You can't possibly-"

Jordahn spoke up: "The decision is made, Louis! Now, we must-"

"No, my Captain! You must go with the Linkara!" Moleni said.

"What?! That's preposterous! I shall not abandon my Unit in the beginning of a battle!" Jordahn said.

"Someone must survive to sing our song, Captain! You must tell our tale! I can think of no one more honorable and worthy!"

"I shall not-"

"My decision is MADE! GO!" Moleni shouted.

The shadow went for the nearest Unit soldier, slashing at him with his sword. The soldier dodged the sword slash and rolled to the side, trying to chop at the shadow with his axe. During this, Chreydo had already begun the chants of the spell, adding on a few additional incantations for the added members. As he completed the spell, the shadow tried to stop him, slashing at his heel. Louis stabbed down at the shadow with an electrically charged blade, and the sudden outburst of energy caused the two of them to crash into the edge of the nearby lake. Louis jumped up and landed next Chreydo, Jordahn, and Jeremis, the water having managed to reach him and drench him. Although the blade mostly missed Chreydo, it did cut him enough so that he aimed the spell in the wrong direction. He went straight up, forming the swirling vortex directly above them.

"It is done! Jump, my lord!" Chreydo said.

Louis turned to Jordahn and sighed, nodding to her as he leapt into the vortex, pulling himself up through it as if hanging onto a ledge on the other end. He slowly pulled himself through it, disappearing to the other end of it. Chreydo tried to rush Jordahn through next, but she had turned to Moleni.

"I shall not forget you, my old friend!" she said, a tear escaping her eye.

"Remember me each time you enter battle, my Captain!" he said.

Jordahn and Moleni embraced, kissing for one moment. It was a kiss of goodbye, with a single, passionate moment with it. The shadow came to attack once again, and Moleni pushed Jordahn away to the portal as he tried to slam his Gelmet against the shadow. Jordahn bit her lower lip and fought back any other urges to grieve, leaping up into the portal above her. Jeremis and Chreydo quickly followed behind her.

Jordahn's last sight of the past was of Moleni charging at the shadow.

RiffingShow

Louis opened his eyes and groaned in anger.

"Not again!" he shouted.

Face it, man. You will never escape this gif.

Louis was within the black realm once again.

Oh, it's back to Shadow Linkara. Let me provide the proper ambience:

"Where are you? Show yourself!" he yelled.

Who?

"You know goddamned well who- wait a minute, how the hell did you do that?" he asked.

He just talked? I guess the idea is that he's talking inside of your mind, but you already are inside of your mind.

I have not taken on a physical form yet.

He better not turn into a giant marshmallow man.

"Well, listen up, buddy! I don't need this again! I'm not feeling like some angsty little idiot right now, so could you please just wake me up! I thought that there was some shadow thing that I was fighting..."

I AM that shadow thing you speak of.

Phew. For a moment I thought some part of his inner psyche knew he was an egocentric asshole. I guess we really are to believe all that valid criticism was just mean bullshit by some fucking Nazgul.

Louis blinked. "Oh. Well, then what do you want? I'm kind of pissed off at you for killing my friends."

Oh, please. They didn't even have names.

I want the secrets of your armor.

"It's a substance called Corbomite-"

Do not patronize me, Linkara! I am not some idle-minded Arbiter! I am the servant of a great power who wishes to know everything about the Linkaran armor.

Oh shit, it really is one of Lord Vyce's Shades!
Or some new bad guy who will ultimately turn out lame and gay. Pick your poison.

"And how do you know that Corbomite isn't it?"

Because Corbomite is a ploy used in an episode of Star Trek.

Linkara's ultimate nemesis: Someone with just as much pop culture knowledge as him!

I know many things, Linkara. I know where you live.

"You know, when people say that, it's not as scary as you would think it is."

Well, it depends on how much those people look like someone you wouldn't want to run into alone in a dark alleyway...

And I guess this chapter is a glorified setup for the next book, where afaik he and at least Indow end up back on Earth?

And what about your family? What would happen if perhaps...

Louis screamed and fell to the ground, images flashing into his head. The images depicted his family being horribly mutilated, their faces bloody and misshapen.

This might pack a bigger punch if we actually knew any of his family. Aside from his older brother who likes being an asshole to him, at least.

He looked up again, and saw the shadow standing over him. Its eyes were glowing a bright white, but curved slightly as if the face behind the dark shroud on its head was smiling.

Or maybe Shadow Linkara is Asian.

"What was that?!" Louis cried out.

"An example of my power here, Linkara. I can sense your memories, see your worst nightmares and desires."

"And I must say, your fetishes are pretty fucked up, man."

"If that's true," Louis panted, "then how come you think I know anything about my armor other than the fact that it works?"

That is a good question. What say you, author?!

The shadow leaned in close to Louis, his eyes narrowing. "Because there are parts of your mind that I cannot access as a result of your armor. Have you noticed that you no longer have your gauntlet?"

Louis looked down at his right arm. Indeed, his gauntlet had disappeared, and his arm was bare once again. He looked back up at the shadow and nodded.

"Your armor is hiding itself from me."

Ah, he can't read everything because the mind armor is hiding.

Louis nodded and smiled. He quickly swung his fist at the shadow, but just as before in the real world, it passed through him. He fell forwards onto the invisible ground, hard, and the shadow merely laughed at his foolishness. He growled and stood up, but the shadow slammed his fist down onto Louis' back, sending him once again to the ground.

The brutalizer appears to have become the brutalized. More sweet, sweet irony.

The shadow's eyes glowed brightly once more, and Louis screamed as he looked down at his hands, which were suddenly covered in burns. The pain was searing through his hands, his cries for help going unanswered. However, as quickly as the pain had come, it quickly disappeared.

The early years of the Bene Gesserit were weird.

The shadow walked in circles around Louis, his head tilted as he stared down at him. He stopped right in front of his head, looking down at Louis with antagonism and contempt.

I can picture the "contempt" part, but how do you look at someone "with antagonism"?

Images were once again shot before Louis' eyes. This time, the images consisted of Indow's rape. Myrrha was forcing objects into her vagina and anus, and cuts were being made along her stomach and breasts.

The Indow Counter has increased (7 -> 8)

Louis was treated to the images a second time, and Louis quickly balled himself up into a fetal position. The shadow glared down at Louis and his eyes glowed. Louis' clothes disappeared, leaving him naked and exposed on the floor.

I'm not gonna count that one.
Also things seem to be getting kinky.

"Insolence is not tolerated, boy. You have proceeded along with a superiority complex that would make Caesar blush."

Of all the batshit Roman emperors to compare Linkara with, you went with the guy who got shit done?

"You are not a champion or a defender of the light, but a small little boy who believes he has a destiny." the shadow stated.

"I never asked for a destiny!" Louis shouted.

Welcome to Greek tragedies, motherfucker!

