Chapter Twenty-Four: New Management

(Omofrisit's POV)

I stalked into the throne room to find King Gangrel sitting on his throne and looking bored out of his mind. Frey, Colm and I bowed and made our presence known.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Gangrel asked, still bored.

"I was hoping you could tell us where Hershel is." I said.

Immediately, Gangrel's face lit up as if I had just told him that Christmas came early.

"Oh! So you're still looking for him? GYAHAHA! You should have stopped looking long ago, there's no way you'll find him. In fact, at this point, he's probably getting dehydrated. He might even be dead! GYAHAHAHA!"

I was done with this. I had had enough of this man since the first time I saw him. Hershel was going to play a vital role in my plan, and no one was going to keep him from playing that role.

"Gangrel! I demand that you tell me where you have hidden Hershel!" I yelled.

Gangrel stopped laughing. Instead, he now had a curious look on his face.

"Oh? And who are you to demand anything of me?"

As much as I wanted to, I couldn't tell him who I really was. He would dismiss it as nothing more than a lie. So what was I supposed to do?

"Fine, you have a point but how about an exchange of information?"

"Now you have my attention. What have you got for me?" Gangrel asked.

"Chrom is planning to attack Plegia and completely wipe it out."

"Oh, everyone's going to love that. Yet another Mad King comes from Ylisse. I can hardly contain my excitement! Validar, Prepare for war!" Gangrel yelled.

"Now, Hershel's location?" I said.

"Why would I tell you that?"

"Because we had an agreement! I warned you of impending war, and you would tell me his location!"

"I never agreed to anything, I just asked what you had for me." Gangrel said with a sly grin.

Swine! Imbecile! Scum! How did I not notice that? I've had plenty of time to work on my deal making skills; I've had so much time in that void to practice my wording. How could I have missed the fact that he never agreed? I must have been too riled up. Even now, I can feel my anger rising every second I stare at his face.

I could feel myself shaking in anger. It wasn't directed at him so much as it was directed at me for being so blind to his obvious trick.

I couldn't hold it in any more. I cast a flux spell directly at Gangrel. His face went from smiling and overconfident to surprise and something akin to fear.

The spell hit him dead on. He tumbled from his throne down to the floor and lied there unmoving.

"D-did you just kill the King?" Frey asked.

"Sure looks like he did." Colm said.

I was about to agree with Colm before I heard laughing.

"Hah…haha….haha…Don't..hah..write me off…too…quickly."

Gangrel began to stand up, leaning on his sword for support. He pulled a small blue bottle out of his pocket and proceeded to down the contents of it. The elixir completely healed him and he stood up without a support, like the attack had never happened.

"Well then, if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get. But I can't promise that I'll play fair."

Gangrel lunged with his sword and I jumped back just in time to dodge. I felt proud of myself at first, but my pride was snatched away by bolt of lightning that was shot from Gangrel's sword. It hit me square in the chest and knocked me back. I could see Gangrel smiling at me.

Frey and Colm both backed off, probably thinking it was dangerous.

I dodged another swipe from Gangrel and responded with a nosferatu spell. Gangrel dodged (much to my amazement) and sent another bolt of lightning my way. I didn't have time to dodge this one; instead, I countered it with a fire spell. A small explosion occurred, and due to the smoke, I couldn't see Gangrel anymore. I scanned the cloud of smoke for any sign of him but could find none.

All of a sudden, Gangrel dashed through the smoke slashing my arm and leaving a sizable cut. I grunted in pain and stumbled back. I snarled at Gangrel and let loose a stream of spells. Through some divine prank, he managed to dodge every single one of them, and not only that, but he managed to send lightning my way as well. The lightning hit me and I fell to one knee.

How!? How is it that he can be so powerful? Or perhaps it is that I am weak. But no matter, I have one more trick up my sleeve.

(Frey's POV)

I watched the battle, wondering if I should interfere. I was kind of hoping that Omofrisit would kill Gangrel, but at the same time, if Gangrel died, Plegia would be left without a king. And if what Omofrisit had said was true, and Chrom was going to wage war against Plegia, now was not the time for this country to be without a king.

