Regicide
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Graying Blood
Chapter 5: Regicide
***
As Rhombus and her subordinates escaped into the night, Abby leaned back against the door to the now abandoned house. The night air was cool, everything illuminated in the pale light of the full moon. She eyed her phone, flicking it open and closed several times; she just aided enemies of the Team. Or what Gideon considered to be the enemy.
With that final thought, she too disappeared into the night. It was the right thing to do. She did not regret her decision.
Inside the arcanine's car, Alexei was glancing out from the passenger's seat, his pistol still in paw. In the back Slate similarly had Rhombus' issued assault rifle in his arms. "Where are we going?" asked the absol.
His superior was stone faced, any of that humor she would normally take in a serious situation lost by this point. "We're enemies of the state, kid. Even House Grayquill may bow ."
He gave her a sideways glance away from the window. "Well then. How does it feel to be on the other side this time? With all respect meant, ma'am?"
"I won't apologize for what I had to do, Alexei," she growled low, the car accelerating as she did so. "Of all the times you'd have the nerve to bring that up."
"Why not now? Why not? That...that right there. That is the problem with the Team. I hear it everywhere. So many of us just say 'it's what I had to do'. It's what Datan had to do. It's what Gideon has to do. Guess what? Somebody didn't tonight. We would all be dead otherwise."
The arcanine gave another snarl, her eyes meeting the absol's in a dangerous stare. "I agree, kid. But I will never apologize for bygones."
"Hypocrite," Alexei said back deadpan.
A silence filled the vehicle for a few seconds until Slate broke the silence. "Hypocrite or not, she is getting the job done, Alexei. She is doing what she has to do."
"Always playing the Devil's Advocate."
The sandslash didn't even look to his friend. "Someone has to do that, too. But this is not what we should be arguing about at the moment."
***
At Indigo Division Headquarters, Theodore had just finished receiving treatment for his physical wounds begin torn open again. The nidoking lay in his infirmary bed. The shine was gone from his green eyes as he stared up at the white ceiling tiles, pupils pinprick. To him, the world was flat and unshaded, persistently lit. More like a cartoon than reality; what looked to be paper cut-outs of the medical staff shuffled by his bed as his body rest and his spirit was stirred.
The band of unown runes on his arm were lit beneath the sheets with their typical ruby-pink glow. More of them flowed out from his body to the foot of the bed, stacking like blocks to take the shape of the xatu female, standing out fully in contrast to all of the two-dimensional beings unable to see her. "Good evening, our chosen." Her voice still had that soft electronic buzz to it.
He lifted his head to address her, his form also standing out in a full three-dimensions. The pain he felt had vanished. "Stand up," she ordered. He obeyed. The nidoking felt himself flow right through the sheets as he stood, looking back to find a flat cut-out of himself now lying in his stead. He sunk down to one knee, head down and ears lowered. "Are you defeated? If you are, we will seek a more suitable host."
"I am not, mistress."
The xatu kept that blank expression, staring down at him with her unblinking red eyes. "We already know. We also believe there is something you must witness, if just to make you stronger." She extended a taloned finger and a silvery string extended to slip into her host. She gave a gentle tug, beckoning the ethereal nidoking to stand before leading him on the string like a leash; he went right through one of the white walls of the infirmary, though halls and up elevator shaft's of the headquarters. Right back to the door of Gideon's quarters.
Lilith Grayquill was standing outside. In contrast to others in this warped reality Theo was in, she was in a full three-dimensions. With one snap of her foot, the heavy wooden doors of the nidoking's decadent chambers split open, splintering into shards as she made a infuriated dash in, leaping through the air in a dive to the couch as she spotted her target sitting on his couch and sipping a glass of wine. He was also in full-depth.
Theodore could see Gideon's spines instantly bristle as what was left of the busted doors swung on their hinges. His glass fell from his paw as he rolled onto the tiles, shattering and staining the white marble a deep red as Lillith crashed through the couch, her tail expertly swinging the living room table at him with a slight flick. He didn't seem phased at all as it crashed over him, breaking in two as he took a moment to adjust his shirt collar. "Now. What is this about, Lilith?"
"You know," she said in a cold and resolute tone as she stood across from him, staring the nidoking down with hateful eyes.
Gideon gave her a shrug in return. "Couldn't just keep to yourself, old hag? Were not grateful I let you live?"