"Yet you did nothing to deny it! No, your ego was quite satisfied. The freshman in high school who thinks he has a purpose before God, before Heaven, before all the angels! If you should walk off a cliff, surely God will catch you, or send angels to ascend you to Heaven! You can walk on water and turn that water into wine!"

Man, this straw man is starting to get really strawy.

"So disobedient! No wonder why you'll never achieve all the things that the Linkaran Priests seem to think you'll achieve! After all, what kind of a God can't even stand up to a shadow?"

He has already fulfilled everything the (public) prophecy had foretold? Her entire faith has literally nothing on what the Great Linkara will do after vanquishing the Darkness. There is nothing more for her to expect.

He opened his eyes once more, and another nightmare consumed him. This time, he was lying, naked and alone, in the middle of his high school. Students he had known for years, and others that were strangers to him, were all gathered around him and laughing at his embarrassing and disgusting appearance.

As far as literal existential nightmares go, I'm not really impressed by what this Shadow Linkara is dishing out.
Unless Linkara's greatest fear is people laughing at him.

He began humming to himself, singing 'Mary had a little lamb' over and over. Slowly but surely, the visions of the high school faded, bringing him back to the shadow.

Ah yes, the hymn of a true hero.

Louis was suddenly lifted from his spot on the ground, and he floated above the circle, still naked.

Could you stop pointing out that he's naked? I'd like to get some sleep tonight.

A new image was placed before him. This time, Lithmenar, White Raven, Garik, and all the others who had helped him on his quest were around him and laughing at his naked form.

Now this is just getting silly. Even Mr. "I have watched TV" should start rolling his eyes by now.

He opened his eyes and looked around at them, finally noticing that one person wasn't present among them.

Must be Chreydo.
No, wait, it's the catgirl, isn't it?

He looked past the images of his chuckling companions and saw a single Anako, her ears drooping down as if she were sad.

(I know she has animu elf ears instead, but fuck it.)

Louis saw this girl and instantly recognized her as Indow. It wasn't an image of Indow in pain, in trouble, or in glee of Louis' humiliating position, but the friend and love that he had always known her to be.

His horniness for catgirls (that aren't actually catgirls) has broken through the vile visions of villainy.

He took a single deep breath and stopped crying, even when the images of his friends started to beat on him while still laughing. He looked at each of the images of his friends, and he rejected those.

(Oh, if only...)

He looked past each of the false images that the shadow was showing him and he searched for the shadow himself. When he found the spot that he was almost certain was the location of the shadow, he reached out his arm and gripped it around his neck.

is clothes returned to him, along with a pair of sunglasses that formed over his eyes.

"Funny thing about nightmares and dreams - as soon as you accept that they're not really there, you can learn to use them!" he stated.

If you know this shit, why did you spend all this time crying and whimpering like a little bitch?

He kicked his foot between the shadow's legs, eliciting a sharp scream of pain from the ragged entity.

The Crotch Kick has returned

"Sure, I was feeling pain. But what is pain accept signals sent from nerves to the brain. False signals can be sent all the time, which is exactly what you were doing! Nothing here is real as long as I don't will it to be real! Your power is the cliché of any villain - fear and intimidation! You posses no real strength here!" Louis proclaimed.

I take it that Linkara (the author) doesn't like Nightmare on Elm Street?

Louis' brow furrowed as he held out his right arm from himself. He ground his teeth together as his mind began to focus on ideas of what would be the best form of revenge against the shadow.

It better not be a fucking chainsaw, mate. I'm warning you.

A leather work glove formed around Louis' right hand. Metal plating appeared over the back of the glove, extending outwards to sharp claws that were attached to the fingers. He had just formed the Freddy Krueger claw glove from the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Louis slashed his new claws in front of his face and grinned at the shadow.

"My dear shadow, welcome to MY nightmare!"

So does he think all of Freddy's victims were weak little bitches who couldn't see through his prank?

The shadow winced and got back up, a sword appearing in his hands. He brought the sword up, slicing at Louis. However, Louis countered with the claws, catching the sword in his hand.

That's not how the glove works. You'd just get half your hand chopped off.

The shadow growled and lunged forward once more, slicing downwards with his sword. Louis screamed in pain as the sword completely lopped off his arm with the Freddy glove. He gaped and moaned in pain.

Yeah, a bit like that.

“Not my arm!” he cried out, suppressing the urge to laugh.

Could you try and take this shit seriously? It's only the penultimate chapter.

The shadow cut once more, removing Louis’ left arm.

He looked back at Louis, who was now smiling. He let out a cackle as the arms that had been cut off suddenly shot out from his shoulders

Turns out mind arms aren't real.

The Freddy glove disappeared, and Louis pulled back his flannel shirt, revealing a lightsaber from the Star Wars movies that was clipped to his jeans.

I guess at least he has broadened his horizon of Ernest Cline pop culture reference nonsense to include more than just Evil Dead.

The shadow fell onto it’s knees, screaming in pain as black blood poured from the wound. The shadow looked up and saw Louis swinging the lightsaber right at its neck.

I've read Bleach fights that were less one-sided back-and-forth curbstomps.

*

Back in the real world, the shadow arched his neck back and screamed, throwing himself from Louis' body. The shadow wallowed for a moment on the ground, screaming in agony from the pain that was shooting through his head.

You know, I feel he would've had a better chance just torturing the information out of Linkara IRL.

Jordahn and Chreydo ran over to Louis to help him up, but he had already picked himself up off of the ground.

"The Great Linkara does not require anyone's help, mortals!"

"Chreydo, ready or not, we need to activate the Tempil Gadrius!" he stated.

"But didn't you just kill it?!" Jordahn asked.

Oh, just keep kicking him in the crotch.

"I merely stunned it! I can defeat it on a mental battlefield, but in the real world, it's still more than a match for the rest of us! Chreydo, we need that spell NOW!"

LMAO he really should've just tortured him IRL.

"I'll try to hold him off for as long as-"

"You shall do no such thing!"

Louis looked back to the voice. It had come from Moleni, one of the higher-classes Pertits of the Unit.

Fuck yeah! It's everyone's favorite Sand Warrior: Moleni!

(This might have more impact if he had actually existed in previous chapters.)

He and the other remaining Unit members were stepping forward, making a line between the shadow and Louis' group.

"What are you doing?!" Louis asked.

"It is the duty of every Kien soldier to die in the service of others! We shall fight against this demon! We'll buy you enough time to finish this magic!" Moleni said.

"But you'll be killed! You can't possibly-"

You do know Shadow Linkara can just phase through you, right?

"No, my Captain! You must go with the Linkara!" Moleni said.

"What?! That's preposterous! I shall not abandon my Unit in the beginning of a battle!" Jordahn said.

"Someone must survive to sing our song, Captain! You must tell our tale! I can think of no one more honorable and worthy!"

