Series: World of Fusion||Title: War of the Undead
Characters: Asuka, Ryou, Assassin, Noble D'Noir, Immortal Ruler||Ship: N/A
Chapters: 18-50||Chapter Words: 3,015||Total Words: 55,180
Genre: Drama, Supernatural||Rated: PG
Challenges: Diversity Writing, GX: Fused World, L2, 2000-6000 wpc; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #19, rebel; Include The Word, #47, multipy; Chapter Set Boot Camp, #24, 50 chapters; Advent 2015-2016, GX, bonus #1: roll for fic length: between 100,000-200,000 words; Christmas Advent 2017, New Year's Special, start a new fic and update it once a week; Epic Masterclass, YGO GX, #4, AU Space
Notes: Same universe as Raised To His Word but featuring other characters. A little backstory will appear as well. Also, the character notes up top here will change depending on who is involved in each chapter.
Summary: The first strike in war involves doing as much damage as you possibly can – such as taking one of your enemy's strongest warriors and using him to get the strongest weapons. Ryou never thought he'd enjoy being a vampire but this is a whole new level. Perhaps it's a good thing he has a teacher and some new friends to help him out.
Asuka kept up with them. Ryou wasn't certain of how but he suspected whatever magics imbued her cloak also had something to do with it. Or at least the cloak concealed what those magics might be. That meant that he could catch her up on what was going on – what he knew about what was going on – without losing that much ground.
"So Theron is searching for something to keep your powers in check," Asuka mused, her strides perhaps not quite as long as Ryou's but still keeping up. Her lips twisted into an expression that wasn't a smile. "I was told that he hadn't captured you yet and to be certain if he did, to have you brought to Zombie Master."
Ryou's fingers flexed and he looked forward to finding a stream that he could take the time to wash himself in. The remains of zombies were never pleasant to get rid of, but often necessary.
"What are you going to do?"
Asuka didn't answer right away. When she did, her words were thoughtful. "I'll watch him for now but I won't turn you over to them." Her eyes hardened with every word she spoke. "I know they hate Camula. I'm not giving them something they can hurt someone else. Especially not you."
Assassin's gaze flickered between the two of them, the tiniest of tilts to his head. Ryou could see the confusion there but said nothing. He had much more on his mind to deal with.
"Where are you going?" Asuka asked, turning her gaze to their surroundings. They'd made it through the forested area and now the plains lay before them, swift running and somewhere ahead, a fountain that Ryou hoped would hold friends.
He gestured ahead. "Have you seen a walled fountain?"
"I saw a walled area," Asuka agreed with a nod of her head. 'But I didn't stop there. I was trying to make the mountains as fast as I could."
"Which way?" He trusted Assassin only for certain things. He hadn't yet decided if giving accurate directions would be included in those. Asuka, on the other hand, he trusted somewhat more.
Asuka turned her attention out to the plains, then nodded in the way they were going. "This way. We're on the right track for it."
He cast a glance towards Assassin, who agreed with a quick tilt of his own head. If need be, he knew he could abandon them both to find his way on his own. For now, he wouldn't.
For a few more minutes they kept on going, until Ryou expressed the thought that flickered in the back of his head almost since the moment he'd realized who they'd encountered.
"The last that I'd heard, you'd fostered with the Amazons. Fubuki told me when I saw him last that you took up being a mercenary."
Asuka's lips twitched for a second. "I did. It pays the bills." She shrugged. "I haven't seen Fubuki for a while. I should send him a letter."
"He's traveling. He claims that he's a modern day bard." Ryou smiled a touch at the memory of the last time they'd crossed paths. Fubuki spent a great deal of time traveling and he made a note to let him talk to Samejima at his first opportunity. The old man would appreciate someone who could memorize all of the stories of the world that had been.
Thoughts of Fubuki inexorably led to thoughts of Fujiwara Yuusuke, which sparked a soft glow of warmth in what had once been his beating heart. Being a vampire – especially a turned one – didn't really lend itself to thoughts of romance very often, but there were occasionally moments. He looked forward to the next time he would be able to speak to the shadow mage. Perhaps he'd see if he could get Yuusuke's help to getting this situation sorted out.
Then another thought occurred, that had nothing to do with Yuusuke. "Asuka," he said, picking out his words with care, "is Zombie Master the one controlling this situation?" He knew Theron wasn't. This was too widespread for such a small-minded fool. Though he strongly suspected that Theron wanted to be a lot more relevant than he was.
"I can't be sure," Asuka replied at once. "I honestly haven't heard much about what's going on to start with. I think that's why they hired me. Someone who didn't know about anything Theron had in mind."
He had to hope that her differing loyalties wouldn't affect her future job prospects. He made a note at once to see to it that it didn't. Perhaps she'd like to meet Captain Tesni. The two would make fine sparring partners, if nothing else.
