Episode 7 : Corruption of the Golden Witch
Move 3 : Desperado
The house was still. Night had fallen like a cloak over the sky and extinguished all. The moon was new; nonexistent in the skies of Rokkenjima. All was quiet; not even the cry of seagulls could be heard. All that one could hear was the distant breaking of waves upon the beach; repetitive, quiet roars of the ocean soothing to the frayed mind. Everyone on the island had been lulled to sleep by the calming noise; not a person stirred in the house.
In a room on the second floor dozed Maria; dressed in a pinkish nightgown and snugly wrapped into a thick comforter. Her body was still, her breaths quiet and deep. She had fallen asleep fully; nothing was likely to awaken her in a state such as this. No, Maria remained ignorant of the world as she slept; lost in dreams of magic and other childish things. She would not awaken for the rest of the night; her slumber was too deep to be broken.
The silence of the room was broken by the silent creaking of the door; slowly being pushed ajar by an unknown figure from outside her room. A sudden creak from the hinges; a silent oath could be heard from the unknown enterer. Seconds passed; the door seemed to bulge forward as if a weight had been set on it's other side. Rapidly, without any further noise the door was fully opened. The hallway lights had been extinguished as well; the figure who had opened the door was only a vague shadow in the darkness of the room. Slowly, ominously the figure approached the bed.
Upon reaching a position over Maria's bed; the figure drew to a halt. He or she considered the peacefully slumbering girl; shaking his or her head, the figure drew an ornamentally decorated stake from a sleeve. The figure moved a free hand over the girl's forehead; brushing a stray hair away with a deft flick. Her forehead lay bare, exposed to whatever grim fate her would-be assailant had planned.
Suddenly; the loud grandfather clock a floor below tolled the midnight hour. The sound, while weaker due to the lack of proximity; still managed to ring dimly into the room. With another silent curse, the unknown figure pulled his hand back from the girl's face. He or she quietly dropped into a squatting position to drop himself or herself underneath the periphery the bed and out of Maria's eyesight. She rolled over; muttered something incomprehensible in her sleep. The man or woman remained perfectly still. After an unbearably tense minute or two, Maria rolled back into her original position with a contented sigh.
With his or her free hand the assailant wiped his or her brow; righted into a standing position again. Again, the assailant used a hand to brush away hairs that had been thrown wildly about by Maria's turning; her forehead was again bare and exposed. The hand gripping the stake was raised; with a sudden flash the point rested just above the girl's forehead. The stake trembled slightly; the figure took a deep breath to center himself or herself. With deliberate care the stake inched forward; the task ahead lay grisly and horrible to contemplate. Another steeling breath; the tip of the stake had just touched upon her skin...
The scene suddenly froze in place; a third figure emerged from nothingness into the room. Dlanor regarded the scene calmly; cocked her head to one side and summoned her Red Key into her palm. She deliberately approached the character; her grasp around the sword tight she began to raise the sword above her head; handle held loosely above her forehead. The sword glowered red in the darkness of the room, illuminating everything with an eerie red glow; Dlanor kept her eyes focused on her target. A step more and she would be in position to deal the blow; her muscles tensed in preparation for the strike.
"And just what do you think you are doing?" Dlanor froze; groaned upon recognizing the voice. Behind her, Wizard-Hunting Wright coolly stood in the doorway to the room; face disconcerting in the reddish light that bathed the room. Dlanor sighed; dismissing the Red Key she pivoted to face her rival. He offered her a mocking grin then repeated his question, "Again, what do you think you are doing?"
"In case you haven't gotten the news yet- not that it wouldn't surprise me-," Dlanor began; voice cold. "-Bernkastel has declared Lady Maria Ushiromiya to be the detective of the seventh game." Wright nodded while motioning for her to continue. "If you don't know this yet, the detective of a game is not allowed to die until the Ninth Twilight; whereupon he or she is declared unnecessary to the continuation of the game. Thus, I must protect the detective as part of my charge to the current Game Master in the event of a game event threatening his or her life." Wright nodded slowly, responded:
"Ordinarily I would be fine with that Dlanor-chan," Wright began; Dlanor bristling upon the usage of her first name in such a casual manner. Wright noted Dlanor's irritation; he grinned wickedly and continued:
"But I am under my own charge- or did you think I was here; conversing with you of my own volition? No Dlanor-chan, regardless of what your misinformation on the topic; I am not a willing participant in this game- especially since you are one. But that is besides the point. Since I am under a charge from Maebara to prevent all magical interference into game by outside forces; I must stop you from killing the assailant. Besides, any excuse to irk you is one I will gladly use."