I fucking knew that at least she would survive.

The shadow went for the nearest Unit soldier, slashing at him with his sword. The soldier dodged the sword slash and rolled to the side, trying to chop at the shadow with his axe.

Apparently Shadow Linkara has forgotten that he can go invisible. Or that spell requires too much preparation.

As he completed the spell, the shadow tried to stop him, slashing at his heel. Louis stabbed down at the shadow with an electrically charged blade, and the sudden outburst of energy caused the two of them to crash into the edge of the nearby lake.

Getting dangerously DBZ in here.
Also shouldn't Chreydo have been in the blast radius?

Although the blade mostly missed Chreydo, it did cut him enough so that he aimed the spell in the wrong direction. He went straight up, forming the swirling vortex directly above them.

(This doesn't actually amount to anything, btw).

Jordahn's last sight of the past was of Moleni charging at the shadow.

RIP
Moleni
Book 2, Chapter 19 - 19

Good night, sweet prince...

Next Time: Apparently everything's gonna be resolved next chapter. Yeah, this is gonna hurt.

[wulfenlord]

I swear this is also the third or fourth time about people rolling themselves up in a fetal position, is that Linkara's only method of expression other than wincing and smiling?

And what is even the literary or narrative purpose of retelling Indow's orifice adventures? And not even retelling in expanded detail or focusing on different aspects of mental and physical anguish. At this point it not even adds shock value.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

It's really just shock value and/or his personal fetish.

It gets even dumber if you remember Indow's "Actually, I've had worse" response.

I swear this is also the third or fourth time about people rolling themselves up in a fetal position, is that Linkara's only method of expression other than wincing and smiling?

He seriously needs to expand his vocabulary. So far he's only good at avoiding repeating "said" or "asked" too much, but that's more of a hack writer thing.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Book 2, Chapter 20 - Foundations
(Or: All Hail Linkara)



The long-awaited Genesis concert ceremony is upon us. About time, really. Any more and I'd run out of iconic Genesis hits.

Considering that we have only six pages left (including the epilogue) and a shitload of unresolved plots, I suspect we will either get a very rushed clusterfuck of an ending, or Linkara (the author) will pull a George Martin (fuck your two middle names, fatso) and the book will just end, and more or less seemlessly transition into the next book.

"Remember when Rain got killed?" Count: 13
"Remember when Indow got raped?" Count: 8
"Baddies Never Smile" Count: 17

RecapShow

Past


Turns out Shadow Linkara and the Nazgul are one and the same, and he has been ordered by what I assume to be next book's villain to find out where the fuck Linkara's gotten his armor.
Due to the powers of plot convenience, Shadow Linkara can't just probe this particular bit of information out of Linkara's mind, forcing him to employ the most devilish of torture:

• Roast Linkara like last time, though a lot more half-assed and straw-man-y.
• Inflict superficial cuts that heal almost immediately.
• Strip him naked.
• Yank visions of random people from Linkara's memory and have them perform their best Nelson Muntz impression on him.

Somehow the last two are the most gruesome of them all, causing Linkara to cry like the little bitch that he is.
Then he spots a vision of a sad Indow and remembers that this mind battle is, in fact, a mind battle. Aka he can do whatever the fuck he wants, as per the universal rules of mind combat from last book. Sure took him a while to notice/remember this.

So Shadow Linkara's one-sided curbstomp quickly turns into Linkara's one-sided curbstomp. It sure is handy that his mind opponents never seem to have the same amount of reality-warping control and creativity as Linkara. Dude's so OP that not even getting his arms chopped off can stop him.
Though tbf he did not turn into Ash this time around. Instead he just summoned Freddy Kruger's claw and a lightsaber.

Back in the real world, Linkara orders the time travel spell to be called ASAP. All the named (aka important) characters make it through, while the remaining Band of the Linkster (all two or three of them, depending on whether or not Gyaru Casca counts) buys them time in a glorious last stand.
Except Shadow Linkara is incorporeal and should probably be able to just ignore them. But hey, maybe he's a sucker for melodrama.

It is also with a heavy heart that I must announce that the brave Sand Warrior Moleni was part of this heroic sacrifice.
A fan favorite, he has been with us since almost the beginning of the book. Somewhat gruff and not a friend of many words, he eventually opened up as his nakama helped him get over the tragic death of his daughter, and overcome his crippling alcohol addiction.
Just kidding. Dude literally popped into existence for this one scene. It's like Linkara (the author) wanted some kind of emotional payoff without actually putting in any effort/buildup.

Present


(Will we ever see that ghost knight lady again?)

ChapterShow

White Raven and Garik sat next to each other within the jail cell. They had been silent for a long time, knowing that the end was quickly approaching. It was now the day of the Genesis Ceremony, and the two were slated to be executed right after Myrrha's speech to the inhabitants of Soyah. To ensure that they not try to escape again like so many times before, a guard had been posted on the inside of the jail cell, who now watched them day and night. Ever since the escape attempt had failed, the two had not said a word, either to themselves or to each other. Finally, White Raven decided to break the silence.

"I did what was necessary." she stated.

"You allowed her to live. We could have been rid of that monster forever, and you let her live. I myself would've wanted to do the job, but I'd have been satisfied knowing that she no longer breathed." Garik said.

"She was right. Killing her right now, acting as a traitor to the Eclipsed Legion, would have only destabilized this area and plunge us into civil war over who's in charge. In the end, the strongest would stand tall, and Varek the Destroyer is a thousand times worse than Myrrha could ever be." White Raven replied.

"Irrelevant. You have little faith in people, Raven. These people can persevere without a monarch in charge of them." Garik said.

"As someone who actually walked among them, I can most certainly tell you that you're wrong! Very few of them could live independently, from what I can see. When I threatened Myrrha's life, many of them were so frightened that they might lose their leader that they were ready to fling themselves in front of my arrow, however futile a move it might have been."

"She's a murderer! Not only that, she's a monstrous, demonic entity that makes every living thing around her whither and die! By your own admission, she had incredible, horrible powers when she was one of the Horsemen of the Armageddon! She's a product of the Darkness - relentless and evil. Regardless of the consequences, eliminating her would make the world better, not worse!"

White Raven slowly turned to Garik. "And there are many who say similar things of me, Garik. Would you so quickly condemn me, as well?"

Garik bit his lower lip. "You are a different case. You have sought redemption for your past crimes and have certainly earned it. You spent years coping with infinite remorse and grief, you went through Zexrip syndrome, and assisted in the destruction of the Darkness itself!"

"But tell me, Priest, does that bring Indow's grandparents back from the dead? Does that ease the suffering of anyone who lost a loved one at Vahn?" White Raven asked.

Garik had no answer for her. He turned away and sighed. He then smiled and laughed a little, leaning his head back. He looked back to her, still smiling.

