"A training exercise?" Culus asked.
He, Brylle, Helios, and Thilia were all standing in front of Lady Pandora, in a dimly lit room with a few candles in it. This room wasn't included in either of the Key base tours he had been on, so he had very little idea what this all was about.
"Yes." Pandora sat on a plush cushion in the center of the room. Surrounding that cushion were four other cushions. "This is to give you experience in situations that you have never been in. In other words, I will be taking you into my dreams."
This sounded familiar - Brylle and her mother had been talking about something like this when he and Sable spied on them - but having it explained to him was a bit more disconcerting than he had realized. Out of the corner of his eyes, he looked at the others in the room to gauge their reactions.
Brylle was nodding obediently, likely used to this sort of exercise, which made it seem a bit more believable, though the idea was still a bit baffling. Thilia had already made her way to one of the cushions, fluffing it to make it more comfortable.
Helios was just crossing his arms. He gave Culus an odd look now and again, making him feel a little uncomfortable. It had been a few days since he had woken up in the base, and when he was offered the chance to do a simple training exercise, he'd leaped onto it with all the gusto he could manage.
"A dream," Culus repeated. "This training exercise will occur in a dream."
"Yes. I have had years of practice with lucid dreaming, so I will be able to create a variety of scenarios you four will have to deal with. Often, I help our agents prepare for an infiltration exercise by setting up practice scenarios for what can happen. Do you understand?"
"I think I do," Culus said after a few seconds. It was a little innovative, but it did raise a small question in his mind. "Will we have unrestricted access to all of our abilities - including the new ones we discovered?"
"Are you referring to 'the Aspects', Culus?"
He supposed the new power he had discovered was now called 'the Aspects'. "Yes, will we be able to use them?"
Pandora shook her head. "No. We have very little idea what the Aspects can do. For now, we will shelve them and instead work on your natural abilities." Helios rolled his eyes at this, but Culus saw the merit in the decision. The Aspects drew directly on his stamina, so they weren't a tool to be used at the drop of a badge.
It was a small crippling of his tool kit, but Culus had to start working outside of his comfort zone.
"So, we're only allowed things like our normal moves and our ingenuity?"
"Yes - but this is also a test for you, Culus. We need to see whether you are capable of holding your own in missions."
Culus thought back to the conversation he and Sable had spied on. "I'll do my best," he promised.
"Very well. Once again, Brylle will-"
"Lady Pandora?" Helios interrupted. "Can I be the leader this time?"
Pandora shook her head. "There are procedures and conditions that need to be fulfilled for you to become a squad leader, Prince Helios. After the exercise, I'd be more than happy to help you understand what those requirements are."
"But I'm a prince! Surely-"
"Surely nothing." Pandora's eyes flashed. "One of the requirements, for instance, is obedience to your superiors. We don't need loose cannons, prince. If you insist we treat you as such, then you will have to wait a long, long time for a chance at promotion."
Helios's mouth shut close, and his eyes blazed with barely-contained anger. The Charmander had been fine enough when he first woke up, but over the past few days, he had sunk into a bitter mood.
"Hey, H- Prince Helios?"
Helios's eyes glowed white, and his mouth opened as he tried to say something. Remembering what he was taught, Culus leaned forward and pressed the little rectangle on the side of Helios' face that would activate the muzzle. Metal plates shuttered and closed themselves over Helios's mouth, leaving all of them unable to hear anything the prince was saying."
Eventually, Helios's eyes stopped glowing, and he pressed the button on the side of his face. "Sorry," he muttered, cheeks glowing an embarrassingly rosy red. "Can we just get this over with?"
"Then sit on a cushion," said Lady Pandora. Silently, they all walked to an empty cushion. "Now, you all will be graded with regards to how you do in this training exercise. Actions that veer closer to the Key-accepted mission manual will award you points. Disobedience brings penalties." A small pause. "However, if you can explain your actions and argue for why they are better than the procedures in this instance, you won't lose as many points."
A weird little anxiety fell over him as he considered these words. Being 'graded' for the results of the training exercise and the actions he took shouldn't have worried him as much as it did, yet he felt the sensation of butterflies flapping in his stomach.
"You make it sound like just doing what the manual says is better than any aberration. After all, you can't gain points by diverting yourself from what's recommended," he commented.
"Correct. That being said, we recognize that to complete the mission, sometimes, aberrations in a plan are necessary. Those aberrations must be well thought out, however. Above all, obedience to your superiors is what is valued most of all."
Culus hid a frown and nodded. This all rubbed him the wrong way, but he had to gain the trust and cooperation of Key. For that, he could brownnose and rub shoulders with people he didn't like.
After that, it was a simple matter of closing his eyes and waiting for Pandora's pendant to lull him into sleep. A nice, relaxing…
The sound of a busy street brought him into the new scenery. His head was a little fuzzy, and thoughts were a bit harder to think, though he was quick to adapt.
He didn't recognize the atmosphere - there were plenty of Grass-types, Water-types, and Poison-types milling around. A small family of Bulbasaur, with an Ivysaur mother, were buying groceries from a Ludicolo. A few Skrelp hung around in the alleyways, staring at him in a strange, uncomfortable way. Though it was raining, he saw a couple of Venomoth flitting overhead.
There were a few more flashes of light, and then his companions appeared - first was Thilia, who seemed to recognize this place by the speed she went over to a stall selling jam buns. Then came Brylle, who looked at him with a cautious gaze. Finally, Helios appeared, looking around in surprise.
"We're here again," he complained. "Can't we have a session in - I don't know, Nucifera? The Citadel's way cooler-looking than this place."
"Perhaps someday soon," Pandora's voice echoed from… somewhere. "But for now, you will have to work in Lition."
Lition - that was an Eilkan city, in the Trelerectican Kingdom. A completely different continent to Naixe.
"Why here?" Culus asked the air. "What missions do we have that need to take place across the ocean?"
"Chain can take anyone, anywhere. We know that Phosophor is already sinking his claws into the Regilian Empire, so there's a chance that he may already be working in other countries as well. The Trelerecticans have a goldmine of agriculture for global trade, we can't let it fall into a wrong hands."
"So we'll have to come here?" Helios asked sharply. "To this backwater swamp?"
Culus raised an eyebrow and Helios's vitriol.
"More than that, Prince Helios. You'll have to fit in."
Helios crossed his arms. "This just keeps on getting worse and worse. Now I have to pretend to be an Eilkan."
"What is our goal," Brylle asked. "Are we to patrol the streets to look for anyone that might be a Hat?" The question seemed rather dull, and Culus realized that Brylle knew the answer. She was just asking for his (and likely Helios's) benefit.
"No. Shadow Workers are indistinguishable without Slate's ability, there's no chance of you rooting out any of them. Rather, patrol the streets while looking out for any signs of missing people. Ask the people nearby whether any of their friends recently disappeared and questions similar to that - but remember anyone here can be a Shadow Worker."
