Ch 47: Playing with Dolls

Try as he might, Conwell fails to weasel out of Alexander's grasp. Casting aside his charade, the madman throws the Great Spire Palace into disarray.

            As the recording ended, Conwell had a rather sour look on his face. Turning to glare at him, Emperor Alcott said, “Just what the hell’s going on here Conwell?!” Shrugging, Conwell said, “I have absolutely no idea myself Your Majesty. After all, recordings such as that can be easily synthesized. This proves absolutely nothing. Even if I did come here, and I’m not saying I did, just what difference does it make as to whether or not I have anything to do with Altera Veritas?” Taking the sound recorder and examining it, Felix said, “This sound recorder is a rather inexpensive model with no features that allow synthesizing, and the date and time it was taken is clearly from last night at around seven o’clock. How anyone could have made this by taking your words out of context is beyond me.” Glancing at Conwell, Felix said, “It may prove nothing substantial on its own Conwell, but for you to lie in such a situation is severely suspicious.” Laughing, Admiral Reese said, “Now this is getting good! It’s like one o’ them detective stories on TV!” With her hand over her face, Queen Bianca muttered, “Idiot, this is serious…” Trying to seem innocent as possible, Conwell pleaded, “Everyone, please think about this! Can’t you see what they’re doing? They’re simply turning you all against me! You all know me! I’ve been His Highness’ representative for years now!” Alexander brought out Rufus’ pocket computer now, saying, “Yes, I was very surprised how a year ago it seems you were pronounced dead, but then suddenly turned up alive and well. Yes, once I found out about that, I didn’t find it so strange that you somehow managed to just pop back into the picture again after Grey completely disintegrated you in Castrum. Tell me Conwell, how is it you keep coming back from the dead?”

            Conwell stammered a little as he said, “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about! I nearly died in Luminosa because of you terrorists, and I never met you in Castrum!” Waving a finger in the air scoldingly, Alexander said, “Lying again are we? How about we take a look at the security footage from Castrum on that day?” Conwell’s eyes went wide, and seeing this, Alexander said, “I bet you believed you’d deleted it, didn’t you? You even had the thoroughness to notice that one of the guards had secretly been automatically uploading all the security camera system’s footage of the ‘Black Knight’ onto his website. However, once something is on the internet it’s rather hard to erase, and you failed to get rid of it completely. Using Grey’s Cyber-link ability and Rufus’ expertise, we were able to retrieve the scattered pieces. It shows everything before the guard was able to shut it off and sound the alarm.” Placing the pocket computer before Felix, the Head of the Guild Council watched as Conwell clearly appeared for a few moments on the screen and then disappeared in a flash of light as Grey’s energy wave was unleashed upon him. Smiling cheerily, Alexander said, “I daresay, it’s quite surprising no one who saw it during the short period it was up noticed that you were still alive until now, but then again you are just a little known representative…” Turning to look at Conwell, Felix muttered, “Just what IS going on here Conwell?” Struggling to hide his apparent anger, Conwell said, “This is undoubtedly fabricated, and even if it weren’t, I haven’t heard anything that makes me a criminal!” With a shrug, Alexander said, “Fine. I’m afraid, my dear Conwell, that up until now I’ve simply been giving the Council reason to doubt you. I have all the proof we’ll need right here.” Holding the memory diary up in her direction, Alexander said, “Why don’t you show us a memory from Mr. Conwell’s mind Amy?” Rising, Amy said, “Y-yes!” As she walked over to him and took the diary, Conwell eyed her warily and said, “What are you up to now? I thought you said the diary was useless with the absorption collar on!” With a mischievous grin, Alexander said, “Yes I did say that, but then I remembered that these collars happen to be fakes.” Both the members of the Council, excluding the King, and the guards stared silently in shock for a moment. Then, Conwell exclaimed, “Fakes?! What’s going on here?!” Tilting his detective hat smugly, Alexander said, “You’re being exposed Conwell, that’s what’s going on!” Quickly Emperor Alcott looked at Felix and said, “F-Felix, the guards?!” Silent for a moment, as the guards looked as though they were about to move in, Felix said, “Let’s see it then…”

