Disclaimer: I do not own Black Cat or its characters.
Echidna sighed quietly as he stared down at Charden's resting face, reaching out to caress his hair gently. She crossed her legs and took a sip of tea she had sitting on the nightstand next to her, then looked out the window wistfully as she placed the tea back down. Before she looked back at her lover, her eyes landed on Jax, who was sleeping in the chair on the other side of the bed. The actress frowned at the boy, knowing he hadn't left their leader's side for a second.
The only reason I've left his side is because I have to. Charden's been out for almost a week and the Apostles can't run efficiently without him. Even though I lead the group with him, I've started to see a side of it that he must be protecting me from because… I feel like I'm at my wits end. I don't know how he does it.
Echidna's hand remained on her partner, outlining his face as she thought back to the pathetic fight they had with Chronos. Just as they were about to have the Black Cat in their clutches and be able to go through with their plan, Sephiria and her numbers showed up and wholly overwhelmed them.
I don't think Charden intended us to be able to take Heartnet so easily, but the plan worked better than we thought, so I assumed he was just going with it. I know he still plans on using Nica's group to capture him, but why would we turn down an opportunity to catch him and finally be rid of him and Creed? Besides, a part of the plan is to make him think we're still only after him. He still thinks his friends are safe.
They're plans had not changed. The party was just an opportune moment they couldn't pass by. They still fully intended on taking The Black Cat so Doctor could extract whatever information he needed from him, then pump him full of as much of the Chronos drug as he could and send him off to kill Creed. The primary means to that goal was to use their members who had successfully infiltrated the sweepers' friends, but when Jollin announced his party, Charden couldn't turn down the chance to attack while their enemies' guards were low.
And I think with how much Doctor and Charden have been clashing, I'm sure Charden wants to get the Black Cat so Kanzaki will shut up. But, this is all speculation on my part since I didn't get a chance to speak with him before he was knocked out.
She remembered exactly how her partner got into the state he was currently in. She had been playing in through her head every second of every day Charden had been unconscious. Chronos showed up and almost immediately after that, Train and Creed were gone. The battle wasn't long, but it was enough for Charden to get severely hurt. He abandoned everything he was doing to go protect her because above all else, he wanted to keep her safe.
It's that damn Number One's fault! I know she was getting revenge for Number X…
Echidna was distracted with the new Number XIII and Number VII when Sephiria came up from behind her in an attempt to stab her in the back. However, Charden had stepped in front of the woman's sword and taken it straight through his chest. She remembered screaming in agony and grabbing him before he fell. The actress was so distracted and distraught it didn't even occur to her to open a portal right away. It was only after she heard Doctor screaming at her to leave as he flashed away with Aja and Aztec that she was finally brought back to reality.
And even then, I wasn't able to until Charden started to choke on his own blood… That was enough to snap me out of it and bring him home.
She didn't know how she managed to do it, but somehow she found the strength to open a portal and remove both her and her lover from what would have surely been Sephiria's final blow. She made sure her portal opened to Doctor's lab so the scientist would begin working on Charden immediately. However, she had to scream at him to leave the beasts and their minor wounds alone to tend to their leader.
I don't care what he says, those monsters' wounds were nothing compared to the gaping hole in Charden's chest. Besides, he's his leader! He should come first no matter what!
Charden and Doctor had been butting heads even more recently. It had even gotten to the point of a physical altercation on a few occasions. The last one was particularly bad since Doctor decided to use his Tao on Charden. Luckily, the Blood Taoist had already known how to break himself out of his fabricated world that was Kanzaki's Tao. Charden had confided in Echidna that he believed he was going to have to battle Doctor some point, so he made sure he was prepared.
The only way Doctor listens to you is if he knows you're stronger than him or are willing to kill him. For a long time, he didn't think Charden was stronger or would kill him, but my love slowly started to make Kanzaki see that he was wrong.
As relieved as Echidna was to see Charden slowly being able to control Doctor again, it came at a frightening cost. She knew running the Apostles came with a price tag, but she was starting to think the change she was seeing in her lover wasn't worth it. He had started to grow detached from the rest of the group, almost to the point Creed had been. It seemed like the only ones in their organization he really cared about were her and Jax.
