Gonna be real. Gems and Carry On's future on is probably coming to an end. This site is falling apart. Views haven't worked in nearly two months. Emails aren't getting sent. This is the end. Friendly reminder I have a Archive of Our Own account, with the same name.
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
Usually on a day like today, the halls of Evernight would be relatively silent, filled only with the occasional echoing footfalls of Salem's allies wandering the halls or the various sounds of Grimm, should Salem let them in. Instead, the halls were dominated by resounding crashes and growls. In fact, the pure anger of the individual causing this commotion was enough to draw the attention of two Beowolves. While they were drawn to the door of one of Evernight's chambers, they dared not actually enter, the sounds reminding them of an angry Alpha.
Of course, the sounds were loud enough to draw the attention of others in the keep, including Mercury and Cass. At first, they thought it was Tyrian working through some of his lingering issues from his time in Breach's Dollhouse, but then they discovered where...exactly the sounds were coming from. Zs'skayr's...quarters wasn't exactly the right word, as the specter didn't use them for any traditional means. It was more of a personal meeting room for him and his cultists, but, for now, it was just the Ectonurite behind the doors.
"Should we do something?" Mercury asked.
"If you want to, be my guest. I'm not helping if he drags you through the wall though. Maybe get Viktor or someone," Cass answered, crossing her arms.
"He's been like this for a while." Emerald huffed. "Ever since Salem showed some form of power to him. A little bit childish, if anything."
"A specter like him prides himself on being in control of everything. I imagine the damage Salem did to him combined with whatever Tennyson did with his psyche..." Charmcaster smirked. "It drove him mad."
"You mean more than he already was," Mercury added, "I refuse to believe he was anywhere near sane at one point."
The group was so busy talking amongst themselves that they didn't even notice they were joined by another figure, one slightly rarer to find in the keep. The Forever Knight was on his way to meet with Salem after his latest outing when he saw the group gathered in front of the door. How odd...wasn't the "High Ectolord" supposed to be a being to be feared and "worshiped?" He couldn't help but smirk under his mask at the thought of the lengths the ghost's followers would go to justify this behavior.
Cass raised an eyebrow. "You're not one to join the group...what, do you need us for something?"
"No, no...just enjoying Zs'skayr being knocked down a peg." The Knight said. "If not for his resources, I know Salem would have thrown him to wolves long ago..."
And almost as if the doors themselves heard him, they flung open, slamming into the snouts of the two Beowolves that had gotten just a bit too close.
"It's rude to eavesdrop," Zs'skayr hissed from inside the room, not even bothering to turn around.
"Uh huh. And if one of your outbursts hurts us, you think Salem will like that?" Mercury asked.
Zs'skayr had to hold everything back from skewering Mercury's arms right then and there. His eye moved to a track along his back- it opened up wide and stared at the group, full of malice and hate.
But then all that hate subsided. He thought over his current predicament and came to a simple conclusion. His usual followers were...currently indisposed. Surely, Salem wouldn't mind if he borrowed these pieces from her board, just for one errand, right?
"No. She wouldn't," Zs'skayr smirked as his eye returned to its normal position, "And now, thinking about it...it wouldn't serve me if you were injured either. At least...not now."
Charmcaster's eyes narrowed, "Why so concerned about our wellbeing?"
"Yes, yes...why would I?" Zs'skayr rasped. "Hmmm, a good question I can answer in the form of another question."
"Alright, what is it?"
"Does the name 'Ledgerdomain' mean anything to any of you?"
"Nope," Mercury bluntly responded.
Emerald and Charmcaster, however, froze when they heard the name, the latter's eyes going wide when she heard it.
"Why...why do you bring it up?" Charmcaster hesitantly asked.
The Ectolord smirked, picking up on her quavering voice.
"A rather powerful artifact has come to...Salem's attention. I have been tasked with retrieving it, yet for all my own knowledge and abilities it eludes me," Zs'skayr admitted.
"So that's why you were throwing a tantrum? Cause you couldn't find some trinket?" Cass scoffed.
"Some things are unknown to even me, Cass. Things that scare me." Zs'skayr explained, as his eye drifted over to Charmcaster. "You were a native to that world, correct?"
"...I was," Charmcaster sighed.
"Then you may fare better."
"Not...necessarily. It's been some time since I've been back there and things may have changed."
"Passing knowledge is better than none," the Forever Knight surprisingly added.
"Hey, hey." Emerald interjected, moving between Zs'skayr and Hope. "Don't force her into sharing this stuff. It's...a touchy subject for her."
Mercury rolled his eyes. "I mean, we don't even know what the guy wants. Could be something easy to snare..."
"Easy? If it was easy, I wouldn't need you, now, would I?" Zs'skayr hissed.
"Fair...but we still have no idea what you want," Cass said, "So, if you'd be so kind?"
"I seek the Rune of Resurrection, one of the Charms of Bezel."
And Charmcaster suddenly warped away. No one even noticed she was gone until a few seconds later. Emerald was lost for words-
And yet the words forced their way out anyways, the first words that popped into her head.
"Why would you say that!?" Emerald yelled.
Zs'skayr finally deigned to turn around and face the group, his eye locked onto Emerald.
