Scourge knew, personally, that any place kept under lock and key was only considered a challenge to Mercury, so while he believed the Floating Palace was impregnable, there was a part of him that was sure the Xocili would find a way in. But rather than her having to plan out an entire infiltration mission for herself, the former Dread Master believed he had an alternative, arguably more fun direction. He’d attended one or two seasonal events at the high stakes paradise and though he had dismissed it some time ago, he seemed to recall that the galas were held semi-regularly per the season. As Caecilius, he was still offered the opportunity to come and gamble his jewel away and frankly, he felt that Ruzatz would prove a prime candidate as someone that could be recommended. After all, under the outward appearance of a lively, passion-fueled guild, Lusty Titans was a hub of information that was traded and secreted away all the time. Just the kind of connection anyone wanting to learn about the world would want to make.
The fact that it would give Scourge plenty of face-time with the supposed demon was just an added bonus, as far as the former Dread Master was concerned. He naturally laid out a basic plan of attack; four invitees that would use what charms and charisma they had in spades to try and catch Genesis’ eye and seduce him into some kind of distraction. Whether that involved the act of actual sex or merely pulling him away would be up to the distrator to decide, though Scourge imagined that Mercury, Ruzatz and Agatha would certainly lean in that direction, if only for curiosity’s sake. Mercury mused over the fact that Scourge was seemingly stacking the cards against the homunculus and the former Dread Master couldn’t help the mischievous grin that tugged at his lips. And with that in mind, he made quite the show of asking Mercury to accompany him as his date, taking the opportunity, as he always did, to rain charm on her and needle the absent Vandrad about his lack of continually romancing his beloved. And in her usual fashion, the Xocili ran right with it, chirping up that the former prince needed reminders that there were other players more than willing to go the extra mile for her.
“And we both know I love a good competition,” he said with a seductive little grin.
Serilda spoke up, giving her approval of the plan and agreeing that both Ruzatz and Agatha would happily partake. While she would love to join them herself, she knew that both herself and Mythal were public figures of note and it would be very hard to try and disguise themselves. She did add, interestingly, that the Rune Knights would be willing to offer generous compensation if he could acquire and pass on information about the members of the floating pleasure palace. As she saw it, Scourge would understand quite well the kind of information that she would like to acquire.
“It would be my pleasure, my Lady. I’m sure between the four of us, we’ll be able to grab some juicy intel that could help benefit the Rune Knights. After all, I am an avid supporter of the Knights myself.” Once more, Scourge spoke genuinely to the Field Marshall, easily flipping between his impish, playful side and his more serious, considerate side like it was nothing.
Blade let out a loud breath from his nostrils, his face wrought with frustration.
“I should be there to talk to him,” he stated.
Scourge turned to look at the alien.
“Well I’m more than happy to amend my plan, so long as you’re willing to do whatever it takes to distract Genesis. As a creature that seems quite decidedly interested in sex, that means you’ll have to be willing and able to partake in that manner.” He watched as Blade’s face fell further, evidence that the alien was, clearly, not appealing to such an act.
“That’s what I figured -- even more like Vandrad than just looks, it seems. Moreover, my dear Blade, we need people that have clout on our planet and can get past the doors without having to crack heads. I have that under one of my aliases and Ruzatz and Agatha have that. Sorry, old boy, but that’s just the way it works. But you’ll get your opportunity to talk to him and you two will get your chance to duke it out over who collects his bounty,” Scourge said, pointing a finger between Hosrius and Grubar.
“We’ll deal with that matter ourselves,” the Jirian confirmed.
“Didn’t take ya for a guy that liked to play with other guys, if I’m being honest,” Grubar spoke up with a snort.
“It certainly is not my first choice but when push comes to shove, I’m all for a good time,” the former Dread Master admitted with a grin.
He would have continued but he felt a… sensation. It was muddled, muted even, but it was a definite feeling both within mind and gut. His brow furrowed in mild confusion and he turned his head slightly, feeling the impression grow as his gaze moved about the room. Mythal had already picked up on the change as had Blade, both men turning their attention to the seated Mercury. Once Scourge’s eyes fell upon her, he could see her in the midst of an… emotional episode. It felt like nails on a chalkboard within his own mind, a riotous whirlpool of confusion and terror. Mythal could feel her pulse quicken, her breath coming in and letting out raggedly and even haltingly. It was the Rune Knight that moved over to Mercury and knelt down in front of her, his eyes focused on hers even as her own emerald gaze flicked about.
