Chaotic Good
By Mardrena
Snow growled softly and pawed at the door, relenting only when Colby walked over and grasped the knob, turning it slowly and opening the door. From Snow's point of view, he saw a short heavy-set man with a head full of thinning stringy hair combed to one side. He wore a neat suit and carried a briefcase with both hands clasping the handle. "Colby...it's time..." Colby sucked in air through his teeth and nodded, stepping aside to let the man enter his apartment. "Feeling nervous?"
"A little...even though I've been waiting years for this...it just seems so sudden...so, what have you got?" Colby asked as he made his way to the sofa and sat down. The man seated himself opposite of him and set the briefcase on the coffee table, clicking open the clasps and pulling out sheafs of seemingly-blank paper. He shuffled them neatly then laid them in small piles on the coffee table. Snow sat by Colby's side and sniffed at the papers, but even though he could see them through her eyes, she couldn't read them, but he could. Colby picked up the first sheet and ran his fingers over the surface.
"Standard medical waivers...consent forms...risk assessments and the like..." Colby continued reading the complex legal statements line by bumpy line. "We can postpone and reschedule if you need more time to think it through...take a few days or weeks to prepare yourself..."
"No...I've waited long enough...it's now or never..." Colby stated firmly and scrutinized each page with his fingertips. When he finished, he retrieved a nearby pen and signed the appropriate lines. The man collected the papers and replaced them in his briefcase. Colby drummed his fingers against his knees and took several deep breaths. Snow nuzzled his leg reassuringly, sensing his stress. He rubbed her head and scratched her cheeks, smiling. The man nodded and stood up, clicking the briefcase shut.
"The appointment is tomorrow. I'll drive you to the hospital."
Crystal sat at her desk in the classroom scribbling away at an assignment. Her wrist-com beeped and she clamped a hand over it hurriedly, turning to the side and cupping the screen. "Boy! Whatcha doin' callin' me in middle of class!" she hissed softly when she saw Conan's rotund face on the screen.
"Hey, I just heard from Colby: he's going into surgery tomorrow to fix his eyes. He's going to be out for a while until he recovers. I just wanted to let you know and pass it along," he whispered and closed the connection. Crystal tugged her sleeve over the com and made a show of straightening her uniform when the instructor and some students glanced at her. She'd gotten used to unfriendly eyes while attending school in Japan but had proven herself their equal academically despite their misconceptions. She resumed her work but tapped her pencil nervously.
After class she made her way to the principal's office and poked her head into the room, the clacking of her beads drawing a glance from the plump man. "Sir? I need off tomorrow. It's an emergency..."
"I think you've missed enough days of school this year, Miss Hacker," the fat man grumbled and flicked a bored glance at her before returning his attention to various documents. "You've flagrantly abused our country's generosity quite enough." Crystal narrowed her eyes and walked up to the desk, pulling back a chair and seating herself slowly.
"Sir...I'm askin' polite like. I am going to have tomorrow off from school," Crystal stated calmly and pulled FLEA out of her backpack and set it on the table, flipping it open and turning the screen to face the principal. "And I am not going to hit enter and post these rather unflatterin' pics online I took of you drunk as a skunk in a trunk at the Mana Tap..." The principal did a double take and lifted his huge head up to stare at the screen where he saw slightly-grainy stills that could have only come from the overhead security cameras of him nearly getting into a brawl over an argument over a tabletop game late at night. Crystal's finger hovered dangerously close to the enter key and she stared at him calmly, wriggling her eyebrows. The principal glanced from her stoic face to the screen, feeling slightly more sweaty under his collar. The rest of the faculty would never let him live this down if it got out...
Colby stood infront of the doors leading to the operating room and unclipped the leash from Snow's harness and coiled it up, tucking it into a pouch on the saddlebags. He rubbed her ears and whispered instructions for her to remain in the waiting room then pulled off his jacket and draped it over the bench. The balding man patted him on the shoulder and Colby inhaled deeply before crossing the double doors. He didn't have the enhanced vision from Snow, but he formed an impression in his mind of a dim room and gathered surgeons waiting for him.
"Thank you for coming here today, Mr. Taylor. If this procedure proves successful, this will give new hope for hundreds of children worldwide with your condition..." a doctor stated. Colby gulped nervously before nodding firmly and tilting his head up and smiling weakly.
"Okay...let us begin."
Inside the operating room, Colby's body remained mostly obscured with blue medical sheets with only his lips visible for the respirator. The team of surgeons carefully monitored screens and readouts as they worked. Outside, Crystal sat in the waiting room next to a restless Snow. She couldn't be at Colby's side, but she could at least be with him in spirit. She rest her elbows against her knees and rubbed her thumbs against her knuckles.
"You must be a friend of his?" She looked up and saw a heavyset balding man in a neat suit.
