Red Typhoon: Ch 7. In the Court of the Crimson King
Bakura and Seth felt all their memories clone and strip apart into two separate beings. A vortex of blood swirled, meat solidifying muscle and blood turning into bone by dark magic. Everything burned between the two of them. As their eyes rolled back, and Seth’s started to scream as his vocal cords came into formation, a intense hatred toward the pain burned. This pain was not unlike the pain that brought them together in the first pain. Pain was the architect of their lives. As Seth’s body was completed, both bodies were shot backwards. When they’d reach consciousness, the two would decide who was the superior specimen in the court of the crimson king.
~
King Crimson's face started to contort as the blood magic constructed his face into a permanent scowl. The monster of a man stood over Mojo and Jugo, blood swirling around him. The battle for survival had begun. Lunging at Corsaire, his hands grew sharp bladed swords made of blood, swiping at the Captain.
THWANG!!!
The blades of blood would not pierce Corsaire's metal arm. If there was one thing the captain was eternally grateful for, it was the unbreakable arm that Rat bought for him. Mojo and Juju quickly got to their feet, piercing the king from the back with their blades.
King Crimson real face started to peek through as his disguise left him to heal his back and face. He had the scent of a man of the ocean, and long, dirty hair. Distinct tattoos ran from his neck down his back. A snarl left his lips, and raising his hand, the blood in the room started to churn, and tendrils from the liquid shot out to pierce the torso's of these peasants.
Corsaire did the only thing he could do at this point. Striking the wooden floor with his hand, the ground disappeared beneath his feet, Mojo's and Juju's. It was just in time as well, for another reason he did this particular move was because of Halvar. The young prince had swung by on a rope... and dropped a bomb canister.
King Crimson growled, taking his most valuable book and retreating as his office combusted into a terrible explosion. He’d make these upstarts pay.
~
Liz was leading the prisoners to safety, when she heard a scream down the hall. She recognized it immediately as her father. She knew she shouldn't have gone alone, but she felt compelled regardless. Rushing to his aid, she opened a door to find two figures dimly illuminated in the dark. One was leaned farther away against the wall, and the other was face first in the blood. His white hair was stained by the liquid, his body as mess from some unseen torture Liz had not witnessed. Carefully picking him up, she recognized it as the face of her father. "Father. I'm going to get you out of here."
As she started to carry him out, she noticed the other man reaching out to her. As he got closer into the light, it was revealed he was also Bakura. Liz was taken completely by surprise. "Father? What?"
The man she was carrying around her shoulder smiled, and with a quick motion, took her knife, stabbed her in the chest, and kicked her to the side. Liz landed into the blood with a loud scream of pain. Seth smiled, looking at Bakura. The two of them, with the help of King Crimson's magic, had separated into two separate bodies. It left them both weakened, their bodies shocked, however, Seth was ecstatic to begin his carnage on his own. "Finally. I'm free of you and your bloodline."
Bakura rose slowly, up against the wall. Gods. He was free of Seth, but his body was so weak from the ritual. He watched as Seth was forced from his mind, with a swirl of blood to clone his body as a temple for the alter-ego. Now this monster had finally hurt one of his girls. "Seth. You don't need to kill us. You can leave."
"No. No we both know that's not going to happen."
"Why?"
"Why? Because I hate you. Like you hate me."
"I never wanted to hate you."
"Really? All I did was protect your fragile mind from threats."
"You saw everything and everyone as a threat."
"Because they were."
"You're the reason I didn't have a good life."
"I gave you a life Bakura."
"No... I gave myself a life to live for. And if I have to kill you to keep that life safe, so be it Seth."
"The purple piper plays your final tune Bakura. Can't you hear it?"
As Seth raised his knife, Liz stretched her hand as best she could, grabbing Seth by the foot to sear his leg with fire. This was enough of a distraction for Bakura to tackle Seth into the blood. Seth's body was slippery in the blood, slithering like a cobra out of Bakura's killing reach. The Shiekah battled the Yiga, giving Seth punches as they rolled around. Seth hissed, slashing Bakura's skin with deep cuts.
