Chapter 362

Clack Clack Clack Clack

Her heels clipped against the marble floor. The lights above shimmered against her armor. She strode past the two hosts who bowed quickly, their shoulders shaking. She raised a hand in dismissal and an amethyst haze fell over their eyes. They stood up straight, blinking slowly as the last hour drifted from their thoughts. The door opened and she stepped into the suite, the door clicking shut behind her. The Suite was an enormous open space, basically a penthouse all its own. Marble floors, decadent gilded railing along the exterior of the slightly recessed common area, separating it from the dining space and kitchen.

She kept walking, glancing towards the full-wall window that overlooked Cairo. Smoke rose in the distance where fires were still being put out after the battle. VTOL craft bearing the logos of the Pandora Committee and the UN soared over the ruins. One screeching over the hotel itself. She turned away and marched over to the long sofa set in the middle of the grand common area. She reached up to her face and in a flicker of blue light her helmet dissipated. To her left a Legionnaire took shape before smoothing into the body of Erina. Her older sister’s expression was tight as she came to a stop and crossed her arms.

Sonya turned, sat, and fell sideways into the lap of the woman waiting on the sofa. She rolled onto her back and looked up into Marta’s face and let out a sigh. Before she could say a word, four small reptilian paws pressed against her waist and she glanced down. Levi settled onto the abdominal plate of her armor and she huffed out a breath, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. The rest of her armor began to dissipate and she finally spoke. “...what’s the status on Saleh? Dare I ask?”

The click of metal heeled shoes and a cane caught her ears accompanied by a shuffled half-step. She didn’t even glance when Charon spoke up. “It’s what you’re expecting, boss,” he said apologetically. “Riot and that Rift-thing probably got him out of there before we even started looking.” He didn’t sound tired, exactly, more wearily amused. At least he wasn’t as put off about the situation as she was.

She exhaled and closed her eyes. Memories of the previous timeline came unbidden to her mind. The Heralds had been an absolute force back then. Chaos incarnate, domination, where they went ruin followed. They seemed unbeatable even when their general weaknesses were common knowledge. First Wind appearing out of nowhere in the midst of an operation and tearing though the gathered ranks. Liberty’s forces rising suddenly from the once-trusted workforce of a stronghold. She huffed through her nose and clicked her tongue. “We’ve got good intel on Riot now,” she said finally. “We know he’s scared of monsters, probably because he can’t hurt them. My legionnaires should also be effective.” Her eyes narrowed. I also know I can tear away that connection he creates with his threads.

“He can influence me though my thralls,” Charon added with a sour tilt to his voice. “Unexpected.”

“Not outside of the realm of his ability’s limits, though,” Erina conceded, crossing her arms. “Just remember, he has limits. All abilities do.”

“He’s a reaper, an assassin like Blackrazor,” Sonya said finally. “He was an idiot to come alone, he barely managed to escape me…” she hummed and rolled back onto her side to look out at the others. Her eyes met Erina’s and Charons. Her gaze fell on Tenebra who stood a pace behind Charon. Tenebra stood partially on one leg. Her hand was resting on Charon’s shoulder. A splint made of shadow wrapped tightly around her favored leg. Sonya pursed her lips and with the sound of a popping bubble, she created an apple and tossed it to the injured Supervillain.

“Eat up,” she said.

Tenebra caught the apple and glanced at it before taking a bite. Her eyes widened and she ate  a bit more quickly. The sound of something popping in her leg drew a grunt of pain out of the woman before she finally set her foot down. Tenebra let out a sigh of relief and pulled her hand away from Charon’s shoulder. She bowed at her waist. “Thank you, Mistress.”

Sonya shrugged before rolling onto her back again. “You earned it,” she grunted. “Okay, so we lost Erebus. Saleh is in the wind. Give me some good news Charon.”

“Oh, there’s plenty of good news,” Charon chuckled. “Honestly, we come out of this pretty good all things considered. The ledger is more than a little black in most places. I almost want to thank that brat, Riot.”

She raised her eyebrows as her eyes fixed on the ceiling, counting the ceiling lights and hoping  he wasn’t fucking with her right now. “Oh?”

