"They'll be here in ten minutes."
Helios clenched his claws as Slate came back with the news. For the last few hours, Helios hadn't been doing anything. He'd been unable to think of anything to do after Eve left with Selene.
Everything was gone. Everything was wrong. Kite wasn't going to prison - instead, he would go back to his master. Kite was probably laughing at the thought of all of this - Kite had won. Not only that, but Kapun managed to trick Kair into abandoning them, taking that Zorua with them.
And then Eve took Selene away - and Selene didn't want to abandon them! Selene didn't mind if they came along! But Slate alienated them, as he always did, and Eve decided to break the group.
"So what?" Helios groused once he heard the news. "What do you want me to do about it?"
"Nothing," Slate said. "It's none of our business anymore."
"None of our business?"
Slate sat down next to Helios. "This whole journey was stupid, Helios. I told you this from the beginning, but you didn't listen."
Helios remained silent.
"I know you're upset that you let Kite escape," Slate tried to console upon seeing his agonized face. "But you-"
"Never had a chance anyway," Helios replied, miserable. "You couldn't even beat him when he lost his paws. What chance did I have?"
"Uh… none?" Slate answered, nonplussed. "Helios, what is this about?"
"Just thinking," he continued. "Eve's probably far, far away right now, gone to Nucifera to try and kidnap Kite. But she can't because Kapun will try to rescue him first - and that's if his master doesn't immediately arrive, either. I don't think anyone wants my help anymore. I don't think anyone wants to help me."
"R-right." Slate looked a little uncomfortable. "I thought you'd be a little harder to convince-"
"Part of this is your fault, you know," Helios continued acidly. "We could have returned him to Regilia together, but you didn't want me to do anything. Didn't trust me, maybe?"
For once, Slate didn't say anything.
"You don't trust me, do you?" Helios's despair colored his every word. "You think you have to make every decision for me. You can't trust me to take care of myself, can't trust me to think. You took care of Kite by yourself, leaving me alone. As if I would ruin everything."
"Helios, you would have tried to stop me. Tried to help Selene, tried to hog all of the-" Slate trailed off as Helios glared at him with pure hatred. "I'll shut up now."
"... maybe I would have," Helios agreed, the hatred not disappearing. "I don't know about hogging the spotlight or the glory or whatever, but I would have tried to stop you from throwing Selene in front of rampaging Tauros. But Selene had over a week to try and hurt me, and she didn't do so then. She wasn't in any condition to help Kite, either."
"She could have been faking the illness?"
Helios laughed mirthlessly. "Fake all of that? Fake fevers in her sleep? Force herself to vomit even when she was audibly hungry?"
Slate didn't reply. "She had the same sensation that Ami, Baize, and the Xatu did. She's one of them, Helios."
Helios grimaced. "I don't know why you feel that. I don't feel that sensation, either. I don't 'instinctually trust her' - not when she comes into the room."
"You… don't?" Slate asked, uncertain.
"You said it's like a switch, right? The instant you see her, you feel a spark of trust blossom?" Slate nodded. "My level of trust doesn't change, and neither does anyone else's. I trust her, but seeing her in person doesn't change that at all."
"Well, maybe you're not as resistant to it as I am," Slate replied with indignance. "Maybe I'm just stronger than you."
Helios growled, the words digging into him. "Maybe you're just eager to take every excuse you can to justify hating her! To justify the search for her being wrong!"
"Maybe you're trying to justify wanting to protect her!"
"Why would I need to justify wanting to protect someone! Isn't protecting people what you're supposed to do?"
"Helios, you only knew her for less than a week before the Twin Moon Ball, but you were ready to throw everything away to rescue her. You were ready to abandon King Prometheus, Queen Hesione, and me to go stick out your neck for her." Slate's glare pierced through him. "There's one of two explanations. Either she's mind-controlled you-"
"No, she hasn't!"
"-or you have a crush."
Helios's rage instantly died. "W-what?"
Slate sighed. "It took me a while to realize it, across all of the doe-eyed looks you gave her when you thought no one was looking and all of the instances you instantly stood up for her over me. You've had a crush on her from minute one."
"C-Crush?" Helios laughed nervously. "You must be joking!"
Slate only pinned Helios down with a stare.
Helios's fake laughter died off. "So what?" he replied. "So what if I like her? Even an idiot can tell that she's not guilty!"
"Helios, how many times do I have to tell you?"
"How many times? Maybe give me something that you can't concoct from the depths of your imagination!"
"Are you saying I'm lying?! To you?!"
"The instant someone said that she was a criminal, even without any damning evidence, you were ready to throw her under the bus! You don't care for her, not one bit! You've wanted her gone the instant we met up with her again! Lying? You've done worse than that!"
Slate shot him with a stink eye before turning away. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I didn't lie to you, but you're not going to listen, no matter how many times I try to speak sense into you. The rescue party will be here soon enough, and I won't let you leave."
The worst part? Helios wouldn't be able to escape even if he tried. Slate was faster with his digging, and he could beat Helios repeatedly in battle. Slate was keeping his eye on Helios, so he could react to anything Helios tried to do. There was nothing he could do.
Had it been a month ago, a week ago, or even yesterday, Helios would have tried to order Slate to let him go, to help him go after Kite and the Temptress at Nucifera. But now that he knew that Slate would do whatever he wanted, even if it crossed what Helios wanted, there was no chance it would work.
Where had their friendship gone? Back before the Twin Moon Ball, it felt like Slate would let him do anything. Slate didn't mind it if he ran away from Aunt Hesione's classes, even helping him more than a few times. Slate was even willing to go against Uncle Theus and spar with him the second they arrived at Regilia's castle. He even took the blame when Helios got injured, and he wasn't unhappy about it afterward!
But the night of the Twin Moon Ball, the night everything went wrong, Slate stopped listening to Helios like he used to do. He chased Helios down, not as part of a game, but to stop him from leaving. He misled and tried to dissuade Helios from the journey, and he tried to tear Helios away from anyone else, anyone he didn't trust.