"In other words," Brylle said after Pandora finished talking. "You guys need to ask everyone here about missing people in a subtle way. If the Shadow Workers find out, we'll have a giant problem on our hands."
"While normally, you wouldn't be able to find out if a Shadow Worker suspects you or not, I'll take the liberty of alarming you every time you say something that will tip off the Shadow Workers. None of you will be able to go on any missions until you can manage this."
Helios's eyes glowed white, Culus pressed the button, and they all waited for Helios to press it again. "Lady Pandora, will this be the only exercise we'll be doing?" Culus said.
"No. After this, we'll have to deal with an extraction exercise, where you will be trapped in a situation where you need to escape."
"Any battle training exercises?"
Pandora's tone turned exasperated. "We have Mica for that, Prince. Nor do we plan on battling the Shadow Workers - that signals to them that we exist, and that is a problem."
"... fine," Helios muttered. "Can we just get this over with?"
"Let's do this!" Thilia cheered.
"Alright. First, we split up into two groups. Culus, you're with Thilia. Helios, you're with me," Brylle directed. "Thilia, make sure to show Culus the ropes. Culus… good luck."
He nodded. "Understood, squad captain!"
Brylle smiled. "Glad to hear it." She turned to Helios. "Come on, let's go."
They started walking away - but before they could get too far, Culus decided to say one last thing. "Brylle, Helios, I know you guys will do well. Helios, you can be charming when you need to be, and Brylle, you've got your head screwed on tight." He shot them a smile. "Have fun!"
Helios waved, his sullen expression disappearing somewhat. Brylle nodded a little enthusiastically before she stopped for some reason, a pale look washing over her face.
"Focus on your work, Culus," Brylle said, before dragging a slightly bemused Helios away with her.
"That was a little weird," Thilia commented. "She got scared at the end, for some reason." She looked at him uncertainly. "Scared of you."
Culus hid a frown. Brylle probably thought he was manipulating her. "I hope that goes away soon. I don't want my squad leader to be afraid of me."
"Don't worry, she'll get better."Thilia wiggled a little, before jumping on top of him. "Anyway, I've been in Lition before - well, I've been here in Pandora's dreams. There's this juice stand I want to go to, they're the best for quenching your throat after a nice jam bun."
"Lead the way."
By tugging on the tufts on the side of his head intermittently, Thilia directed Culus to an innocent-looking juice stand - 'Da Kidz Chesto Coke'.
"The alliteration isn't perfect, but it still tastes delicious," Thilia added.
"They had Kelpsey Berries and Cornn Berries available, and they chose Chesto Berries." The teenage Buizel running the stand, who looked utterly bored out of his mind, still poured them a glass of sweet-smelling juice. Thilia passed the teenager a couple of coins, and the two of them downed their pints.
"Better than I expected," Culus admitted after licking his lips and judging the taste. "Their branding is awful, but the juice tastes phenomenal."
"I know, right?!" Thilia eagerly agreed. "Brylle just doesn't get it! Thank you!"
Thilia was both eager and easy to please. It was refreshing, being around someone so unabashedly positive. Culus smiled. "No problem."
"Okay!" Thalia turned to the teenager. "Hey, can you get me another glass?"
The Buizel raised an eyebrow but poured her another glass. Thilia tilted the glass so that the juice fell into her mouth, before tilting it upright. "Love it!" she licked her lips. "Do you know where else we can get juice?"
"Thilia…" Culus remembered that they had a job they needed to pull off. "Maybe we should-"
The Buizel pointed off in some direction. "There's a little bar in that direction that sells alcohol. If you ask the bouncer to pass a message to the bartender, you can probably get some more juice from there."
Thilia wrinkled her nose. "That bar? But I thought the bartender went missing a few days ago?"
"What are you talking about?" The Buizel asked, bemused. "No one's gone missing around here for a while."
"Really?" Thilia's eyes shone. "Volux, let's go get some more juice!"
She clambered onto Culus and led them away.
"And that," she said. "Is how to ask subtly."
"Honestly, I didn't expect that from you, Thilia," Culus admitted. "It was a little obvious during the end, but…"
"Pretending to be dumb has its perks!" Thilia crowed. "People drop their guard, and they don't ask as many questions when they think you don't know things or know things wrong."
"Do you apply that in real life too, Thilia?"
Thilia winked under her hat. "That's for me and no one else to know. Once we get to the bar, it'll be your turn next, Volux."
"Sure." Culus agreed. "Though, why are you calling me Volux?" The name was familiar to him, though he didn't remember from where.
"That's the nickname that you and Rowan came up with in Pinnaleis, right? He told me all about it when I asked how you two met."
It clicked in his head. "Right, for the guard post. I'd forgotten about it. Why are you calling me that here?"
"You're a wanted man, aren't you?"
Culus shook his head. "Not in Lition. I doubt they'd give me up to Regilia easily, considering the Eilkan War."
"Yeah, that's true. But what about Chain - aren't they looking for you too?"
Culus's cheeks burned. "Right." He checked what he was wearing - a scarf that hid his collar and a bag to carry supplies in. "Would this be enough of a disguise during a mission?"
Thalia shook her head. "Nah, I don't think so. They'd add more things to make you less recognizable. Maybe contacts to change your eye color or fur paint to make your stars look bigger. Hey, maybe they'll allow me to help when it happens!"
Culus shuddered. "I hope it doesn't. Fur paint feels awful." He then frowned. "Stupid amnesia…
He could remember that fur paint felt awful, but not when he had ever put it on. It was like the collar was taunting him, keeping everything he knew but no one event to connect any of the information to before the Zoroark.
He bowed his head. The Zoroark - even if they got rid of Chain, even if they removed the collar, the monster who got him into this mess would still be on the loose. Knowing what he knew now, his original reason to go to Hovete had evaporated into nothing. 'Scriptures', indeed…
He blinked. "Hey, Thilia, how long have these collars been around?"
Thilia shrugged. "Half a century? Key's been around for a while."
Not a recent invention, then. Maybe it was the slip of a tongue, maybe it was something else. Regardless, they had arrived at the bar, and his turn had arrived.
"You'll do great, Volux," Thilia said. "Just ask the question without mentioning 'missing' and 'kidnapping', and you'll do great. You can take your time, Pandora won't mind."
"Don't worry, I have an idea," Culus promised, before walking up to the Grimmsnarl bartender, who was washing a cup without anything else to do and looking insanely bored as he did so.
"No alcoholic drinks to anyone under the age of 21," the bartender said, not even bothering to look up.
"Oh n-no, sir, I don't want to b-buy," Culus went into the conversation pretending to be intimidated and talking with a nervous tone and a false stutter. "I-I'm just looking for my Mom and Dad. They said that they'd be here."