"In case you've forgotten, I could care less about the life stories of every pawn placed on the board. Just bring her back. Oh and please...say 'no,'" Zs'skayr smirked, "Give me an excuse."
"...fine." Emerald said, focusing her own magic power to try and trace where Charmcaster had gone. "Give me a few minutes alone with her."
"10 minutes will do." Zs'skayr smirked, "Tick tock."
Emerald was aware that the clock was already ticking against her. Figures. Zs'skayr liked to sway even the smallest of things in his favor to ensure he got the greatest results. Emerald merely clasped her hands together and searched for Hope as best she could. In a matter of seconds, she had located Hope; she'd teleported quite a distance away, outside of this dark nation.
"This is gonna take some wind out of me," Emerald winced.
Emerald disappeared in a bright green light. To someone not as experienced in the art like her, teleporting was like momentarily falling through the air. It was a bit scary, especially since Emerald had closed her eyes, adding just an extra ounce of anxiety. Thankfully, that anxiety and fear As she opened her eyes, Emerald found herself on firm ground. Hope had transported herself into the heart of the forest, in a particularly dense thicket. Emerald looked around and noticed Hope, who was seated on a rock and hyperventilating and crying violently. Emerald had never heard Hope ugly cry like this before- the situation was bad.
Emerald slowly approached her partner, making sure not to make a sound to scare her. Emerald sat herself down next to Hope, and carefully held her hand. Hope didn't hesitate to take it. It was a few more minutes before Hope had calmed down, and finally spoke.
"...he had to bring that up." Hope said, miserably.
Emerald inhaled deeply. "Yeah. He did."
"Doesn't he know what destruction is behind that?" Hope's question held a hint of anger.
Emerald shook her head. "To be fair, I don't know why he would want it either. The name's self explanatory but…wat are the Charms of Bezel?"
Charmcaster wiped some tears from her face, her makeup having been smudged from her tears, which made her look more like a wreck.
"They're…they're a series of ancient and extremely powerful magical artifacts. Aside from resurrection, there are charms of luck, fire, electricity, and telekinesis. Wearing just one of them would make anyone a powerhouse."
"And Zs'skayr wants resurrection. He's not doing this for Salem, he's doing this for himself, a way to cheat death every single time," Emerald realized.
"He'd have to take it from Addwaitya's cold, dead hands," Hope explained, rubbing her face some more. "I've seen what that monster can do with the Charm of Fire, and even if Zs'skayr took it..."
"Your home would just be changing out one tyrant for another..."
Hope just nodded. She dreaded the idea of Zs'skayr getting ahold of the charm. Addwaitya was a dictator, a monster and a murderer, but Zs'skayr? Zs'skayr was all that taken to the extremes, adding a god complex to the mix for good measure. As far as Hope knew, Ledgerdomain's current "ruler" didn't think that highly of himself.
"So, what are you going to do with this situation?" Emerald asked. "We know Zs'skayr's doing it for himself. But it's not like we can go against him right now either."
"Then I use it for myself," the idea lit up Hope's mind, "If I show her that I can have such a power under my control, then Salem'll see the deal's worth it. I can prove to her its worth keeping her end of the bargain!"
"That…that could work. I guess," Emerald said. She was still a little hesitant because, if they tried this, they would risk Zs'skayr's wrath. She never trusted a damn word he said to begin with, granted, but this was different. But Hope still had a point. Without that charm, Addwaitya would only have one life, instead of a constant method of returning. Sure, he wouldn't go down without a fight, but if Salem faced off against him herself without that cheat? The glorified turtle would be crushed in a minute, and that was being generous. It all made sense from that perspective.
But the question remained of what exactly Zs'skayr wanted with such a power. Was a ghost that scared of a final death?
"...I think my loyalty to Salem is the only reason I'm gonna do this." Hope frowned, standing back up.
"Wait, seriously?"
"If she kills Addwaitya...I'll follow her to the ends of the Earth."
"And you're sure about coming with? You could stay behind and just...guide us," Emerald suggested.
"No. I have to be there with you all. As much as it hurts to think about what...it might look like now, I can't just let you walk into that," Hope said, shakily getting up. She wiped away some of the last lingering tears from her eyes and tried to collect herself a bit before heading back.
Hope ran her hand across her face once more, and fixed her makeup. "Now, come on. I know the access point to Ledgerdomain."
"Access point?" Emerald asked.
"I'll explain it once the others are here." Charmcaster vaguely answered, before she took Emerald's hand. Emerald felt that 'falling' sensation again, and clamped her eyes shut and within seconds, they were back in Salem's castle.
"I take everything's settled now?" Zs'skayr hissed.
"As much as it can be," Charmcaster answered.
"Good. Then I believe you all have another world to visit."
"Right, right. We'll scope out the land, and try to obtain something." Hope nodded.
"What if we come back empty handed?" Mercury asked- it was a valid question, honestly.
"You're not meant to retrieve the accursed thing now, Zs'skayr rolled his eye, "Simply...'take the lay of the land' as they say. If we are to retrieve the rune, I would know what we're dealing with first."
Hope took another deep breath. "Right, right."
"I will accompany you." The Knight said, walking forward.
"What, you coming to supervise us?" Mercury scoffed.