"Yeah...we been through alot together...Don't think we met before. Colby don't talk 'bout family much. Who you s'posed to be; Rich Uncle Pennybags?" Crystal raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, no...I'm just the family lawyer," the man chuckled and seated himself next to Crystal. "I'm not really much of a family man in all fairness, so I couldn't really fill the void left by Colby's parents. But I can tell he's prospered here even living by himself. He seems to be well situated with his friends..." Snow stood up and padded over to the man, giving him an inquisitive sniff and flicking her ears before lying down on her stomach and flicking her tail. The man glanced at the tigress awkwardly, apparently still not quite accustomed to the idea of Colby having a service tiger.
"He's a trooper, that's fo' sho..." Crystal smiled. The two frowned when they heard a commotion from further down the hall.
"Where is that brat! I want my money! I want my damn money! You bring that brat to me NOW!" Crystal spotted a gangly woman that looked like an un-wrapped mummy swaddled in a summer dress that barely covered her sagging sun-tanned heavily-freckled flesh.
"Erm...if you'll excuse me..." the man whispered and rose from his seat to walk over to where a nurse tried to block the woman from going any further.
"Miss! I can't let you past this point!"
"I'm his damn aunt! I'm still family! Where is he?!"
"Miss Taylor, what a pleasant surprise. Colby is currently occupied, but if you have any inquiries, you can direct them to me..."
"I want what's rightfully mine! I'm a direct relative, I deserve my fair share!"
"Miss Taylor, your brother's will neither stipulated you as a beneficiary nor a guardian, so I am afraid there is nothing I can do on that end. But I can tell by your being here that you are not so financially destitute that you cannot afford a plane ticket all the way to Japan..." the man placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to politely and gently escort her away from the waiting room. The ghastly woman spun out of his grip and all-but shoved her gnarled finger in his face, baring stained yellowed teeth, her face contorting in a crumpled, feral snarl like a rabid rat.
"I'm not falling for your legal mumbo-jumbo! I want my money! I'm not leaving till I get it! I don't care if I have to drag that pissant back home with me!" While the woman made a scene, Crystal couldn't help but grimace awkwardly as it took the arrival of a pair of orderlies to finally remove the rude woman from the premises. The man walked back over to sit next to her.
"I'm terribly sorry you had to see all that..." he muttered and straightened his coat.
"Lord A'mighty, I can see why he fled to Japan of all places..." Crystal drawled.
"Well she can fuss and screech all she wants, but the courts already denied her claim of custody in the States and child services deemed her an unfit guardian. It won't matter in the end, because in a few more years..." the man turned to Crystal and smiled warmly, wriggling his eyebrows. "Colby will be considered a legal adult, and more than capable of taking control of his own future, far beyond the grasp of any money-grubbing, dead-beat relatives."
While Colby remained under anesthesia at the hospital, far away in the city near a school parking lot, a mass of darkness formed in the pavement and crawled outward, roiling and bubbling like a pool of tar. A black mass pushed up against the surface, what looked like a mouth opened and closed and grasping fingers clawed and scrabbled into the air. Darkness started to peel away and a face covered mostly by a black helmet with wing-like blades on the sides erupted from the ground. "AAARRAAAAAAGHHHH!" the voice of a boy howled as he clambered out of the shadowy pool. "FREEEE! Free at last! Free to exact my revenge against that insolent boy-" a sinisterly-armored figure crowed and clenched fists covered in black metal plate. "Hey...where's my ring?" the adolescent arch-villain blinked in confusion and stared at his hand, noticing the absence of the jeweled ring.
Inside a dingy home, a wizened woman swaddled in a bathrobe sat slouched in a chair watching the television. She stared ahead, fairly apathetic. On a table against one wall stood a small shrine to her missing son, but she seemed more interested in the corny game show on the channel. Upstairs, her son's room remained entirely unchanged, albeit with a copious amount of dust since she never bothered to clean. Near a bookcase, a small spot of shadow formed on the wall and a black-armored hand reached out, feeling along the spines of books until the claw-like fingertips came across a book that stood out from the shelf full of manga volumes and game manuals. The claws carefully tweaked out the yellowed leather-bound tome and pulled it into the shadowy spot. It vanished entirely with the absent-minded woman seated before the TV none the wiser.
"I might not have my ring of power, but now I have the magical knowledge necessary to understand this tome and the spells within..." The bully flipped open the tome to the page he remembered and he held it in one hand while tracing a fingertip through the air. Glowing green trails lingered in the path, forming a pattern of shapes and symbols. A matching set of lines formed on the ground nearby. "Now, with this ritual...I summon and BIND THEE!" he proclaimed and clenched his fist. A column of fire erupted from the circle on the ground and subsided, revealing a tall lean figure.
