Overlord Legacy - Chapter Eleven - It's All Up To You Now

The next couple of days are full of busywork for the Overlord family, trying to keep life as normal as possible before Maiden and Midnight become young adults. Maiden, like Dungeon, will have to leave the house. Midnight, however, will not only be given ownership of the house, but will officially become the new overlord of the town.

She doesn't waste any time. She'd talked about her plans with her father.

Rufus: "So wait, you don't want to go into the criminal career?"
Midnight: "No, dad, because you already have control of that, and that control is automatically passed onto me. I'm going to go into the military."
Rufus: "The military?! You would set foot inside a place full of good and brave people?"
Midnight: "Yes, because it makes perfect sense. If I can conquer the military, the town can't officially launch an attack against us, which would be devastating if they organized it before I acquired any minions. Not only that, once I'm in control of the military, I control the weapons and the forces. Anyone who opposes me gets wiped off the map. They may still oppose me in private and continue to live their pitiful little lives, but they'll know they can't attack me. The only weapon they'd have is the police force, and even then I have better weaponry."
Rufus: "....Hmm. Good plan. Are you sure you didn't inherit my Genius trait?"

So to prepare herself for the harsh military service, Midnight begins tinkering around the house and fixing plumbing to raise her handiness skill.

Midnight: "My daddy always told me if you hit something hard enough, it'll fix or improve it. Maybe if I bang around long enough with this hammer, I can make the toilet self-cleaning."

She also spends some time in the gym working out, as her physique is very important in the military. As she's Rufus Overlord's daughter and doesn't have to give a crap what people think about her, she doesn't always pick appropriate clothing to work out in.

Teenage boy: "....Whoa....just.........whoa....."

Midnight has also been making some...strange phone calls and online chats. They seem to be pretty friendly...almost too friendly.

 Now, now, Midnight. I hope you're not planning something too devious.

Rufus has been having interesting encounters at the gym himself. First a fluffy dog walks into the gym. His name is Captain Dog. Yes. Captain Dog. If Rufus ever had a dog, he would name him Captain Dog, because that name is just epic. Rufus wants a picture with Captain Dog, so the Sim Deity obliges.

Then, after training some random old woman named Belinda Crumplebottom at the gym, he's startled when she follows him home. Bambi is nice and welcomes her, but she doesn't keep her eye on her and soon Rufus realizes he's in trouble. He walks into his master bedroom, Belinda follows him, and the door shuts behind her. It's just Rufus and Belinda now, and she's just taken out a wand.

Rufus: "Whoa now, what the heck are you doing?!"
Belinda: "Bibbidy bobbidy boo...may the wish of this spell come true...on YOU!"
Rufus winces, hoping he doesn't turn into a frog or something. Fortunately it's a good luck spell....which apparently Belinda doesn't realize.

Belinda: "And look what I've got for you, my love..."
Rufus: "WHAT on EARTH are you DOING, woman?!?"
Belinda: "...What? Wait, I cast a..."
Rufus: "You cast a luck spell on me."
Belinda: "A LUCK spell? Not a...not a love spell, but a luck spell?"
Rufus: "Yes."
Belinda: "Well, eh, haha...mind if we try again?"
Rufus: "Woman, if you don't get out of my house by the time I count three, those flowers will be so far up your nose they'll be tickling what little brain matter you have."

The disagreements between Rufus and Maiden continue. Maiden tries to put on a brave face, but her father's words hurt more than she lets on.

Rufus: "What on earth are you doing in here?"
Maiden: "Just putting on makeup."
Rufus: "Makeup? You're just a little girl. You don't need makeup."
Maiden: "You don't understand me at all, dad."
Rufus: "Understand you? I understand you're being a big baby right now!"

Trying to hold back her tears, Maiden calls Ari, the boy she had such a fun time with at prom. To her delight, he says he wants to come see her. Maiden walks outside and waits, and sure enough Ari shows up. Her heart skips a beat. Could Ari actually like her for real?

Maiden: "Hi, Ari."
Ari: "Maiden...I know I came on such short notice, but...I just have to tell you something and I'm not sure I can hold it in anymore."
Maiden: "...What do you have to tell me?"
Ari: "...I've had a crush on you for the longest time, Maiden. I really...I really have deep feelings for you. The prom was one of the greatest nights in the world for me. So...I don't know if you feel the same way, but...I just had to let you know. I can't keep it hidden anymore."
Maiden: "Oh, Ari. I feel the same way about you!"

Ari: "Do you?"
Maiden: "Oh my goodness. Is this really happening?"
Ari: "If it isn't, we're both dreaming. And it's a dream I don't think I ever want to wake up from."

And just like that, Maiden's heartfelt dreams all come true. From there, it's only natural to become official. Ari goes home walking on sunshine and Maiden, complete with a new boyfriend, feels absolutely nothing, not even anything daddy says, will tear her down.
--
The time is coming. Evening is drawing near, the evening where Maiden and Midnight cross the threshold into young adulthood. Dungeon has been kind enough to invite everyone to his small house to celebrate birthdays. Rufus declined at first, but of course Bambi has insisted they go.

Before they get ready, Rufus and Bambi decide on their future as Midnight prepares to take over.

Bambi: "I'll miss her so much, just like I'll miss Dungeon and Maiden. But...I think it's for the best."
Rufus: "She's a big girl. She'll be just fine on her own. We don't need to watch over her. Besides...my final days are here and I don't want to spend them cleaning some gigantic house."

Shortly before they leave for Dungeon's house, Rufus pulls Midnight aside to break the news to her.

