Niko had been given a small room inside the Rainsworth mansion. Raven wasn't too happy about him being there, especially when he learned who the woman was that controlled the Will of the Abyss.
Finding out the strange woman with the ability to dismiss Chains like it was nothing was in fact a being from the dawn of time was not something you could simply accept and move on. Even Oz had been impressed.
Still, they had originally planned to keep their distance from the strange boy and his 'cats'. Unfortunately, that idea simply wasn't possible. One, he would have to stay with them until they went to Pandora HQ. And two, he wasn't really that dangerous. Just more than slightly insane. (And they put up with that enough times when it came to Break.)
Sharon walked in on an amusing sight. Niko was half asleep eating toast and Chaos was annoying Break greatly by somehow finding every stash of candy he had on him. He was aided in this quest to eat all of Break's hidden stashes by Discord and Destruction. Sharon giggled. Break looked so annoyed, but he couldn't actually kill them because they weren't from the Abyss.
Niko finally woke up when Raven showed up and froze on the spot. The three cats zoomed in on him and began to torment him. Niko's smirk widened.
Oz and Alice were still sound asleep. Finally the cats grew bored of their prey and went after Break...who had made a break for it. He didn't want them to steal all of his candy!
"How are the two love birds?" asked Niko. Raven scowled at him.
"Still asleep."
He froze when Mayhem popped his head out of Niko's pocket.
"GAH!"
"Niko, exactly how many of those cats do you have?" asked Sharon, curious.
"There are seven Anarchy brothers, so seven. But we're working on adding an eighth."
Raven shuddered when he heard that news. It was bad enough the damn things always popped up around Niko. But adding another? Niko grinned.
"Coffee, Raven?" asked Niko, holding up a cup. He preferred tea himself.
Raven shuddered even more, but thankfully the cat stayed in Niko's pocket.
Niko looked down at the cat. He then cocked his head, as if he was listening to something.
"Mayhem, spread the word. Break has reached his main stash. Chaos, Discord and Destruction have lost his trail, but Trouble might be able to find him. Trickery can take over for you while you guys raid his entire stash."
Mayhem yowled, then vanished into his pocket. Another cat popped out, this one gray as bone.
Sharon looked at the little kitten with interest.
"What kind of cat is he?"
Niko thought about that for a moment.
"Well I think Trickery is a Persian. Chaos is an Abyssal Longhair, Trouble is an Egyptian Mau, Mayhem is a Russian Blue. Discord is a Bombay. Destruction is a Maine coon. Deceit is a Scottish Fold-eared."
They all stared at him in disbelief.
"How do you have so many different breeds?" asked Raven.
"They choose their own. I just helped them out by looking up breeds."
Suddenly everyone heard a shout of horror. Break appeared from under the table, and they all stared.
He was crying.
"What happened?" asked Raven. Sharon looked equally concerned.
Never had they seen Break cry. Not even when he first appeared. Yet there were actual tears coming from his eye.
"Those evil fiends of hell..." said Break through his sobs.
Niko grinned.
"I take it Trouble helped them find your stash?"
Break solemnly nodded.
Niko couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. Break glared at him. Oz finally woke up.
"Can't he just buy more?" he yawned.
"Some of it was seasonal. I would have to wait months to get more!" growled Break.
"How long have you had them?" asked Niko, curious.
"I had stashed them for later."
Niko had an idea. Five minutes later he asked Sharon where the kitchen was.
"Three halls down, and to the left," she said after thinking about it.
Niko vanished with a poof of smoke.
Break and the cats were all waiting outside the kitchen, their noses high in the air. The smell of sweets wafted from the door.
"Come inside before I open it, and I will hang you from your ankles!" Niko called out cheerfully.
Alice went in anyway. Break and the cats all tried to see what he was up to. She came out with a huge grin, carrying a large platter of meat that had been cooked to perfection. They stared.
Oz waltzed up and poked her. She nodded to the door. He grinned and went inside. He came out with an evil smirk and a plate of sandwiches.
"Well?" Break asked. The cats all yowled.
"Not telling!" he said cheerfully.
Finally Sharon went in...and came out with a large lollipop that was so dark that it was almost black. It was in the shape of a horse.
Break stared.
"What flavor is that?" he asked.
She took a taste and grinned.
"Blue raspberry, according to him," said Sharon.
They couldn't wait anymore. Break used his favorite trick to enter the kitchen, and was promptly bound and gagged. All seven cats were tied outside underneath the hanging Break.
Niko was smirking evilly.
"Now now. Just wait a bit longer, and then we can have a bit of fun."
Break gave him an annoyed look.
"What kind of fun?"
"A treasure hunt!" said Oz.
