To everyone reading, no matter what race, color, creed, or nation of origin, happy Independence Day.
Oh, and I've finally gotten the numbers of the chapters right! Let this be a lesson to those who do not count the prologue as "Chapter One"
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All right, let's do a quick summation.
Karen had been taken captive, although exactly whether the intent of the captor was to assimilate, interrogate, use as a hostage, or a combination of all three was unclear. Francis had gotten into a fight with an enemy from beyond his view of reality, summoned by one from ours, and the device enabling such a feat was a potent weapon, emphasized by another use where the summoned beings were a powder keg of potential destruction.
It seemed the best hypothesis now was that the distortion of reality and the altering of mortal perception of it was part of a plan to create stability in both, although it was clear that the orchestrator meant for it to be a type of spiritual chemotherapy.
It was also clear that the orchestrator was irrevocably mad.
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Chapter 48
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Burning Down the House
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Karen felt sick. As in, she was ill.
As she slowly lifted her head, she remembered this feeling. Way, way back to when she was eight years old, waking up feeling feverish and nauseated, with what the doctor would later tell her was chicken pox. On a Saturday, no less.
But she wasn't in bed this time, she was back in her cell, still a prisoner, and Eden… Where was Eden?
She retraced her thoughts. Eden had told her the plan, adjusted the program, explained it in detail, and then… Then they had been shocked by something. What had happened to Eden?
As she looked around, she regretted getting the answer. Eden was lying on the cot at the rear of the cell, not moving. Karen pulled herself up, finding it took effort to do so.
"Eden!" she yelled. Trying to shake her awake confirmed she was alive, her arm still warm, but limp, and unresponsive.
"I suggest you calm down, Karen," said a familiar voice. "You'll make it worse for yourself."
Karen turned around, and saw Beatrice in front of her cell. She noticed the lockdown still had ten minutes remaining, and parts of the droids sent to feed the troll were scattered around the cellblock. The troll itself was asleep, its loud snoring audible, but it seemed to have been injured, even if the wounds were healing fast.
"What did you -" said Karen, the rage inside her starting to rise. Then she groaned, the pain in the pit of her stomach increasing.
"A demonstration of the full potential of nanomachines, Karen," said Beatrice. "I'm sure you know that computers can perform tasks faster than humans can even envision doing, and thus, they can be used to store dozens, even hundreds of spells, and then cast them simultaneously."
To be honest, Karen had read something on that, but it was only a hypothesis mentioned by technomages. It was impossible to use two magic wands at once, as using one wand required holding it and using a command word, an action that could not be done twice simultaneously.
But a powerful computer with enough memory could perform several complex tasks at once, store more data than a human could remember, and complete more analysis in an hour than hundreds of human researchers could complete in a week. If a computer rather than a wand was used to focus the spell, a program could be written that could cast dozens or stored spells with one run command.
"Ever read Arthur C. Clarke's short story 'The Nine Billion Names of God', Karen?" She nodded as Karen started to shiver, taking in the scope of the potential power.
The Shadowchaser turned to Eden again and Beatrice went on. "Usually the Curse of the Void takes days to cast, I was able to do it twice in a few minutes." Karen looked at her, with a look of shock. "I see the name scares you? It should."
Truthfully, the reason she had been startled was because the cell bars and the door to the cellblock had disappeared while her head had been turned. Eden's There/Not There was still functioning, and it seemed Beatrice didn't know it!
For a brief second, she considered lunging at the bitch and strangling her. But she calmed down. Curse of the Void? It was obvious that was why she felt sick, but while it did sound scary, she had no idea what it did. If she killed Beatrice, how long would she survive afterwards?
Fortunately, Beatrice started to explain. "I take it you've never heard of that curse, which is understandable. It's never been known to be completed successfully, but then, that's the whole point."
"What do you -?" asked Karen.
"The curse is three stages, Karen, starting with pain, nausea, and weakness. You're in that stage now, but so long as you don't exert yourself, you won't end up like Eden, who's feeling the brunt of stage two, which is a paralysis with waking nightmares."
"Waking nightmares?"
"She's not asleep, Karen, and she hears this conversation clearly. She'd be able to talk to you if she weren't so adamantly trying to fight it. I admire her persistence, but little else. After forty-eight hours - or sooner, if the spell is finished - she hits stage three. And then she's gone."
"Gone?" asked Eden, solemnly.
"She dies, Karen, at least I assume that's what happens. She'll be erased, and you'll forget she was ever there. Unnerving, isn't it? Your closest friend might have been a victim of it once, and you don't even know about it, because every trace of that friend is lost in the Void.
"I suggest you behave yourself, because the nanos can start the spell again any time, and they will if you do anything more strenuous than a brisk walk." She looked the young Shadowchaser directly in the eye, sternly for a minute. Then she added, "I can reverse the process, so if you want to barter, I'll be back in an hour or so."
She turned around, and disappeared, fading away as she walked from her. Damn, thought Karen. Clearly, she should have seen this coming; a lockdown was no hindrance to a sorceress.
"Not to sound like a pessimist, kid, but I think she's dead serious."
The statement had come from Fezz, but Karen barely heard him. She was trying to do the math in her head.
"I've seen a few references to that curse, and there are logbooks left behind by wizards who intend to cast it. Only the ones that report failure to complete it give any description of who the victim is. Others don't even detail the final stage. Most of the time, it's used as a threat."
"Yeah, the old 'offer you can't refuse' thing for wizards," added Berger.
If Eden's program takes a half-hour to compete, Beatrice needs at least that long to fix it, thought Karen. She looked at Eden, then she felt her own bosom. Miraculously, the screwdriver she had swiped was still there. Beatrice hadn't frisked her. I'm on my own. I gotta work fast.
"Fezz, listen," she spoke up, then she dropped the screwdriver, and gave it a kick, sliding it across the floor to his cell.
"No… way…" he said.
She pointed to the body shackle she was wearing. "You said you could disassemble this thing, right?"
"Yeah, but last time I tried that," he started.
"Could you reassemble it after you did it?" she asked.
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"In case you haven't noticed the gravity of your situation, you have no cards in your hand other than that monster I sent back there, no Spell or Traps set, and as you used Reckless Greed last turn, you can't draw this turn. On the other hand, Construct would crush your Emperor should you try to attack it, while my Shekhinaga will crush it if you try to use its effect, while my Anoyatyllis prevents you from Special Summoning from your hand or Graveyard."
