"You must choose."
A tall figure walked slowly down the street. It was raining heavily, and he could barely see twenty feet in front of him. His glasses were fogged over, and his blonde hair was dripping in front of his face.
"You've turned your back on our laws and ideals."
His heart was thundering in his chest as he moved, every single step seeming to strain him.
"You've walked a selfish path over the true one."
As he stomped slowly through the rain, the man came upon a woman in a torn red dress, with flowing black hair that was splayed on the ground, and bright pink eyes staring fearfully up at the man as he approached. Her legs were bound, and her knees were scraped and bloody.
"You must choose."
The man stopped, standing over the woman, both holding each other's gaze for several long moments. His eyes began to well with tears as a deep blue glow began to emanate from his fist.
"You must choose. Her… or the Messiah."
...
"Dadda!"
The man had entered a small house, rain still pouring down outside. A little girl, no older than two, sat on the floor, a toy barbie doll in her hand, an elderly woman sitting on a chair nearby, knitting. "Johnny, you're back!" The woman greeted, squinting through her thick glasses at him. "Thank you for watching after her, Ms. Juniper. You can go home now." The man replied, scooping up the little girl into his arms, tears still running down his face. Ms. Juniper stood up slowly, staring at him. He held her gaze for a moment, before she spoke. "My God… they made you do it." She breathed, and Johnny turned away, closing his eyes tightly as he hugged his daughter close to him. "Please. Ms. Juniper. Go home."
"...I hope you're doing the right thing, son." Ms. Juniper placed a hand on Johnny's back, staring pitifully at him, before turning and walking out into the storm.
"Dadda!" The little girl called happily again, placing her hand on her father's face and rubbing his stubble. He smiled sadly at her. "I'm so sorry, Trinity…" He muttered. "My little girl, I'm…" He couldn't speak anymore, tears flowing down his cheeks, before he turned, and walked out of the door, following Ms. Juniper into the rain, leaving behind a small, circular device on the floor. Once he was a distance away, Johnny flicked his wrist, his hand glowing blue, before the device went off, and the home erupted in a brilliant explosion.
He stared at it for a moment as his daughter cried into his shoulder, holding him tightly, terrified from the explosion. As the sounds of sirens neared, he turned and walked away, the only thing going through his mind was how much he knew he would regret this.
Tap... tap... tap...
The sound of a pen clicking against wood over and over again could be heard echoing through the otherwise dead silent chamber that Trickster called her own. The purple haired assassin was seated at her desk on the wall adjacent to the door; her bedroom was nothing extravagant, though she had requested a king sized bed upon first moving in, which stood out like a sore thumb.
"Where could you be..." Trixie whispered under her breath, a red pen in her hand, a massive map of Voxis city before her. It took up the entire surface of the large mahogany desk, and on it, several buildings were circled, some crossed off.
Magnum had to be at one of these locations.
And yet... no luck so far.
Many of the circled buildings were crossed out in red ink, meaning she'd already personally checked out the entire premises, and nothing.
All that remained was Voxis City Police Department, the cells specifically, and the Laboratory owned by the monster known as Alphys. Obviously there were still hundreds of other places to search, but these last two were the ones she'd deemed most likely.
"...you're always in the last place I look, aren't you, Mag?" the girl chuckled under her breath- before letting out a sigh, burying her face in her hands.
Ever since Magnum disappeared, most of Trixie's time had been spent this way.
Sitting alone in the dark, or out searching for her. They always had each other's backs. Always. She felt almost naked without Magnum. Almost... lost. Like her only lifeline had been pulled out of her grasp and she was left struggling to find it. The big boss was plenty happy with her obsessive searching, as Magnum was his daughter and he was far too busy to search for her himself.
She tapped away at the map again, before biting on the end of the pen, trying to decide which place to visit. Their contacts in the VCPD hadn't mentioned any recent arrests made by the Undyne monster, but that didn't mean Magnum couldn't be there...
She let out a strained sigh. Things with the Messiah had been hectic since their final attack, which had completely failed. Raptor had been killed, according to Warmth, making their numbers just that much smaller, and Truck had been punished severely for turning against his own men. The poor guy was still chained up with a beaten, unrecognizable face. She couldn't bear to look at him when passing the front entrance, which was where he was chained.
She leaned back in her chair; Trickster felt completely and totally alone right now. Warmth hardly gave a damn about what happened to Magnum and Raptor- ever since his attack had failed, he claimed to be working on something 'extravagant,' and the rest of the Messiah hadn't seen much of him lately. Truck was obviously a little... preoccupied with his punishment. Minerva was dead. The leaders were far too busy to get involved...
The words Krashna had said to her regarding Magnum's situation still tore away at her heartstrings.
"It makes no difference to me whether she's dead or not," the boy had said with no remorse or hesitation. "You let yourselves get too close. You should have been prepared to lose her from the beginning."
She could still remember the days when she, Magnum, and Krashna had been close; like siblings, almost. That white haired kid had been so kind, and gentle, even when he was being trained and trained until his bones broke...
But then he'd become a leader. And then their trio became a duo.
And then everything changed, forever.
And now it was changing even more.
Now... Trixie was alone.
"I'll find you, Mag." She swore under her breath, tapping once more on the laboratory, making up her mind and quickly springing off her bed. With a destination in mind, she set out, making her way out of her room into a lengthy hallway, where several men and women milled, talking quietly amongst themselves. She knew what was being discussed. The failures the Messiah had suffered recently. The crumbling faith in the Messiah. She had her own doubts, and paid their conversations no mind, even as they fell silent when she passed. Had she been anybody else, Nikolai perhaps, she would have been far less forgiving.
Trickster made her way out of the hall and into the entryway, averting her gaze from the back wall and hurrying toward the elevator, before a voice called out to her. "Tricky!"
She stopped short, biting her lip as Truck continued. "Tricky! Hey, Tricky!"
As much as it made her stomach turn to see Truck when his face was rearranged, Trixie slowly turned to fix her gaze on him, almost immediately regretting it.
Frankly, it was one of the most depressing sights she'd ever seen in her life. The chains, the bloodied and beaten body they were attached to...
She wondered how he managed to stay so loud and enthusiastic.
"Yes, Truck?"
"I wanted to say hi!" He smiled at her, wincing with the effort. "Hi, Truck." She pursed her lips, about to continue on her way before he spoke again. "Also, could you get me water please? I'm really thirsty."