            Concentrating for a moment, Amy placed her hand on an empty page of the diary briefly and then inserted the bookmark into it, snapping it shut. As the bookmark glowed, an image of Conwell appeared, and everyone heard him say, “I see, I see! At last we’re going to step out of the shadows… I can’t wait to see the faces of those insufferable fools when they realize they’ve been our puppets all along.” A second person, facing away from them as he looked out a window, said, “Don’t get ahead of yourself Conwell… Simply retrieve the girl once they’re arrested. Engage the Greyson boy only if necessary. It’s more important that we retrieve the Sage of Memories.” With a wicked grin, the image of Conwell said, “Don’t worry yourself in the slightest Alastor! Just leave it all to me, that boy won’t be any trouble for Altera Veritas’ one and only Puppet Master…” As the image faded, Alexander said, “Impressive work for just two days of training Amy.” Felix rose from his chair and shouted, “Guards, arrest Edward Conwell immediately!” Quickly a pair of guards rushed Conwell, yet just as quickly Sheryl jumped in front of them and her hands converted into EDE weapons, generating EDE blades that she quickly used to slice the guards in two. More guards surrounded Sheryl and Conwell as the rest of the Council moved away from danger, and Felix called out, “That’s enough Conwell, there’s nowhere to go!” Laughing quietly for a moment, Conwell soon broke out in maniacal laughter. Then he suddenly exclaimed, “I truly underestimated you, Gabriel the Immortal! I had heard much about your power, but I never knew what a brilliant mind you had! To expose me like this, albeit through a good deal of blind luck, it’s still quite unbelievable! Yet even you have failed to see what I truly am!” Raising a hand in the air, dark energy began to gather in his hand, and Conwell donned a twisted grin as he shouted, “Let me show you what happens to those who defy the will of The Puppet Master!” Strings of darkness shot from Conwell’s fingers and wrapped around the throats of the guards, lifting them into the air, and Conwell laughed as they struggled in his grasp. Forming his swords, Grey leaped into the air and slashed through the strings, freeing the guards. Touching down and glancing back at them, Grey said, “Get His Majesty and the others out of here! We’ll handle this!”

            Rushing at Grey, Sheryl lashed out with her EDE blades. Blocking with his swords, sparks of energy flew as Grey grappled with her, and amazed at her incredible strength, he thought, “This doesn’t seem like a normal android!” As the guards were evacuating the Council, Alexander said, “Mythra, Catherine, make sure everyone gets out of here safely! Amy, use your barrier if necessary!” Rushing in to help Grey, Alexander and Scott charged forth with weapons drawn, while Richter quickly formed his pistol and took aim. Then Conwell extended his arms out and said, “Oh I’m sorry, but Grey’s busy right now! Would you like to make an appointment?!” Black strings shot from his hands at them, passing around Grey and deflecting Richter’s fire before latching onto the others. Glancing back as they were lifted into the air like the guards, Grey shouted, “Guys!” In that split second, Sheryl suddenly overpowered him and knocked him back onto the ground. Grey barely raised his swords in defense as the android leaped on top of him and brought her blades down. Laughing, Conwell said, “Really now, is this the best you can all do?!” Suddenly there was a loud bang and Conwell staggered back. Turning their eyes in the direction of the sound, everyone looked to see Queen Bianca standing with a revolver in hand and a grin on her face. The strings binding Alexander and the others loosened, and Queen Bianca said, “I never really liked you anyways Conwell.” Suddenly Conwell started laughing, and in irritation Queen Bianca began to empty round after round into him. At last Conwell fell to the ground, yet he still continued to laugh. Rushing over to where Grey struggled with Sheryl, Scott shouted “Get off of him!” As he struck out with his staff, the android quickly leaped back, and then they heard Conwell say, “Sheryl, withdraw to the appointed location.” Obediently, Sheryl replied, “Yes sir.” Turning around, she broke into a run and leaped off the edge of the terrace. Rushing to the edge of the terrace as well, Alexander looked down to see where she went. As he saw she was gone, Alexander muttered, “Just where did she go…?” Then Richter called out, “Alexander, look at this!” Turning back, he saw the other’s gathered around Conwell. Walking over to the fallen villain, as Alexander looked at Conwell lying there, he scowled and said, “So that’s what’s going on. This is nothing but a puppet…”