"...um...oooookay...this totally was not where I was just awhile ago..." a humanoid demon with pitch-black skin, flame-orange hair, burning eyes and candle-like pupils, and two tiny horns poking up through the thick bangs reached up with a thick claw and scratched his head. He wore a leather jacket over a white shirt and blue jeans and glanced about absently.
"It worked! The spell I cast seeks out the most powerful demon nearby and binds it to my service!" the bully crowed and clenched his fist.
"Aww, how cuuute! The little dweeb thinks he's a warlock," Demon Ryo taunted and reached up, patting the top of the helmet gently with his fingers pressed together.
"Hey!" the bully protested and waved his arm in frustration, batting the hand away. "You have to do what I tell you to do! It says right here in the demon code!" the bully snarled and held the open book up for Demon Ryo to see. He leaned forward slightly and squinted at the arcane text.
"Huh...they must've appended that recently..." he muttered.
"While I would have preferred something more...imposing, you will suffice as a minion!"
"mememememememememememememe!" Demon Ryo taunted out the corner of his mouth and made a flapping motion with his fingers, bobbing his head from side to side.
"Hey! I am your master! If I tire of your antics, I can easily banish you to whatever abyss you came from!" the bully warned and shook the tome in his grip. Demon Ryo promptly pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, fuming. "You wouldn't like that, would you? If you wish to avoid my wrath, you will do as I say!" the bully sneered and clenched his fist. "Now, first order of business... I want you to seek out and retrieve my power ring!" he demanded and curled his fingers.
"Look! Kid! I'm not a frickin' djinn, okay?" Demon Ryo protested and shrugged, raising both hands. The bully let out a frustrated growl. "If you want something a bit more conventional like sowing chaos and discord or exacting vengeance..." The bully frowned thoughtfully and averted his gaze, tapping a fingertip against his chin. "...I probably shouldn't have said any of that..." Demon Ryo muttered.
"Psst!" Harry glanced sideways at where Archie sat. "Where's Crystal? She didn't show up today?"
"She requested off to be at the hospital with Colby while he has his procedure. She wanted to give him morale support, I guess. We can't all go, but she'll keep us posted on things there."
"I wonder how long he'll be out of action. Not like we see as much action as the Ronin Warriors, but that's still one of our own out of commission. Let's just hope nothing bad happens..."
A wiry boy-one of the members of the after-school gaming-group Conan and Davie led- yelped as he fell against a wall and slumped to the ground. "Not so tough against real power, are you 'Borean Marauder'?" the bully taunted. "I'm not going to kill you, that would be too merciful! I want you to suffer for what you did to me! It's your fault I was usurped from my rightful position! I will exact my revenge against those who wronged me, starting with you!" the bully declared and pointed a claw plate at the helpless student. "Now! Sear his flesh!"
The student looked up in fright at the black-skinned flame-haired man that reached down and grabbed him by the front of his uniform and hauled him up off the ground, his toes dangling just above the pavement. Demon Ryo glanced from the sorcerer to the student and reluctantly raised a claw. He winced sympathetically. "Sorry!" he said and pressed the tiniest tip of his index finger against the boy's cheek. The boy waved his arms and wailed in protest.
"HEY!" The bully shouted, angry that Demon Ryo apparently went easy on the boy.
"What? You said 'sear his flesh' you didn't say 'melt his face off with infernal hellfire'! You have to be specific with these sorts of things!" Demon Ryo replied and closed his eyes, shaking his head matter-of-factly while not removing his fingertip from the boy's cheek as he bawled and thrashed his arms. The bully raised a fist and pointed at Demon Ryo. "And no do-overs either! Page three, paragraph four, section B! I remember that much of the demon code!" Demon Ryo added and finally removed his fingertip from the boy's cheek, pointing at the bully firmly.
"Grrrrr...Fine!" Demon Ryo relaxed his grip on the student, allowing him to stand but still gripping his shirt. "Let this be a lesson to you what awaits those who cross my path!" the bully stated ominously. "Now, to hunt down the rest of my former 'friends'!" he turned and stalked away. Demon Ryo let go of the student and patted him on the cheek gently.
"No hard feelings, kid. You'll be fine," he whispered and walked off after the sorcerer. The student grimaced from the warm skin at first and reached up to his injured cheek. He blinked, startled when he felt smooth flesh instead of blistered skin. His wound had healed up completely...
"How long do you think Colby will be at the hospital?" Davie asked as he, Harry, Archie, and Harlann walked down the hall.
"If they're messing with his peepers, it could be anywhere from a couple hours to all night. There's no telling," Harry replied.
"Can we join Crystal after school? We should support Colby too!" Harlann begged.
"It's clear on the other side of town. We'll need to either take the subway or get Dad to drive us."