And then he locked Helios in the cargo hold during the fight on the ship, and he tried to arrest Kite without Helios's help. The more this journey went on, the more estranged they became.
Helios wanted to ask Slate to see if he knew but stopped himself before he could ask the question. Helios probably knew the answer already - Slate was just doing what he thought was right, to help him. If that meant lying to Helios, then he would lie to Helios without skipping a heartbeat. When Helios was doing something that didn't bother Slate too much, Slate would easily allow it. When Helios did something really worrying, Slate went ballistic.
Then a stray thought crossed Helios's mind. Knowing that new fact, dealing with and working with Slate had to change. Chances were that he could no longer get Slate to work with Selene or anyone else in any meaningful way, but escaping the house was something Helios could pull off.
Maybe, if Helios figured out a way to make it seem like escaping before the rescue party got here was the safest option, as if the rescue party would be more dangerous than just leaving. Helios had to make it seem like the rescue party teemed with… enemies…
… oh no…
Helios stared at the ground. When he had started this line of thought, it had been trying to think of some way to trick Slate into letting the two of them go. But now, there wasn't a need for trickery since Slate would agree that what was coming for them was their enemy as well.
"Slate," Helios began. "You said that a rescue party is coming after us, right?"
"Yes, that is what I was told," Slate answered testily, still a little upset with Helios.
"Who told you that?"
Slate tilted his head. "Baize? Why…?" Slate trailed off as he realized what Helios had done a minute prior. "You don't think…"
"Slate, what are the odds that the Shadow Worker, who works for a slaver, will send the rescue party after us?"
"... we have to go." Slate said, getting up and opening the door. "We can't let the Temptress capture us too. I'm not letting you get a slavery band or a Collar around your neck, even if it makes me die in the process!"
Helios hurried behind Slate as they ran out the door. Off in the distance, Helios saw a mass of Pokemon headed straight for them. "They're already after us!" Helios warned.
Slate growled in anger. Before they took any more steps, Slate dug a hole in the ground. "Get in here!" Slate ordered. "I'll dig us a tunnel that'll go far, far away!"
Helios jumped in and followed Slate as he dug through the ground at lightning speed. There wasn't any chance that Helios could catch up to him when Slate was in his element, but Helios did his best to keep pace with him.
"Where are we going?!" Helios asked.
"Anywhere but here!" Came the reply. Helios could easily guess that the 'anywhere' Slate was talking about wasn't including Nucifera since they had gone the opposite direction that Selene and Eve had gone. Going south instead of their north, Helios doubted that they would meet up with the two any time soon.
After ten to fifteen minutes of running, Helios finally ran out of breath. Despite his exercises with Slate a week ago, he still held nowhere near the amount of stamina that Slate did. "Can we… can we slow down a bit?"
Slate turned away from his digging. "Helios, do you want the Temptress to capture us?!"
"N-no! I'm just tired!" Helios exclaimed. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"I don't know," Slate said, sounding tired. "In the room that we were staying in, there were several places marked on a map relative to the house. One of them was Logain - that's not an option. I'm choosing one as far away from Nucifera and Logain as possible. It'll take a few more hours, but we'll make it there before nightfall if we don't waste too much time."
Helios grimaced. "Are you sure they'll be safe?"
Slate shook his head. "What are the odds that they'll contain the Temptress or some of her minions?" Slate asked rhetorically. "It's close to Fylak, so unless the Temptress has dug her claws unbelievably deep into Illusuria's government, we'll be safe until an actual rescue party comes."
As Slate resumed his tunneling, Helios couldn't help but bite his lip. Fylak was a public slave quarry, one of the only few in the world. It was one of the few foreign places that Helios was passably familiar with since many generals sent their prisoners of war there to "work". The security there was impossibly strong since the guards were slaves, the miners were slaves, and even the janitors were slaves.
Slate had made it clear that he hated the idea of Fylak, and Helios couldn't help but agree. Just enslaving everyone… it rubbed against him the wrong way. But Slate was the one tunneling, so Helios didn't have a choice. It probably was safe, anyway (hopefully).
But the other thing that rubbed Helios the wrong way was the fact that they were getting farther and farther away from Nucifera, where Kite, Eve, and Selene were. In all likelihood, Helios could no longer capture Kite. Helios's revenge, his attempt to regain his pride, had all… failed.
Somewhere, deep in the back of his mind, Helios had known this. He had known this since Slate had given Kite away. He had known this since he had learned that Kite was a Collared.
He had known it from the second he had stepped out of Regilia's castle walls. He had known that he would fail.
It was a good thing that Slate was busy digging the walls. Then he wouldn't be able to see Helios's tears.
…
Several hours had passed. Slate had kept digging throughout it all, and Helios had kept running. Though his legs felt like they were burning with brighter fire than he could ever make, he managed to keep going.
After all, the more he ran, the less of his thought processes would return to his failure. With nothing to say to Slate and nothing to do, running was the only other distraction he could use to distance himself from it.
Eventually, though, Slate's digging slowed down to a stop, and he turned to Helios. "We're approaching Fylak. We're not going to go to it immediately, though - I've led us to where the map described. Hopefully, we can use it as a secret entrance to Fylak. I'm hoping we can talk to someone up high, who'll take us back home."
"... right," Helios said, slowly nodding. "Maybe it's time we went back home after all."
"Are you feeling okay?" Slate asked, sounding alarmed.
Helios grimaced. "Now that we're at Fylak, there's pretty much no chance I'll be able to capture Kite anymore. We might as well make our way home. I'm sure Uncle Theus will be happy to hear how you've done your best to stop me."
Slate rubbed Helios's back in an attempt to be consoling. "You did your best, better than what I thought would happen. We came close a couple of times too, and if we'd been just a little luckier, things would have worked out-"
"Slate, don't try to cheer me up." Helios knocked off Slate's claws. "You won. The journey's over. I can't catch Kite, and Selene's going to die if Eve fails. You won."
Slate winced, turning away from Helios. "Well, if you put it like that…"
"If I put it like that, I'm telling you the truth. That was what you wanted in the end, and that's what you're getting."
