The Slayer Chronicles
Author's Note: *~ ~* Indicates Dantess' POV, while *\ /* indicates Trevor's POV.
Chapter 1: Greatest Duelist of All Knights
A ball of ice, coated with slippery ice and snow flakes falling like mercury.
A field of green, filled with thriving flora and fauna, stretching as far as the eye can see.
The world can look like a lot of things, but right now, the world looked like a starless night to Trevor, and he was tired of it looking like that. Concentrating hard, he forced his eyelids opened. They felt more like lead weights than flesh and blood. His vision was fuzzy when he first looked out at the world. What, did I do it again? he thought, still remembering his close call during training. Gradually, his vision cleared, and he looked around at his surroundings, realizing he was somewhere he didn't want to be and was not in the medical bay of the New Atlantis. When he thought about it, he didn't really want to be there either, but at least then he'd have friends to make sure he was ok.
Slowly, he began to fit the shattered pieces of his brain back together, made more difficult by the pain killers he was no doubt shot full of. He remembered the last battle he had fought. Great. I must be in a hospital or something, he thought. His movements felt limited, and glancing down as best he could, he spied a multitude of bandages that appeared to be holding his chest together. Considering what had just happened, he wouldn't be too surprised if they actually were holding his chest together. Attempting to look around again, he spotted another bed in the room, which probably meant that he wasn't in intensive care. However, he changed his mind about that when he saw the bed's occupant: Dantess De'Laurentíís, the tiger he had just battled, the "Greatest Duelist of All Knights," so he said. Trevor wasn't certain about his own injuries, but he knew that his final attack of desperation had seriously messed up Dantess, so they must both be in intensive care.
The tiger was currently hooked up to a respirator, and he was wearing enough bandages to look like a mummy. That's Dantess, all right. I wonder if anything is capable of killing him. Trevor chuckled in spite of himself, and since it actually hurt a little bit, it probably meant his pain killers were wearing off. Just as well, he'd rather know exactly what they were pumping him full of. Obviously, it wasn't as powerful as it could have been, because even with his senses dulled, he could still detect mental activity from Dantess. Looking over, the tiger was awake, sure enough, and in the process of pulling off his mask. His first few breaths sounded like a great strain, but soon enough, they had gotten about as normal as they would at the moment. "I swear De'Laurentíís," Trevor said, causing the tiger to (painfully) turn to face the voice, "You're made of tougher stuff than I am."
"Come on Adder. Did you really think something so minor as being sliced opened would put me down?" he choked out. Trevor laughed lightly, and Dantess coughed, though it sounded like laughter.
"So, do you want to start, or shall I?" Trevor asked.
Dantess seemed slightly confused, saying "Start what?"
"Start talking to pass the time," Trevor said, "Neither of us is going anywhere for a while."
Dantess considered his options for a moment. He didn't much feel like going back to sleep, so why not talk? "How about you ask me a question, and then I'll ask you one?" he replied at last.
"Sounds good to me, " Trevor said, "Why do you pretend to be a Rogue? What's considered a real Rogue, I mean." No answer. "Dantess?"
"I'm here," came the reply, "Just thinking about how to answer that, although I know that you know why I don't follow the code."
"How could I forget," Trevor asked, not really expecting an answer, "How long has it been, anyway? Six, seven years?"
"Doesn't really matter. I still remember everything clearly," Dantess said, not really trying to hide his depressed emotions. Black Adder wasn't, so why should he? "Back in the day when I still believed in the total goodness of Knights, full corruption of Rogues, and the supposed chaos of Slayers," he continued, closing his eyes. A moment later, he opened them. "Nurse is coming," he said. Right he was, for no more than a second later, a nurse entered, looking on with shock when she saw what had transpired.
"You-you're awake!" she exclaimed.
"We were also chatting until your interrupted us," Trevor snapped, "Begone. Fetch a doctor if you like." Still slightly stunned, the nurse slowly retreated from the room.
Trevor picked up as if the nurse had never entered. "Way back in the day. Shit, we were still young then," he said.
Dantess chuckled painfully, adding "We were..."