She paused, staring pitifully at him as he gave her a hopeful smile. It wasn't her place to help him in any way, and she herself could be punished severely for doing anything to him or for him. It made her feel bad, but Magnum was her priority, and she couldn't save her if she was chained up right alongside Truck. "Sorry, pal. I'm busy." She told him, watching as his face fell. "Oh... that's okay..." He replied. "Have fun!"
"Yeah, I'll try," Trickster nodded, turning away from Truck and continuing down the hall.
She was going to pay a visit to the laboratory, and then perhaps the department... or maybe it would be wisest to check out the police department first, as unlikely as it seemed that Magnum would be there.
If she planned on visiting Alphys, Trixie would need a disguise, as she wasn't certain how much information the scientist would have on the Messiah by now. It was too risky. Maybe she'd just scout it out for now to figure out the ideal appearance to take...
A terrible tune echoed through the detention center beneath Alphys' lab. It had no rhythm or... well, anything to it. The person making the music was Magnum, who was leaned against the wall of the cell she shared with Raptor, who was lying on the ground with a pillow over his head, a transparent barrier of energy acting as their door, disallowing their escape. She held a harmonica in her hands, playing random tunes and shifting it about.
Magnum eyed her cellmate of sorts as she continued to badly play the instrument- he hadn't moved or said anything for hours, aside from rolling a bit to grab the pillow so he could try to ignore her. Something was up; usually, he would have lashed out by now.
"What's eating you?" Magnum questioned, taking a brief pause.
For a few seconds, Raptor said nothing; but then, one word escaped from under the pillow.
"...realization."
It wasn't a response she'd been expecting, and she lowered the harmonica Alphys had given her for entertainment. "Oh. Uh... what kind of realization? Like the 'we're totally dead' realization or the 'man Alphys is weirdly nice' realization?"
"If Alphys was nice, she wouldn't be having you torture me with that thing," Raptor jabbed, slowly sliding the pillow away from his face so his voice wouldn't be too muffled to understand. "What I mean is- I'm screwed. Like... completely."
"What do you mean? Aren't we both screwed?" Magnum raised an eyebrow.
"Nah. You're probably gonna be fine," Raptor shook his head. "The Messiah can't kill you. You're the big man's kid. But the rest of the lieutenants... I mean, usually, when we get replaced, it's because the last guy messed up and the leaders eliminated him."
"Come on, it's not that bad."
"That's easy for you to say- I don't have any options. I've screwed up twice now- if they find me, I'm a dead man. I can't exactly run away, either- I mean, where would I even live? Would a guy with feathers and scales even be able to fit in anywhere?"
"Yeah... I see what you mean. But maybe you're too paranoid," Magnum suggested, playing a squeaky note on the harmonica.
Raptor rolled his eyes, turning over and slamming the pillow back down over his head as Magnum stared at the harmonica in interest, before folding her arms and sliding down the wall into a seated position. "Look, if it makes you feel any better... I'll do what I can to vouch for you." She offered. "You're right, I'm the big man's kid. I have a lot of say. I could keep you out of trouble. Besides, it's sort of Warmth's fault you got captured, isn't it?"
"...why would you vouch for me?" Raptor questioned.
"We're friends, aren't we? Isn't that a good enough reason?"
"...it should be, but you and I both know how the leaders are. You can only influence their choices so much... as for Warmth? I wouldn't be surprised if he twisted the story around to show himself in a better light. Wouldn't blame him, either."
"Can you at least try to be optimistic?" Magnum suggested. "C'mon, look at the positives. We're safe for now, aren't we? You get to chill down here with musical entertainment-"
"Don't remind me."
"-we have a nice lady taking care of us, and let's face it, the leaders aren't totally incapable of reason."
"...I guess."
"So can you stand to be a teensy bit more positive, then?"
"...I can try. But no promises."
"I'll take it." Magnum shrugged, satisfied, and began to play her harmonica again. Almost immediately, the sound of an engine running could be heard, and the elevator at the far end of the block opened up, Alphys stepping out, pushing a trolley.
"I h-hope you're okay with ramen, I gave the last of the burritos to you last night..." Alphys stated, and Magnum stood back up, staring at the lizard monster in interest, but said nothing.
On the trolley was two bowls of ramen- not the real stuff, but Alphys had done her best to at least dump some nutritional value into what was otherwise a bowl of boiled sodium. Each one had a few veggies, along with a boiled egg, enough to fill the two prisoners up for the night.
"Thanks, Alphys." Magnum replied, to which the monster smiled nervously in reply, and set the bowls on the ground, before sliding them through the energy barrier, which was a one-way trip. Things could come in, but couldn't come out. The dishes and silverware were all disposable, and the room had its own trash can (though it was beginning to smell, making Magnum wonder what Alphys planned to do about it if opening the barrier still wasn't an option).
"I-If you need anything, I'll be... you can..." She gestured to the ceiling. "I... just... shout, or something..." She turned around awkwardly and returned to the elevator.
Once the door had closed leaving the two lieutenants alone, Raptor lifted the pillow, turning to look at Magnum. "Thanks, Alphys?" He asked, almost tauntingly. "Why are you trying to mooch on her?"
"She's been good to us, what are you talking about?" Magnum folded her arms.
"It doesn't matter how nice to us she is, she's still keeping us down here- like animals."
"To be fair, imagine what that fish monster would do if she didn't keep us down here. And Alphys would have to deal with her."
"...touché."
"Not to mention if the roles were reversed, the Messiah would be doing WAY worse."
"You've made your point."
"Besides, this just proves to me what I've been thinking all along." Magnum added, sitting down and scooting her bowl toward her. "What's that?" Raptor asked with feigning interest. "Not all monsters are bad." The girl stated. "Honestly, they're not that different from us."
"Bad train of thought for the heir of the Messiah." Raptor narrowed his eyes, glaring at Magnum, who slurped up some noodles with a shrug. "Maybe it's time I thought for myself."
"Another bad train of thought for the heir of the Messiah," Raptor sighed. "Listen, I'm not trying to be an ass here, really. I'm just trying to make sure you don't get yourself into hot water with your dad."
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. What do you think's going to happen if you go back to him with all these newfound ideals about good monsters?"
Magnum bit her lip. "...maybe I don't have to go back to him."
Raptor nearly choked on his noodles. After a coughing fit, he looked at her with watering eyes, clicking the talons of his left hand anxiously. "What are you talking about?" Magnum pursed her lips, about to take another bite, before setting the fork down and sighing. "Has it at all crossed your mind that... maybe we're the ones who're wrong?"