"... if it makes you feel any better, I didn't want Kite to remain free. I thought that I was giving him to Regilia, not to the Temptress."
"I already knew that. It doesn't change a thing." The silence pressed on for a few minutes. "Slate, we can't stay here forever. Are we going or not?"
Slate laughed nervously. "R-right." He turned back to the tunnel. "There's a wall of metal ahead. I assume it's one of the foundations of Fylak's walls. Luckily, we can head right around it and enter wherever the map said to go."
Slate resumed digging, albeit at a much slower pace than before. Eventually, though, he dug the tunnel around the foundations, Helios following along.
"Hey, Helios?" Helios turned to face Slate. "There's something weird about the ground in front of me. To my ground senses, it feels hollow for some reason."
"Hollow?" Helios repeated. "Do you think that there's a cave down there?"
"It's a mine," Slate reminded him. "It's likely one of the shafts, so we should probably avoid it."
Helios bit his lip. "Probably," he agreed. "But something is bugging me about it. What you said doesn't feel right to me."
"Why doesn't it?" Slate asked, sounding a little bemused. "Fylak is both a prison and a mine, so there being a shaft down there is very likely."
"But we just went around one of the foundations," Helios reminded him. "Why would they put one of their shafts near it?"
"You're worried if they were to dig under it and accidentally make it fall?"
Helios nodded. "Or something like that." A spark of intuition came to him. "Slate, what's the shape of the hollow section?"
"The shape?"
"Yeah, can you check what it is?"
Slate placed his hands on the wall. "The shape of the hollow area is," he paused before a surprised look came over him. "Perfectly rectangular?"
Helios gulped. "So I was right. There is something weird about this area." He sighed. "I know the journey is over, but can you dig into the area, just in case? I want to take a quick look at whatever that weird place is before we go to Fylak."
Slate shrugged. "Alright, something small like this shouldn't be too difficult." With a mighty punch, Slate broke the wall between them and the hollow area, letting large pieces of it crumble away at their feet.
Helios gingerly stepped over the rubble before walking inside the area. The air was chilly but not stuffy. There were light fixtures on the ceiling and lamps on the walls, though none were burning. Crates and boxes laid on the floor - one of them was open, revealing dried fruits and other non-perishable foodstuffs. Across from them was a giant metal door.
"Slate? This isn't an abandoned mine shaft." Helios announced as Slate stepped inside behind him.
"Definitely," Slate agreed. "It looks more like somewhere they use to store food." He clapped his hands. "Mystery solved! Let's go enter the complex properly, okay?"
Helios didn't listen, though - something was still off-putting about all of it. There was nothing wrong with what Slate said, as what he was saying made perfect sense to him. Throughout his journey, however, Helios started listening to a strange gut feeling he had. It had told him that the Illicity was wrong, even when it had just been a city in a cavern to him. It had warned him that something was wrong during Selene's performance on the Twin Moon Ball. It told him that this wasn't a mine shaft, even though Slate hadn't said anything against it before he scanned the area again.
Now, it was telling him that what Slate had said was closer to the truth but still wasn't quite right.
"There's still something off about all of this," he declared again. "I'm going to go check."
"Helios!"
Helios turned to Slate, smiling apologetically. "Sorry. I know that this is making you worried," as was clear on his face. "But there's something I think I need to check out. I'll make sure not to open any prison doors or anything like that, okay?"
Slate winced. "Fine," he allowed. "But I'm staying right next to you so that you don't try anything other than looking around, got it?"
Helios rolled his eyes. "I got it, I got it." Things were feeling more and more like they had before Helios had started the journey, where the only thing they had to worry about was whether Uncle Theus had seen Helios sneak out.
Helios fumbled with the lock for a while before pulling it open since it could be opened from the inside. He crept in the hallway, that strange gut sense telling him that he needed to be careful.
"Helios, why are you acting so weirdly?"
"Be quiet!" Helios hissed, making Slate shut up.
The hallways were supposed to be that of a mine shaft, or a prison (Helios wasn't sure which part of Fylak they were currently in). It felt like neither, though - the hallway went on for far too long without any other rooms to be a compact prison, and was too clean and well-shaped to be a mine shaft.
"Slate," Helios said slowly. "I don't think we're inside Fylak right now."
"Helios, what are you talking about?" Slate whispered. "We're in Fylak. I used the map in that house to lead us here."
"You said it was near Fylak, not that it was Fylak."
"Helios, I could have been a little off in my digging. We were in a bit of a rush, after all."
Helios didn't agree but didn't comment on it either. They crept through the hallway some more, and his apprehension slowly started to grow.
Then they came across a door that made his blood run cold.
"Morgue," he whispered breathlessly.
"Helios, we should not be here!" Slate whispered harshly in return. Helios ignored him and opened the door, as it too was unlocked.
A sickly rotting scent wafted over Helios's nose, and he would have thrown up if he had eaten anything today. As it was, he dry-retched, feeling all the worse for it.
"Helios, we have to leave. Let's just enter Fylak normally, please."
Helios continued ignoring him and walked up to one of the trays holding a hidden body. Next to it, a plaque read "Epsilon-12-8". That gut feeling, that strong sense of intuition he was feeling, told him that he needed to see what was inside. It had gone far beyond normal curiosity at this point.
"Helios-"
Helios pulled the tray and the body into full view, cutting Slate off.
A dead body - not just any dead body, though. Part of it looked like a Frosmoth, another like a Noctowl, and its bottom resembled a Dragapult. But they were all on the same dead body, as if…
"This had to be an accident, right?" Slate questioned next to him, sounding unsure of himself. "Why else would they-"
"Why are they on the same dead body?" Helios asked, feeling another spike of cold run through him.
Before Slate could offer one of his palatable, reasonable explanations that likely didn't match the truth, Helios went to another of the trays, the plaque on this one saying "Epsilon-10-13". Opening it, Helios saw something resembling a Rampardos, Tyrantrum, and Lucario smashed into one being. The corpse was frozen with a look of raw agony on its face.
Slate gulped. "Are they all like this?"