Rufus: "Midnight. You're almost all grown up now. The house will be yours by tomorrow."
Midnight: "I know. It's exciting! Think of what we'll be able to do."
Rufus: "Well...here's the thing, Midnight. I potentially only have five days left to my life--"
Midnight: "Please don't talk about that, dad. I don't....I don't want to hear about that."
Rufus: "...Alright, that's fair. But your mother and I have decided that we're giving the house entirely to you."
Midnight: "...Yeah? I know that."
Rufus: "Which means your mother and I won't be around. Tomorrow we're moving into our own little small house, and this house will be all yours. You can run it how you see fit, without mom and I looking over your shoulder."
Midnight: "What?! But dad, I thought you were going to stay here with me! I thought you were going to live in this house until you...until..."
Rufus: "That was the original plan, but I think you need the space to yourself. It's YOUR house now, so it has to completely reflect YOU, not me or your mom."
Midnight: "...Are you sure this is what you really want to do? Are you...are you even sure I can handle it all by myself?"
Rufus: "I'm positive you can, Midnight. I've never been more confident in you than I am now."

Midnight: "...Okay, daddy. If you think I can, then I can. You're a genius, right?"
Rufus: "Absolutely. Your mother and I are leaving you with $30,000. See if you can't hire some builders and turn this place into the castle you and I dreamed of when you were small."
Midnight: "I won't let you down, dad."
--

 Dungeon and his roommate live in a pretty small house (the disturbing pink zebra couch is not Dungeon's, I assure you), so it gets a bit crowded when the rest of the Overlord family arrives. But everyone has a fun time visiting (except for Dungeon's roommate, who flees in terror as soon as he sees Rufus). For some reason, Dungeon made it a swimsuit party, so...yeah. That magical moment comes around, and Midnight goes first, followed by Maiden.

Weary and exhausted, they return home. By the morning light, they can be seen more clearly. Peaceful pretty Maiden becomes a Bookworm, which fits with her dainty quiet nature. Her first immediate wish is to get married. The Sim Deity shall leave that into her and Ari's hands.

 Dark and sultry Midnight acquires the Handy trait, which will be very useful to her as she begins her military career. She definitely looks like an Overlord, and she's definitely ready to take the position.

Their graduation ceremony goes off well, with Maiden getting high honors and Midnight being valedictorian. Then it's time for the goodbyes, which will be hard on everyone involved.

Maiden is the first to leave. She first addresses her twin sister.

Maiden: "...You know I agree with nothing you stand for. If anything, you're even worse than dad, and I don't even want to say goodbye to him. If your plans succeed, the world will become a dark, terrible place. I doubt there's anything I can do to stop you, but...I hope someone does. You're my twin sister and I desperately pray that you would turn your life around and do something good for the world rather than destroy it. I still care about you."
Midnight: "I doubt your prayers will do anything, Maiden. The Sim Deity is not omnipotent."
I wouldn't say THAT...
Midnight: "I won't specifically target you, just like I won't specifically target Dungeon. But if you get in my way, there'll be a price to pay for it."

Knowing there's no use saying anything else, Maiden says a long goodbye to her mother.

Maiden: "I promise I'll come visit as often as I can."
Bambi: "Oh, you don't have to promise such things, Maiden. Your father and I are very old. There's not much time left to visit."
Maiden: "I know. That's why I HAVE to visit as often as I can."
Bambi: "Well, we'll be glad to have you around any time you come."
Maiden: "...It just seems so...strange. Two months to live just seems like an awfully short time. I found a book in the library yesterday that said in the Sim Deity's realm, there are twelve months that make up one year, and that those Sims can sometimes live up to one hundred years!"
Bambi: "We don't know anything for certain about the Sim Deity's realm, Maiden. Perhaps that's true, perhaps it isn't. We just have to be thankful for the time we have."

As Maiden leaves, Midnight says a long goodbye to Rufus. After entering her childhood years, Midnight never cried once. Now she's struggling to hold back her tears.

Rufus: "It's all up to you now, Midnight. Our chapter is over, but yours is just beginning. I leave everything in your hands and I know you'll do great things."
Midnight: "I promise I'll make you proud, daddy. I promise."

Rufus and Bambi finally make it out the door, Rufus embarrassed to find he's trying to fight back tears as well. It's for the best, though. Midnight can redesign the house how she likes. She can conquer the military in her own way. Most of all, she won't have to see Rufus die. Rufus is afraid that if Midnight saw the Reaper take him, she might become so shaken that overlordship would crumble out of her grip. Perhaps he shouldn't have gotten so close to her.

Rufus: "...It's for the best, isn't it?"
Bambi: "Yes, Rufie. It's for the best. Let's go to our new house. We may be old, but we can still do some loving."

Rufus: "Well, in that case, I'd better speed this baby up."
Bambi: "Haha! Oh, Rufie."

Everyone is gone. Only Midnight remains in the original Overlord house. She makes some calls to construction organizations and interior designers - she'll make this lot look like a castle yet. Tomorrow, she has more important phone calls to make, more important people to meet.

She is Midnight Overlord, and she is determined to be twice as feared as her father. Having foreknowledge of her plans, I don't think she'll have any problems.
--
(Author's notes: If you would like to see the transformation from the original Overlord house to the Overlord Castle, be sure to look it up! You can either go to the blog home page or look for it in the blog archive to the right - you will have to click on September 2012 for the options to appear. Some of the changes were gradual - I painted walls and added a second story, etc, before the big makeover, but much of it was redone after Midnight became overlord of the house.

Stay tuned for the next chapter! Midnight has a full house to fill! How is everyone enjoying the story so far? Is anyone going to miss Rufus and Bambi as much as I'm going to? :( I'm super excited about Midnight's plans, but it was a hard decision to move Rufus and Bambi out.)