"Tell me, how did we get ourselves into this mess? How did we end up in a jail cell together, waiting to be executed?" he asked.

White Raven smiled back at him. "I believe it happened when we first met a certain fourteen year-old boy named Louis Williamson. It sort of sealed our fate."

Garik nodded and looked forwards once more. "Now all that is left for us is to be executed."

White Raven put her hand on Garik's shoulder, despite the chains around it. "Do not worry, Priest. If I know Indow, she's working on a way to rescue us as we speak.

*

"We could REALLY use some kind of rescue!" Indow exclaimed.

It hadn't taken long for the Terpa to break through the Protection spell. Realizing that they needed to fight off the beast or die, Indow and Lithmenar prepared themselves for anything the creature could do to them. They readied certain powders from Lithmenar's stash that could be used to slow it down, while Indow charged spells to use against the large abomination.

The Terpa appeared before them finally, a large mass of leathery flesh and tentacles. It roared at the two, and they fought the urge to vomit from the smell of the creature's breath. Indow went in first, an orb of fiery red energy surrounding her body. She had cast an Amplify spell, something that enhanced her own abilities while in combat. She floated upwards in a Levitation spell, and started casting fireballs down onto the Terpa's face. The creature turned away, groaning in pain only momentarily. Lithmenar went in next, leaping onto the stalk part of the Terpa’s eye. The tentacles that the creature had whipped out to grab him, but Lithmenar crawled up the creature's stalk and threw a red powder into the thing's single eye.

The Terpa lurched in pain, it's eye having been touched by the bitter powder. Indow maneuvered to the side, the Amplify's color changing to a bright green. She fell to the ground and landed gracefully, Lithmenar joining her shortly afterwards. The Terpa shook out what remained of the powder from its eye and glared directly at the two. Indow aimed her hands at the Terpa, grinning from the prospect of what she was about to do.

"BURNING SIN!"

The ground both above and beneath Indow began to explode outwards as green vines and tendrils shot out of the stone surroundings and wrapped around several parts of the Terpa. The Terpa roared in pain as the acidic nature of the vines began to burn into it, making it struggle and lurch about in attempt to free itself from the bindings. Its bouncing and shaking started collapse the upper part of the sewer, making the roof cave in over its head. Moonlight cast down from above the Terpa, and the tendrils that had been tightening around it suddenly pulled back, ripping off parts of the Terpa. The Terpa gave out one final scream of agony before it was disemboweled all over the sewer ground.

The Amplify spell disappeared from Indow, and she fell into Lithmenar's arms from exhaustion. She quickly regained her composure and freed herself from Lithmenar's grasp, blushing from the brief touch that they had had. The two slowly approached the hole that had been made and smiled as they stared up at the night sky that they now needed to climb up to and reach to be free of the foul-smelling dungeon that they had been trapped in.

*

Hours passed, day turned to night, and the Genesis Ceremony had begun. All of the Dark Knights of Soyah were required to attend the ceremony, despite whatever previous task they had been assigned to. As such, hundreds of Dark Knights now stood in front of a vast platform, where the only people on it were Myrrha, two Dark Knight guards, and White Raven and Garik. The last in that list were tied to large stakes on either end of the platform, where they each would be summarily executed by the two guards.

At the edge of the crowd, General J'Vok stood with three other soldiers from the remaining Aian force. After the loss they had suffered at the hands of the enhanced Myrrha, the last of the forces had retreated back into their staging grounds and decided that they had one last thing in their arsenal that could be used to disrupt the Ceremony, and that was a suicide attempt to kill as many Dark Knights as possible. J'Vok and three volunteers had enough Ligalce powder on them to obliterate three castles, and they hoped that would be enough to stop them.

However, they also had to maneuver themselves through the crowd to prearranged positions so as not to draw attention, so they moved very slowly as they listened to Myrrha, who was beginning her speech.

"Citizens of the Eclipsed Legion, you are gathered here today because you want a home. 300 years ago, a terrible force arrived on Sin, taking the name of the Darkness! The Darkness deceived each and every one of us, whispering poison into our ears in an attempt for us to listen to only his will! We were nothing more than his servants, his pawns! Well, today we stand here because we are NO ONE'S pawns!"

The beginning of her speech elicited a great deal of cheering from the Dark Knights. When they subsided, Myrrha continued:

"We were his Dark Knights. However, we no longer stand here as Dark Knights, but as the proud and loyal soldiers of the Eclipsed Legion! This Ceremony today shall be repeated each year to remind ourselves of who we are and what we believe in! The Darkness took away our desires and hopes, our loves and happiness! We have taken back what is ours, and we shall keep them!"

Once more, the crowd was cheering and roaring in happiness over Myrrha's remarks.

"However," she said. "that is no longer enough! We wanted merely to live in peace with those around us, but they wouldn't have it! Even my own adjutant, who I trusted with my life, betrayed us to them! Well, no longer. They wanted a war, then we shall gladly give them one! In a week's time, we shall spread forth through this broken land, conquering those who oppressed us! Until we receive the right to have our own land, our own home, we shall not stop! Even if we must destroy everyone who opposes us, we shall not fail!

"Today is a day of celebration, a day of hope! A thousand years from now, our descendants shall think of this time and say, 'That was the day! That was the day of Genesis! The Genesis of the Eclipsed Legion!'"

Again, the crowd roared in appreciation and agreement with Myrrha's statements. Although, there were quite a few in the crowd who were not as excited at the prospect of going to war with their neighbors. However, they remained quiet in fear that they, too, would end up on wooden pillars. Myrrha turned to White Raven, still smiling.

"Any last words, traitor?" she asked.

White Raven remained silent, merely glaring at Myrrha. Myrrha smiled and turned back to the crowd.

"And now, my loyal soldiers of the Legion, execute the-"

J'Vok was ready to light himself on fire, blowing him and most of the Dark Knights around him to ashes, but he was interrupted by the same thing that Myrrha had been interrupted by. An energy vortex had suddenly formed on the stage, a swirling mass of blue, green, and white colors. Electrical flashes were forming around it at the same time, and everyone on the stage and in the crowd were now staring at it, confused as to what was happening.

And with a loud grunt and bang, a hand reached out from the swirling vortex of color and light and planted itself on the wooden stage. The hand was covered in a golden gauntlet that reflected the moonlight off of the many droplets of water that slid off of it. The hand was then paired by a second one, and both strained against the stage as a single figure lifted himself out of the vortex. He crawled out of it slowly, much to the amazement of the crowd of Dark Knights. He appeared to be covered in dirt and water, and several parts of his face and exposed skin had cuts or bruises on them. His hair and clothes beneath the armor were soaking wet. When he stood up, the entire crowd of Dark Knights went into shock.

It was Louis.