"I wish to be of use. That is all." The Knight was being rather talkative- responding to Mercury's backtalk was rare. But maybe it could be to throw everyone off. Cass narrowed her eyes with suspicion at the knight. Was he planning something too?
Given the lack of emotions in his voice and that helmet completely blocking his face, the Knight was impossible to read. A benefit to him, but it just annoyed Cass right now. As if Zs'skayr wasn't shifty enough right now.
"About time you actually started to help around here," Mercury added, "Last time you did was...when? Beacon?"
The Knight remained silent, just ignoring Mercury's comment and maybe rolling his eyes behind his helmet.
"Alright, now, everyone get close." Hope said. "Group teleportations are tricky for me..."
"Breach could do this for us, you know." Cass said.
"Yeah, but I'd feel more comfortable if she didn't know." Hope said, as her eyes lit up. A crackling sound filled the air, and the group was encased in a pink dome. The dome started to grow brighter and brighter...until that falling sensation started again.
From Zs'skayr's perspective, they'd disappeared in a flash of light. He grinned at how well his plan was working. No one was any the wiser...
...save for one peeping Tyrian.
"Interesting..." Tyrian grinned to himself, as he scurried off to tell his queen.
That feeling of falling was shared between the group before they suddenly arrived what had to be at least thousands of miles away from Salem's keep. The group was deep in a desert, only featureless dunes stretching all the way to the horizon. The only real landmark was where they ended up, a set of ruins that were almost completely claimed by the sands. The only things still clearly visible were a few pillars jutting out from the ground and a portion of a wall, a staircase leading up to a single door that would've just led to nowhere.
When everything had settled and the group was safely on solid ground again, Cass doubled over from the experience.
"What...the fuck?! That felt NOTHING like what Breach does!" Cass yelled.
"Of course it didn't feel like Breach's work. She uses the Dollhouse like a go-between between points. This is just a straight connection from point A to Point B," Charmcaster explained.
"Quit whining." The Knight said, clearly unaffected. "Where are we?"
"We're in Vacuo." Hope said, looking around, before pointing to their destination. "And over there is the Door to Anywhere."
Hope stared at it for a bit, as the others collected their bearings. Mercury snapped his fingers. "Hey, Earth to Hope."
"Sorry, sorry. It's...been a while since I've been here. The last time I was here it was the last time I-" Hope said.
"No trauma dumping. Let's just open the door already," Mercury interjected, walking towards the ruins.
Emerald would've just smacked Mercury upside the head if he hadn't already left the group behind. The Knight was actually the second one to follow, though it did feel like he gave one last passing glance at Hope before moving on. Hope composed herself a bit before following Mercury towards the ruins, with Emerald and Cass close behind. Whatever civilization had made this place, time had just erased any trace of it from the stones. The only thing that still had something was the door, which seemed to have seven symbols carved in the archway above.
"How does this portal exactly work?" Emerald asked, a bit curious.
"It works similar to the Vaults that hold the Relics." Hope explained. "In this situation, I'm the Maiden. Only people from Ledgerdomain can open the door."
"And might I ask how similar Ledgerdomain is to Earth?" Cass added.
"...that's actually a good question." Hope said. "Ledgerdomain is like a parallel Earth to ours- it's as if the Gods didn't will magic away there, but instead celebrated it."
"Alright, alright..." Cass said. "But I take it that land masses are gonna be different."
"Four main islands: Elleccion, Desperdicio, Kreacion and Conocimiento." Hope went on. "I grew up in a community on Eleccion."
"Will we arrive there?" the Knight asked, scanning over the runes.
"That's the one big difference between this 'Vault' and the others. Wherever we end up...isn't set. We might end up on Elleccion, might even end up in the middle of the ocean for all I know."
"I take it that applies to the other side as well." Cass inferred.
"We could be anywhere when we leave. Thankfully the flow of time is the same." Hope said.
"Well that's a plus at least. Would hate to miss out on anything," Mercury chimed in, "So mind unlocking the door now?"
"Give me a sec." Hope frowned, as she pulled out her grimoire. A rare site, actually. Emerald watched her open to the first page, and take a deep breath.
Hope began speaking in tongues, words indecipherable to the group. Runes on the door suddenly appeared, as the door lit up.
Each rune carved above the door itself blinked to life with that signature pink color that was always associated with mana. When all of them were alight, that same energy or light seemed to travel down smaller channels, almost like water, each one connecting the top of the doorway. The energy flowed down through the stone of the door next, like light was seeping out from the other side. Hope stopped the chant when the light had reached the ground. She looked up to the glowing door right as the stone seemed to "unlock," for lack of a better term.
The Forever Knight subtly tapped the side of his helmet. That incantation was certainly something to remember.
"Now all we need to do is...open the door." Hope said, as she walked towards the giant stone doors. She froze up as she looked up at it.
These doors seemed far more foreboding than the last time she was here, seemingly looming over her now. Though, it was more so the thought of what was behind them that gave them that new, ominous edge. She hesitated opening them, honestly. What would it all be like on the other side? A wasteland? Would she even recognize it?
Emerald took her hand, and squeezed it tightly. "...would it help if we opened it together?"
"Yeah, it would." Hope said, as she and Emerald reached to push the doors open.