(Ferd: 1,900) - - - - - - - - - - (Memory Crystal Gamma: 3,100)
Ferd didn't deny that this creature had a point. The three mean-looking El Shaddoll (Shekhinaga: 2,600 ATK, Anoyatyllis: 2,700 ATK, Construct 2,800 ATK) would likely smash his Terrorking (2,000 ATK) and Emperor (3,000 ATK) flat of he tried to make any offensive move whatsoever. He had one possible lifeline, and that was the bonus draw from Sog's Shield, assuming it was something that could get him out of this mess.
He made the draw.
Fortunately, it was.
"Well, then, this is my Standby Phase, I assume," he said, "and there's a little thing you forgot. I can't attack your Construct with Empress, but I still have this guy." He pointed to Terrorking. "Yeah, the basic rules of Duel Monsters would apply there, but he was a Normal Summon, and now," He snapped his fingers, and the demon monarch roared and lifted its claws. (3,000 ATK)
"Guess you're trying to wrack your brain on how it got more points, huh? Well, as cruel as this sounds, it's your fault, chrome dome."
A scowling, hissing, ghostly vision appeared behind him, of a muscular Infernalqueen Archfiend bound by shackles. "Meet Imprisoned Queen Archfiend, which has been in my Graveyard since you used that Dark World Dealings card."
"Irrelevant!" cursed the device. "A victory over Construct is at most, temporary, because -"
"I know, I know," Ferd interrupted, "the effect of those guys lets you reuse your Spells and Traps when they lose a battle, but who needs to battle all of them? I activate Falling Down!"
The equip spell he had just drawn appeared, and darker, more menacing chains ripped from the floor below, latching onto El Shaddoll Shekhinaga, then dragging it over to Ferd's side of the field.
"You used Falling Down to take that one?" asked the being, sounding confused. "Doesn't compute…" It thought for a minute. "Well… maybe it does a little…"
"That's right, when I have this monster on my side of the field, you can't use its effect, meaning I can use my Emperor to blow your Construct to Kingdom Come!"
"Inconceivable…" said Gamma.
He pocketed Imprisoned Queen Archfiend's card, causing Emperor's eyes to burn with the flames of Hell. "Wipe it out with Punishing Rain!"
"Unfathomable," exclaimed Gamma.
The sky turned red, and flaming, burning meteors cascaded down and around the giant Shaddoll, denting and then rending its armor. Its left arm fell off first, then its head, and then the rest of it collapsed in a smoking pile of junk.
"Impossible!" gasped the device.
"Now my Terrorking is gonna go to town on your El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis!" exclaimed Ferd. "Locust Storm Barrage!"
Much like before, only with more effort, the Demon King's chest burst open, and flaming locusts swarmed towards the watery Fiend, savagely chewing through its clothing, then flesh, until it collapsed into dust.
Emperor lifted its hand, and the cataclysmic rain continued, plowing into the evil tree and its occupant, until finally, it collapsed with a loud crack, the magical supercomputer rolling onto the ground with a thud.
(F: 1,900) - - - - - - - - - - (G: 0)
Ferd cautiously approached the item he had come to obtain.
"Unbelievable," it simply said, before its eyes closed with a hum.
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The Shokan as a culture believed in pantheism, which was not unusual for cultures as old as theirs. They also had myths that claimed many of their gods were once mortal Shokan. Nothing new there, either. What made their gods unusual was how diverse each one was. All their gods were warriors, but all had a second area influence that rarely seemed to fit with the first.
For instance, their god of agriculture was also the god of wrestling. (Supposedly, he defeated a demon using that form of combat to obtain the secrets of growing cultivated grain.) Their god of music and the arts was also the god of justice and retribution. (Suffice to say, refusing to "pay the piper" for his services caused folks to pay more dearly than the ones in Hamelin did.)
And then there was Lvette, the goddess of love, romance, fertility, and assassins.
Supposedly, Lvette was a Shokan princess whose father was a great general and king of a minor city state who warred against an enemy they call the Gorr. When her father was slain on the battlefield against this enemy, Lvette - the presumed heir - made an offer to the Gorr king; a treaty via marriage. This was a painful - but not uncommon - way for a young ruler to surrender, forfeiting her position and her purity in exchange for the lives of her kin.
Now as is often the case in myths, the drama of the situation varies depending on who tells it. The most "heroic" variant claims Lvette beaten to the point of death, wounded and pierced with arrows before pleading for her life, portraying the Gorr king as some lustful rake, eager to get into her pants. Others claim an approach that would seem, to an enemy, more dignified and formal, with the adversary taking a far more pragmatic view.
Regardless, the result remains the same; the offer was accepted, and the two leaders were wed. However, minutes after the marriage was consummated, Lvette held her new lord in a long, passionate embrace - her four arms in a specific, carefully planned position - and applied what came to be known as Lvette's Cradle. He never saw it coming until she flicked all four wrists in such a way that his spine snapped like a toothpick. Naturally, her own forces were now implementing a long-prepared ambush where the Gorr's other leaders (often portrayed as drunk from their victory celebration) were slain. Within hours, Lvette was Queen of her own faction and the subjugated Gorr.
Naturally, modern cultures would refer to this as perfidy, a violation of traditional rules of war and thus a war crime, but the Shokan gods taught that "all was fair in love and war", something her own dogma specifically stated. Supposedly, Lvette could conceal this act from other would be enemies, and did it more than once, expanding her small city-state into an empire. Eventually, she perished on the battlefield, as all Shokan heroes did (the only true death for them) but came to be revered as a goddess, mostly due to other female Shokan following her example. Many foes who wrongly believed a female Shokan warrior had given up had died crushed in Lvette's Cradle…
...Much like Francis was about to. Asleep and snoring soundly, his berserk expired, Sheva was holding him in the position right now, holding very tightly. Waiting until a foe was awake was not obligatory, but most preferred it.
Still, she couldn't help but feel a twang of regret. A shame, really, she thought. Was almost starting to...
There was a loud rustle interrupting her in mid-thought.
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"I think we may be overdressed," said Sofia.
Possibly an understatement, as she and Philip had expected to face two criminals spoiling for a fight, and had instead come upon what seemed like a rave. Somehow, speakers and synthesizers had been set up in the old hospital exercise yard that was now full of teenagers dancing to the loud music mix that a DJ - Yuri, incidentally - was broadcasting.
Although, not all were dancing. It was clear the large order of pizza and wings was meant to feed this group, and many were laughing and cavorting around a table where it was set up, quite a few couples kissing in a way Karen's folks would ground her for months had they caught her in the act. Still, she realized that was the first place they had to inspect.
"What's going on here?" she asked, grabbing the first partygoer within reach.
"Dunno," came the reply, "it's just awesome!"
"Hey, chill," said another voice. As she turned, a male partygoer handed her a glass of something. "Here, this helps."
Sofia took it from him quickly, the idea of liquor being here far more alarming. But when she looked at it… "What the hell is this?"