Break stared at him.
"What kind of treasure?"
"Oh you know...chocolate, lollies, gum drops and the like. You and the cats will all search for the stash of candy. Whoever finds it first gets to have it. If the cats find it, you'll never have a bite," said Niko with an evil grin.
Break was in disbelief. Niko was offering fresh candy? He was interested!
Niko went down to the cats.
"Second place gets all the fresh baked scones, cookies and cakes I just baked."
Two hours later, Niko vanished. He reappeared with a whistle. The bounds on Break and the cats were taken off.
"Alright everyone, here are the rules!" Niko said cheerfully.
Rule One: each team is allowed a spot to place their candy. The one with the highest amount found gets the entire stash!
Rule Two: sabotage is allowed, but you are only allowed to eat the candy you find.
Rule Three: no more than four to a team!
"Everyone got that? Then let the games begin! The teams are Oz, Alice, Chaos and Mayhem. Break, Destruction, Deceit, and Raven. The other cats can search with Sharon. I will act as judge. Hajime!"
It seemed they all had the same idea when it came to where to stash their candy. So Niko did the smart thing and gave each team a label.
The first team was Team Rabbit, then Team Hatter, and Team Horse.
It was pretty clear that Team Hatter was winning, despite the fact that Raven was curled up in a corner somewhere because Deceit wouldn't leave him alone.
Finally Niko rang the final bell, and he looked over the stashes.
Team Rabbit came in second place, Sharon and the cats came in third, and Break was very, very happy to find out that he had won the prize.
Even if he did have to share it with Destruction and Deceit. Everyone else enjoyed Niko's cakes and baked treats. Well, everyone but Alice who was trying to figure out what type of meat Niko had made for her.
(Oz later asked and ended up laughing. Niko had given her a 'rabbit' sandwich. Sharon wasn't as amused by the fact that he had cooked actual rabbits.)
"I'm surprised you didn't go into town with the others Niko," said Break.
"Let's just say I had a premonition and leave it at that. They will find the Grim and a rather annoying idiot..." said Niko with a smile.
"Oh? And how do you view me?" asked Break.
"A conniving idiot."
Break laughed. Niko was such an uncute pest. Sharon snickered...it was a fairly apt description of Break. Niko didn't even look back when he sensed the third presence.
Oscar Vessalius was interested in the boy named Niko. Not only did he command seven Chains (when they believed it was only possible to control one if you were lucky) but he was also connected to the Abyss in some way.
"Hello!" said Oscar.
"No need to lurk like Break, Oscar-san. I'm sure you're no where near as irritating as he is," said Niko calmly.
Sharon giggled.
Oscar grinned. Niko whistled, and seven cats popped out of nowhere.
"I think he has candy on him. Seek and devour," said Niko.
It was at that moment that Oscar knew how Raven felt whenever Oz would send a cat at him. Seven very hungry Chains trying to find candy on him was a rather unpleasant experience.
"Niko, he doesn't have anything except cigarettes,"whined Chaos.
"Yeah, and I just got rid of those,"said Destruction.
Niko brought out a large tin of candy, opened it and let them fly. Within seconds the candy was caught and eaten.
Oscar stared.
"These fiends have a sweet tooth that is worse than Break's."
"And just to be clear old man, we are NOT Chains. We are embodiments of Anarchy."
Niko grinned.
"Roll call!"
"Chaos,"yowled the oldest.
"Mayhem," yowled the one on Niko's shoulder.
"Trouble," meowed the one on Sharon's lap.
"Discord!"
"Destruction!"
"Trickery!"
"Deceit!"
Niko laughed at Oscar's look. It was like 'wth'.
"I think I shall take a nap until the idiot arrives. I'm sure you'll recognize him on sight, Break," said Niko.
Much to his surprise, Niko decided to steal Break's usual exit by hiding in the cupboard.
Break opened it and huffed in annoyance.
"Little runt stole my trick," he grumbled.
None of the cats went after him. Niko said they were bed hogs anyway. Oscar ended up in a rather interesting conversation with Deceit as the day passed on. Sharon wondered where Niko had taken his nap, since he wasn't in the room.
Break ended up finding him an hour before the others returned. He had slept the entire day away on a rather thick tree branch. He was still snoozing away, though Break wondered how he could sleep like that.
Niko opened a single eye when he felt Break below him.
"Have they returned?" he asked.
"Not yet," said an amused Break.
"Might as well get up and greet the annoying bastard," said Niko. It had begun to rain anyway.
"Who is this 'annoying bastard' you speak of?"
"You know who I am talking about. The idiot who falls asleep wherever he pleases, no matter how much trouble other people have around him."
Recognition came in Break's eyes.