"Wrong how?" Raptor questioned, and Magnum bit down her tongue for a moment. "I mean... okay, so... I asked you a while back why we were killing them. Why we were so afraid of them. You told me because they were different. Because they post a threat to humanity." She paused, and raised her arms. "So why haven't they threatened the well-being of humanity? I mean, from what I can tell they've been... productive. Helpful. I know I sound like a deserter, or a traitor right now but... I don't know how much longer I can keep fighting for something I've never even believed in. Something I never even wanted to fight for in the first place."
It felt like a world of worry had been lifted off her shoulders, as she'd finally admitted her true feelings, and in her opinion, it felt good being honest.
"...you're out of your mind," Raptor scoffed, nervously tapping his talons on the ground.
"I know you feel the same way I do," Magnum said, looking right at him, but he had his gaze fixed on the ground. "You've never had a reason to have faith in the Messiah."
Raptor said nothing, so Magnum continued.
"I get why you aren't agreeing with me. It's because you're scared. It's your trauma. You think they can always hear you, that they'll use or do anything to hurt you again. But maybe if we don't go back to them- they can't hurt us anymore."
Raptor scoffed at that, looking up to glare daggers at her, and she was surprised to see his eyes swimming with tears. "They'll always find a way. I learned that the hard way. You've had it easy, Magnum. I've had it hard. You haven't been forced to... you haven't... look at me! I'm a freak! All for their sick sense of humor or something! The Messiah... they..." His voice broke off, and he turned away. "If we run, they'll just chase us down until we have nowhere left to run. It's either stay or die. Or just die, in my case."
"Maybe... maybe there's a third option," Magnum suggested. "What if... we fought against the Messiah?"
Raptor clenched both his fists. "Has being locked up down here made you delusional?" he demanded. "No- I'm serious. After all that's happened, we know that the Messiah isn't unbeatable. All the lieutenants have failed so far against the enemy... well... except for Trixie, and-"
"It doesn't matter. The leaders are way stronger- I'll bet they could beat any monster in the city. And they have complete control over Voxis. The police department. Almost every single business. Land ownership. Everything is in their pockets. And that's just here, the rest of the world is just as much of a sandbox for them."
"Then don't you think they'd have won by now?" Magnum questioned, and Raptor took notice that she'd referred to the Messiah as 'they' and not 'we'. He paused. "You're... you're really serious about this, aren't you?"
"I've never been more serious. You know better than anyone else how... how evil the Messiah can be. How evil my dad can be. I'm tired of living this life that I have no control over, in fear of failure, and..." Her voice trailed off. "This isn't something I just suddenly decided. I've been thinking about this for a very long time. I know you have, too."
"Hmph."
"It's alright, you don't have to say it. I know you agree," Magnum said with absolute certainty- Raptor could try to hide it all he wanted. She knew that he felt the same way she did, but the difference was a lot deeper than her having extra protection from her father being the Messiah's leader. She'd only ever seen the Messiah hurt people; Raptor had experienced the pain firsthand. They'd ruined any chance he could ever possibly have of a normal life, and for what? So that he could fight for them. So that he could be a weapon.
"I'm sorry. I know it's hard for you to talk about this," Magnum sighed. "I just... I want things to change. Both of us deserve better. The world deserves better."
Raptor didn't say anything, instead falling completely silent as he stared at the wall, neglecting his noodles that he'd only taken a couple bites from. Magnum opted to leave it at that for now. He needed time to think, clearly, so she continued to eat her ramen in silence.
"No hidden cells? No out-of-the-way jailhouses? Anywhere Undyne would take somebody to lock them up?"
Trickster stood in Police Chief Dowary's office, and he was appearing flustered, sweating and adjusting his collar every now and again. "N-no ma'am." He replied. "I've been monitoring Officer Dhelaron heavily ever since she-"
"It's what she was doing before you started monitoring her that has me worried. Get back to work or whatever. The Messiah doesn't need you anymore right now." She waved her hand dismissively, and Dowary hurried to the door, opening it for her. "Of course, ma'am. Have a lovely day..."
Trickster was about ready to pull her hair out in frustration; what a waste of time... but on the bright side, she was certain that the next place on the list was where Magnum was. There was no other place she would be.
All her efforts would finally be worth it as soon as she found Magnum... And even if she wasn't at the laboratory, Trixie could always pay a visit to the skeleton responsible for her disappearance. "Mag... you really are always in the last place I look..."
On her way out the door, she bumped shoulders with a particular fish monster who was coming up the steps. The two briefly looked at each other, before continuing on their way, Trickster picking up her pace, and disappearing around the corner before Undyne did a double-take.
She was interrupted when "UNDYNE!" Was suddenly yelled from her boss in his office. With a groan, Undyne made a beeline for the door.
Trickster stared back at the police department for a moment, holding a walking stick as she stared through old wizened eyes and wiggled her spruce mustache, remaining in her disguise for a moment, before continuing on, deciding to keep the disguise for now.
Her next stop was obviously the laboratory, but the only issue was, she couldn't go in yet. Unlike the other places she'd visited, Alphys's place wasn't managed or monitored very closely by the Messiah, mostly due to it being a rather new facility, in addition to being funded by outside scientific communities.
Trickster had devised a plan- she'd sit outside the lab in disguise, pretend to be a harmless old man... and wait to see who dropped by the most. Wait to see who Alphys trusted without a doubt in her mind.
Then she would move in, and find Magnum.
"HYAH!"
A small fist collided with a much larger individual's chest. "Ocherednoy raz!" The larger person yelled. He was tall, towering over the white-blonde boy, with shaggy black hair and an unkempt beard. He was without a shirt, wearing only pants and a headband.
Krashna landed another punch to Nikolai's chest, who nodded in approval. "Ocherednoy raz!"
Another hit.
"Ocherednoy raz!"
Another.
"Ocherednoy raz!"
"Ocherednoy raz!"
"Ocherednoy raz!"
"Alright, enough." Krashna shook his head irritably, shaking his hand slightly. He was powerful, but Nikolai's steel defenses were practically impossible to break, which made him a much better training dummy than anything humanity could conjure up, not to mention Nikolai enjoyed taking the hits, believing it strengthened him as well.
"Vy popravlyayetes'. YA pochti pochuvstvoval posledniy udar." Nikolai nodded to the boy, grabbing a towel nearby in the mostly dark room, wrapping it around his neck.
"Your defenses are as formidable as ever," Krashna responded politely, something he only ever did toward his fellow Leaders. He picked up a towel of his own, dabbing away the sweat beads on his forehead, before slinging it over his shoulder.
