Chapter 14: Darkness Rising

"I think we all have a little dark side we keep under wraps."

- Fred Savage

-Faction 1: The Marble Palace-

Magnus paced across the grand floor, his boots clacking against the white tile with every step. "You're making me nervous, cousin," Lillian said from her throne, picking at her long, red nails. She let out a sigh, "Water." A servant girl rushed to her side, a glass of water on a plate was given to Lillian.

"Lill… They… I felt a shift." Magnus sternly said, stopping his pacing to face her. "And Yamato. We haven't heard from him in a few days." Lillian shook her head, waving his comment off. "Oh calm. I have heard his thoughts. I AM his thoughts. He is doing just fine." She sipped her water casually.

Magnus had always been amazed by the grace his cousin had moved with, how she could wave off anything that could be a threat and destroy anything that dared threaten her. She was pure evil, and he strived to be more than that. "Though I find that to be comforting, I am still curious if he has succeeded in shutting down the rebellion…" his last words tapered off into a silence, the air around him vibrating. "Do you feel that… That pull?" Just as Magnus asked the question, a dark fog began to swirl behind Magnus. Lillian sat up straighter, raising an eyebrow in interest. "I wasn't ready for visitors, Myotismon," the words of Lillian sounded annoyed, the expression on her face matching.

A dark chuckle vibrated the floor, Magnus swallowed his nerves. "Shame… I always thought you two showcased great hospitality skills…" Myotismon appeared in the room, the fog clearing, "… Guess I was wrong." He wore a long, black coat, the collar tugged high to his ears. His blonde hair was down, pieces flying in front of his face. He pulled his hands out of his pockets, slipping his dark red gloves off, revealing his pale skin.

"L-Lord Myotismon…" Magnus bowed his head, clenching his hands to hide the nervous shaking. Myotismon smirked, walking past Magnus to sit in the throne next to Lillian. It's always my throne, Magnus thought to himself, sneering before he turned to face Lillian and Myotismon. "Enough with the sappy hello's. What do you want…" Lillian said with a bored tone, most of her attention still on her nails.

Mytoismon crossed one leg over the other, clearing his throat as he got comfortable. "Well, I am not sure if you guys have enough of the power to feel, but our beloved Lanus has… Fallen." The air in the room stilled, Lillian taking her attention from her nails to focus on Magnus.

Magnus shook his head, "L-Lanus? Lillian's brother?" Myotismon nodded, sighing "It seems like Lanus thought of everything but his own star assassin turning on him. She was instructed to execute a girl, but instead executed him. Marvelous, I thought. Done with so much grace and no hesitation," he smirked at Magnus, "As Lanus was falling, she tore through ALL of the darklings in attendance." Magnus shook his head, angered. "Why are you entertained by this? He was a key piece in this game we are playing."

Chuckling, Myotismon eyed Magnus carefully, "Yes. Indeed, but I noticed a key thing about the assassin. She had the memories, ones we worked so hard to erase five years ago." Magnus nodded, waiting for Myotismon to get to his point, "Okay. Great. Just what we need. Another one of them to have the memories." Shaking his head, Myotismon replied, "the memories, yes. But her markings were large and very dark. Probably the darkest I have ever seen on one of them. I felt her presence, and I know she felt mine. Her mind could crumble like paper. Lanus did a great job of breaking her in his training."

Magnus smirked at the idea, but quickly licked his lips, "Yes, so say we capture her and tap into her thoughts. Great idea, my Lord. What if she is able to fight it? She sounds like she would be a great addition to the weapon we already have, but I can't think of anything but her turning on us." Lillian nodded, agreeing with Magnus. "I agree. Magnus has a point. If she has already killed Lanus with that much of the power in her, how much persuading would we have to do?"

Myotismon shook his head, standing and moving back to the center of the room, "Not much. I can already feel her mind frantically clinging to the memories. She's slipping." Magnus returned to his throne, his eyes hard on Mytoismon's like Lillian's. "What do you suppose we do then?" Lillian asked, visibly a bit upset about the death of her brother.

"Once your pet returns from ending all rebellion here, we'll send him to faction 3 to do the rest." Lillian nodded, shifting her gaze to the ground. Myotismon chuckled, "I must be going now… Sorry about the dust on the tiles. This place could use a bit more darkness." He closed his coat, the fogs reappearing and swirling around his form, leaving nothing but a pile of dark dust behind on tile floor.

"Lillian… I am sorry," Magnus placed a hand on his cousin's shoulder. She shrugged him off, clearing her throat as she stood quickly, "Leave me be. Lanus was useless anyway if he couldn't stand against a small girl." She quickly stormed out of the room, heading into the direction of her quarters.

-Faction 1: Northside-

Yamato awoke in a cold, dark place. His eyelids slowly fluttering as he willed his vision to quickly adapt. Sitting up, Yamato instantly felt a sharp pain in the left side of his head, his left shoulder sore. What happened… I thought I killed, he groaned as he remembered the general pushing him against the wall. He used just his hand… How? He coughed, pulling his arms around his body in an effort to keep himself warmer, his breath visible.

"You're up…" A voice said to him from the other side of what seemed like bars. "Where am I." Yamato demanded, standing and ignoring the pain in his side yelling at him to sit back down. "Northside. I placed you in this cell to contain you." The face of the general came into his view, Yamato never wanting to punch someone more.

"Contain me? Good luck…" Yamato placed his hand against the bar, willing the flame deep within him to singe the metal. No luck. No warmth. He pulled his hand away, confused at the absent of fire on his palm. "It's… It's marked with runes to keep you from using your ability. I can't risk that." Yamato shook his head, slamming his fist against the bar. "Curse you! The crown will hear about this and your little rebellion camp will be burned to the ground."

Tears could be seen in the general's eyes, he wiped them away quickly. "You know… You were once my hero… And it pains me that you still are," Takeura shook his head, turning and leaving his brother behind.

His hero? This young general doesn't know me. He doesn't want me to be his hero. I've done things that no man should ever have to do. I've killed for their pleasure, Yamato backed against the wall of the cell, confused and upset. "Get out. We have gotten news that a larger rebellion is happening. Burn them all." He felt the thoughts intrude upon his, pushing his emotions to the side.

"I-I can't…" he quietly replied, scanning the cell for a way out. "The cell is marked, I can't fight it." He felt the chill crawl up the dark swirls on his skin, power being fed to his arm. "Now, do as I say, pet. I know of the whereabouts of your pretty friend from all of those years ago." Yamato shuddered, what would they do to her? She's alive? She's alive.

This was all Yamato needed. Raising his fist, he smacked his knuckles against the wall of the cell, rock and debris crumbling to his feet.

*Author's Note

Hey guys! I hope you all had an amazing New Year! I can't believe it is already 2018. I swear time FLIES. Anyway, thank you for keeping up with the story and I hope it is being enjoyed. Happy readings!