Helios rushed through all of the trays of the morgue, opening all of them. All of the cadavers were horrid abominations, fusions of several Pokemon packed into one.
"What is Fylak… doing to them?" Helios asked, feeling ill.
"Helios, it's… it's none of our business," Slate answered, though he sounded unsure as well. "We should go to the surface and enter in the normal way."
Helios shook his head as he started pushing the trays back inside. "Whatever it is, we can't let them continue doing it," he declared. "We have to collect evidence of it and show it to Uncle Theus. Then they can bust this place open and stop it."
"Helios, this is dangerous." Slate repeated.
Helios shook his head. "We've done more dangerous things. Slate, keep watch with your ground sense. We're not going to fight anyone, just steal something that proves what's happening here." Something smaller than one of the corpses and hopefully less dead.
"Helios," Slate tried to warn, but Helios was already off. "Helios, stay careful!"
"I will!" he promised. However, he didn't slow down his running in the slightest. He had to find another door, hopefully, one that wasn't another morgue. As he ran, another spark of hope bloomed inside him.
This was another chance, one he had obtained through pure luck. Maybe stopping Kite was too far out of his league, but just finding something to let Uncle Theus take care of everything? That was something Helios was sneaky enough to pull off.
Of course, Helios wasn't that good at being sneaky, but still!
Then Helios heard conversation echoed through the hallways and coming around a corner. "... progress on Epsilon 1-304?" a smooth female voice asked.
"He might be a little unhappy, yes, but he no longer expects anything from this facility." An equally smooth male voice replied, though there was a slight rasp to it as well. "New orders have yet to come in, as he is still coming to terms and recovering from the failure in Felmagador Canyon."
"Troubling," came the reply.
"We'll have to wait to find out what his new plan will be to reach the goal. We'll have to continue as normal until then."
A door opened, closed, and then Helios could hear no more.
"Slate, we have to follow them," he ordered, to Slate's absolute disdain. "And no, I'm not budging on this. We have to see this through."
"Helios, you are really getting on my nerves right now." Slate answered harshly. "At least let me check the area so that I can make sure they'll be unable to sense us once we enter."
"Fine." Helios walked around the corner and approached the door. "How is it?"
"There are three people inside. One is moving wildly about, and the other two are probably the people talking before." Slate answered after a second. "They're leaving for a side room in three, two, one, now."
Helios opened the door and crept inside. There were no windows or glass panes, just a small bed where one of the abominations thrashed wildly, crying as they did so. But for all their thrashing, they couldn't escape the belts and bindings that tied them down.
"They're still alive," Helios whispered to Slate. "We have to talk to them, learn what's going on!" Slate grimaced but nodded.
At Helios's words, the thrashes stopped, though it was clear the subject was still in pain. "Who… who is that?!" They loudly asked. "You're new!"
Helios hissed. "Keep it down, or do you want them to hear us?"
"Save me, please!""Save me!""No, save me!"
Multiple voices requested it at the same time, though all of them came from the test subject. To his horror, different mouths were asking different questions, as if they had different minds behind them.
"I… I'll try," Helios promised. "I'll save you all. Where is the clasp for the belt?"
"On the bottom!""Below us!""Look under the bed!"
Helios kneeled and looked under the bed for the clasps. A few seconds later, he saw it. "There they are!"
"Helios, you can't save them," Slate warned. "If you do, they'll slow us down, and those other scientists will find us!"
Helios was about to unclasp it anyway, but before he could, the sound of footfalls reached his ears.
"Slate, they're coming back!"
"We'll come back for you!" Helios promised before he and Slate fled for an alcove where they wouldn't be seen. Just as they hid from view, the door opened, and the two voices from earlier reentered. Next to him, he felt Slate freeze.
"Shadow Workers," he whispered, making Helios freeze as well. For them to be here as well was bad news. As soon as they could, they were leaving, hopefully with the subject as well.
… if they could…
"Good news, 304. You're getting your wish - your pain is finally over." The female voice, belonging to a Hatterene, spoke to the subject. "We're moving onto Epsilon 1-305, so you're no longer needed."
"Beginning termination." The male's voice, coming from a Bisharp, announced before snapping his fingers.
Immediately, the subject began screaming, their flesh slowly dissolving into a black goop.
"SAVE ME!""HELP ME!""PLEASE!"
Helios knew that they weren't directing those pleas at the two scientists. He knew full well to whom they were directed.
"PLEASE!""YOU PROMISED!""WE NEED YOU!"
Helios felt tears falling from his face as he watched the subject's body finally dissolve completely.
"... we trusted you…" The subject's first voice, the one Helios spoke to initially, said out of thin air. Helios felt a chill go down his spine as the only solid thing that remained of them - a single red eye - turned itself to where Helios was hiding before it too dissolved as well.
The Hatterene turned to the alcove. "You two can come out now. I could sense your emotions from over an hour ago, so you never had a chance in the first place."
So his hiding, to save his hide, was in complete vain. He had the chance to save the subject and instead ran away futilely.
Its death stained his claws.
Slate tried digging a hole to run away, probably to take Helios with him. Before he could start, though, the Hatterene's eyes glowed white, and Slate fell to the ground in deep pain.
A second later, the Hatterene's eyes stopped glowing, and Slate wearily got back up, only to be hit by the Bisharp's Mean Look, trapping him in place.
"You two aren't the brightest, are you?" The Hatterene mentioned glibly. "The second you find a Beedrill's nest, you stick your claws inside, hoping to satisfy your curiosity and eat delicious honey. You two were lucky before and are lucky no longer."
Helios gulped.
"We have plans for you."
"Pyrrer gestit psists affeate."
Culus blinked, cognizance returning to him. "What the - where am I?!"
The last thing Culus remembered was the sensation of falling (or did he imagine that?). Before that, the giant storm they had been trapped inside, and that strange 'pressure' that could calm everything down around him.
Now, he was inside a cell with no windows. His paws - fake paws, now - had been welded together. Useless. It would be impossible for him to run, even if his hind legs weren't chained together.