Louis blinked once and shifted his eyes from left to right, seeing Garik and White Raven tied to the separate wooden poles, and the assemblage of Dark Knights beneath him. Then he looked forward, and saw Myrrha. His eyes got wide as he saw her, and although he thought he recognized her, he needed to be sure. He walked towards her, getting right in her face. She was still in complete shock from what she had just seen, her mouth hanging open as her heartbeat increased rapidly. Louis narrowed his eyes.

"I know you." Louis stated.

Myrrha stopped breathing.

"You're that bitch who tortured and raped Indow." Louis said calmly.

Myrrha felt the blood draining down her spine from her face. The only thing she could do in her frightened state was to nod at Louis. Louis, in turn, mentally commanded electricity to charge in his gauntlet, then delivered an uppercut with the gauntlet directly into Myrrha's chin! The impact from the energy sent Myrrha flying off the podium, going past the entire assemblage of Dark Knights and deep into the nearby swamps of the Zlad Delta. The Dark Knights gasped as they followed Myrrha's brief flight, and then quickly looked back over at the Linkara. Louis leapt into the air, his metallic, golden wings suddenly shooting out of the back of his armor and gliding him off of the stage and in front of the Dark Knights, who backed up when he landed. He turned his head from left to right slowly, looking at the shocked Dark Knights.

Louis walked forwards, looking from one Dark Knight to the next. He then jumped backwards, flipping in mid-air before landing on the stage again, his wings retracting back into his body. The Tempil Gadrius was still going off, and Louis saw that Jordahn, Chreydo, and Jeremis were all crawling out of it. As the three entered the new time period, Louis addressed the startled Eclipsed Legion.

"All right, folks, show's over." he stated.

The Dark Knights looked to one another, confused.

"You heard me. Go back to your homes and live out the rest of you lives. There's nothing left in front of this platform except wasted time." he said.

The Dark Knights still didn’t understand his meaning.

"Okay, perhaps I'm not being clear! I am hereby giving you all the authority to live in Soyah! You can enjoy yourselves in your own private paradise and have an independent state. Perhaps you could even become an official part of the new, united Jilad, or whatever, but for the most part, you're done! There will be no military action against the other members of the five lands and there will be no new age of conquest and destruction. Here there is only living!

"Now, I know many of you are thinking, 'Who is this child and where does he get off thinking he can order us around? There are hundreds of us and only one of him!' Well, I'm telling anyone who's anal-retentive enough to take me on should start thinking of something else right away! Why? Because I not only sent your little Queen to the pigsty, I'm the one who killed your last boss! The name is Louis Williamson, and I am the LINKARA!"

At this, everyone who didn't know who he was before merely gasped in shock and backed further off from the platform.

"There's no reason to be afraid!" Louis called out, walking forward. "I'm not here to harm any of you. You can have Soyah; you can be free and happy and lead out the rest of your lives for however long as you wish, but just remember that if I even hear a rumor of any Dark Knight attacking other cities, I shall come back to Soyah and nail every single one of you to the city walls! YOU GET THAT?!"

The people nodded in response, saying ‘yes’ repeatedly.

Louis smiled at this and held up his arms. "Good! Now, folks, I know you're a little frightened of me, but frankly, I've just had an adventure and a half, and you all are free of any leaders or governmental control, so I say let's party! I, for one, could use a drink!"

It took a moment for them to respond, but the Dark Knights cheered at this change of attitude in Louis. J'Vok smiled, working his way to the platform so that he could reunite with Louis. Chreydo and Jeremis worked to free White Raven and Garik, while Jordahn merely looked around herself at the new time period she was in. She also looked down at the spot where the temporal vortex had been just a moment before, and wondered if she was ever going to see her Unit again.

And just past the crowd, where a hole had been opened up in the streets, Indow Chyprea looked at the platform and the face of her time-lost love, and tears of joy slid down her smiling face.

RiffingShow

White Raven and Garik sat next to each other within the jail cell.

Hey, look. Another permutation of a group of Linkara's friends sitting in a dungeon cell waiting for this bloody ceremony to finally start. This book sure keeps things fresh and exciting.

They had been silent for a long time, knowing that the end was quickly approaching.

I'm sure you have enough time for two more failed breakout attempts.

To ensure that they not try to escape again like so many times before, a guard had been posted on the inside of the jail cell, who now watched them day and night.

Why is it important that he's standing inside the cell? He better not have any keys with him.

"She was right. Killing her right now, acting as a traitor to the Eclipsed Legion, would have only destabilized this area and plunge us into civil war over who's in charge."

You're already a traitor, Honey.

"In the end, the strongest would stand tall, and Varek the Destroyer is a thousand times worse than Myrrha could ever be." White Raven replied."

"We shouldn't try to kill Hitler, otherwise Super Hitler will take his place!"

And what makes Varek worse? We don't really know a lot about the guy. Does he pour lemon juice over his rock dildos?

"Irrelevant. You have little faith in people, Raven. These people can persevere without a monarch in charge of them." Garik said

The clergy: famously in favor of antiestablishmentarianism.

"As someone who actually walked among them, I can most certainly tell you that you're wrong! Very few of them could live independently, from what I can see."

Just one more reason to not give a shit about their fate.

"When I threatened Myrrha's life, many of them were so frightened that they might lose their leader that they were ready to fling themselves in front of my arrow, however futile a move it might have been."

I'm starting to feel that Raven is the only Dark Knight who has an issue with Myrrha.

"She's a murderer!"

As is every Dark Knight.

"Not only that, she's a monstrous, demonic entity that makes every living thing around her whither and die!"

Right, her instant-death touch that never showed up in this book.

By your own admission, she had incredible, horrible powers when she was one of the Horsemen of the Armageddon!

What happened to those other Horsemen, anyways? You'd think they'd want some prime seats in that new government.

Regardless of the consequences, eliminating her would make the world better, not worse!"

White Raven slowly turned to Garik. "And there are many who say similar things of me, Garik. Would you so quickly condemn me, as well?"

Well, you're currently not a psychopathic dictator - though you may or may not want to become one if you could ever come up with an actual solution to the Myrrha problem.

"But tell me, Priest, does that bring Indow's grandparents back from the dead? Does that ease the suffering of anyone who lost a loved one at Vahn?" White Raven asked.

JFC bitch, the only one in this book who still held a grudge against you was Indow, and she forgave you eventually after she became an alcoholic. I think you like being the eternal outsider.

"Tell me, how did we get ourselves into this mess? How did we end up in a jail cell together, waiting to be executed?" he asked.

She tried to break you out of prison? It happened like two chapters ago.

White Raven smiled back at him. "I believe it happened when we first met a certain fourteen year-old boy named Louis Williamson. It sort of sealed our fate."

No one escapes The Prophecy (tm)!

"Do not worry, Priest. If I know Indow, she's working on a way to rescue us as we speak.

She gets captured more often than you two combined, which is weird considering she can also kick more ass than you two combined.

