"Oh Yes, I'm the Great Pretender…"
Thomas Calvert was exhausted.
Horribly so after the hectic week, he had shared with a large majority of his men.
Not only were they pushed to the brink, but they were also given less and less leeway in terms of how they operated as a whole. It even got to a point where he was forced to take on a full leave from his position as PRT consultant due to the severity and sheer number of tasks being thrown into his lap.
He could not even imagine the weight and complexity that some of his men were exposed to, least of all being cast as literal live test subjects for their new master's experiments. Some he heard to be so harrowing that it needed the presence of their enforcer to get the men obedient and for the commands to be accepted the way they were.
Anybody who disagreed or disobeyed was dealt with on a scale of violence and efficiency that he was surprised and shocked had not garnered whispers or rumors to the outside world of just the sheer pain that some stories from his men shared. He was impressed of course that noise was airtight. Not a drop of information was cast on the outside, nor was the possibility of leaks a necessary danger when nearly all the men involved had a contingency embedded deep within them that allowed their new commander full control to the point that any suspicion with substance would be met with a literal past tense to their lives.
Of course, fear was not the major governing emotion when he and his men were working under these conditions. Ever since the… bloody yet silent takeover with not even the PRT or Protectorate being aware of the bloodshed that had happened near their doorstep, many had understood quickly given their professionalism amongst the ranks that their new master was dangerous, horribly so compared to himself. Yet even with that new danger in line with their new services, he was truly surprised to learn how effective the new upstart was in maintaining and creating new headways around the city and its constituents in a manner that was far more progressive, far more aggressive but successful than his original leadership could muster in the stretch of years. The amount of planning, preparation, and hell, even execution of said operations dwarfed even that of the much more public but dormant Empire 88 in just the figure of weeks. Territory and resources were taken at the rate that not even the Empire and the ABB had started to realize and notice and given the whispers within his own men currently, those newly acquired gains were about to be further expanded in the next few days and weeks.
Of course, he was mad. He was horribly enraged actually given how easily his exploits and leadership were supplanted as if he had not worked for it nearly all his life. The amount of sacrifices and gambles he had to play up to that point when he was deposed completely shattered him when his defeat was absolutely certain. A part of him wished he died…
Because the humiliation that followed did not help in the slightest to what little self-esteem he had left. With his ego completely gone from his soul, Thomas Calvert realized that even with his life intact, he was now relegated to a common servant nearly on the level of the many foot soldiers previously fighting under his employ.
Worse, he had to live on the fact that the one sitting on his throne was none other than-
"Did I not tell you the consequences of gazing at me in such a way, snake?" the voice said as the villain once called Coil could only bow his head in shame and most of all, fear. He quickly prostrated in front of his new master, wishing no further disobedience on his part.
"I know of your kind, how you function, how you connive against your betters. I wish to at first dispose of you like the rest of your insignificant filth, but your… abilities are of use to me and a tool such as yours is far too valuable to my research as it deepens. More so now than ever as the height of my own prowess and strength returns, even if slow day by day." The voice said as Thomas nodded while he bowed his head in shame. "For now, we will maintain operations as I have laid out and I do not need mutinous snakes to scurry out of their holes thinking they found an opportune moment."
"30 percent chance that he will contact someone of value to assist him." Another younger voice said as Thomas found himself grimacing. Nearly biting his lips in fear and annoyance at the young girl that he initially planned to make as his own tool for his own desires.
Now, even that same little girl had found herself in a position of power above him and that grated him to the core.
"A chance is still a chance… and I'm afraid I don't see it being turned to zero anytime soon dear Dinah." His master said as Thomas raised his head slowly to see both of them. Their eyes were downcast on his form as one of the rooms of his lair was converted into an impromptu but harrowing-looking throne room.
Harrowing in the sense, that with the colors and paraphernalia being cast around it added a grim, gothic, and deceptively beautiful feel to the already tense atmosphere. The voice of his masters echoed into the enclave, giving it more gravitas to its overall feel.
"I know… he is a bad man after all." The young girl said in an echo across the faintly lit room as she giggled slightly at his current state. A smug smile enters her face as she looks down on her, metaphorically and literally.
The artificial steps towards the throne and the guards, his former men standing by its sides pushing the balance of power right into his face like a sledgehammer.
"Indeed, what do you suppose we should do to this poor little sad excuse of a man?"
"Many actually! But… ideally, I would like him begging to be down on my shoes, kissing them like the sniveling snake he is with his long, darting tongue." The young girl said as her giggles echoed across the room. She sits there on his master's lap as she hugs the doll in her arms.
"And you shall little rosebud. You shall…but just until I'm finished with him. He is after all special, and while I would more or less appreciate tearing out his vocal cords so that he will no longer tattle towards other people, he does have a charming screaming voice."
"He does! Isn't that amazing? How a skinny little rascal can belch out some very wonderful screams. Aw, I already want to play with him, can't you just put him back together after?" the little girl complained as Thomas once again despite his fear found himself getting furious.