Wright beamed sarcastically at Dlanor; she shot a dark glance back. The two of them; having been the children of Van Dine and Ronald Knox respectively, were rivals who upheld drastically different rulings of mystery. Thus they each found the other a competitor; their relationship could be described as a friendly rivalry at best, cordial loathing at worst.
"Then would you feel free to suggest a way of preventing the detectives death then? Dlanor raised an eyebrow at Wright as she uttered her retort; he shrugged. The two rivals stood silently in the darkness of the room for a minute; considered the options. Dlanor knew better than to risk fighting Wright, his strength was at least equal to hers and possibly stronger. At the same time, she couldn't abandon her charge, or risk severe punishment from Lady Bernkastel. Wright also couldn't leave until the situation was resolved, or risk breaking his own charge to Maebara. They were both stuck here until a solution for their predicament was found.
"Hn..." Dlanor bit her lip in thought. Her face suddenly light up. "Lady MARIA of the Origin controls Maria within the game correct? If we summon her to the board to defend her piece, since she is an internal force in the game proper neither your charge nor mine is failed." Wright scratched at his beard; nodding he responded:
"That seems to be our easiest option. Yes, from what I can tell it breaks neither of our contracts. I'll do the honors, Dlanor-chan" With an ironic salute, Wright disappeared in a flash of blueish power; Dlanor sighed in exasperation and followed suit. The room remained frozen in time; the killers stake poised right on the skin of Maria's forehead. A moment of absolute silence passed; the darkness of the room obscured all from sight; the face of the assailant shadowed by the darkness of midnight. And then; from the still body of Maria, golden light emerged. The room was thrown into brilliant illumination; the shadows fled as light flooded into all corners. From this light came Lady MARIA; scepter held impressively above her head. Immediately upon emerging she examined the room as the power of her entrance dissipated into darkness once more; seeing the assailant before her, she examined him or her in curiosity. A sudden frown, her eyes widened ever so slightly as she spoke:
"Uu~! I know you... You are-" Any further speech was interrupted by a burst of light from the unknown killer; his or her body was consumed by a brilliant aura. When the light faded away to leave the room in darkness once more the killer had vanished. In his or her place was another witch; this one a redhead bearing a larger duplicate of MARIA's own staff; a violet and black dress, and a hat complete with a rose. Eva-Beatrice, Witch of Anger stood before her; a malicious smile plastered onto her face.
"Eva? No- Eva-Beatrice." The Black Witch nodded slowly; menacingly. "What are you doing here? If I recall; your spirit was rendered a fragment by Beatrice's denial of witches. What are you doing; reappearing now, of all times?"
"I am still linked to this game board as you yourself are. Geez, for a Witch with so much potential you are more than slightly dim; do you know that?" Eva-Beatrice mercilessly mocked her; MARIA grimaced but held her tongue. "It's so simple you know; anyone could figure it out. Anyways, since I can still influence the board; I figured I might as well lend some aid to the side I actively support, if you get my meaning." MARIA inclined her head in a symbol of understanding. "If you kill the culprit; my chances of beating Beatrice and getting out of this pathetic state dwindle to nothing. Thus I shall do my darnedest best to stop you. So I'll say it right now, to spare you the trouble. Just surrender and die, ok?" She finished with a nonchalantly cheery tone; MARIA silently regarded Eva-Beatrice as she began to cackle.
"Uu~. You are childish, even compared to me and my verbal tics. Neither of us; for the moment are tied to the meta world. Thus, we are at each others mercy. We may freely attack one another on the game board; the rules of the game do not apply when you are on it." MARIA coolly addressed Eva-Beatrice; she stuck out her tongue in response. "So you can retreat and be spared; or suffer the pain and humiliation of defeat. Again."
