Crown of Ruin
Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Brothers. That goes to Nintendo. The only characters I own are those from the Golden Land, angels from Skyworld including the royal bodyguards, Angel Assembly and archangels along with all the other angels and of course the witch hunters.
Summary: Cloud was just a mercenary that resorted to thievery when the job went sour. Bayonetta was a witch in disguise of a pauper waiting for the chance to go wild on the humans she looked down on. The two would cross paths often in the city of Izumo. Things would change the both of them when the ruler of the neutral fraction Mikoto ends up dead and the main suspect is her only son Corrin. Seeing this as an opportunity, both jump to protect the scared prince unaware of the politics going on behind the scenes.
Pairing: Cloud/Corrin/Bayonetta, Sumeragi/Mikoto/Garon and others to be added
Rated: M (for mature) but E on Archive of Our Own (for any sex scenes)
Genre: Romance, Drama, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Humor and Angst
Warning: Sexual violence, extreme violence, character death, polygamy (OT3), blackmail, sexual themes and unintentional OOC
This is based on a Tumblr prompt from the AU Prompts. Character A is a thief with kleptomania, Character B is a pauper that makes money from sewing and tailoring clothes, and Character C is the only child of a nobility figure. When Character C finds their family's reputation is ruin, the unlikely trio is brought together to protect Character C's right to the throne – and their life. Enjoy! And yes, I am posting this during Comedy Month when this is far from being a humorous story.
Chapter 4: Nightmare Night
Corrin's scream alerted everyone in the banquet hall. The siblings feared the worse happened to the prince of Izumo and dropped everything they were doing. They didn't have a clue where Corrin's voice was coming from. Luckily for them, Duke Izana finally decided to show his face. He had been missing the whole night and just showed up at his own place carrying a small box of different types of alcoholic beverages. Despite his regal appearance with his divine clothing, the duke was incredibly laidback. The only reason he was gone was to go fetch the finest wine to drink for the banquet. His friend Christo also had similar clothing to him but he looked more like a demon wearing all black contrast to the white color his friend had. His hair was an odd shade of turquoise that stood out next to the duke. He was trying to tell Izana to act professional tonight, but his words were drowned out by the siblings who swarmed his friend.
Soon, Izana would drop the ditzy act realizing that something has gone horribly wrong at the happy banquet. When told that Corrin let out a horrified scream, Izana had asked Christo where it came from and his friend was able to deduct that Corrin was in the chamber Mikoto was staying in. The siblings wasted no time rushing to the area despite Sumeragi and Garon telling their youngest daughters to stay put.
Ryoma proved himself to be the fastest of the group and had gotten ahead of everyone else. His mind was starting to blank out thinking the worse has come to his soon to be younger brother. The cries of the silver haired prince didn't stop, but he wasn't screaming anymore.
"CORRIN!" Ryoma called out as he forced himself into the room. His eyes widened at what he saw before him. "C-Corrin…"
The other siblings would catch up to the prince of Hoshido and would be horrified at the sight before them. Ryoma had attempted to shield Sakura's eyes from the sight as Marx would try to do to Elise, but it was already too late and they screamed.
"By the Gods…what happened…" Leon muttered. His face was incredibly pale. He tried his best to remain indifferent but failed miserably.
How could any keep a stoic expression at the scene before them? The queen of Izumo was bleeding in an excessive amount. The katana that was used to murder the queen was yanked out and thrown to the side of the room. Corrin had entered the room and found one of his mother's healing staffs and attempted to heal her immediately. The problem was that if it wasn't a resurrection staff, there was no hope in saving her. Her soul has already departed to the aftermath, but Corrin did not register that his mother was gone.
"Corrin!" Camilla cried out causing Corrin to glance at his siblings up slowly. Tears stained his face as the blood from his mother's body was getting on his clothes.
This is bad. Marx thought to himself seeing Corrin in this state. He tampered with the crime scene!
"Camilla…mother won't wake up…" Corrin spoke. His voice was cracking. If he kept talking, he would surely lose it. "Elise! Sakura! Please tell me you have your staves with you! Please help me heal her!"
Sakura covered her face as a response seeing the silver haired prince returning his pointless struggle in saving his mother. Takumi was the one that pulled Sakura away. Camilla was the one that suggested that Elise not look at the scene before them. Even if Corrin called out their names again in a pleading tone, it was a terrible idea to assist him.
"Prince Takumi is it?" Camilla began. "May I ask you take my sister and yours out of the room?"
