／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Council of Trolls.
A multific short story.
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Author Notes:
So I'm an engineer now, yay! Hope to get more time to write these days, have two requests pending don't think I've forgotten about them. Also watched Princess Tutu and once again was impressed by how misleading the cover was. Actually this one looked more "girly" than Madoka's but it was just as dark XD. For a moment I thought I was watching Madoka Magica all over again, really worth watching.
Anyway, here we go!
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Once upon a time there was a man who died. The job of this man was to spin stories that would come true and inevitably end in tragedy. So dedicated was he to his stories that death itself couldn't stop him from spinning new tragedies. Only through the efforts of a tiny duck was the world freed from his influence.
But that wasn't the end for the one that crafts despair.
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Once upon a time, there was an idea. The idea, to bring together a group of remarkable beings. To see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together to craft the story they alone never could.
And that was the birth of the Council of Trolls.
The man traveled far and wide across the world lines, looking for those likeminded individuals that would help him create the most beautiful tragedy ever made.
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Once upon a time there was a hollow and tortured soul. That soul belonged to a man of virtue, raised in a religious environment and a prodigal by birth. That man traveled far and wide performing miracles and vanquishing evil on the demands of holy men. But the man was suffering all the time, for only through other's suffering was the man able to find joy in life. Resisting what he saw as "sin", he kept to his righteous ways, burdening his soul with further despair. That is, until he met a kindred soul, a shining and tortured paragon of mankind. That kindred soul had once been ruler of all mankind, the greatest king that shone a light that caught the envy and desire of everyone. But the king's light was not warm like the sun, rather it was cold and searing with his arrogance as the king took delight on the suffering of his subjects. For you see, the king loved tragedy and pain as much as pleasure, and so he made a law. The law that demanded everyone to enjoy their short moments, for life is transitory.
And right now the two of them had just enjoyed their first play together. A man named Kariya was in love with his childhood friend, a girl that not knowing of her friend's feelings had married another man. Two daugthers would come from that union and despite hating her friend's husband, the man named Kariya cared for their daughters as if they were his. Until tragedy struck, the daughters were separated and seeing it as a chance to win her true love's affections decided to rescue the lost girl with his bare hands.
That man was a fool. After some manipulation they had made him be found with her love's husband dead body. Heartbroken and insane, he had strangled his lover in a fit of madness and now was scurrying through the Church's door screaming in pain and despair. It was a fine melody indeed.
"Tsk tsk tsk. It was a nice performance but the characterizations can certainly be worked on" said the voice of Drosselmeyer to the two pair of eyes hiding in the shadows as they enjoyed their cups of wine.
"And who may you be? I the king demand you show yourself!" said the King of Heroes unafraid, why would he be when he had the world's treasures at his disposal?
"I'm a seeker of pleasure, just as you are" answered Drosselmeyer's reflection through the Church's glass windows, tainting them an ugly red.
"Hmph in the presence of the king you're nothing but a lowly buffon" the King of Heroes answered, taking another taste of his fine wine.
"Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha." A hearty laugh, with an edge of malice resounded in the Church's hall. "A buffon I am indeed. But I can provide great entertainment to the King" replied Drosselmeyer with glee and evident malice in his eyes.
"Hmmm, the King shall judge that. If you're lying then I'll make sure to punish you, buffon. Talk."
"You see, I already know how this story ends. You shall find incarnation through the Grial, fit for your superior stature. And you" Drosselmeyer continued while a giant shadowy hand pointed at the hollow man that had just found an ember of joy through their makeshift play. He had remained quiet the whole conversation. "You shall find the meaning of joy, only to lose it and having to wait ten years to try again. Then death shall finally come for you two" finished Drosselmeyer ominous.
"How dare you say that! You want to die so badly dog?" replied Gilgamesh angry.
"Ho, I may be lying. Want to take the risk?" replied the story spinner in the form of a giant smile on the wall. He had already seen the Fate Stay Night sequel so there was nothing they could do to avoid their Fate.
