Sweey: Well, it's good to be back! Just so you know, I won't be updating tomorrow! due to plumbing stuff and mario's fellow plumbers who aren't quite so famous. So cut me some cheese with your wine and throw me some reviews! I have two other stories that might interest you. They're about Thorn and Edge so if you're a fan go check em' out! ;D anyways this chapter is awesome. Lot's of witty retorts and epic sword play. Enjoy please and then review! ^_^
~Chapter 13 The Rules of this Game~
"My lord?" Customer Service's voice carried through the dark room like a lonely soul. "I bring word from Sergeant Ciran." He said from a lowered screen.
"Excellent, tell me, how has our friend faired?" Nightmare commanded, his deep voice rumbling like low thunder.
Customer Service nodded nervously. His eyes then studied what Nightmare was doing and realized the dark lord was playing chess. His eyes squinted behind his square shades as he tried to find out who he was playing against. Whoever it was was shrouded in the dense shadows of the room.
"Well?" Nightmare growled impatiently.
Customer Service stuttered a few times before finally finding the courage to answer. "Sergeant Ciran, the Satisan lord, has failed my lord."
Nightmare stood in furious silence as his eyes stared at a specific piece on the board. It was a little blue ball with purple feet and wings. A mask was over the ball's face and it held up a nail-like sword. Nightmare went to reach for it but it stabbed his finger. He yelled in irate anger and swiped his arm over the board sending the pieces flying about the room, many of which hit Customer Service.
Nightmare yelled at him, "Leave my presence! Leave me now!"
"As you wish my lord!" Customer service said scrambling for the button that would make his screen disappear from the room.
Nightmare sighed angrily and picked up the scattered pieces and placed them yet again upon the board. As his eyes once again studied the board, he became once again baffled by the extreme strategy of his opponent.
A mittened hand moved from the shadows and picked up one of Nightmare's pieces, moving it to the next square over.
"This was its rightful place my friend," a voice corrected.
Nightmare grinned and leaned back casually in his chair. "So Anduin, you finally decided to play by my rules." Nightmare could see him now, cloaked in shadow. Only his glowing red-pink eyes and their crude N-shaped scar could be seen. The rest of his opponent was concealed by the shadows.
"That is where you are wrong," Anduin's calm yet stern voice answered.
"Oh? But there is only one list of rules written for this game." Nightmare answered, overly confident with his achievements in the battle of wits.
"Yes… but there are also many different ways to play this game, numerous strategies to boggle the mind of your opponent." Anduin retorted smoothly as he pilfered one of Nightmare's black pawns.
Nightmare made his next move, thieving one of Anduin's white knights. He smiled as he watched his opponent, seemingly baffled by Nightmare's wisdom, stare at the empty space his white knight had once been.
Then an unnerving smile spread across Anduin's face, "A good move but a foolish one." He said as his mittened hand reached for his next move. He slid a pawn to the side thieving the little masked blue knight. "Looks like you're out of knights these days."
Nightmare sneered, "Well, you've just allowed me to unleash his replacement, who was born of the shadows." Even as he spoke, a shadow moved over the place where the little masked knight had once been, forming into a figure almost identical to the original masked knight.
Anduin studied this knew fiend. The masked knight's rich blue skin was replaced with a dark, gray blue. His purple feet were changed to the bloodiest red and his wings were as black as his master's heart.
"Oh Nightmare you never learn do you?" Anduin chuckled eerily. He made another quick move, thieving Nightmare's unprotected king, ending the game.
"H-how did you…?" Nightmare was cut off by the unmistakable deadly feeling of the cool blade of a knife. He looked over into the deadly eyes of Anduin. Chills ran up Nightmare's spine. He hadn't even seen or heard the Ivoian move from out of the shadows. He cursed himself for not paying better attention.
"This is the game of kings and you are no king," Anduin whispered, allowing his knife to inch its way closer to Nightmare's right eye. "Hmm… my name would make a terrible scar over your eye… A. I. T. Much more ugly than a sole N…" He casually flicked the knife away from Nightmare's eye and pointed it blade down. "I think I have made my point. I shall leave you hear to study my wit." He turned before he allowed Ali to cover him. "I will leave my mark on you Nightmare. Just you wait. It won't be a mere scar over your eye. No, you'll wish you had never been born!" With that Anduin disappeared from the room, leaving Nightmare to sit stiffly before the board. He was actually afraid of his old enemy. Nightmare knew that Anduin was capable of greater magic than he ever admitted and he wasn't about to get on the wrong end of the spear.
"Customer Service!" He screamed, his voice reaching a higher pitch than he had intended.