Assassin politely cleared his throat. "There." He indicated with a jerk of his head and Ryou saw what he meant on the horizon. At first he couldn't tell it apart from a few other stands of woodlands, but the closer they grew, the more that particular area became well defined as a set of walls instead of trees. Even at this range, he could sense the wards, strong and well maintained and old. Older than the Great Fusion, he realized. He couldn't pin down a specific span of time, but he wondered if those wards could be older than Camula and Ruthven themselves.
At this distance the wards did nothing to him. But as they grew closer, he could feel them tingling against his skin, brushing through the parts of him that were undead – which was all of him.
The closer they got, the more Ryou could see. The walls rose up high, shining pale in the starlight, and they circled around until they saw the gates. They saw something else as well – a great dragon that lay curled outside the gates, nose touching to tail, quietly breathing, perhaps taking a nap.
Ryou hadn't ever seen a dragon before, at least not like this. He'd seen his Cyber Dragons plenty of times, but not a dragon of flesh and blood. As they came closer, the dragon raised up a spiked head and turned glowing coal like eyes on them.
"Who are you?" The dragon leaned forward to sniff. "Oh. You're a vampire."
Ryou came to a halt, crossing his arms over his chest as he did. "I am. Is this the holy fountain?"
"Yes, it is," the dragon breathed in again. "Two humans and a vampire. Are you the student of Samejima that he worries about?"
Ryou tensed at once, fingers tightening into fists. "I suppose I am. Is he here?"
"He's asleep right now. They all are – it's very late, you know." Again the dragon leaned forward, eyes darting from one to another of them. "You won't be able to enter the fountain's walls until dawn. Perhaps not even then. They have many tasks to start at dawn, to settle this war as quickly as they can."
Ryou wasn't much for breathing in relief but he did so now anyway. "What are they planning to do?"
The dragon didn't answer right away. Instead, he stared thoughtfully at the three of them. "Why should I tell you? I know who you are – or who you say you are. But who are these two? I'd rather not tell secrets that you have no need to know."
Ryou gesture to Assassin. "This is Assassin. He is my – companion and guard for now." He nodded towards Asuka. "This is Asuka, an old friend of mine from when we were children together. I am Marufuji Ryou – student of Samejima and Childe of Lady Camula and Lord Ruthven."
Assassin stepped forward. "You may address me as Assassin, of the Clan of the same name. I've been paid to guard the vampire Ryou and will allow no harm to come to him."
Asuka moved up on Ryou's other side. She met the dragon's eyes as if she'd encountered creatures like this every day of her life, not a trace of fear or worry. There were few indeed who could gaze at a dragon like that. He wondered how some others he knew would react to this.
"Tenjoin Asuka, known among my Amazon Clan as Amazon Warrior, a mercenary by trade, hired to observe events by a fool who will be getting far more than he bargains with once I learn what I can of what's really going on in this war."
The dragon observed each one of them, eyes moving from person to person, gazing deep into their eyes before going on to the next. Ryou thought that he looked far more satisfied than he had before. "I still can't open the gates for you. Only Izumi or Sierra can do that, and they're asleep right now. However, I can provide a safe place for you to stay if you're still here at sunrise, until you can get inside."
Ryou shook his head. "I can't stay that long." All the orders that he had – which he was compelled to obey regardless of his personal desires- pulled him back to that cave the closer it grew to sunrise. To add to that, he didn't want to wake them up. Whatever they had in mind – whoever it was – they would need all of their rest to deal with this war. The other two couldn't stay either; they both had to remain with him. He glanced to the set of the stars, feeling so much energy washing away as he realized all over again how far apart he stood from the people he'd once lived with. The simple cycle of day and night kept them apart now.
He made up his mind. "Will you send them a message for me, then? I have a diamond in my possession that you can have for it." Dragons adored treasure, he knew, and he'd received this in trade a few months earlier. He had little need for it, at least until now.
The dragon leaned forward, a rush of warm air crossing Ryou as the great beast breathed in interest. "And what might this message be?"
Noble D'Noir strolled into the throne room, trying not to breathe very hard. That wasn't much of a problem, since he didn't need to breathe to start with. He simply went out of his way to ensue that everyone around knew he wasn't breathing right now.
After all, he hated being surrounded by zombies, and what else would he find in the court of the greatest zombie monarch than plenty of zombies.
This person here was to Zombie Master what Zombie Master was to many of the lesser zombies. Rumor had it that it was this one who had raised Zombie Master himself, long and long ago, long before the Great Fusion.
Noble D'Noir's lip curled at the thought of that travesty. He'd worked toward his goal for nearly a thousand years before Brron produced his Super Fusion and changed the destinies of the twelve dimensions for all time. If Noble D'Noir could, he would gladly have laid Brron's throat bare to the bone.
He hadn't exactly given up the thought, if it came to that. But first he wanted a great deal more force to wield. He'd made plans that involved Brron's two adopted children. How the old fool would react to see them bled dry and biting, Noble D'Noir's children instead of his -
Well, that thought sweetened the vampire's dreams for over ten years now. He would find a way to bring it to fruition.
But that would come later. After he'd settled this little situation between the zombies and vampires.