*

"We could REALLY use some kind of rescue!" Indow exclaimed.

If only Linkara were here, some new character who Deus Ex Machina you out of there.

They readied certain powders from Lithmenar's stash that could be used to slow it down

(That means the date rape drugs.)

The Terpa appeared before them finally, a large mass of leathery flesh and tentacles.

So the croco-slug is also a tentacle monster? Why didn't you bring that up when you described this critter?

It roared at the two, and they fought the urge to vomit from the smell of the creature's breath.

You're in a fucking sewer. And just how close is this thing that you can smell its breath?

She had cast an Amplify spell, something that enhanced her own abilities while in combat.

Define "abilities". Why are you so bad at describing fucking buff spells?

Lithmenar went in next, leaping onto the stalk part of the Terpa’s eye. The tentacles that the creature had whipped out to grab him, but Lithmenar crawled up the creature's stalk and threw a red powder into the thing's single eye.

How big is this thing, anyways? Those sewer tunnels must be massive.

Indow maneuvered to the side, the Amplify's color changing to a bright green.

That's cool, I guess. Does it mean anything?

"BURNING SIN!"

The ground both above and beneath Indow began to explode outwards as green vines and tendrils shot out of the stone surroundings and wrapped around several parts of the Terpa.

Are, looks like the tenacle monster is about to be tentacle'd.

Its bouncing and shaking started collapse the upper part of the sewer, making the roof cave in over its head. Moonlight cast down from above the Terpa

So the sewers are at basement level?

The tendrils that had been tightening around it suddenly pulled back, ripping off parts of the Terpa. The Terpa gave out one final scream of agony before it was disemboweled all over the sewer ground.

This is a lot more guro than I expected.

The Amplify spell disappeared from Indow, and she fell into Lithmenar's arms from exhaustion. She quickly regained her composure and freed herself from Lithmenar's grasp, blushing from the brief touch that they had had.

Uh-oh, I smell a love triangle.

*

Hours passed, day turned to night, and the Genesis Ceremony had begun.

About fucking time, I say.

All of the Dark Knights of Soyah were required to attend the ceremony, despite whatever previous task they had been assigned to.

I don't think there are many other entertainment venues, anyways.

At the edge of the crowd, General J'Vok stood with three other soldiers from the remaining Aian force.

I was beginning to wonder what happened to the guy. Figured he fucked off with the Army of Good Guys.
Also why does nobody spot you?

... the last of the forces had retreated back into their staging grounds and decided that they had one last thing in their arsenal that could be used to disrupt the Ceremony, and that was a suicide attempt to kill as many Dark Knights as possible.

You know for good guys, you sure love blowing yourselves up.

However, they also had to maneuver themselves through the crowd to prearranged positions so as not to draw attention, so they moved very slowly as they listened to Myrrha, who was beginning her speech.

Are you at least disguised as Dark Knights?

"The Darkness deceived each and every one of us, whispering poison into our ears in an attempt for us to listen to only his will! We were nothing more than his servants, his pawns! Well, today we stand here because we are NO ONE'S pawns!"

Said the supreme leader of the Dark Knights.

"We were his Dark Knights. However, we no longer stand here as Dark Knights, but as the proud and loyal soldiers of the Eclipsed Legion!"

This will never catch on. You don't even have a good term for a singular member of your fancy legion.

This Ceremony today shall be repeated each year to remind ourselves of who we are and what we believe in!

Oh, so the human sacrifices will be an annual thing? Why?

"We wanted merely to live in peace with those around us..."

Nothing says "peace" quite like human sacrifices.

"Even my own adjutant, who I trusted with my life, betrayed us to them! Well, no longer. They wanted a war, then we shall gladly give them one! In a week's time, we shall spread forth through this broken land, conquering those who oppressed us!"

"This hoe betrayed me. Let's kill everyone!"

I know this is (probably) part of her plan, but why not reference that time the good guys attacked the city?

"Until we receive the right to have our own land, our own home, we shall not stop!"

Who's supposed to give you that right? Does Sin have a UN?

A thousand years from now, our descendants shall think of this time and say, 'That was the day! That was the day of Genesis!

Fuck Yeah!

Although, there were quite a few in the crowd who were not as excited at the prospect of going to war with their neighbors. However, they remained quiet in fear that they, too, would end up on wooden pillars.

Spineless sheeple. What's Myrrha gonna do if like half of you just fuck off? Start a civil war? That's gonna tank her military strength even harder.

"And now, my loyal soldiers of the Legion, execute the-"

J'Vok was ready to light himself on fire, blowing him and most of the Dark Knights around him to ashes, but he was interrupted by the same thing that Myrrha had been interrupted by. An energy vortex had suddenly formed on the stage, a swirling mass of blue, green, and white colors.

Linkara's gonna return to the present in the literal nick of time, isn't he?

It was Louis.

Man, Chreydo's a time travel god.

Then he looked forward, and saw Myrrha. His eyes got wide as he saw her, and although he thought he recognized her, he needed to be sure.

How many crazy Dark Knight bitches do you know?

She was still in complete shock from what she had just seen, her mouth hanging open as her heartbeat increased rapidly. Louis narrowed his eyes.

"I know you." Louis stated.

Myrrha stopped breathing.

"You're that bitch who tortured and raped Indow." Louis said calmly.

The Indow Counter has increased (8 -> 9)

Myrrha felt the blood draining down her spine from her face.

The only thing she could do in her frightened state was to nod at Louis. Louis, in turn, mentally commanded electricity to charge in his gauntlet, then delivered an uppercut with the gauntlet directly into Myrrha's chin!

The impact from the energy sent Myrrha flying off the podium, going past the entire assemblage of Dark Knights and deep into the nearby swamps of the Zlad Delta.

That's... certainly one way to deal with your main villain, I guess.

Louis leapt into the air, his metallic, golden wings suddenly shooting out of the back of his armor and gliding him off of the stage and in front of the Dark Knights, who backed up when he landed.

You could just jump down from the stage, but I guess you love showboating too much.

Louis walked forwards, looking from one Dark Knight to the next. He then jumped backwards, flipping in mid-air before landing on the stage again, his wings retracting back into his body.

What's with your obsession with performing a circus show before speaking to a crowd? You just falcon-punched their supreme leader out of the city. I'm sure you already have their attention.

"All right, folks, show's over." he stated.

Oh, come on. You only did two flips.

The Dark Knights still didn’t understand his meaning.

"Okay, perhaps I'm not being clear! I am hereby giving you all the authority to live in Soyah! You can enjoy yourselves in your own private paradise and have an independent state."

Okay. So are you gonna uphold the peace by threatening everyone with violence?

"Now, I know many of you are thinking, 'Who is this child and where does he get off thinking he can order us around? There are hundreds of us and only one of him!' Well, I'm telling anyone who's anal-retentive enough to take me on should start thinking of something else right away! Why? Because I not only sent your little Queen to the pigsty, I'm the one who killed your last boss! The name is Louis Williamson, and I am the LINKARA!"