At first Takumi was going to deny her, but he heard footsteps behind them. More people were going to show up and she wanted them to be spared of seeing Corrin in despair. The archer growled as he complied. Sakura had no problem complying with Takumi but Elise resisted at first. She glanced at Corrin one last time before she turned her back to him and followed the young Hoshidan prince.
Once those three were out, Garon, Sumeragi, Macbeth and Izana stormed in. The siblings attempted to observe who reacted badly to Mikoto's death. Garon remained stoned face but Sumeragi's mood dropped considerably. Before Izana could shout for order in the room, Macbeth reacted poorly to the scene and made everything worse.
"Eeek! Queen Mikoto!" He screamed. "Who did this?! Was it you Rapunzel?!"
He dropped the honorifics and went straight for the insulting nickname. The only reason he could get away with it this time because he looked reasonably upset at the scene before him. It wasn't too farfetched to accuse Corrin of killing her especially since Mikoto's blood was on him when removing the katana and attempting to save her.
"What did you say?!"
It was the wrong thing to say unfortunately. The dragonstone was tapping into Corrin's rage, but even with the anger and despair in his heart, nothing was coming of it besides a furious side that no one has seen before.
"How dare you accuse me of killing mother?! It was one of you two kings that did it!"
Throwing accusations at both Sumeragi and Garon was suicide. He was still a prince and could face deadly consequences. The situation was going downhill fast. Hinoka and Camilla attempted to step in and calm the silver haired prince down.
"Corrin, please calm down." Camilla started. "Throwing baseless accusations won't solve the issue."
"We need you to be calm." Hinoka added. "We will take care of this."
"Calm?! How can I remain calm?! Mother's dead and the murderer is in this room!" Corrin hissed. "Both of the kings have a motive for killing her if she didn't choose them to be her husband! Nohr needs Izumo for land expansion and they can only survive if mother married you Garon! And Hoshido is too prideful that they are willing to steal the ray of hope away to expand their territory of peace!"
"Corrin enough…" Leon mumbled. He had never seen Corrin act like this. If he kept this up…
"Sumeragi, where were you?! Why is the katana you gave to my mother for a present the murder weapon?! Why were you accounted for an hour? What did you do?! Answer me!"
Corrin blamed both kings but he already thought in the back of his mind that it was Sumeragi that ended his mother's life. Even if Nohr had the motivation, the evidence was stacked against Hoshido. Add to the fact Sumeragi refused to speak only confirmed Corrin's accusations.
"Alright, enough." Izana spoke in a cool, collective voice unlike his usual character. "Step away from the body, your highness. You are not wanted here." He turned to all the royals in the room. "That goes for all of you. Starting now, this is a crime scene. The authorities of Izumo will be called and we will take it from here. I ask you all to leave."
Corrin's eyes widened in horror at Izana's "betrayal".
"But…I have to stay…mother is…"
"Corrin, if you insist on staying, I will not hesitate to arrest you. You may be my friend's son, but I will not let the killer slip away."
The red eyed prince shook his head in disbelief. "Traitor…"
"Say what you want, but I'm already upset. Just looking at the scene before me, I see you tampered with the crime scene. Even if it's unintentional, you have already made things difficult. I advise you to go home and rest. Everyone else should also pack their things and return home."
There was nothing Corrin could do was sob. He wasn't going to let go of his mother. The eldest brothers were given permission to walk over to the prince and get him off his feet.
"Please…don't…"
"We need to leave." Ryoma told him as he grabbed at Corrin's right shoulder. Marx did the same with Corrin's left one. Corrin let out a terrified cry as he was lifted off the ground. Mikoto's body shifted slightly as he was slowly being dragged off. He pleaded for the elder siblings to let him stay with his mother but they ignored him.
"Lower your head." Marx ended up telling him. He would have added how disgraceful Corrin was acting, but he understood the pain the prince of Izumo was going through.
"Don't worry, justice will be done." Izana declared. "When I find out who did this to Mikoto…I will extract revenge on him."
It was a miracle that Garon or Sumeragi did not raise their voice against Corrin who threw accusations at them. Izana said all the royals needed to leave, but he did expect the kings to stay so he could talk to them about what to do now.
The royal siblings all decided on taking Corrin home before returning to attempt to calm everyone down. The word was going to spread very soon and they needed to keep the panic to a bare minimum. Leon's servant Zero already knew what Leon wanted and had already had Gunther waiting outside the banquet. Questions were raised on why Corrin was leaving so soon and with a sorrowful expression on his face to boot. They would find out shortly. Gunther decided to take the boy back on horse so there would be no need to use the carriage.