"As I understand it, Colby actually declined going to Thanged to get his eyes treated. I guess its a matter of personal principle for him to do things conventionally," Archie commented.
"Maybe they can give him some of that icky tea to help him recover faster so he isn't stuck in bed for a long time," Harlann mused.
"School's almost over. Soon as the bell rings, we'll skedaddle out of here."
"One down, many more to go...first I will take care of the rest of those betrayers! Then I will seek out that blind boy who imprisoned me in the first place! He may have defeated me once before, but this time, this time: I have an unstoppable demon minion!" the bully declared and whirled around to look at Demon Ryo, who currently snacked vigorously on something in a bright yellow wrapper. He chewed noisily before opening one eye to glance at the boy lazily.
"What?" he mumbled out the corner of his mouth and chewed a few moments longer before swallowing mightily and holding up the wrapper. "They're 'Sinfully Scrumptious'!" he argued and pointed a claw at the logo portraying a smiling cherub-like devil in a diaper with a pitchfork in one hand and lettering reading "Toasty's Tacos: Damn Good!" along the bottom. "Although their 'Diablo Sauce' leaves alot to be desired. It's not exactly 'Torture on the Tongue'; more like a tickle..."
"Ugh...can't you just devour souls like regular demons?" the bully complained, exasperated as Demon Ryo crumpled up the empty wrapper and incinerated it in his open palm.
"Look kid: you don't just devour souls, okay?" Demon Ryo pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger and braced his free knuckle on his hip. "Only posers do that! A soul has to be aged!" he insisted and made a pinching gesture with both hands. The bully narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"You say you need an old soul...? How about this: Serve me unquestioningly, and you can have the soul of my mother!" he offered and pointed at Demon Ryo.
"You'd give up the soul of your own mother...?" he stared at the bully with an eyebrow raised in bewilderment. "Dude! You're one messed up little kid!" The bully raised the spellbook in warning. "Okay, okay! Fine! Yeesh!" Demon Ryo waved both hands. "Hey, where'd you get that book from, anywho? I thought all copies were destroyed centuries ago..."
"I got it from...the internet!"
"Figures..." Demon Ryo snorted and rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his chest.
"Now onward to our next target! Come along, minion!" the bully stalked down the street.
"Yes 'master'..." Demon Ryo grumbled in a deadpan tone and swaggered after him, placing both hands on the back of his head lazily.
"Conan? What are you doing here? This isn't your school," Davie asked when they saw Conan waiting by the exit to the school grounds.
"I know, but I figured you all'd need a ride to the hospital. You all wanna visit Colby, right? It'd be a tight fit, but it'll save time and bus fare," Conan jerked a thumb over his shoulder at where his mother Jessica waited in her truck parked along the curb. She waved out the window at the youths.
"C'mon, pile in before traffic gets to be a mess."
"I call shotgun!" Harlann piped up but before he could take off running, Harry grabbed him by the back of his uniform.
"No, you're sitting on my lap," he stated and held onto Harlann firmly as they approached the vehicle with Conan claiming the aforementioned seat before anyone else.
"Aww..." Harlann pouted.
"Nowhere to run now, Goblin Siege Crew!" the bully taunted as Demon Ryo held the struggling youth by his collar. Demon Ryo rolled his eyes, annoyed that the bully kept referring to his "enemies" by their character names. "Now, my minion! Inflict upon him infernal torment!" Demon Ryo glanced from side to side then reached down and grabbed the waist of the kid's pants and yanked them up past his head. The student's eyes gushed tears like a faucet. "HEY!"
"What? It's called 'Infernal Wedgie'," Demon Ryo shrugged. The bully grit his teeth, incensed that his "minion" seemed to go out of his way to inflict the minimal amount of injury possible.
"Very well then...on to the next target!" he huffed and tromped off down the sidewalk. Demon Ryo discreetly tugged the student's underpants back into place.
"Walk it off kid," he whispered and patted the kid on the shoulder before following after the sorcerer. The student-tears hanging like pendulums from his eyes-nodded shakily and whined softly.
"Why aren't we moving!? What's the holdup?" Harlann whined from the back seat where he sat securely sandwiched between Harry and Archie. On either side of them motorists honked impatiently. Conan rolled down the window and leaned out slightly, catching sight of throngs of gaudily-dressed people clogging the crosswalk waving signs with various scrawled slogans.
"There's a bunch of weirdos blocking traffic..."
"We, the People's Resistance to the Industrialized Desecration of Earth, refuse to move unless our demands are met! Automobiles must be abolished! All of you commuters are contributing to the copious amounts of carbon contaminating our atmosphere! We must transcend our species and return to a simpler state. We must become like the beasts we have unjustly driven to extinction in pursuit of a decadent, capitalistic society!" a woman in her early twenties with short brown hair and a knit beanie and a dyed shirt with the midriff cut short bellowed into a bullhorn.
