Chapter 5: Inoculation
The day went by pretty usual at the Glast Heim castle. The Dark Lord met with, and in most cases disintegrated ambassadors with proposals of peace. Others entertained him enough that he let them live long enough to sign all of their kingdoms to him, and then he killed him. For Toxik, all she had to do was stand there and glare evilly at those who entered the master chamber. Which was easier then the job her sister Venumn always got. For she had the honorary task of removing the dead "guests" and feeding them to the Orc and other inhuman beasts under the command of the Dark One.
There was one ambassador who caught her eye though. He didn't look like one of the others for sure. This tall, lean man had the look of acceptance in his eyes, and an ever-knowing smile on his face.
"On behalf of her majesty Sohee, and the entire kingdom of Payon," declared the man as he handed over a royal message. "I bring you the following message, 'F--k you'."
Needless to say that man's life was terminated immediately, but the message greatly disturbed the Dark One.
"Toxik…. gather Venumn…." The Dark Lord said in a demonic tone. "We must silence this Queen or else she gather support to her cause."
Toxik knew the plan the minute her master said her name. It was simple really. She and her sister would infiltrate the palace and assassinate the Queen of Payon while the Dark Lords hellish army clashed with that of Payon. Toxik went to fetch Venumn.
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The fires raged. The armies of Payon proved...difficult, for the Army of the Dark One. They fought with such ferocity that they almost seemed the aggressor and not the one whom was slowly being slaughtered. But this was all but a mild concern, for the real battle had not started yet for Toxik or Venumn.
Having ever so easily snuck into the palace, they began their search for the Queen Sohee, so far the only, but not the last, Ruler to have stood against the Dark One, and went as far as to openly mock him.
Toxik figured that the Queen would have learned her lesson and left the Kingdom to burn, but to her surprise, Sohee was sitting atop her throne as if in defiance. There were no hidden troops, no extra elite forces, just herself and her royal guards. Odd, Toxik thought. The sisters rushed forward.
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The sounds of the battle outside had become fiercer as Payon's reserve troops arrived. The girls had to hurry. Sohee's royal guards proved to be quite a challenge. They fought with close quarter weapons so skillfully; she wondered if she was really fighting herself. Though dispatching them turned out to be easier then originally thought. As both sisters charged the Queen, a flash of blue whirred to existence in their path. A trap? Toxik and Venumn both thought for second, but no further surprises arose.
The newcomer was dressed similarly to the Queen's honor guards, but he was wielding different weapons that made Toxik smile, Katars. This new man was not well built, rather skinnier then should be, with barely visible muscles. However, in spite of this, the final guard moved with such deliberate motions, Toxik knew in an instance that this fight was going to be hard.
"Take it easy Venumn, he's going to be a tough one." Toxik whispered to her sister.
"Gotcha, and you take it easy too, knowing you…" Venumn replied.
The Queen now stood up, but not in fear. She cast her wise look to the Assassins. "You girls are powerful indeed. I can see why the Dark One is afraid of you. Someday soon, you will realize that your place in life is not in the keep of his evil, but the antidote to his existence."
Both Toxik and Venumn looked at eachother in disbelief, and not bothering to contemplate the matter, attacked anyway, only to be stopped by the lightning fast blades of the Queen's final guard.
"You will also realize that CaCiOon is one of my most powerful assassins young Haide, orphaned much like you and your sister. He knows that his role is not to prevent you from killing me, but to set you free."
Having not heard her real name in many years and startled at to how Sohee knew of her past, Toxik was greatly shaken up. She lunged at the Queen only to yet again be deflected by this 'CaCiOon'. Toxik slashed outward with both her blades while CaCi moved inward, neatly stopping her assault. Venumn charge at him to but hit nothing but air as the Queens Guard suddenly moved backward and disappeared. Assassin indeed. Haide too cloaked, leaving Venumn standing in the middle of the throne room listening. The whir of metal and the clash of steel was all that was heard as Toxik and CaCiOon fought in the invisible realm. Not wanting to be left out, she stood her ground, closed her eyes, and a massive blue light began whirring around her. This light revealed both her Sister and her combatant. Before she could move to strike at him. A massive explosion ripped through the main doorway.
Sohee rose to her feet again, and a couple more royal guards came through a secret entrance from behind the throne and flanked her. As she headed toward the blasted door to face her fate, the Queen looked back at the three fighters in her throne and smiled, and stepped through the flame into the Dark One's sight.
"Your majesty!" CaCi yelled as he broke the engagement between the two sisters, but before he could reach her, a wall of fire sprouted from the ground into his path, preventing him from following suit.
Toxik took this moment to drive her blade through the mans chest, and in that moment, a great light enveloped the area; and she and her sister were suddenly outside, a great deal away from the Palace on a hill. Taking a second to gather herself, she let go of her opponent and allowed him to fall to the ground, lifeless. As he fell, a small pendant slipped out of his pocket and shattered open, revealing a small picture. Venumn picked it up and in an instance broke into tears. Curious, Toxik herself looked at the tiny memorabilia and she too, began to cry. On the picture was a younger CaCi, no older then she when her life came to an end, with his family members. In the background in the distance, there was a great dark cloud, similar to what the Dark Lord casts before he arrives. She knew right then, that this man lost his entire family moments after the picture was taken. Looking back onto the remnants of the battlefield, she saw her former master gathering all the surviving children and taking them away to serve as his slaves. No longer will she bend to is will, and Venumn had the same look; they both left the battlefield together thanking their now deceased savior for finishing his job, and headed out to find their future…