            Turning to Queen Bianca, Grey grinned and said, “Thanks. Sure never saw that coming.” Flashing a smug grin, Queen Bianca said, “In my country, those of the royal family learn to defend themselves at an early age.” Just then they heard what sounded like an explosion from the hall. With a look of concern, Richter said, “The Council!” As they all rushed to see what was going on, Alexander said, “Be careful, I sense something unusual…” Right beside him, Scott said, “Yeah, felt like a fluctuation!” Reaching the hall, they saw Mythra and Catherine standing before what looked like a destroyed manikin, Mythra’s wand held before her. Schmitt, Rufus, Amy and the Council were over behind a pillar, along with the guards. They slowly stepped out from their hiding place as Mythra shouted, “All clear!” As Grey and the others walked down the hall towards them, Grey called out, “What’s going on?” Crouching down, Catherine picked up part of the manikin and said, “This doll appeared from nowhere and attacked us!” Seeming to look around for something for a moment, Mythra said, “Alexander, I don’t know if it’s strong enough for you to sense it, but since a little while ago I’ve been sensing those strange fluctuations of EDE all over the place!” Suddenly there was a cry of surprise from one of the guards, and everyone turned to see several of the guards attacking another. Lying before the seemingly crazed guards, the injured guard choked, “Help!” Coming to his aid, Richter downed the beserking guards with crystal rounds from his pistols, and as they fell they revealed themselves to be nothing but manikins in suits of armor that quickly went to pieces as they hit the ground. Helping the guard up with a look of horror, Amy exclaimed, “W-what’s going on?!” Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Scott said, “Guys…!” Glancing in the direction he was looking, they all saw the decorative suits of armor along both sides of the hall come to life and begin to move slowly towards them. Not only that, but the pieces of the manikin and the fake guards came to life once more, quickly rebuilding themselves. Donning a sour look, Richter muttered, “The Puppet Master is certainly living up to his name…”

            Forming Levitas Curator, Scott said, “Leave it to me! I’ll hold them while you guys help the Council escape!” With a tone of concern, Catherine said, “But Thunderfury…!” Raising her wand, Mythra said, “Go on, it’ll be fine! I’ll back him up!” Nodding, Alexander said, “Right, everyone else lets go!” Taking aim with his pistol, Richter cleared the pair of armored suits that had come from the hall’s entrance. As everyone else followed, Grey hung back for a moment. He was hesitant to leave Scott and Mythra behind, but Scott shouted “Go!” Nodding, Grey rushed after everyone just as the two suits of armor were almost done putting themselves back together. Standing back to back, Mythra and Scott both had a grin on their faces, and Mythra said casually, “You know, you can go with them. I’ll be fine on my own, this is nothing!” Glancing back at her, Scott said, “Nah, I’m feeling ready for a fight after our last training session.” Smirking, Mythra said, “I’d hardly call this a fight. They may encounter more trouble along the way you know.” Confidently, Scott said, “They’ll be fine, Grey’s with them.” Twirling Levitas Curator so that the spear point of the halberd and the bottom of the handle scraped the ground and generated a static charge, Scott raised a hand and blasted apart three suits of armor with bolts of lightning. Swishing her wand in the air before her, arcane stars fired from Mythra’s wand and dismantled a contingent of armored suits. Dodging and breaking apart another suit of armor with a powerful swing of his halberd, Scott saw the defeated suits of armor starting to reconstruct and said, “Doesn’t look like they’re gonna give up just from that.” Ducking a swing from a sword held by the risen manikin, as Mythra raised a hand and blew it away with a blast of wind she generated from a light green rune circle, she muttered, “Once we’ve given them enough time, we’ll go after the others. These things seem too slow to-” Mythra stopped as she noticed the doors of the hall closing at the will of some unseen force. Quickly she leaped over an incoming suit of armor and cleared the way to the door with her wand, but she was too late.