The Grimmsnarl sighed. "No one of your line's shown up, Shinx." Geez, this was how this guy would talk to kids? "Now take a hike."
"B-But Mom and Dad said that if I stayed around in the street, awful people would come and get me! A-And since I've been staying up at night-"
"Kid, no one's going to kidnap you."
"R-Really? No one?"
"No one. You'll be fine."
"A-Are you sure? Mom and Dad don't l-lie about these things."
"Kid, no one has gone missing in this area for years. You'll. Be Fine."
At this point, a lithe Liepard decided to interject. "It'd help you to be careful around here. My neighbor's been putting up signs - her little cousin's been gone for a week without telling anyone where they were going, and she's starting to get a little scared."
The Grimmsnarl sighed. "Did you have to tell him that, Larry?"
"O-oh." Culus looked around. "T-T-Thank you, sir. I… I think I'll go and stay with my friend.
Larry snorted. "Good idea, kid."
Culus bade his farewells and walked back to Thilia, who had been looking with silence. "So, how did I do?"
"Good!" Thilia smiled. "I didn't get it at first, but it worked out great!"
Culus's mouth turned into a frown. "Really? I don't think my acting was convincing."
"You were a bit obvious with the faking at the beginning, but you got into it after a minute," Thilia said. "I liked it, though. You didn't fail, at least. Pandora didn't say anything."
Culus breathed a sigh of relief. "Great. You can take the next one."
On and on they went, going to establishments and talking to either the owner of the business or the patrons. It took a bit more time for Culus to polish his acting and figure out exactly the best way to ask subtly. You had to bring up the topic in ways that didn't seem obvious. Safety, loss, missing people, they all blended to provide avenues to ask people.
Thalia had a couple of pet favorites. They varied enough that the questions alone wouldn't clue you in, but the answers probably would.
It was a few "hours" later that their little information-gathering session had ended. Out of all thirty people they had asked, only three of them had any useful answers.
It was with tired legs from carrying Thilia everywhere that Culus sat at the initial meeting place. It was about time that they went and talked with the others about what they had found out in the simulation.
"Nothing!" Helios raged as Culus lounged on some stairs. "Absolutely nothing! They all said things like 'no one's gone missing for years' and 'my family is perfectly safe'!"
Culus shot a curious look at Brylle, who was cradling her head in her hands and looking like she wanted to be anywhere else but near Helios. Thilia just jumped around, having the time of her life.
"You two have to have worse results, right? Right?!"
"Helios, it's not possible to get worse results than we did," Brylle muttered. "We didn't get any possible leads, and you alerted the Shadow Workers three times."
Helios flushed. "Maybe if you hadn't given them so many hints, it wouldn't have gotten to that point!"
"If I hadn't given them so many hints? Do you live in your own little world?"
"Sometimes, I wish I did!"
"The four of you, be quiet!" Pandora's voice rang out from the aether. Helios froze and quickly pressed the button as his eyes turned white. Huh, he managed to notice it this time. "Thilia, Culus, excellent work. Three leads, two dropped hints, no reveals. Culus, polish your acting a little more."
Culus nodded. "Of course, Lady Pandora." The comment stung a little, even though he had said it to Thilia earlier. "I hope it was good enough for my first time."
"It was. Now, Brylle, Helios. No leads, twelve dropped hints, three reveals. Helios, see me after our session for a private meeting." Helios's eyes widened, and a look of stark panic plastered itself all over him. "Brylle, work on managing your temper. You let too much slip when you focus on venting your anger and irritation instead of maintaining anonymity."
Brylle bowed. "Yes, Lady Pandora. What will we be doing now?"
"Now, we will be conducting an emergency exercise." Brylle's eyes widened. "Keep yourself steady while I take you to the new situation."
Then everything swam before Culus's vision, and he found his sense of balance getting skewed. He fell to the ground, retching. A few seconds later, he got up to find the world around him completely and utterly warped beyond anything he could recognize.
Waterfalls cascaded next to the four of them. The ground beneath them slowly began to flood. A crowd of Pokemon around them was screaming their heads off. They seemed to be inside an underground complex, with many different paintings and art pieces around them.
"Your task," Pandora's voice rang out. "Is to help evacuate all of the civilians that you find. The chance of you finding yourself in this sort of hurricane is very, very low, but you need to be able to handle yourself properly in case. Expect no assistance, and you can't call for back-up."
Brylle took a deep breath. "Helios, you're with Thilia. Thalia… just, you know, do what we've done before. I'll take care of Culus. Got it?"
Helios wrinkled his nose, but Thilia nodded. "Okay, okay!" Her cheeriness was back, as well as her pseudo-ditziness. "You can count on us!"
Once they were off, Brylle turned to Culus. "Helios and Thilia will stop any stampedes from forming and help direct them out. Thalia's usually good at general crowd control, so as long as Helios doesn't mess this up too badly, they should be fine."
"And what will we be doing?" Culus asked.
"We'll be plugging the leaks."
Culus nodded. "So you'll need me to make…" Wait, he wasn't allowed to use his ability. "Never mind, what's the plan?"
"For now, follow me and watch what I do. In simulations, always assume that there are Shadow Workers nearby. Always."
The dire warning was issued, and they were off. Brylle seemed to know where they were going - since this was one of Pandora's lucid dreams, this was probably someplace she'd been before, that Brylle had trained in before.
Occasionally, they ran into a little stampede - sometimes it would be a crowd of frightened children, other times it would be a set of thugs with a panicked look on their face. Brylle passed by them without fear, but they turned to attack her. Culus used Spark on the ones that could threaten her, and Bite to ward off the ones immune to Spark.
Eventually, they made it to a small amphitheater, with a large stage at the bottom and lots of seats for people to sit. A story or so into the air was a set of balconies, probably for the rich people, with lots of curtains and plush seats. The walls held large ornamental masks - the place this dream world was based on was probably used for plays and stuff like that.
They left for the bottom, where there was a set of holes in the wall. Brylle lifted her arms, and a large number of rocks started floating from the ground. Brylle moved her hands to point in the direction of the holes, and the boulders flew forward to plug them.
A couple of seconds passed, Brylle caught her breath, and the process repeated over and over. Slowly, all of the leaks were closing.
As she worked, Culus found himself restless. There wasn't much he could do. Helios and Thilia were handling crowd control, helping everyone out, Brylle was patching the holes to help slow things down, and Culus didn't have the Aspects to help him out right now. All he had were his species abilities, which were… less than promising.
And then, things went wrong.
All of a sudden, lots of waterfalls broke out of the wall, and all of the plugs that Brylle created burst open. A torrent of water slammed into Brylle, washing her away, and she began to submerge.
"Fuck!" Culus swore. "Brylle, swim!"
There was no response. Brylle couldn't swim. Larvitar simply couldn't do that. She was just going to drown.