Chapter 2: Fallen Angels
*~Dantess puzzled over the plan again. Though involving such supposedly dangerous Rogues, it seemed unsoundly simple. Trying to find some sort of rationalization for it, he glanced over to the Knight Slayer across the table, the fabled Black Adder. True, nearly all the Knights present, Dantess included, were not too keen on working with a Slayer, but as his father had confidence in both the trustworthiness and usefulness of such a creature, and however reluctantly, they had agreed to allow him to fight with them. Pushing the thought aside, Dantess studied the Slayer for moment, and though hidden behind some sort of mental fortification that seemed to make him invisible to detection, it was clear that he was also uncomfortable with the current plan. However, since he was employed only as a combatant and not a tactician, he made no objections.
"It is time to go," Dantess' father said, and his company nodded in agreement before gathering their equipment. This was the first time Dantess would be in combat with Rogues, and as such he was nervous. No one else was, but they were all experienced Knights. And then the Slayer, he was so arrogant and confident in his abilities that Dantess was sure his ego would protect him from any sort of harm. At last, the group, composed of Dantess, his father, the Slayer, and three other Knights, moved out and put the plan into action. As the appointed "leader," Dantess' father directed everyone, and they immediately complied. When he was about to give instructions to the Slayer, Dantess found himself somewhat impressed that he had already begun moving to his position, so swiftly and silently that no one had noticed until he was nearly there. Finally, Dantess moved to his designated location, and with everyone in place, they began to close on the Rogue's stronghold, little more than an apartment complex.
Checking the progress of the rest of his team, Dantess found all of them following their instructions exactly, except the Slayer. He had placed himself into a different position than he was directed to, higher up in the buildings and moving almost effortlessly along the thin ledges by windowsills instead of the wider ledge below. Dantess was at first clueless as to why he would ignore his instructions, but then realized that this change up would not alter what he could see or react to (it actually allowed him to see more), and it was a more defensible position. Inexperienced or not, Dantess could tell that the Slayer probably was the professional he claimed to be.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan, until they were nearly at the apartment complex. Dantess was utterly stunned when one of the Rogue spun around the corner, slashing their saber exactly where the Slayer would have been if he had been following the plan . . .~*
*\Already, Trevor could see the seeming incompetence of the Knight who had employed him. The ledge was extremely easy to move along, yes, but even a young Knight would have been able to use the windowsill ledges he was on right now without slowing themselves down much and would be in a position where they were less likely to be spotted. Since it made more sense, and would not affect the shockingly simplistic plan in any way, he moved himself to the new location. He saw exactly what a good idea this was when they were ready to enter the building, when he spotted one of the Rogues on the ledge below. An instant later, the said Rogue moved around the corner and attacked the air, which he probably thought was Trevor. Not a hunch, it was too perfect for that. They know, Trevor thought to himself. Wasting he time, he dropped off of his perch, landing on top of the Rogue. *SNAP!* Possibly enough to cause an alarm, but Trevor was highly skilled at breaking necks, and the resultant sound was muffled enough that it could have been written off as imagination. Quickly pocketing the Rogue's saber, Trevor looked around, sizing up the situation. He made some calculations before departing, and figured out that by following the plan, he would arrive at the building first. That hadn't changed, and according to the plan, he was to enter the window directly across
from him. The Rogue waiting for him was not part of the plan. Thus, it was time for a new one . . ./**~As quickly as the Rogue had attacked, the Slayer had surprised and killed him, with an amazing amount of stealth as well, almost like a ninja. That didn't help to ease Dantess' anxiety, however. The Rogue's attack had been to precise to be a fluke, almost as if he knew the Slayer would be there. At once, Dantess was sure that the Slayer had betrayed them, but they normally killed Rogues, and only a moron would come up with a plan that would result in their death, so the Slayer couldn't be the turncoat. The Slayer took the Rogue's saber, and Dantess couldn't decide if it was a trophy or keeping it out of the wrong hands, but it didn't matter. Something was terribly wrong.