"There's no reason to be afraid!" Louis called out, walking forward. "I'm not here to harm any of you. You can have Soyah; you can be free and happy and lead out the rest of your lives for however long as you wish, but just remember that if I even hear a rumor of any Dark Knight attacking other cities, I shall come back to Soyah and nail every single one of you to the city walls! YOU GET THAT?!"

Did Linkara just became the supreme leader of Sin?

The people nodded in response, saying ‘yes’ repeatedly.

Louis smiled at this and held up his arms. "Good! Now, folks, I know you're a little frightened of me, but frankly, I've just had an adventure and a half, and you all are free of any leaders or governmental control, so I say let's party! I, for one, could use a drink!"

"I will genocide the fuck out of you if you don't do as I say. Now let's party!"

It took a moment for them to respond, but the Dark Knights cheered at this change of attitude in Louis.

God bless Louis
He loves you~
Sing this song
Or you know what he'll do~

Chreydo and Jeremis worked to free White Raven and Garik, while Jordahn merely looked around herself at the new time period she was in. She also looked down at the spot where the temporal vortex had been just a moment before, and wondered if she was ever going to see her Unit again.

Who's gonna create those tales of the warrior from the future, if she's stuck in the future and everyone else is dead?

And just past the crowd, where a hole had been opened up in the streets, Indow Chyprea looked at the platform and the face of her time-lost love, and tears of joy slid down her smiling face.

Time for the funkiest animu ending song I could find that technically counts as a love song!

Next Time: The epilogue. Maybe now shit will actually get resolved. And what about the ghost knight lady? Am I the only mofo who remembers her?

[wulfenlord]

Until Peter Gabriel fucked off in '75, they ecksurely made some nice weird prog.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Book 2, Epilogue
(Or: Checkov's Ghost Waifu)



I hope you have enjoyed this most peaceful and benevolent ending. I certainly didn't.

"Remember when Rain got killed?" Count: 13
"Remember when Indow got raped?" Count: 9
"Baddies Never Smile" Count: 17

RecapShow

So Indow and Lithmenar's little sewer adventure turns out to be completely pointless in the grand scheme of things. They were effectively just stuck in their little filler arc purgatory until it was time to end the book.

Before going on stage to become honorary Genesis band members (and human sacrifices I guess), Raven and Garik have some inane discussion about how it is impossible to lead the Dark Knights to peace by just getting rid of Myrrha - which is incredibly funny because that's exactly what happens.

The great Genesis concert ceremony finally starts. I still don't know why the celebration of a new era of Dark Knight peace requires human sacrifices with implied blood drinking, but hey, we needed some kind of stakes for what passes as a finale in this book.

Meanwhile J'Vok and some minions are mingling with the crowd in a plan to suicide bomb the whole place to kingdom come.
No, I don't know why the fucking general is on this mission, other than the plot calling for a named character.
No, I also don't know why the flammable powder now apparently works like an actual explosive. You'd think that would've made those catapult boulders more impressive.

After facepalm-worthy shit like the supreme leader Myrrha announcing that the Dark Knights are now free from the shackles of a supreme leader, or her announcing a bloody conquest until I guess the UNOS (United Nations of Sin) recognizes them as a legitimate city state or something, Linkara finally returns to the present at the most narratively convenient moment, because of course he does.

Any expectations of a halfway thrilling showdown between Myrrha and Linkara are immediately nipped in the bud, as Myrrha is too dumfounded and scared shitless to do anything.
Then basically this happens:


I think this grand finale is effectively one giant joke, but Linkara preceded his uppercut with "Hang on a second, you're that bitch who raped my waifu", so fuck if I know what the tone is supposed to be here.

We are then blessed with some pottery for the previous book's famous Chreydo Day speech, because Linkara once against starts cutting some capers and doing some general showboating before starting his fucking speech - because he can't help being an asshole whenever he has sufficient amounts of attention.
Just imagine if Theoden in Return of the King preceded his speech with some jumps and handstands on horseback. It sounds stupid when you read it, and I can't imagine it looking any better in any kind of visual medium.

Then Linkara effortlessly solves the difficult and complex socio-political issue of integrating the Dark Knights into Sin society by going "Now you guys better start behaving - or I will personally slaughter each and every one of you."
The Dark Knights of course start cheering for their de-facto new supreme leader, proving once again that the masses are dumb sheeple who need the iron - but totally benevolent - fist of a strong leader who-

Wait, did Linkara just defeat fascism with even more fascism?!


So, eh, I guess world piece is now assured? Because Linkara will shank anyone who even looks at his neighbor funny? No bad practices I guess...

ChapterShow

Hours passed, and the entire group was reunited inside the main square of Soyah, where partying and celebration had once again encompassed the city. This time, J'Vok had even invited the remaining troops from the attack to come back to the city in celebration of the Linkara's return and the coming of peaceful relations with the Dark Knights, now called the Eclipsed Legion. Jeremis had left to speak with Antillitz, the newly appointed liaison for the Legion.

"My- my lord! It really is you!" Garik exclaimed, his face a mixture of surprise and happiness.

Louis smiled and chuckled a little. "Yep, it's me, Garik! Considering it was you who first found out about my lack of deadness, I'm surprised that you're so shocked!"

"I am just very happy to see you, my lord! I feel like hugging you, but I think it would be inappropriate..." Garik replied.

"Yes, it would be." Louis said.

Louis stood with a straight face, staring at Garik. Without warning, he leapt onto Garik and gave him a very tight hug. Garik gasped at this and winced, not sure how to take this.

"Garik, you stupid bastard, it's great to see you again! Although I really didn't miss you calling me 'lord...' Nah, I tell a lie, I did miss it!" Louis exclaimed as he continued squeezing Garik.

"Um... My lord?" Garik wheezed.

"Hmm?" Louis asked, gazing up at Garik's face.

"Air, please..." Garik coughed.

Louis chuckled and let go of Garik. Garik happily breathed in air and straightened his robes.

"Now, Garik, when we get back to the church, I'd like for us to start working on a way to bring me back home. No offense, but I'd REALLY like to get off of this shithole planet." Louis stated.

"It shall be done, my lord." Garik replied.

Louis nodded and turned to the others. General J'Vok grinned and laughed heartily, approaching Louis and giving him a bear hug as tight as Louis had given Garik. When he finally released him, both laughed from the giddy moment.

"My lord, I have a bottle of 300 year-old Geest that's simply waiting to be drunk! I certainly hope you'll join me in finishing it before we leave this accursed city!" he spoke.

"My dear General, you'll have to pin me to the wall to stop me from that! Let's get you good and drunk while I tell a little story about what I've been doing in the past! You are not going to believe some of the shit I have for you!" he laughed.