It didn't seem like any drink she was familiar with. It was blue, with an odd, steaming mist coming from it.
"I've seen this before," said Philip. He took the stuff and dabbed his finger in it, then tasted, then nodded. "Yup, it's blue silversnap ice."
"Wait," said Sofia. "I think Penelope mentioned that once."
"She may have had it once," replied Philip, "when she was younger. Start with the old Harry Potter books, make Hogwarts a school on the post-secondary level, then change the ages of the main characters so they'd fit there as freshmen. Harry, Ron, and Hermione would drink this occasionally, and Malfoy would likely do so far more."
"It's wine?" she asked.
"Sort of a magical cocktail," replied Philip. "You take the juice used to make fruit wine, like plum or cranberry, then use a special type of hedge alchemy that involves carbonation. Faster than fermentation, you know. It would be nothing but soda then, but it also has a smidgen of an herb called twilight jasmine."
"A 'smidgen'?" asked Sofia.
"Uhm, a bit less than a dash," answered Philip. Seeing that she was confused, he added. "A tad more than a pinch. To put it in human terms, twilight jasmine is a potent hallucinogen and aphrodisiac, that was once used in love potions until someone found out that putting it in cider gave you the type of buzz Jolt Cola did."
"Is it dangerous?" asked Sofia.
Philip seemed about to answer with a further explanation, when they were both startled by Kei, who leapt in front of them as the music suddenly stopped.
"Look here, everyone, seems the narcs just barged in to crash our party!" The last three words came with a rather fierce change of expression and tone, along with a clenched fist, but they quickly reverted to a smile. "Who here wants to help throw these squares out?"
Much to Sofia and Philip's disdain, she seemed to get a lot of volunteers for that. Instinctively, the two shifted so they were back to back.
"Hand to hand only, Phil," Sofia warned, "we don't want to give these kids physical scars to go with the psychological ones."
"Yuri, can we have some ass-kicking music here?" called Kei.
Yuri nodded, slipping a new CD, starting a melody Sofia was familiar with:
Your butt is mine
Gonna tell you right
Just show your face
In broad daylight
I'm telling you
On how I feel
Gonna hurt your mind
Don't shoot to kill
Sofia sighed a little. She really used to like that song…
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"Karen, this is insane!" shouted Fezz, in his loudest whisper.
"Granted, but you admit it's possible?" she asked.
"Well, theoretically, yes, but you could also make the thing explode!"
"Didn't explosion-related accidents just replace influenza as the eighth most common cause of death for gnomes?" asked Berger.
"Touché," sighed the gnome.
"Just be ready when I tell you," said Karen. Her eyes were fixed on the timer, counting down the final two minutes of the lockdown. "Berger, I need your help here too, this is going to take perfect timing."
"Suppose I don't want to go along?" he asked. "Thus far these ideas of yours haven't managed squat."
"What choice do you have?" she asked. "You want to stay here the rest of your life wondering just what she plans to do with you, spending all your time counting the number of bricks in the wall?"
"I've counted 45,672," answered Fezz.
"Smartass," grumbled Berger.
"Maybe she'll get ideas more ideas for medical research," she said, pointing to the troll. "She can't perfect potions without someone to test them, you know? Why in the world would they keep him alive if she was making no progress? It must cost a fortune to keep him here, look at all that!" She pointed to the busted machinery on the floor, it certainly didn't look cheap.
"Yeah, I did mention that to him once or twice," answered Fezz.
"I'll come back for you two, I promise," she assured.
"Well, I guess when you put it that way," said Berger, with a shrug.
As the clock ticked to 1:30, Karen nodded. "Okay, now."
"Hey, STUPID!" shouted Berger, towards the mutant troll. The troll made a gurgling sound and drooled as it started to wake up. "Yeah, I'm talkin' to you, you goddam son of a bitch dumb sack of shit!" It woke up fully, and started to strain and bark again. "Damn, I've met a lot of dumb sacks of shit in my life, but you gotta be the dumbest, ugly! Speaking of ugly, you looked in a mirror lately? Bet when you were born, the doctor slapped your mother!"
Keep it up, keep it coming, thought Karen. As the clock hit 30 seconds, she made sure the bars were Not There, then dove across the room to where Fezz could reach her. The nausea briefly peaked, and the sweat running down her face as the troll got angrier didn't help either.
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How hard is it to find books on alchemy? Not hard at all, but reading them is harder. That was the reason, even though Nitro wouldn't admit it to his boss, that he loved being allowed access to the Shadowchaser library.
Magic and alchemy are different fields, and knowledge of one isn't essential to the other. Brewing potions out of herbs can be done with rudimentary knowledge of alchemy. But a wizard who is also an alchemist can use each field in such ways that novice alchemists can only conceive. As such, most advances and discoveries in alchemy are made by wizards, the best books on the subject are authored by them, and without knowing how to use magic, using those books can be a daunting task.
Thus, the problem non-wizard alchemists have advancing their skills. Books of spells are rarely printed or translated, meaning research into them means pouring through library and academia vaults searching out old hand-written tomes written in Latin, Cornish, Hebrew, Old Norse, Greek, Slavonic, and numerous Shadowkind languages. Naturally, libraries of this type didn't allow these books to be removed from the premises and frowned on them being photocopied, meaning research required learning those languages or having a partner who knew them.
Now, wizards could do this rather easily using hedge magic, but for folks like Nitro, it was a long, boring hassle that he couldn't do alone. In this library, where Jalal's staff had pre-translated many of those old tomes and magical devices were close at hand to do so for the others, Nitro was like a kid in a candy store, eagerly going from shelf to shelf to find the info he'd have traded his right arm for. He just wished he could get past those golems guarding the entrance to the inner sanctum, but there was time for that later.
Fanciullo had found a lot of info he needed too, and was lost in a book as Nitro came into the reading room.
"Can you believe some of this stuff is on microfiche?" he exclaimed.
"Thrillsville," grumbled Drago.
The mobsters' three bodyguards were clearly not as interested as Nitro was. Uomo was flipping cards into his hat, and Amare had nearly dozed off at the table.
"Bored…" he mumbled.
"We're in a library, try reading something," snapped Fanciullo.
Drago was about to answer, when a low rumbling interrupted. "Was that your stomach or mine, Amare?" he sighed.
"Now that you mention it, I'm hungry too," added Fanciullo. "The commissary is down the hall, why don't you three -"
He didn't have to say much more. They were gone in the next moment. Simple minds, simple pleasures, he thought, returning to his reading.
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In the room with the computer station Eden and Sofia had been in, Beatrice was looking at her watch as the timer on the lockdown also ran down. Finally, the latter one hit zero, the numbers turned green, and an all-clear whistle blew.