"Mne nuzhno vypit'," Nikolai stated as he rolled his shoulder a bit. "Ty khochesh' prisoyedinit'sya ko mne?"
"I don't see why not," Krashna shrugged.
Luckily, the Messiah's private bar contained root beer.
The two made their way out of the training room, walking through the underground Messiah base as they went, striding past their units, who stopped to stand at attention as they walked by. "Father still hasn't returned, hm?" Krashna asked absentmindedly, to which Nikolai scoffed. "Konechno net. On skoro k nam prisoyedinitsya, mne skazali, chto yego novyy plan budet boleye effektivnym, chem nash predydushchiy."
"Straighten your back!" Krashna barked at a grunt they were passing, who fumbled with the weapon he was holding, accidentally dropping it. The weapon went off when it hit the ground, firing a single bullet that zigzagged down the hall before becoming lodged in the wall.
"Durak." Nikolai hissed, turning around and grabbing the grunt by his collar, pulling him forward as he cried out in fear. "Ne mogli by vy stat' yeshche glupeye? Pochemu by mne ne ubit' tebya seychas za tvoyu neuklyuzhest'?"
"Leader Nikolai- Leader Krashna- please forgive me! Please forgive me! Please don't kill me!" the grunt croaked, begging fearfully for his life. Nikolai scoffed once again, throwing the grunt to the ground in disgust. "If our lieutenants are anywhere near as incompetent as this yokel, it's no wonder the attacks failed," Krashna stated firmly, arms folded as he eyed the grunt.
"I-It won't happen again! I promise!" the grunt pleaded.
"Ubiraysya s glaz moikh, kretin," Nikolai growled, to which to grunt ran off down the hall as fast as he could manage.
"Did you just call him a nerd?" Krashna asked Nikolai, humor dancing in his eyes. Nikolai grunted in reply. "Net, ya nazval yego kretinom."
"Nerd. That's what I said."
"Kretin."
"Oh."
Once that issue was resolved, the two then continued to make their way through the underground base, occasionally checking in with one of the guards for a report; until, finally, they came to an archway. Beyond it was a most extravagant bar, complete with beautiful fluorescent lighting, a pool table, and just about every beverage, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, known to man.
This was actually Krashna and Nikolai's usual go-to after working out, though the latter won every single time at pool.
Despite all circumstances, the two leaders were fairly relaxed with recent events. Sure, things hadn't gone according to plan and they'd lost two lieutenants in the process. That just opened up room for two more to take their place- and such auditions would be held later that day once their third leader was finally present.
Nikolai almost immediately went for his drink of choice, vodka on the rocks with lime to make it a little bit more sophisticated. Krashna, meanwhile, cracked open a nice, cold bottle of root beer; despite Krashna being a feared leader of the Messiah, the head leader still forbade him from drinking until the age of twenty-one. Personally, Krashna didn't really like this rule, but the Father was the big man himself. Nobody messed with him, not even Nikolai. Or even Demon. It's just how it was.
Though that didn't stop Nikolai from sometimes offering Krashna a vodka, who'd usually refuse out of fear and respect for Father.
"Te deti, za kotorymi vy nablyudayete. Naskol'ko oni opasny na samom dele?" Nikolai asked, taking a swig of vodka. "They're not as bad as I thought," Krashna replied. "They all have potential, but not once have I seen any of them really honing their abilities. I do worry about the girl with the SOUL of Determination, though."
"Byvshiy posol, Frisk Dreemurr," Nikolai nodded, taking another swig.
"That's the one. As incompetent as she seems, she did help pull off the destruction of the Barrier. But I don't think she'll be much more trouble than the others; she's grown too carefree."
"YA pogovoryu s mater'yu kretina. Na etot raz zastav'te yeye povinovat'sya." Nikolai nodded, downing the last of his vodka as Krashna smirked. "You meant nerd this time, right?"
"YA ne ponimayu, o chem vy govorite." Was all Nikolai said before wandering back to get more vodka in a larger glass.
Krashna took a drink of his root beer, silently wondering how much help that nerd would even be when the time to strike finally rolled around. Not that he underestimated Nikolai's ability to make a hesitant party cooperate; the Russian had many talents, and intimidation was one of them.
The hours passed by, and in no time at all, the sun was setting over the horizon, disappearing behind the remains of Mt. Ebott. Trickster sat on a bench uncomfortably, feeling her rear go numb as she stared across the street at the laboratory. All day she'd been here and she hadn't seen a single soul enter or leave.
She was tempted to infiltrate the place at nightfall, but another, more paranoid part of her wanted to wait until someone entered, or left. Almost immediately as that thought concluded, a vehicle pulled up to the nearby curb, ever so slowly. Inside of the car was a familiar blue fish monster, who looked incredibly pissed.
Okay. Now she was getting somewhere. She considered getting closer in an attempt to see, or even hear, what was going on inside, but that'd be a risky move and potentially blow her cover.
As Undyne emerged from the car, her eyes instantly locked with the disguised Trickster, folding her arms. "...didn't I see you at the police station?" she questioned.
"Eh? Raisins?" Trickster furrowed her brow, perfectly mimicking the voice of a confused elderly man. "Police station," Undyne corrected.
"Pardon?"
"POLICE- oh, damn it, I don't care," Undyne snarled, clearly already frustrated enough from her day.
"More raisins for me." Trickster replied as Undyne made her way into the lab, and Trickster looked about her. She was completely alone.
Quickly, she stood as her form shifted, and she now had the appearance of some random delinquent she'd seen spray painting underneath a bridge once, with baggy jeans, a baggy shirt, and a sideways ball cap. With that, she dashed to the side of the building and found herself a window to duck under. The windows were closed, so hearing wasn't an option, but with it getting dark she could sneak a few peaks.
Trickster could see Undyne approaching a yellow dinosaur monster about half her height- Alphys, no doubt. The smaller girl looked a bit troubled by Undyne's foul mood- they didn't say much to each other... and then they started walking toward the far end of the lab, forcing the assassin to move to a different window for a better view.
She watched as they approached a door, which opened and the two walked inside, the door closing behind them. Trickster frowned, narrowing her eyes. The building didn't seem to have any more room for wherever they'd gone, leading the girl into believing it must have been an elevator of some kind, and with the lack of additional floors above, that could only mean there was more below.
Trickster scowled through the window; she wouldn't be able to access the lower floors at the moment, which pissed her off, but now she was almost certain that Magnum was down there.
Finally... Trixie was finally going to get her back. And she wasn't going to let Alphys, Sans, or even Undyne get in her way.