As the royal siblings saw Corrin off, Cloud and Bayonetta had made sure to blend into the crowd before making their escape. With the raven haired witch around, it was surprisingly easy. The blond didn't like how things went from bad to worse in a manner of a few minutes. He just wanted some rare items to steal and now there is a murder of an important political figure. They needed to escape now before someone caught them.
Alas, Cloud felt a pain in his chest when he caught a glimpse of the silver haired prince. The poor kid looked ready to collapse. How was he going to get over an incident like this?
After escorting Corrin back to the temple, Gunther had made multiple suggestions to him from removing his clothes and washing the blood off him to getting some sleep. He only did the former to keep his mind off of the murder, but once he finished rinsing his body, he put some nightwear on and plopped onto the bed. He wanted to sleep, but wasn't going to.
There was no way Corrin was going to get any sleep despite the suggestion. How could he? The corpse of his mother was still fresh in his mind. How could he close his eyes and sleep when the first image to appear in his mind is the lifeless look she had?
The thieves also made off with his crown. Suppose everything died down (even though Corrin doubted that no one in Izumo would let this incident pass), Corrin wouldn't be able to be crowned the King of Izumo without it. His mother was top priority so Corrin forgot to grab the crown from Cloud. He only had the sword and the stone, but he was still inexperienced with the sword. The prince didn't know what the dragonstone was used for anyway.
Being king was the last thing on Corrin's mind. He already missed his mother and it hasn't been that long since her death. Oh how he wished someone could tell him he was having a terrible nightmare, but as the clock ticked and sun started to rise, the more Corrin realized he wasn't dreaming. The reality was that Mikoto was dead and wasn't coming back. No more going to her room to wake her up and vice versa. There would no longer be mealtimes with her. The days of talking about the future was over. She was gone and Corrin had to live with that.
But by realizing that she was dead, Corrin would be left a crying mess. It was pathetic for an eighteen year old to shed tears when he was considered an adult. He shouldn't cry, but he couldn't help it. Corrin had always been a sensitive person brought to tears rather easily. He rarely cried in front of people fearing they would judge him, but no one would judge him this time. The world was crying for the death of his mother. Mikoto brought peace and neutrality to their countries. Without her, it was only a matter of time that the foundation she had built would be shattered, and her son wouldn't be able to take the reign unless he had the crown that would signify that he was Izumo's new ruler.
There was a soft knock at the door with some sniffling. He was certain it was Orochi. He ignored her and continued to sob into his pillow. The young retainer would leave him alone as he let the pillow get soaked by his tears. He would continue mourning for his mother for the rest of the day…
Mother, what am I going to do now? I'm nothing without you…
While Izumo mourned for the loss of their queen as news spread quickly, those not attached to Izumo could pretend like nothing happened. This mainly applied to Bayonetta who could care less about the suffering of Izumo. Cloud of course had to pretend that he was equally upset to not draw suspicion. The only reason Bayonetta could get away with it was because she had told others that she puts her profession over news and it was indeed a shame their loving queen was gone with the killer still on the loose. On top of that, the news that someone broke into the vault and stole the crown that could allow Corrin to be king was gone. Cloud had to hide that crown, but now he knew it was impossible to sell it now. The crown was needed for Izumo to move on, but without it, they were a country with no legs to stand on. Cloud didn't care. If he could escape with Tifa to their world, they could put this nightmare behind them. Instead, the crown that would be used as a bargaining chip was just a hunk of junk and he was back to square one unless he could pawn it off without getting caught.
Speaking of Tifa…
"Cloud, did you hear a thing I said? Earth to Cloud!"
Cloud would have to deal with lying to Tifa yet again where he went last night. He didn't realize he was going to have hell returning with the nice outfit that Bayonetta loaned to him. With the amount he made, there was no way he could afford it. Explaining where he was and how he got the suit meant explaining to Tifa that he was with Bayonetta. Tifa was a kind hearted girl, but she didn't get along with the witch and for good reason. Bayonetta hasn't been a good customer to her when she came to the bar and Tifa had returned it in kind. The raven haired witch was aware Tifa liked Cloud but continued to cling to him. If only Cloud just made it clear that he liked his childhood friend then it wouldn't have been so difficult to explain his situation.
"It was just a business trip for her." Cloud told her. "We left when the commotion started."
"So…nothing happened?"
"No. I don't trust her."
"But you're always working with her…"
"I do what I can to earn a living, but it doesn't mean I trust her with my life."
Tifa sighed at this explanation he gave her last night and didn't bother talking for the rest of the evening. Now, it was morning and Cloud was trying to get his body moving. He wouldn't have a job at all given everyone was too busy grieving for their queen. Tifa's voice was just grating after a long night.
