The Overlord Saga
Vol II. Versus
Chapter 15: And So It Begins
The Overlord stood in her office, back to the door as she stared into the churning flames. She closed her eyes, feeling the heat of the fire against her face. “Who was he?” she heard his voice from behind, deep and rumbling. A faint smile on her lips was replaced by a troubled, distraught expression on her features- but she tried to hide it with a simple shrug.
“He was like the brother I never had,” the Overlord said simply, her green eyes casting their gaze onto the picture above the fire. She swept her gaze quickly to the final person in the portrait- the one she hadn’t seen in years.
“What happened to him?”
“He just left one day...” the Overlord found her voice quivering. “Gone...” She turned and looked at the Theurgist, her green eyes fighting to keep their usual calmness. As the Theurgist opened his mouth to talk, he was cut off by the door swinging open.
“What's going on?” the Overlord yelled, wide-eyed as the Nemesis stepped into the room. Machete in hand, he reached back and rather nonchalantly ran his blade through the immobile Theurgist. As her friend sank to the floor in a bloody mess, the Overlord stifled a scream of horror.
She turned her gaze to the Nemesis, green eyes unable to move away from his piercing blue eyes. As she tried to move away, she found herself paralyzed- unable to even breathe as the eyes glared into her soul. The Overlord shuddered, but still remained unbudging as the Nemesis grabbed her by the neck. Lifting her into the air, the Nemesis looked up, continuing to gaze into her eyes. The Overlord tried to gasp for air, but there was none. Her arms felt heavy as she clasped the Nemesis’ wrist, attempting to force him to release her. She kicked, she felt her lungs burn, but nothing could break his iron grip.
In fear, the Overlord opened her mouth, but not even a scream could escape her.
“You’re mine,” The Nemesis said softly.
The Overlord bolted upright in her tent, blinking a few times. She felt a crack of pain in her back and groaned, settling back into her blankets. Jamie, still worn out from the fight, lay curled up a few feet away, the Twin and Centurion Ifill on her other side. She tried to close her eyes, but found the bloodied Theurgist's image haunting her mind. With a sigh, she rose from her makeshift bed of blankets and pillows, and stumbled out of the tent. It had to have been early morning, because the light was beginning to show just beyond the horizon. But no one seemed to be awake yet... No one but the ever watchful guards that the Overlord had enlisted.
She glanced at where Belarus was laying with her head on China's shoulder, snoring lightly. On the other side of China, Underling Willma (an underling that no one was quite sure what gender he.... she..... it was... though, the Overlord figured it was male) was also asleep, his dagger having dropped from his small hands. The Overlord smiled ever so slightly, enjoying the peace and quiet for a moment. She made her way over to the Overlord's Sanctum, reaching down and running her fingers over the water's surface. As her image rippled and spasmed, she realized that something could be seen behind her- a faint, glowing image of a man. Whipping around and looking up, the Overlord felt the urge to summon her staff, but found herself staring into the halfway transparent Theurgist's eyes.
"Hello, Overlord," he waved casually.
"Hello yourself. Aren't you supposed to be dead?" the Overlord dropped into a sitting position, patting the earth for the Theurgist to do the same. With the tip of his fedora, he obliged, plopping down next to his leader with a sigh.
"I am dead," the Theurgist replied.
"So you're haunting me," the Overlord stated blandly, as if the thought didn't actually frighten her remotely, "Because I let you die?"
"Don't say that," the Theurgist scolded her, "I'm not haunting you. I'm here to help you, Overlord. Believe it or not, death isn't all that bad. But... It royally sucks leaving you all behind."
"So, you're clinging onto me?" the Overlord asked.
"For now," the Theurgist smirked, patted her on the head fondly, then said, "And don't worry, you're the only one that can see me. None of the others..." His voice trailed off. The Overlord tilted her head to the left, quirking an eyebrow and waiting him to finish, "Not even the Evocator can see me..."
"Got it..." the Overlord nodded, pausing for thought, "You were there when I was fleeing the Fortress. When Sexist and the Insurgent Leader attacked me. You were telling me how to fight them." When the Theurgist nodded, the Overlord sighed and glanced at the ground, kicking at a stone, "Do you have anything you want me to tell her?"
Looking out at the Overlord's Sanctum, the Theurgist shook his head- deathly silent, but it seemed as though he simply couldn't say what was on his mind. The Overlord nodded, understanding all too well what he was feeling. She reached up to pat his back, but her hand merely went through him. Wincing, she pulled her hand back and mumbled, "Sorry..."
"It's okay."
"Dude, my hand just went into your back. Not cool."
"Eh, you get used to it."
"I guess."