...but even so, it would have to wait. Trixie just didn't know how patient she could be.
It would be best to let the leaders know, especially Father. Maybe he could even help her. She'd heard rumors about Alphys and what she was capable of. Stories of freak experimentations on other monsters that left the subjects in a worse fate than anything even the Messiah had done. Rumors of deadly traps and inventions. Talk was that the monster scientist was ruthless and cruel beneath her act of a nervous and sweet young woman.
Trickster turned, ready to return to the base and tell Father what she'd learned... perhaps he could provide her with some blueprints; she wanted to know every in and out of this laboratory. There was no way she could mess this up now, not after coming so far.
"I'm coming to save you," Trixie whispered, taking one final peak through the glass. "Just hang tight a little bit longer."
Inside, Magnum perked up when she heard the familiar ding of the elevator, and peered out to see Undyne and Alphys exit, deep in conversation.
"-still being held. They aren't even being given a chance at parole." Undyne was saying, appearing extremely annoyed. "T-there's gotta be a way we c-can clear their names..." Alphys stammered, appearing extremely anxious.
Undyne stared at two prisoners for a couple of seconds, noticing that Magnum seemed to be in good shape, more or less- Raptor, on the other hand, was looking awfully pale, and hadn't eaten much of the food Alphys had given him.
"If there is, I don't know yet." Undyne replied, narrowing her eyes as she slowly made her way to the cell, her eye quickly catching onto the harmonica in the corner of the room atop a fluffy pillow on Magnum's side. "You're giving them entertainment, Alphys?" She scoffed. "What, gonna install a TV into their cell, next?"
"That'd actually be great." Magnum stated, but was silenced by a threatening glare Undyne shot at her.
"I-I just figured they'd get bored in there," Alphys swallowed.
"Who cares? The more bored they get, the more likely they are to give up information," Undyne grunted, arms folded.
"I'm glad the fish one isn't smart enough to be a scientist," Raptor whispered to Magnum, the pink haired girl suppressing a smirk as Undyne looked over, a murderous look in her eye. "I heard that," she hissed.
"I know." Raptor replied as Undyne conjured a spear in her hand, taking a step forward. "Wanna go round two? I'll kick your ass again."
"U-Undyne, please stop." Alphys intruded, stepping in front of Undyne. "Maybe we should go back upstairs..."
"If you think you can get lucky again," Raptor jabbed, appearing calm, which just pissed Undyne off even more. Despite Alphys' best efforts, her girlfriend raised up the blue spear and threw it through the energy barrier, the weapon flying toward Raptor.
Raptor simply leaned to the side, and the spear missed his head by an inch. For a guy who'd spent days in a cell underground, his reflexes were quite sharp.
"Undyne!" Alphys yelled, and Undyne finally looked at her. "What!?"
"Out. Upstairs. Now." The smaller monster ordered, taking Undyne aback. She quickly recovered, staring at Raptor for a moment, before heading for the elevator, the blue spear disappearing. Once the door had closed behind her, Alphys turned to the prisoners. "S-sorry about that. Undyne has... a temper."
"Whatever." Raptor replied, still facing the wall of his cell. "So does he." Magnum replied, giving Alphys a smile. "Thanks, by the way. That was... cool of you."
"Y-Yeah..." Alphys smiled back nervously- but the only reason she was nervous was because she knew that, the moment she got back up there, she would have to face Undyne. An Undyne who'd just gotten back from another awful day at work, and was just a ticking bomb waiting to explode. "I-I'll be back later," Alphys told them, before turning and heading back toward the elevator.
"Later, dude." Magnum replied, snatching up her harmonica and beginning to play.
"I'd say you were getting better, but that'd be a lie." Raptor stated.
The aptly named 'Arena' was one of the oldest underground facilities the Messiah had. Some nights, it was considered a Dead Pool instead. Nights where murder was allowed, when two members found themselves at odds and decided to settle their differences in a fight to the death. Arena Fights were more for entertainment, and to train up members. Tonight, however, was different. It was Promotion night, something they hadn't done for almost three years now ever since Magnum had been promoted to a lieutenant.
Now, two more lieutenants were needed, and a tournament was being held. The last two standing would become the new lieutenants, having proven their worth through blood and wrath. "This should be fun," Krashna's voice spoke; on a two-layered balcony overlooking the entirety of the Arena, three thrones were in place so that the leaders could check out the carnage.
In one throne sat Krashna, on the lower level of the balcony, and adjacent to him was Nikolai, who had a cigarette in his hand, watching with mild interest. Behind them, on the upper level of the balcony was an empty throne- presumably because Father had yet to arrive for the entertaining deathmatch.
"Otets dolzhen byt' zdes'."
Krashna rolled his eyes. "Relax. He'll be here soon." Nikolai said nothing in return as the stands around the Arena filled with those too afraid to test their worth and become lieutenants. They'd amassed a total of twenty three individuals seeking their promotion, and only two would come out alive.
"My ne mozhem nachat', poka on ne priyedet." Nikolai growled. Krashna shrugged. "That's not true. Two leaders are present. Two is enough."
"Otets deystvitel'no dolzhen prisutstvovat' dlya etogo."
"Oh, come now, don't be a stick in the mud," Krashna smirked, propping his elbow on the arm of his throne, leaning his head against his palm. "On byl by zol, yesli by my nachali bez nego," Nikolai replied. "If you insist, we can wait for him... but our participants are looking a bit antsy," Krashna noted with a yawn.
On que, the door behind them opened, and a tall figure stepped out. Wordlessly, he made his way to the center throne, and sat down. "Perfect timing. Can we start now?" Krashna whined. The Father looked toward Nikolai from the shadows of where he sat, and nodded.
The Spirit stood, and began to address the crowd. "Segodnya budet pamyatnyy den'. Krovoprolitiye i velichayshaya sila v mire podnimutsya zdes' i stanut izvestnymi kak nastoyashchiye chempiony sredi nashikh brat'yev i sester. Tol'ko dvoye ostanutsya zhivymi. Vyvedi konkursantov!"
When he finished, a large gate at the head of the arena slowly lifted itself, and all of the contestants walked out. They were all armed differently, and wore different armor, but the similarity between them all were the ski masks covering their face. Every single member of the Messiah was forced to wear one at all times until they'd proven their worth. Once a lieutenant, they had free reign over themselves, with only the Trinity to answer to.