“Erebus’ private vault survived,” he began. She glanced his way and his crimson eyes sparkled. “His sons are cooperating with the locations of his gold storehouses across his old territory,” Charon continued as he planted his cane on the floor and turned it once. His scarred face was twisted into an almost impish expression. “The Styx has been well entrenched in the middle east for a while thanks to our alliance with the man so I’ve already got henchmen and vehicles heading to those locations.”

Sonya’s lip twitched upward into a smirk. “And the private vault?” She already knew the answer based on his expression.

“Gutted, boss. We can dig through the pile of shinies later,” Charon said casually, checking his dark fingernails. “There’s more, too.”

Sonya groaned and raised her hand to her heart with a pleasant sigh. “Now you’re spoiling me. Please keep it coming, I’m almost on my feet again.”

“Masque took today personally. She intends to instruct the Darksiders to declare war on Riot and anyone associated with him,” Charon chuckled.

She glanced his way and sat up, raising her eyebrow as Levi slipped into her lap. She stroked his head and squinted at him. “Masque? The new girl?” She tilted her head. “Why does she care?” She remembered that the independent supervillain had participated early on during the fight against Erebus’ frenzied form. She’d fallen back once the heroes arrived. That participation had been an interesting note. Now it was fascinating.

“She happened to be fond of Erebus personally and was looking into making an alliance with Erebus’ organization to help fund the return of the Darksiders,” Charon said, twirling his cane and tucking it under his arm. His razor-sharp grin widened. “I’ve taken the liberty of formally inviting her to the Styx. She mentioned you had stipulations but after today…” he trailed off.

She grinned at him. “Give them what they need and don’t troll them like with the last idiot, let’s see how they do.” She ran a finger down Levi’s back and hummed. Things seemed a lot better once one considered the actual fallout of all this. She was still rankled that Riot had caused as much damage as he had, that Deus Ex Machina had recognized his ascent, that he’d gotten away. But there was time, and she needed to remember that there were always ways to turn a loss into a win with the right allies. She met his crimson gaze. “Well done.”

He swept into a theatrical bow. “Of course boss.”

She let out a breathy laugh and shifted in her seat, crossing her legs as Levi got more comfortable. “So we’re getting Erebus’ gold. What about his family?”

“What about them?” Charon said with a shrug. “Most of their abilities are pathetic compared to Saleh’s Earthwarden. The only real prize out of the survivors of the attack would be Saleh’s henchmen who he abandoned to their fate.” He adjusted his tie. “Erebus raised them well. Take  what we need and cut them loose.”

Sonya tapped her nail on her knee. She didn’t feel anything for Erebus because of what Riot had done. The sensation wasn’t there. Her memory, though, was crystal clear. She considered for a moment and rubbed her chin slowly. “Get them out of the country somewhere secure. Perhaps send them to the University to lay low for a while.”

“The Night Society?” he asked.

She shrugged and reached up to play with a strand of her silver hair, twirling it around a finger. “I don’t like owing people, even if they’re dead,” she said and flicked her foot left and right. Her eyes narrowed and she looked at the ground. “Erebus was a friend, regardless of what Riot did. I’ll take care of his kin.”

She felt Marta ease her shoulders a bit next to her, she’d been quiet and perhaps a little tense the entire time. Sonya glanced her way with a small smile. “Worried I was stuck in my own head again?” she asked with a chuckle. Marta’s jaw clenched once and she shot Sonya with that motherly look of ‘watch it, young lady’. Sonya snickered and exhaled, leaning back more comfortably against the couch. “I’m furious,” she said. “But it’s impossible to plan for every eventuality.” She grinned wickedly. “If anything, all Riot managed to do as far as Erebus was concerned was accelerate the consolidation of resources. Our win.”

She checked her nails as her mind worked over the situation with a fine toothed comb. Now that she wasn’t in the midst of battle and infuriated with the chaos, hindsight was twenty-twenty. “There was no way of predicting that Riot would just show up. Not even Setsuna had a warning for me.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “...no wait. She did, didn’t she? I just didn’t understand it fully.” She sighed and shrugged. “Oracles. I need to look at that prophecy of hers again.”

She cracked a grin and sighed. “Regardless, we came out like bandits, took a few hits, but the ledger is still black,” she said with a nod to Charon. 