Fuck. Fuck. Was this a 'die in the dream, die in real life' sort of thing? No, Pandora couldn't, she'd just eject Brylle before anything like that could happen.
…
… Brylle wasn't disappearing.
Fuck, was Pandora expecting him to rescue Brylle without his Aspects? Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Culus looked around. He needed to find a way to drag a water-logged Brylle out of the water. She was too heavy for him to drag out with his pure strength, so he needed to find a way to supplement his strength.
Or rather, the force he could exert on the world around him. He just needed to create a simple machine - something that could lift even a waterlogged Larvitar.
Simple machines… he didn't have anything to make a ramp, or wheels to make a basic cart. Wedges and screws weren't helpful in this case, which left levers and pulleys. And he didn't have the space to create a lever, so…
… his eyes strayed to the balcony, which had a horizontal railing and curtains. Curtains he could turn into rope.
He was off in an instant, climbing the walls as quickly as possible. Thirty seconds of frantic climbing later, he made his way up to the balcony and collected the sheets as fast as possible.
While underwater, he wouldn't be able to tie a loop around Brylle. That meant that he had to spend a precious ten seconds or so just typing the loop - forget about tying the separate curtains together to make a long enough rope.
As he worked, he realized that even with a pulley, he wouldn't be strong enough to lift both a waterlogged Brylle and a waterlogged curtain rope. He needed more mechanical advantage than he could get with a single railing.
Then he looked down at his prosthetics. Metal prosthetics.
You don't have to, a traitorous part of his mind whispered. You're going through all of this for a dream. She'll be fine, Pandora won't let her die.
He shoved that ugly part of him to the side. That was defeatist thinking, and he didn't know how he could face Brylle in the real world if he let her die in the dream one.
With great pain, he managed to rip one of his prosthetic legs off, before slamming it into the ground. Blood immediately began spilling from his amputated leg and he winced but kept working. By steadying himself on the railing, he managed to slip the curtain rope between it and his arm several times, generating as much mechanical advantage as he could.
Even with the little simple machine he created, he felt a little unnerved and worried. Then he shook his head. The longer he spent like this, the more time he wasted where he could save Brylle.
He tied one end of the rope to one of the bolted-down chairs, before taking the looped end into his mouth and awkwardly jumping over the railing and into the water. Though he could barely see with the dirty water, he still managed to find the distinct shape of Brylle at the bottom.
Swimming with only three legs was a trial in and of itself but after a short while, he managed to push his way down. With a metal leg weighing him down slightly, it was easier than he'd thought. He just barely managed to slip the loop around Brylle and push the loop closed before he began to run out of breath.
After that was a flurry of movement, as he desperately climbed the rope he had created. With every second, his head felt more and more pinched, as his muscles began to weaken.
No. He had to keep going. He had to keep going.
He broke out of the top of the water level, gasping in pain and spitting up a ridiculous amount of water. He spent a few seconds coughing it all out, before the rising water level - which was rising faster, more waterfalls were punching their way through the wall - forced him to climb higher. The pain in his head wasn't going away, no matter how hard he wished for it to leave.
Waterlogged and with only three legs, he must have looked like a sorry sight. Still, Brylle was drowning. He forced his way to the knot he'd tied a minute earlier and quickly untied it - and then the rope quickly began to fall.
He only barely managed to grab it before it fell down and past all of the pulleys. He'd lost a lot of mechanical advantage, but he didn't have the time or tools to fix it. He bit on the curtain-rope as tightly as he could and began to pull.
It was hell. Even with all of the pulleys, he was finding rope ridiculously hard to move. But he pushed, and he pushed, and before thirty seconds had passed he found himself walking. Legs on fire and his head stuck in the worst vise grip imaginable, he was still moving forward - and faster than the water level.
He pushed, and he pushed - and he pushed it to its limit. He turned and saw Brylle's lifeless body flop onto the ground.
He dropped the rope and ran to her. She wasn't moving, so he started pushing on her chest to pump the water out. Ten seconds later, he remembered about his prosthetic and pulled it out of the ground, before slamming it back into its stump. It whirred to life and started functioning again, as Ekib told him it would.
He ran back to Brylle and started the compressions. It didn't always work but… come on…
She started coughing all of a sudden, as water spit up from her mouth. It wasn't much, and he got some into his eyes, but it was something.
A couple of compressions later, she was coughing more and more. Then her eyes snapped open.
"Goddamn it, Pandora," she muttered, before slowly pushing herself up.
"You okay, Brylle?" he pressed.
She pushed herself to a standing position. "Let's… let's get out of here," she muttered. "This was a wash."
There was something off in her tone that he couldn't quite identify, but he figured that he didn't care. "Yeah, let's."
And just as the water level began to reach the top of the amphitheater, they made their way out.
"Culus… thanks."
"You're welcome."
"Thanks… and you're an idiot."
… wait, what?
"I failed because I saved her?!" Helios watched as Kite - no, he called himself Culus, that's what Helios would call him - Culus shouted at Pandora with a weird sort of fascination. "I failed?"
"Yes, Culus," Pandora said, not an ounce of anger in her voice. Her voice was filled with more disappointment than anything else. "You failed."
"Because I saved her?!" he repeated, dumbfounded.
"Yes. You were supposed to let Brylle 'die' there, and leave to save yourself."
"But - but I survived! I survived and rescued her!"
"Yes, which is why I didn't dock as many points. But regulations say that when one of your partners is in certain death - such as drowning and water-logged while you have no means of rescuing her - then you should leave so that there aren't two corpses instead of one.
"But it wasn't certain death!" Culus argued. "Because I did rescue her, and Key is all the better for it."
"But it was near-certain. Your survival in the dream, ultimately, came down to luck. You nearly drowned, bled out - and I even restrained myself on releasing Sharpedo that would have eaten the both of you alive. If you were a touch less resolved, a touch less lucky, you would have killed the both of you. Thus, you lost points."
"But - but I succeeded!"
"You succeeded this time. What if that were to happen again, while you were this confident? Would you be able to push yourself as far? What if I let the Sharpedo go, what if Sharpedo were to appear in real life? You would have sacrificed both of you for no reason. That regulation exists to prevent martyrdom - and that doesn't even go into the Shadow Workers that spotted you."
Culus winced. "Tunnel vision…"
"Precisely. You were so focused on saving Brylle that several Shadow Workers saw you - saw you, and potentially realized our existence." She then sighed. "Keep in mind, this emergency exercise was a test, to see if you would follow the regulations when stress throws rationality out the window."
Brylle piped up. "Both Thilia and I agreed to put ourselves in those near-death situations. Pandora would bring us out while a lifelike dummy - one with a pulse, though - took our place. She put me back when you rescued the dummy, though."
"... I don't regret what I did," Culus said, to Helios's surprise. "If you were to put us back, I'd do it the same way all over again."