Bakura fought with all his will, but he was getting tired. Seth gave Liz a kick to her stab wound, causing her to keel over. With a smile, he pushed Bakura to the ground and thrust one knife into Bakura's stomach, and stabbed downwards to stab Bakura in the neck with another. The Shiekah grasped Seth's hand, losing the strength to hold him back.
"First I'm going to kill you. Than I'll kill Liz. Than I'll fuck the hell out of Lex. Beautiful thing she is.” Seth licked his lips, his eyes full of insane hatred. “Than to finish, I'm going to find Adda, and I'm going to burn her, and her whole people at the stake. One giant extermination."
"Go. To. Hell."
"I'll see you there first Bakura."
Bakura's looked into Seth's rage filled eyes and saw their history. He remembered how as a young lad he was kidnapped by a rival clan. His body was sliced open, burnt, and exposed to all manners of pain. He remembered how his mind cracked, snapped, and contorted, as all he felt was fear and hatred. Finally, the hatred couldn't co-exist with the fear, and Seth was born to cope with the torture. Seth was a part of him that he couldn't deny, because the more he tried to, the stronger Seth became. A self cycle of hatred fueled their bond. Now Bakura wondered how things could have been different. Seth twisted the knife in Bakura's stomach and the Shiekah knew that he was going to lose.
"Mojo?" Corsaire held the back of his skull, wincing. "Juju? You two alive?"
"Aye, but wish me wasn't." Juju groaned aloud. "Everything hurts."
"Hurt'in lets us know we's alive." Mojo grimaced. "Where's we at?"
"I think... we're in the basement. And I hear screaming."
"Dat sounds like Bakie."
"Pretty sure it's Bakie."
"Let's go find him before the idiot gets himself killed."
"If we rescue him, he owes us drinks."
"Fuck a drink, he owes us a whole bar!"
Corsaire, Juju, and Mojo stumbled through the dark, heading to the sound of the screams. Before the brothers rounded the corner, the captain held them back. He heard the struggling, the conversation, and knew not only Liz was in trouble, but Bakura. There were... two of him. Seth's voice, he knew the difference, he could sense the bloodlust. So he stopped, took a breath... and fired.
Seth felt the bullet go through his chest, and he looked down at Bakura, shock filling his eyes. The madman’s face shifted from wrath to pure confusion. Bakura looked back at Seth, a moment of hesitation between them. Seth didn't move, processing how a bullet pierced his lung, but Bakura did. Taking the knife from his counterpart, Bakura thrust the blade into Seth's neck, and blood oozed from his throat down onto Bakura. The Shiekah looked back into Seth’s eyes as he pushed the knife deeper. Seth fell onto his side, and Bakura kept the pressure up, climbing atop the Yiga.
Many thoughts raced through Seth's mind, but he no longer had the capacity to speak them. Bakura’s eyes were filled with conflict, guilt, and then relief. Seth followed in suit, a light smile creeping on his lips. The hate. The hatred was disappearing. Maybe he could rest now. Finally rest…
Pulling the knife out, Bakura caught Seth and set him down gently. He put his fingers to Seth's palm, not breaking contact until he felt the last heartbeat go.
"You are... a giant pain in the ass to find." Corsaire staggered up to Bakura with Mojo and Juju not far behind. "And this," He gestured to the man's counterpart. "You can tell me about later. Right now, we need to get you and Liz back to the ship. You're both wounded."
Bakura didn't hear Corsaire, closing Seth's eyes. His doppelganger was a part of him for so long and now.... he was gone. He was out of his mind, and he was dead. Bakura looked back to Corsaire, a little dazed. "What?"
Mojo leaned down to pat Bakura's cheeks, almost like he would a kid's.
"Bakie, come on back ta earth now." Mojo looked at Bakura's face. "Hmph. Think he's lost too much blood, cap'n."
"Can you and Juju get him and Liz to the ship?"
"Aye, we's hurt, but not as bad as them."
They heard Liz scream as she gritted her teeth. Using her fire, she cartelized her knife wound. "I-I'll be fine. Where's my sister? Where's Halvar?"
