Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Illusions ❯ Pit of Despair ( Chapter 42 )

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Shattered Illusions

Chapter 42: Pit of Despair

By: Melissa Norvell/Revamp

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Copernicus looked over the battlefield set out before him. Perplexion sat heavily on his features as he thought his options over. 'All of the options are mine, I can move in any which way that I desire. The only thing is, the first move is the most important. One advance is better than none.' He had to choose wisely. After he moved the first piece, there was no going back. "I'll move the tank forward, straight ahead." He pointed towards a tank that sat in the middle of the field.

"Good choice," Hide complimented. "Did I mention that there is one other method of defeat in this game."

"Oh? What would that be?" Copernicus was a little on edge. Why would Hide hold off mentioning a rule until after the game started? That was underhanded of him.

"If the building behind the king i taken out, then you lose." It wasn't as serious as Copernicus was making it. There was just that one thing to take note of. Hide figured that he shouldn't just hide that little tip and attempt to takeout his castle without Copernicus being prepared for such a threat.

"Of course, so the object of the game is to take out the other's side...and bring down their leader," the Inheritor noted as the tank rolled forward a square on the board. "Since this game is based on a monarchy system, all of the power resides at one focal point." It made sense now. That was exactly why Hide had chosen this game for the two of them to play. It fit their situation so well. "Kind of symbolic, isn't it?"

"In many ways," Hide glanced over the field, "I think I'll advance my tank ahead as well."

The tank rolled ahead one space on his side of the board.

Tsubomi watched from the side lines as their pieces became animated and advanced in whichever direction that they commanded. She could feel the tension in the air between the two of them. 'Please, Copernicus, you've got to win this one. Who knows what will happen if you don't. We're already in a bad situation as it is. It's just the two of us...with Hide, alone in this room.'

The girl glanced over her shoulder to the door behind her. 'I bet its sound proof in here as well.' She then glanced to her master. 'He looks so calm and composed. Then again, I've never seen him show the least bit of fear in the face of danger. I remember him mentioning that he and Hide used to play chess a lot, and that he always won...but this doesn't seem like chess at all. It's set up like a typical chess board, but the rules are slightly different.'

A loud, crashing noise caused the girl to jump, snapping her back to her senses as she glanced back at the scene before her to see Copernicus looking down at the board. His pieces were blown up and pieces of debris littered the squares.

"That was a good warm-up tactic. You managed to take out two of my battle units with one simple move," he expected no less from the red-clad vampire.

Hide's smile widened. "Now, you must spill your blood on the battle field."

"How do I do that?" Copernicus asked.

"You pierce your hand on one of those razor blades," Hide instructed, "give your command, then accept your punishment." Oh, how he would enjoy watching Copernicus bleed all over this sadistic battlefield.

A wicked smile crossed the brunette's face. "Since this is a game of torture, it's time to show you how great my tactical skills are. I order my tanks to take out the three of yours that are at my frontline, and advance forward into the open, away from your enemy fire." Several surrounding tanks fired their canons; the balls sailed through the air and made contact with the enemy tanks, causing the tiny pieces to explode. Bits and pieces flew across the checkered landscape, littering the battle field. Copernicus' tanks advanced.

"With that, I accept my punishment!" Lifting his hand, the Inheritor slammed it down through the razors. Blood ran down the blades as his hand twitched and spasmed in pain. The tip of the razor pierced through his palm, exposed. The red substance ran down and soaked the battlefield below.

Tsubomi was shocked that he had done something like that so easily, then saddened that he had to hurt himself while all she could do was watch. 'Copernicus...' It was hard to watch.

Hide's eyes were slightly widened. A part of him couldn't believe that the vampire would have done such a thing. "This was indeed a good move. I'll accept my punishment." Without a second thought, he slammed both of his hands over the spikes, one for each hit he took. Then the blonde ripped out one of the spikes from the battlefield and pierced his shoulder with it. "Each sacrifice will equal my own."

'They seem evenly matched. So far, everyone's playing fair and Copernicus seems to have the upper hand, but the game has just begun. I remember the first time I saw Hide. I never thought much of him, other than he was the mastermind who wanted to murder Copernicus. Now I can see why he's such a threat. He's just as smart as Copernicus.' A sharp pain shot through her head and she winced, clutching each side of her head. 'Ugh...Damn it, I'm still screwed up from Hizaki's possession. He really got me good, feeling off of my energy this entire time. It's hard to concentrate.'