He strolled his way across the faintly molding pale red carpet that led to where Immortal Ruler sat on his throne. Everything to do with zombies had a strong tendency to rot, which made Noble D'Noir all the more pleased that in his case, breathing was optional. He really didn't know how the living necromancers could accept such stench.
But then he stood before the zombie monarch and tilted his head in the gesture common to rulers. "So wonderful to see you again, old friend," he purred. "I've quite been anticipating my return to your lovely halls."
Immortal Ruler turned his skeletal head towards him. IF there had been flesh on his skin, Noble D'Noir suspected there would have been a true expression of mocking there. The zombie did his best even without that.
"What do you want?" He rasped out, the words shaped by magic instead of a tongue that he didn't possess. Noble D'Noir waved one hand casually.
"I just wanted to inform you that matters are going on as we expect. Theron is being an absolute idiot who thinks that he can command a true vampire child of Camula and Ruthven without them ending up sharing his blood and probably burning him at the stake later. Zombie Master still thinks that he's in charge. I don't suppose you intend to tell him otherwise?"
Immortal Ruler made a sound that could have been a laugh if it came from lungs that worked. "Why would I? He's more useful when he thinks that he's working for himself." Now he bent his attention more thoroughly onto Noble D'Noir. "I will presume that your plans are also going as you wish."
"They are, they are," Noble D'Noir gestured and a chair that had been set against the far wall scampered over to him. He dusted it off before settling down; he used this chair whenever he visited Immortal Ruler and he knew very well that all of the zombies here were under orders not to touch it. But he always checked for filth before he sat down in it. Better safe than sorry in his opinion.
He tilted his head back in thought. "I have Theron's death already arranged for. He'll be useful for a while yet and he won't see what I have planned coming. He's too arrogant, and too busy right now." A little breath of a chuckle slipped through his lips. "But my plans don't require him."
He leaned forward. "I do have something that I will require a little assistance of yours for, however."
"Speak." Immortal Ruler gave him a careful look. "And speak quickly."
"Why, it's not like either of us is going to die any time soon," Noble D'Noir pointed out before he started to dig into his cloak. He produced a dueling deck with an elaborate flourish, presenting it to Immortal Ruler. "I took this off of a dead body. It belongs, however, to that spawn of Camula's."
Immortal Ruler gave it a look. "A deck with strong spirits," he acknowledged, mot moving to touch it. Anyone with eyes – and some without – could tell very clearly that the Cyber Dragons weren't happy at all. Without Ryou there they couldn't properly manifest but their rage glowed clear regardless.
"And I want it taken back to where Camula and Ruthven can find it. Or some servant of theirs; I'm not that particular. I want them to know that their precious Child doesn't have his deck anymore. I would prefer they found it in the grip of one of your lesser zombies." He tapped a finger on the side of his face. "I believe there's a nice thriving zombie spirit village a fair distance that way?" He gestured with his free hand; the place that he had in mind would be miles of travel away from Ryou's proper range. That would throw another veil of confusion to those who found the deck.
"Of course there are. There are several." Immortal Ruler gave him another one of those looks.
Noble D'Noir lounged backwards in his chair. It really needed to be properly reupholstered and possibly a few cushions added. Or even remade into a proper throne. Eventually, he reassured himself. "Well, pick one of them. Send someone towards Camula's place. I doubt they'll get there in one piece so make sure it isn't someone that you want back." He snickered. "I'd suggest Zombie Master but I don't think that would work very well."
Immortal Ruler took the deck and flickered through the cards curiously. Unlike his head, his hands contained skin and muscle – though it was pale green skin, which Noble D'Noir didn't think belonged to many people. He hadn't yet decided if he counted Immortal Ruler as people, though. Useful – but not people.
"Strong spirits indeed," he murmured, before he gestured to one of his servants – a red and white fox creature that bore nine magnificent tails. "Take this away. I'll decide who to give it to later." He turned another look towards Noble D'Noir. "You need not know who."
Noble D'Noir just waved one casual hand. "Of course." It would be far better if he didn't. Questions could be so cumbersome, especially ones that he didn't already have the answers set out to. "Now, are you going to offer me a meal or do I have to go hunt one for myself?" As if he'd hunt anywhere in the realm of zombies. They never kept any good food around and even if they'd tried, it would have mildewed within the first few days. Zombies ate the living. They didn't feel a need to tend to anything for their own.
Which was, of course, why they would never be a force in this new world, and had once had only a small part of one of the dimensions to themselves. They'd served many different rulers across the dimensions and only in the last handful of years had they begun to carve a realm of their own.
Noble D'Noir didn't intend to let that last for long. Zombies shouldn't get above themselves. So he would see to it they led themselves to their own downfall and that would lead to his own victory over Camula and Ruthven – and then Brron, and whatever other realm rulers he could dominate. If he couldn't rule the entire world, then he'd rule the most significant portion of it that he could, and he would do it for the rest of his extremely long existence.
To Be Continued
Notes: Next chapter we go back to Shou and Theron. I have Plans – that may take a while to come out because of Things I will explain in chapter 19's notes.