"If what you say its true, do you know how we can avoid our fates?" asked the hollow man that had kept quiet until that moment. If he had been so close to find the meaning of joy, and there was a way he could do it for sure then surely listening to that madman would be worth it.
"Oh I can do more than that. I offer you a grater joy, the joy of watching the greatest tragedy ever made! A play where no one is saved and a happy ending never comes!"
With that, the hollow man's eyes glinted with joy. A never ending play of suffering and despair? He heard the sound of glass breaking and he saw his cup broken in the floor, dark red staining the floor as if spilled blood. He stared at his hands, trembling with joy and excitement. "Is this what bliss feels like? Then I'd love to…experience more of it" he finally replied with a smile filled with malice.
After looking at the face that Kotomine Kirei, the once hollow man was making, Gilgamesh made his decision. With a smile the King of Heroes replied to Drosselmeyer.
"I shall be the one to judge your play buffon, now entertain us!"
"As you wish my king" said Drosselmeyer making a fake curtsey, his inhuman laugh filling the entire Church as a clockwork mechanism opened on a wall, a door to another dimension. "Now come with me, to a world of despair and suffering!"
The two figures, a demigod and a no longer hollow man walked into the darkness.
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Once upon a time there was a snake. That snake took tortuous pleasure in causing suffering to people and preying on their feelings of despair and helplessness.
One fateful night she decided to create a god of evil and spread madness across the world.
One would think there was some great motivation or ambition to that plan, but dreams of conquest or power were meaningless to the snake. Truth and boredom guided her actions, and she just wanted to see if creating such a destructive force was possible.
In order to achieve her plan, she took on the form on a woman and had a daughter to raise into the demonic Kishin. That daughter, she called Crona and she trained with the harshest cruelty to raise as the ultimate evil.
And right now she just had her daugther's blood drained from her body and replaced with living iron and the rests of the previous Kishin. As her daugther gasped and moaned in the operation table, the blood burning hir body from inside, she heard a dark laugther in the depths of her lab. Had she been discovered by Shibusen?
"My my what a nice work you have there. Would make for a nice horror story" said Drosselmeyer in the form of a pair of eyes on the opposite wall.
"Who are you? What do you want?" replied Medusa Gorgon while readying her snakes to attack. She wasn't impressed, stranger Meisters had been sent to attack her but the fact that man had managed to infiltrate her lab without triggering her wards is what worried her.
"I'm a seeker of truth just like you are. I seek truth through my stories and tragedy" said Drosselmeyer tempting. "As for what I want. Lets just say I want you to succeed, I want you to tell me a story"
"A story? And what is to you whether I succeed or not?" a snake flew like an arrow towards the shadow projecting in the wall. It impacted the wall as if there was nothing there and left a big crack where the man's face should be. The shadow only laughed coldly, making Medusa nervous.
"I've seen the future. Your experiment will work but you won't be there to see it. Then it will turn against your plans and prevent the story from being satisfying. That I can't allow" said Drosselmeyer with a pout from one of the experimental glasses in her lab.
Medusa laughed. "Right, as if I could trust someone like you"
"That's right, you can't trust me and I can't trust you. But I still want you to succeed. I can show you even darker truths and joy should you come with me"
A huge clock appeared in the middle of her laboratory, the door to another dimension.
"What do you say? Care to see your play to the end?" he smiled. The chance to see her experiment work? The chance to keep challenging the limits of cruelty and science? It was too tempting and she was an expert on temptation.
The snake and her little experiment walked into the darkness.
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Once upon a time there was a man that wanted to become God. That man was born with a gifted intellect, a strong physique and even the ability to make people he met dance in his strings. But he lacked purpose, he was a bored and grey identity with no joy to satisfy his existence. Until one day due to fate or coincidence, he found a notebook, a magical artifact that let him kill people from afar. Taking it as a sign of his superiorty, the man took upon himself the mission of reforming the world to his own image. And so the flames of ambition and pride swelled within him, threatening to burn him from the insides if he didn't fullfill his goals.