Customer Service busted into the room. "Yes my lord?"
"We go to the Mirror World!"
X
Erratima sighed. Meta had been gone for far too long, especially since it was only an assassination.
"Erratima!" Bayangan yelled.
Erratima rolled his eyes and growled. He didn't want to go back to that filth.
"ERRATIMA!"
"Meh…" he said as he arrived to Bayangan's study. The room was rightfully Meta's, not the filthy traitors.
"Bet me a glass of wine." Bayangan ordered, his eyes never leaving the map he held up to his face.
"Get you a glass of… WHAT?" Erratima exploded. He had had enough of this petty little looser-of-a general.
Arrowing glanced at him anxiously, only to receive an intense glare from Erratima.
Bayangan dropped his map from his eyes. "Is there a problem?"
"Yeah! There is! I am NOT your damn slave!" Erratima snapped, his face reddening with fury.
"Is that so? Well, I can fix that." Bayangan stood and drew out his blade.
An unsettling grin slid across Erratima's face as he unsheathed his claws from their sheaths at his side. "Come here and give me a hug you big baby!"
Bayangan growled and charged forward, heaving his blade down upon Erratima, only for it to be stopped by the warrior's right set of claws. With his free left hand, Erratima sliced Bayangan's arm, leaving a deep gash in it.
Bayangan writhed away in pain holding his bleeding arm.
"Had enough? Or are your thirsty still for your own blood to be spilled?" Erratima allowed his claws to run over each other. A sinister hissing of metal emitted from the clashing blades.
Bayangan growled and ran at Erratima again. This time though, Erratima flicked Bayangan's sword away then sliced Bayangan's foot one way down forming a bloody vertical line.
Bayangan threw yet another swing of his blade at Erratima but the warrior ducked and sliced his left set of claws deeply into Bayangan's foot forming three horizontal lines. Together, the two wounds formed a deep, bloody E on the general's blue foot.
Bayangan held up his blade and backed away.
"There, I've made my mark on you! That should satisfy your thirst for a while. Now, I have had enough of you!" Erratima turned and left the room, Arrowing trailing behind him.
"Why'd you do that?"
Erratima's eyes looked straight ahead as he spoke crossly, "I was sick of his childish drama. He's not so tough without his guards at his back."
"Where are you going now?" Arrowing wondered allowed.
"To have a chat with Nightmare…." Erratima growled in irritation.
"About what?"
The two looked behind themselves in shock. Nightmare stood tall above them. He too was walking to his throne room.
"About that buffoon you appointed general!" Erratima snapped irritably. His eyes rolled to the sky as he continued, "He's SUCH a baby! I feel like I'm babysitting 24/7! That's his job!" He gestured angrily to Customer Service.
"Oh don't worry, I'm appointing Meta Knightmare as general again." Nightmare grinned.
"He's back?" Arrowing asked in delighted shock.
"Yes, he is." Nightmare grinned. His face then grew stern. "He has changed in appearance, so don't act surprised."
Erratima threw his arms up in a gesture of carefree bliss." Who cares what he looks like! He's back! Where is he?" he asked grinning.
"He's in the dining hall," Nightmare informed them. "He's very-" He was cut off by the sound of flapping wings as the two darted off towards the dining hall. Nightmare shrugged then continued on to his throne room.
X
Meta Knightmare sat at the table, gorging down the food before him. He was so hungry. Suddenly, someone appeared next to him. He slapped on his mask and drew out his silver, spiked sword.
"Meta!" Erratima laughed casually, "No need to be so defensive!"
"We know how awful assassinations are afterwards…" Arrowing chuckled. "Relax!"
Meta's red eyes glared at the two before him.
Erratima's smile faded as he stared into the crimson eyes of his friend. "What's with you?"
"I have changed… Nightmare has made me reborn." Meta said simply.
"No duh." Arrowing whispered to Erratima. Then the two warriors watched in befuddlement as their friend slipped off his once permanent mask and began to once again scarf down the food laid out before him.
Erratima and Arrowing glanced at each other, scowling in suspicion over their friend.
Erratima leaned forward, "Exactly who are you?"
Meta looked at him unmoved by the sudden question. "I am Meta Knightmare. Do you not recognize me?"
Erratima studied his old friend with growing misgiving. Meta's once rich, blue skin was now a dark, blue-gray and his purple feet had turned to the bloodiest red. Even his cape seemed to have changed. It was tattered and threadbare and its blue silk had been dyed black. Not only that, but the mask was no longer welded to his face.
"Since when have you been able to take off your mask?" Erratima demanded flatly.
"Since when did you ask so many questions?" Meta growled.