"Hah! Thats rich!" Eva-Beatrice laughed haughtily; continued, "An ultimatum is useless if the issuer is not even a threat. So what if we can engage in combat; so what if it's lethal? I'll make you WISH you had surrendered by the time I'm done with you!" A furious sweep of her staff; three girls with a wild array of hair colors in bunny-like costumes appeared before her. "Siesta Sisters of Pendragon, I call upon you to attend to me! Crush the Witch of Origins!" The Siesta's emitted various affirmatives. Opposite them MARIA made her own move; in a flash she bounded out of the window directly above the bed; she flew from the mansion and shouted:
"Duke Barbatos, eighth pillar of hell and greater demon in service to Beatrice; come to me!" Hovering stoically in the salty air of the island MARIA extended a finger towards the mansion; as she did so an entity appeared beside her. Her hair was of shoulder length, silvery though dull in the darkness of the new moon. Like most of the female furniture she was scantily clad; a black leotard and frilled dark green blouse. She had metal anklets and wore simple sandals. Eva-Beatrice and the Siestas regarded the newcomer; she was probably not summoned often given that she looked unfamiliar to them. MARIA gestured impassively; Barbatos nodded and began to fly towards the mansion.
"Sisters, bows at the ready!" An intricate golden blade sprung from Siesta .00's arm; she held herself between her siblings and the oncoming demon. With simultaneous cries of affirmation they grasped each others hands; a string of golden light streamed from their hands and molded into a bow-like shape. The bow became solid, one hand from each sister pulled back on the bowstring as an arrow came into existence; nocking itself with supernatural ease. Siesta .45 began to utter a long stream of commands as their target rushed closer:
"Target confirmed, oncoming at 17 miles an hour. Wind velocity negligible. All systems are operational; feeding code. Input not detected; switching input devices to adjust. Input detected now; firing in five... four... three... two... release!" Siesta .45 and .410 removed their hands from the golden arrow; it flew forward in an arc of golden light. It rushed towards the oncoming Barbatos; Eva-Beatrice grinned wickedly at her counterpart as she was assured of her success. MARIA met her gaze- and smiled in response. Eyes widening, the redheaded witch quickly returned her gaze to Barbatos- and saw something truly odd.
As the rushing stream of golden power drew closer, Barbatos began to mutter something under her breath. The effect seemed to be negligible, none of them could catch the practically whispered words and the arrow flew towards Barbatos still. Closer, too close now; it seemed impossible for Barbatos to swerve from the arrows path or block the arrow with her own magic. And then it happened. A flash of white across the midnight black sky; a squawk of pain cut short.
A seagull had suddenly dived; seemingly into the path of the arrow. A bloody mass of whitish feathers fell to the earth; the mass of the seagull had forced the arrow off course and it arced harmlessly into the rose gardens below. Barbatos closed the remaining distance; a blue blade of similar decoration to Siesta .00's formed on her wrist. Siesta .00 held her ground; in an instant the two collided, blade to blade. Siesta .00 was rebuffed by Barbatos' sheer speed; she gritted her teeth as she struggled to hold her blade steady. Barbatos grinned wickedly; her velocity coming into the lock gave her the upper hand.
Finally Siesta .00 was forced to break the blade lock; she pulled her golden sword back with a grunt. Inertia pushed Barbatos' blade forward into Siesta .00's hand; the blonde bunny girl uttered a brief cry of pain and shock. The two demons collapsed to the floor, Barbatos' hair hung blindingly in Siesta 00's eyes; the two were breathing heavily from exertion. MARIA's furniture pulled her blade from Siesta 00's hand with difficulty; dark red blood flew freely from the wound as the bloody blade was held tip-first at the Siesta leader's throat.
"Surrender. I have you at my mercy." Barbatos had a gruff, almost masculine voice. "My only charge is to protect MARIA by killing Eva-Beatrice; you can be spared." Siesta .00 dazedly shook her head, Barbatos shrugged and made to drive her blade into the bunny girl's throat. It was only then that her opponent smiled; a mocking smile that she offered Barbatos as her own eyes widened in sudden shock.