And even then, he snaps at the boy a lot. The only reason Jax hasn't been affected by it is because he looks up to Charden so much. The boy sees him as a father…
She sighed as he looked at the teen who was curled up with a blanket wrapped tightly around him, courtesy of Echidna. She had gotten closer to Jax lately since she had often been the one to comfort him after Charden yelled at him. She was the only one who was understanding of the blonde man's mood swings, no matter how out of character they were for him. That didn't change how much it broke her heart to see the normally logical, calm man slowly turn into something she barely recognized.
He's able to turn on his charm to form partnerships with potential sponsors much like Creed was able to, but… He's also more readily willing to kill them if they turn on him. He's gotten paranoid and a bit volatile which is also similar to Creed, except Creed in the end left the Apostles to be with his precious Black Cat and has since calmed down.
Echidna wasn't angry about Creed's departure anymore. In fact, it embarrassed her to think she had been so hopelessly in love with a man who would never pay her a second glance let alone give her his heart. Charden helped her see that, which was one of the many things that made her fall in love with him. Obviously his good looks and charm were other reasons, but his rational and intelligent mind was what sealed the deal for her. She loved how he was able to lead the group with respect and logic, but lately that had begun to turn to disorder, violence, and rage. It was getting to the point where a small part of her wondered if their end goal was even worth what was happening to her lover.
Is taking down Chronos really worth watching him fall from grace? Is this ungrateful organization and the ingrate members in it worth watching the man I love become dark and cold towards the world and everyone in it?
Charden had not only been butting heads with Doctor, but Shiki and Maro as well. While they enjoyed the fact that their group had grown and that they were making headway not only in the underground world, but with the media as well, they constantly complained about not going after Chronos. They hated how much time and energy they were spending on their former leaders and didn't seem to understand the point of it.
So stupid. They're all so stupid. How can they not see the threat those men pose? Not only do they have a personal vendetta against us and are working with Chronos, they are probably the strongest men I have ever met. With the exception of Charden, that is.
She looked back at her partner and smiled sadly, brushing his bangs aside as she leaned forward to kiss his forehead. When she pulled back and gazed at his peaceful face, she tried to remind herself the sword had missed major arteries and he wasn't going to die. The only reason he was still unconscious was due to blood loss, which was ironic considering what his Tao power was. Doctor was able to explain to her that his Tao actually made it more difficult for him to recover blood, since he required more than the average person just to live a normal life.
Apparently, he uses so much of it for his attacks that he needs to regulate what he has in his body carefully. I guess that doesn't surprise me since he's explained to me the reason he has such a high concentration of iron in his diet and why he requires so many fluids right now.
Echidna glanced at the IV connected to his arm and sighed, kissing his forehead one more time before leaning back in her chair and staring at his face. As she watched him sleep, she kept reminding herself that he was going to be okay. She tried to replay Doctor's words that he was going to live over and over again in order to make her function enough to not only continue to be the face of the group, but to also temporarily lead them.
But… even when his physical state improves, I can't look past the emotional and mental state he's been in. He just hasn't been himself and it's killing me to see him go through this pain.
She knew she wasn't the only one that didn't like his change. Shiki and Maro along with a few others had pointed it out as well and voiced their concerns of what was going on with him. While his change had been able to get the Doctor under control, it had started to alienate the rest of the group who liked how he was able to make them want to follow him. He always used his natural charm and mutual respect to get the Apostles to work with him, but now that he had started to descend into darkness, everyone else was growing more and more distrubed by his actions.
Again, similar to Creed, but I think he left the group before he fell too far overboard. And now that he's left the group, he seems better than ever. I'm sure that has to do in part with being with the Black Cat again and lack of Chronos drugs in his system... But none of that helps Charden…
Charden didn't have anyone pumping him full of drugs to make him change his humane and merciful demeanor. Echidna believed what the change they were witnessing her lover undergo was what happened to a decent man when he tried to run a terrorist organization. In Creed's case, he not only had the undying motivation to do whatever he thought would make Train happy, but he also had Chronos drugs still coursing through his system which made him undeniably bloodthirsty and violent. The drug also gave him a lust for power, which was something Charden lacked which also made it harder for him to do what needed to be done to achieve their end goal.
