"You're late," Pouf complained, leaning against the arch, perched upon the eve.
Neferpitou glanced up at him, feline tail swishing behind them in that usual mischievous manner. "Apologies," they said, not sounding the slightest bit sorry.
"You made a bit of a mess," the blonde Ant observed, gracefully flying down to meet Pitou on the pathway, jutting out from the last bit of the palace that was still intact.
Pitou looked down at their clothes, still sticky with blood. "I couldn't be helped," they shrugged with a grin. "Cheetu's squadron entered the fray on Matecka, things got a little… interesting."
Pouf scoffed, "Naturally." Matecka was one of the largest of the land masses, second only to the Gorteau, the main sector. Gorteau was the land mass where the Main City resided, along with the palace of the Queen and her horde. The now remains of the King's palace also were located on the main sector, which was where Pouf and Pitou were currently standing.
Holding the east front of Gorteau was difficult to say the least. The western half, across the Lake, was where the Queen's hive was. She had her armies there, and was constantly gathering the Kingdoms still on her side to try and break the King's front. It was messy business, and every other week the entirety of the King's forces would have to withdraw back to the middle front.
It had been almost two months of this madness, and Pouf had had quite enough.
He knew that the King's plan was to cripple the species as much as possible, and to do so he had led all of the Chimera Ants Kingdoms into this epic war. It was a civil war, with three sides. The Queen's, the King's, and the rogues. The rogues caused the most headaches, consisting of Zazan, Cheetu, Yunju, and the like.
Fighting the Queen's forces was easy, their attacks were simple minded and uncreative. It was the rogues' attacks that were the most… erratic.
Which was why the King was constantly jumping from landmass to landmass, Matecka being the most recent of his skirmishes.
"Colt tried to offer up a treatise again," Pitou sighed, stretching their arms high above their head.
Pouf rolled his eyes. "Of course he did."
Colt was the Queen's new right hand man, assuming the space Meruem had left when he'd betrayed her. Incapacitating her and leaving her on the brink of death. Even now she was barely alive. Pouf was genuinely surprised she hadn't just died already. Her death would make all of this so much easier, scattering the Queen's forces and leaving only the rogues to deal with.
But no. Of course Peggy was over there stirring up as much healing Magic as he could get his hands –er, flippers, on. Only, lower level Magic could only accomplish so much. Pitou's Dr. Blithe was the only Hatsu ability anywhere near powerful enough to heal such critical injuries. That was why Colt was constantly offering up treaties, trying to end at a stalemate.
Not that either of the opposing sides would ever accept such terms.
Meruem's goal was to bring Chimera society to its knees, and the rogue's goal was to save what was left of their society's stability.
As it stood, Meruem was currently winning.
It wasn't that he was winning every battle, no. Taking normal war stats, he was losing. His armies took the heaviest damage, and were dwindling at an alarming rate. Before long, his armies would be completely slaughtered, leaving only himself and his Royal Guard to fight against two thirds of an entire species.
But it simply did not matter if Meruem lost his army, if his casualties rose to unseemly new highs.
For his goal was not to conquer, not to defeat the others.
It was to bring chaos.
And chaos he brought.
Each day he'd destroy another landmass, bringing Kingdom after Kingdom to its demise, tearing colony after colony apart, and leaving them scrambling. The more power structures he disrupted, the longer it would take for Chimera society to build back up. For there was no way in the depths of hell that the fools would ever consider uniting under the same flag without the introduction of godly force.
No. That would simply be too intelligent of a move.
"It won't be long now before we run out of fodder," Pouf sighed, flicking a spec of dust off the intricate collar of his shirt.
"Now, don't speak so lowly of our loyal allies," Pitou snorted. They sounded jovial, but Pouf knew that in reality they were displeased with his blatant disrespect for their armies. Armies that were walking into the jaws of death with smiles on their faces. All for the King. All for the destruction of their own species.
"It's the truth, isn't it?" the lanky male said, dramatically strutting to the end of the suspended ledge. "We may be powerful, but up against two thirds of our entire species we will surely be overrun. It's only a matter of time before we will be backed into a corner, and for what?"
Pitou's eyebrow twitched. "For the King."
Pouf glanced over his shoulder at his feline comrade. "No. It was never about the King. It was about that… girl," he spat.
Pitou rolled their eyes. "We respect the King's wishes. If he wants to save her from our own society, then we will do everything in his power to assist him." Pouf understood their annoyance. They had taken part in this exact same conversation too many times to count, after all.
But Pouf just couldn't get over it! Why would the King pick such a lowly creature over his entire species?! Over his throne?! He'd been born with the power, with the opportunity, to rule over the entire habitable universe! But he'd thrown it all away. And what for? Some snot nosed blind girl?
They were going through all this trouble for absolutely no reason at all.
Meruem needed only to make the order. He needed only to activate his aura! And the entire species would bow down before him.
But what was he doing? Getting his hands dirty as he took his throne apart brick by brick. All so he could take back the stolen childhood of some sack of bones that happened to have an eye for strategy.
Honestly, Blood Bags were Blood Bags.
Why should he turn tail on his entire species because the lowly ones had to suffer? It was simply the way of things. He was a King, and the girl was the dirt beneath his feet. Why in the Gods' names had he thought to look down, to inspect the grime beneath his toes? He should have stomped her out, if anything!
He should have used her for her intended purpose. She was a gourmet meal, readied and shipped in specifically for him. The blood in her veins was delectable, the closest to Seelie one could possibly achieve without starting a war.
But no.
Meruem had decided to play with his food. Speak with her. Get… Pouf shuddered. Acquainted.