In their struggle Barbatos hadn't noticed the other two Siesta's pull back; hadn't seen them preparing a second shot of their golden bow. The arc of shimmering light cut square through the silver-haired demon's left eye; blood and gore splattered onto Siesta .00 as the body collapsed onto her. With a grunt, Siesta .00 rolled the body of Barbatos off her own and stood up; she regarded the dead furniture with distaste. Eva-Beatrice, who had been passively watching the unfolding battle with delight; turned to the shattered window to belittle MARIA for her loss.
But the Witch of Origin's wasn't there. Eva-Beatrice scanned the sky in surprise; she was positive that MARIA had been there less than a minute ago. Only then was she suddenly aware of the Siesta's horrified gasps; only then was she suddenly aware of the shooting pains coming from her breast. She looked down in apprehensiveness; the glint of the one-winged bird that had been stabbed clear through her heart met her eyes. With a slight groan, The Black Witch slid off the sharpened symbol and onto the floor; the Siesta's disappeared in a flurry of golden butterflies as their master died and their bonds to the earth were broken. MARIA coldly regarded the corpse of the Black Witch as it lay lifeless upon the bedroom floor. A sweep of her golden staff: the room was restored, the window returned to it's undisturbed state, the blood staining the walls and carpet flew off into thin air as if it had never existed to begin returned to MARIA's side; her body restored to pristine condition.
"Thank you Lady MARIA, for returning me despite my failure." The demon nodded gratefully; MARIA acknowledged the gesture and dismissed the Duke. Eva-Beatrice vanished; in her place the corpse of the now dead culprit appeared. His or her own body was undisturbed; he or she would seem to have died peacefully. MARIA considered the dead person, her last words echoed throughout the room as she vanished into non being once more:
"Uu~... I didn't think that it would be you; of all people."
The room remained undisturbed through the rest of the night. When Maria awoke the next morning: she stretched, yawned, dressed herself into regular clothing and made her way down to breakfast. It wasn't until she was there when she learned that six mutilated corpses had been found before the portrait of Beatrice in the entry hall. Her own room had been quite clean. It was if nothing had happened the whole night.
**
"On the morning of October 5th at 4:15 in the morning when Rudolph Ushiromiya was making his way to the kitchens for an early snack; he stumbled upon the six mangled corpses arranged in a concentric semi-circle before the portrait of Beatrice hanging in the entry hall to the mansion. Amid general chaos Dr. Nanjo was summoned; though the bodies were extremely mutilated he was able to identify the victims: servants Genji, Gohda, Kumasawa, Kanon, and Shannon; plus family member Natushi Ushiromiya." Bernkastel sounded bored; she inspected a cuticle with callous indifference.
Battler sighed, grasped lightly at the bridge of his nose. To this day- seven games after the first hell he had suffered- he still found it nearly impossible to not feel a sort of misery at his families deaths; their pointless deaths in this cruel game that had been established for innocent reasons then twisted, twisted into a labyrinth that consumed ones soul and left only a husk. A husk that rotted until all that was left within was hatred and cruelty; a husk that became a Witch. Battler felt himself avoiding such a fate only with difficulty; he could literally feel the pull on his stomach whenever a loved one died.
"How many hours passed between each individual death?" Beatrice had thrown herself fully into the game alongside Battler; united they would stand against the forces marshaled against themselves. Maebara was something of an enigma; to be considered only by the loosest of terms an 'ally'. It was only Beatrice and himself; together as a single light shimmering faintly within a smothering darkness, only barely glowing against the powers than conspired against them. It was a cliché simile to be sure; but Battler was all but positive of it's inherent truth.
"Roughly 1 minute passed between each death." Bernkastel halted, considered her words carefully. "I would like to point out a series of rapid deaths all but impossible... without magic that is." Bernkastel smiled icily; Beatrice shrugged. She gently lifted a cup of tea to her mouth; sipped lightly. Returning the cup to her saucer; she tapped at her chin with a finger, threaded idly at her hair. Battler and Maebara remained silent; respectfully waiting for her to finish her train of thought.
