The Fall and Rise of Creed Diskence

An Alternate Universe Redemption Fic based on Yabuki Kentaro's Black Cat series
Black Cat and pretty near all the characters in this story belong to Yabuki Kentaro

Author's Forward:

I will be posting author's notes at my Live Journal (username: KosagiNoLegion), so as not to take up space here. Answers to any questions or comments and various trivia involved in creating this massive piece of fanfic will be posted there. As another note, after some backing and forthing with I think I've found a satisfactory voice change oOo with long line between major scenes. Oh, and if you'd review here, even if you discuss the fic on my LJ with me, it'd be really great. Thanks!


Intermezzo: Unknown

January 3rd, 2005

"The Hoshi are still a problem."

"I don't see that." The speaker toyed lightly with her weapon, fingers tracing the engravings in the silvery grey metal. "They've been entirely useless to us. Diskence alone has been a disaster."

"Diskence was an error in judgment on everyone's part. His grandfather's, Chronos', the Hoshi's... our own." The old man gazed down over the balcony where ranks of men and women were going thru their drills. "He's scarcely an issue now. The Hoshi are."

The woman shrugged, pale eyes watching the exercise with a critical air. "The Hoshi are a disorganized band of misfits. Diskence may have been an error in judgment but he kept them moving in the required direction at least. Now they wander around aimlessly, causing small troubles here and there." She shook her head. "Too bad the freak couldn't keep his mind on his work, instead of Train Heartnet's admittedly pretty hind end."

Her words caused the old man to choke slightly. There were times when his granddaughter's outspoken ways tended to made him wonder about her good sense. "I know nothing of that," he said finally. "Return to the subject." He watched one of the prisoners fall in a pool of blood and nodded to himself. It wasn't difficult, these days, to find live targets for his people to practice on. Whole regions of the world had turned to lawlessness, making it simple to capture dissidents. The Eldest of Chronos had much to answer for, allowing matters to get to this point and one day he was going to make that truth abundantly clear to the old fool.

"Very well. What, exactly, makes the Hoshi a problem?"

"They're becoming... difficult. They refused to involve themselves with that last raid."

She shrugged. "The attempt to capture the dinosaur? The one Diskence and that womanizing fool Janos interfered with?"

"Exactly. Had they sent even a few of their people to help there would have been no problem. They retain their misplaced loyalty to the fool. Worse, they seem to realize we've been using them. The puppets should not know where the strings are attached." He frowned deeply. If the Hoshi No Shito could manage to reorganize itself they'd be a true threat to his plans. They were the only ones with the Tao drug and the only ones with those damned nano-machines of the Doctor's. They needed to either be neutralized or brought into line with his organization. The latter, if possible. They could still be useful. He said as much.

"A simple solution. Find them a leader who will take our orders." She considered the matter. "Reports say that the one called Sheldon might be a possibility. Particularly since he had the sense to break with them when Diskence started to go off the deep end."

"Diskence has never been in the shallow end," he grumbled with asperity. "But, yes. I agree. Capture Sheldon and we may be able to turn him to our purposes."

She smiled, rising to her feet. One of the prisoners was running for the wall, having managed somehow to break the neck of his attacker. The sound of her weapon firing was a deafening explosion. "He cooperates or he dies," she stated, once they could hear again.

Down on the grounds, raw hamburger that used to be a human being puddle onto the stone floor. Business as usual.

To Be Continued...