"Hello, Kite. Or should I call you by your actual name, Culus?" His attention was brought to the only other person in the room, an apathetic Xatu.
"Who are you? What did you do to me?!" Culus demanded, making his fury known.
"My name is Xion. I am Regilia's Spymaster, one of the king's favorite subjects." Xion ruffled his feathers. "Slate, a Gible, brought you to Logain's police department, where I immediately transported you here for questioning."
Culus's blood boiled. Slate, the one who had fired the first shot. He had taken advantage of him when he was weak and gave him up.
"I won't answer anything you say!" Culus immediately objected. "There's nothing you can do to me to make me!"
"Oh, there's no need anymore. You've already answered all of our questions."
Culus went cross-eyed. "What are you talking about? I haven't answered anything-" A horrible thought occurred to him. "He couldn't have used it, could he?!"
"If you're talking about the commands to put you in Reporting Mode-"
"The bastard!"
Culus seethed as Xion coughed. "You never had a chance," the Xatu stated bluntly. "You were putty in our hands, and you're still putty now."
"Even if it's only for a few seconds, I can put up a fight!" Culus immediately began charging electricity, only for a searing pain to instantly put a stop to it. A familiar searing pain.
"In case you haven't noticed, we reconfigured your slavery band to work to a new master ring - now all of your abilities have been added to trigger it, including your creation and your new 'calm' power."
"... fuck… you." Culus wheezed, glaring at Xion with all of his hatred. "I'll… I'll get you. I'll make you suffer."
"You won't get the chance." Xion shook his head. "The slavery band will activate if you even take a step, not that you can even do that." He then tilted his head. "It doesn't matter if you activate it, though, since you know your fate, the fate you tried so desperately to avoid."
Culus froze. "Undeath," he whispered.
"Precisely," Xion answered, smug. "In five hours, your mind will be a steaming puddle of pain. I'm here to escort you to the machine."
"N-no!" Culus howled. "I won't go! You can't make me!" Culus tried running, only for his welded-together paws to make him fall - though, he couldn't feel the impact over the slavery bands activating.
"Didn't I tell you?" Xion asked, shaking his head. "Even a step will trigger them. There is nothing you can do. As an example, let's do this." Xion teleported away for a second before returning with a new master ring. "Culus, I'll make it so that you can't even talk."
Culus opened his mouth - and then screamed as pain flooded his system. He shut his mouth, tears coming to his eyes.
Step 1: Assess the Situation, Goals, and Obstacles.
The situation? He was-
"Sorry, no Logic Mode for you. Cantrynx orizes ricenda, lobzen piecto, End Logic Mode for thirty minutes."
Logic Mode faded away, though it didn't matter in the end. After all, there was nothing he could do, as any attempt to do anything would instantly cripple him with pain.
"From now on, all you're allowed to do is nod or shake your head. Understood?"
Culus nodded.
"Excellent." The master ring flashed. "I've now given special permission for you to walk with me. If you try to run, the band will activate. If you try to walk in any direction I'm not going, the band will activate. If you walk in another direction or stay still without my explicit permission, the band will activate. Understood?"
Culus shook his head.
"Ah - I forgot that your legs are bound." Xion's eyes glowed, and Culus felt himself rising back into a standing position. "You can now hobble alongside me."
And as Xion opened the door and the band's tingle told him to walk or else, Culus felt the rest of his meager pride shattering into pieces.
As they walked through whatever facility Culus was trapped in, other prisoners wearing slave bands crossed their paths, most of them holding pickaxes for some reason. All of them had a dead, defeated look in their eyes, only looking at Culus with sympathy.
"Currently, we're inside Fylak," Xion announced. "Most of the people you see here have just as much reason to be here as you do, Kite. Of course, no one's reason matches yours in terms of severity."
Fylak - the term came to him as a fusion between a prison and a mining facility. That explained the pickaxes. It also gave him his location in Illusuria, though the information was less than useless now.
Within a few minutes, Xion had walked him far below all of Fylak, letting him tumble down a long set of stairs instead of bringing him down. Culus could do nothing as Xion simply flew down, healed his bones and muscles so he could still move, and forced him to continue walking to his demise.
At long last, they arrived at a small and private chamber. Xion opened the door for him as he was forced to walk to the giant machine - to Undeath.
It was happening - it was actually happening. As Xion fastened him into the machine, sealing his legs so they couldn't even move anymore, Culus felt the despair finally hit him. Now, he was only allowed to cry, which didn't even trigger Logic Mode anymore.
"What a sad, sad sight you are," Xion commented with apathy. "But you are a child, and crying is what children do. Despite your strength - ah, former strength - when stripped of all your layers of armor, this is who you are inside."
Culus could only cry more, snot dripping from his nose. All he had done had been for nothing. All of the stealing, all of the forgery and fighting, all of the planning, all of the determination. None of it mattered now that every claw was clipped and every fang ripped from his jaw.
Eventually, though, the well his tears drew from ran dry, his nose emptied of snot. Culus lifted his head wearily to face Xion.
"Ah, excellent, you've stopped. You took a truly pitiful amount of time to cry. You should be proud."
Culus couldn't even glare. He'd lost all of his energy.
"Anyway," Xion continued. "I won't start it up just yet. We have guests arriving very soon."
The doors opened, and in walked a Hatterene and a Bisharp, each carrying Dragnians that Culus was intimately acquainted with.
"Kite!" Prince Helios and Slate. Two people that he didn't want to see at his lowest point. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm afraid he can't answer, Prince Helios," Xion answered. "I've set him up with a new master ring. Now, he can't attack, speak, or even move at all. He's lost all agency - and soon, his mind will leave as well."
Helios shivered, though Slate said nothing. Xion looked at the Hatterene and Bisharp before his eyes glowed brightly. Their eyes glowed as well, and Culus realized they were communicating telepathically.
Then Xion's eyes stopped glowing. "Pardon me, I'll be right back." Xion teleported away for a second before returning with two open slavery bands and master rings in his wings. "Hold still, you two."
Helios's eyes widened. "Slavery bands…"
Slate tried wrenching the Bisharp's grip off of him, but he couldn't. Before either of them could try to fight back, Xion closed the bands around Helios's neck and Slate's arm.