Copernicus frowned as more of his pieces were destroyed. This was getting intense, and the more pieces that got destroyed, the more he would have to take damage on himself.

Hide, on the other hand, smiled in amusement. Seeing Copernicus hurt himself was the best idea he had yet. His opponent really should give up; there was no way that he was going to win. "Is that the best you've got? Really, you aren't the tactical genius I used to know. It seems as if you're a little rusty." He was actually expecting a better fight than the one before him. It was clear to see that he outsmarted the other vampire by leaps and bounds. How disappointing.

Copernicus grabbed the razor, plunging it into his shoulder, and Tsubomi winced. The blood welled up and bled through his clothes. The girl glanced at the floor as she tried to see through the haze of her own pain.

Hide turned towards the girl, who looked as if she were in physical pain. "Are you enjoying this show, Tsubomi?" He asked, amused by the outcome.

The girl's frown deepened and her eyes narrowed in malice.

"If you interfere, you'll die," he warned the donor.

"I'm not that reckless, or stupid. I merely came to support his highness," Tsubomi spat the words out.

"Oh?" Hide arched his visible eyebrow. "He told you that he was a king, did he?"

Copernicus frowned.

"Yes, he did," Tsubomi confirmed.

"Did he even tell you what kind of ruler he was?" The blonde vampire was curious now.

"Yes, on and off."

"This man, if not for his royal breeding would be branded as a killer. He's helped out the execution committee, planned wars and funded weapons of mass destruction. He also ordered the execution of his own royal court because of his paranoia," Hide decided to shed a little light on the man she rightfully called 'his highness'. He wanted the girl to see him for what he truly was.

"I order my knight to move forward and annihilate your three tanks. I'll advance six spaces in a diagonal line. That will put me face to face with your bishop,Copernicus ignored what he had to say and continued to play the game. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted by the things that the vampire was spouting.

Hide's smile widened. He knew exactly what Copernicus was trying to do, and it wasn't going to work with him. "Averting the subject to cover your actions. While you're vindictive, you really lay down the pain, as usual." Taking three of the spires on the field, he rammed them forcefully into his shoulders and arms. "There, the punishment has been dealt."

'They're both so calm...Neither of them are showing any dear or break in their confidence.' Suddenly, Tsubomi's vision blurred, and she muttered under her breath. "Damn, what the hell is wrong with me? I feel like I'm going to faint. Why? Why am I feeling so bad all of a sudden?" It didn't make sense. Was something else going on that she wasn't aware of? Was Hizaki draining her again?

"You are ruthless, aren't you? You're just as cruel as you've ever been." Hide remarked.

"I learn from the best," his opponent smiled as his knight obliterated the tank, chopping it into bits and pieces with its highly sharpened sword. Then Hide's bishop stabbed the opposing knight and Copernicus slashes his arm. The blood was brought to the surface yet again and the vampire concentrated on it, he looked back at the board. His body was riddled with contusions, cuts and gashes but still, he would not give up. 'Now, all I have to do is get him to move that other bishop out and I'll create a hole in his defenses around the king. No matter how he moves his pieces, because of their placement on the board, he could never have the king completely surrounded at any given time.' A smirk twisted across his lips. 'This is splendid. I didn't think Hide would just fall for that trick...then again...I can never be too sure; He could just be faking me out in order to make his move. However, I have many back up plans if things go wrong.'

"Even your game play is iron fisted. It's sad, really...Seriously, in reality your moves are perfect but your motive in this game is a shallow one. I shall move another tank forward, but only one space." It was going to take more than an iron fisted battle tactic to rid the board of him.

'He knows what I'm doing. It's time for a change of plans.' Copernicus had to keep him away from predicting his moves. "I'll move my canon to the center of the field." The tiny canon, which was the biggest piece of the board, positioned itself to the center.

"What will that accomplish? Your canon is an idle piece. It can't do anything and it's not even aimed at any of the pieces." What was the brunette thinking with that kind of action? What a waste of a perfectly good and strategic move. "I'll move my tank ahead another space."