            As the doors slammed shut, Mythra muttered, “This is getting fishy. How is he doing all this? I’ve never seen such a power before!” Turning to see she was surrounded by armor suits, Mythra grit her teeth and thought, “There’s strange fluctuations all around this place. What could he possibly have placed here last night? For something of this scale, it should have been impossible to hide, but the guards didn’t find squat!” Charging Levitas Curator into a massive weapon of lightning, Scott swung it through the legion of armored suits surrounding Mythra, and rushing back over to him, Mythra said, “Scott, I’ve been sensing something strange for a while now, but I can’t figure out what it is. Use your electrical field and see if you can’t find out what the hell is going on here!” Hearing a clattering noise, they both turned to see a legion of armored manikins bearing various weapons coming after them from the terrace. Watching the armor suits reforming around them yet again, Scott said, “This is just getting worse and worse…” Forming her Elementum Orbis, Mythra muttered, “I’m on it, just use your field!” Unleashing her beams of elemental energy upon the manikins, the explosion rocked the room as Scott concentrated on his electrical field. Expanding it as far into the room as he could, as Scott noticed something, he thought, “What is this, strings?! Ah, that’s it!” Spreading her crystals in a circle around them, Mythra unleashed a bombardment of star shaped energy bolts in all directions, toppling the unrelenting armored suits. Yet even broken to pieces, they continued to reform, and Mythra shouted, “Any time Scott!” Raising a hand in the air, Scott suddenly blasted lightning up at the roof. Grabbing his arm, Mythra shouted, “Watch it! Are you trying to bury us alive?!” Looking around, Scott saw the enemies still coming at them, and he said in confusion, “But it worked fine for Grey!” Looking at him as though he were mad, Mythra said, “What are you babbling about?!” Quickly Scott explained, “I can sense them there, strings! Moving around the ceiling connected to the armor and the manikins! But it’s strange… It’s like I can’t just destroy them!” Eyes widening in realization, Mythra said, “That sounds like… We’re getting out of here! We have to tell the others!” Staring over at the door, Scott said, “It’s no good. When we asked the King about the training room walls, he said the palace itself is built with materials that could withstand high grade EDE attacks easily!” Summoning up an arcane rune circle, Mythra drew her broom from it and said, “Then it’s a good thing I can fly!”

            Quickly wheels of lightning appeared at his heels as Scott said, “I’m coming with you! Don’t forget, I can fly too with my Electromagnetic Propulsion!” With a blast from her Elementum Orbis, Mythra cleared the way back to the terrace. As they both rushed past their reforming attackers, Mythra said, “Right, let’s find another way back into the palace and tell them about Conwell!” Scott nodded, but then two voices rang through the hall at the same time, “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” Stepping out of the shadows on each side of the exit to the terrace came two Edward Conwells. Not intimidated by them, Mythra confidently said, “You think a mere pair of puppets are gonna stop us?” Channeling EDE into their hands, the Conwells said, “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you yet. I wouldn’t want you to miss the finale!” Thinking quickly, Mythra quietly muttered to Scott, “One of us has to get to the others. Follow my lead.” Leaping onto her broom, Mythra rose into the air and Scott rose after her with the spinning lightning wheels of his Electromagnetic Propulsion. Gathering the crystals of Elementum Orbis in a circle before her, as they all turned white, Mythra cried out, “Ultimate Element: Light Spear!” Charging up Levitas Curator, as Mythra unleashed a giant spear of glimmering light magic at one Conwell, Scott hurled his lightning form Levitas Curator at the other. As the energy attacks came at them, dozens of strings seemed to shoot forth from the Conwells hands, wrapping around the attacks and halting them in their tracks. Yet as the Conwells dealt with their attacks, both Mythra and Scott flew quickly past them heading for the terrace. Turning as they were escaping, the Conwells shouted, “Not so fast!” They sent their dark strings after Scott and Mythra, but as the two reached the doorway to the terrace, Scott stopped in the doorway and raised a barrier of lightning around the door. Escaping out the doorway, Mythra paused for a moment, watching Scott fend off the strings. Knowing it was urgent she inform the others of Conwell’s secret, Mythra finally said, “Hang in there! I’ll be back as soon as I can!” Nodding, Scott said, “I’ll be fine, go! I can’t hold this forever!” As she zoomed off, Scott turned back to look at the Conwells standing there with displeased faces, and as the armored suits and manikins advanced towards him as well, he thought, “I just hope the others are ok!”

Reviews

[Ryan Henderson]

Awesome! The court scene was amazing and very realistic! Conwell seems to have gotten more powerful. I loved the dialogue as well as the character interaction in this chapter. I didn't find any spelling errors, which is great. Once again, I love the EDE abilities that you have in this book. It's original and like I said before; makes for some pretty interesting fight scenes. The part where Queen Bianca shot Conwell was definitely not expected. I loved how you made her say "I never really liked you anyway." That added to the humor of the situation, which you are quite good at.

The chapter wasn't too long or too short, you always make them just the right length. I love how you wrote this chapter especially. Plenty of action and humor! Again, I can tell this is anime based and picturing it as anime in my head as I read is fun XD

Keep up the great work!

[KeithKVH]

Now that he's lost his cover, Conwell is dangerous because he doesn't have to hold back. I really do like Conwell as a villain, this is one of the better made scenarios I've come up with imo, along with several of the ones in vol. 2.

[Ryan Henderson]

Yes! Can't wait for Volume 2. As well as the later volumes. The story is very intriguing!