"Where's police? Aren't they supposed to keep traffic clear?" Archie wondered aloud.
"Traffic's so snarled up they probably stuck same as us," Harry commented.
"Moooom, can we use our Armors to beat them up?" Conan asked in a tone not unlike asking to go see a movie or go camping or buy snacks. Jessica pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes.
"Well...we are in a hurry...and it is a school night...just make it quick," she drawled and chewed some bubblegum. The kids fished out their Armor yoyos and suited up before exiting the truck.
"Hey, kid! Get lost! We're fighting for a cause-hey-what are you-OW! HEY!" Jessica remained behind the wheel and braced her elbow against the door lazily.
"BLEEDING SILK!" "RAZOR CAGE!" "CELESTIAL CONCUSSION!" "SPIRIT CORROSION!" "EARTH ENGULF!" Jessica blew a sizable bubble and continued chewing her gum as vandals and hoodlums were sent flying in all directions. One flew past the window, barely missing the rear-view-mirror and another landed on the hood of the truck, his face mashing into the windshield. Jessica scowled irritably and turned on the windshield wipers, unceremoniously pushing the moronic miscreant off to the side. Motorists to either side of her cheered in delight and pumped their fists as the Neo Ronin finally cleared the crosswalk of criminal clowns.
"Don't worry my dear...I won't hurt a beautiful flower such as you, Radiant Seraphinx..." the bully smirked as he clutched the chin of the lone girl of the school game club. She tried to squirm away, grimacing in revulsion. "Feisty, are we? Minion! I want you to make her fall head-over-heels in love with me!" the bully stepped back from the girl and swished his cape dramatically. Demon Ryo stepped forward and grabbed the girl by the front of her shirt and leaned close.
He glanced from side to side and slowly raised his other hand towards her face then shielded his mouth with the back of his hand and leaned closer. "Work with me," he whispered in a tiny voice out the side of his mouth through clenched teeth and wiggled the tips of his claws close to her face, just short of using his Charm power.
"Ohhh, Sinister Nightmage...you're so cuuuuute when you're super evil..." the girl purred and sauntered over to the boy, running her fingers over his chestplate. The bully blushed and blinked behind the mask of his helmet, his villainous scowl melting into a goopy smile.
"Now this is more like it..." he set the spellbook down on a nearby bench and placed both hands on the girl's arms, conducting himself with all the tact of someone who had no idea how to properly interact with girls. She managed to mask her disgust and keep up the act, spotting out the corner of her eye how Demon Ryo slowly inched to the side towards the bench, trying to get close enough to grab the spellbook. "I couldn't find Winged Overlord at his school, or Verdant Sylvarch here. I know you all were supposed to have a session today. Where are they now?" Demon Ryo slowly started to reach for the tome. The girl bit her lip and glanced to the side absently.
"Umm...Conan's mom came and picked up Davie and his friends and I think they said something about going to the hospital on the other side of town to visit their friend..." The claws came within an inch of the spine.
"What?! They're not here?! Drat!" the bully hissed and picked the tome back up before Demon Ryo had a chance to seize it. He swore under his breath and grimaced. The girl threw him an annoyed glare and fumed. Demon Ryo shrugged helplessly and whined softly. "Now I have to track them down all the way across the city!" The bully flipped the pages of the tome and located a spell then traced a gesture in the air, summoning a squirming mass of greenish light. "This will-o-wisp will lead me to my enemies. I'll be back for you later once I have my revenge!" he turned and walked away swiftly. Demon Ryo and the girl exchanged baffled glances before Demon Ryo rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and winced before walking after the boy. The girl watched them leave, confused.
"Go on in. I'm gonna go park in the garage and I'll meet up with you at the lobby," Jessica said as she dropped the kids off at the entrance. They headed inside the lobby and spoke to staff at the desk but as they began heading towards the elevators they spotted Crystal coming their way.
"Crystal! How is he? Are they still working on him?" Conan asked. Crystal shook her head.
"They said they finished but they keepin' him overnight for observation. He's still out cold, so no bedside visits. They done all they can and we done all we can."
"Great, we got here too late. And Mom just went to go park, now we gotta wait for her to get back."
"Awww, I wanted to see Colby!" Harlann whined.
"S'okay boo. He's got Snow with him. She'll keep an eye on him. Best we can do is get home and get some rest before school."
"I guess we'll be squeezing one more passenger into the truck," Archie chuckled.
"Let's wait out front for Conan's mom and fill her in," Harry said and the group walked back outside. They frowned when they heard terrified yelps coming from outside and saw hospital staff retreating from the entrance. "Whoa...what's going on?"