And before the little girl and his new master could continue to humiliate him, he had enough.
"YOU SHOULD BE THANKING ME! BOTH OF YOU! HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR ME, YOU WOULD HAVE NEVER GOTTEN THE TASTE OF POWER YOU NOW POSSESS!"
His voice boomed across the room. Filling it entirely as if a god had proclaimed their testament.
He even found himself upright once more as he stared at the frowning expressions of his captors.
"ESPECIALLY YOU! You goddamn bitch. If I had seen this happening, I would have never hesitated making you my tool. I would have just put a bullet through your skull and you would be none the wiser…" he then pointed at her with all the hate he could muster and continued. "…and now you sit on that fucking dainty throne, taking everything away from me, knowing full well that I was the reason your life was spared, that I was the- ACK!"
Blood sprouted from his shoulder. A horrible, deeply ingrained pain emerged as a hole appeared on it with his arm now turning limp. He screamed in agony right in front of the throne's steps as his pain echoed along the far reaches of the compound they were in. Accompanying the screams were the soft sounds of Dinah's giggling as she pressed a nail into the doll's shoulder while the men around guarding them flinched in fear despite their discipline and experience.
Their shared master, however, merely frowned. Disappointment and pure utter indifference were expressed in full gauge upon her face. She had settled the young Dinah down to her side as she stood up and went down the steps slowly as if each movement were calculated like a graceful dance with how lightly her feet touched each step down.
Dinah continued to laugh in glee as she continued to jam the nail into the doll she was holding.
Thomas Calvert continued to scream and sob in pain as his blood pooled on the floor and inches away from him their master finally stopped in full. The temperature of the room suddenly became freezing cold as the guards on standby with their fear and worry started to slightly condensate with their breaths.
"Hold him up please." She then said as the weeping Calvert was lifted up by his hair by a towering figure behind him that made the entire room except Dinah double in fright and tension as the man started to cry. His tears stained his clothes along with the blood that was already trickling from it.
"Such a noisy man you are… an idiot in the worst of ways. Why do you keep forgetting that your little brat, your Tattletale no longer exists?" she says with a pitiful gaze as Thomas continues to sob, he was now begging for the pain to stop as his master hums in disappointment. "It is I that is left dear snake, and even if Sarah Livsey were still here, I would have been happy to do this in her honor regardless."
The woman in blue and black robes finds herself smiling briefly as her white, coalescent, and beautiful blonde hair sways to the motion of her body. Dinah then stood beside her, wearing a red dress and beautiful shoes as she continued to laugh at the expense of her would-be captor. The doll in her hands was still staked with a nail and the ribbons in her once natural hair were turning red at the ends.
The towering presence drops him as his face and nose break on the floor due to how hard he lands. A few teeth were broken as well and he weakly raised his head and saw the bare, beautiful feet of his master touch it as if stepping on him.
Fully asserting her dominance as her cold, emotionless face gazes at him.
And in that moment, he never saw his Tattletale anymore.
What he saw was an inhuman monster.
It was like he never left Ellisburg at all…
…and deep down he was scared of what this woman had planned not just for his city, but for the greater world around her.
"Return him to my chambers, I'm afraid I have wasted precious time that's better made through research. I have much to understand the parasite that lingers in this world's stead but given my progress, I believe that I know enough how to subvert, designate, and control their nature."
There were hums and assertions to the completion of her command but as his former men started to carry him away, he heard the towering presence ask his master a question.
"But your majesty, what of the third party that this man had contact with? Should we expect them soon in any capacity?"
"57 percent chance of occurring, Miss Morgan, though the number climbs when you make a breakthrough with your research." Dinah innocently added as the woman placed a loving hand on her head.
"Fear not dear friends… they will be swayed to our aid soon enough, and even then, I do not think they will miss the opportunity on another lens over the issue they are facing." She said confidently as she started walking away as Thomas was being hauled off.
"And if they become hostile?" the towering presence asked.
"Then… we retaliate."
"43 percent c-chance of winning, Miss Morgan." Dinah fearfully said.
"Do not fret over such odds little one. I have encountered worse before and triumphed over less. Even if I was a fool to have been short-sighted in the end, I will make sure that the chance presented to me now is one that I will not back down on. One that I will not hesitate to pour every inch of effort and power to accomplish."
"I see. Forgive me for asking." The towering figure said as she bowed her head.
Dinah on the other hand, merely stepped to her side and took her hand into hers.
Squeezing it slowly as they both stared into each other's eyes.
"I… I will trust you."
Morgan smiles.
"And I will make sure that I earn that trust to the very end… little one."
AN: "…Pretend that I'm doing well…"
Hello! I wish to release this little snip before I focus all of my efforts on the Legend and Eidolon chapters simultaneously. Mostly because I wish to post both chapters at the same time in the future as one full package. It's gonna take time and I am doing my best to make it as awesome as it could possibly be at the same time so that I can make sure that every detail and payoff feels natural.
Anyway, I do wish you all enjoy the snip and hope you have a good day! 😊