Dantess watched as the Slayer leapt from the ledge to the apartment building, grabbing and kicking at the wall as if he expected his hands and feet to stick. There was a small area with the wall retreat for a moment, creating a depression the was probably just for looks. Grasping the corner, the Slayer pulled and gave a mighty push with his foot, catapulting himself to a ledge above. Dantess could not help but stare, marveling at the cool professionalism that the Slayer exhibited as he easily pulled himself up and moved along the ledge. The plan had almost gotten him killed, and so, he was following a new plan, making up the details as he went along. Dantess wished he could do something else, but since he had nothing else to react to, he stuck to the original plan. However, he was far more aware of his surroundings, expecting a Rogue to pop out and attack at any moment . . .~*
*\The new plan might have been working, might not have been. However, Trevor could tell that there were no Rogues on the floors where they should have been. The first plan was definitely a set up for his demise, and his new plan would only serve to save himself, which might set him up as the snitch, so to hell with both of them. Locating a rain pipe, Trevor quickly grabbed and slid down it. Once at street level, he set into motion, gliding across the streets like a shadow. One of the other Knights was nearby, and Trevor rushed to warn them. Too late, he spotted said Knight dead on the ground, another of the Rogues deactivating their saber. Trevor sprinted and leaped, and just as the Rogue turned around, Trevor planted his foot into their face, smashing their head into the ground. The result was an instantaneous (if rather messy) death. Without thinking, he grabbed and stowed their saber, and checked the Knight.
The cut was flawless. Sliced cleanly from the collarbone diagonally to the hip, none of it going straight though. Lying face down as they were, no one would've known they were dead without looking closely. Turning and dashing off quickly again, he tried to make it to the next Knight, the young one, before a Rogue did . . ./*
*~Dantess was now completely certain that the plan was a set-up, and also the the Rogues knew that the Slayer was alive, aware of it and out to get them. He knew this because a Rogue which had been lying in wait suddenly jumped out and ran towards the apartments, moments later, Black Adder emerged from the shadows in hot pursuit. Dantess saw some of the other Rogues also returning to their sanctuary, probably in hopes that they could handle the Slayer there. Witnessing Black Adder's next feat of agility, he doubted that it was true . . .~*
*\The Rogue drew his saber and spun around, but Trevor had anticipated this and was already in the air executing a double kick. One foot knocked the saber away, while the other knocked the Rogue away. Drawing his own saber as he landed, Trevor quickly cut down the Rogue and filched his third saber of the night. Not a bad haul. Again he pursued the other Rogues, halting just at the front entrance. However faintly, he smelled fuel vapors . . ./*
*~Dantess saw the Slayer halt for a few tense seconds, after which he turned on his heel and ran away from the building. A second afterwards, an explosion rocked the building. Flames jumped from shattered windows, waves of intense heat pounding from the inferno. The force of the blast flung the Slayer away like a rag doll, and had some much power behind it that even Dantess was knocked flat. Stars danced before his eyes, and he struggled to regain his senses. As his vision cleared, he could see the raging bonfire that the building had become, and look on helplessly. So many innocent lives, snuffed out in the blink of an eye. Dantess felt like crying, but the shock prevented even that. Eventually, he came to notice voices, and found that the Slayer had survived, albeit with a dislocated shoulder. What he couldn't quite believe was that his own father was there, looking rather unphased by the detonation . . .~*
*\"Ow..." Trevor muttered. He had managed to maintain most of his concentration, so he certainly didn't feel the full extent of how hurt he was, but he ached nonetheless. Vision solidifying, he saw that the right lens of his glasses was broken. "So the fabled skill of the Black Adder is true." Trevor looked towards the voice, and wasn't all that surprised to see the Knight who had hired him. "Why'd you do it?" he asked, pulling himself to his knees, "Why'd you tip them off?" The Knight seemed surprised. "Superb ability of deduction as well. How did you know?" Trevor calmly removed his ruined sunglasses, hiding the rage he truly felt inside. From the corner of his eye, Trevor spotted the young Knight, and gritted his teeth as he allowed the pain in his shoulder to return. If he could distract the Knight in front of him, maybe the runt would be helpful.
"My first clue that something was up was when your compatriot commented that you never trusted Slayers before. After all, why would you unless you had other plans for me?"