And then he lowered himself to her level! Completely immersing himself in the mud that was her social class by sitting across a game board from her. And when she beat him, he just let it happen! He should have killed her on the spot! The honorable move to make when in the presence of the King of all humanoids was to lose, no matter what your skill level!
But she won.
Not only the game, but the King's heart.
It was enough to make bile rise in Pouf's throat.
It was disgusting.
He hated this. Hated every second of it! He detested this war, he detested the path his King had chosen to walk down, and above all he detested that damned wretch! That stupid, bushy browed creature, currently fast asleep in the only tower remaining of the King's once glorious palace.
"We'll run out of troops within the week," Pouf forced out through gritted teeth. Struggling to keep his composure and not just kill the stupid creature as it slept. "Once that happens, the Queen's forces and the rogue forces will undoubtedly launch a simultaneous attack on the middle front. And who will be left to fight them, hm? You. Me. Youpi. And the King. Quite the army. Four divine beings against an ocean of lambs up to the slaughter? Even you know that the waves will be far too high for even the King to tread. We'll be overwhelmed, and we will lose. And I don't mean we'll have failed in the King's goal. Oh, no. We've already more than won this war to his standards. But I mean we will realistically lose. Chimera society will have been destroyed, but we will all die in the process. And once we are out of the way, the Queen's forces and the rogues will fight to the death. The entire Chimera Race, gone. Just like that. Ripping each other apart, all in the name of some worthless Blood Bag."
Pitou waited patiently for Pouf to finish his dramatic monologue, twitching their tail in annoyance. Once it was clear that he was finished, they corrected him: "No. It will be me, you, Youpi, the King, Ikalgo, and the Zodiacs we hired."
Pouf rolled his eyes, "Two entire Zodiacs and a common soldier? My heart is ignited with passion."
Pitou's ear twitched, eyes flashing. They were quite sick of Pouf's antics, that much was for sure. And of course Youpi wasn't intelligent enough to vent to. Speaking to the King was out of the question. The only one there for Pouf to dump his whining on was Pitou.
"Oh," Pouf spoke up again, "I take that back. One Zodiac. That's right! They only sent one! The Demon is nothing more than a hitchhiker."
"They sent us the most powerful Zodiac," Pitou drawled. "Who would you rather have sent? One hundred men? Or one man stronger than 1,000 men?"
"I'd rather we not send for anyone at all," Pouf grumbled. "If we're doing this, then fine. We're running away from the ocean of our sins like insects running from a focused ray of sunlight. We must get the wretch out somehow, right?"
Pitou crossed their arms, tapping their foot and waiting for Pouf to stop his whining and just trade posts already. It was Pitou's turn on guard duty. Pouf was to return to the King's side in battle.
Pacing back and forth, Pouf spoke with his hands. It was a wonder he didn't awaken Komugi with all this antics. "So we've recruited a pilot! Incredible, hm? But not just any pilot! The most skilled of them all! But not a genius from Rammot's or Leol's squadron, oh no! They're sided with the rogues! We have the best pilot on the rebel's side! The rebels! Who have historically wanted no part in hunting through space! So we have some novice pilot, ready and waiting to swoop in and fly us off to Nirvana!"
Pitou leaned against the wall, the picture of impatience.
"You know what I don't understand? Why we had to crawl to Overworld's side with our tails between our legs. His Highness knows good and well that you are perfectly equipped to get Komugi out, and that Youpi and I are perfcetly equipped to assist him in the assassination of the Queen. We can handle this operation entirely on our own! So why are we getting outsiders involved?! It's pointless! Nothing more than a method to lower ourselves even further into the dirt than we already have!"
Pitou yawned, "True. We don't actually need any assistance escaping to Nirvana. But that's beside the point. It's not a cry for help, but a political move. We need to show the rest of the planets that Nirvana is not a threat. We are willing to work with them, willing to sign into the Peace Agreements. What better way than to employ the help of the Zodiacs? Overworld is the most influential of all the planets. Everyone turns to the Zodiacs for help. In doing this, we secure our place on the galactic stage. We can clean up the Chimera's name in society's eyes. Or at least, our faction of the species."
Pouf snarled, "I knew that."
Pitou twitched their tail, smirking at him. "Don't ask questions you don't want answers to~"
Pouf scoffed, turning on his heel and stomping over to the ledge.
He'd already known all of that… he'd been trying to make a point, and Pitou knew that but was playing dumb on purpose. The least they could have done was indulge him, but no! Pitou, little goody two shoes. The King's little guinea pig.
Pouf knew that Pitou was the strongest of the Guards, and that they had earned their spot at the King's right hand fair and square.
But that didn't mean Pouf couldn't be jealous.
"Good luck out there!" Pitou called after him.
"Don't patronize me!" the blonde Ant snapped. Spreading his wings and launching himself into the air. He ignored Pitou waving teasingly at him. Damn feline. They really were far more trouble than they were worth.
Here he went again, back to the damn battlefield. Fighting like some brute, not stopping until their armies were completely destroyed.
Pouf was just being dramatic. He knew well that in actuality they were just waiting for that Zodiac and his Demon pet to arrive so they could move forward with the final stage of the King's plan. They'd have more than enough soldiers remaining for the operation.
But still.
This entire situation aggravated Pouf to no end.
He was above this. The King was above this!
Enlisting the help of the Zodiac's? Disgraceful. This was such a display of weakness! Why should they care what the rest of the planets thought of them?! It was not like they could do anything about it!
"Pouf. Strength is not vast displays of superiority, but rather the strength to step down from one's isolated throne and compromise."
Shaiapouf "tch"ed.
Himself and the King did not exactly see eye to eye.
AN: somebody keep and eye on Pouf *rolls eyes*