As much as Charden knows and understands that Chronos needs to be destroyed, he's not the kind of person who enjoys hurting others. Despite the fact that he's running such an inherently violent organization, he doesn't like to see people hurt and he only kills when necessary.
She frowned deeply at Charden, her hand resting on his shoulder as she eyed the bandages on his bare chest.
He's a good man who is getting caught up in a whirlwind of violence… Violence he's not accustomed to and violence he intrinsically doesn't like. I know first hand he's a lover, not a fighter. He only fights if necessary, but this group and this world we're trying to create is forcing bloodshed on him time and time again and… I don't like what it's doing to him…
The actress felt a tear fall from her eye as he thought of Charden's change in personality, trying to think of what she could do to help him see the light again. To help him see that he didn't need to change who he was to reach their goal.
But… is that true? Our goal is to end this world and rebuild a more idle one for society and in order to end the world… you need to be heartless.
She knew that was what they really wanted. They wanted to end Chronos so the sheeple of the world would see they never had free will. They wanted to reveal Chronos for the evil that it was and show the world who's control they had been under all along. The Apostles' purpose was to create a world in which the people residing in it had a choice.
But, to do that you need to be able to make difficult decisions without falling apart. You need to be able to see people hurt over and over again without becoming a full monster so you can build a world of peace.
Echidna knew Charden was capable of making difficult decisions and knew he had it in him to do what needed to be done to reach their goal, but it seemed like in order to do those things, he had to sacrifice who he was as a person. In order to take Chronos down and create the utopia they wanted, it was starting to appear as though Charden had to fall apart.
Maybe he'll rebuild himself when we rebuild the world… Assuming he's not too far gone by then…
She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened to Creed if he had stayed with the Apostles.
Would he have fallen over the edge as well? Would he have completely lost his humanity in order to achieve his goal?
Echidna had a feeling he definitely would have especially if he believed it was all for Train's sake. However, it was hard to say for sure since there was a combination of things that saved her former leader from getting that far. From the get go, he never had the Apostles goals in mind. Only Train's.
And Charden doesn't. Charden is doing this for the benefit of humanity. He's doing this for the right reasons. Which actually makes the sacrifice of his mental and emotional state all the more heartbreaking for me.
Charden had even started showing less sympathy for the children they had recruited for Doctor to experiment on. He used to check on them every day to make sure Kanzaki wasn't going too far overboard, but now he was lucky if he stopped by once a week. Yes, he was busy, but that never stopped him before. Even when he spoke to Doctor about them, he asked more about their progress than their well being and Echidna knew that wasn't like him.
She felt a tear fall from her eye at the thought, solidifying in her mind that she was starting to lose the man she loved.
He… wasn't built for this. And I don't know how much longer I can take seeing him go through this. And I know he's miserable as well.
She knew Charden didn't like being the way he was either, but he knew he didn't have a choice. In order to take Chronos down, he had to give him part of his humanity. They both knew that fact was unfaltering, but it didn't make it any less painful to experience.
Again, I can't help but wonder if it's worth it…
She delicately wiped away a tear with the back of her hand, then ran her fingers through Charden's hair. She choked back a sob when the man didn't respond and idly fingered his bandages, replaying the moment she watched her partner collapse in her arms. He was in that position because he wanted to keep her safe. He almost died so she could live. And she wasn't going to let that be in vain.
She kissed his forehead again, then rested her head next to his. "I won't let you die on my behalf… I won't let you be hurt ever again by those vile Chronos or anyone else."
Charden still did not respond, which broke her heart just a little more. She rested her head on the uninjured part of his chest and kept her eyes locked onto his peaceful face, contemplating what she could do for the man to help him regain his humanity back.
I don't know what to do…
"Tell me what to do, Charden…"
"You can start by moving aside so I can check on his vitals."
Echidna turned her head to see Doctor and Shiki standing at the door. The bug Taoist stayed where he was while the scientist moved towards the side of the bed, pushing Jax's chair aside forcing the teen to wake up. Kanzaki ignored the boy's surprised yelp in favor of checking on his leader. Echidna gave him an annoyed look, then glanced over at Jax to make sure the boy was okay. Seeing Jax glare at Doctor's back, the actress knew he was and sighed in frustration at the impolietness that was being shown
Before she could open her mouth to say anything, Doctor spoke in a rushed, irritated voice. "Has he shown any movement?"
