Chapter 6: Trickery
"Where are my men?"
"Locked inside my carbonzing chambers. Last chance, Private Hive. Will you deny your allies here and pledge allegiance to me or I'll have to kill them."
He knew he had to bend his knee to that man, yet he could not. He started to sweat as indecision came to him. He had to do it or he'd fail his comrades for the last time.
"Indecision won't do" Mastermind said and his finger pressed the button.
"WAIT! NO! I'LL DO ANYTHING!"
"Whoops. Too late for that. I had high hopes for you, Private Hive, since I first met you. But it seems bad blood reveals himself sooner or later, huh?"
Instead of answering, Private Hive got a Nulifier gun from the ground and tried to shoot the Mastermind, but his shaking and crying made him hit King Ricard instead, that fell on her butt (!) for it had actually been Madame Rouge masquerading herself as Ricard all along.
"You vill pay for that!" she said, but when she tried to stretch her arms to attack him, they wouldn't go.
"Nulifier gun, witch. How does it feel getting a taste of your own medicine?"
"We retreat for now. To the laboratory." the Mastermind said and a platform appeared beneath their feet and flew away before they could follow.
And then an army of twenty robots appeared as a farewell gift, but Private Hive's sorrow was replaced by rage and he jumped at them berseker, crashing them all into pieces before anyone else could partake in the action.
"It's no use..." he said "they're gone. I failed."
"I wouldn't be so..." a pale man with black hair that wore black clothes and sunglasses said, appearing behind him, but before the man could finish his sentence, the soldier took him by the collar and pressed him against a wall.
"DON'T COME WITH YOUR RIDDLES, I AM SICK OF THEM! I JUST LOST MY COMPANY AND MY MEN, BASICALLY EVERYTHING THAT MADE ME THINK I COULD BE MORE THAN A CRIMINAL!"
"If you would be kind enough to let me go, I have some important tidings to share with you."
"Let him go, man. You won't get anything by crushing him."
"WON'T I?"
"Please, be gentle enough to let me go. I do not like to repeat myself."
Private Hive finally let the mysterious man go and he had to take a breath before snapping his finger and letting a dozen men roll out of his shadow.
"They... they're alive?!"
"Mostly..." Shade said, feeling slightly sick. Sweaty humans that had been shut inside a prison were not tasty "They'll be feeling cold for a couple of hours, but that should pass."
"Thank you, sir!" Private Hive said and unexpectedly hugged the man he almost choked not long ago.
"Yes, yes, I am a thoughtful man, I know. Now let me go, I'm not that much of a fan of physical contact."
"Oh, sorry 'bout that."
"Now, what will you do?"
"Sir? What's your orders?"
"Secure the Kerverian throne and hold the castle until I get back."
"Get back? From where?"
"These guys saved not only you, but me as well. and now, they have a mission. I want to help them thwart the plans of the man that almost killed you all."
"You really changed, didn't you?"
"I got my reasons. He looked me down like I was nothing as he killed my friends... actually, why did you save them?"
Shade smiled.
"It seemed like a more amusing path than watching you break down. Now I'm going to their base to watch how this ends. Follow my ravens and you'll get there, easy. Cheerio."
And melted into Private Hive's shadow, vanishing.
"That guy is odd."
"Tell me about it."
"I don't know... he says he is only doing whatever amuses him and yet... I think he is struggling to choose between the path of a villain and the path of a hero, like I did."
"Yeah. And good that I was there to get her along the right path."
"Yet I had never seen him before, neither as a hero or as a criminal."
"That is because until a short time ago, I believe, he was unable to do neither."
"What do you mean, Raven?"
"When I saw him in front of us, I knew. He was in one of my books."
"In like 'there was a story about him' or in like that trapped as that creepy dragon dude?"
"The former. His full name is Nightshade and he is a man that is one with the shadows. He was locked far away, in a room that eternally shone, unable to use his power for there were no shadows there. With the centuries, the light grew weaker, allowing him to watch, but not escape. I suppose this Mastermind character freed him and now makes him do his bidding, but shadows are quite tricky."
"Hm... that Mastermind... it sounded familiar... his voice."
"You think he's an old villain rather then a new one?"
"One that probably leads this operation for the Brain. I wonder what kind of horror he is planning to let half his allies work with that weirdo."
"Bishop to D7."
"Not so smart, Monsieur Mallah. Rook to D7."
"How do you think our new guy is doing?"
"He's giving us a day off. I don't care for him until he proves successful or a failure."
"You tellin' the prince his uncle's dead?"
"Kidding? He threatened to have me killed should I call that number again!"
"You should. Spoiled or not, he deserves to know."
"Fine. But if he does have me killed, I'll come back and haunt you!"
"We'll back you up." Jinx said and he called.
"Your Highness?"
"You again? I told you to lose this number!"
"I have bad news. Your uncle is dead. He was never the usurper. It was a villain named Madame Rouge masquerading all along."
"Now you try to win me back with lies? That's rich! I am not interested."
"Then maybe I should seize this place and Kerveria for me. Great Commander Hive. Oh. That does have a nice ring to it."
"Private!" a voice said on the back.
"What, I'm kidding! Come on, a ruler? No, thanks, sounds like far too much responsibility!"
"Anything else or can I send my bodyguards to kill you?"
"Oh, just one more thing. If I am killed, a trigger in my blood will transmit a signal that will blow you up. I passed those tiny explosives to you when you signed the contract." Private Hive bluffed.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Consider it a 'life insurance' for me. Now we have to beat down some jerks. Cheerio."
And he cut down the connection.
"Now I get why Shade says 'Cheerio'. It sounds much better than a goodbye."
"That bomb thing... it's a bluff... right?"
"Yeah, the guy fired me already, so I'll make him think twice before trying to kill me. That is the 'life insurance'."
"So, what now?"
A weird raven landed next to them and looked with curiosity.
"You heard what that man said. Follow the ravens."