As she turned to the monitor, the door opened with a hiss of escaping steam. Bonnie and Antoine were there, and obviously had no idea what was going on.
"What's going on here?" asked Bonnie. "At least when they had drills at Jediah's boot camp they told you what had happened!"
"I suggest you shut up, lest the boss actually come to investigate," answered Beatrice. "Guard the door and I might be able to fix this problem."
She started typing, bringing up the program Eden had changed, and it was clear what the gautiere had done. Eden, you think you impress me with your stupid hacking? Well, I know a few tricks myself.
She opened a drawer, and then picked a disc from a set of them, then fit it into a drive, typing as she kept her eye on the screen.
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One cardinal rule about libraries, whether it's the public one down the street or the Library Arcanium itself is "No Loud Talking", which meant cellphones and other electronic devices were to be kept muted.
This universal law was one Fanciullo followed, especially in a library where he was only reluctantly welcomed, which made a vibrating cellphone more useful.
"Talk," he said, putting it to his ear, watching the sentries as he did so.
"Yo, chief, those mercs sent something over," said the voice. "Has to be important, they used a stamp of delivery with an insurance receipt."
"Have Ernie and Chisto watch it," ordered Fanciullo, "I'll be there to pick it up when I can."
"Uh, just asking here, but -"
"Don't ask, just watch it," he snapped. "Loose lips sink ships."
"So, uh," asked Nitro, watching as his employer hung up. "Ain't that what Stormbringer wanted?"
Fanciullo nodded. "He'll get it, eventually. Hopefully we'll find a way to come out ahead on this."
"Pretty sure we know a few things about folks Stormbringer wants to know more about," suggested Nitro.
He leaned over to glance at the book Fanciullo was reading, the words "Operation: Husky" clearly visible.
"Thought did cross my mind…" he confirmed. "Depends how much he wants it."
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"There we go," said Beatrice.
She went to hit the run command, only for a loud, bellowing roar to shake the entire wing of the complex.
"Damn, don't tell me that stupid troll broke loose again! You guys, go check it out."
"Wait, wait," protested Antoine.
Bonny grabbed him by the ear and dragged him towards the cellblock. "Come on, coward," she sneered, "just watch my back, I've fought vampires, werewolves, demons, and walking piles of rock, I think I can handle a drugged-up troll."
"Check on the Shadowchaser while you're there!" added Beatrice. "See if she's up to something, and if she is, convince her otherwise."
She hit the run command, and a second progress bar with 30 minutes, the lowest she could manage, started.
She crossed her arms, determined this time to wait and not move from this spot until it finished. Then maybe the Shadowchaser would be more cooperative.
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"Ow," said Francis.
His head always hurt when he came out of berserk, something he usually attributed to dehydration and exhaustion due to exerting himself. This time, however, it was worse than the bender he had last New Year's Eve.
"Dear God, please tell me that was a nightmare…"
Unfortunately, as he looked around and saw his clothes scattered around the forest floor, it was clear it had been real.
Feeling disgusted and embarrassed, plus even more upset that this whole trip had been a bust (and not looking forward to Bartholomew telling him "I told you so") he hastily started grabbing his belongings, then heard the muffled and muted sounds of a familiar (and annoying) voice.
To his surprise, and partial bemusement, Mr. Pux was tied to a tree in front of him with his own overalls and shirt. The iPhone he had been using was stuffed in his mouth.
Don't laugh, it would be rude, he thought. He approached the spriggan and removed the device, a torrent of obscenity-laced insults issuing at him as he did.
"Don't just stand there, untie me!" demanded the crook. "She headed that way, you can still catch her!"
Francis really didn't care about that right now, as he was examining the iPhone, which seemed to be broken. Then he noticed a paper pinned to the overalls holding the fey.
"You know, kid, this is just my opinion here, but you could do better, I mean -" he was cut off as Francis jammed the device back in his mouth, then took the paper.
Human,
This piece of slime was recording us, but I believe I caught him in the act before he sent it anywhere. Do with him as you will.
There was more written, the Shadowchaser feeling more revulsion mixed with a small modicum of relief as he read it all, gathering the rest of his clothes as he did so. Fortunately, his Duel Disk was intact, and his keys and wallet were still in his trousers, Sheva clearly having no use for them.
He hit the mobile function of the Disk, and was relieved even more to hear Dugan's voice, even if he was angry.
"Francis, what the devil is going on?" exclaimed the older Shadowchaser.
"A lot," he said. "I have a perp here I'm taking in for attempted extortion and bribery. Probably illegal cyber porn too." More struggles and whining came from Pux as he said that. "And before you ask, DON'T. I'll explain it all later."
He was about to throw the letter away, but read the entire thing one more time. Then he stuffed it in his pocket.
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"You're so dumb, I'll bet your fleas have more brains than you!" shouted Berger.
The troll let out a screech again, straining hard as the moorings to one of the chains started to crack.
"There, now what?" said Fezz.
"Pray," replied Karen. Pacing herself this time, she moved back to her cell, knelt next to Eden and held the gautiere's hand.
"Trying to get me, stupid?" yelled Berger. "Want a piece of this? You couldn't hit a sidewalk if you fell off a building, you worthless, steaming, festering pile of cow turd!"
That did it, the left chain snapped, just as the door to the cellblock opened, and Bonnie ran into it, holding a weapon far more high-tech than what she had used before.
"SHADDUP!" she yelled. A rippling bolt of blue energy blasted from the barrel, and the troll groaned again.
"You can look now, stupid," she said in her "cuter" voice towards the door.
Antoine was trembling as he walked in, and Bonnie turned to Karen's cell. "Well?" she asked. "What happened here?"
She pointed the gun at the Shadowchaser, but only soft sobbing came in reply.
"You wouldn't be so tough without that gun, bitch," said Berger.
"Oh, you think that's going to convince me not to use it?" asked Bonnie. She turned to him, and pointed it. "You know, I studied Shadows my whole life, I'm pretty sure a weapon that can hurt a troll would turn a reeve into something resembling guacamole dip. Want to find out?"
"Bonnie, can we finish up here?" sighed Antoine. "I haven't eaten since last night, and -"
"Hungry?" said Karen's voice. "How about a knuckle sandwich?"
Of course, as Bonnie quickly found out, as she spun around with her weapon, the intended recipient for the delivery of said sandwich was her.
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Devil's Garden.
In a lonely section of the rocky place, Hank was peering through a surveyor while kneeling. He tapped his duel Disk.
"Okay, Jalal, good news, bad news time," he said as he spoke into it. "Good news is, I can see the portal here, and it's clearly a well-used portal that leads offworld."