“Besides…” she smiled wickedly. “The deal between Erebus and I still stands, Saleh will inherit it too. As long as he keeps making gold, it will reflect on the underworld's currency. He won’t even know!” She laughed. “Alright. Fine. Let Otis be my unwitting wallet,” she bit out playfully. “I’ll get him back and put him in a hole that not even he can crawl out of with Grandeur of Bahamut when all’s said and done.”

Marta finally spoke. “And Nietz?”

Sonya paused and her lips thinned. Her eyes focused on the middle distance for a moment. “I’m not changing my mind.”

“Even if Chunhua says otherwise?” Marta pressed. “She will return from her cultivation at some point and have her own opinions on the matter. Why not wait for her?”

Sonya’s eye twitched and she stopped petting Levi for a moment. She pressed her lips into a thin line. She exhaled and squeezed her eyes shut. He was Majordomo. He was the one who killed Chunhua. She wouldn’t just forgive him, would she? His feral side was still there. Sonya had seen it herself during the battle. She’d watched him turn into that engine of destruction. Eventually he was going to snap and become that beast again. It was just a matter of time. It was better to put him down while he was still killable.

Silence fell as she considered. Marta was right though. Chunhua would have her opinions on the matter and Sonya refused to ignore that fact. Her stoic lover had accepted her villainous side, understood the rules for upgrading Broker. Perhaps not an opinion over whether it is done, more a question of how? I have to accept that the little monster in disguise doesn’t play it like First Wind or Qilin.

After a moment, Tenebra of all people spoke up. “If you’re torn, Mistress. Maybe set up some rules of engagement? I’m not sure what the whole situation is, but…” she trailed off as Sonya looked up and met her eyes. 

Sonya held her gaze for several heartbeats before she nodded slowly. “...fine. Suggestions?”

Marta shifted forward and turned towards her. Her brown eyes sparkling with something between growing relief and that maternal warmth. “Simple, his friends and allies are completely off the table during attempts against him, and he has to instigate.”

Sonya returned her gaze, the hopeful look in the woman’s eyes. It felt like she was being pushed to just wait for Chunhua to come back indirectly. She wouldn’t do that but… she couldn’t disappoint  that face. She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Marta’s smile widened even more as Sonya turned away.

“Instigate or Volunteer,” Sonya amended and tilted her head with a shrug. “Alright, fine.”  She looked down at her feet. That Locke girl has been through enough anyway. I’m not Otis. That first urge when I found out, it was beneath me. She thought and clenched her jaw. I’m better than that. Better than him. Better than that lunatic Riot. If I want that upgrade, if I want to eliminate him, I do it my way.

She glanced back up at Marta and then at Erina who was actually smiling a little. Sonya squinted at her big sister. “Why’re you so smug?”

“Oh, just a proud big sister watching a silly girl stick to her guns,” she said with a shrug and turned away, walking towards the private bar on one side of the suite. “There better be something strong in there. That soul damage wasn’t pretty for either of us. Charon, pour me something.”

Sonya scoffed and rolled her eyes. “We’ve been over this, you don’t get drunk.”

“Not with that attitude,” Erina said as a chuckling Charon walked over to join her, slipping behind  the counter and going through the bottles.

Sonya threw her head back and laughed, scritching the base of Levi’s neck. She felt the last bit of irritation wash off of her. She couldn’t stay angry. She’d endured three hundred years of torture to forge a heart that could handle what she had to do. She let out a sharp breath and looked at the others. “How about some therapy shopping?” she suggested. “I could use a quick break before we hop back into the fray. Mephisto and Blackrazor are still setting up the stage for the next scheme.”

Marta visibly relaxed and let out a small laugh. “That sounds lovely, Miss.” She rose to her feet with a rustle of the heavy fabric of her maid outfit, turned, and offered a slight bow. “For now, perhaps some personal hygiene? You were in that armor for a while.”

Sonya rolled her eyes dramatically and slouched like a toddler. “Fiiiine!” She scooped Levi up into her arms and slid off the couch, petting the preening reptile as she followed after Marta. She glanced down at her familiar with a grin. “I think somebody else needs a bath too.”

Multicolored eyes flicked up towards her. I refuse.

“Too bad, darling!” She laughed as he struggled in her grip before disappearing through one of the bedroom doors. 

Behind her, Tenebra walked over to the bar and leaned on it, looking between Charon and Erina, “Is the boss always like that?”

Charon chuckled and set an amber drink in front of Erina. “Yeah. It’s great.”