The massive stone slabs pushed open slowly, the doors creaking as they opened up to reveal a sight Hope thought she'd never see again. That...Addwaitya had burned it away in conquest. It was Kreacion, just as she had remembered it. Compared to the other islands, Kreacion had always seemed like a work of art. Trees and plants of various colors and hues one never would've thought possible, at least in this part of the island.
"It...it's the same...he neve...but...he came here, he had to..." Hope muttered to herself, relief being overtaken by confusion.
"This place is…beautiful." Mercury's face softened. "You eriously came from here?"
"I've never seen anything like it," Cass said, looking around. "So why does it not sit well with me that this place is so beautiful?"
"Could be a trap, an illusion of sorts," The knight hummed.
"no. This…" Hope dropped to her knees and felt the grass. "This is real."
"But the way you talked about...him...he wouldn't just let this stay, would he?" Emerald asked.
"If the 'he' you're referring to is the one who rules this...plane, it may simply be a means to keep up appearances. Make it seem he is truly benevolent while your tone suggests he is anything but," the knight guessed.
"He always did have that...obsession for control," Hope added.
"Well. Better get a lay of the land." Cass suggested. "Any place around here that you might know?"
"my home village. It's not far from here." Hope said, standing back up.
"Then we should get moving," the knight bluntly said, motioning for Hope to lead.
The group followed Hope for a bit, taking in the sights of this strange world. For Hope herself, this was both nostalgic and unnerving. For years, she wondered how her friends and other family ended up, and maybe, just maybe, if the world was as nice as this-
Hope shook her head, trying to curb those thoughts. No sense in creating false hope.
"We're almost there," the mage announced.
It didn't take long for the group to actually find Hope's village. Or rather...what was left of it. While the rest of Kreacion remained its vibrant and colorful self, this one little village was like a scar on the land. Whatever this place had looked like-not that Hope could exactly remember, she was too young when this place was together-it had been reduced to a burned out husk. Buildings and homes were either abandoned, crumbling, or reduced to nothing but ashes. Not even vines or other creepers had grown to reclaim the ruins. like the very nature of Ledgerdomain refused to touch this placed, rejected it almost.
Hope's face looked devoid of any sort of comfort. Even the Knight was a bit taken aback by the brutality.
"This Addwaitya...he utilized a scorched earth tactic." He noted, looking around. "To warn the others of what may happen if they go against him."
"It worked, if the rest of the island is untouched." Cass said, feeling the black ground. Typically, after any sort of fire, the charred remains of burned trees provide home for insects and tiny creatures after a fire, and all of the plants and dead organic debris on the soil's surface would be burnt away. Eventually, it'd grow back.
But here? It was like that fire just happened yesterday.
"This is…awful." Emerald said, looking around.
"Hey, guys?" Mercury asked, a bit away. The group looked over to see Mercury, kneeling down to look at something. "I think I stepped on something..."
Hope walked over to see Mercury looking down at a squashed flower- It was a medium-sized plant with tiny, egg-shaped leaves that were bright yellow in hue. "Hovering Uspiscus..." Hope said, picking it up. She hadn't seen one since she was younger.
"Is it poisonous? Will it hex me?" Mercury said.
Hope shot him a look. "No, no...this is a flower given to honor the memory of something. And it's quite fresh."
"Then someone must have left it here." Cass said. "Possibly a survivor."
Hope thought it over and, as irrational as it was to believe that Ledgerdomain's tyrant would be that merciful, she had to hope. Hope that someone managed to get out.
"We need to try and find whoever put these here. Maybe they could give us a more recent idea of what the rest of the island's like," Hope finally said, hoping that her reasoning was good enough for the more mission-focused among them.
"Like that guy, over there." Mercury said, pointing over to someone.
Hope's eyes widened- someone, dressed in a brown cloak, was coming right their way. Hope quickly formed a bubble around everyone, as Emerald obscured them with her semblance.
The figure seemed not to notice them, not even noticing the group and just walked by them. Of course, on the off chance they were discovered, the entire group had readied weapons just on the off chance this individual spotted them. The knight was ready to manifest a mace of energy and both Cass's and Mercury's weapons were loaded and ready to fire.
The figure in the hood soon approached, and paused for a few moments. It was like he was taking in the sights of what had happened in the past, and took down his hood to reveal his face- a tall, attractive young man in his early twenties with blond hair, bright blue eyes, black brows, and pale complexion.
He knelt down, and produced some flowers through magic. He put the flowers down, before putting his hands together. Hope watched him curiously- why did he seem so...familiar?
"Do you know him?" Emerald asked.
"I might." Hope said.
"You 'might?'" the knight repeated.
"You try recognizing someone after years apart!" Hope shot back.
"You really might wanna decide yes or no on that...itchy triggers over here," Mercury said, just waiting for an excuse to open fire.
"I'll lower the shield. Put the weapons down, and let me talk to this guy." Hope said.
"...alright. I trust you on this." Emerald gave her a look. She quickly shut off her Semblance, and shot a look at Mercury. He rolled his eyes, and put his pistols away. Hope lowered the shield and walked slowly towards the man.
"Michael?" She asked. The man's eyes shot open, as he looked back up at Hope.