"Then expect to never go on missions, Culus," Pandora replied with irritation. "Because we won't let a loose cannon go out and jeopardize everything."
Culus's mouth opened into a snarl, and Helios worried that he'd do something rash. As soon as the simulation ended, they'd been reawakened and brought back to the real world, with Pandora right in front of them.
It might be inevitable. Culus was nowhere near as restrained or mature as he was. Though he may be aware of his place in Helios's hierarchy, there was no denying that, in the end, Culus was just more flawed.
Helios shook his head. Luckily, he had decided to keep the muzzle on since it was Culus's turn to be graded. That stopped anyone from hearing what he had to say.
Then Culus fell back. "I understand." His voice was barely restrained, but it was restrained. "I'll… endeavor to ask for help next time. Better yet, I won't let Brylle fall like that."
"It isn't about her drowning, it's about what you do afterward." Culus didn't say anything. "Your actions and statements don't speak well of your behavior. I sincerely hope that next time something like this happens, you make the correct choice."
Pandora then turned to Helios. "And now, for you." Helios winced. "You passed with flying colors."
Helios's stomach turned in the ugliest way imaginable.
…
"Why are they so dumb?" Helios said as a couple of civilians ran past crying. They were part of the third stampede they had to quell. "Can't they see that panicking is the worst thing they could do?"
Thilia made an odd sound. "They're scared." Helios rolled his eyes. He didn't need emotion-sensing to know that. "The non-Water-types are afraid that they'll die drowning. Wouldn't you want to get out of here as fast as possible too?"
"But this is a dream. They should know better." Then Helios remembered. "Oh, right, they're part of the dream too."
"This is a realistic dream," Thilia agreed. "This is how people would react in a situation like this. Downstairs, I'm pretty sure Miss Pandora is making the fake people drown."
Helios shivered. "Don't say it so… casually."
Thilia touched his flank. "It's okay. Even if we mess up this time, this is only a dream. We'll have plenty of chances to improve ourselves later."
"I… suppose. Thanks." Thilia was one of the more generous subordinates, one excellent in emotional support - even if Helios has no use for that. Perhaps it worked for his more fallible subordinates.
"... sorry, Thilia," Helios said, remembering to put his muzzle back on.
"It's okay, that was a nice one." Thilia climbed on top of him again. "Let's go! I feel another stampede off three hallways away!"
Helios sighed.
…
"Let's go, let's go," he muttered, helping a nearby Teddiursa to a standing position. They had open slash wounds from a panicked Tyrunt trampling them and cutting them open with their clawed feet. They had used Embers to separate a dense crowd and Play Nice and Aromatherapy to calm down and slow the stampede. Still, that left the trampled to take care of.
The idiots should honestly calm down and let Helios help them. They were actively hurting themselves by trying to prevent that - honestly, they should be thanking him, not running like the morons they were!
Thilia fired a Life Dew at the Teddiursa, who quickly started running away as fast as possible. Thilia used part of her brim to wipe her face of sweat, before turning to Helios. "Let's go! We only have one or two more stampedes to take care of!"
"Finally! We're almost there! Then we can end this nightmare-"
There was a rumble above them, cutting into Helios's sentence. A second later, a large rock fell from the ceiling, forcing Helios and Thilia to scatter. Then came another - and another, and another…
But not on him.
Helios watched with a sense of dread and horror as Thilia was buried alive, covered in large boulders. The rocks stopped falling, but Thilia… Thilia was…
Helios started digging into the rock futilely. He wasn't strong enough - even with Metal Claws, he couldn't dig far into the tough rock.
He slowly came to a stop.
"H-Helios?" Thilia asked.
"I - I'll find Brylle!" Helio said, his heart sinking. "I - I promise!"
Then there was another rumble, and more rocks started to fall from the ceiling. A bolt of panic immediately went through him, and Helios forsook Thilia to run away.
Fuck, fuck, he was going to die, fuck, he had to run, run, run…
…
"When Thilia was about to die, and you were about to die, you didn't stick around to let yourself die as well. You escaped, you left to find Brylle - and you even remembered not to use the communicators that could have alerted nearby Shadow Workers," Pandora promised.
This was wrong, this was wrong, this was all wrong.
Helios pressed the button to the muzzle to open it. "I - thank you. I just made sure to do what felt right." The lie slipped out almost automatically. He had said what he usually did when someone praised his morals and abilities. Once he caught himself, he hurriedly backtracked. "But - but I'm sure that if I stayed a little longer…"
"If you stayed a little longer, Helios, you would have died." Pandora's words pierced him. "Thilia hadn't even died yet, so going to get someone who could handle the issue was the best thing to do, even if Brylle was 'dying' at the same time."
Pandora's reassurances splashed against him uselessly. Despite everything, Helios found himself regretting his decision. In the end, Brylle had survived, and Thilia 'died'. She was next to him now, a soft smile on her face. One that said 'I don't blame you'.
Or maybe that was just a fantasy.
In response to Lady Pandora's statements, Helios just pressed the button on the muzzle. Pandora turned away, so he had to suppose that it was an acknowledgment.
"Culus, I must repeat - your resolve towards helping Brylle was admirable, but the actions you took were anything but. Unless you are supremely confident you can save her without endangering yourself or the anonymity of Key, don't try to save her. There are more important things than one person."
Culus's face was set in stone. "... I understand."
Pandora studied him for a little while longer before she started addressing them as a whole. "Thilia, you passed today with utter perfection, Grade 10. No mistakes that I can find whatsoever. My only recommendation is that you practice your sparring capabilities so that you can start an evolution."
"Okay." Thilia smiled. "I'll do my best!"
Pandora turned to Brylle. "While you failed to manage your temper on the interrogation exercise, you performed your role in the emergency/abandonment exercise as was expected. Grade 7." Panic flitted across Brylle's face before quickly turning into shame and resignation.
"Culus." Pandora turned to him. "You did better than I expected when it came to the interrogation exercise, though it wasn't perfect. Again, polish your acting. For the other exercise, however, you failed. Not as bad as you could have, but… Grade 6." Culus didn't do anything, but Helios felt the room get a little colder.
Finally, she faced Helios. "For the emergency/abandonment exercise, you did about as well as could have been expected. However, your attitude in the interrogation exercise was utterly deplorable. Grade 6."
That Hypno woman didn't know what she was talking about. He had only rightfully denied the Larvitar girl's tyranny and spoke the truth!
Helios shook his head clear of the words. Even if Brylle kept dropping stupid hints, he didn't have to share his thoughts with the rest of the world. Certainly not that line of thought.
After that, Brylle went over some of the finer details of the mission, explaining how they could fix some of the minor issues. Helios just politely listened - and then it was time for training with Mica.
For everyone else. Culus, Brylle, and Thilia left for the training ground, but Pandora laid one of her hands on Helios's shoulder. "A word, prince?"