"Halvar was supposed to meet back up with us, so I'm guessing he was rather occupied with guards... or something else." Corsaire helped Liz to her feet. "Lex is with Scarlet."
Bakura picked himself up. With one final look at Seth, he closed his eyes on the dangers of the past. Now, he would open them to the future threats to come. "We need to find him. This King Crimson is more dangerous than you know."
~
After the blast, King Crimson channelled the blood to heal himself. Damn these people. It would take forever to rebuild his office. One by one he'd hunt these bastards down. Starting with the Direnor. At first the Crimson King was surprised when he saw it was the youngest prince of Uskar, but that surprise was quickly replaced by excitement. The royal blood would do wonders for his power.
Using his blood magic, he churned the blood around Halvar to bring smells old and new to the prince's nose. As Halvar tried to focus his senses at the sudden burning sensation, King Crimson descended from behind him. With a hard chop the pirate stabbed his hand into Halvar's side. "Little Prince. So far from mommy and daddy. So foolish to come alone. It is little wonder that your people are losing the war against the Frost King. Your rusty chains of life will now come to an end. A Dirnor Prince is no match for a Crimson King."
Pain was nothing new to Halvar. During his training, he had been stabbed before, and Frost Ones had mauled him. Luckily, he never had anything life threatening. Whirling around, Halvar sucker punched the man in the nose, then slammed his foot into the pirate's neck. Growling, Halvar's eyes looked no longer human.
"A king is not a match against sheer will."
"Yes. But my people have always excelled at one thing better than yours."
"If you're going to say 'surviving', then you're wrong." Halvar drew his blade. "Direnors fight to survive everyday. Your kind, the witch queen's kind, may have lost their home. But they never had a constant enemy."
"Yes. You can smell my secret. Than you should know the answer. Magic." Touching the flowing blood that littered his entire home, many tendrils shot forward, stabbing into Halvar's leg, torso, and his sword arm. His energy was sucked out, and King Crimson launched a hydro pump of blood to knock the prince against a wall so he could drain Halvar easier. "I like my secrets. I like learning the secrets of others. I keep to the shadows, and fill my treasure trove with knowledge. Now that you know one of my own closely guarded secrets, you should know that I can't allow you to live."
Scarlet and Rat arrived with Lex flanking them and refurbished back into her garb, and the next moment Corsaire's group joined them. Scarlet didn't hesitate, swinging her axe at the Pirate King. King Crimson had grown incredibly powerful from Halvar's lifeforce, however, and used a hand of blood to grab the axe. Another torrent of bloody water threw her into a wall. Bakura tried to make a move, but he felt his knife wound ooze blood as he took a hard step. King Crimson stabbed him with a tendril from behind, and threw him into the ceiling. With a taunt of fingers, and many tendrils swarming around him, he waved for Corsaire and his men to face him.
Magic, of course, made the Lorleidians very formidable opponents. While most of the Lorleidians did not condone violence, Halvar supposed there was always an odd one in the group. Seeing the witch queen in action always filled Halvar with awe when he was a child. He never imagined having to face on in a duel... and that was his downfall. He barely watched Scarlet and Bakura be throttled before losing consciousness from his own damage.
King Crimson laughed as he took down Mojo and Juju, slicing open the backs of their thighs and using the blood to drag them away. Rat tried to use his brute strength to break the King in half. The Lorleidian Pirate Lord used a torrent of water to grasp Rat, and throw him around like a ragdoll, smashing the man into the ceiling, the walls, and the floor. He only stopped when Corsaire furiously shot his piece at the King. With a laugh, King Crimson engaged in a mock sword duel with Corsaire, using blood to make shift a sword against him. "Tell me Captain. Do you feel in charge? Do you honestly think you will see Seer once more, let alone the light of day again?"
Liz rushed to Halvar, while Lex rushed to Scarlet. It seemed her sister was safe, so Liz poured her worry into Halvar. "Halvar! Wake up! Please wake up!"