"Hope." He sounded shocked.
"You're...you're actually..."
"Alive? Yes," Michael said, "Well? That's another matter."
Emerald lowered her guard at the reunion, in fact most of the group did, save for the knight. It may have just been him, but his hand was still ready to grasp for a weapon at any chance.
Hope blinked a few times, as did Michael. They were both in disbelief.
"I...I always thought you'd died here." Michael said. "I saw Addwaitya-"
"I escaped with my uncle back to Earth, and...lived there for a few years. It was nice. I..." Hope looked back. "I'm just here to scout out for something. With my teammates."
"Are they humans?" Michael said, looking behind her.
Mercury raised a brow at that. As far he knew, this guy was a human too, or at least he looked human enough.
"Uh, yeah. It's kind of a long story. Trust me," Hope answered.
"Aren't you human as well?" Cass asked, raising an eyebrow.
"While we might look similar to that, we're not. We're more of a similar species, if that makes sense." Michael said.
"Guess it does, given everything we've already dealt with," the Maiden shrugged.
"So a little context?" Mercury asked, motioning to Michael.
"Oh, right. Michael was a childhood friend of mine." Hope explained. "We were...pretty close knit, weren't we?"
"A little." Michael grinned. "I saw her as my own sister."
"Really?" Emerald asked.
"Yep. But when all this happened," he motioned to the rest of the ruined settlement, "Thought Addwaitya made her another reason not to resist."
"Thankfully not. That...was the last thing my father did before..." Hope stopped. She didn't need to finish the sentence; Emerald knew the rest. That was the list thing Hope's father did before Ledgerdomain's tyrant killed him.
"I take it Hope's father was...a dangerous man." The Forever Knight said.
"More like the most important man in the world." Michael said. "Hope's father kept watch over one of the most powerful artifacts in our world, a guardian."
"Perhaps you could elaborate then. If they he protected the Charms of Bezel, then we could the information. The one who sent us here asked us to retrieve it, but did not exactly reveal his intentions for it."
"No. I mean he does have the Charms, not always on him, but that's not what Hope's dad protected. That was the Alpha Rune."
"The what?" Cass asked.
"The Alpha Rune, something even stronger than the Charms. To Addwaitya, it's both his proof of authority and a boost for his own powers, deals with one of his biggest limits," Michael explained.
"Of course...the power can be given to any magic user who holds the rune. That's how he was able to finally take over," Hope added, "With the rune in his hand, he got his 'perfect order.'"
"I see...so, it's basically a never ending battery that could boost his magic power forever." Emerald said.
Michael nodded. "This one's sharp. We're also standing on the proof right now-" Michael pointed to the scorched Earth. "Hope...he did this with one of those forms."
Hope's eyes shrank. "...no."
"Yes." Michael grimaced.
"One of 'those' forms? What is it with people and transforming?" Mercury complained.
"I'm sorry, what?" Michael asked, turning his attention to Hope's new companion.
"Part of that long story I told you about. We've...been dealing with someone else who can transform. Just not like him," Hope explained quickly.
"Hey, as long as none of those forms are an annoying boombox or a tiger with anger issues, I'm fine." Mercury said.
"You're seriously going to take on Addwaitya? And steal one of the Charms? Do you have a death wish or something?" Michael asked.
"Something like that." Emerald said, "Considering we want the resurrection charm."
"Look. I can't help you steal the thing." Michael frowned. "...but I can at least show you were to look."
"Go on." Cass said.
"So, a few months after," Michael motioned to the scorched earth around him. "This, he set up this building where his men could keep watch over the other towns, to make sure they didn't step out of line. He comes by every so often to check in with his soldiers."
"Hm. Sound decision. Ensure his control isn't contested and, even if someone plans it, there would be an immediate response," the Knight added. Credit where credit was due, Addwaitya was leaving nothing to chance.
"Any high ranking guards there?" Hope asked.
"Just two- one comes and goes, while the other stays behind." Michael said. "Their names are King and Pandora."
"The old guards, did they-"
"Yes- people have started to get stronger, and rebel. They killed his followers and then, Addwaitya killed them." Michael shuddered.
"Aside from those two, Pandora and King, was it?" the Knight began, "What else should we be expecting?"
"For the most part, the biggest problem you'd have to deal with are his constructs," Michael added.
"What? The stone guys? No offense Hope, but those guys are weaker than Beowolves," Mercury smirked, "I think we can handle that."
"He doesn't use them."
"...what?" Hope asked, a bit shocked by that.
"He thinks they're too...'impure.' He made new ones. Ones of metal," Michael explained.
"So robots," Cass said bluntly.
"If by 'robot', you mean walking metal statues powered by a core of magical fire then, sure. Robots."
"I need to know- do they rust?" The Forever Knight asked.
"I've never seen that, honestly. They're a mix between iron and some magic ores that power their bodies." Michael said. "I'm curious about what you have planned."
"As for the followers- what sort of magic do they use?" Cass asked.
"One can absorb energy and matter, the other has...puppets." Michael cringed.
"Fucking puppets?" Mercury asked.
"To be fair, they're creepy puppets." Michael added.
"Creepy or not, as long as they can break, we'll be fine," Cass said.