And right now the man that wanted to become God had finally defeated his worst enemy. Smilling with malice over his enemy's dead body he couldn't notice the whole world had stopped.
"I like this, such a shame the story degenerates due to those unnecessary characters afterwards" replied Drosselmeyer as if whispering in that man's ears.
"What?! Who's there? Dad? Why is everyone…" everything was frozen in place and in front of him, an old man dressed in old and colorful medieval clothing stared.
"Who are you?" asked the man that wanted to become God while trying to compose himself. This was something new he hadn't predicted and not being able to control the situation made him nervous. Was this some caveat of using the Death Note? Now calm down Light, think coldly and don't show any weakness. He reminded himself.
"My name's Drosselmeyer and you can't kill me!" said the old man while taking off his feathery hat and doing a curtsy. Light's expression hardened for a milisecond as he processed the obvious taunt.
"I'm sorry but I don't know what you're talking about" replied the man that wanted to become God with fake fear on his face.
"Oh I think you do Light Yagami. Or should I call you, Kira?" said Drosselmeyer with a sinister smile that gave the other man the creeps.
The man that wanted to become God disposed of his mask and instantly his face twisted in an inhuman scorn, his eyes shining red and taking on the shape of a snake's. "So you come to punish me for what I've done?" There was no point in pretense, he had to negotiate his position right here and now, and if possible find a way to kill the man in front of him, was he even a man?
"Oh no no no no no!" replied Drosselmeyer while putting what passed for his hads over his face, as if horrorized at the man in from of him daring to make that proposition. "No, actually I want you to kill more! Destroy more lives! I want you to tell me the greatest story ever!" finished Drosselmeyer while extending his hands at his sides and laughing coldly.
"…are you something of Ryuk?" asked Light incredulous. He knew Shinigami were excentric beings but he had never seen one so…human and so inhuman at the same time.
"No but I may as well be" answered the storyteller dramatically. "I came here to tell you about the future and make you an offer"
"You see, I've seen how this play ends. In five years two men will come to take you down and you will die alone and forgotten" said Drosselmeyer with a smile, as if he was enjoying telling that to the awestruck man in front of him.
"But it doesn't have to be that way, and you don't have to conform yourself with this meager world. I offer you entire universes to conquer, just think of it. Billions of billions of people for you to kill and judge as you see fit, what do you say?" the old man said while pointing towards the computer's screen. It changed to a clockwork mechanism and opened a door into the abyss.
The man that was on his path towards godhood, or perhaps something more sinister than that, walked into the darkness.
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Once upon a time there was a hero. He was loved by everyone and loved everyone. Always answering the call made by his people to protect them from tragedy. Day and night he fought endlessly, never wavering and never once being understood.
But even heroes have their limits. Overcome by the pressure and hardships of fighting for everyone but himself and on the verge of death, the boy hero was saved by his sister that took upon herself all the world's evil so that he would live on.
But eternity does weird things to people, moreso with eternal suffering and the young hero grew corrupted, despising the world for the burden it imposed upon him and hating people for making him love them.
And he ran trying to escape the torments. Atop his motorized vehicle, as good a steed as any in his time, he ran heralding torment to everyone that dared cross his path.
"Ah so this is the sound at the end of the world…" said a gruff voice, breaking Aiko out of his revelry he saw the figure of an old man dressed in medieval atire. Holding a heavily feathered hat with his right hand as the wind tried to blow it away. He sported a malicious smile and the eyes of someone that had seen and caused much suffering, he was certainly older than most humans he had met, a dangerous threat, the no longer hero conceded.
"Who are you?" asked Aiko, the once hero trying to sound polite and discern the old fart's motivations. Or that was the plan until the man in front of him vanished in a puff of smoke.
"What was that…" Aiko wondered out loud, was he imagining things? Certainly working the Utena girl had been hard work, preparing her and feeding off her hope and dreams to create a fine sword that he would use to break the walls that held what was righteously his, the power of Dios, at bay.