Echidna frowned as he stared at her lover's unconscious face. "No. Nothing has changed."
Shiki made an annoyed sound and crossed his arms against his chest. "How much longer is he going to be out for? Shouldn't the Tao be fixing him up?"
Echidna glared at the short man, about to scold him for being so disrespectful, but was interrupted by Doctor yet again. "The Tao is doing its job, trust me. The reason it's taking so long is due to the amount of extra blood he needs in order to be conscious. Not only is the Tao working to heal his wound, but to provide him with enough blood to give his body the strength to wake up."
Echidna felt her heart break, the pain she felt being enough to make her forget about the anger she felt moments ago at Shiki's insubordinate comment. "It's my fault…"
Doctor nodded in agreement, but Shiki was the one who spoke. "It is."
Echidna knew she shouldn't have been shocked by his comment, but she was nonetheless. "Excuse me?"
It was hard to tell underneath all his wrappings, but Shiki glared at the woman. "What? It is. If you had been more aware of your surroundings, Charden wouldn't have felt the need to take a bullet for you, so to speak."
Echidna returned his glare tenfold, clenching her perfectly manicured hands into tight fists as she spoke between gritted teeth. "You weren't there… You don't know what happened…"
Shiki rolled his eyes, ignoring the actress' angry state since he didn't see her as a threat. "I heard the story from Doctor and from what I gathered not only were you inches away from taking the Black Cat and ending the futile mission with Nica's group, but you almost ended Creed's life which is the entire end goal of taking Heartnet in the first place!"
"One of the reasons for taking Heartnet…" Doctor gave Shiki a slightly deranged look from over his shoulder, making the Bug Taoist stiffen from the gaze.
Shiki scoffed and looked away from the man, mostly so he wouldn't see the evident fear he had for him in his eyes. "Whatever… The point is not only was one of Charden's plans finally working, but we were almost rid of them both and now we're down a leader."
And the current leader we're left with is utterly useless…
Despite the fact that he didn't fully respect the woman, Shiki chose not to say those words out loud on the off chance that Charden could hear them. It was bad enough he was speaking so crudely to Charden's partner and lover, he didn't need to wake the man up through pure rage at him disrespecting the woman. He had seen the change in his leader over the last few months and had started to learn not to cross him or else he would feel his wrath. The personality change was eerily similar to Creed, which did not settle well with the short man.
Shiki suddenly felt his body freeze up, unable to control his limbs as his head was forcefully turned to face the bed where Charden was laying. His eyes went wide when he saw Charden slowly sitting up, his hand reaching out to control the blood in his body, the tips of the blonde man's fingers twitching slightly as he concentrated weakly, yet resolutely on the Bug Taoist. Shiki felt his heart drop at the look he was getting, knowing his leader had heard everything he said to Echidna.
"Why do you speak to her with such a contemptuous tone? She is your leader just as much as I am…" Charden's voice dripped with venom as he spoke, sweat pooling at his forehead as he tried to cling to consciousness while punishing his short underling.
As soon as Charden woke up Echidna was on her feet and kneeling next to the bed, reaching out to grab his arm as she gave him the most thankful look she could muster. A few happy tears fell from her eyes as she stared at his now conscious face, her heart feeling a bit lighter knowing he was awake.
"Charden! Oh, thank God, you're awake!" She noticed the man's full attention was still on Shiki and frowned, not liking the deadly look that seemed to so easily grace his normally calm, handsome face. "Charden… Charden look at me."
The Blood Taoist kept his attention on Shiki as Doctor took a step back, afraid to jump in for fear of earning the man's wrath himself. Echidna looked quickly over at Shiki, seeing the man seemed to have a hard time breathing and even saw a little bit of blood stain his face coverings where she knew his mouth would be. That was when she realized that not only was Charden controlling his body via the blood in his veins, but also using it to slowly suffocate him. That was a trick he had learned to use not too long ago and was a similar attack he used on Creed to almost end his life. The only difference was he didn't use his own blood, most likely because he still did not have enough in his own body to attack the man.
Echidna's heart picked up speed as she turned back to Charden, gripping his arm tighter in an attempt to get his attention. "Darling… Let him go. We still need him."