"Not impossible exactly. Allow me to hypothesize:" She took a breath, shimmering blue text began to form like mist around her. "The nature of these rapid murders can be explained if the killer in question is... Maria Ushiromiya."Beatrice said the last bit with some hesitation; Battler took it as a positive sign that Beatrice was remembering her innate bond with the girl. "If you take this as true, then the murders can be explained as each successive person coming to Maria's room upon being alerted of the previous ones death. Since the culprits bodies were moved; and at least one person had already died in her room, the speed of the deaths and simultaneous movements can only be explained if they all occurred in the same area."
"Knox's 7th; the detective is not allowed to be the culprit." Dlanor, who had been standing stoically beside Bernkastel's throne since her departure from the game board; finally spoke. Her arms crossed deliberately; Bernkastel offered her opponents a wicked grin. Beside her, Lambdadelta watched the game with a slight hint of boredom; another chair over sat Featherine, whose expression was essentially unreadable. Beatrice seemed puzzled; remembering that she wouldn't have many memories of previous games Battler elaborated:
"Knox's Decalogue. It is a system of rules that define mystery; we must adhere to all of them as the game itself could be defined as a mystery." Beatrice nodded slowly; she began to reconsider. Finally, after a minute or so of deliberation she spoke:
"Then another person- the culprit- took residence in Maria's room and from there slaughtered the targets without ever awakening Maria; then removed the bodies from the room."
"Nobody minus the culprits and Maria were ever present in her room during the First Twilight." The golden text faded into nonexistence; Bernkastel payed it no heed. Beatrice bit her upper lip, then suddenly lit up and smiled.
"Very well," she began; voice strengthening as her confidence rose. "But you have admitted that all of the murders take place in Maria Ushiromiya's room! So then repeat this: the murders of the First Twilight occur in areas other than Maria Ushiromiya's bedroom." Beatrice smiled, Battler joined her. He found it ironic that the phrase he had once used so often against her was now her own. Another of the oddities of the game. Bernkastel snarled slightly; her lip curled.
"I refuse." Beatrice chuckled, a light chuckle that echoed faintly of the regal woman that she had once been; again Battler took it as a good thing that Beatrice was showing traces of her former self. Perhaps soon she would be back; and their relationship could blossom in earnest. But in the present, Beatrice was still not her full self. She was however, pressing her advantage against Bernkastel and going on the offensive.
"Then I declare this: All of the murders of the First Twilight occur in Maria's room." Lambdadelta murmured in slight surprise, Featherine raised an eyebrow. Maebara shrugged slightly; he seemed to have been just as surprised at the turn of events as his counterparts. Battler nodded at Beatrice, she returned the gesture heartily and continued, "The murders can be explained if one of the victims is actually the killer. In that case, they positioned themselves in the room and killed the others; but was killed by an outside force or a simultaneous murder by the last of his or her victims. The bodies were then moved by an unknown, unrelated culprit."
"None of the victims of the First Twilight were the killers or culprits. Furthermore, no outside force interfered in anyway with the First Twilight." Bernkastel held up a hand to gesture for a minute of time; grasped at a side table for her tea. Dlanor preemptively took the cup and personally handed it to Bernkastel; she nodded in acknowledgement and began to drink deeply. After a few seconds she stopped; deliberately lowered the tea cup and continued, "There was no trap or natural disaster of any sort that occurred in Maria's room that night. Maria herself could not be the killer if she was not the culprit." Bernkastel silently returned to her tea, leaving the room silent in her wake.
Beatrice sat down; robbed of her inertia she seemed to have run out of ideas. Battler considered the situation grimly; Bernkastel had essentially established a locked room, where nothing seemingly worked within the twisted scenario but magic. Battler's experience with previous locked rooms had been shaky at best; memories of his more naïve and childish theories floated back to him. 'Small bombs' indeed, even without hindsight Battler could tell how foolish those thoughts had been. The mystery of the locked rooms still evaded Battler though; the truth always taunted him, then fled from his mind just as he began to understand. And try as he might; it was always, always just out of reach.
Battler sighed, considered his own tea blandly. He mindlessly took a sip; deep in thought. This was going to be a long game. But it would end in his victory. It had to.