"Oh many questions you have, and many doubts too!" said the same voice he had just heard in his car's radio. Trying to chance channels and checking for damages, the once hero refused to acknowledge strange forces were at work.
"What do you want, what are you?" Aiko asked again.
"Oh what I want doesn't matter, what matters is what I can do for you! He he he" the old man laughed coldly.
"And what could it be?" asked Aiko intrigued. That old man might be powerful, but he could be manipulated. Anyone could be manipulated, and that was Aiko's greatest strength.
"You poor hero waste your life away trying to gain the power of Dios, your story is stuck in time, unable to advance…" Aiko frowned in acknowledgment. It was true that for centuries he had been trying to take back that power of his with no success and even Utena's soul might not be strong enough to break the walls free. But he had time to his side, and Anthy, so he could wait. But, how long? A certain thought nagged at the back of his mind, if there was a faster way…
"I can make you into a hero again, to rule over entire worlds as a prince. Stronger than Dios ever was. I can give you vassals to command and give you the power to make people love you, princesses to swoon over you…or princes, whatever you desire" whispered the voice of the old man in the radio, his smiling face reflecting from the mirrors in the car.
"And what do you want in exchange, old man?" It was too good to be true, and if there was one thing Aiko knew was that everything had a price. Not like he would mind fucking such an old crone to get even half of the power of Dios.
"I'm a storyteller. I want a story, the greatest story ever told. With you as a main character" said the old man with no little malice.
"In other words you want me to be a pawn in your story" replied the once hero to the man. His intent was quite obvious and he doubted the story the old crone wanted was one with a happy ending.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! You're quite observant young hero. That's right, help me craft the greatest story ever told, take whatever role you want and enjoy it to the fullest!" Drosselmeyer materialized in the backseat of his car and extended a gloved hand towards the once hero.
"What do you say? Do we have a deal?" said the old man with the same evil smile.
Aiko didn't have to think it twice. Between spending eternity chasing after the power of Dios and the certainty of becoming the hero he once dreamed of, the answer was obvious. A risky gambit but if he played this storyteller wisely, he could certainly come out on top and take over the story. His motives were transparent and he would prove easy to manipulate through them, as long as he got his story the old crone would certainly dance in the palm of his hand.
"Deal" said the once hero extending his hand and shaking that of the old man, a mischievous smile on his face.
Drosselmeyer smiled madly. This Aiko guy was exactly like Prince Siegfrid, so transparent, so easy to manipulate. Willing to do anything for the chance to show off their heroics. He had him where he wanted…
And so with the sound of a loud engine, the steed and the hero turned villain lost themselves in the darkness.
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Once upon a time there was a woman that was chosen. She was chosen to bring a new age of light and joy across the world. But that light wasn't for human eyes to stare at, nor was it for their filthy hands to grasp. No, that light was for the alien clothing that made her their emissary. And so her body was rent and remade into a form more fitting for her task. Submerged in the pleasure the threads gave her, Ragyo wanted to share it with all humans in the world.
And she had just finished grooming her emissary, Satsuki had come to report their life fibers transmissor was almost complete and as she took a bath in her opulent mansion, the woman that wanted to bring about revolution took her chance to play with her daugther's body.
It wasn't as beautiful as her own, vibrant with the power of life fibers coursing through every muscle, every cell of her body. Feeding off her metabolic reactions and making her faster, stronger and smarter than any lowly human scum. Her daugther's was more like a well oiled machine, strong, deadly, but a machine nonetheless. Vulgar and lacking the beauty of the fibers.
As her daugther spasmed under her careful ministrations, Ragyo fantasized with tearing her body apart and consuming her whole. For she was something superior, an apex predator just like the life fibers, and through them she would find even greater pleasures.
"And why not do it?" said a dark old voice that reverberated through the waters and made Ragyo nervous. Using her well honed senses she tried to pinpoint the source of the voice, fiber infused rage coursing through her veins, telling her to rip apart whatever threat dared to intrude on her abode. Alas there was no source to the voice.