Tsubomi's vision swam before her, and it blurred to the point of going black for a few moments. She shook her head, trying to will it away but that only made her dizzy as a result. 'Ugh...That made it feel worse. What the hell is wrong with me? I've got to stay conscious. I want to make sure that Copernicus wins and that nothing bad happens to him.' Her body jolted and her eyes popped open. Tsubomi stayed there for a while, her eyes with a saddened look and her mouth upturned in a frown.

However, painted red lips curved into a devious smile.

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Millie, Shiva, Horatio and Teru all sat at the familiar white table in the kitchen as several tea cakes, plates and tea cups littered the table. The tension was thick as Millie and Horatio had worried looks on their faces. They couldn't stop thinking about Copernicus and what was going on as he faced off against Hide. More than anything, they wanted their king to come home.

"Still no word from them," Horatio checked a nearby grandfather clock, which rang to the beat of the current hour. It was beginning to feel more and more worrisome.

"They should be fine," Teru waved in dismissal, "you guys honestly worry too much. You should have more faith in them." That was no way to be a team mate! They had to believe that Copernicus and Tsubomi would pull through; otherwise there was no point in waiting around for them to come back at all.

They were perfectly capable to facing off against Hide, despite the worries they had.

Millie stared down into the tea cup, watching the liquid swirl around in an amber haze. 'Copernicus...I know you can do this...Please, for our sake, and hers.' Glancing back up at the others, she expressed her concerns. "Man, I'm worried."

"It's still too early to truly determine anything as of yet. Who knows how much longer their game is going to last. It never had a time limit." Those were things that they could think of as positives. Right now, Horatio wanted to only focus on those things in order to chide his own worries.

"It could very well take more than one day," Shiva picked up a card and glanced at it, moving it from back to front. She reads it over, scanning back through the text. "This says nothing about a time limit of anything. No location, no conditions, really. The conditions listed as so vague that I can't decipher them."

"It's Hide himself. It's a very direct challenge," Millie noted.

"He wanted to draw Copernicus out into the open. Up until recently, the king hasn't been too adamant about coming out and facing things by himself. He's always had a wall of people defending him," Horatio stated, it was only up until recently that Copernicus started acting like a rightful king and doing things solo, despite all of the protests that were made.

"He hated it," Millie's words cut through the group like a knife.

"Huh?" Horatio glanced towards the girl in question.

"That's what Tsubomi said. She says that Copernicus hates being defended by us all. I can't blame him. I would hate it, too. I'd feel really guilty about it." It wasn't fun having people who would risk their lives for you actually doing it while you sat back and did nothing. Millie felt odd enough being treated like a princess, much less anything like what's happening with Copernicus.

"But, do realize that we are knights of the Blue Rose Order. As such, it's our job to protect his highness," Shiva pointed out the entire mission of the Blue Rose Order to the girl. Above everything, they must uphold their positions in the organization that Prince Yale had created and live out his dying desires.

"It's still so weird...or, at least it is to me." It wasn't like the girl was used to doing anything like that. She was just a normal girl until she became involved with Copernicus and Millie. "It's like everyone has this hidden life that they don't want you to know about. Copernicus is an iron fisted king and Tsubomi is a girl." What other secrets did they have? Did anyone else want to confess something?

"That was pretty shocking," Teru admitted that he was caught off guard by it all.

"Yeah, no joke," Zino entered the room and took an empty chair at the table, pulling himself up. "He's also a Wittenburg. I can see that now, though. He looks a lot like King Carlyle." The only difference was longer hair and facial hair. The two would be twins otherwise. He was really impressed at the male's looks.

"You knew King Carlyle?" Millie wanted to know what Copernicus' father was like.

Zino smiled, taking a sip of tea before he continued. "Yeah, he was a nice guy. King Carlyle Calares Wittenburg and Queen Hepesta Saera Wittenburg, very high class people. I met them when I was fifteen. Come to think of it, I saw Prince Yale with them at that party. We talked for a while."

Horatio looked caught off guard by that information. "Oh, I remember you now. You were the boy who complimented the queen's dress."

"Yep! That's me!" Zino jerked a thumb to himself.

'Copernicus...Tsubomi...Please, be alright.' Millie looked out of the open window and into the sky, silently praying for their safe return.