The Knight nodded. "Second clue was the extreme simplicity of the plan. Even a group of novice Rogues would've been able to formulate a counter attack and caused at least one death. I guess my lack of faith in your allowed me to spot that."
The Knight chuckled, and did not seem to be aware of the tiger behind him. "But the solid proof was the fact that you seemed more concerned me surviving the blast than with the massive loss of innocent life. Some Knight you are..."
The Knight simply sighed. "What can I say? The loss of a few lives in exchange for those of six Rogues and a Slayer? It's more than worth it, I thi-" His words were cut short as a saber punched through his chest, his face forever frozen in shock.
"Is it worth that?" Trevor quipped . . ./*
Chapter 3: Letter from Destiny
Back in the present, the two refrained from reminiscing, as the doctor was presently prodding both of them. "Is it absolutely necessary for you to do this?" Trevor whined.
"Yes, now silence yourself," the doctor, a badger, snapped back. Not wanting to argue, Trevor complied, and slightly laughed when it was Dantess' turn. Every place the doctor poked seemed to be injured, and to Trevor, it was a riot. The torture did not end once the doctor and nurse left, however.
"Wimp," Trevor joked.
"Quiet," Dantess threatened in response, "I'll just hurt you more when I finally beat you."
Trevor laughed. "Yea, that'll be the day," he said.
Dantess was still amazed by his arrogance. "Tell me, do you ever plan to develop humility?" he asked, not really expecting a decent answer.
"Already have. You know that rabbit who tried to beat you down? Kicked my ass a few months ago," Trevor replied.
"You got beaten up by a girl?" Dantess mocked surprise.
"Oh, shut up..."
The next few weeks of recovery went well. Being forced to share a room forced both Slayer and Rogue to get over being rivals and become friends. It was either that, or talk to the doctor, and that was something neither one of them particularly wanted to do. However, both of them were forced to practice and forge some sort of telepathic link so they could still talk. They had been placed in different rooms after their third pillow fight.
After another week or so, Trevor had healed enough to start walking around, while Dantess was still bed ridden. However, Trevor received a letter one day, and it became apparent that he was going to leave before the doctors wanted him to. "Dantess," he said one day, "I need you to do me a favor..."
* * *
"Finally, he gets back today," Wolf stated.
"For the fifth time Wolf, we know," Ariel replied. She was eager to see Trevor back, as they all were, but she was beginning to get annoyed, and with Wolf in the state of mind he was, one would think that they actually were brothers. Hopefully, they wouldn't be waiting long for Trevor.
"You're the Black Dolphins, right?" someone asked. They all turned, finding themselves confronted by a tiger, about Trevor's height and a tiny bit heavier.
"You?!" Mariko exclaimed, "Whhat are you doing here? Where's Trevor!"
"That's the reason I'm here," the tiger continued, "He told me to tell you that he wouldn't be coming home today. Something about an important assignment..."
That brought about general confusion. "Trev wouldn't go on a mission without the Taipan..." Wolf pondered.
"Don't look at me. He told me to tell you that, and then he left. That's all I know," the tiger said. Silence for a moment.
"So, how's your wound?" Mariko asked for lack of anything better.
"Hm? Oh, it healed alright. Hurts a little when it gets cold though," came the reply. After a few more moments of silence, Wolf suggested that since Trevor wasn't coming, they go home, to which he received a general agreement.
"Um, if it's not too much trouble, can I have a ride?" the tiger asked before they could board their shuttle, "I lack both my own ship and the money to charter one." The Dolphins didn't seem to keen on the idea. "Please? I don't say much and I know the difference between right and wrong..." Still didn't seem likely.
"I'll pull a job for you and not charge anything," he tried one last time.
"Alright, hop in," Ariel said, a slightly diabolical grin on her face.
"Hey, thanks!" The tiger was practically jumping for joy, although he soon began to wonder exactly what he had gotten himself into.
* * *
Meanwhile, Trevor was elsewhere. Using some of his valuable funds allocated for paying off his debts, he had purchased a ticket to another world, in a different system. Though the rabble on the ship was loud, Trevor paid it no mind. His thoughts were on his mission, and they were troubled thoughts, filled with phantoms from decades past.
Will a disaster like that be repeated? He wondered grimly.