"Cloud, don't make me push you out of bed."
"I heard you the first time."
Not convinced her childhood friend was going to get up, Tifa stayed by his bed side until he decided to sit up.
"I hope so. It's going to be a very busy day for me, so I need you to help me out in the back."
People were going to be drinking at the 7th Heaven to forget about Mikoto's death. People were already in a slump, but the queen's death would get them a legitimate excuse to go out and drown their sorrows. As a waitress and bartender, Tifa had her hands full. Granted there were others helping out but they were all behind closed doors due to obvious reasons. Like Cloud, they stood out for weapons that couldn't be obtained in Hoshido, Nohr or Izumo, so they needed to be hidden from plain view more times than not. Wasn't going to stop them from coming out every now and then and help Tifa if she was being overwhelmed.
"So you're going to use the queen's death to grab people's money?" Cloud asked her earning himself a nasty glare from her.
"Cloud, these people are mourning for their queen. They're going to need someone to talk to. I will be there to support them."
"But you're going to take their money."
"Cloud, do you want us to end up on the streets?"
The blond flinched at the retort and chose to drop the topic. Tifa stood up from Cloud's bed and began to move around. Cloud grumbled at how early she was going to open up the bar. The blond let out a frustrated groan as he soon got off the bed. He didn't have much time to change into some nightwear so he had opted to just remove the fancy stuff and sleep mostly naked. Tifa already looked away before she caught a glimpse of his figure.
"You should know where your clothes are. I washed them."
Cloud acknowledged her words and started changing into something comfortable. Tifa fumbled with some of the items in their room waiting for Cloud to get dressed. Since he didn't give her a signal, the room remained in an awkward silence.
"…It's going to be really scary outside." Tifa admitted. "With the queen dead, everyone is looking for someone to blame."
"I bet." Cloud muttered. "Which is why I don't think alcohol and anger are a good combination today."
"No one is safe regardless if they have alcohol in their system." Tifa reminded him. "Despite the announcement, everyone knows the killer has yet to be found. Too many conspiracy theories are popping up." The raven haired shivered at the thought. "Some people that were in the bar before the news came out last night said that the prince would be accused of murdering the queen."
Now this was new information. Cloud not only didn't know there were some stragglers in the bar after hours, but they brought up a good point.
"Why the prince?" Cloud asked. "It could have been anyone and he has no reason to kill his mother."
"I don't know where they were getting this information from, so I assume its baseless rumors." Tifa began. "They said that the prince had items that he shouldn't have had when he saw his mother. Everyone knows the prince was aware of his mother's death, but what many aren't aware of was his location before finding her body first."
"Which is…"
Cloud shouldn't have had asked that one.
"The vault. He was in possession of the treasures before he was bestowed them. The crown is missing too unfortunately. I know a thief broke in during the chaos and made off with an important family treasure. However, I do find it odd how the prince has the sword and the stone beforehand."
Those weren't baseless rumors. Someone must have followed him and Bayonetta and then headed back to the bar to pass the information to Tifa. That sounded crazy, but how else would someone know that detail of Corrin taking the dragonstone and spreading wings? If he kept prying on this topic, Cloud felt like Tifa would put two and two together on whom the thief was and what he did at the party.
"Also, the investigation isn't going to be handled well." Tifa brought up. "Given the situation, the Nohr family might take finding the killer their duty even though the Hoshido family will discover the killer first."
Nohr had the motivation to kill just from the circumstances of their country. A weapon from Hoshido's was found in the queen's chest though. Accusing Corrin wasn't so farfetched seeing as how no one would expect him. Cloud didn't know much about the silver haired prince, but he assumed that whoever killed Mikoto was aware that at worse, Hoshido and Nohr would go to war and at best, the tragedy was averted if the killer was found even if a scapegoat might be used to calm the people down.
Even then, that wouldn't solve the crown issue. Marx would be in a dilemma with letting the oldest prince of Hoshido one upping him and wanting to continue his original task of finding the bloody thief. Cloud wanted him to search for the killer so he could be given time to make things right.
This crown is worthless anyway. Cloud thought darkly to himself as he was glad that Tifa had yet to look under the bed for the very crown needed for Corrin to become king. I'll return it as soon as I can. I need to make sure that kid stays out of trouble. I can still get money out of this if I can make a deal with him…I just hope Tifa doesn't realize what I'm going to do.