The Theurgist sighed and stretched, keeping his hat on with one hand. He looked at the Overlord from the corner of his eye, then remarked, "So, you've decided to wage war against the Dark Ice Brotherhood? With your army and what else? They've a lot more on their side than you'd think, Overlord."
"I'm going to build my ranks. And not just with normal soldiers, Theurgist," the Overlord responded firmly, "I have a few ideas in mind. But we'll see, eh? I'm going to divide and conquer. My troops will disperse and search out the worlds for more underlings while I collect an elite group of warriors. That way, we're doubling our forces almost continuously, provided they stay on track of their task."
"And what about the dreams? You look like hell," the Theurgist commented, "Don't think I haven't heard you complaining in your sleep. Had the same dream a few nights ago, didn't you?" When the Overlord didn't respond, the Theurgist cleared his throat, "It's natural to have post traumatic stress disorder, you know. Especially after what happened."
"I'm fine," the Overlord said evasively, standing up, "Isn't it high time you found something better to do than pester me, Alexi?" She asked teasingly, "I've got an army to run nowadays. If you haven't noticed, we're in a bit of a crisis."
"Build an army. Rise up against DIB. Create your own faction strong enough to eliminate the threat and take the Fortress back," the Theurgist said quietly, "Before I died, Overlord- and hear me out this time- I saw many things. And I will tell you now, a world of fire is where I saw you. On the tallest tower of a sinking castle, looking heavenward. I don't know what it means yet, but I thought I'd caution you."
"The Nemesis doesn't have fire powers," the Overlord remarked, "But I'll take it into consideration." She turned to look at him, but found that there was nothing there. 'Whoa... Creepy,' the Overlord thought, but shrugged it off. She began down the middle passageway between the tents, smiling at a few of the underlings as they crawled out of their tents.
She had nearly made it to her own tent when the Soul-Keeper appeared behind her, tugging on her sleeve. "So... Is this a cheesy sequel that we're doing for marketing purposes that completely and utterly annihilates the plot line of the first story, shames our franchise, and includes a myriad of random new cast members with pointless backgrounds and irritating characteristics?" the Soul-Keeper whispered quietly.
"Soul-Keeper... If this was one of those, I'd have entered the story in a relatively skimpy outfit while singing and doing a provocative dance (more or less for sex appeal) to possibly one of the catchiest and most annoying songs in pop history," the Overlord responded rather confidently.
"Oh... Okay, just making sure," the Soul-Keeper nodded, then trundled away rather carelessly.
As the Overlord attempted to find a place to make an announcement, she found herself getting tackled to the ground by Jamie. Most displeased, the Overlord rolled over, glancing up at Jamie and asking, "Why do you constantly do this to me?"
"Because I love you, Emmy!" Jamie replied cheerily.
"Good thing I love you, too, or else you'd still be in the hands of a very sexist man," the Overlord retorted.
"Yeah, so, about that... You plan on taking out the forces of darkness, the Dark Ice Brotherhood themselves, with a stick?" Jamie asked, gesturing to where the Overlord's staff had appeared on her back. Rather indignant at first, the Overlord gaped at her friend, clutched the staff with a hand, then looked back at Jamie, clearly offended.
"If Fox McCloud can do it, so can I."
"True statement..." Jamie sighed, "I just wish you had your scythe back. Beating people with a stick isn't very... Overlord-y."
"I'm the Overlord. I get to decided what's me-y or not," the Overlord reminded her.
Making her way to the ridge of the ravine, the Overlord pulled herself up by using the nearby trees. Sliding back every now and then, she fought her way out of the campsite to where everyone could see her. "I need everyone to listen up!" the Overlord announced, clapping her hands together, "After much debate, I've decided to send a few of my forces out to go find new recruits. Sabotage Team, you'll be in charge of recruitment in Middle Earth. DON'T burn down the Ents, or I swear, I'll fire you all.... No pun intended! Ninja-Lord, go to Earth and find more ninjas. Captain and Lieutenant- go out and find those cadets you wanted-"
"Captain's still out! That Rebel Commander got him pretty good!" the Lieutenant informed the Overlord.
"Then it's up to you, Lieutenant Jeff! We'll hope the Captain's back up on his feet, soon!" the Overlord nodded, then continued, "Animal Tamer, Advisor! I'll need you two to run the camp while I'm gone. I need the Soul-Keeper, Jamie, the Twin, Centurion Ifill, and the rest of the council for this next mission. It requires a plethora of work."
"Plethora. Nice word," the Theurgist's voice muttered from somewhere behind her.
Ignoring him, the Overlord continued, "Our target is Jack Bauer. Recently, he fled the United States after attempting to reveal top secret information that incriminates both the Russians and America-"
"What?" Russia asked, perking up.