The battle quickly began to tip in Gangrel's favor. And I began to worry for Omofrisit. Every time Gangrel struck him, Omofrisit would become more enraged and more reckless. It was clear that Omofrisit would lose if something wasn't done. But just as I worked up the courage to interfere, Omofrisit extended his hand towards Colm and me. And not a second later, I passed out.

When I came to, the battle was over. Omofrisit was standing victorious over Gangrel's bloodied body.

I stood up from my position on the floor and ran to Omofrisit's side. I looked down at Gangrel to see his body littered with deep lacerations and burns. But despite it all, he still had that manic grin on his face. Omofrisit was staring down at him with what seemed to be pity.

"It would-Urgh-seem that you've…woken up…" Gangrel said to me. "You missed…quite a-GAH-show."

I looked at Omofrisit, not knowing what to say. How had he beaten Gangrel so badly? Before I fell unconscious, Gangrel was winning. So what happened while I slept?

Gangrel turned his gaze to Omofrisit.

"Don't...worry…your secret is-AGH-…safe with…me."

"Thank you. But I'm afraid you won't live much longer, these wounds can't be healed." Omofrisit said.

"Oh…bummer. Well, I'll be…waiting for you…in hell."

Gangrel's eyes closed, his breathing stilled, and his body went limp. But even so, his smile still remained.

I looked to Omofrisit once again. He met my gaze, but his eyes still held pity for the man lying before us.

"Now what?" Was all I could muster.

"Considering the impending attack, someone has to take his place. And it might as well be me, since I have experience ruling a country, and…because I feel I owe it to him…"

What happened between them? Before I fell asleep, Omofrisit was ready to kill anything that got between him and Gangrel. But now, Omofrisit looks like he's sad that Gangrel's dead.

"Did he tell you Hershel's location?" Colm asked.

"…No. That's the one thing that he wouldn't tell me. He held out right up to the very end. We'll have to find him ourselves." Omofrisit said. "Frey: Take Colm and search the dungeons thoroughly. I'm going to take care of this body, and then I must alert the people to their change in leadership."

Omofrisit hefted the body over his shoulder and left the room to do whatever he was going to do.

Colm and I left for the dungeons; passing many confused guards who had just seen Omofrisit pass by with the body of their king.

We entered the dungeon and started checking the cells for Hershel. Most of the cells were completely empty, but a few held the remains of dead prisoners. We came to the last cell, hoping that Hershel was inside, and opened the door. There was a living person inside, much to our delight. But unfortunately, it wasn't Hershel.

The man looked up at us, his face showing some form of recognition when he saw me.

"Heeeey, I know you. You're that guy that was sleeping in the alley." He said.

I was slightly taken aback. First off, I didn't know this guy. And second, I had never slept in an alley. But then I remembered that I was disguised as Hershel's identical twin.

"I'm sorry, but I've never met you. It's possible that you met my twin brother Hershel though." I said.

"Ah, I see."

"If I may, when was the last time you saw his brother?" Colm asked.

"Last I knew, he was headed to Ferox for the tournament. But that was months ago."

"Oh. Okay." I said, feeling a little disappointed.

"So why did you guys come down here anyway? It's not time for my execution yet." The man asked.

"Well, we came down here looking for Hershel. The previous king stashed him somewhere and we're trying to find him." Colm said.

"Wait. You just said 'previous king'. What does that mean?"

"Gangrel is dead and someone else has taken his place."

"Really? Then would you mind letting me go? I have places to be."

"Why would we let you go? You're probably in here for a good reason, right?" I asked.

"No. I'm in here because I hauled in a criminal who just so happened to be one of Gangrel's lackeys." He said.

"As much as I'd like to believe you, the fact that you're in prison says that I shouldn't trust you. Sorry." Colm said.

What Colm was saying was understandable, but this guy was imprisoned by Gangrel, meaning that he probably did something good and Gangrel didn't like it. So this man's story was probably true. And he knows who Hershel is, so maybe he could help us find him.

I explained my reasoning to Colm and after much debate, I convinced him that we should have this man help us find Hershel. Colm still didn't like the idea, but he consented to it anyway, knowing that I wouldn't drop it.

"We've decided to let you go. But on one condition: You have to help us find Hershel." I said.

"As long as I get out of this cell, it's fine by me." He said.

Colm walked over and picked the lock on his shackles. The man rubbed his wrists as he got up. As he walked over to us, I extended my hand for a handshake.