After a while, Corrin was glad that his visitors stopped dropping by to see him. They apologized for his loss and sent him gifts that were left in the main portion of the temple. Corrin didn't care about those gifts. The only thing he would want is his mother to return and to wake up from this nightmare. He didn't want to make the Hoshido and Nohr siblings feel bad, but he just wanted to be left alone for the rest of the day despite it not being healthy. Flora kept a stern face and reminded him that the meal would be in the kitchen if he decided to leave his room and eat. She expected him to later. She took her leave, but not before reminding him that Gunther was on patrol and would return shortly. Corrin simply waved her off as he continued to stare at the ceiling in his room. Maybe if he started counting sheep to himself, he would fall asleep again and the day would come.
He would have one more visitor and the one he didn't want to see at all. Anyone in the royal family could see him, but this extended to retainers and those who worked under the king. It meant Macbeth could come in uninvited despite Corrin's hatred toward him.
"Leave." Corrin told him harshly. "I'm not seeing anyone. If you want to see any of my mother's retainers, they're out for the day. You should know that as King Garon's tactician."
"My Rapunzel, I only came to comfort you in a time of need. The world cannot bear to see tears ruin your beautiful face."
"If Gunther was here, I would send you away for that insult." The prince hissed. "Why would I even want you in here when you're one of the many people who could have killed mother?"
"As nice as it would have been to be the one to slay the wicked queen for wounding my king for all of these years for her dishonesty, you know better than anyone I am free of sin."
Oh, how did Corrin want to punch Macbeth in face for remaining smug and laughing at his pitiful situation…
"You monster! You think I'll believe you when you say you're guiltless?!"
"I am. I have an alibi on the night of the murder." Macbeth said gleefully. "King Sumeragi and King Garon…while they're both suspicious, they also have an alibi. You don't."
Corrin's expression darkened. Did Macbeth just insinuate that he murdered his own mother?
"…How dare you make those baseless accusations against me?! I should put you to death for that!"
Macbeth laughed at Corrin's threat. The arrogance surrounding him was terrifying and Corrin's threats in the past weren't working now.
"You can try, but you're not the king even with the queen's death." Macbeth told him simply. "Where's the crown that will officially grant you the title of King of Izumo, hmm? You have the Yatogami and the dragonstone in your possession, but the crown has gone missing. You are nothing without that crown. The tradition of Izumo will not go up in flames because you misplaced it."
Corrin's eyes widened in horror now recalling that Cloud had the crown in his possession…and if the prince wasn't focused on getting to his mother, he would have made sure to secure the crown along with everything else he took. The two items he had were weapons unlike the crown. Macbeth may not have been involved in last night's incident, but he was crafting a wonderful narrative to suit his agenda before his eyes.
"Why were you the in the treasury? You had no reason to go there unless you had every intention of murdering your mother."
"I wouldn't!"
"Why were you there then?"
Corrin wouldn't throw Cloud and Bayonetta under the bus even if he was put in this bad situation to begin with. He cursed to himself as he was slowly backing up against his bed. Macbeth continued to approach him and corner him like a rat.
"Your highness, it is not good to keep secrets especially one that can destroy the foundation of Izumo. You need a good lie in order to get out of it in one piece."
"I…"
"Even if King Sumeragi has an alibi, he was still the last one to see her, correct?"
Corrin didn't like where this was going.
"You just need to throw that man under the bus. I will be more than happy to help you, but I need one thing from you."
The silver haired prince let out a pathetic cry when he found his body pushed on the bed with the Nohr tactician on top of him. In any other situation, Corrin would be able to push him off with his superhuman strength. Corrin didn't have that helping him this time around. He was physically and emotionally drained from his mother's death to fight back, and Macbeth knew this and was taking advantage of him. Corrin shot him the best glare he could muster even when Macbeth was running his pale fingers through his well-kept hair.
"It would be a shame if your life ended because the real culprit got away." Macbeth continued as he lowered himself onto the younger prince. The glare had no effect and was quickly losing its effects. Corrin's eyes widened in horror feeling something rub up in between his leg. He shuffled underneath the older man, but he couldn't pry him off. "I could change that. With my brilliant mind and your charisma, we can rule Izumo together and track down your mother's killer."
"No…" Corrin muttered weakly. "You don't care about mother…you just want to enact that marriage."
"Shouldn't your mother be your number one concern over our love for one another?"
Corrin felt his heart sank with Macbeth throwing those words around. He'll always hate the bastard for his cowardly ways. He'll resist until the end even if the situation was getting from bad to worse. No way in hell would he let Macbeth win!
"I'm giving you two options. Marry me and I'll incriminate Sumeragi for his crimes or be accused as being the culprit and bring ruin to the country your mom worked so hard to rule. It's your choice."
There wasn't a choice at all! He either married this sicko or die knowing he failed his mother. Where was the third solution he desperately needed? Macbeth enjoyed the pain expression the prince was wearing. This situation couldn't have had come at a better time.