"Not when those of my blood are on the line," she snapped back. Her hidden psychic powers kicking up in a blaze of white around her that bleached the splintered chunks and the upholstery of the shredded couch. Just as fast as the room flared, the light was instantly dulled by Gideon's negative light as his own essence flared up.
The invisible onlookers could see the color wash out of the room as alarms began to blare sharply down the hallway, sensors detecting the massive output of energy, the lights turning a slowing pulsing red.
"She will fall here, chosen," the xatu said plainly, watching from the doorway as the two powerful nidoian were at a standoff.
Theo gave her a horrified look. "Stop him!" He received no answer from the unown hive-mind as she just observed silently with him.
Just as long as the standoff lasted, it was broken in less than a second. Lillith let the first shot fly. Her light condensed into four orbs, all focusing into one lance of brilliance that ripped across the room with a crack. The onlooker's vision was blanked out, a loud crunch of rock and a roar followed by a thud. There was another snarl just as the light faded again. Gideon was on his back in his bedchamber, his shirt shredded apart and his chest plate eroded, but still very much alive as the nidoqueen pounced through the broken wall.
She did not land as her opponent delivered a hard double kick right into her chest as he sprung up, sending her rolling across the tiles as his own hidden energy flowed into his claw tips, turning the normally white claws obsidian as he waited with a grin for his foe to stand. "You've gotten slow with age, my lady," he remarked. "And I'm only better for it. Shows what a bit of wounded pride can accomplish."
"Do you have any idea what you've become, Gideon? Really?"
"Yes. I'm a beast with one foot in the grave. But I will see all my dreams before I go. I've already seen one: I've mended the insult to my family."
The nidoqueen gave a snarl, the air starting to chill around her, condensation freezing into fine crystals around her. "That is no justification for your methods. This bloodbath will stop before it starts."
"Shut the fuck up, you old whore." His spines bristled as the air in the room became frigid, ice forming on the walls and window, his own hide starting to feel a little uncomfortable as the frost began to tip his spines. The blades of ice formed, swarming the room in a glittering display of diamonds as Lillith executed her blizzard attack.
Gideon visibly flinched as he was nicked and scratched all over, his hide starting to chafe from the cold as he broke into a charge across the room. The nidoking held his breath as it became even colder, ears pinning down to avoid frostbite as he raked his darkened claws at her.
She did not feel her own freeze, though the swirls of lethal ice slowed for a moment as she raised a thickly scaled arm to block. The claws sailed right through as if not there and her whole frame gave a shudder and she gasped. Her heart stopped for a moment along with her breath, the dark powers making her nervous system seize up from the unseen wound. This was the true hidden power of House Bloodquill, and a vile one in the hands of their fiendish patriarch.
Lillith slipped on the now icy floor, falling flat onto her back after another blow from the nidoking's claws slipped through her throat. This stopped her heart and lungs entirely, burning pain in every nerve as she lay helpless on the floor. The sharp shards clattered to the floor as Gideon stood over her.
"You lose," he said in a matter-of-fact manner voice, flicking his clawed paws a bit as the power discharged from them. "You probably still have a few moments left. I think we're going to be making the best of them. Mm?"
Theodore's expression became blank as he tried to turn his head. He found it all but impossible as the xatu locked him up, forcing the nidoking's disembodied spirit to watch every horrible act about to transpire.
The unown didn't even turn to acknowledge the horror of their host. "We cannot stop him, chosen. That gift marks him a God Slayer. For conciseness, we will just say he is a powerful descendant of one who crippled us long ago."
"So that's why he does not fear you. He must have learned through Datan's spying on Edward's division..."
"We may nudge his fate, but never shape it or suggest him to his demise. This is another fuel for your anger; strong emotions invigorate us and are what you will need to liberate his throne for our brother. But, for the time, the killer is worth more than his crimes. Now watch, Chosen."
***
Abby returned to base by early dawn, the zangoose looking entirely unfettered in spite of her treason. She was sure they would find out what happened; if a trashed room was any indication she was not being honest, anyway.
That was something she would face when it happened. She made her way down to the base's infirmary and to Theo's bed. The nidoking looked to be spaced out, and worse for wear than last time she saw him. His heavy eyelids suggested that he was up all night.
"Morning, Theo," she greeted. He did not respond initially, just staring sideways as she stood over him.
The nido male gave a long blink before replying. His voice had a drained monotone to it. "Good morning, Abby. Nice to see that you're back already."
"It would be foolish to ask if you're okay, right?"