A man- also a mask-wearing member of the Messiah- stood in the center of the arena, dressed in black and white stripes so the participants wouldn't confuse him for a foe. He held a simple pistol, which was raised into the air- the grunts had about ten seconds to scatter before that bullet went into the air, signaling for them to start.
Bang!
Everyone watched in amazement; how eager that twenty-three people were to slaughter each other would easily be disturbing to an outsider perspective. A variety of differently colored weapons appeared out of thin air.
So began the fateful battle.
The match began, and immediately, one man of note took everyone's interest. A tall grunt wearing nothing but shorts and his mask as he leaped into the air, an ebony katana in his hand. He leaped up over everyone's heads, slamming a foot into someone's face as he moved, dodging a scythe's blade before driving his blade down through the top of someone's chest and out their lower back, immediately dropping them.
With the first kill of the match, a collection of cheers erupted from the crowds, and Nikolai leaned forward in mild interest.
On the other side of the arena, another man was quickly beginning to dominate his opponents- he was at least a foot taller than most of his foes, and in each hand, he wielded shining emerald chains. With rapid swings, he was already relentlessly grappling and flinging his fellow Messiah Grunts around like ragdolls. One of the chains latched onto the leg of a female grunt wielding knuckle dusters- the man swung the chain upwards, sending her into the air...
And when he brought it back down, the body became nothing more than a bloody, boney mess. The crowd cheered some more at the second death.
"Hey there, handsome," an alluring voice seemed to whisper in the man's ear. "May I have this dance?" He turned to look at the foe, and nearly burst out laughing. Across from him was a girl with short pink hair, about two feet shorter than him and wielding what looked like a stick glowing hot pink at the tip. The top half of her face was covered by the typical mask, yet her mouth was not concealed, revealing a pair of smirking red lips.
"Don't waste my time," the man snarled, and with a flick of the wrist, his chains wrapped around the pink-haired grunt's leg. In one fluid motion, she, too, was sent flying into the air.
But this was different- unlike the man's previous victim, this girl was fast enough to react. She simply tapped the end of her stick against the chains, and they began to crumble away into thin air- much to the shock of their wielder.
Before he had a chance to recover, she landed on him, stick being slammed down his throat, shattering through the ski mask. He gagged and shouted, but was unable to make much noise at all.
"Sens mon amour," the girl whispered, before an explosion within caused the man to turn to ash.
Meanwhile, the grunt with a katana was busy against a massive foe, who carried a gigantic hammer over his shoulder, his body covered in heavy armor. Katana slashed against his chest piece to no avail as the hammer-wielding grunt swung the hammer heavily, completely missing katana guy, who dove away, and the hammer drove into an adjacent girl holding a num-chuk. Her headless body was rolling across the metallic floor a moment later, and the hammer grunt roared, charging after the katana-wielding grunt who ran and weaved through other grunts, who were all tearing each other apart, much to the delight of the crowd.
"Teper' eto bitva!" Nikolai laughed, slamming his fist against his throne in joy, watching as an eyeball flew by. "They're killing each other without any hesitation," Krashna said in a giddy voice, his golden eyes twinkling with amusement as he watched the blood spill. The grunts were merciless, and the spectators were adoring every second of it.
The pink-haired woman was now up against a woman with long, silky black hair, wielding a simple teal blade. "Boring weapon," the stick-holder noted, throwing her own at the girl, who raised her blade to slash it...
And, unfortunately for her, the upper forty percent of her body was blasted into a pile of ash in the wind.
"Sens mon amour," the pink-haired girl whispered, placing her hands together, as if praying. Another stick materialized in her hands, attention shifting to the other side of the arena, watching the massive user of a hammer stomping his way through.
"Fun!" she squealed, jamming the stick into the ground, letting it blast, sending her flying into the air above in the general direction of the large opponent at rapid speeds.
The hammer grunt barreled through other grunts, whose numbers were quickly dwindling, before the entire arena lit up, and electricity arced through the air, slamming into him. He stood still for a moment, before dropping- dead, his body smoldering from the blow.
The katana user stopped, whirling about to see another grunt holding a guitar, his arm in the air, before striking down as his fingers slashed across the strings. At once, lightning struck from his fist, circulating around the guitar, before jetting out to the katana user, who dove to the side just as the lightning struck the wall behind him, echoing with a thunderous boom.
The pink haired girl pouted under her mask as she landed on the lifeless corpse of the man with the hammer- she'd wanted that one for herself. She didn't have a lot of time to fuss about it, though. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see something flying toward her. The girl ducked just in time, a boomerang flying past her head, before curving midair and coming back to try again, but it was once again evaded.
The boomerang made its way back to the user, a redhead who was either a girl, or a young boy with long hair. It didn't make much difference to her, though.
They struck the boomerang with their palm instead of catching it, which actually seemed to make it pick up even more speed as it came back toward its target.
Only four contestants remained, and they were in heated conflict. Boomerang and pink hair were busy with a back and forth, dodging boomerangs and explosions, diving about as katana and guitar did the same, though it was far more one-sided as katana could barely keep up with the constant barrage of electrical strikes coming his way.
Suddenly, katana found himself back-to-back with pink hair, and he glanced back at her. "Team-up?" He asked, his voice low and gruff.
"Switch opponents." She replied with a subtle wink.
They both dived away from each other as a bolt of lightning passed by where they'd just been standing as katana sliced upward, cutting the boomerang in half. "Your toy is gone." He told the grunt.
"Heeeeey~" pink hair greeted guitar in a flirtatious voice, causing him to scoff in annoyance. It quickly became obvious that these matchups were much better for both katana and pink-hair, the former being able to cut through the boomerangs like butter, while the latter was much more agile, weaving through shots of electric, musically-charged SOUL energy.
Pink hair jammed her stick into the ground once again, placing a foot on the other end of it. The blast propelled her toward guitar at a blurring speed, but guitar was able to play a quick note on his guitar at the last second. The weak static energy formed in front of him to counter the explosive stick that appeared in pink hair's hand, but the blast reduced it to nothing in a split second- ripping guitar's string-striking arm off in the process.
He staggered for a moment, looking down at the stump, before falling down backward just as katana dove past another boomerang, cutting it in half, and launching himself as fast as he could past boomerang, slashing as he did so. When he came to a stop, his opponent fell to their knees, before falling to the ground, head rolling away.
Katana sheathed his weapon, a smirk dancing beneath his mask as he turned to face his fellow lieutenant. "Looks like we're lieutenants now." As he said this, he approached her, and bowed at the waist. She rolled her eyes in return, but her smile remained plastered on her face.