"Look who we have here! It's the whole team!" the bully sneered as he stalked towards the entrance. Even though he had lost his magically-augmented stature without his power ring, he still walked and stomped as if he loomed above them despite being no taller than Harry. Demon Ryo followed sullenly behind him. "And that blind boy...my will-o-wisp senses him in there! Perfect!"
"Isn't that the weird kid Colby banished to the shadow realm?" Harlann whispered.
"Hey, that demon guy kinda looks like Ryo..." Conan muttered.
"Because my minion keeps going soft on my foes, I'll handle the lot of you myself! I want to savor this, I want to relish in your screams of pain! I might not have my power ring, but I have acquired vast magical knowledge thanks to this real book of spells!" the bully waved the tome infront of his face then held it to the side. "Now, make yourself useful and hold onto this while I deal with them!" Demon Ryo blinked stupidly and stared down at the tome.
"...uhh...you sure?" he asked in a tiny voice, raising an eyebrow.
"What did I tell you about defying me?" the bully snarled. Demon Ryo shook his finger.
"Nononononononono, you don't understand. You want me...to hold that?" he pointed first at himself then at the spellbook.
"Yes! Now stop dithering around and DO AS I SAY!" the bully ordered.
"Okay!" Demon Ryo chirped and shrugged, holding out his hand. The bully all-but smacked he tome into his palm, not wondering at all why his "minion" obeyed him without protest all of a sudden.
"Now, I shall have my revenge: first on you, then that blind kid! I will make you pay for shunning me, for rejecting me, for hurting my feelings! Nothing will save you now-" the bully stalked towards the Neo Ronin, who looked too confused to deploy their Armor yo-yos just yet. "AIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIEYIEYIEYIE!" Crackling crimson energy struck the bully, jolting him from head to toe and causing him to convulse violently. The Neo Ronin had to shield their eyes from the brilliant flashes. "YIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIE-uuuuhhhhh...!" the bully's body seemed to pop and collapse like a deflated balloon, shrinking into a squirming mass of darkness. Demon Ryo stooped down and pinched one writhing tentacle and lifted the mass off the ground.
"A real wizard would know willingly giving a minion a personal object breaks the binding, releasing it from service. I guess you didn't read that part of the 'demon code', did you?..." Demon Ryo grinned and held the bully's essence at arms-length. The Neo Ronin jogged over as he set the tome on fire in his other hand. He didn't need it falling into the hands of another wannabe-warlock...
"Hey, is that like-you know-that part in the book where the bad wizard gives the elf a sock, and it-like- frees him?" Harlann asked and pointed up at Demon Ryo. He stared back and made a face.
"...no..."
"Hey! Since you're a nice demon, does that mean you're-like-chaotic good?" Conan asked.
"...Whaaaaat?!" Demon Ryo exclaimed, annoyed. He looked at the shadowy mass then released it. It hovered midair then vanished as fire consumed it completely.
"Whatcha gonna do with him? Are you gonna banish him to the abyss? Are you gonna bind his essence to a weapon? You're not gonna eat him, are you?" Davie asked uneasily.
"I sent him away," Demon Ryo replied and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets.
"Where away?" Harlann quipped.
"I said 'away'," Demon Ryo narrowed his eyes in warning.
"Minion? Minion? What is this place?" the boy saw mirrors surrounding him and saw reflections of himself in every direction. The mirrors dropped away abruptly and instead of infinite reflections of himself, he saw infinite copies of his mother seated in a recliner infront of a TV. They all looked at him.
"Hey there son, can you rub my feet for me?" they all asked simultaneously, raising one foot and wiggling the toes of the worn pink house slippers.
"AAAAHHHHHHHHH" the boy screamed and screamed and screamed endlessly, trapped forever in a prison of his own making with absolutely no chance of escape.
"The kid must've escaped his prison because Colby was out cold during surgery," Harry theorized.
"I guess that means his power idn't as bad as he thought..." Crystal mused.
"Um...so, kids? Can you do me a favor and keep quiet about the whole me 'turning into a demon' bit?" Demon Ryo interjected and tapped the tips of his index claws together.
"How come?" Harlann chirped.
"Let's just say I really don't wanna get hit by a skillet again..." Demon Ryo averted his gaze and rubbed the back of his head. The Neo Ronin exchanged confused glances and shrugs.
"OH! I know!" Conan clapped his hands together then pointed at Demon Ryo. "You're lawful evil!"
"Ugh..." Demon Ryo let his head and shoulders hang.
Colby would spend about a week recovering in the hospital. Once the other Neo Ronin heard he would be released to go home, they all came to wait for him to emerge. Emma, Edward, and Pauline had joined them and they waited anxiously for the doors to open and for him to stride out confidently. The elevator chimed and opened and Colby stepped out, still holding Snow's harness and still wearing his dark glasses. Crystal frowned in dismay, wondering if the procedure had failed.