Charden ignored her which only made the actress more concerned for her lover's mental state. She tried to shake him a little and even saw Jax quickly stand at the other side of the bed, grabbing his shoulder carefully so as to avoid the bandage as he tried to shake sense into his mentor as well. Echidna could tell the boy wanted to say something, but didn't know what he could say that would calm Charden down.
She looked back at Shiki whose body seemed to be growing weak, but would not fall since Charden was still controlling the blood in his body. The woman quickly turned back to her partner. "Charden…" She reached out with her other hand and grabbed his face, turning it so he faced her as she spoke. "My love… You need to let him go."
Charden blinked at her for a second, slowly lowering his hand and releasing the Bug Taoist. Shiki coughed loudly and fell to his knees, catching his breath as he rid himself of the small amount of blood that forcefully entered his mouth. Judging by the fact that he was still conscious and Doctor wasn't going to check on him, Echidna had a feeling Charden didn't have enough time or strength to do any real damage to the short man.
His intention was most likely to scare Shiki straight. But again, that's so unlike him. The man I fell in love with wouldn't act so violently so readily over something as ludicrous as a disrespectful comment. He really is slipping away from me…
Charden sighed in relief as he took in his lover, patting her hand gently as he leaned back into the bed, gently pulling himself out of Jax's grasp. He smiled at the woman, not noticing her disturbed demeanor as he spoke. "I'm so relieved to see you're okay, my love…"
Echidna sighed and rested her head on Charden's hand, glad to hear the kindness return to his voice as he spoke to her. "There isn't a scratch on me thanks to your sacrifice."
Charden smiled warmly at her, reached out with his other hand to run lightly through her hair. "I'd offer my life a million more times if it meant saving yours." He looked back at Shiki, the rancor in his eyes returning as the short man slowly began to stand up and lean against the wall to regain his composure. "I thought we discussed this. If I am ever out, Echidna assumes full control over the Apostles and you are to do as she says and treat her with as much respect as you would to me. Understood?"
Shiki nodded his head, but did not speak, worried anything he might say would get him in trouble again. Charden harshened his glare at the man and spoke to him one more time. "What are you even doing here? I know it can't be out of any care for me. If anything, you want to see if I'm conscious so we can plan our next attack. Am I correct?"
Shiki finally caught his breath, still leaning his back against the wall as he looked away from his leader, knowing his words were true and not wanting Charden to see the confirmation in his eyes. "My apologies, Charden-sama…"
Charden sighed and looked away from Shiki to Jax who seemed to be both relieved and scared, which confused the Apostles' leader. "I am sure you are here out of care for me. How are you, my boy?"
Jax breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his hero's voice sound normal and nodded. "I'm fine. Why would I not be?"
Charden gave another deadly glance at Shiki, who seemed intent on not looking at any of them. "Unfortunately, there are members of our group who do not see your value. I don't trust them to have your best interest in mind…"
"Yes, well, you can trust me, Charden-sama. Not only do I understand young Jax's value and talent, but you have me to thank for your life. May I continue with my examination?"
Charden looked at Doctor, then nodded his head and let the man continue examining him making sure he gave Shiki a few more warning glances the entire time. After a few minutes, Kanzaki pulled away and nodded his head in approval.
"Your blood is still reaccumulating, but overall you seem to be fine. The fact that you scolded Shiki without using your own blood also shows the logical side of you is still intact." Doctor pulled his stethoscope away as he stood up straight.
Echidna blinked, her heart sinking at Kanzaki's comment.
He was… being logical when he attacked Shiki?
What Doctor said made sense and it sent an unsettling chill down her spine. The fact that Charden's first course of action upon waking up was to attack Shiki was unsettling enough, but knowing he had actually put thought into how he was going to attack the short man made her feel even worse about his mental and emotional state. That meant that before he did anything to the Bug Taoist, he thought it through.
That means his violent side is slowly starting to become second nature to him. He's starting to use it as a crutch.
Echidna didn't know what to say or do with that information, so she hung her head low, lost in thought as she tried to settle the fear and worry in her heart.
...How do I save him from becoming a shadow of the man I love?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Doctor's voice. "Let me check the wound."