"The bad news is, you don't know how to open it, I assume?" asked the leader.
"That's an affirmative. Pretty sure it would be much easier to do so from the other side, but here, we need a key or a password, or something. If it does lead to the 'commerce center' of the Lower Planes, I doubt it would be easy to find what it is…"
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The infamous B.B. Hood prided herself on being able to take punishment as much as she doled out, but the vicious haymaker (with a metal glove!) from the prisoner she had assumed was sobbing with grief had been completely unexpected. Sirens were flashing again, as the Shadowchaser clumsily grabbed the weapon and, turning once to make certain Antoine was doing nothing but cowering and shivering, dashed through the cellblock door, which Eden's spell still let her perceive as Not There.
It had worked. She had doubts of it herself, but it had worked. Even now, she felt her strength coming back; simply removing the blue gem on her shackle wouldn't have helped much, but Fezz had replaced it with the red one on his. With the feedback being delivered via that path effectively blocked, the nanos in her own system were only able to perform their pre-programmed function, which due to the second lockdown, was redundant. Her strength was returning, possibly via the shackle's attempts to weaken her.
Only around the corner, Beatrice's reaction to the new alarm was to slam her fist on the desk in rage. "Damn, when I get my hands on," she started as she got up.
She barely got a good look at Karen before a heavy blow hit her upside the head. The Shadowchaser couldn't have possibly pulled the trigger without use of her fingers, but if the weapon couldn't shoot, it could bludgeon, and it had done the job. She threw the weapon inside the room, and as the lockdown fully initiated, slamming the door shut, ran down the hall.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Because I'm bad, I'm bad come on
You know I'm bad, I'm bad come on, you know
You know I'm bad, I'm bad come on, you know
And the whole world has to
Answer right now
Just to tell you once again
Who's bad
"Looks like it ain't you, Kei," said Philip.
It would seem so. He was holding the Lovely Angel's arms pinned, and most of her "troops" had either fled already or were watching from a distance.
"You guys are no fun," she pouted.
"Fun?" asked Sofia. "Not gonna be all-too fun for you Kei, when we run you in."
Then Philip screamed as a backwards kick from Kei hit him in a rather sensitive area and he let go. Sofia was about to go for her sword.
"Not that I wouldn't appreciate seeing Kei take her lumps," said Yuri's voice. The blue-haired Angel leapt from her station, somersaulted, and landed between them and her partner. The ravers all cheered.
"...but what exactly are you going to 'run us in' for?"
"Well let's see," started Philip, "trespassing, stealing a D-Wheel, holding an unlicensed party on state property, possibly distributing -"
"Philip, hold on, I'm the one with the Mark here," said Sofia. She marched up to Yuri, just as angry as her boyfriend was, but a little calmer. "You two are in a place you don't belong, where the ones in charge won't be as quick to forgive a catastrophe as the ones you're used to, and simply telling them it isn't your fault won't be accepted as an excuse. We'll cut you two some slack if you just leave right now."
"Of, c'mon!" laughed Kei. "The fuzz back home canceled our last shore leave, and you think we're gonna waste one that comes out of the blue?" she giggled a little. "You don't like the music, maybe we can upgrade this party to something a little more… stimulating. Like a foursome."
"Oh yeah!" said a voice from the crowd, and catcalls started coming with it.
"I meant Duel Monsters!" yelled Kei. "Dream on you guys!"
"Not a bad idea," added Yuri. "You want us to leave, we'll give our guests here a competitive show first, your style."
"The game was your folks' idea," said Philip with a shrug, turning to Sofia. "And we have to convince them somehow."
"One condition," added Yuri. "We use our gear."
She pointed, indicating the stolen D-Wheel, and four Duel Disks next to it. "Some souvenirs we picked up from our trip to Triskelion. Go on."
"That name… Sounds familiar," added Philip.
The crowd stood aside, letting them get to the four disks rather easily. They did seem rather "future-like", and calling it a "disk" was a misnomer, as the center was square-shaped, reminding Sofia of an iPad on a wrist-guard. The tray, well, she didn't see any tray, even a retractable one, although she did notice a slot of some sort, even if it seemed too small to hold a Graveyard pile.
"Yeah, it looks weird," said Yuri, "but trust me, these are gonna be all the rage by next Christmas."
As Sofia snapped it into place, the screen lit up, her iPad comparison seemingly not far off. Then the blade appeared, one that seemed made of pure energy.
"Well, that is kinda," she started, "OW!"
It was like she had been stabbed in the wrist when she put it on.
"Uh, So-So," said Philip. He was looking at his own Disk, clearly a little worried. "Now I remember where I heard of Triskelion…"
"They play for keeps, and so are we," answered Yuri. The two Angels had wine glasses of the silversnap ice.
"What's going on, you two?" demanded Sofia.
"Don't worry, you won't feel a thing," said Kei, "well, no more than usual. Those disks will deliver this stuff right to our bloodstreams with each hit. I mean, what's a duel without a little danger? You lose, you die, but you'll be happier than ever when it happens!" Then she drank the whole glass in one slug.
Sofia looked them hard in the eye. She looked at the screen on the disk, and saw a setting meter, with Low, Medium, and High.
"Medium?" she asked.
"Well, yeah, that's the usual setting," added Kei. "We aren't monsters, we can…"
"Set it to high."
The Lovely Angels looked shocked, and so did Philip. For a moment or two. "You heard me, set the thing to high," replete Sofia.
Yuri gulped a little. "Oo-kay," she said, "sure."
"I like the way you two think," said Kei. The four settings adjusted, and they felt the prick again. "Okay, now we're really playing for keeps!"
"I hope you know what you're doing," whispered Philip.
"So do I," replied Sofia.
"Well," said Yuri. She lifted her glass. "In that case, cheers."
She sipped it, and as the counters set to 16,000 apiece, the ravers cheered and the music started again.
Well they say the sky's the limit
And to me that's really true
But my friend you have seen nothin'
Just wait 'till I get through
Because I'm bad, I'm bad - come on
You know I'm bad, I'm bad - you know it
You know I'm bad, I'm bad - come on, you know
And the whole world has to
Answer right now
Just to tell you once again,
Who's bad…
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There it is! thought Karen.
The portal to her own world was ahead, in the center of the hallway.
She realized what she was doing, which was quite possibly suicide. Once she was through it, the function of the nanos that let her sleep without dreams would cease, and quite possibly force her to sleep.
All she could do was pray herself that Eden's plan had worked.
She took a deep breath, and leapt through it.
Karen had escaped.
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Ferdinand let out a long, tired sigh as he carefully approached the object he had been sent to recover. It seemed inert now, lying among the broken and burned remains of what had been the poison tree.