Oh. Right. The 'talk' after the dream.
He pressed the muzzle. "Yes, Lady Pandora?"
She patted a cushion next to her. "Can you come and sit?" Helios obeyed. "Is there something wrong?"
He stiffened slightly. "What do you mean?"
Pandora started running her soft, furred hands over the scales on his back. To his surprise, it didn't feel as bad as he thought it would. "You've been through a lot over the past month, haven't you? I've seen it all in your memories - stresses about the Twin Moon Ball, running away, going through snowstorms, and - I'm sorry, do you want me to continue?"
Helios's claws had been digging into his scales, drawing blood. "Y-yes." He was stronger than this. He was Prince Helios, he wasn't weak at all!
Pandora's eyes softened. Helios didn't have the muzzle on, so what just thought spilled right out of his mouth.
"You've seen your morals broken, your friends betray you, natural disasters and hunger, and torture of a high degree. To jump from those to this… if I seem harsh to you, I'm sorry."
She pulled him into a hug. Helios almost pushed her away - but then some part of him a weak, weak part rebelled, leaning into it. Helios decided that hugging wasn't that bad, so he decided to shift his energy to stop crying.
"And, after all of this," she continued. "You're in a place where everything is new and everyone is strange. You're no longer top-dog, your princely status means far less. Comparing yourself to others, you're far, far less. To keep your new power from ruining your social life, you've started wearing a muzzle. Silenced."
She hugged him a little tighter. "It's okay," she whispered. "I know you'll get through this."
He couldn't stop the tears anymore. Ugly snot started dripping from his nostrils, filled with smoke and ash. Lady Pandora didn't let him go, though, and simply started stroking him.
…
He must have cried for a few minutes, at the very least. Eventually, he pushed Pandora's arms apart, shaking a little. She returned to sitting in a normal position.
"Are you feeling better, Helios?"
He sniffled. "No," he said. "But - but I have to go to class…"
"If you ever need anyone to talk to, Helios, my door is always open." She patted the cushion. "I hope you feel better soon."
Helios got up. The other personality in his head wasn't acting up for some reason. He didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.
"Thank you," he mumbled as he walked out of the door. Pandora just smiled in response and let him go.
He knew where he was supposed to go, he'd been along this path before. But never before had he been so… rattled. She was just Pandora, she was just the therapist. He was better than that. Why did he feel so… comforted?
The walk to the training chambers was long and lonely. Eventually, he made it to the door, took a deep breath, and pushed it open.
Inside, Brylle was battling against Kapun. It was fairly even, all things considered. Even without pulling on Aspects, they were putting up quite a show, and he felt a little ashamed looking at them.
But they would never be as magnificent as he was. They were only fallible mortals, their names doomed to be forgotten with time. His legacy was immortal, unchanging, eternal.
Slate turned to look at him. "My prince!" He smiled. "I was getting worried about you."
Helios winced, before nodding and applying the muzzle again. He should have known it was far too good to last, the break from that ego. A couple of the others - Sable and Culus - turned to look at him for a few seconds, before going back to the matches.
Helios sat down and began to watch. Instead of an agile style like Culus and Rowan, Kapun and Brylle relied on a more stationary way of fighting. They just sat there and threw things at each other, since moving around wouldn't help them in a fight against each other.
After a while, Brylle managed to get the upper hand, managing to hit Kapun with some painful Rock Tombs. Kapun tried to retaliate with a Dragon Breath, but when Brylle just took it and used Payback…
"Winner, Brylle!" Mica slapped Kapun a few times to wake him up. The Deino got up, and Mica helped push him off the field. "Kapun, good job keeping up. You need a bit more work, but you have the makings of a powerhouse inside of you. Brylle, no suggestions. Keep up the good work!"
"Thank you," he mumbled politely, but he didn't look too happy regardless. Brylle looked much more pleased with the results than he was.
"Next match: Rowan vs. Helios."
Oh, come on.
Helios pushed himself off of his seat, as did Rowan. He wasn't too familiar with the Zorua, but he certainly didn't like him. Rowan didn't like him either. They walked to opposite sides of the fighting pit, and Helios adopted a strong stance.
Rowan, meanwhile, had a scowl on his face. "I have to fight him?"
"Yes, Rowan."
"Here I was wanting a challenge."
Oh, that did it. Helios pressed the button to lower his muzzle. "You'll be getting more than a challenge, asshole."
Rowan just snorted. Flames began spilling from Helios's maw. He was going to pound that arrogant bastard into the ground.
"On three! One, Two… Three!"
Helios rushed forward, spitting Embers without any sense of reservation. Rowan just casually walked around his attacks, looking as if he couldn't give a damn about what Helios was doing.
"Sit! Still!"
Rowan shimmered out of existence, and Helios felt the Zorua slice his back wide open. He ran away, trying to push the tears out of his eyes.
"You… you!" Helios shouted.
"Fight back," Rowan said lazily. "You can't expect me to sit still and take everything that you're dishing out, are you?"
Helios'mouth glowed purple. "Fine, then. Run." His breath came out with fury. This would do- oh, come on!
Rowan shimmered out of existence once more, and Helios found himself sliced open yet again. They fell into an awful cycle; Helio would aim attacks at Rowan, Rowan was revealed to be an illusion, and Helios would have been Scratched again. Three… Four… Five times…
He felt Blaze activate, which was even more demeaning. Since Blaze only activated when you were heavily injured, even his body was telling him that he was losing. Rowan was walking circles around him.
"You know, I expected more from the prince. A challenge, maybe? Is this what the best tutors in Dragnis have to offer?"
Helios wiped away the tears in his eyes. "I… I won't… let you…"
"No, that can't be it. Slate was much tougher than this when we fought earlier today. This is just you, then. I even remember Slate saying that he offered to teach you - are you that bad of a student?"
"Shut up!"
Helios would not be beaten by this cretin! Helios was invincible, unbeatable!
He surged forward, the look of fear on the pathetic Zorua's face as clear as day. He slashed down, tearing him to shreds.
The Zorua disappeared. "Another illusion?! COWARD!"
"You're pathetic," the Zorua intoned, trying to project his weaknesses onto Helios. "You can't see the truth that you're the weakest, most useless out of us. Culus showed you what a real hero looks like, even when no one approves. You. Are. Nothing."
The voice came from many sources around him. "Fight me like a warrior, Zorua!"
"Fight you like an idiot? I'm not you, Helios."
He felt the power slipping away. "I'm - I'm going to win!"
"You've already lost, Helios." Rowan reappeared behind him, holding a claw to his neck. "Accept your defeat with grace, if you aren't able to do anything else."
Tears started flowing down his face. "I… I…"
"I don't care if you're a prince. I don't care if you have Aspects. If you can't use either of those to win, you'll lose. You'll fail. And the only one at your side is the one forced to be."