"Nothing, Sami," the Overlord shook her head, then continued, "We're tracking him to Mexico as we speak. We'll not take a huge group in case the campsite needs guards. I also need Fish to come with me as well... He'll be needed here. That's all I have to say, really... So, let's start our army building!"
"Go team!" the Soul-Keeper waved a random flag.
The Twin and Jamie climbed the hill and stood next to the Overlord. Clearing her throat, the Twin began, "Due to the attack and attempt on my life yesterday, it's been decided that the Overlord's Army and my army are to combine until the Dark Ice Brotherhood is vanquished. I will lend my aid to the Overlord and her cause!" She lifted her bow, a roar of cheers following.
Jamie stepped up, gently butting the Twin out of her way, "Yeah... So, my Saucy Whore got totaled in the attack yesterday. Gee, thanks, Erin!" She added, glancing down at where Erin was waving her hand nonchalantly. "And since that boat is getting repaired, I'm done with pirating for awhile. That and it'd be nice to see the people that wrecked it get what's coming to them. Therefore, I declare that my pirate crew will help the Overlord in her vengeance against the Dark Ice Brotherhood!"
"Together, we will unite the strongest warriors in the universe to combat DIB and everything it stands for!" the Twin shouted, "We WILL take back what is ours! And until then, I also would like to offer my own domain, Fort Effort, to the Overlord's Army as a secondary shelter. This ravine is getting a bit crowded."
"Agreed. Thank you, Twin, Jamie," the Overlord nodded to them, "Together, I believe our faction..." She let her words trail off for a second, "... The Anti-Nemesis Faction... will be enough to at least make this war a fair contest."
"Don't forget me!" the Witch waved her hand, "I'll be helping, too!"
"Excellent. We're off to a great start!" the Overlord smirked sinisterly, sliding down the slope nimbly, "Now, I expect you all to cooperate and run these operations as though we were still back home at the Fortress. Do not fail me. I still do not tolerate failure..."
"What if it's epic, though?" the Soul-Keeper asked, waving his hand.
There was a pause. The Overlord looked at the Soul-Keeper, pensive, but inclined her head in agreement, "ONLY if it's epic."
---
The Insurgent Leader sat on the steps in front of the main doors into the Fortress. Tucked in black robe, he looked up, teeth chattering. Ice spires burst from the walls of the Fortress, decorating the exterior. The sun hadn't been sighted in days now, covered by a wall of black clouds. The Insurgent Leader shuddered, then extended his hand, looking at the black swirl on the back of it. Closing his eyes, he muttered something under his breath, a jet of violet light spilling onto the ground. A bizarre, malefic symbol burned itself into the stone pathway, shining purple. The form of a large dog appeared very briefly, startling the Insurgent Leader.
As the horned and spiked beast fully materialized, the Insurgent Leader drew away from it, the creation plopping down onto its haunches and sniffing the air. The Insurgent Leader stared at the sinister-looking dog, his other hand moving to his sword.
"Ironic, that you should dabble in black magic," the Nemesis mused from behind him. The Insurgent whipped around, halfway drawing Muramasa. The Nemesis held up his hands, calmly walking down the steps to examine the hellhound. "Not a perfect specimen, but close enough. You'll do better next time."
"H-how did you know I was playing around with dark magic?" the Insurgent Leader stammered.
"The mark on your hand. It's a sign," the Nemesis removed his own glove and examined a similar looking mark on his hand, "And your paranoia is all too reminiscent of my own descent into darkness. Thomas, I hope you realize that you can't go back now. And if people see that... Oh, my, imagine what might happen if Agent or Norris saw this?" The Insurgent Leader stiffened, but remained silence. The Nemesis put his glove back on, then shrugged, "No one understands black magic or its users. It's best to... Keep it under wraps. Wouldn't want your pious troops to realize that their leader has turned to darkness for power."
"What's that supposed to mean? I can use it to help people!" the Insurgent Leader stammered, "I used it before, when we were fighting the Uberlord!"
"There's a difference between using it and committing yourself to it," the Nemesis said simply, "I've a job for you. One that gets you out of the Fortress, so to speak."
"Go on?" the Insurgent Leader put his glove back on.
"Fort Effort. It's the Twin's new house, few miles from here. I want you to march on it. Cripple it. I have seen what the Overlord is doing. And we can't have her getting supplies," the Nemesis responded, "You leave at once. Perhaps you can try out your new..." He glanced at the hellhound disdainfully, "... Pet... on some of the fort's guards." Without another word, the Nemesis turned and disappeared back into the Fortress. The Insurgent Leader glanced at the hellhound, frowning as it began scratching behind its ear with a back leg.
'What have I gotten myself into?' He thought sourly.
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