"I will be just fine," he said back to her cut-and-dry. "Everything is going to be all right in the end, Abigail. We just need to hold on."
She patted him between the ears gently, her bushy tail swishing nervously behind her. "I did something tonight. Something I will never regret, but that may be the end of me."
"A familiar theme," he said, one of his ears fluttering as he felt a claw stroke over it's edge.
She looked away from that half-awake stare he was giving her. "I...I was sent by Gideon to eliminate Alexei and the rest of your old unit; I found my heart right before committing to the job and warned them."
Theo's tail smacked against the metal railing of the hospital bed as he weighed his response, looking up at the all too familiar white tiles of the ceiling. "Good. I'm happy you finally found it after so much strife. Please don't compromise it ever again."
"I may not get a chance to, dear."
His tail slipped down to wrap hers. "We are going to make it, Abby. We are both going to see Gideon's junta collapse around his ears. Just wait. I already said everything is going to be all right."
"Looks that resolve is back. Be careful, Theo. I've seen you smash your head against the wall twice now over it. The second time is why we're here, after all."
The nidoking grit his teeth as his eyes drifted down to meet hers again. "I'm not taking any more risks: I'm just enduring the decay until it is time to burn the rotten house and start over."
"You've had a plan all along?"
"No. I'm just improvising."
***
The clefable looked over his board. One of the nidoqueen figurines had developed a fracture across it, followed by spider line cracks flowing out from it. The game piece shuddered and clattered on the table before shattering into pink shards and powder. "Senseless loss," he sighed, and waved a paw over the board. The broken figurine melted and condensed back into a single unown, who flew up and merged again with the clefable shaped hive. "It is a poor king that destroys its own pieces. Oh well."
The zangoose was next to catch his eye. He took the small piece between two clawtips and looked it over slowly. "And you don't want to aid the brutal tyrant. We've already had one martyr so far, girl. We don't need another."
He smirked to himself as he reached with his other paw for the alakazam figure standing opposed to the large nidoking. "And I'm almost free thanks to you. We just laugh as you betray everything you've ever loved to accomplish it, though. So wise, but a fool."
With that last thought, he nudged the arcanine and the sandslash one tile closer to Gideon's. "And our heroes are one step closer to the villain of this little story."
Graying Blood
Chapter 5: Regicide
***
As Rhombus and her subordinates escaped into the night, Abby leaned back against the door to the now abandoned house. The night air was cool, everything illuminated in the pale light of the full moon. She eyed her phone, flicking it open and closed several times; she just aided enemies of the Team. Or what Gideon considered to be the enemy.
With that final thought, she too disappeared into the night. It was the right thing to do. She did not regret her decision.
Inside the arcanine's car, Alexei was glancing out from the passenger's seat, his pistol still in paw. In the back Slate similarly had Rhombus' issued assault rifle in his arms. "Where are we going?" asked the absol.
His superior was stone faced, any of that humor she would normally take in a serious situation lost by this point. "We're enemies of the state, kid. Even House Grayquill may bow ."
He gave her a sideways glance away from the window. "Well then. How does it feel to be on the other side this time? With all respect meant, ma'am?"
"I won't apologize for what I had to do, Alexei," she growled low, the car accelerating as she did so. "Of all the times you'd have the nerve to bring that up."
"Why not now? Why not? That...that right there. That is the problem with the Team. I hear it everywhere. So many of us just say 'it's what I had to do'. It's what Datan had to do. It's what Gideon has to do. Guess what? Somebody didn't tonight. We would all be dead otherwise."
The arcanine gave another snarl, her eyes meeting the absol's in a dangerous stare. "I agree, kid. But I will never apologize for bygones."
"Hypocrite," Alexei said back deadpan.
A silence filled the vehicle for a few seconds until Slate broke the silence. "Hypocrite or not, she is getting the job done, Alexei. She is doing what she has to do."
"Always playing the Devil's Advocate."
The sandslash didn't even look to his friend. "Someone has to do that, too. But this is not what we should be arguing about at the moment."
***
At Indigo Division Headquarters, Theodore had just finished receiving treatment for his physical wounds begin torn open again. The nidoking lay in his infirmary bed. The shine was gone from his green eyes as he stared up at the white ceiling tiles, pupils pinprick. To him, the world was flat and unshaded, persistently lit. More like a cartoon than reality; what looked to be paper cut-outs of the medical staff shuffled by his bed as his body rest and his spirit was stirred.