What was happening? Xion was a loyal Regilian, so why was he attacking Helios and Slate? Why were those two helping him?
The master rings glowed brightly, and Helios and Slate immediately fell in pain.
"That is but a taste of what slavery bands can do," Xion declared. "Brimu, Kiriki, you two can leave for your experiments. I'll handle everything from here."
The Hatterene nodded before asking a question. "Xion, we have to collect more materials for Epsilon 1-305. Will there be any issues if Kiriku and I use the prisoners?"
"None at all. I'll have the managers write it off as death by mining collapse or something like that. Feel free to take any one of them."
The Hatterene, who Culus guessed was called Brimu, smiled. "Thank you, Xion. You truly are dependable." She and Kiriku then walked away.
Xion turned to Helios and Slate, who had gotten up after their pain faded. "The slavery band will activate if you move, attack, or do anything remotely threatening. For Slate, it will activate if he speaks as well, since Baize told me you were quite the annoying individual. There's no point in trying anything."
Slate fell in pain.
"See, this is why you should listen to your elders," Xion admonished. "The slightest of movements made for that intention will set them off."
Helios wiped away his tears, fury appearing on his face. "Why? What did we do to deserve all of this!"
Xion ruffled his feathers. "Nothing," he answered. "We hold no grudge against you or anything like that. The slavery band is just to keep you still for the next few days since our sponsor is a little too busy to see you at the moment."
Sponsor? Did Xion lie to him about being Regilia's spymaster?
"Sponsor?" Helios echoed.
"Yes, our sponsor. He's in a bad mood right now, and he views you with utter contempt. He's arranged a meeting so that he could meet you at your lowest point, hence the poor treatment."
"I… have an enemy?" Helios asked, a little incredulous. Culus definitely understood the confusion - Prince Helios was irritating on a good day, but to make an enemy that hated him this much?
"Yes. We'll give him the master ring so he can watch you squirm," Xion continued. "He truly loathes you. After that, he has requested to turn you into a Shadow Worker."
"You can't make me a Shadow Worker! I'll never become like you!" Helios refuted, eyes blazing. "I would never join the Temptress!"
Culus could only stare in confusion. Shadow Workers? Temptress? What were they babbling about?
Xion chuckled. "Do you think the person I used to be wanted to be a Shadow Worker? Do you think any of the Shadow Workers were willing at first? She doesn't care what you want or believe. She can make you into anyone she wants you to be."
Helios gulped. "You're - you're bluffing," he claimed.
Xion only smiled.
"Get me out of here!" Helios wailed. "I don't want to be here anymore! I want to go home!"
"You'll go home sooner or later. There's no need to worry your head over that." Xion tapped the glaring Slate on his fin. "You won't be the same, of course, but you will go home."
Helios only sobbed, mirroring Culus a little earlier.
"You all will have visitors, of course," Xion added. "The reason you are here, Kite, is that you killed Kenki, a dear friend of the Temptress. Simply killing you or having our dear customer take you back would be far too little of a punishment. She will come and see you suffer in person."
Killing him is what led to this?
"We have delayed the punishment for far too long," Xion declared. "Helios, any last words for Kite?"
Helios didn't say anything.
"Oh well." Xion smiled one last time. "Goodbye."
Xion teleported away. Seconds later, a few crystals on the machine started glowing. As the tingle in the back of his head grew, Culus opened his mouth to say one last thing.
"Damn it."
Pain blossomed, making him seize up and scream.
…
It didn't end. It never ended. It only grew worse. Culus's thoughts only grew hazier, the sea of molten pain melting everything away. There were no desires beyond escaping the pain. There was nothing to remember, nothing to believe. The pressure on his mind was too great.
…
Hours had to have passed. Culus's emotions were dying. His throat had long grown hoarse, his eyes burned their tears away. Stuck in both limbo and hell, he could do nothing but suffer.
…
His body hurt. Everything hurt. Nothing but pain. There was nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
…
Strangely, at some point, one of his emotions flickered up again. It was crushed by the pain in an instant, returning to nothing.
Had Culus been able to identify it, he would call it sadness.
And then, as the timer on it had run out long ago, something the Undeath couldn't annihilate reactivated.
Step 1: Assess the Situation, Goals, and Obstacles.
The situation? He was in the Undeath machine, doing nothing at all but suffering. His forelegs were welded together, and not all of the injuries from the fall from the flight of stairs had healed. The pain he was feeling prevented him from doing anything. His allies were not present and likely wouldn't appear before all of his memories were ground into nothing. Prince Helios and Slate were here but had no agency. They were also enemies.
There were no positives.
The goals? His primary goal was to escape the Undeath. His time limit was until his mind expired from the onslaught of pain.
The obstacles? Pain from the Undeath machine prevented him from using any of the powers that could help him in his situation. Culus could not concentrate enough during the pain to complete any sort of task whatsoever.
Step 2: Assess Possible Solutions to the Obstacles
Unachievable. Pain removed all agency from him, stopping him from using any solutions. The only possible solution, the Undeath machine failing or allies coming to save him, was out of his control.
.
.
.
Calculating… calculating…
.
.
.
Calculations complete. Temporary usage of Collar power can power one mental action for one second.
Calculate actions that require one mental action for one second.
.
.
.
Calculating… calculating…
.
.
.
Calculations complete. The 'calming' power is the only power to fit the criteria, powered by a single desire for calm. The 'calming' power may be used instantly.
Possible Solution: the calming power has a visible effect on the environment. The usage of the 'calming' power may stress the Undeath machine to break faster.
Step 3: Create Plans to Remove Obstacles and Achieve Goals.
Use stored power to fuel the use of the 'calming' power. Repeat the usage to possibly stress the Undeath machine.
Planning Concluded
Culus's eyes snapped open, the instant desire for calm washing over him. The calming power he had felt snapped into place.
…
"Where is the pain?" Culus croaked, looking at the environment. His power was clearly in effect, pushing down on Helios and Slate and making them wince.