"Puppets, constructs, very interesting choices for underlings," the knight mused.
"That's Addwaitya for you," Hope said, almost struggling to say the name, "Like I said, he's obsessed with control. Constructs are easier to predict than any living follower. Surprised he even has actual people."
"He's gotten much worse as the years have gone on. He's started to enslave people, force them to do his dirty work, all for the name of some 'nirvana' he's trying to achieve." Michael frowned. "Nirvana...what a horrid way to get to it."
"You make it sound as if Addwaitya is religious." The Forever Knight said. "Why am I not shocked? Religion is the root cause of strife and bloodshed. True, sincerely held convictions may occasionally lead to fights, but there have been numerous wars sparked by disagreements over religion and values and I take it Addwaitya wants all of them to follow in his ways."
"Well that's the thing, he throws the word around a lot, and it's something of a creed for his army but no one actually knows anything about it. If his nirvana is tied to a religion, he's the only one practicing it."
"Interesting," the knight began to think over that. If a theocracy was Addwaitya's goal, why would he be so lax in enforcing this? Why would no one aside from him know the details?
"Ok so control-freak, has a religion as a power base, uses weird followers, am I the only one seeing a parallel?" Mercury joked.
"You're not. Wouldn't say that if he was here though, would you?" Cass shot back.
"I would absolutely still say it." Mercury frowned.
"Whatever, whatever..." Hope rolled her eyes. At times like this, she was reminded why she actually missed Albedo. Shame he played for the other team now.
"Let's take a look at the camp, and decide our next course of action. Sound good?" the mage suggested.
"It is our only viable option. Unless you wish to stay in this husk of a town," the knight said, emphasizing the word "husk." He was playing on Hope's unease being back here and she knew it. He was right, but if she could, Hope would've tried to knock that helmet right off the knight's face.
"No. We're going," Hope sighed, "Michael. Do you think you could lead us there? I know it's-"
"Been a bit? Understating it, but, sure," Hope's old friend agreed.
Michael began to lead the way, while Hope took one good last look at the place that used to be her home. How happy she used to be-
But heaven knew she was miserable now. Emerald paused to let Hope catch up, and the two began to follow Michael towards the camp.
Back in the keep, Tyrian, after having gone unnoticed by both those who departed and the one who orchestrated this little trip, quickly made his way back to Salem's throne room. The dark queen was looking into the swirling image displayed by the orb of a Seer. Through the smoky vision, she saw one of her newly revealed followers, the Black Knight, finish gathering the last crystals she would need for her plan with the aid of some Centinels serving as a mining crew.
"Perfect. Bring it to the large pool southwest of the keep. That's where I'll do my work," Salem said.
"Of course, my queen." The Black Knight said, before the Seer's orb when blurry. Salem's eyes narrowed, as she turned around to see her 'pet', standing at attention.
"Yes, Tyrian? What is it?" Salem frowned.
"My radiance," Tyrian bowed. "Zs'skayr...is going behind your back."
"And I should be surprised by this?" Salem smirked, "I would be more surprised if he wasn't."
"You're...letting him do this?" Tyrian asked.
"Yes. Because even with his little plot, he still aids me. He's all but cemented Charmcaster's loyalty to me. Besides, I am morbidly curious about this. See how far he's willing to go."
"You are sadistic." Tyrian said, which sounded hilarious coming from his mouth until it twisted into a cruel smile. "I love it."
"Of course you do. Belief is a solid bet. Given that faith cannot be proven, what harm would you suffer if you wager on its reality and it turns out to be false? If you win, you win everything; if you lose, you lose nothing." Salem said. "And I want to see how far Zs'skayr is willing to go..."
"Of course," Tyrian said, like he'd just been gifted some great revelation. And in his mind, that was exactly the case. His goddess had imparted him with her wisdom and it all made sense now.
"I shall continue this little ruse, my queen. Zs'skayr will none the wiser...and Charmcaster will be forever your willing pawn," the scorpion Faunus smirked.
"Of course, of course. She'll follow me because she thinks I hold the power to defeating that Addwaitya character, but ruth be told...I want nothing to with it." Salem smiled.
"Why would you? He's barely worth the time and you have much grander machinations! Speaking of those machinations, is there anything at all you would have me do?"
"Actually, there is. With Ozma moving the Relic to Atlas, our plans have changed. Vacuo can wait. You and the good doctor are to make for Atlas," the Grimm queen said.
"So, the plans are to be set in motion~" Tyrian said, rubbing his hands together.
"Yes, yes. The time has come." Salem said, putting a hand on his head. "I trust you will perform well?"
"Of course, my lady. I promise you, this will be a performance that is truly worthy of one of your devotees," Tyrian took a bow and gave a mad smirk. He was going to enjoy what came next.
Hope and the others traversed through the world of Ledgerdomain- it was quite strange, with stone-like creatures flying through the sky, odd natural occurrences like a river flowing upstream rather than down, and plants that looked more like monsters of some sort.
"This place is crazy," Mercury mumbled, as he swore a plant hissed at him.
"A good kind of crazy. It's our home you're talking about." Michael scolded him lightly.
"It's been so long. I almost forgot about the flowers, the waterfall..." Hope reminisced.