"You know…" Macbeth began as he leaned close to Corrin's ear and began whispering. "We could even skip the marriage if you submit to me right now. This delicious body of yours will be put to good use."
A small gasp came out as a response. If Corrin wasn't scared before, he was petrified now. He still didn't have a choice in the matter. Macbeth chuckled as he ran his other hand down to pat the armor that was covering Corrin's crotch.
"G-Get your hands off me!"
"So you'll disappoint your mother in the end?"
"This has nothing to do with her!"
"It has everything to do with her. You are driving my patience. If you cannot choose then I'll make it for you."
Corrin didn't know what to do at this point. He searched the room for anything he could use to smack Macbeth with. He was too far from everything and his voice failed him.
"Coward…you won't get away with this."
The prince squirmed under his grip. His legs were being spread apart making it more difficult for Corrin to get the older man off of him. He refused to look Macbeth in the eye as he taunted him that he already won.
"Correction. I already have."
And this is where Corrin's luck came into play. The prince was told that he was born under a lucky star. Before worse came to shove, a miracle occurred and helped him out. The same thing would happen again when someone barged into the room with a spear in hand.
"Lord Corrin!"
"G-Gunther! Help!"
Macbeth wouldn't expect anyone to still be in this place especially Gunther who had to attend to things that Corrin could not do. His expression was beyond angry seeing the prince being pinned down by the Nohr tactician. Macbeth was the one caught red-handed and he shrieked realizing how fucked he was.
"Eeek! T-This is a misunderstanding! We were just-"
"How despicable of you to take advantage of the queen's death and her son's state of mind. You will come with me and be tried to the highest treason! Failure to comply and I will kill you right now!"
"EEEK!"
Macbeth was pathetic screaming like a little girl. Corrin used this chance to push the older man off of him, but it wouldn't do much. He couldn't take the opportunity to rest because there was a shadowy figure looming behind his mentor.
"GUNTHER! LOOK OUT!"
His warning came too late. Gunther felt something sharp impale his back. The weapon went right through his chest revealing it to be an axe. Corrin's eyes widened in horror seeing the blood gush out from his mentor's body.
"N-NO!"
Macbeth let out a sigh of relief to see that Gantz was backing him up. He was almost worried that he was going to get caught.
"You should have watched your back old man. Now you're just another victim on the chopping block."
Corrin wanted to throw up seeing his mentor's body fall to the ground of his bed with a loud thump. He didn't even get to say anything else to the young prince before the Grim Reaper claimed him. Macbeth hummed at the terrified expression the prince had on now. It was completely different from his defiant expression before.
"You know you shouldn't be leaving dead bodies in the prince's room. They'll suspect us."
"Just say that Hoshido did it." Gantz said simply. "Since the first plan didn't work, we'll go with your plan B. We'll take the prince back to Nohr and say Hoshido murdered the queen and this old fool."
"N-No…" Corrin muttered deeply. "You can't…do this…"
"Prince Corrin, you will be coming with us." Gantz continued. "I'll kill that pretty maid that is always with you if you refuse. She'll be another victim to Hoshido after all."
"S-Stop it…you can't…I…"
Corrin didn't realize he choked out a sob as he took a step back. He wanted to escape, but he couldn't. Looking out the window, he gasped seeing some soldiers from Nohr surrounding the place. They had every intention of escalating the situation into a full scale war if Corrin didn't go in willingly. With no weapon to fight with and no retainers to protect him, the prince couldn't possibly fight them.
"We could have done this the easy way, but you made it difficult for me." Macbeth told him as he walked over and seized the prince's arm causing him to scream. "We're doing this the hard way. Now come along quietly."
Macbeth had every intention of tying the prince up once they left the area. Corrin would resist all the way even in his frightened state. The prince could bide his time and wait for his mother's retainers to return or even Prince Marx. Macbeth would not take any chances. He would have his prince when they were alone.
"You better keep your voice down. One peep from you and Gantz will murder that maid. He's one of the strongest generals of Nohr for a reason."
Corrin could only nod his head slightly as tears started to fall down his eyes. Why was he so helpless? Why couldn't he protect himself and avenge Gunther? Why wasn't anyone going to save him?
"Someone…please help me…" Corrin whispered to the point no one could hear him. "Please…someone…"
Unknown to Macbeth and the Nohr soldiers standing outside, Cloud and Bayonetta had managed to sneak inside the temple. All Cloud wanted to do was set things straight and return the crown that belonged to the prince. The last thing he wanted was for Corrin to be accused of a crime he didn't commit due to circumstantial evidence. Bayonetta didn't know what to think of the blond wanting to make amends. He was still going to make Tifa sad in the end for not having any money and being near the scene of the crime.