"Colby...did...did it..." Conan whispered.
"How you feeling?" Emma asked. Colby tilted his head down and reached up, pinching the glasses.
"Well, at minimum there was a fifty-fifty chance of regaining partial sight, and even then it might take several more follow-up procedures for fine-tuning..." Colby pulled off the glasses and opened his eyes slowly. They still looked colorless, but he could see color for the first time in his life. The other Neo Ronin smiled with joy. "But for now...I think it'll do," Colby grinned. Combined with the grayscale images and outlines from Snow, he could visualize objects in a sort of watercolor style.
Almost like the cover of a manga volume.
Author's Notes
I actually had this chapter planned out before Ch. 14 but I wanted to avoid having two "Colby-centric" chapters back to back. While Colby finally regains partial use of his sight, there are elements to his power and that of the Neo Armors in general that have yet to be explored. As hostile forces make their move behind the scenes, things will escalate during the Three Wars.
They don't write bad guys like they used to, and there's being evil, and being written well. I hadn't realized how long it'd been since I'd done one of these. Between fic writing and World Anvil, it's been over a year since I posted Ch. 13. Last time I did the best of the worst. Now here's my personal list of the best of the best...bad guys, where being bad never felt so good. The top ten best-written villains!
10. Mozenrath-Aladdin the Series
Even though he had the most appearances out of any villain in the series, you kind of wish they'd done more with this character. Portrayed beautifully by Jonathan Brandis (RIP, gone far, FAR too soon...), Mozenrath had a venomous charm and wit and often proved a serious threat compared to other antagonists. It's very rare you ever see villains written with nuance, and for all of his power and pride, Mozenrath had a fatal flaw: the same gauntlet that gave him his powers. He actually tried to switch bodies with Aladdin because the gauntlet was quite literally rotting his body from the inside out. Supposedly there was an unused plot where it was revealed they were actually long-lost brothers, hence the close resemblance, but it ended up being scrapped. There's one scene I remember where he's enslaved a magic-eating beast and is contemplating which realm to conquer. He ponders Agrabah and its lack of magic and asks why bother then gleefully proclaims "Because it's there!"
9. Windfang-Conan the Adventurer
You can't help but feel for this guy: body twisted and mutated, life extended so that everyone he once knew and loved is long dead, as much as Jezmine pointed out that Wrath-Amon would never free him, Windfang kept retreating to the side of his master in vain hope of being restored eventually. There's an episode where he enlists Jezmine's help to seek a powerful sorceress who can break his curse, the catch is he has to be shown worthy of being loved. He is restored to human form only to return to his home to find it a desolate ruin. His love for Jezmine is one of the few things tying him to his humanity, but she lets him down as politely as she can: even though she pities him and believes he is worthy of being loved, she herself DOES NOT LOVE HIM. He clings to the past so much even during his brief freedom he is unwilling to start anew. He sacrifices his humanity once more to save Jezmine from Wrath-Amon's clutches, afterward commenting that he's "resigned himself to his fate". He would temporarily join forces with the heroes one last time against an "elder demon", but his fate is left unknown at the end of the series so we never get to see if he is restored with the Black Ring destroyed or if he is still trapped in monster form. Poor guy...
8. Prince Lotor-Voltron: Defender of the Universe
That gorgeous elfin face hides sinister desire as Lotor spends most of his time in the series trying to find ways to seize Princess Allura for his own. Even when presented with other potential brides, he absolutely refuses to settle for second best. Despite heavy censorship, the English dub left his primary motivations intact: his narcissism, his cruelty, his lust. In one episode where his father King Zarkon is ailing, Lotor ventures to Planet Arus to seek a cure. He actually tries to poison his servant out of anger only to be convinced to use the poison to eliminate his father instead. Zarkon recovers from his illness better than ever, revealing that Hagar had fortified his body to resist poison. He congratulates his son on his ambition, but tells him he has to wait a bit longer before he can assume the throne. I never really got to see Third Dimension because of the poor tv reception out in the boonies, but even with half his face blown off and body rebuilt as a cyborg, he still carries the torch for Allura...
7. Emperor Cartagia-Babylon 5
President Clark might've been built up as the big bad operating in the background on Earth but you never really saw much of him. Everything was off-screen or mentioned in hindsight. Cartagia on the other hand stood front and center, relishing in his position and punishing all who opposed him swiftly and painfully. For crying out loud, he had a freaking jester executed for poking fun at him. Talk about killing comedy! You could tell the actor had fun with the part, delivering all his lines deliciously. You almost felt bad when he died because you wanted to see more of him. Shoot he actually tried to kill Vir with his last strength. He nearly killed G'kar not for any specific crime, but purely because he absolutely had to have his scream...