“Hey Mercury,” Mythal said softly.
“Focus on my voice if you can. From there, try and meet my eyes. What color are they? What’s my hair color?”It was a well known secret, perhaps only Serilda knowing, that Mythal himself had experienced panic attacks many years prior. Before he had found the comfort of alcohol to numb his toiling, depressive emotions, the teenaged Darkness Slayer had experienced numerous panic attacks. The knowledge of what had happened to Gren and how Faera had left a hard, emotional scar on his psyche. He hadn’t known what to call the episodes and he’d never had anyone there to guide him through it. Eventually, booze became his caretaker and his episodes had faded away into drunken blackouts and morning hangovers. It wasn’t until many years later that he began to understand what he’d experienced and only in bonding with Serilda had he taken the right steps to learn about it and, as an added bonus, how to handle an episode when he saw it.
“What day is today? What’s the color of my shirt?” They were seemingly simplistic questions but ones that would help Mercury to regain her focus and take her out of her panic. He continued asking her generic, simple questions until she’d finally found a centralized place within herself.
Everyone but Scourge had watched with a quiet understanding and let it play out. Though all of them felt compelled to stand up and help, adding too much stimulation could have made the attack worse. There had been several conversations about the onset of the panic attacks since they began among the gathered group, save for the former Dread Master. Luckily, he was aware enough of what was happening to give way to the company choice and simply remained standing in a quiet, if not confused, stance.
Once Mercury had found her comprehension again, the rest of the room seemed to finally breathe once more. Scourge, unsure of how to continue, cleared his throat softly.
“Well, I best go and see if I can ascertain when they are having their galas and we can continue our planning from there. We can make any tweaks if necessary.” That last comment seemed in regards to Mercury but he didn’t quite direct that way. He turned to Blade.
“Would you mind if I take you and your extraterrestrial friends aside for a moment?”Blade nodded, along with Hosrius and Grubar. Scourge looked once more at Mercury and gave her a soft, comforting smile before he turned his attention to the rest of the room.
“My Lady, I thank you again for hosting. I’ll be in touch soon.” With that being about as much of a goodbye as he was going to give, the former Dread Master walked out of the room, followed right after by Blade, Hosrius and Grubar.
As they reached the front entryway, Scourge stopped and turned towards the three aliens.
“I’m not sure how you plan to handle taking Genesis in but I wanted to ask a favor, if at all possible. If he really is Maker’s ultimate creation, we very well may need his assistance if we want to take him down. I know Mercury has Maker at a disadvantage at the moment and I trust she can handle herself but when it comes to direct confrontation, he may have more tricks than even we can comprehend. Genesis is our best shot at having an upper hand.”Blade nodded.
“I share those sentiments. As much as I hate to ask this of you, Hosrius and Grubar, we may require Genesis to succeed in this.”The Jirian and Scengar looked at one another.
“Makes sense to me,” Hosrius agreed.
“Yeah… I’m not so sure about that.”Scourge raised a brow.
“Pardon?”“Listen guys, I like this planet and its people and all. But y’all got this magic stuff that makes you ridiculously powerful. And Genesis is my ticket out of my contract, just like it is for Hosrius. And they don’t treat failure very nicely. I’m willing to let y’all talk to him and get information out of him but I can’t chance that he’s gonna run away again. And Hos, you shouldn’t either.”Hosrius was quiet, studying Grubar for a long moment. Blade, however, nodded softly.
“I understand,” he lamented before turning to Scourge.
“The business they are part of… it is not an occupation they volunteered to join or sought out. They are essentially slaves to the whims of their handlers. Even asking that they allow a short amount of time for their bounty to remain unclaimed is unheard of.”Scourge snorted softly but then released a small sigh.
“Well, it was worth a shot.”The former Dread Master was turning to leave when Blade’s armhand chirped. The alien brought up his arm and pressed an unseen button on the invisible band, bringing up a glowing green holographic screen.