The Nohr soldiers caught them off guard though. They all had their weapons drawn as if they had cornered the culprit. Cloud at first thought that Marx finally outsmarted him when these were soldiers under Gantz' command who were ordered to not let the prince escape.
The two had sat back in the darkness and watched the great knight be taken out in one hit. They could hear Corrin scream before being told to shut his mouth. There was no one else in the temple because they were trying to figure out what to do now that the queen was dead. Cloud growled at how much of an opportunist this tactician was being.
"Disgusting…" Cloud muttered as he slowly crept out of his hiding spot. "If he thinks he can have his way then he has another thing coming."
"You aren't honestly thinking of saving the poor prince, are you?"
"What choice do I have? Unless you want a war to break out by framing the people of Hoshido, I will help him now."
Cloud was a kind-hearted man despite his rough exterior. He wasn't thinking of the consequences of his actions.
"You realize if you attack now, you will be a criminal to all of Nohr." Bayonetta warned him. "He may be a scumbag but he is still the great tactician of Nohr under King Garon. You attack him and you will be an enemy to him and everyone he deceives with his wit."
"…I don't care." Cloud answered. "He pisses me off like the rest of the nobles here."
Cloud unsheathed his buster sword from his bandage and waited for Gantz to have his back turned before he rushed in. Gantz was too busy having a victory cheer to himself seeing the silver haired prince in tears that he failed to notice that he too would be impaled the same way as Gunther. The only difference was this was not a fatal blow due to Cloud missing his vital organs intentionally. The sword still went through the center of his chest. Gantz wheezed as he coughed up blood on Cloud's sword. Macbeth let out another shriek seeing another unexpected visitor.
"Aieeee! Another one?! Who are you? How did you get past the soldiers?!"
Cloud saw no need to answer scumbag like Macbeth. Gantz' body was used to hide his face. Corrin was still able to catch a glimpse of who his next savior was. The prince fortunately did not whisper his name.
"I'll be taking the prince now."
"H-Huh? What?"
"Back off. Do you want me to kill you next?" Cloud asked as he pulled the buster sword out of Gantz' chest. He watched as Gantz fell to the floor with a large thump but unlike Gunther who died instantly, Gantz was roaring out in pain that was alerting the soldiers outside. Cloud was able to hide his face in the darkness to prevent Macbeth from getting a good look on who he was. "Move."
Macbeth had a plan, but it required letting Corrin go. Reluctantly, he let go of Corrin's arms causing the prince to rush away from Macbeth's side to the killer in front of him instead. Corrin was so desperate to be with anyone but Macbeth that he chose this crazy man.
"W-Who are you?! Are you from Hoshido? N-Nohr doesn't take these surprise attacks well at all!"
Corrin let out a gasp as Cloud immediately grabbed Corrin's shoulder and pulled him close while holding the buster sword in his other hand. Again, the prince felt his heart skip a beat realizing who his savior was by his scent.
"It can't be…you…"
"We'll talk later." Cloud muttered. "We leave."
"Wait!" Macbeth cried out seeing Cloud turn his back on the enemy. Before he could do anything, a powerful spell paralyzed him in place. He felt like he was losing air all around him. He let a pathetic sound escape his lips as he collapsed to his knees trying his very hardest to breath. This attack also hit the Nohr soldiers from outside, but it didn't affect Cloud or Corrin.
"You're taking your sweet time, prince charming." The witch could be heard teasing in the darkness as she opened up a small portal below the floor of the temple. "We leave through here."
"I need to get to that place though."
"Be happy that you will be warped near it. I do not need to be seen with you after what you done."
Bayonetta would not stop mocking Cloud for deciding to play hero to the prince yet again. The blond decided he needed to ignore her now and stepped through the portal with the prince still in arms. Bayonetta waited for them to leave first before she closed the portal. She decided to leave through unorthodox means and transformed into a crow that simply flew out of the temple and blended in with the darkness.
Macbeth was a wonderful liar. He could turn a situation not favoring him into one that does. Because so much noise was heard at the temple, it would not take long for Ryoma and Marx with their retainers to arrive together. They cast their differences aside to see what had gone on and were horrified at the scene before them. Bayonetta did indeed get bored in the short time it took for help to arrive so she had started shooting crow feathers that acted as daggers toward the Nohr soldiers that were ordered to guard the temple. Many of them were killed due to Bayonetta piercing a vital organ, but the rest of them were crying out in pain and screaming how there was a witch nearby. The princes and their retainers rushed inside the temple unaware that Bayonetta had lifted her spell. There, they came across Macbeth in a state of panic. Gunther was dead and Gantz was near death had it not been for Macbeth not caring a healing staff with him. Lazward was probably the only person that flinched at the corpse before him.