Echidna watched with a grimace as Doctor carefully pulled back the bandages, then sighed in relief at how good the wound looked. It was still a bright shade of red, but seemed as though it had closed up for the most part.
"That's a relief… It looks like the Tao is doing its job." She winced wildly as Doctor poked at the wound and gave him a lethal glare. "Is that necessary?!"
Doctor ignored her glare and nodded again. "Yes. Just trust me, I know what I'm doing." He noticed the caustionary look Chardne gave him and sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes since he knew that would only anger his leader more. "I'm not trying to be disrespectful, Charden-sama. I'm just stating facts. You know I have your best interests in mind, even if those interests are for selfish reasons."
Charden knew that was true and decided not to argue. Instead, he nodded and gave his lover a kind smile. "It doesn't hurt as bad as you may think, my dear. Please don't worry about me."
Echidna sighed and looked Doctor up and down wearily, then leaned back in her chair, taking Charden's hand in her own as she did so. "That's hard to do after what we went through…"
She had been playing through that night over and over again, trying to figure out where they went wrong. The only conclusion she could come to was they should have killed the thief before she had a chance to leave and call Chronos. Echidna was sure it had to be that woman who sent a message to them. Not only was she in a relationship with number VII, but she was the only one who had managed to escape.
"That thief is sneakier than we thought. We'll have to keep a closer eye on her." Charden's words echoed Echidna's thoughts, making the actress smile, happy to have her partner back to make her heart whole again.
Doctor replaced the bandages and stepped away from Charden, not caring that he was blocking Jax's view of his mentor the entire time. "As weak as some members in this organization may believe those sweepers are, we shouldn't be taking any of them lightly. Especially the bio-girl."
Charden nodded in agreement, then turned to Jax. "My dear boy, would you please see yourself out? Thank you for worrying about me."
Jax frowned deeply at his hero. "Why?"
Charden sighed. "Because we are about to discuss business. Business that you are too young to be a part of."
The teen gave the blonde man a stubborn look. "When will I be included in these meetings?"
Charden heard the stubbornness in his voice and spoke more firmly to the boy. "When you are ready. Don't make me tell you again."
Jax sighed, knowing that tone of voice too well and stood up. He lowered his head as he walked towards the door, mumbling under his breath as he made his way out of the room.
Charden waited until the door closed, then turned back to the rest of his team to ask a question. He didn't direct it at anyone in particular since he wasn't sure who would know the answer to it. "What happened to the Black Cat and Creed? Any word from them since they escaped?"
Doctor sighed and shook his head. "No. But, then again, we haven't really been looking…"
Charden saw the slightly annoyed look he gave Echidna and narrowed his eyes at the scientist. "Echidna was right to make you stay put. After being jumped by Chronos so suddenly, we need a moment to lick out wounds."
Doctor sighed and nodded, resisting the urge to point out he was the only one who was injured, other than his beasts who were already completely healed thanks to the nanomachines. That thought provoked him to bring up a topic he had with Charden on several occasions. "If you'd let me inject you with nanomachines, you would have been back on your feet in no time. Need I remind you how well it has worked with the children as well as Aja and Aztec?"
Charden rolled his eyes. "And need I remind you that I am not a weapon? Stop seeing me as one of your experiments and realize I don't need that technology inside me."
Echidna breathed a quiet sigh of relief, happy to hear her partner had not changed to the point of giving up his humanity entirely.
But… How much longer will that last? It's frightening that I can even begin to fathom the idea that he would ever consider injecting himself with nanomachines.
Doctor sighed in disappointment, then finally stepped away from his leader, ignoring the childish glare the teen was giving him. "Hopefully you'll see the truth and change your mind… In the meantime, I think I should inform you that it seems as though the Black Cat and Creed were able to not only destroy the Tao we brought for Jollin, but also obtained several documents on our relationship with the man and the syringe full of Chronos drugs."
Charden blinked, then widened his eyes. "Which we can only assume means Chronos now knows we broke into their headquarters and took their drug…" Seeing Doctor nod, the blonde man clenched his hand into a fist and punched the bed. "Damnit…!"