“It looks like my contact has finally gotten back to me regarding the knife.”“Knife?”“The one that was used to injure Mercury’s fiance, Vandrad.”Scourge frowned.
“I thought that the knife disintegrated right after Mercury managed to make a scan of it.”Blade nodded.
“It did but through my alchemy, I was able to transpose her memory of the original onto the copy she made, essentially recreating it. I then broke down its elemental composition and found a strange presence in its core.”Scourge blinked.
“You… alchemy… Well you clearly have more surprises about you then I previously assumed,” he said, giving the alien a quick up and down and looking rather impressed.
“So this contact of yours; was he helping you to figure out what the presence was?”“Yes and…” Blade was reading the information before him, his brow knitting together in confusion.
“This is surprising. The matter used for the presence is manufactured through some kind of ritual creation. They managed to track down a record of what seemed to match some of the elements but he couldn’t translate it.”“Was it a planet-specific guide of some sorts? Maybe he needs a local translator,” Hosrius suggested.
“No, the language doesn’t exist. The symbols, their meanings… they appear in one record and that is it. No one has ever been able to translate it… except, it seems, Maker.”“Well, that carries an air of foreboding, doesn’t it?” Scourge asked rhetorically, shaking his head.
“How did the bastard manage that? And, perhaps more importantly, what did it do?”
Several hundred miles away from Serilda and Maker’s home, a child was fighting for his life. The boy was around the age of eight, his hair scruffy and wild, full of dirt, leaves and other matter found in the woods. He was partially dressed, some leather scraps tied around his waist to cover himself up from the elements. Wielding a makeshift spear, he raced through the thick leaves of the bushes in front of him, panting as he went. The ground shook beneath his feet, heavy footsteps of something large chasing behind him.
He exploded into a clearing and, only seconds after him, a furious vulcan burst through the foliage as well. It was hooting and snarling as it chased the young child. The child planted his foot and turned, hoisting the spear behind him shortly before throwing it with all of his adolescent might. It soared through the air, its aim true for the vulcan’s chest… only for the creature to leap over the weapon, causing it to fly underneath it harmlessly.
The boy’s eyes widened in fear for only a moment before the vulcan landed on the ground. The impact of his landing sent a shockwave out that hit the boy with such force, he was ripped off the ground unceremoniously and thrown across the clearing. He hit the ground hard, tears running down his face as fear began to overcome his sensibility. The vulcan had resumed its charge, now more confident than ever. The boy pushed himself to his knees, tears streaking over his cheeks as he looked up at the charging monster. It was practically upon him when the boy cried out and threw his hands forward, turning his head away.
A beam of magical energy quickly formed in the space between his hands and shot out, ripping through the vulcan’s chest. The creature came to a dead stop, brought to a brutal yet swift end as its innards vaporized into ash. The creature crumbled to the ground and slid, face first, through the dirt and grass, coming to a stop right before the boy. For a long few seconds, the child remained still before finally turning to look back at the creature, letting out a yelp of surprise at how close it was. But after a moment, he began to realize that the creature wasn’t moving. His round, black pupils snapped to the sizzling hole in the creature’s back, still heated from the blast that had ended the creature.
“Subject 9 is showing signs of successful transference. He has utilized his incorporated magic for the first time; an exceptional leap ahead of the previous subjects. Further experiments will be needed to verify my conclusions but I have a good feeling about this one,” Maker spoke smoothly and calmly into the recording device attached to the monitor in front of him. The view of the boy, now scrambling over the vulcan to claim its meat for nourishment, was playing out in high definition and real time. A small smirk tugged at his lips as he continued to watch.
“I’ll have my Zifus bring him in once he has finished claiming his prize. With a few more adjustments, I may finally have successfully completed my creation.” With that said, he stopped the recording and turned away from the monitor, leaving the room and heading down the hall.
It was a short walk to the next room he intended on visiting. As he approached the door, it slid up to allow him passage. It was a small, decontamination room that activated upon his entering. After a few moments, the gas was pulled back through the vents and the next door opened to a small laboratory room. A table was set in the middle, with the pulled apart clone of Mercury set on its surface.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he greeted the ‘deactivated’ model. He walked over to the opposing lab table and picked up the gloves set there, pulling them on.
“Shall we get started?”