Hope this was worth the trouble, he thought.
As he bent to pick it up, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. At first he thought it was just a weed, but then…
Heeeey… he thought.
He stuffed the Memory Crystal into a pouch in his belt, the enchantment making it fit with quite a lot of room to spare. In fact, there was quite a lot of other equipment in it, including a pair of leather gloves. He put one of them on his right hand with a swift stroke, then reached for the small plant.
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Yup, I certainly did… she thought.
She felt open air briefly, and the sun on her face, but almost as soon as she had, she collapsed, her face hitting a sandy ground. Exhaustion and shock had hit suddenly, and a deep sleep had followed.
"You know, I had a cat once. That whole thing about them having nine lives ain't true."
Karen heard the graveling, mocking tone through fog, the words the same as those in a conversation that was coming back to her. She was standing up again, somehow, back in that horrid swamp, with her even more horrid opponent goading her.
It worked, she thought, her shock almost knocking her over again.
It did seem so. Two set cards in front of her, along with her Panther Rager (2,000 ATK), Caninetaur (1,500 ATK), and Noble Warrior Mina. (2,400 ATK)
However, they were completely outclassed by the goliath they faced, the demonic Dystopia the Despondent. He also had Cloak and Dagger, Zerozerock, and Final Attack Orders activated, and two facedown cards.
This was several minutes and about four turns before she had woken up. And most importantly, it was before she'd made the mistake.
"Let's see here," she heard Freddy's voice.
The giant Fiend lifted its fist to deliver a punch to Caninetaur, and it all suddenly came back to Karen, the plan she had intended.
"I activate Pot of Acquisitiveness!" she shouted.
"Now what?" yelled Freddy.
There was a serious case of deja vu this time (or rather, like a recurring nightmare) as, like before, she activated her Quickplay Spell, causing the odd, chuckling Jar to float out.
"As I said before, this Spell sends three banished monsters back to my deck," she explained, "then I reshuffle and draw twice, which means, again, I can use Caninetaur's effect again and discard Barbaros again!"
(2,400 ATK)
At least this time, Karen wasn't as shaken when Caninetaur was smashed; as violent and gory as deaths in slasher movies tend to be, seeing one a second time never had quite the same impact.
(K: 2,100) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 1,700)
Still, she remembered the bruises and pain only too well. But she also remembered that this was where she had panicked and loused up her plan.
Time to do it right, she thought.
"Huh, it's weird kid," mused the killer. "You get the feeling we've been through this before?"
It was all the willpower Karen could muster not to double over in laughter. Finally, he shrugged and said, "Meh, your move."
Okay, let's think, she thought. One of those set cards is his Altar for Tribute, and the other is, ugh, it could be anything. He's probably got that Dunston Custodian he'll use to summon more Dustons. I've got Mira, Panther Rager, and my set card.
She drew once, and for the third time, nearly fell over.
What in the world? she thought.
"Come on, come on!" demanded Freddy.
"You know, for an immortal nightmare lord, you're pretty impatient. I summon Shogi Knight."
There was a strange, galloping sound, and what appeared to be a centaur, sort of, trotted from behind her. It seemed gaunt and sickly, but had a long mane of hair, and held a sword as long as it was tall. Most unusual, a mask - or rather, a wooden board - with Kanji symbols covered its face. (800 ATK)
"Now, his effect lets me take a guess at whether one of your set cards is a Spell or Trap, and if I'm right, it's history." She pointed to one of the set cards. "I believe it's… A Trap!"
Shogi Knight pounced, the Trap - for it was indeed a Trap - revealing itself as Altar for Tribute. Shogi Knight's sword swung, and it smashed.
"Bitch," he growled.
"It gets better. Now I get to summon a Level 3 Earth monster, like my Shogi Lance."
While this monster was a Beast-Warrior, it resembled neither beast nor warrior, like a wheel with seven blades placed around its diameter and the same Kanji symbol on the front. (500 DEF)
She set the facedown card on her Disk, then made a beckoning gesture. "You're up, ugly."
The killer looked a little suspicious, making his draw with a humph. "I'll show you ugly," he growled. "Dystopia, turn that horse into ground chuck! Crushing Fist of Spite!"
"I activate, Backup Reverse!" yelled Karen. "This card sacrifices one of my Normal Monsters, which Rager is at the time, and summons one from my Graveyard of the same Attribute and Attack Score in set position!" A large card rose behind Grizzly Rager, and he disappeared as it revolved around him. The card fell flat as all set cards did. "It also compels your monster to attack it, meaning your monster will now be fighting…" The giant fist thundered down on the hidden card, "Pot of the Forbidden!"
The Morphing Jar was known to be a notorious card that could change a duel in a heartbeat, but the monster that now appeared, well… It would seem the older card was one of a brood that was spawned by a much bigger monster. It was a jar, but one with a diabolical design, with a demon's face on black ceramic. Then a bestial, one-eyed thing with dagger-sized sharp teeth lurched out of it and hissed. (3,000 DEF) - (2,000 ATK)
"The flip effect blows your Spell and Trap Cards back to your hand!"
The thing hissed louder, and Freddy gasped slightly, his entire back row was blown back to him, the cards appearing with his others. But his grin returned quickly. "A little too late, kid, cause now it's wide open!"
There was a loud crash, and fierce wind, dust, and dirt buffeted Karen as the wicked jar was crushed.
"You're dead meat, kid," he laughed. His metal claws shone and glimmered in front of him as he closed in on his victim, who was bent over, her head bowed…
Then, to his utter and complete surprise, Karen's own eyes shone ever fiercer through the haze, and a powerful kick to his gut knocked him over.
(K: 1,700) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 1,700)
"What's the matter, asshole, surprised I can still fight?"
"You little -" he started. He tried to strike with the claw, only to get an even fiercer blow to the face. He fell backwards, slamming into the metal door of the furnace, his glove and his hat falling in front of him. Only then, he noticed Karen's Counter Trap.
"It's called Back from the Brink," explained Karen. "It reduced the damage I took to zero, and then made my Life Points equal to yours. And I can also summon, from my Graveyard, a Level 4 monster."
A tombstone appeared in front of her, and a gauntleted hand broke the dirt, Bronze Maiden pulling herself out from it. (1,800 ATK)
"No fair!" screamed Freddy.
"Says the reality warping demon who claims he's God," growled Karen. "Know something, Freddy? I used to think you were just some pathetic joke who became a lame parody of yourself after the third sequel. I was wrong. You were always a lame joke!
"And I guess, that was the point. A Nightmare on Elm Street was just one of many cheesy horror films thrown together on a shoestring budget, it's just one that got lucky. Thing is, you were entertaining the first few flicks, but then a few greedy Hollywood hacks figured out they'd make a ton of money on the same lame theme over and over."