The band of unown runes on his arm were lit beneath the sheets with their typical ruby-pink glow. More of them flowed out from his body to the foot of the bed, stacking like blocks to take the shape of the xatu female, standing out fully in contrast to all of the two-dimensional beings unable to see her. "Good evening, our chosen." Her voice still had that soft electronic buzz to it.
He lifted his head to address her, his form also standing out in a full three-dimensions. The pain he felt had vanished. "Stand up," she ordered. He obeyed. The nidoking felt himself flow right through the sheets as he stood, looking back to find a flat cut-out of himself now lying in his stead. He sunk down to one knee, head down and ears lowered. "Are you defeated? If you are, we will seek a more suitable host."
"I am not, mistress."
The xatu kept that blank expression, staring down at him with her unblinking red eyes. "We already know. We also believe there is something you must witness, if just to make you stronger." She extended a taloned finger and a silvery string extended to slip into her host. She gave a gentle tug, beckoning the ethereal nidoking to stand before leading him on the string like a leash; he went right through one of the white walls of the infirmary, though halls and up elevator shaft's of the headquarters. Right back to the door of Gideon's quarters.
Lilith Grayquill was standing outside. In contrast to others in this warped reality Theo was in, she was in a full three-dimensions. With one snap of her foot, the heavy wooden doors of the nidoking's decadent chambers split open, splintering into shards as she made a infuriated dash in, leaping through the air in a dive to the couch as she spotted her target sitting on his couch and sipping a glass of wine. He was also in full-depth.
Theodore could see Gideon's spines instantly bristle as what was left of the busted doors swung on their hinges. His glass fell from his paw as he rolled onto the tiles, shattering and staining the white marble a deep red as Lillith crashed through the couch, her tail expertly swinging the living room table at him with a slight flick. He didn't seem phased at all as it crashed over him, breaking in two as he took a moment to adjust his shirt collar. "Now. What is this about, Lilith?"
"You know," she said in a cold and resolute tone as she stood across from him, staring the nidoking down with hateful eyes.
Gideon gave her a shrug in return. "Couldn't just keep to yourself, old hag? Were not grateful I let you live?"
"Not when those of my blood are on the line," she snapped back. Her hidden psychic powers kicking up in a blaze of white around her that bleached the splintered chunks and the upholstery of the shredded couch. Just as fast as the room flared, the light was instantly dulled by Gideon's negative light as his own essence flared up.
The invisible onlookers could see the color wash out of the room as alarms began to blare sharply down the hallway, sensors detecting the massive output of energy, the lights turning a slowing pulsing red.
"She will fall here, chosen," the xatu said plainly, watching from the doorway as the two powerful nidoian were at a standoff.
Theo gave her a horrified look. "Stop him!" He received no answer from the unown hive-mind as she just observed silently with him.
Just as long as the standoff lasted, it was broken in less than a second. Lillith let the first shot fly. Her light condensed into four orbs, all focusing into one lance of brilliance that ripped across the room with a crack. The onlooker's vision was blanked out, a loud crunch of rock and a roar followed by a thud. There was another snarl just as the light faded again. Gideon was on his back in his bedchamber, his shirt shredded apart and his chest plate eroded, but still very much alive as the nidoqueen pounced through the broken wall.
She did not land as her opponent delivered a hard double kick right into her chest as he sprung up, sending her rolling across the tiles as his own hidden energy flowed into his claw tips, turning the normally white claws obsidian as he waited with a grin for his foe to stand. "You've gotten slow with age, my lady," he remarked. "And I'm only better for it. Shows what a bit of wounded pride can accomplish."
"Do you have any idea what you've become, Gideon? Really?"
"Yes. I'm a beast with one foot in the grave. But I will see all my dreams before I go. I've already seen one: I've mended the insult to my family."
The nidoqueen gave a snarl, the air starting to chill around her, condensation freezing into fine crystals around her. "That is no justification for your methods. This bloodbath will stop before it starts."
"Shut the fuck up, you old whore." His spines bristled as the air in the room became frigid, ice forming on the walls and window, his own hide starting to feel a little uncomfortable as the frost began to tip his spines. The blades of ice formed, swarming the room in a glittering display of diamonds as Lillith executed her blizzard attack.
Gideon visibly flinched as he was nicked and scratched all over, his hide starting to chafe from the cold as he broke into a charge across the room. The nidoking held his breath as it became even colder, ears pinning down to avoid frostbite as he raked his darkened claws at her.