He couldn't respond. A great ball of snot and tears ran down his front, his stomach threatening to throw his breakfast up his esophagus.
"Winner, Rowan!" Mica declared. The gallery was silent. No one was looking at Helios with pride, but everyone was looking at Rowan with caution. Rowan's frown deepened.
"That was just trash talk, you know," he said to Helios. "It's not like you can't improve-"
His breakfast finally left his body. Rowan jumped back as Helios threw everything up - his meal, his hopes, his dreams. The tears wouldn't stop, they had to stop, they had to stop…
He felt Slate come to his side and help pick him up. "You've said enough, Rowan," Slate spat. "Fuck off."
"If your prince can't handle the truth, it isn't my fault." Rowan turned around, his tail swishing behind him. "But you'd know that, wouldn't you? You'd known that since that first day in the nursery."
How… how did Rowan…
"How did you know about that?!" Slate hissed. "I've never told anyone about that!"
"I…" Rowan trailed off, eyes widening. He looked around at the bleachers. "Holy…"
"Rowan?" Kapun asked.
"My talent! I have it!" Rowan's grin threatened to split his face. "I can feel people's tender areas!"
"... what?"
"Their most shameful secrets, their greatest pride, everything that's written on their soul! I can see it all!" He ran over to Brylle and began to whisper something into her ear. Immediately, she began to blush, before pushing him away. "See what I mean!"
"So you have telepathy now?" Culus asked.
"Better! Now I always know what to say to hurt or help someone!"
The world was unfair. The world was so unfair. How was someone like Rowan able to unlock that kind of power, and Helios was stuck with - was stuck with his ego?!
They all left for lunch. Kapun and Rowan began to talk about Rowan's new power, Brylle and Sable began a leisurely conversation, and Culus and Thilia just watched. Slate helped Helios to his feet.
"We'll tell Pandora," Slate said softly. "Rowan will definitely-"
"N-No," Helios said, voice cracking. "I - no."
If Pandora found out what happened… he'd been humiliated enough today. He didn't need more of it.
"Helios, you can't let this stand."
"If I couldn't let this stand, it would have never happened." The truth was ash on his tongue. "He won, completely and utterly. Let - let's just go…"
As they approached the rest of their friend group (was that what they were now?), Helios began hearing snippets of things Rowan was saying. "You know what this means, Kapun?"
"Everyone can unlock that sort of 'talent'?" he guessed. "If they're good enough in using the Aspects?"
"Well, yeah, that - but also, I'll be able to tell who's a Shadow Worker as well. I think. I'll definitely be able to tell if they're faking it."
The pit in his stomach dropped further. Rowan didn't even care about Helios right now. He was much more concerned with the new power he unlocked, one that he already found good uses for. Meanwhile, his 'talent'...
Slate growled. "I'll beat the shit out of him once I get past the first step," Slate promised.
"But you can't get past that first step. You've been trying for over a week now and you haven't made a bit of progress."
Slate tensed up for a second. He messed up, hadn't he? Was Slate going to drop him?
"Don't look at me like that, Helios," Slate muttered. "I'll get the hang of it eventually." Helios decided to keep his tongue in check.
Once they were seated at their tables, Helios began to pick at his food. For some reason, that other personality of his wasn't acting up, so he should have been talking like his life depended on it, but…
It wasn't his fault! Rowan was a bully, Helios didn't deserve to get all of those things said about him! Rowan would pay once Helios got another round!
"You're not getting any better," Slate murmured.
Helios pushed his food away from him. "I'm not hungry," he muttered. "What else are we going to do today?"
Hopefully, they'd allow them to play - no, Key didn't let them have that much fun. Sable, Brylle, and Thilia all just sounded used to this, and they spent most of their time talking to each other. This was life now.
"We'll be going over routines and protocols, along with basic education. You know, math and stuff."
"... I miss home." His throat itched. "I miss home, Slate. I wish I never got stupid enough to leave." Slate rubbed his back, but it didn't help. "When will things go back to normal?"
"When Chain is destroyed?"
"But they've been waiting for decades. This… this is just… life… now."
The two of them just sat there. Neither of them touched their food. Despite his previous hunger, you couldn't force the mush down Helios's throat.
What would have happened if he had just… accepted his defeat? If he let himself be converted to Chain, down in Fylak? Would he be happier now? Would he be a happy, brainwashed pawn of Phosophor's instead of this?
"Hey, Helios." Helios blinked a little, as Rowan walked over to him. "Look, I just wanted to say that I was sorry."
"Sorry doesn't…" Slate began.
"Bastard, I was bullied," Rowan cut in. "Sorry never cuts it. So instead, I'll say this. You're in a better position."
What the hell was Rowan talking about?!
"Let me put it this way. Right now, we have Slate's ability to notice Shadow Workers. We have more members to fight Chain with, we'll have the ability to stop them soon. And, most of all, we have the Aspects. I heard what you did to help Culus. Nothing I could say will change the fact that you saved my best friend's sanity."
Rowan bowed his head. "So… sorry. It was a mistake to say those things to you. I'm a tough opponent to hit, you're not nearly as bad at fighting as some of the bastards that pushed me around before. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, Helios. I can tell that you'll bounce back from it all."
There was nothing he could say. Helios just stared as Rowan walked back to the table where the rest of their friend group was.
Slate scowled. "As if he could say a few words and make everything better." He hadn't, but Helios could at least pick up his spoon again. "Mark my words, Helios. I will tear him to shreds."
Helios allowed himself a smile. This mush wasn't half bad, at the very least. With some effort, he was able to push it all down and clean off his plate.
Everyone had already finished, and Helios gave Slate a look that said 'go ahead, I'll catch up later'. Slate shot him one last odd look before walking off. Helios went and put his plate back on the cleaning rack. It was his turn at the dishes tonight, wasn't it?
He walked out of the cafeteria, intending on following the rest of the crowd to wherever they would be going. That plan was quickly scrapped, though, as he heard voices. Instinctively, he hid around the corner and began to listen, making sure his muzzle was up in the meantime.
"Look, I'm sorry I didn't say this earlier, Culus." That was Brylle, wasn't it? "Even though you broke regulations to do so, I appreciate the lengths you went to for me. It's… reassuring."
"Don't worry about it. I'd do the same for everyone."
Helios gripped his claws tighter.
"Thanks. But… please. Don't be so reckless in the future."
There was a slight pause. "I'll try to be more cautious in the future," he eventually promised. "But I don't regret what I did, at all."
"Culus, that's…" Brylle trailed off. "Culus, how do you do it?"
"How do I do what?"
"Everything!" Helios's heart skipped a beat. "I've never seen you out of your element! You're always in control of the situation, and even when it's literally forced out of your hands, you manage to find a way to win anyway! How?"