**
A break was announced in the game to allow the two sides time to plan and rest for the next segment. Despite the protests from Beatrice and Battler; Maebara had refused to join his allies in the planning session. He knew it was a poor show but at the same time he couldn't help it; Broglie had requested his appearance in a personal counsel with Lady Iotazeta. He was still beholden to the Senate on a professional level, still a friend to Iotazeta on a personal level; overall his reasons for leaving his allies behind were justified. In his own viewpoint, anyways.
So he departed from the board in a flurry of reddish sparks; traversed the abyss that permeated the kakera with nothing but his bat and a crudely wrapped silken parcel. He watched various worlds pass; saw various tragedies, mysteries, and romances unfold and break before his eyes. For a fleeting moment he could almost physically touch the palpable concepts; then they would vanish into the abyss. Maebara payed the fragments of life little mind; he had experienced this countless times before. After several moments more of travel, Maebara found the destination he sought; a temple perched atop a mountain in a world of mythological wonder. Here gods had once dwelt; now it stood as the throne room of Lady Iotazeta herself. Impassively he flew into the temple; materialized.
He emerged in a spacious room sealed off from the rest of the temple by thick bronze doors; huge constructions of inert metal that could not be moved by even an armies worth of men. A skylight had been carved expertly into the distant ceiling; golden light filtered down onto the inhabitants of the room. There were two besides Maebara himself; the black haired Broglie clad in a gray scholars robe who sat expectantly on a golden throne, and Iotazeta herself. She seemed to have aged significantly in the mere days that they had not seen one another; her hair was beginning to grow in gray, her mouth had shriveled, and her eyes had clouded over. She rested uneasily on a wicker bed; a bloody bucket lay on the floor beside her.
"Ah, Lord Maebara; a pleasure to see you." He practically sprang from his chair to greet the Sorcerer of Faith; he stopped before Maebara and extended a hand, Maebara took it indifferently. The youth led his older counterpart into a second empty throne beside Broglie's own; he sat himself into the chair without hesitation. "You remember me of course?" Broglie laughed nervously; Maebara considered him for a second.
Maebara suddenly rose an eyebrow as a memory came into mind. He spoke, "Ah yes, Iota-chans little apprentice. If I remember, you took offense to my appearance in the Senate and retaliated against me; Iotazeta wisely reprimanded you for doing such." Broglie's nervous smile slid off his face; he stuttered and slid uncomfortably into his chair. Maebara chuckled heartily as he continued reassuringly, "Don't worry, as I said before I hold nothing against you. In fact I was impressed; loyalty is a rare trait for a magical creature. Myself included, fortunately or unfortunately; depending on how you see it." Broglie nodded in relief; Maebara slouched casually in his seat. "Take these," he started while tossing the silk wrapped package to Broglie. "They are cookies; those Ronove himself."
Broglie murmured in appreciation and slight awe, "Ronoves? You are too kind Maebara; I am sure that Iotazeta will enjoy these upon waking up." He pointed silently at the bag; Maebara gave a curt nod. With an expression of delight the apprentice undid the knotted string holding the bag together; the silk unraveled and the rich cookies within were revealed. Broglie took one with some reverence; bit on the cookie and chewed delicately. "Ah. Every bit as delicious as they are said to be." Nodding with a vaguely dreamy expressing on his face, he set the unwrapped cookies aside; took another bite of the cookie. "Anyways," Broglie began after swallowing and wiping at his mouth with a sleeve. "Master Iotazeta asked me to call you on a regular basis in the event that she herself was unable to do so." Me identified the drowsing Iotazeta sadly.
"So I take it then that she is not well?"
"An understatement." Broglie shook his head in regret. "The stress of recent developments is really getting to her; in addition to the Rokkenjima games there has been dissent amongst the Senate itself. We fear that more may follow the former senator Lambdadelta's example- well, I fear more than anyone else." Maebara detected a hint of weariness in the apprentice's voice; a closer examination of Broglie showed a corruption of his youthful self. Worry lines creased his forehead and cheeks; his eyes were bloodshot and slightly unfocused. "With Iotazeta being out of commission; most of her former duties have been relegated to me. It is... tiring; to say the least."