"My name is Frey Ferris. Good to meet you." I said with a smile.

"Cogan Jarrick." He said, shaking my hand.

I looked at Colm, expecting him to introduce himself. When he didn't, I went ahead and introduced him.

"And his name is Colm, not sure if he has a last name." I said.

Cogan nodded in his direction.

"Would you mind if I got a weapon?" Cogan asked.

"Oh, sure. I suppose that could be important." I said.

We left the dungeon and headed to the armory.

Now that Cogan was in the light, I could see what he looked like. He had medium tanned skin, most likely from being outside a lot. His hair was long and dark brown, but it was tied up into a ponytail. And his eyes were a sharp, electric blue. His outfit consisted of a leather duster over a simple shirt and pantaloons, as well as a wide-brimmed hat and leather boots.

We entered the armory and I was stunned by the sheer amount of weaponry and armor that was stored here. Gangrel really must have been expecting a war.

Cogan grabbed a breastplate and some arm bracers that he put on underneath his duster. He looked at a few different swords before finally deciding on a steel sword.

Colm also picked up a new sword, putting his old one on the shelf where the new one used to be. I went ahead and grabbed a new sword as well. I'd had this sword for long time, and who knew when it would break, plus we were preparing for a war.

"So, what brought on the change in leadership around here?" Cogan asked.

"Like we said before; Gangrel stashed Hershel somewhere and wouldn't tell us where, so our friend got mad and killed him." Colm said nonchalantly.

"Huh, okay. Where do you suppose we should start looking for Hershel?"

"Not sure. But at this point, it's probably more important to start preparing for war." Colm said.

"…War?" Cogan said, confused.

"Oh yeah, you've been in a cell. Simply put, Ylisse is going to wage war against Plegia."

"Hmm. I don't see any reason why you would lie to me, but I can't see Exalt Emmeryn doing such a thing."

How long has he been in that cell?

"Emmeryn is dead. Her brother is the new Exalt." I said.

Man, I still can't say that without getting slightly depressed.

"Well, it looks like a lot of places are under new management these days." Cogan commented.

(Hershel's POV)

Well, this could be problematic. I'm starting to get really thirsty. I've been in this hidden cell for who knows how long, and I haven't had any water or food since I got in here. And it's not like I could find any water dripping from the ceiling seeing as I'm underneath a desert…I'm also starting to get hungry…

I looked around the room, trying to find anything that might quench my thirst. So far, the only thing that was remotely close to liquid was melted wax from my candles.

I heard a squeak near my feet and looked down to find a rat nibbling on a scrap of paper.

Should I?...I don't know, that seems pretty disgusting…and slightly morbid. But…if I don't eat and drink something soon, I'll collapse from dehydration. Gaah, I have to.

I lowered my hand slowly so as not to startle the rat, and then quickly swiped my hand at it. I managed to grab the rat, but it immediately started clawing at my hand. I squeezed it, making it struggle harder until it finally died. I stared at the dead rat in my hand, still debating whether this was a good idea or not.

I already killed the rat, so I guess it's too late to turn back now.

I raised the rat to my lips and sunk my teeth into it. I felt the rush of warm blood flowing over my tongue. It tasted strongly of iron, but it was quenching my thirst. The red liquid dripped down my chin as I continued to drain the rat's body of its blood.

Pretty soon, there was no blood left in its tiny body. I lowered the dead rat from my mouth and started to question some of my life choices. I sunk down to the floor and began sobbing.

Why?! Why was this my fate?! Why did it have to be me that killed the Exalt?! Because of that, both Chrom and Gangrel hate me! Even if I ever get out of here, I'll have nowhere to go! But even so…I have no one to blame but myself…I was the one who killed Emmeryn, and now I'm the one that has to pay for it…

I wonder if Omofrisit and Frey are even looking for me. They're probably better off without me anyway…All I ever did was cause trouble for them. And Chrom…I not only caused him trouble, but also indescribable heartache…

Omofrisit…Frey…Chrom…I'm sorry…so sorry…

A/N: Well, it's official. I have lost my mind. The whole chapter was completely normal, and I intended for it to be normal, but then there was the part with the rat. I'm still not sure why I wrote that, but I did.

Anywho. Please drop a review, and PM me if you have any questions.

Thanks for Reading!