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Hide plunged a knife into his bicep and called out in pain as the blade pierced him. Clenching his teeth, his body had lost quite a bit of blood. It seeped through his bright red and white clothing, tinting them in crimson. "Alright, my sacrifice has been made. All of this blood just makes the vampuric senses run wild. It made it hard to concentrate, doesn't it?" The blonde smirked. It was the hidden aspect of the game, after all. They were supposed to be tempted, as they lost their own blood to want to lap up the battlefield. Their bloodlust would overrun their senses and make them lose concentration on the battlefield.

"So, that's part of your game? You want to fog my mind and not allow me to think straight in order to operate at my fullest." Now Copernicus saw what this game was truly about. It was designed to try and trip up vampuric senses and make the enemy fall from blood lust.

"It's a part of my plan. I bet you're trying your hardest to resist, aren't you?" Hide's words teased him to go on.

"Losing as much blood as I have, you'd think that I'd be thirsting for it, but I'm not, strangely. I'm not even thinking about it." The Inheritor didn't think twice about his answer. He had been so focused on making his moves that the smell of blood was completely tuned out. Even noticing the smell of copper now didn't do much for his cravings.

"You're just as focused as you used to be when we played chess. It's nice to see that you have so much determination," Hide smirked playfully.

"I'm confident in my abilities." If there was anything he was good at, it was war games. Copernicus' features hardened into those of determination. 'Besides, you fell right into my trap. You think you have the upper hand because you don't see the worth in the canon piece. Good, he'll keep attacking me and I'll keep receiving punishment, looking as if I am losing. When the time is right, I'll take out that king and the castle behind him.' A twisted smile spread across his visage. He was going to win, no matter what Hide did. This plan was perfect.

Hide arched an eyebrow when he noticed that the vampire was sitting across the table with a smile plastered to his face. 'What's he planning? He's sustained far more damage than I have, so what's his tactic? If I know him, he has a plan but his movements are obscure and they don't follow any set pattern. Usually, I can read him, and he'll throw me off in the end but not this time. This time, it's different. He's changed his tactics.' Skepticism crossed his face. Hide found it irritating that he couldn't read his opponent's moves. People had never been as unreadable as Copernicus was in this moment. That smile on his face unnerved him. There was something dark amidst and he was unsure of what it was. "Are you experiencing the affects of blood loss yet?"

"Funny, I didn't really notice." When it came to concentration, he was giving it his all. When he thought about it, he did feel a little cold and light-headed, but no matter. The game would continue on.

His opponent was amused. "Do you not feel pain?"

"If you feel anguish your whole life, you forget what it's like to lack pain," Copernicus replied.

"A memorable quote, too bad it will be your last," Hide held out his injured hand like a commanding general and gave his final order. "Go forth, my knight and destroy his tank!"

'I have him right where I want him.' If Copernicus' smile could have grown any wider, it would have. "I'm going to take this turn to fire my canon."

"What? Why do you want to do that at a time like this?" That threw Hide for a loop. What in the hell was Copernicus thinking?

"You made all of the wrong moves, and your key piece is wide open for an attack. Not only that," the vampire continued after a grunt of pain was released from stabbing himself in the arm again, "but your castle is also positioned perfectly."

Hide watched in horror as the canon let loose a large blast that blew his king off of the board and a giant hole in the side of his castle. The pieces of the foundation were flung across the area, bouncing off of the wide-eyed vampire and the tiny replica fell tumbling across his other pieces in a landslide of bricks.

"You...You defeated me but...but how?" The blonde could hardly keep his composure from all of the shock that he felt. At this point, Hide could do nothing but stare at the board full of devastation before him.

Copernicus smiled in satisfaction at his victory and crossed his arms over his chest. "It was easy, actually. I just completely winged it. I know how you have a feel for the way I play chess, since this game is so much like chess, then I would obviously have to change my tactics. I'd be a fool to let you read my so easily."

Just then a hand was placed on his shoulder. Copernicus glanced up to see Hizaki standing above him with an amused look plastered on his face. The cross dresser flashed a wide smile, his sharp fangs shown. "Fool-hearted man, did you think that I was going to let you leave of your own free will?" That would have been far too easy.

"Copernicus..." Tsubomi's weakened voice trailed as she laid on the ground on her side. Her limbs felt like cement and she had no strength to move. There was definitely something wrong. Hizaki had drained her again.

"Now, you belong to me."

"You tricked me. I knew there was something wrong here," Copernicus protested as he shot up out of his chair, but before he could make a move, his body froze in position.

...To Be Continued