"Since I realized my friend was questionable." Erratima retorted harshly.
Meta's teeth clenched then he let the anger subside and began to once again devour the meal before him.
Arrowing and Erratima exchanged skeptical glances. They then sat down on either side of their old friend, looking at him intensely.
"You're not Meta… are you?" Arrowing said.
Meta glared daggers at him. "Are you questioning my authority?"
"-Wait what?" Arrowing threw a confused glance at Erratima who replied with a small shrug. He turned back to the glaring knight in front of him. "We aren't questioning your authority sir." Arrowing said respectfully.
"I see…" Meta said, his voice reaching depths the two had never heard before.
The two watched at Meta patted his mouth with a cloth napkin then slid from his chair.
"Come; let us deal with this Bayangan of ours, shall we?"
Erratima allowed a cruel smile of satisfaction spread across his face. "Now that's more like it!" He murmured to Arrowing as they followed behind their leader.
Arrowing though, wasn't so sure about this 'new' Meta….
X
Bayangan sat quietly at his desk. His fingers shifted from one scroll to another. When he finally found what he was looking for he dropped all the other papers and focused wholly on the parchment in his hand.
It was an old letter to Nightmare.
Bayangan's eyes danced through the words as he read it. Gradually they widened as he reached the end of the long design of sentences.
'Lord Nightmare,
I found curious new planets with the chemicals needed in the creation of Sir Hendon. It will be most pleasing to see him suffer! The fool! He thought that we share power! He made a deadly mistake.
I also discovered something else. The fire king, ruler of the people of light, has crafted an almighty sword named Galaxia. Its blade houses the power to control the universe, even bend time to the bearer's will. I know you crave for this blade already, even as you read this letter, but I was unable to do so alone but perhaps we could send Hendon there to retrieve it before he undergoes his metamorphosis that Sipholix shall perform. And if this is the flaming sword of the prophecy, then we must cease the light of Hendon's child. I would be honored to carry this task out for your majesty's delight.
Sir Anduin Isan Thorn'
Quickly, Bayangan slipped the old letter into his pouch. He had all he needed. Now, time to escape this wretched place.
Hastily, Bayangan slipped out of the door, only to come face to face with the three warriors.
"Going somewhere?" Meta Knightmare asked.
"As a matter of fact, yes!" Bayangan answered snappily as he inched away from harm.
And where might that be, general?" Meta demanded casually.
"To deliver a message to Lord Nightmare," Bayangan explained.
"Since when did he do the delivering?" Erratima whispered to Arrowing from the corner of his mouth.
Apparently, Meta had heard. He rushed forward cornering Bayangan with his blade drawn.
"So what exactly is this message?"
"It's classified! Now get your filthy paws off of me!" Bayangan growled, shoving the masked knight away.
But Meta had had enough. He grabbed Bayangan by his collar and thrust him into the air, slapping him away with the flat side of his sword's blade. He watched as the former general flew down the hall and tumbled down the flight of stairs below. Grunting with satisfaction, Meta turned and stepped into the study.
He glanced up at Erratima and Arrowing as they stepped forward to follow him.
"Please, I want to be alone."
"But you just got back!" Erratima protested.
"Meta?"
The three turned to the beaming face of Kikio. She rushed up to Meta and embraced him.
"Oh, I thought you'd never return!"
Erratima glanced at Arrowing who was blushing with jealousy then back to the puzzled Meta.
"My lady…?" was all the masked knight could manage to say as Kikio kissed his cheek. He grunted then left to his study in a rush, the door slamming behind him.
Kikio looked after him in hurt and confusion. It was Arrowing who brought her back to reality. She felt a hand over hers and her eyes lifted to the steady gaze of Arrowing. Suddenly, she found herself lost in them.
"Meta has changed Kikio…" Arrowing's eyes revealed their grief.
Kikio threw a glance at the once always emotionless Erratima. He too was disheartened by Meta's new found behavior.
Hastily she withdrew from Arrowing and ran down the hall, tears stinging her eyes. She couldn't believe it.
"Kikio! Wait!" Arrowing was cut off by the slamming door in his face. Rapidly Arrowing turned to go down the stairs but something that caught his eye stopped him. It was an old letter. He lifted it to inspect and as he registered what it said his eyes widened. This letter changed everything.
Sweey: OMG! What's going to happen next! What's going to happen and who's gonna reveal the truth to Erratima, Kikio, and Venton….. and why is Meta acting so strange? (duh) anyways drop me a review and if you're a fan of Edge and Thorn, check out my other two stories: Joyful Mourning and The Master and His Shadow. Drop me some reviews and I'll be glad to return the favor! :D later gators!