Echidna frowned, then reached out and wrapped her fingers around the clenched fist. "It's just a small set back, my love…"
"No, it really isn't. Not only does Chronos know we broke into their base, but they now have an idea that we are trying to use their drugs against them. That ruins so many plans." Doctor's voice was irritated as he spoke. "This only means we can't rest long. We need to get the Black Cat so we can use him to kill Creed. And we need to do it quickly."
Shiki sighed and rubbed his eyes, finally feeling safe enough to speak again. "Or it means the exact opposite. We need to abandon that plan and go back to working on taking Chronos down once and for all."
Doctor glared at the short man. "You know we can't take them down that easily. The best plan of action we can take is to take them out one by one. By catching the Black Cat, not only can I collect his DNA, but we can get him to take out Creed and possibly weaken him enough to finish Heartnet off as well. With those two out of the way, it'll be much easier to take Chronos down."
Shiki seemed even more annoyed with the man. "Chronos is just as dangerous as those men."
Doctor narrowed his eyes at the Bug Taoist. "But they will be far less dangerous with them gone."
Echidna was about to speak, but Charden silenced them both by controlling the blood floating through their throats and forcing them to stop talking. The men couldn't turn to look at their leader, but they were aware their current situation had to do with him.
Charden gave them both the deadliest look Echidna had ever seen from her lover. "I'm unsure of why the two of you are discussing what our plans should be when both of your leaders are sitting in the same room as you?" He tightened his hold on them, causing the men to make sputtering sounds. "Leave the plans to us."
He released them both, then fell back onto the bed, trying to cover up how tired he was. Echidna held back a gasp and clenched her hands on her knees, trying to hold back how much it hurt to see her partner react in such an unnecessarily violent way.
This is so unlike him… What should I do? What can I do?
Echidna sighed and patted her lover on the shoulder, trying to provide him with the comfort she desperately needed at the moment. "Darling… What do you think we should do?"
Charden calmed at the woman's touch, then rubbed his forehead. "We need to stick to the plan we already have in motion. We can't just pull out Nica and the others, that would be too dangerous since Sephiria's made it clear she still suspects them and is following them. They'll also be making their move soon, so there's no need to change what we're doing."
Shiki caught his breath, leaning against the wall as he addressed his leader. "Nica and her group plan on revealing themselves soon?"
Charden nodded, but did not look at the short man. Instead, he kept his eyes on the ceiling. "Yes. I grow weary of your constant mistrust in my plans. Not every plan will work out perfectly especially when we're working with people as skilled as the Black Cat and Chronos. And when a plan fail, we need to move forward and come up with a new one. But, in the meantime, we should stick to the plan that is still working." He turned his eyes to the Bug Taoist and glared harshly at him. "And you need to learn some patients and let the pieces fall as I have been setting them up." He then turned his evil look to Doctor. "Same goes for you…"
Shiki nodded his head and Doctor turned away and pretended he was checking Charden's IV. Seeing they were not going to protest his order, Charden continued. "Other than the Tao and the syringe, what other information did they obtain?"
Doctor sighed. "When I ran into the Black Cat, I didn't see much on him. I can only assume he had files on what our relationship with Jollin is, which I'm sure they were able to figure out on their own. The syringe was really the worst case scenario for us."
Charden nodded in agreement. "Then I guess we have nothing further to discuss. We will continue with the plans we already have set in motion and the two of you will learn your place. Understood?"
The men nodded, but avoided eye contact with him. Charden waved his hand at Shiki. "You may leave. I still do not understand why you came here in the first place. Unless it was purely to annoy me and worsen my condition."
Shiki grimaced, then bowed deeply and left quickly. Echidna frowned, unhappy with the way the interaction with their subordinate went, but still unsure of what to do about it.
Maybe I can speak with him privately at some point. But, I already know he doesn't see what I see. What we all see.
"Ms. Parass, if you don't mind, I'd like a moment with Charden to continue checking on his condition."
Echidna blinked at the Doctor, then glared slightly at him. "Why do I have to leave for that? I'm his partner."
Charden sighed and patted his lover's knee. "It's okay, Echidna. I feel like I'm going to need more rest anyway. I'm sure there's plenty you need to do while I'm recovering."
Echidna wanted to object, but she knew he was right. She was actually happy to hear he was going to choose to rest over work. She was worried that was going to be an argument.
He does need his rest. And maybe I need some time to myself to figure out what I should do.