"Maybe we'll discuss that," he sneered, "WHEN I SEE YOU IN HELL!"
The Shadowchaser heard the horrid threat come from a giant face that vaguely resembled his, belching burning hellfire at her…
But when it subsided, her clothes were singed, but her expression was unchanged. "Tell them Karen sent you," she replied.
She deftly drew the top card from her deck, and used it. I summon Shiba Warrior Taro." With a friendly sounding yap, the small, puppy-like Tuner Monster hopped onto the last space in her Monster Zone. (500 ATK)
"I Tune this guy with my Bronze Maiden," she said, with the two monsters leaping into the air, flying through the Synchro Rings with no other word from their master, Celestial Wolf Blue Sirius descending and with its triple-bark. (2,400 ATK)
"Then I use the effect of my Shogi Lance, which makes the Levels of it and my Shogi Knight both 6. So, I can Overlay both," the two Beast Warriors were absorbed into the Network, "to Xyz Summon the Bronze Valkyria!"
The gloomy swamp suddenly turned brighter, and the dead trees crumbled, with lush, healthy ones sprouting from the ground as a brilliant, radiant woman in golden armor. Freddy covered his eyes and cringed, with an expression no moviegoer had ever seen on his ugly face - terror.
(2,600 ATK)
"Time to dole out some nightmares of my own, because my Valkyria can use an Overlay Unit and cause all monsters other than Beast-Warriors lose their effects, meaning your Dystopia's ability to keep itself from being destroyed by battle isn't going to cut it. But to back up mine, I'll use Wild Nature's Release."
As the Spell activated, Sirius howled loudly. (3,900 ATK) It blasted flames from its triple mouths at Dystopia, who roared and swatted them aside, blowing the Beast-Warrior to cinders.
"Of course, my monster lost the battle, so I lose 1,100 Life Points, but your monster seems more despondent than ever now."
Dystopia was clutching its chest and groaning; the attack having left gaping wounds on its chest. (2,600 ATK)
"Ladies…" said Karen.
Bronze Valkyrie drew her weapon, and large, angelic wings sprouted from her back as she flew at the demon. There was a roar that collapsed into a moan as both monsters exploded into black and golden shards.
"You're next, ugly. Time to wake up and face reality."
Noble Warrior Mina came next, and there was a final bloodcurdling howl as her weapon drove home, holy light tearing the vile flesh of the demon.
(K: 600) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 0)
He was gone.
"Congratulations, Karen!"
"Eden?" gasped the Shadowchaser.
"Afraid it's not a miracle, Karen, a little divination I can use due to something I programmed into the nanos in your system I used that computer."
'Eden, you -" started Karen.
"Hush, hush, don't talk. It's hard enough trying to concentrate now, I don't think I can talk and listen. So, pay close attention, I don't know how long I can do it."
Karen realized what she meant. She was still trying to fight the curse, and likely talking through agony. Still, Eden tried to sound optimistic.
"Since we clearly have privacy now, I can tell you how to crack Belle's code so you guys can crack the computer yourself. Just go to page 44 of the journal, and the questions will reveal themselves once you manage a link."
"But how do I…" started Karen.
"As for how you can do that," answered Eden, "I'm sure you know someone who can. And as for the Curse of the Void, tell whoever the doctor is to look up Sala Kasper. He's an apothecary wrote a few texts on the subject, and I'm pretty sure a cure can be put together."
Her tone turned a little morose. "Just don't worry about me. Don't come back here with guns blazing with some heroic jailbreak on your mind, you'll just get killed. I'll be dead soon, if I'm not already. Hopefully, it won't be for nothing. I spent my whole life trying to find purpose. Maybe I finally have, and it's the best I could hope for."
Her voice started to become fainter and more distant as Karen started to wake up. "I'm counting on you."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Fifteen minutes earlier, at the control center of Shadowchaser Headquarters
"Slow down, Hank, slow down," said Jalal into the mouthpiece of the device. "I can barely understand -" He stopped to listen. "Dear God. Delores, tell the infirmary that an emergency is coming it."
"Hank was injured?" she asked.
"No," replied Jalal, "he found Karen. Somehow."
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Jemorille: As much as beings who inhabit the Planes of Law deny it, there are benefits to things that happen by luck and chance. I would later discover that Hank had decided to leave and return with other equipment, but he had decided to recheck one part of his notes he hadn't been sure of. Had he not taken the five minutes to do so, Karen would have been alone, unconscious, and at the mercy of whatever next found her. Not a pleasant thought.
Despite being wounded, exhausted, and traumatized by Eden's grim fate, Karen was safe for now. The Balance was starting to tip in benign setting, but there was far more to do.
Still, the incredible irony of what Eden had said in that recording hit Karen rather hard. She knew her savior still lived, but how long would she - or anyone - remember? The words Beatrice had spoken to her would haunt her for weeks, as would the nightmares, pondering whether, indeed, some beloved friend or family had been a victim, and was now forgotten, left unknown and unmourned...
Still, Karen had one small compensation, if Beatrice's threat was indeed valid. So long as her memories of Eden remained, it meant she lived.
For a while.
And as for the more immediate problem, "Astonishing Panorama of the End Times" is next.
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Bronze Valkyria (Xyz Monster)
Warrior/Earth/Rank6/2,600/1,800
3 Level 6 monsters
Effect: This card can also be Xyz Summoned with 2 Xyz Materials if at least 1 Xyz material is a Beast-Warrior Type monster. Once per turn, you may detach 1 Overlay Unit, and if you do, all monsters except Beast-Warriors cannot use effects that activate on the field or in the Graveyard.
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Backup Reverse (Normal Trap Card)
Image: A Fire Sorcerer backing away from a Dark Elf on a subway platform towards a set card. Dekoichi rolls by in the background.
Tribute 1 face-up monster you control, then select 1 monster in your Graveyard and Special Summon it in facedown Defense Position. The Summoned monster must have 2 of the following 3 criteria:
Same ATK of the Tributed monster
Same Attribute of the Tributed monster
Same Type of the Tributed monster
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Back from the Brink (Counter Trap Card)
Image: D.D. Warrior Lady crawling out of the gravestone on Foolish Burial, her hand reaching towards a sword on the ground in front of it.
Activate when your Life Points would be reduced to zero by an effect or battle damage. Reduce damage you take from that effect or battle to zero. Your Life Points then becomes equal to your opponent's Life Points. Then, you may select a Level 4 monster from your Graveyard and Special Summon it in Attack Position.