6. Blight/Derek Powers-Batman Beyond
The shot in the night that set Terry down the path of the vigilante, Powers pulled strings behind the scene in the pilot only to reap what he'd sown with his body altered by the very weapon he tried to exploit. Completely unrepentant and irredeemable, he used his position as CEO to target his corporate rivals and his powers as Blight when things got out of control. His evil knew no depths as even his own son tried to violently depose him when his body became increasingly unstable. Probably the scene that sticks out most is when Terry finally confronts him, angrily telling Blight "You killed my father!" Blight only takes a moment of contemplation before replying "Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down!?"
5. Griffith-Berserk
*censored* this *censored*...
4. Kingpin-Spiderman The Animated Series
I didn't care for the "modern" portrayal by Vincent DiNofrio. I remembered Kingpin best as a smooth-talking, calm, calculating villain operating under the veneer of a billionaire philanthropist. The "new" live-action series turned him into a violent, unstable, infantile thug. His animated backstory-narrated impeccably by Roscoe Lee Browne- offers a nuanced take on the character that's sadly been lost with modern attempts at story-telling. He is quite literally in love with being a villain, more than his own wife. After Vanessa's kidnapping and rescue, she decides to leave him for good. He professes his love for her but she retorts "I used to believe that...but no...you love being 'the Kingpin'...the 'Kingpin of Crime'..." Among his many deeds such as threatening Doc Ock into submission, orchestrating the theft of Promethium X, and kidnapping Felicia Hardy, probably his most insidious act had to have been...using Peter's upcoming wedding with MJ to get into a pissing match with J. Jonah Jameson: "I know the best pastry chef in Queens!" "I know the Queen's pastry chef..."
3. Treize Kushrenada-Gundam Wing
I lost track of more recent Gundam series, probably the last one I saw was 00. The newer ones just don't appeal to me. I noticed patterns among characters: there's the crazy evil love interest, the elderly/older mentor, the mysterious man in the mask, but most primary antagonists seemed to always devolve into bug-eyed slobbering psychopaths towards the end. Wing often gets downplayed as being dated, but the writing remains pretty solid to this day with David Kaye lending his iconic voice to this charismatic antagonist. Treize never lost composure, always staying cool as a cucumber, and the most I ever saw him do was a slight frowny face. More than a power-mad tyrant, he was an idealist, a warrior, and a noble, showing his utter contempt for Lord Tuberov and his mobile dolls (*snicker* dolls...). He viewed battle as more than a necessity or a means to an end: it was an art-form, something to refine and aspire to and excel at rather than befouling the battlefield with soulless machines. Even Releena had to slap some sense into his misguided daughter Mariemaia in defense of his character. Fully in his element whether orchestrating things behind the scenes or joining his forces on the front lines, he lived how he loved and died how he wanted: like a bawss...
2. Syndrome-The Incredibles
They really don't make them how they used to. Most modern villains get tragic backstories crowbared in or redemption arcs handed on a silver platter early on. Syndrome isn't really a tragic character...just a petulant child in adult form, a full-blown example of-ironically enough-Peter Pan Syndrome. He puts up the facade of being an intelligent business mogul and visionary inventor but at his core remains the same spoiled child unable to admit wrongdoing. Nothing has any consequences and everything is a game in his eyes, his depravity so deep even his own minion Mirage is disgusted with him. When she walks out on him he looks confused, utterly incapable of empathy. A complete psychopath rationalizing murder and destruction to inflate his ego, there is no reflection on his part, no epiphany or remorse, just the schoolyard bully lashing out at everyone else trying to ruin his fun.
1. David Xanatos-Gargoyles
Jonathan Frakes really knocked it out of the park with this role, every line delivered beautifully with a voice as smooth as butter. Xanatos operated on a completely different level compared to other villains, appearing to lend a sympathetic ear one moment only to do a rug pull the next. While he does have a redemption arc, its very long in the making when he realizes money can't really buy everything, especially eternal life or love. His goals remain very subtle, not nearly as grandiose as other villains, and while he has a literal army of armed goons and drones to do his bidding, he relishes the opportunity of doing battle with Goliath and proving himself his equal in strength. Even when he's caught with his hand in the cookie jar during the City of Stone arc, he smooth-talks the Manhattan Clan to assisting him with lifting the curse. His development spans dozens of episodes, going from calculating businessman, to shrewd charmer, to affectionate dad, and ultimately a true ally of the Clan.
There's a scene in the Gargoyles Sage ficverse where everyone tries to hold a Thanksgiving dinner together with everyone invited, but there's obvious friction between the Xanatos and Maza families, understandably as a result of Derek's mutation. Xanatos truly strives to atone for his deeds, but the fear of death ever gnaws at him until he realizes true immortality is the legacy one builds and leaves behind.