Neferpitou shook their head and sighed as Pouf finally departed. They took a big stretch, yawned, and sat criss-crossed on the outcropping outside of Komugi's tower.
"I'm glad he finally left," Pitou grumbled to themselves. Pouf could be… a lot.
They understood his frustration with their current situation. It truly was a little aggravating, and not to mention unnerving considering how quickly their forces were dwindling. Luckily, though, Ikalgo was due to arrive with the Zodiac and his Demon within the next 48 hours.
Pitou was more than ready to wrap this little stunt up. The King had been at war for almost an entire year now, and Pitou felt bad for Komugi. The poor girl was forced to sit holed up in this tower for month after month, looking forward only to the occasional half hour the King would be able to spare for a game whenever there was a rare break in the conflict.
Chimera society was in a precarious position, and it was absolutely crucial that this plan be seen into fruition. The faster Pitou could get the King and Komugi safely to Nirvana the better.
The peaceful world had been under heavy construction for every month the war had worn on. Chimeras from the King's faction had been traveling there at any chance they got, and were working tirelessly to recruit other humanoids who believed in Nirvana's cause.
According to Jispa's reports, the population on Nirvana was currently at around 2,000, all concentrated in the capital city of Dharma. The cities of Bodhisattva, Crucifix, and Qur'an were still under construction, but would likely be completed within a matter of days upon the King's arrival.
Meruem's Magical Power was vast, and he had the ability to materialize concepts from his mind into reality. Using his abilities, Nirvana would be constructed into the most glorious city known to humanoid kind. Pitou hoped that one day Nirvana would surpass even Overworld. The King and his followers would show the entire habitable universe that agreed upon peace and harmony could beat organized anarchy with ease.
Nirvana would become the symbol of peace and unity that their chaotic world so needed.
And Pitou would do everything in their power to help Meruem achieve that goal.
The feline Ant rubbed their eyes, squeezing their lids shut tight in an attempt to drive away the burning sensation. They'd been awake for days on end at this point, with too many assaults on the land mass Pollara to even consider taking a break. Pitou had several wounds still in the healing process, but was far too exhausted to consider activating Dr. Blithe.
But it didn't matter, all of Pitou's suffering was in service to the King. They were more than happy to lay down their life for him, and they believed in his dream of Nirvana with all their heart.
With one last roll of their shoulders, Pitou breathed out through their nose and activated En.
What Neferpitou found when they activated their En, however… was a nightmare to end all nightmares.
Pitou was up in a flash, bunching their legs ten times their regular size. Their En exploded out in front of them, in the direction Pouf had disappeared off to. The moment Pitou's En caught a hold on Pouf's location, they were gone in a cloud of dust.
The feline Ant hurdled through the air, a horrid rage thrashing about them in a frenzy. Their hair wrestled like wild in the powerful gusts of wind assaulting their face, and a horrid aura surrounded their body in a reddish haze.
"Pouf!" Neferpitou roared, the only warning the butterfly man received before he was pounced on and tackled from 200 feet in the air.
The two Royal Guards crashed into the ground, an enormous crater forming at their wake. Pouf gagged, coughing up a mouthful of indigo blood as Pitou jammed their fists into his chest.
"What are you doing?!" Pouf choked out, just barely dodging a brutal grab for his head from Pitou's claws.
"Where's Komugi!" Pitou screamed, spittle flying and face stricken with terror.
Pouf blinked in confusion, wincing from Pitou's noise. "What are you talking about? She's in the damn tower just like she–"
Pouf froze, realization dawning upon him.
"Wait, is the woman gone?" he breathed, voice hushed and unreadable.
Pitou snarled, tail fluffing out in hostility. "Don't play dumb with me, Shaia! What the hell did you do with her?! I know it was you!"
"You're being unreasonable!" Pouf sputtered, forcing himself up onto his elbows as Pitou sat perched on his chest, claws digging into his shoulders.
"Pouf. Where. Is. Komugi."
"I don't know! If she's gone then we need to find her right now!"
"Stop it with your games!" Pitou snarled, leaning down into Pouf's face as the dust from the impact cleared. Their wild red eyes swirled with acidic yellow and flaming pink. "You've been complaining nonstop over the course of this entire year we've been at war! Before that even! When Komugi first got here you complained about her not being a sufficient Blood Bag! As if you wouldn't jump at the excuse to take her out of the picture?! Don't act like I'm too stupid to know that if Komugi dies the King will fly into a rage and take the throne just like you've been fantasizing over since the moment you drew breath! Is the coincidence lost on you?! Or are you truly so desperate to avoid a fight with me, because we both know that I can and will kill you!"
Pitou glared down into Pouf's widened tawny eyes, his pale pink skin was flushed blue in shock, and dirt stained his left cheek. His eyes darted back and forth between Pitou's, analyzing as always.
"Please, as much as I would have loved to eliminate the woman, know that my loyalties lie with the King and the King alone," Pouf pleaded. "I would never take steps that went against his will!"
Pitou scoffed, "Not even if you believed yourself to be bettering him along? Don't make me laugh. We're wasting time! Spit it out already! Tell me her location or I'll kill you where you stand and use my Terpsichora to force the information out of you!"
"I swear I didn't plan this!"