She smiled at Charden warmly, then leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the forehead. She stood quickly and walked towards the door. Before she left, she glanced back at her lover and frowned when she saw he was already berating Doctor for something else. Sighing, she stepped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Once she was outside, she leaned against the door and shut her eyes, trying to compose herself enough not to cry as she walked down the halls. She didn't want her lackeys to see her being weak.
What should I do? I know I can try to talk to Charden, but… I've tried that a few times and it didn't work. Is there anyone else I can talk to?
She quickly went through the list in her head and sighed shakily. Everyone she spoke to on a regular basis was part of the Apostles and they did not need to hear she was worried about their leader. If they knew there might possibly be some stability issues with Charden, it might start a panic. Echidna thought that Shiki might even try to overthrow him by using the strength of the others in their group. While a lot of the group still respected Charden, they were a bit uneasy ever since their original leaders left quite unceremoniously.
Even the new members have been keeping a close eye on Charden. That's only added to the stress he's been dealing with, since he feels like he needs to be absolutely perfect.
Echidna sighed again, finally feeling composed enough to walk away, knowing Doctor would be stepping out any minute and she didn't want him to catch her being dramatic. She went through the list in her head again and cursed to herself, realizing there wasn't anyone she could talk to about the situation with her partner. She had no family, no real friends, and anyone she associated with was a part of her organization.
Possible Nica? She's logical enough to be able to take this situation in stride and she completely respects and trusts Charden.
The actress shook her head and growled a little to herself. That still wasn't a good idea. No matter how logical anyone else in her group may have been, letting them know she was concerned about Charden's mental state was not a good idea.
Not to mention she's with Watts who I'm sure would overreact if he overheard. I know Nica can be discrete, but it's still a bad idea.
Again, she went through the list in her head and stopped in her steps when a certain name fell among the new names. Her heart froze at the idea, then she shook her head wildly and continued walking.
That's a terrible idea! Why would I even think it?!
Sure, the man in question was far more logical and intelligent than anyone else she knew and he could personally relate to Charden's situation, but speaking to him about it was the worst idea she ever had. However, she cou'dn't ignore that he could also relate to the emotional aspect she was going through, since he had experienced something similar just a few years ago.
I'm sure he could give sound advice, but why would he? Besides, him knowing we might possibly have a problem with the leadership of our group would only make everything worse for Charden and the Apostles.
Just as she had convinced herself out of it, she heard rapid footsteps approaching from behind her. She looked over her shoulder and widened her eyes at what she saw. Doctor was walking quickly in her direction, clutching his arm tightly as he mumbled something under his breath. She couldn't see what was wrong from the distance the man was at, but as he got closer, she felt her heart sink. There was blood seeping between the man's fingers and his face was paler than usual.
As he passed her, Echidna wanted to ask him what happened, but the look on his face told the whole story. Once Doctor passed her and turned the corner in the direction of where his lab was, the actress stared at the door he had left. The part of her that loved Charden wanted to turn around and make sure he was okay, but the logical side of her decided even she wouldn't be able to calm him down right now. If he was worked up enough to draw blood on Kanzaki, she didn't think there was anything she could do to bring him back.
He's slipping away from me…
She felt a tear fall from her eye that she delicately wiped away with her index finger and she turned on her heel and continued walking down the hall, beginning to question her earlier thoughts.
...How bad would it be if I spoke to him? Maybe I can word it a certain way that he doesn't understand the problem…
She shook her head again.
No, he's too clever for that. He'd figure it out.
Echidna choked back another sob and quickened her pace, trying not to think about what her lover just did. She took in a deep breath and clenched her fists.
I can't take the idea off the table yet. If I don't get help for Charden, I'll lose him and we'll lose our war against Chronos.
She also knew if she spoke to the man in question, they could still lose the war.
But… Maybe if I did that, I wouldn't lose Charden.
That was the last thought she needed to give her the resolve she needed to go through with her idea. Losing the war meant nothing to her if she lost Charden as well. She'd happily give up their entire organization if it meant her lover didn't have to suffer anymore.
Charden would be worth it. If it's between his humanity and the end of Chronos, I'll choose him every time.
Echidna nodded to herself and turned a corner. Now it was just a matter of finding the man.