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Shadowchaser Files
Personalities: Glabron the Destructor
Some Shadows are bad, some are worse. And some are the worst. That's what the Cage is for, an institution for Shadowkind criminals too dangerous to be held in the regular facility, and too dangerous to be banished, the usual punishment for fiends. It's not a place for shoplifters.
But even the Cage has prisoners who stand out. The following is a shared excerpt of the journal of Warden Jacob Pierce, one of the most reliable and loyal men I've ever worked with. Supposedly, this was written on a day even his patience was frayed, and he was considering retirement.
Jalal Stormbringer
In my time here over the years, being in close contact with the worst Shadowkind has to offer, t stands out. Not in a good way.
The behavior of the inmates here can be erratic at times. Screaming and sobbing gives way to hideous laughter, only to give way to dark and vile threats and seductive offers spoken with forked tongues.
Those I can handle. One inmate who doesn't do any of that is called Glabron the Destructor. (I have no idea how he got that title, but he likes being called that. Not that he doesn't deserve it.) He's usually polite and courteous, but then, so was Hannibal Lector.
The comparison is rather accurate. Glabron is one of the most dangerous inmates here, kept bound in an iron straitjacket in a cell with numerous multi-layer wards, kept under magical sedation. Supposedly, it took fifteen armed men simply to haul him here, and three were killed in the process, five more ending up in the hospital. Living guards who deal with him must be examined with five different magical procedures afterwards to prevent any curses, hexes, or mind control attempts, and even golems who do so have to be inspected. Of course, he is an arcanoloth, a demonic scribe, librarian, and researcher, a bigwig among yugoloths. However, no other yugoloths I've dealt with of (although, admittedly, I've only "dealt" with lower levels of authority among them) wants anything to do with him. That's kind of odd. Because most arcanoloths try to avoid being kicked out of Gehenna, the source of their power.
Glabron claims to be the servant and herald of Xoltal, the God of Destruction. Now, if your first reaction to hearing that name is, "who's that?" then you aren't alone. I'd never heard of him either. I'm no expert in Shadowkind religions, but I have failed to find one iota of information on a god with that name. I assumed at first that "Xoltal" was an alias used by someone else, until Glabron started to give reasons why nobody heard of him. Be warned, this sounds farfetched even by Shadow standards.
From what the yugoloth says, Xoltal was a real piece of work. Glabron gives him the credit form just about everything bad that happened to pretty much everyone for a few eons. While he's ranting away, Glabron claims variously that Xoltal was responsible for starting the Blood War (possibly the reason other yugoloths hate him, as they claim to have done that), shattering the once-solid four layers of Acheron, stirring up Limbo and inventing the concept of death. He claims Tharizdun was once Xolotl's disciple (possibly has an iota of truth to it, as I'll explain later) before Tharizdun called him too cruel.
The reason for that was, while Tharizdun simply sought destruction, he was never intent on making his victims suffer in the process. Xoltal wanted to deface, defile, and vandalize all of existence, and then destroy it. While Tharizdun had some misguided view that he was mercy-killing reality, Xoltal did it for sadistic joy.
The story goes that the other gods got sick of Xoltal defacing their work. They banded together and cast the mighty beast-power into the Astral plane. Unfortunately for them, he just bounced right back, madder than ever. The powers had to do something big to stop Xoltal for good. While is sounds like the fate that would ultimately befall Tharizdun, this version was briefer, uglier, and messier.
Turning the proverbial tables on the Great Desecrator, as he was sometimes called (I'm not writing the title he was usually called). the other gods seized him by his twisted paws and deformed, backwards legs, boiled him up in a kettle and cut his body into small pieces. Then they threw these dismembered pieces all over the cosmos, scattering him so far and so wide that he'd would never be able to reform. The god's ribcage was dumped in the Outlands, where it became the now-ruined town of Darkspire, one of his claws was planted near Bedlam, his blood became the River Styx, and his spine was ripped out and sold to the more lucid yugoloths. They've made it into Khin-Oin (the Wasting Tower in the Grey Waste).
The largest fragment of Xolotl's brain was hidden deep under the Outlands, where it festered and transformed itself into a new entity, the illithid creator power Ilsensine. (A contradiction to what most say about Ilsensine, as it's widely believed it has no physical form.) Even Xolotl's name taken away and hidden somewhere; maybe that's why I'd never heard of him until now.
Of course, this might be nothing but nonsense spouted by a crackpot.
The one worrying part of this story is that Glabron claims to be his proxy. (Much like the Shadow Queen was for Graz'zt.) Now, dead powers don't have proxies, right? Glabron certainly has powers above and beyond your average arcanoloth (heavens forbid there should be such a thing!) That'd suggest that Xoltal might not be as dead as the other powers reckon.
Even more disturbing is the red gemstone that the arcanoloth clutches at all times. Glabron claims it's a fragment of his god's heart, and that it's his mission to plant the shard somewhere safe so as Xoltal can reform. We've been unable to pry the "heart" from his grasp (not that we haven't tried), and simply trying to study it is difficult, including using magic to scan for enchantments. Glabron himself is such a virtual furnace of evil magic, he's the only one who registers when such divinations are used.
The only assumption I can make right now that even comes close to a theory is this: Glabron is not the servant of a god, but an unwitting slave of an Elder Evil. Possibly even one of the Great Old Ones. Possibly how he went nuts in the first place.
Which is why this is a claim that cannot be ignored, no matter how crazy his story sounds.
Story Ideas: Whether Glabron's story is true or not, it is clear he himself believes it. As such, his plan involves either escape and finding a place where he can use his god's heart. Or possibly he would fool, persuade, or blackmail someone into doing so. Exactly what he stands to gain from this isn't known, although most beings who willingly serve Elder Evils are suicidal.
If what he says about "planting" the gemstone is accurate, he's likely looking for an epicenter of supernatural evil. Places like the B.A.D. area or Atlantis would probably fit the criteria, as would notorious sites of genocide or violent wars. The word "probably" is stated because there's really nothing to compare such an act too; it has - thankfully - never been done.
What would happen if he succeeded could only be guessed at. His goals do seem like those of Bubonis, and the two criminals might have a partnership or relation of sorts.
Other potential plots might involve figuring out just who or what Xoltal is, if he existed at all. Most Elder Evils are things the gods try to keep secret, mostly to prevent a madman like Glabron from trying to worship them. (Possibly, he's safer in the Cage for him than it would be outside it, as someone might want to silence him or learn whatever he knows.) If there's any consolation, the Great Old Ones aren't the type to cooperate with each other. Much.
Something else to consider is just how he was exiled in the first place. He'd have to have done something really bad (or really good) to be declared unfit for yugoloth company. It's likely he has more enemies wanting his head.