"Vincent."
"Oz is going to have an unpleasant encounter with the Grim, and Vincent will end it rather forcefully. It will scar him," said Niko.
"You seem to know a lot for someone who has spent the day in a tree," mused Break.
Niko smirked.
"That's because I will see it through Alice's eyes. Those cats aren't my Chain you know."
"I would love to meet this Abyss some day," said Break.
Niko's smirk widened.
"Which one? You've already met the Abyss of Madness," said Niko.
"There's more than one?" said Break, genuinely surprised.
Niko laughed.
"Of course there are! Just as There is an infinite number of worlds, there are an infinite number of Abyss types. In fact, Chaos and his brothers are only the strongest of the types."
"Abyss of Chaos... Is there really an Abyss of Trouble?"
"Actually at least one or two is really a Knight that serves their Abyss. But My Abyss is the original from which all others are formed."
Break seemed to be having trouble comprehending it all.
"You'll understand soon enough. After all, we came here for two reasons."
"Which are?"
Niko smirked again.
"One is to gather the pieces we need. The other is to add to the Anarchy fold."
"What pieces?"
Niko grew cold. Break sensed the change immediately.
"When the balance of Light and Dark has shifted, the game must be played out to determine who shall rule. The Knights shall protect their rulers, to prove who is truly strong."
Break stood there in silence. When Niko looked back at him, he seemed amused at his reaction.
"What does that mean?" asked Break.
"It means that one side has overstepped it's bounds, so they must play a game to determine who rules over the majority. Cosmic balance must be maintained occasionally through the game."
"What game?"
Niko gave an insane laugh.
"Why chess of course, what else? What other game around involves the roles of the King and Queen being reversed, where the King is the weakest of all and the Queen is the strongest?"
Break was impressed. So much dark insanity contained in a human child. Yet for some reason he could only see the barest outline of Niko.
"I'm amazed. What could have twisted you so much?" said Break, walking toward Niko.
Niko knew what was coming next.
"Niko Black...Where in the world are you?" asked Break.
He smirked.
"I am neither here nor there, Break. My powers no longer allow me to fully manifest in the physical world. But I haven't completed my task, so Abyss helped to recreate my form. It was my sanity that she completely overlooked," said Niko without looking back.
Break was surprised that he answered. Niko turned to face him.
"Then again, I haven't been sane since I made the contract. And I like it," said Niko, smiling.
Niko waltzed into the parlor and went straight to his room. He changed out of his damp clothes and into something more comfortable for him.
It was his favorite outfit that he mostly wore when condemning those who pissed him off to the darkness. (Though that was mostly the scum of the criminal world that nobody liked. Even criminals have some taste.)
Sharon raised an eye at his outfit, but said nothing.
They heard the carriage pull up.
"Ah, that must be Oz and the others...and the annoying idiot," said Niko.
Break smirked at Niko's description of Raven's younger brother.
And when Vincent met Niko... well it would be a fair description to say that neither liked each other very much. Though that dislike was tinged with respect for a fellow predator.
Niko peeked in on Oz, Raven and Alice. He smiled.
Alice was a real tyrant. She had her foot on Oz's back, which Raven gently removed.
"So you told him?" said Niko. Raven tensed, then relaxed when he realized the cats weren't on him like usual.
"Yes. I told him."
"Good. But remember this Raven Nightray. Some people must fall a great many times in order to stand on their own. Oz is just beginning to learn how to fly, while you're clinging to the past. If you don't learn to let go, the one you will break... will be Oz."
Raven stared at him.
"You sound like Break. Niko...who are you, really?" asked Raven.
Niko smiled sadly.
"I'm someone who was denied everything and gained nothing. So I decided to break reality."
Raven sensed there was a past darker than his master's behind Niko's eyes. While Oz had decided to stay in the light, Niko had abandoned hope and love to join the darkness. Raven knew something truly terrible had to have happened to Niko in order to turn him this way.
"By the way..." said Niko. Raven tensed.
"Yes?"
"Your little brother is an annoying idiot," said Niko. Raven resisted the urge to do a face plant.
Oz was grinning like a lark as he joined forces with the Anarchy brothers. They were terrorizing poor Raven for over an hour now. Niko sipped his earl gray while Alice enjoyed her stew.
Chaos smirked.
"I like this kid. Can we keep him Niko?" asked Chaos.
"I suppose so. But you will have to share him with Alyss and Alice."
"We can live with that!" said the cats in unison.
Niko finished his tea.
"That reminds me. Tomorrow we are going to try and add a new member to the Anarchy family!" said Niko.
Raven groaned in horror. Seven cats were bad enough, but eight would be even worse in his mind.
Niko grinned at him.