Culus snorted. "Creativity, Brylle. Creativity, and raw force of will." There was a small pause. "I heard it, you know."
"Heard what?"
"Your conversation with your mother last week. The one about me."
A sharp intake of breath. "How did you-"
"Don't ask," Culus said. "More than that… I know that she's right. With a little bit of effort, I was able to figure out a safer way to manage the escape. I am reckless and overly driven. I don't mind you being the leader."
"... that's great?"
"But," Culus continued. "Right now, you're too…"
"Too what?"
"Too… soft? No, that's not right. Ah - you're inexperienced."
"You have amnesia, I have as much experience as you do!"
"I have over ten years of missing memories, Brylle. I might have way more experience than you'd expect. More than that… you're not getting to know us. Did you factor in Helios's inferiority complex before today? Did you know about Thilia and her real intelligence?"
Inferiority complex? What the hell was Culus talking about?
"I knew about Thilia, but… Helios…"
"We all have our demons and secrets, that's part of life. Part of being a leader is being hard and unyielding so that the people under you know their place. If I was soft, I'd have never gotten Kapun's help in Pinnaleis. But you also need kindness and empathy, to know how to push people's buttons. If you don't have that, then you'll just be a hardass." Another pause. "And that's only just one part of being a good leader. You also need to know how not to show panic even when stressed, and loads of other little things."
"Then… what should I do?" Brylle asked. "I messed up Fylak-"
"You didn't mess up Fylak, no matter what anyone says. Fylak was filled with hundreds of unknown variables, and for being your first real mission, I think you did fantastically. But… yeah, considering how I messed up when you lost control of the situation, you could have done better."
"Yeah, so what should I do?"
The silence stretched. Helios waited with bated breath, listening to everything he could.
"We both have our issues. I have… mine. They flared up earlier today, and I somehow doubt that I'll be able to climb the power pyramid with my condition. That's unimportant because you're the boss. If you want, Brylle… I can try teaching you."
"Teaching me?"
"Yep. When to push, when to yield, how to listen and how to speak. I'm good, more or less, with these things. Or, at least, that's what you and your mother think. You have common sense, so you'll be able to parse my good advice from my bad advice."
"You want to tutor me?"
"Frankly, Brylle, if I'm going to be a soldier, I want to have a good leader - and I like you." Brylle inhaled sharply. "If you're willing to have me as a tutor, I'll be more than happy to have you as a student. But it's your choice, in the end."
There was another period of silence. Helios didn't know what to think - Culus, tutoring Brylle?
"... fine. You can tutor me if you want."
"Great. We'll meet in the atrium tomorrow at 8 a.m. You're free, right?"
"Yup… thanks."
"No problem."
With heavy steps, Helios heard Brylle shamble off.
"... will you come out of hiding, Prince?"
Helios stepped out of his hiding spot, turning to face Culus. The two looked at each other.
"How much of that did you hear?" Culus asked eventually.
Helios lowered the muzzle. "All of it. I didn't understand some of it, but-"
"Don't worry about it. Just let whatever you heard be our little secret, okay?"
His heart ached. It felt like his lunch was going to follow his breakfast's example when, "... can you teach me too?"
Culus's eyes narrowed, and his eyes focused on Helios's expressions. "Teach you what? No offense, but you're not exactly leader material. Not yet, anyway."
His declaration was a stab in the heart. "W-why is that?"
"You're weak." Another stab. "Both mentally and physically."
Helios felt tears glisten, but he shook his head. "R-Rowan's power sees into the soul. There's nothing I can do-"
"I wasn't talking about that. That's not a weakness, at least, not directly." Culus's announcement cut right through him. "Your inferiority complex is an issue, but it's not the only nail in the coffin."
"Then why am I weak?!" he burst out.
"Well, you've lost all your spars," Culus pointed out.
Helios curled his fists. "I'm… I'm getting better."
"No, you're not. You're not learning from your mistakes, you're still relying on your talent, you're in a rut. But, again, that's not the only issue. Your final biggest issue is your lack of effort."
Helios' mouth gaped.
"You heard right, Prince. Weakness, panic, all of these things can be mitigated and reduced with time. But if you're not going to fight to improve yourself, then you can't be a good leader. Not one I'll ever approve of, at any rate. In Dragnis, you must have had, what, hundreds of tutors at your beck and call? And you're still like this?"
He felt the tears start to come back.
"You can't be a leader, Helios. Not like you are-"
"Give me a chance," he interrupted. Culus stopped talking, before motioning Helios to go on. "Give me a chance. I - I'll do it all. I'll get stronger, I'll try my hardest. Honestly, this time…"
It felt weak. Culus wasn't going to…
"Tomorrow at 6 a.m." Culus's announcement surprised him momentarily. "We meet in the training grounds. We're going to spar, and you'll need to show improvement then and there. At least, you'll have to show the ability to listen."
"You're…"
"Giving you a chance, yes. Don't get me wrong, I do like you, Helios, in some strange way. You showed it off in Fylak - you're not completely hopeless. Mica's experienced, but maybe I'll be able to help in my way."
Helios took a deep breath. "I - thank you."
"Don't thank me. Not yet." Culus fixed him with a piercing gaze. "If you want to show gratitude, Helios, then surpass my expectations. Do you want to be the leader you were supposedly born to be? Do you want to be 'the prince'? Then show me."
With that, Culus turned around, his tail cracking like a whip.
Despite everything that had been said, Helios felt the kindling of… something, growing in his chest. Culus thought he was weak - Culus thought he was weak, but that he could maybe grow.
Helios would grow.
He'd show him everything he had, and he'd force Culus to acknowledge him.
He was the prince, and nothing would ever change that.
Culus threw the prisoner to the ground, snarling.
"Enough, Culus." The Crobat flapped near him. Immediately, Culus stilled, his eyes going empty. "Do you understand, young man, what we are capable of?"
The Golduck spat in the Crobat's face - or at least, they attempted to. With ease, the Crobat dodged it. Culus growled in response.
"Again, Culus."
Culus's fangs crackled with electricity. He bit into the spy's neck and unloaded as much electricity as his master wished for. The Golduck convulsed and shook, before flopping to the ground.
"Back, Culus." Culus let go and waited for his master to continue. "This will be your life from now on. At least, it will be for a while. If Culus isn't enough, we have… other options to take the truth from your head."
Culus saw the crack in the Golduck's stoicism before it was wiped away. "Regilia will succeed. Regilia will conquer. Your days are numbered."
The Crobat sighed. Culus saw that the Golduck had finally gotten under his master's skin. "If you don't wish to speak, then so be it. We have ways of opening the tongues beyond the grave. Culus, kill."
Culus grinned.
…
Culus's eyes snapped open.
What… what was that?
…
Sleep only came slowly that night.
Yeah, this took way too long. Sorry.
If you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to fav, follow, or review. They mean a lot to me.
See ya!