"Then how come she disappeared during your shift?!"
"Do you take me for a fool?! I would have noticed if she'd been removed from my En! I only dropped it when you came for the changing of the guard–"
Both Pouf and Pitou froze.
Damn it.
They understood immediately.
The two of them had been tired, they'd been sloppy. They'd been willing to place their own relaxation over the life of the King's beloved. Because of the mere minutes they'd spent with both their En deactivated, someone had been able to slip between them and steal Komugi from right under their noses.
And here they were fighting amongst themselves when Komugi was out there in the hands of some stranger!"
The two Royal Guards were back at the palace in a matter of seconds.
Pitou stood in the center of Komugi's room, heart racing and eyes darting about like mad. It was the same as it had ever been. Cracked walls, gungi board and tiles in the center, a small bed off to the corner, a tin bucket for bathing. Not a hair was out of place.
Save for the head of silky white that was gone without a trace.
"Can you pick up the scent?"
Pitou's lips puckered. "No. There's not a trace. Even her residual scent is completely gone!"
Pouf crossed his arms, biting on a thumb nail. "There's one Ant I can think of who possesses the ability to wipe the presence of a being entirely. The scent, everything. Like they never existed in the first place."
"Lizard," Pitou agreed. "Rammot's underling. The one who always wears the hooded cloak."
"This means that Komugi has been taken into the custody of the insurgents," Pouf muttered, wings shuffling as thoughts raced in his mind.
Pitou nodded, a nagging anxiety beginning to spear their heart. "Yes. Which means that she is most definitely being held on Marathon."
"The only question is, what will they do with her?" Pouf asked, true fear in his voice.
Pitou found a growl rising in their throat. "Nothing serious, they couldn't do anything without risking the rage of the King. Komugi will only be a valuable hostage if she is completely unharmed. If a single hair is removed from her head the King will most definitely use his power and reduce all of Chimera to dust, Nirvana be damned."
"Which just increases the likelihood of them taking her to Marathon. It's the most well guarded of all the landmasses the insurgents still hold," Pouf spat. "I'd suggest we attempt to chase after them, but with Lizard's enhanced Zetsu ability there is no hope of finding her."
"What do we do?" Pitou asked, feeling themselves begin to crack under the immense stress. After an entire year, this is when the plan took a turn for the absolute worst? The timing couldn't have been any more wrong! Everything had proceeded exactly according to plan up until now, why did everything have to go to hell right when the King was about to secure his victory?!
This truly was the insurgent's last shot, and they couldn't have timed it any more perfectly.
"We're failures as Royal Guards," Pitou said darkly.
"I agree wholeheartedly," Pouf murmured. "But we can't crack under the pressure now. We must find some way to rescue Komugi before Rammot and the insurgents at Marathon place all their chips on the table."
"That's right," Pitou breathed, tail twitching in desperation. "They'd bring Komugi to Marathon, and then secure her. As for when they'll offer her up as a bargaining chip… that'll likely happen during the next resurgence of the insurgent's forces. I estimate that it will take no more than twenty-four hours to bring Komugi to Marathon and secure her there, and it will likely take the insurgents no more than five to move their armies and have Komugi ready to flaunt before the King as a lamb up for the slaughter."
"We have to save the woman before that happens. We must intercept her delivery at Marathon!" Pouf exclaimed. "I say we move out right now. If we leave right this very moment we will be able to beat Lizard back to Marathon, and we can intercept him–"
"-No," Pitou interrupted.
"What do you mean, no?" Pouf asked, voice raising in pitch. "We must resolve this crisis immediately!"
"We cannot make any move without first consulting with the King."
Pouf blanched. "That's a terrible idea! If he hears the news, he'll flip out and storm his way all the way to Marathon all on his own! Then we'll have lost our defensive position and two-thirds of the entire species will rain down upon him! It will be utter chaos! He'll lose his position near the palace, and will not be able to get in and assassinate the Queen! It will all be over!"
Pitou shot Pouf an intense glance. "The King is not lacking in foresight. He'll understand the consequences. If we are the ones to inform him of Komugi's capture, then that steals the upper hand from Rammot and the forces at Marathon. I assume they are relying on us to take matters into our own hands just as you suggested, and right our mistake before the King finds out. We must prove them wrong, and report our mistake to the King."
Pouf's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish's, he was truly at a loss for words. "The King will be furious."
"He will be," Pitou agreed solemnly. "But he will know the best move to make. The Zodiac and his Demon are arriving soon, so we can utilize their backup and work Komugi's rescue into the current plan. We'll just have to storm Marathon and hope that we can make it to the Queen's palace and out of Chimera before we're caught by the forces in the heart of the insurgent's territory."
"Of all the times for everything to go so horrendously wrong," Pouf complained, rubbing at his temples.
"Agreed," Pitou sighed. "Come. We must report back to the King. We lost Komugi."
"How… how will he react?" Pouf wondered aloud, voice barely audible.
Pitou's ear flicked, and then both roasted backwards. They did not want to think about the inevitability of the conversation to come… but there was no time for hesitation. The faster the King was made aware of Komugi's capture, the more likely he'd be to come up with a strategy for success.
AN: the situation has taken a sudden turn for the absolute worst! *cues nagareboshi outro*