"Macbeth," Marx called out trying to keep his voice as calm as possible, "what has happened here?"
Macbeth was ready to cry wolf at this point. He would have groveled at the Nohr prince's feet had it not been for the Hoshido prince being near him. He groaned at how this wasn't a perfect scenario, but he would have to make do with the enemy being nearby.
"It was awful Prince Marx! That terrible mercenary scum that went by the name of Cloud Strife slaughtered as many soldiers as he could! He cut down Gunther and Gantz and then kidnapped the prince! I tried to help but there was this powerful magic holding me down! I was powerless to stop him from kidnapping the prince!"
Ryoma and Marx gasped at this news. Their big brother instincts were taking over instead of listening to his words and realizing that there was something wrong this statement. Marx was already furious with himself for not catching Cloud sooner. He was marked as a thief to make it seem like he was a lowly criminal but he was a mercenary that did any job handed to him, but killed his clients when they wouldn't pay him. Now, he was going for bigger things. By leaving him alone, Cloud felt confident to storm the palace now that the queen was dead and all the retainers gone to kidnap the prince. Gunther was slain by that man and Gantz was barely breathing had it not been for Macbeth healing him.
"…Pieri is ready to kill this Cloud person." Pieri hissed. She wasn't looking to happy but not for the reason Marx was angry.
"…So you didn't catch the thief after all." Ryoma couldn't help but mock. "I should have expected much."
"Damn you-"
"We don't have the time to be fighting over our differences. We need to join together and find Corrin before that psychopath kills him."
For once, Marx was in agreement with him. He could ignore being mocked for now. Corrin's life was on the line.
"What shall we do Lord Ryoma?" Saizo questioned as he was ready to accept orders from the prince of Hoshido.
"…Gather the troops. We need all the manpower we need to find this man and Corrin." Ryoma ordered. "Kagero, make sure you block off all entrances from Izumo to Hoshido. Secure all paths and find anyone suspicious.
"Understood." They both spoke as they vanished into the darkness.
"Lazward, I need you to stay behind and attend to the wounded with Macbeth." Marx ordered causing Lazward to grumble mentality at being left with the ugly tactician. "Pieri, please assist in moving the bodies. Do not make the situation worse and do not act until I give orders."
"Right!"
"But Pieri wants to know why we don't get to stop those at the Nohr border…"
"I am going to arrange a meeting with my father about this kidnapping." Marx explained. "The queen's assassination and the prince's kidnapping are linked together. We need a plan fast before this Cloud strike again."
"And I will accompany you." Ryoma told him. "I too will tell my father of the happenings. We cannot let this man get away."
The group wasted no time in doing their roles. Lazward suggested that Pieri help him lift Gantz from his location and get him to one of the guest rooms. They ordered Macbeth to assist and while he continued to heal Gantz from behind him, he couldn't help but smirk at how quickly they believed his story. The question was if he could trick all eight of the siblings and King Garon. After all, only after using some of his magic to identify the attack, he recognized it was indeed the same mercenary that Marx failed to arrest. This would be used to his advantage.
You won't get away. I will have my prince return to me soon.
And while all of this was happening, Bayonetta just smiled from a small perch before finally deciding to fly off. Things were finally going to get interesting for her now.
Me: TBC with 8169 words.
Li: And now Corrin is in the hands of the OT3.
Me: Shit may have hit the fan, but things are still going to get worse. Notes!
1. This is where I start asking my reviewers on who killed Mikoto with the evidence presented so far? Is it Garon, Sumeragi or someone else altogether trying to frame one or the other kings? It's not going to be that cliché even if you guys played Fates.
2. I didn't want to describe Tifa's appearance mainly because Cloud isn't looking at her when he's talking. He doesn't care, but when Corrin meets her later, there will be a description due to being introduced to her the first time.
3. You'll figure out who these odd people at the bar are later. Remember the first chapter of the story and then make a mental note of characters that can see the future or sense danger.
4. Gunther's death is reminiscent of the first part of the game where he dies by Gantz betraying him and Corrin. Unlike the main game, Gunther is very much dead here.
5. Macbeth could sense a powerful magician nearby. He can claim it's a witch but it could be anyone. We just know it's Bayonetta helping Cloud out.
That's it. Reviews are appreciated. Ja ne!