"Slate, what's happening?!" Helios asked, grimacing.
"I don't know!" Slate replied with annoyance before his eyes opened wide. "I can talk! The slavery band isn't working!"
Culus realized that he was only feeling the aftereffects of the slavery band as well. "It shuts down the slavery bands," he marveled.
And then he ran out of stamina, the power falling away.
Everything fell into pain once again.
…
Culus's eyes opened again, the desire for calm reactivating. "How long has it been since the pressure shut down?" he asked.
Helios winced as the pressure reasserted itself. "T-ten minutes."
Ten minutes of pain, thirty seconds of pleasure. As the power began to wane once again and the tingle rose, Culus realized that this is how he would have to keep his mind for a while.
Culus could only hope help would come soon.
King Prometheus slammed his fist on the table. "Where is he?! Your Spymaster said that they had found Helios!"
The Regilian messenger gulped in a panic. "They had! They had!" The messenger insisted. "But then the Prince's bodyguard, Slate, disappeared. We continued without him, but when we managed to send out the rescue party to the house, we found that it was empty."
Prometheus growled. "So then Baize lied?"
"Reginald, leave." Prometheus's attention was torn away from the messenger to one of the leaders of the rescue party - the noble son of Eonia's Lord Black, Light Black. "I wish to discuss the events of last night with the king."
"O-of course!" The messenger scurried out, leaving Prometheus alone with Light. He scoffed at how the young failure drew himself - acting all self-important!
"What is there to discuss?" Prometheus questioned. "Regardless of what happened, your rescue squad failed. I suggest you leave my sight before my patience thins any more than it already has."
Light only smiled. "Undoubtedly true, your Highness. I simply wish to let you know in a far more elucidatory fashion than what Aegeron's thick messenger could communicate." Light then laid down on the ground. "We beg your forgiveness and patience, and wish only to let you know of our future course of action."
Future course of action? Prometheus scoffed at the idea of trusting these fools to do anything properly but nodded regardless. "Then get on with it. Enough warbling - explain."
"Of course." Light's expression didn't change. "As the messenger explained, the Prince's old bodyguard left in the middle of preparations. We held initial concerns as to what the disappearance meant, but as we started the raid, it became clear what happened."
Light then paused for seemingly dramatic effect. "It seems that Kite's allies learned of Slate's betrayal sooner than we had wished. One likely kidnapped the traitor right below Baize's nose."
"So it is her fault, then?"
"Of course. She's been demoted and her position replaced for such an oversight," Light replied. "This is mostly conjecture, though. Depending on the results of the full investigation, she may be reinstated in her role."
Prometheus scowled. "Regardless of the kidnapping, how does this translate…" Prometheus stopped and thought for a second. "They tortured him for information, you suspect?"
"According to Slate's testimony, Kite's side consists of Kite, Selene, a Dragonite, a Deino, and a Zorua. Between the Dragonite and the Zorua, there is more than enough ways to physically and psychologically torture and interrogate someone." Light shook his head. "Again, we have no concrete evidence to support this. More investigations must occur for full knowledge."
Blast it. "You believe they had foreknowledge of the raid?"
"Indubitably. Upon further investigation, we found traces of Charmander scales, Eevee fur, Deino hair, etc. In other words, Slate's testimony was not falsified." Prometheus slowly nodded. "We will need further funding and support to complete-"
"Funding? More support?" Prometheus laughed, staring Light down. "Don't be ridiculous. The Regilian Hounds have shown nothing to prove their usefulness. You have wielded Dragnis's support bountifully while achieving incredibly little. Tell Kings Leafia and Midos that I need results, not platitudes."
"King Midos is dead."
His heart thumped loudly. "... repeat that, if you would."
"King Midos is dead," Light repeated. "Though his illness had been cured, he committed suicide last night. My underling Prince Yurime was excused from his duties to mourn this morning."
Midos was dead? From suicide?
"That seems highly suspect. Had the King a reason or a note for the suicide?"
"None." Light stood up. "And I believe the King would have said this to you: don't lose faith in your allies. Just as we need you, you need us. We will find your nephew and bring him back to you in full safety."
Prometheus was a little unnerved. There was a supreme confidence in what Light was saying. There was no arrogance, but Light seemed to believe in the future he had described with the same certainty that the sun would set at dusk.
Just what did he know that Prometheus didn't.
Prometheus shook himself, returning to a normal state of mind. "Light, follow me."
Finally, Light's eyebrow raised. He had finally broken the boy's composure on some level. "What for?"
Prometheus walked past him, gesturing. "You don't have Dragnis's support to demand answers. Follow me."
Light obeyed, walking across Dragnis's massive halls with him. As they crossed paths with Goodra maids, Swablu messengers, and the magnificent Latias statue in the courtyard, Prometheus remembered that for now, Dragnis was his kingdom. Each bowed to him with deep respect, knowing that Prometheus was the reason their home had not submitted to the alliance or any marauding kingdoms.
"Dragnis is strong, Light," he declared as they neared his private chambers. "Eonia has a long illustrious heritage. Regilia's kings and queens revel in their opulence and ego. Despite its younger age, Dragnis remains strong and unconquered throughout its entire history, and it shall remain free of internal strife through its future."
Prometheus thought he heard Light scoff slightly, and twisted around to check. Light's face was perfectly stoic.
"Slate may not be the most battle-hardened of our bodyguards," Prometheus continued. "But throughout his life, he has shown perseverance and loyalty. With time, he will be the most majestic of swords we will wield."
"He is a traitor."
"Hardly. Even when you declared so, I suspected otherwise. To hand us Kite when given the opportunity speaks more of his character than all of your conjecture," Prometheus spat. "He is not the only one that Helios will have by his side when it is his turn to rule."
They, at last, came to Prometheus's bedroom. Keeping an eye on Light to make sure he performed nothing underhanded, he opened the door.
Hesione laid on a newly built nest, next to a warmly crackling fireplace. As she sat there, she cradled something Prometheus knew contained all of his pride.
"An egg?" Light questioned.