She did not feel her own freeze, though the swirls of lethal ice slowed for a moment as she raised a thickly scaled arm to block. The claws sailed right through as if not there and her whole frame gave a shudder and she gasped. Her heart stopped for a moment along with her breath, the dark powers making her nervous system seize up from the unseen wound. This was the true hidden power of House Bloodquill, and a vile one in the hands of their fiendish patriarch.
Lillith slipped on the now icy floor, falling flat onto her back after another blow from the nidoking's claws slipped through her throat. This stopped her heart and lungs entirely, burning pain in every nerve as she lay helpless on the floor. The sharp shards clattered to the floor as Gideon stood over her.
"You lose," he said in a matter-of-fact manner voice, flicking his clawed paws a bit as the power discharged from them. "You probably still have a few moments left. I think we're going to be making the best of them. Mm?"
Theodore's expression became blank as he tried to turn his head. He found it all but impossible as the xatu locked him up, forcing the nidoking's disembodied spirit to watch every horrible act about to transpire.
The unown didn't even turn to acknowledge the horror of their host. "We cannot stop him, chosen. That gift marks him a God Slayer. For conciseness, we will just say he is a powerful descendant of one who crippled us long ago."
"So that's why he does not fear you. He must have learned through Datan's spying on Edward's division..."
"We may nudge his fate, but never shape it or suggest him to his demise. This is another fuel for your anger; strong emotions invigorate us and are what you will need to liberate his throne for our brother. But, for the time, the killer is worth more than his crimes. Now watch, Chosen."
***
Abby returned to base by early dawn, the zangoose looking entirely unfettered in spite of her treason. She was sure they would find out what happened; if a trashed room was any indication she was not being honest, anyway.
That was something she would face when it happened. She made her way down to the base's infirmary and to Theo's bed. The nidoking looked to be spaced out, and worse for wear than last time she saw him. His heavy eyelids suggested that he was up all night.
"Morning, Theo," she greeted. He did not respond initially, just staring sideways as she stood over him.
The nido male gave a long blink before replying. His voice had a drained monotone to it. "Good morning, Abby. Nice to see that you're back already."
"It would be foolish to ask if you're okay, right?"
"I will be just fine," he said back to her cut-and-dry. "Everything is going to be all right in the end, Abigail. We just need to hold on."
She patted him between the ears gently, her bushy tail swishing nervously behind her. "I did something tonight. Something I will never regret, but that may be the end of me."
"A familiar theme," he said, one of his ears fluttering as he felt a claw stroke over it's edge.
She looked away from that half-awake stare he was giving her. "I...I was sent by Gideon to eliminate Alexei and the rest of your old unit; I found my heart right before committing to the job and warned them."
Theo's tail smacked against the metal railing of the hospital bed as he weighed his response, looking up at the all too familiar white tiles of the ceiling. "Good. I'm happy you finally found it after so much strife. Please don't compromise it ever again."
"I may not get a chance to, dear."
His tail slipped down to wrap hers. "We are going to make it, Abby. We are both going to see Gideon's junta collapse around his ears. Just wait. I already said everything is going to be all right."
"Looks that resolve is back. Be careful, Theo. I've seen you smash your head against the wall twice now over it. The second time is why we're here, after all."
The nidoking grit his teeth as his eyes drifted down to meet hers again. "I'm not taking any more risks: I'm just enduring the decay until it is time to burn the rotten house and start over."
"You've had a plan all along?"
"No. I'm just improvising."
***
The clefable looked over his board. One of the nidoqueen figurines had developed a fracture across it, followed by spider line cracks flowing out from it. The game piece shuddered and clattered on the table before shattering into pink shards and powder. "Senseless loss," he sighed, and waved a paw over the board. The broken figurine melted and condensed back into a single unown, who flew up and merged again with the clefable shaped hive. "It is a poor king that destroys its own pieces. Oh well."
The zangoose was next to catch his eye. He took the small piece between two clawtips and looked it over slowly. "And you don't want to aid the brutal tyrant. We've already had one martyr so far, girl. We don't need another."
He smirked to himself as he reached with his other paw for the alakazam figure standing opposed to the large nidoking. "And I'm almost free thanks to you. We just laugh as you betray everything you've ever loved to accomplish it, though. So wise, but a fool."
With that last thought, he nudged the arcanine and the sandslash one tile closer to Gideon's. "And our heroes are one step closer to the villain of this little story."