"I apologize for your unfortunate situation," Maebara offered sincerely. "I would offer to take on the responsibilities myself but... well. To tell you the truth I would rather not." Both of them laughed at this, chortling at the joke until a violent cough from Iotazeta silenced them.
"Well I will make this short then," Broglie continued hastily. "I merely need a report of your progress: what you have ascertained and your suggestions for dealing with the threat. I have managed to marshal a fair number of the Senate to our cause; they can take action immediately provided you can give us warrant to do so." Maebara nodded; he held up a hand to ask for a minute. Silence passed; only Iotazeta's raspy breathing echoed eerily throughout the hall. Finally, Maebara cleared his throat; began:
"To be honest... no. I have nothing concrete that you may yet act upon." Broglie nodded; disappointment evident in his suddenly dull expression. "Make no mistake; I am trying my hardest. But none of them show any solid evidence of an ulterior motive: even Featherine and Lambdadelta seem innocent. Well, as innocent as they can seem anyways." At this Maebara cracked a smile; Broglie shrugged slightly and Maebara hastily continued, "Battler obviously has only good intentions; though his lack of experience and viewpoint make him a potential source of trouble. Beatrice I am less sure of; she seems to be innocent enough, but I couldn't be sure. The rest of them show the standard model of cruelty and sadism; but again, nothing suggesting a hidden plan." Maebara ended his report with a shrug; he was aware of how weak his observations had been.
"Well..." Broglie began dully. "I... I honestly don't know. I am inexperienced in the face of powers like the lot of you; even Battler. I don't think I can be trusted to make the desci-"
A sudden outcry from the bed; Iotazeta seemed to have pulled herself out of her semi comatose state with difficulty. She thrashed about, arms and legs flew weakly about the air. Maebara and Broglie exchanged surprised glances; they stood and made their way to the bed. Broglie grasped for one of Iotazeta's hands; grasped it lightly to indicate their presence. Iotazeta grunted; her second hand shot out to affirm Broglie's own. Her bony throat pulsed; her words came out with difficulty:
"Bring them... to trial. Find-" A fit of raspy coughing; Broglie and Maebara clutched at her arms and held her steady until she finished with a groan. She forced herself to continue, "Find the... find the culprit of the game. I grant you the right to arrest... arrest the... the culprits as you find them. The rest I leave... up to you Maebara." Meabara nodded; Broglie continued to grasp her hand reassuringly. More coughing; she finally managed to barely choke out:
" I am counting... counting on you. Do not screw this up." With a sudden convulsion she rolled over; Broglie released her hand and jumped back in surprise. A violent retching noise; Maebara turned away in disgust. After several seconds he turned around; Iotazeta had curled up into a ball and lapsed back into her comatose state, bright red blood and bile dripping from her chin. Broglie had fallen to the floor; he sat dazed for a few seconds before recovering. He glanced at his shoes, uttered an oath:
"Well, she missed the bucket..." Broglie smiled ruefully at Maebara; he offered a silent condolence in response. "It would be best if you leave now Lord Maebara; leave and return to the game. I will remain here to care for Master Iotazeta. Send a message once you get the information we need."
Maebara nodded; as he disappeared back into the sea of kakera he scanned the pitiful scene one last time. The exhausted youth, the ill elder. Suddenly he felt the weight of their burdens upon his shoulder; almost dropped to a knee under the seemingly real pressure. They were counting on him. But he wasn't so sure of himself.
Right; reviews always appreciated.
Megaolix: (Sort of pointless given that you clearly stated that you would not read my story further; but I digress) You bring up some valid criticisms of my story. I do feel that I may have overused the OC's and am trying to scale back on their use. Perhaps I should update 'slight gore' to plain old 'gore' if the scene with Virgilia's death was too much. The rest I can't address without spoiling the future storyline. Poor explanation I know; but I want to make it clear that I do have a plan and I am dealing with some of the more glaring problems brought up. Also; Law of Conservation of Detail. I brought it up for a reason.
With that said; still feel free to flame as you please.