"My future progeny," Prometheus declared, catching Hesione's attention. "We know not if it's male or female. However, we will raise them to be what I was to my brother."
"A tool?"
Prometheus scowled, and Hesione bristled. "You dare insult me like that?!"
"My deepest apologies," Light bowed. "Much more important than a tool, then. A friend?"
"More than that- family. An aide, an advisor, and a confidant. Hyperion was magnificent on his own, but together, we were Dragnis's pillar. Helios is not as competent as Hyperion was, even at his age, but with my child, they can reach the same height."
Light looked at the egg with curiosity. "You have this much faith in what's only an egg?"
"We were all eggs once, Light. I will make sure they grow up to be as strong as Dragnis needs them to be."
On his deathbed, Hyperion had asked him to raise Helios to be happy and strong. Prometheus had tried to do so and had succeeded in giving Helios a happy childhood, happier than either of them had. But Helios had not grown to be strong enough, not yet. Perhaps he would mature, perhaps he would grow to be a king worthy of Dragnis. But until then, he would give his child the strength the future needed.
Light pursed his lips. "I see…"
"So know this, Light," Prometheus continued. "Speak your promises and vows. You won't get any more funding to fix your mistakes. It is high time Dragnis started our search - one that won't fail as yours did."
"Of course." For some reason, Light's calm, easy demeanor returned. "I'm sure you will."
Prometheus scowled at the hidden jab. "Leave, then. Leave, and only return if you have Helios and Slate in your arms."
Light smiled one last time and left.
"... what an odd boy," Hesione commented, staring at where Light was.
Odd, indeed.
Prometheus sighed, then looked at where he knew his hidden bodyguards, much more stealthy than Helios's, waited. "Alert the officers to assemble the best reconnaissance teams. We need to throw our hands into the game."
A small, nearly inaudible rush of movement, and he and Hesione were finally alone.
"... what will you do now?" Hesione asked.
Prometheus went and opened the door. "I will reminisce near the Tapestry."
He closed the door behind him, before walking through the chamber until he found the gateway. Crossing it, he entered the private sanctuary only royals could enter, passage blocked by magic otherwise.
Unlike the rest of the castle, the sanctuary was much more serene and calm. Here, Dragnis didn't need to remind everyone of its majesty.
On the wall was the Tapestry, proof that didn't need a strong face. Since the dawn of Dragnis and the only dynasty, this was how succession was handled.
Each royal born was weaved into the Tapestry, even the most unimportant and useless. Made with magic thread, the Tapestry lengthened itself each generation, changing as the royals lived their lives. Each royal was weaved with at least two things: their event, and their death.
The event was the most important moment in their life. It was the 'event' that defined them as who they were and what their course in life would be. For many of the royals, it was the image of premier war victory, highlighting their strength and tenacity. Others, their coronation among a happy crowd.
For Prometheus, his event was the death of his brother. It depicted him crying next to his corpse, weeping. But there was also a look of determination in his eye, of resolution. It defined him as one who could move past grief to fulfill a promise to family and future.
For Hyperion, it was the birth of his only son, Helios. It depicted him, not as a strong ruler, but as a hopeful father. Next to Queen Theia and Prince Helios, it made Hyperion look smaller than he was. He had asked Hyperion about it once, claiming that it understated Hyperion's accomplishments in life. He had received a cryptic smile in return, one that left him more confused than anything.
As for Prince Helios, it was him meeting Kite. The image made Prometheus grimace - had he seen this during his stay at Ascendance Palace, he would have known to remain vigilant, perhaps stopping the kidnapping. Until Helios's event changed off of it, he knew that Helios remained in danger.
However, because Helios's portion of the Tapestry still had the 'death' portion blank just as Prometheus's was, he knew that Helios was still alive. Because of this, he knew not to give up hope.
Though… from the way the fabric of the Tapestry shimmered at both Helios's event and death portions, he knew that both could change soon. The Tapestry was self-correcting - if you were unhappy with what your event was, what your 'legacy' would be, you could change it. Because of it and the death portion, a person was shown at their truest and their end, and that compelled Dragnian royals to give themselves a proper history.
Prometheus's event was shimmering too, which meant that a life-defining event could occur soon. The thought of it both excited and scared him. It could be the birth of his child, judging by the way the Tapestry was slowly expanding to include them. But, if Helios died (a worryingly likely possibility, since Helios's 'death' portion was more active than it should be), it could be that moment as well.
Prometheus had to act so that Helios's event would change off Kite (and with its shimmer, it was changing) to something better, more princely, or at least, not so worrying. It was his duty to both fulfill Hyperion's promise and to ensure Dragnis had its Rightful King.
The purpose of the Tapestry wasn't just for Dragnis's royals to learn from their predecessor's successes and mistakes and to forge a noteworthy future, but for the royals to know who was supposed to be king, and who would succeed the king. There were several other Dragnian royals alive, but none had any right over the throne - the Tapestry marked who was supposed to be king with a golden border around their portions. Right now, that was himself.
If one who wasn't the Rightful King tried to assert themselves as the new king or killed the old king/successor, the Tapestry would curse them with a black border around their portions. Not only that, they would be barred from the Sanctuary and slowly have their 'event' removed.
Nobody wanted their event removed. Changes to the Tapestry reflected changes to a person: having your event removed essentially cursed you to a meaningless life. Soon, you would find that no one could listen to you, no impactful decisions could be made, nothing could be used. A half-life, a cursed life, and a cursed legacy.
No one knew the faces of the traitors, of the false kings. Attempts to depict them all failed, even false depictions. The only reason this was a known phenomenon was that a few of the cursed kings handed back the throne, restoring their event (albeit, changing it to a less-than-flattering depiction). Even then, they had the black border.
To prevent that cursed event, all royals knew not to challenge the Rightful King, nor the Rightful Successor, the royal bordered in silver that would become the Rightful King after the current one's death. Right now, Helios was the Rightful Successor, and intuition told Prometheus that as soon as Helios entered proper maturity, their borders would switch.
Finally, after staring at his and Helios's portions, Prometheus left the sanctuary.
He had work to do.
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