Another gunshot was fired into the air, meaning that the combat had officially ended. The crowd was quiet for a few seconds, before a roar of cheers filled the entire Arena, the two survivors standing among the corpses of nearly two dozen of their once-allies.
"Sud okonchen. U nas dvoye," Nikolai stated calmly, as if he hadn't just watched twenty men and women get mangled. He took a drink of vodka, looking over at Krashna, who had a satisfied grin on his face. Father simply continued to stare out at the battlefield.
Not even thirty minutes later, the leaders had moved from the arena, now standing in the dark above a platform. The meeting chamber, where Trickster kneeled before them. "You called us to this meeting." Krashna stated. "This had better be good."
"Don't worry, my leaders, this is information I'm sure you'll want to hear," Trickster reassured. "At least... I'm certain Father would want to hear this." The Son and The Spirit both turned their heads to look at The Father momentarily, before their piercing gazes went back to Trickster. "I know where they've been keeping Magnum," Trixie stated. "She's in a laboratory owned by Alphys, a monster scientist. The monster Undyne appeared there with her. Magnum should be located in the lower levels- somewhere."
There was a moment of silence, before Krashna took a step forward. "You don't sound certain. Who's to say the lazy monster didn't off her and you're still clinging to false hope."
"I'm certain." Trickster replied, narrowing her eyes. "I've searched everywhere else, and the fish monster has no reason to travel beneath the laboratory with the scientist."
"Vy znali, chto Undyne imeyet s ney romanticheskiye otnosheniya?" Nikolai asked, staring down upon Trickster, who pursed her lips. "N-no..."
"You're looking for proof where there is none." Krashna rolled his eyes. "I thought I told you to-" He stopped as Father raised a single hand, and all eyes turned to him. After a moment of silence, he spoke. "Our lieutenant is there." He stated. "As is our lost one. Trickster, you will free them and kill the scientist and Raptor when the day comes, but you must wait."
Trickster opened her mouth to argue against this, wanting to save Magnum now, but stopped, knowing just how bad it would be to speak against the Father, who continued. "Meet our new lieutenants in the command quarters, and they will inform you of the next phase of our plans. Dismissed."
With that, the leaders turned and walked away.
Trickster hadn't had the luxury of getting to see who the new lieutenants were back in the Arena, so she wasn't sure what to expect... Raptor and Minerva's replacements... Trixie wondered if she could get along with them.
Shaking the thoughts out of her head, Trickster tried to stay in the mindset of saving Magnum even as she began to make her way toward the command quarters. She wanted to know everything possible about the new plan; after all, there was no way she would screw it up.
She was going to rescue Magnum.
Absolutely.
The winding halls eventually led her to the command quarters, which was emblazoned with the emblem of the sun. The sun used to be the symbol of the Messiah and the 'cleansing light' they led upon the world. It had been a long time since anything had been like that, and it was long before her time, but some members still tried to follow the older ways of the Messiah, including the Father himself.
When the doors parted, granting her entry, she was greeted by the sight of all the lieutenants together. Warmth was in the corner of the room, staring blankly forward, his arm in a cast. Truck, still beaten and bloodied, now sat at the center table, watching as two people played cards. The two newcomers. A man and woman. The man was wearing what looked like a full, white kimono, a black cloth tied around his waist, sandals on his feet. He had short, scraggly black hair and pale skin. Most notably, he had ambidextrous eyes. One was a bright blue, the other a deep scarlet. It was offputting. The man held up five cards, before setting them on the table. "Full boat." He declared, folding his arms as he stared at his opponent.
The pink haired girl sitting across from him took a look at the cards. She wore a frilly black outfit similar to that of a maid's, with a red flower pinned to a dark bowtie on the front of her outfit. "Oh, my... you're so good at this game, aren't you~?" the girl flirted, batting her eyelashes at the man. "I could never hope to truly beat someone like you, I suppose... I must have just gotten lucky."
She revealed her hand- a four-of-a-kind.
Trickster folded her arms, approaching the table. "I hate to interrupt, but-"
"Hi, Tricky!"
"...hello, Truck."
The girl ignored Trickster, though the guy in the kimono acknowledged her with a nod to show he'd heard her before addressing his opponent's four-of-a-kind. "I concede. You're the better player. This time." He gave her a nod and a smile, standing up to bow to her. Tricxie simply felt generally weirded out by this, unused to anybody in the Messiah being so... what's the word... a good sport?
"I'm flattered," pink hair replied in a hushed, almost seductive tone, waggling her fingers at him, before turning to look at Trickster. "Is there something we can do for you? We're sort of in the middle of a game, you see..." Trickster glanced over at Warmth, who rolled his eye, clearly just as irritated by these new lieutenant's, or atleast the girl's, behavior as she was. "The Leaders told me to come to you for information on the new plan," Trickster informed the two.
"Yes, that." The kimono replied as he returned to his seat, collecting the cards to deal them out again, even starting a hand for Truck, who looked excited at the inclusion. "Phase one of our plans did not go to according to plan." He began. "Since last phase went so horribly, the leaders decided to repeat it." Pink hair continued. "New assignments, mostly the same targets, and this time it's all happening on the same day. Two weeks from now today."
"Even Leader Krashna is getting involved." Kimono added, though his gaze appeared clouded and distracted as he finished dealing their hands, offering Trixie a hand which she refused. Pink hair, on the other hand, was looking in disappointment at her empty shot glass. She was more in-line with what represented the Messiah, but the man... he stuck out like a sore thumb. "List is over by Warmth." Pink hair stated, gesturing softly over toward Warmth, who only blinked in response, a piece of paper taped to the wall.
Trickster opened her mouth in surprise- Krashna was getting involved? It was rare that a leader actually bothered to dirty their hands with this kind of thing, but then again, he was already fairly active for a leader, even going undercover in Voxis High...
Trickster slowly approached the list beside Warmth, who didn't move or say anything as she read.
PHASE 1.2
Demon - Asgore, Frisk
Trickster - Alphys
Warmth - Mettaton, Papyrus
Truck - Undyne
Krashna - Terrence, Rian, Sadie
Mióm & Mosu Takibi - Gerson
"...have you seen Demon around lately?" Trickster asked Warmth, pulling back from the list. He only scoffed in reply. "The less I have to see of that freak, the better." Trickster blinked, continuing to stare at him. He looked back at her. "...no. I haven't."