"It's all so beautiful." Emerald smiled, kneeling down to pick up a flower.
"Uh, I wouldn't do that-" Cass warned, but the thorn that suddenly shot past both Emerald and Cass was also a great indicator. The two blinked, before Emerald got up.
"Okay, now I'm scared to drink the water." Emerald said. "ESPECIALLY if the plants do that."
"The water's fine," Hope reassured them all, "The flowers aren't that bad..." Hope caught herself before she realized. They were technically alien, so while people from Ledgerdomain might have been more prepared for the thorns, Emerald and the others would be heavily at risk.
"On second thought, they might be. Don't...don't touch them," Hope corrected herself.
"This is why we have specialists to deal with the plants here. Thank god you weren't here for the Dragonwisteria infestation." Michael said. "That was a nightmare."
"The what?" Mercury asked.
"Wait, that wasn't that bad," Hope chimed in.
"Not the one you remember. Second time around was much worse," Michael said.
"What the fuck is a Dragonwisteria?" Mercury asked, only for Cass to shrug in response.
"Anyways, keep your voices down and your heads low. We're here." Michael said, as he pointed to something beyond the trees. "Be careful. Pandora's puppets are usually out."
The camp itself was less what they expected, and more like a small fortress. Bronze-colored walls formed a perimeter around the main structures, of which, three jutted up towards the skies, black smoke billowing out from them. Their place was guarded, just like Michael said it would be, but not by the metallic constructs they had all assumed would be there. Instead, it was the puppets acting as security. These in particular seemed to be themed after jesters, made out of some obsidian black material with the only other colors on them being red cuffs and collars and a dark blue face mask. Their left arm was also misshapen as it also functioned as their weapon, a massive, seemingly purple hued scythe.
"Greaaaat more scythes. If these turn into guns too..." Cass huffed.
"They don't. Those are the heavys- they never come around unless someone big is passing through," Michael frowned. "Probably one of the Evangelists."
"Lemme guess- his top dogs." Mercury said.
"Bingo." Michael nodded.
"Alright...so aside from the front door, any way to get in?" Emerald asked, turning to Michael.
"Not many. And they're all insanely risky. Unless you can create a distraction for them all to check out." Michael said.
"On it." The Knight said, suddenly flying away.
"Wait! We didn't even-" Emerald began but stopped when she realized that the knight was already out of earshot. She huffed and grabbed her weapons, letting the blades extend out just in case they met any resistance that their walking tank of a distraction didn't get the attention of.
The knight hadn't even landed before the puppets jittered to life, energy filling their empty eyes before shakily looking to the sky. Their joints awkwardly creaked as they readied their scythes for whatever was coming their way.
The Knight created a shield and a morningstar for his armor. "I hope this armor lasts long enough." The Knight frowned, before he rushed into battle with the various puppets.
While the jester-like puppets raced in at the knight, scythes slashing at his shield without making so much as a crack, the others of the group followed Michael to the side of the outpost. There were two puppets near the entrance he wanted to use at first. They creaked to life as well and, for a moment, it seemed like they would need to fight them. Thankfully, the two jesters simply went to aid in the fight against the knight.
"Bit of advice while we're down there. Don't touch anything and don't shoot anything unless you want to get burned," Michael said before leading them all to what appeared to be a cellar door.
"Addwaitya doesn't seem like the type to keep prisoners- he using this as an ammo closet or something?" Mercury asked, as the group drew closer.
"Something like that." Michael grimaced.
When they arrived, Michael summoned up a bright aura around his hand, similar to what Hope or Emerald had done when they were about to use mana blasts. Instead of a simple beam, though, the Ledgerdomain native ended up molding that golden energy into a sword and slashing at the lock of the cellar. He opened up one of the doors and let everyone go first, keeping watch just in case any more jester guards happened to spot them.
Inside the cellar, the rest of the group was shocked at the sight. Mercury was somewhat correct. Lining shelf upon shelf in this cellar were brass-colored, circular cores, each with four holes in them that let crimson energy flow out, giving some light to the chamber. The only light, in fact.
"The power cores for the constructs..." Cass said, putting her hand near one. It was like putting her hand over a stove top while it was going. "Yeesh. They're overloading these things with energy."
"Have been for a while, ever since Addwaitya's head scientist began her work on these new models." Michael frowned. "She's pathetic..."
"Do I even want to know?" Mercury asked.
"Not if you want to get this done quickly," Michael added, before pushing past the others to lead them deeper into the outpost.
"Right, right," Mercury huffed, moving right along. "This place just keeps on getting weirder and weirder."
"What would happen if someone shot at one of those cores?" Cass asked, a bit curious. Michael made a vague 'explosion' gesture. Cass nodded, getting the message completely.
She was gonna blow one of them up if shit went south.
But, for now, everything was going well. Jester after jester went to try and defeat the armored juggernaut that was about to assault the gates, filling the ranks of those that were shattered by the knight's flail.
However, that kind of slaughter did catch someone's attention. She was seated in her office, the highest room of this bronze fortress. She felt the outpost shake from one of the blows outside, no doubt hitting the gates themselves. She sighed and put down a smaller version of the jester she was puppeteering.
"Just when the story was getting good," she sighed.