J'Vok moved ahead, singing a song to himself as he traveled to the nearest pub to make ready some Geest. White Raven and Lithmenar smiled and moved forward, tears strolling down White Raven's face. She smiled and quickly wrapped her arms around him, hugging Louis tightly while Louis returned the gesture in kind. She then backed away, nodding to him while still smiling and allowing her tears of joy to escape her eyes. Lithmenar merely smirked and extended his hand to Louis, who took it and shook it fiercely.

"Show-off." Lithmenar said.

"Scarecrow." Louis replied.

The two giggled a little before Lithmenar rejoined White Raven's side. Louis turned once more to Indow, who was leaning against the walls of one of the buildings and smiling, her arms crossed in front of her. Louis slowly approached her, and she stood tall, waiting for him to do something. Louis stopped two feet in front of her and just stared at her, smiling with the happiness of a child. Indow finally giggled and spoke first:

"Don't you even have one word for the one who missed you most of all and loves you most dearly?" she asked.

Louis grinned, reaching out and pulling Indow closer to him. He shifted his eyes briefly at the assembled group who watched the two of them, all smiling with delight.

Louis returned his gaze to Indow and winked. "As a matter of fact, I have five words."

And with that, Louis leaned Indow down into his arms, slanting her a little in a romantic pose.

He leaned down closer to her face and said one thing:

"Give me some sugar, baby."

And they kissed.

And it was as good as they thought it would be.

*

"So the boy has returned to his own time period?" Rohaq asked.

"That's what my shadow reported to me, but that doesn't rule him out as being more of a threat to this time period. We should not start to believe that Louis Williamson is going to be forever staying clear of this time period, my dear Loyalty Enforcer." Thesia replied.

The two were lying in an animal skin bed together, their bodies covered in sheets and blankets made of soft furs. Both were quite nude and embracing one another. Thesia grinned and ran a finger along Rohaq's arm.

"But don't worry. We'll still be keeping a close eye on him. I even have some new recruits for my shadows, thanks to him."

"And does he suspect anything?" Rohaq inquired.

"The idiot doesn't even know I exist. Now, no more talk of my work. I've promised you power beyond your wildest dreams in exchange for your assistance in my plans, but that doesn't mean we should be on a one-track mind together. Now, come here. Mama needs some lovin'..."

To Be Continued...

RiffingShow

Hours passed, and the entire group was reunited inside the main square of Soyah, where partying and celebration had once again encompassed the city.

This time, J'Vok had even invited the remaining troops from the attack to come back to the city in celebration of the Linkara's return and the coming of peaceful relations with the Dark Knights, now called the Eclipsed Legion.

Why do they keep the stupid name?

Jeremis had left to speak with Antillitz, the newly appointed liaison for the Legion.

Hey look, it's Raven's friend who had like one scene in the entire book.
Any reason why nobody tried any parley before? If Myrrha was even halfway serious with a more peaceful reboot of the Dark Knights, she should've let everyone else know about this.

Louis smiled and chuckled a little. "Yep, it's me, Garik! Considering it was you who first found out about my lack of deadness, I'm surprised that you're so shocked!"

I know "deadness" is technically a real word, but I still hate it.

Louis stood with a straight face, staring at Garik. Without warning, he leapt onto Garik and gave him a very tight hug. Garik gasped at this and winced, not sure how to take this.

"Now, Garik, when we get back to the church, I'd like for us to start working on a way to bring me back home. No offense, but I'd REALLY like to get off of this shithole planet." Louis stated.

What's the clergy gonna do? Just ask Grand Wizard Chreydo. Dude gets shit done.

"My lord, I have a bottle of 300 year-old Geest that's simply waiting to be drunk! I certainly hope you'll join me in finishing it before we leave this accursed city!" he spoke.

Does nobody in Current Year Sin make booze anymore? What's your obsession with this shady old shit?

"My dear General, you'll have to pin me to the wall to stop me from that! Let's get you good and drunk while I tell a little story about what I've been doing in the past! You are not going to believe some of the shit I have for you!" he laughed.

"I had my loyal minions build me an arm-mounted flamethrower. It was awesome!"

(Does anyone else find it a bit weird that the underaged boy is all too eager to drink what has got to be high-percentage booze?)

"Show-off." Lithmenar said.

"Scarecrow." Louis replied.

I don't know why he knew that Lithmenar has been a whiny little bitch, but then again it's Lithmenar we're talking about. It is assumed.

Louis slowly approached her, and she stood tall, waiting for him to do something.

Not this shit again.

Indow finally giggled and spoke first

Phew. Just a false alarm. Thank God for that.

"Don't you even have one word for the one who missed you most of all and loves you most dearly?" she asked.

Man, your pick-up lines suck.

Louis returned his gaze to Indow and winked. "As a matter of fact, I have five words."

And with that, Louis leaned Indow down into his arms, slanting her a little in a romantic pose.

He leaned down closer to her face and said one thing:

"Give me some sugar, baby."

And they kissed.

And it was as good as they thought it would be.

*

"So the boy has returned to his own time period?" Rohaq asked.

GTFO, Rohaq. You're about as threatening as Team Rocket.

"That's what my shadow reported to me..."

Hey I was joking when I made the Persona references.

"... but that doesn't rule him out as being more of a threat to this time period. We should not start to believe that Louis Williamson is going to be forever staying clear of this time period, my dear Loyalty Enforcer." Thesia replied.

Why would he want to go back?
And look. Turns out the ghost knight lady who kinda looked like a Terafella with a different helmet was a Terafella with a different helmet.
The hell was she doing in that dungeon cell, anyways?

The two were lying in an animal skin bed together, their bodies covered in sheets and blankets made of soft furs. Both were quite nude and embracing one another. Thesia grinned and ran a finger along Rohaq's arm.

Disgusting.

"But don't worry. We'll still be keeping a close eye on him. I even have some new recruits for my shadows, thanks to him."

Moleni will return. Apparently.
What are you, those weird bad guys from Xenosaga who can just resurrect random people to join their shadowy cabal of dudes in robes spouting pseudo-Christian gibberish?

"And does he suspect anything?" Rohaq inquired.

"The idiot doesn't even know I exist."

That's not really surprising. No one besides Garik knows about you, and I have no idea why he had to know. You didn't even do anything besides maybe knocking out a guard or two for no reason.
Really this whole ghost scene was just an excuse to introduce you, logic be damned.

"Now, no more talk of my work. I've promised you power beyond your wildest dreams in exchange for your assistance in my plans"

Man, Rohaq's been failing upwards like a motherfucker.

"Now, come here. Mama needs some lovin'..."

To Be Continued...

It better be. We didn't really wrap much of anything up in this book, did we?

Next Time: The final verdict. Is this book better or worse than the last one? The answer may or may not surprise you to some degree.