"C'mon, you know you want to. Give in to your nature and rip apart that face" said Drosselmeyer. Temptation burst inside of Ragyo and she stared at Satsuki, frozen in front of her. Actually, everything but her was quiet, as if frozen in time. Flight instinct won over and she jumped gracefully from the water, her naked body landing gracefully in the ground with no sound. She prepared to fight.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" Ragyo screamed at the void.
"As you wish, madam" cackled Drosselmeyer, his reflection smiling in the water.
"What do you want?" she had never seen something like that, it was strange, and the strangeness scared her.
"I want what you want, and I know what you want" whispered Drosselmeyer enticing. "You want to consume everything, do you not? I can help you share your vision far beyond this insignificant planet. I can give you endless worlds to conquer, endless lives to consume to your leisure" Desire bubbled deep inside her, this was right, and this was what she wanted the most.
"Now come with me, lets enjoy this endless tragedy!" said Drosselmeyer as the water parted revealing an intrincate clockwork mechanism. The woman with hair as colorful as the rainbow walked into the darkness.
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Once upon a time there was an Incubator. This being was part of an advanced and knowledgeable race that wanted to keep the Universe alive forever. They may seem altruistic, but problem was, their solution was to keep feeding it the despair of little girls. Even so, he kept at it. Diligently performing his work without questioning nor joy.
And right now another body of his was busy exploding due to a barrage of bullets, coutesy of Akemi Homura, a girl that constantly interfered in his plans to contract Madoka Kaname.
That little girl Madoka had enough potential to fullfill his quota and then some, so her contract was deemed prioritary over any other activity. It seemed simple enough, the girl was easy to manipulate, didn't ask many questions and had a low self-esteem that he could prey upon to make her contract. Problem was, Akemi Homura, an irregular magical girl he didn't remember contracting and that was constantly getting in his way. Killing him at every chance and staying one step ahead of every one of his movements.
Still he didn't worry, although Homura was determined for a human her age, she was still human and thus prone to fatigue and mistakes. He just needed to bid his time and Madoka would be his to contract.
"Oh but we can do much better than that!" said an old man's voice sitting at the side of one of his bodies, perched over a building while monitoring Madoka. Kyubey was instantly curious at how someone that wasn't fit to be a Puella Magi could spot him and appear so suddenly.
"And who might you be?" asked Kyubey tilting his head to the side in a disarming gesture. Even though it would be natural in animals, every one of his gestures was specifically designed to guile and manipulate, and he was willing to use any of his assets to achieve his goals. In this case, determine this strange anomaly's purpose.
"I'm just an old man, with a proposal" replied Drosselmeyer staring with what Kyubey interpreted as a friendly smile.
"And what would it be?" the orders were clear, recopilate as much information as possible and decide upon it. Madoka would be busy with school anyway and Homura was near so there wasn't much he could do at the moment.
"What if I told you I got entire universes for you to exploit or flee to? New worlds to contract? And even better, I offer you to enjoy it?" asked the old man while rubbing his hands. A gesture Kyubey interpreted as anxiety. In truth, Drosselmeyer was ecstatic at the possibility of granting those cursed contracts to everybody, their faces of despair as they saw their wishes turn against them and bring ruin upon everyone, it was too delicious to let it pass!
"While I'm interesed in your proposal, I don't get how joy would be of any value to me or my species" replied Kyubey with the same fixed eyes, analyzing.
"Oh you may not have joy right now, but you have curiosity. If you want to satisfy it, come with me and I shall teach you the meaning of joy in your mission" said the old man, opening a doorway to another dimension filled with the ticking of endless clocks. It made Kyubey's fur stand on end as he felt the powerful magic emanating from it. That magic was the same as the one he used to feed the universe, one filled with endless despair.
They say curiosity killed the cat, but in this case it just made it stranger…
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Finally all the pieces for his gratest tragedy were in place.
And so the old man looked at his work, and it was good. The play was about to begin.