She was oddly familiar- orange hair, an innocent smile, and piercing green eyes. However, she had something off about her. It was as if she was faking everything, from head to toe. Nothing felt genuine, and everything felt fake.
This was Pandora. And her box was about to be opened.
The gates of the outpost had gone from somewhat peaceful to a battleground very quickly. The remains of many different jester puppets littered the ground all around the Forever Knight, some even having been impaled with their own scythes. One of the still remaining jesters took a swing at Salem's mysterious juggernaut, which didn't even come close to actually hitting him. The knight just ducked under the scythe strike and slammed his energy flail into the puppet's side, brutally denting it. The opening left from the hit let the knight move up and strike the puppet's head, taking the jester's head clean off.
"This is pathetic." The Knight scoffed to himself. He looked up to see more puppets jumping down, and he quickly shot into a fighting stance. The puppets landed around him, in a perfect circle...before they locked hands, and erected a magical barrier over the Knight, containing him like an insect under a cup.
"...hmph." The Knight wasn't impressed.
The knight tapped the barrier with his weapon, just to see if it reacted from being touched. When it didn't react the knight simply began to spin the flail, building up momentum before slamming into the barrier, trying to break through it.
"It's useless to try and break through it." A voice said- her voice was oddly lulling, comforting almost. The Knight looked up to see her, Pandora. The Knight studied her carefully. It was strange, but...this woman bore a strange resemblance to one Penny Polendina.
"There's no reason to struggle. You're wasting energy." Pandora smiled. "My Aegis puppets have the best defensive capabilities."
"That confident, are you?" the knight asked, "But you're forgetting that the 'best' doesn't mean 'impenetrable.' Apply enough force...anything can break."
"You're not from here, are you, Terran?" Pandora smiled, her eyes unbreaking from their gaze on him. The barrier slowly began to shrink as the puppets began to move in slowly. "Magic isn't like your technology. It's much more difficult to comprehend."
"It might work on a different set of rules...but if you're observant," the knight quickly retracted the flail, letting the spiked orb rest in his hand. He then quickly slammed the energy weapon into the ground, cracking and shaking the earth. Pandora managed to keep her footing, but her Aegis puppets weren't so lucky, being forced apart and off their feet. The barrier shattered as they fell.
"You can always find a more familiar weakness," the knight finished.
Pandora hummed. "Hmm, maybe you'll be something of a challenge." She snapped her fingers, before some of her puppets aligned before her, set up like a chess board. Some lacked any features- probably the 'pawns'.
One of the pawns moved forward, as the Knight simply stabbed it, and tossed it aside.
"Treating this like a game, are we?" the knight asked as another pawn stepped forward, only to be swiftly dealt with.
"Isn't that all war is? A game with much higher stakes?" Pandora shot back with a smirk.
Two more of the undetailed puppets went forward, as the Knight blocked their rather pathetic and basic attacks. The Knight had played many chess games, against Viktor and the Black Knight- he knew every opening. And this one was...
An early stage Queen's Gambit. In the early stages of the game, control of the center is vital, and the Queen's Gambit gives an aggressive white player the opportunity to exchange a wing-pawn for control of the center. The Knight frowned- Pandora was taking him for a fool with this child like opening. At least Viktor opened with a Caro-Kann or London System. This was just sad...
Pandora sighed and sent two more pawns out to their ends, each one swiftly being crushed under the flail of the knight. As the second one was crushed, the puppet-master smirked and summoned up another puppet, different from her pawns. This one was made entirely metal and seemed to resemble an artist's mannequin, only not as accurate in terms of the head-shape. She'd been working on this one, making their hits a little heavier than normal, change out the alloy used in their round fists.
These ones struck harder, the Knight quickly noted- a punch from one of them made his armor shake and rattle. The Knight growled, as his morningstar quickly changed into a military fork. He stabbed the fork through the puppet's head, causing it to fall to the ground.
"Ooh, how fun..." Pandora grinned before summoning up two more of her metal Reliables. The two puppets slammed their orb fists together and made their way towards the knight. The first to get close reared its fist back and took a swing at Pandora's opponent, the metal fist ringing against the now risen energy shield. The mindless minion landed two more punches on the shield before the second construct actually flaked the knight and landed a decent hit into his side.
The Knight's face scowled underneath the mask- he needed to switch into a more 'serious' style. He immediately created a new sword, a zweihander, and with one tremendous attack to the enemy's stomachs, the Knight chopped them in half.
Pandora watched the puppets fall to the ground, unchanging in her expression. "Hm."
She definitely needed a few more...components for what she needed, so she simply snapped and sent five more of her pawns and three more Reliables at the knight. Of course, they didn't last long. The pawns were easily cut down in single swings, while the Reliables took...at least more than one. They were still shattered all the same, of course, but Pandora didn't seem to mind. She just watched their broken pieces hit the floor.
Just as planned.
"Checkmate." The Knight said, slamming his Zweihander into the ground.
"Oh, is it?" Pandora said, tilting her head. "Funny, I was about to say the same thing." Pandora snapped her fingers again, and the shattered puppet pieces all started to shamble together. The Knight pulled his blade out of the ground, and aimed it at the puppets...
Before everything went black.