"If I recall... Psycho was one of our more ineffectual Lieutenants." Kimono spoke up- or Mosu, according to the list. "I hope that I can be of better use to the Messiah." Warmth's eye twitched at the mention of Psycho. When nobody spoke, Mosu continued. "And I promise not to try to eat anyone." He smirked slightly, thinking he was making a joke. Warmth shook his head, before turning away and leaving the room.
"Did I upset him?" Mosu stared after Warmth, before looking at the others. "Were they close?"
"Something like that." Trickster replied with a shrug.
"And I'm certain I'm nicer to look at than that feathered fellow," Mióm said, twirling a bit of her pink hair with a finger. The lieutenants weren't really supposed to get attached to each other, but it did sting a bit when the former ones were talked about in such a way. Even Psycho. The talk of Raptor was especially difficult for Trixie- after all, she'd been ordered to kill him...
"What? Nothing?" Mióm fake-pouted.
"My apologies." Mosu offered to Trickster, appearing slightly ashamed. Truck lost interest in the cards, and turned to Trickster. "I have to fight fish lady." He told her. "Warmy told me it will be hard. He said I'll die. Is that true? I... don't want to die." His face, despite still being completely messed up, was full of obvious fear. "Nobody else here would know better than him," Trixie admitted, uncertain of how she could possibly reassure him. "...it's a strong opponent, Truck. But expecting failure is a bad mindset. You'll have to set your eyes on the prize if you want to excel. This is your chance for redemption."
Truck whimpered- Trixie wasn't really sure what to say aside from that. After all, Undyne had fought both Warmth and Raptor at the same time. "Aw, are they trying to replace all of you?" Mióm teased, not-so-discreetly running her foot up Mosu's leg underneath the table, who seemed to pale at the touch, his body going rigid.
"My chance... for redemption..." Truck frowned, taking her words into surprisingly careful consideration. "...thank you, Tricky. I feel better now." He smiled at her, revealing several missing teeth. She gave him an awkward smile back. "No problem." She watched as he left, before turning to the remaining two in the room, one of which seemed about to pass out, and the other about to... do something else as she slipped a bit of her shirt off her shoulder. Trickster rolled her eyes in disgust as she turned and left.
"I still don't get why the turtle is a target. We should give the newbies something real to face." Krashna folded his arms as he stared at the back of Father's head, who was staring into an aquarium, several exotic fish floating past. He said nothing, so Krashna continued. "And Magnum. Even if she is somehow still alive, she'll no doubt turn on us. Or run. Both her and Raptor. She's never wanted to be here and you know it."
Still silence. Nikolai stood near the door of the room, cigar in his mouth as he watched the scene unfold.
"Need I mention your long absences? You've been abandoning your duties for your own secret agenda, and it's doing nobody any wonders." Krashna took a step forward, golden eyes shining brightly.
Silence.
Krashna let out a strained growl of frustration. "Why won't you talk?" He demanded. Finally, the Father lifted a hand, and the boy fell silent. Father softly swished a glass of iced brandy in his hand, staring thoughtfully at the fish. A good minute of silence passed by, before he spoke. "Once upon a time, there were two brothers." He said. "These brothers were powerful. Handsome. Intelligent. Gifted. They assisted their father, the King, with ruling their lands." He paused, taking a thoughtful sip of the brandy. "The King gave his sons autonomy over the lands. He told them that they could help him rule the land, on the condition they don't question his judgement."
A sudden school of fish suddenly swam by the glass in the large aquarium. "The eldest son did his best by the King, ruling over the kingdom with his father, obeying his every command, never once casting judgement on his decisions. So the King told his eldest son that one day, he would be King in his place. The second son did the same. He helped his father rule the kingdom, keeping peace and harmony, and never once question the King. He too, was promised to be King one day,"
"However, the youngest son didn't think this was possible. He did not believe that one day, two kings could rule the land. So he questioned his father. He demanded that the King change his law, and decree only one of his sons as the rightful heir to the throne. The King, however, did not choose. He had promised them both leadership and power, and would not choose one over the other. The youngest son took this as a sign of weakness and incompetence. He began to question his father's every decision, finding faults where they did not exist, becoming hateful and selfish, craving the power for himself."
"Father, what does this-" Krashna began, but was interrupted by a 'shush' from Nikolai. Father continued, "The King, saddened that his one rule had been broken, offered his youngest son one last chance. Resume life as it was, or die." He paused, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh.
"That night, the King mourned the loss of his youngest son. The son he had loved the most. Now dead at his own hand. When the time came for the King to pass on, only the eldest son was left to rule the land, which was far too large to govern by himself. The Kingdom of Rose, and the Kingdom of Leaves. One for each son, merged into a great capital. Without the support of his younger brother, the eldest brother's power waned, and eventually, the people turned against him and his weakness. The Great Empire of Gardens fell that day, and in its stead, monsters rose, bringing forth the Kingdom of Hopes, ruled by the mighty Asgard Dreemurr." He stopped, and Krashna frowned. "This story was true?" He asked. The Father gave a slow nod, his back still to the others. "A story lost to time. A story from the first days of the Messiah. If we are not careful, we may share the same fate." He turned his gaze to look upon Krashna, glasses flashing brilliantly, reflecting the cool light of the aquarium. "Do not question me. Do not question my actions, or my decisions, lest you share the youngest son's fate, and ultimately, the Messiah's downfall."
Krashna couldn't believe what he was hearing, golden eyes burning with rage. Oh, how he hated this side of the Father- the secretive side. For all they knew, the man could have simply made up that story in order to get Krashna to keep his trap shut... and for what? "A touching tale," Krashna folded his arms. "But can you look me in the eyes and tell me that there's no truth in my words? This organization doesn't stand for sentiment or mercy, Father, there's no reason why we should be neglecting the truth for Magnum's sake."
"Your concerns are not invalid," the Father assured his fellow leader. "But I'll say it again. You must have faith in your king, young Krashna. What he does is for the benefit of the Messiah. You can't see it yet, but you will with time. Until that time comes, you are not to question me."
Krashna's eyes flickered with anger once again, but instead of arguing, he lowered his head slightly, saying nothing more.
Satisfied, the Father turned back to the aquarium. "Leave me." He ordered. "I need to think."
Krashna rolled his eyes before turning and walking out with Nikolai, who'd remained uncharacteristically silent the entire time. For several moments of silence, the Father stood there, before leaning forward and raising his arm to catch himself on the glass of the aquarium, quiet tears streaming down his face, his other hand clenched into a ball.
"My little girl... My Trinity..." He muttered under his breath, shutting his eyes tightly, shoulders shaking slightly, the leader of the most powerful organization in the world silently crying alone.