King Crimson used his blood magic to shift his face once more, this time opting to the face of Seer to taunt Corsaire. "Let me give you a secret Captain. I gave up on seeing you so long ago."
Blood could burn. This would have to be timed just right. He hoped that Liz would get his meaning as he tossed his pipe to her from his pocket. Maybe now was the time to fight fire with fire.
"Just a note, you filthy swine," Corsaire clanged his sword against the one made of blood as he made the signal to Liz. "Seer can't see."
"I'll paint him a picture of what I did to you." A dirty move, King Crimson used the blood all around them to stab Corsaire in the back. As one small tendril pierce the Captain fully through the bottom of his lower torso, Corsaire felt a lightning bolt of pain travel through him. The King followed up by slashing Corsaire across the chest with a claw hand formed from his blood magic. Paying attention to the last two girls, he tore away Scarlet and Halvar from them. "The children of Adda. With you two imprisoned, she'll have no choice but to bow to me."
Lex saw Scarlet reach out to her, and her eyes widened with a primal fear, which exploded out into a cry of resistance. "LET GO OF MY MOM!"
Lex's hair turned icy without her realizing it, and she froze all the blood around the room. King Crimson's eyes grew wide with panic, as he felt his additional life force be suddenly cut off. "You cur! I'll make you beg mercy for that!"
Liz sprung into action, her flames igniting, and she and her sister made an unconscious joint effort, both of them hurtling a bolt of fire and ice at the Lorleidian Pirate. King Crimson launched what torrent of blood he could in the form of tendrils at the twins, but they burned and battered their way through his magic. Calling all the blood he could in his mansion, he sought to bring a typhoon down upon them, drowning them if he had to.
Lex rose her hands, and the blood froze. Liz followed in support, burning the blood to steam. Both sisters advanced towards the King, working together to stay uninjured. King Crimson rose a hand to take a hostage in the form of Rat, but Lex took the gun Corsaire gave her, and fire a shot into his eye. The Lorleidian drew a claw hand to gut this upstart. It would take a few moments to repair his eye, however, that was when he lost vision of Liz. It was too late when he spotted her inches from his face. By injuring her friends and family, he had summon back the fire witch to the court of the crimson king. Liz's hair burned like cinder, and reaching a hand to his exposed injured eye, took a breath, and, on exhale, poured all her fire into the man. Lex froze his legs so he couldn't run, and everyone in the room boor witness to the end of King Crimson.
His body combusted into flames, fire rocketing out of his eyes and ears. His outside skin was completely intact, but everything else inside burned to ash. His body fell back, and all the blood inside his mansion simmered away. Liz, upon letting go of him, fell onto the floor, colliding with her sister. They were exhausted, the traces of magic in their hair disappearing.
The group was completely astonished by the twin sisters. They had battled their way to victory through a seemingly unstoppable force. Halvar didn’t think he could find Liz anymore attractive. His waging tail told him otherwise. Scarlet gave Lex a light smile. She was so incredibly proud of the girls. “Mom eh?”
Lex didn’t have any sarcasm in her voice, and she was so tired, she barely could nod. “Of course. You’re the closest thing I have to one. Like hell I was going to lose you…”
Corsaire saw the book that held Adda’s location fall from King Crimson’s pockets. Reaching over the dead Lorleidian man he picked the book up. They finally had the final key to find Adda. “Come on. We’re leaving. And we’re not leaving without saying a proper goodbye.”
The crew helped Lex and Liz to their feet, and quickly ran out of the mansions under layers, with Mojo and Juju setting explosives at key points in the mansions structure. Bakura couldn’t help but notice another look at Seth’s body as they passed by. His alter ego always did want a grand burial. And for what little it would mean to the psychotic assassin, Bakura made a silent pray for him, and honestly hoped he’d find peace in death.
The band of crusaders made it to their tug boat and rowed out. When Corsaire gave the signal to Bomba aboard the Sea Witch, his mate fired the cannons upon the island. The cannon fire ignited the explosives littered inside, and the whole mansion detonated in a firework of explosions, stone, wood, and whatever else was inside. They didn’t look back, simply ready to sail into the future.