blood red moon
~ a Shadow of Destiny fanfiction
Chapter Fourteen
“Well, that was fast.”
Dielle was waiting for him, leaning slightly against the doorframe as Homunculus walked back inside, arms crossed, a small, amused smile on her face that he didn’t understand at all.
“You’re not going to change?”
She shook her head slightly, glancing down briefly at her fairly simple form. “It’s been too long, I wouldn’t know what to do. It’s comfortable, and besides, it doesn’t really matter, does it?”
Homunculus tried to pretend it wasn’t a loaded question, and kept walking. Dielle, as usual, waited just until he thought she had let it go to speak.
“Are you sure that was what you wanted to do?”
It was funny, Homunculus had been acting in his own self-interest for so long, he’d simply assumed this was more of the same. Just some new roundabout path to take to what he’d wanted.
//It’s going to be very dull without him, though. You’re back where you started, aren’t you? Playing with shadows. As if there aren’t six billion other humans you could waste you time with, even more if you start counting across times, dimensions.//
The djinn could think it. He just couldn’t make himself believe it. He would have to check up on Eike from time to time anyway, just to make sure the human didn’t go crazy again.
//Of course, I’ll only have to worry about that if I survive. It isn’t as if I’ve been planning for that.//
“It’s easier this way.” He finally responded. It was as crippled as it sounded, and she snorted.
“I’m sure he’d agree... you know, if he could.”
Homunculus glared at her mild tone, not that it meant much. She didn’t even look at him, merely shrugged and walked past. He’d never thought the idea that he must have known what he was doing could seem so insulting now.
Inside, most everyone had changed, substituting more functional bodies for massive, hulking forms that grazed the ceiling, or small, spindly shapes covered with spikes, razor claws and teeth. Utterly cosmetic, but appearance was certainly one of the things djinn were best at.
//Also good at pretending we can fall in and out of love.//
He grimaced at the word, even thinking it was an annoyance, and it did /not/ have a counterpart in his own tongue. Djinni were never so frustratingly vague, a word like love that either meant so much more or so much less than it sounded. A useless term, when two people could discuss it without ever talking about the same thing the same thing. As ridiculous as his infatuation - now that word, and words like it, those had very clear meanings. At least he had thought so, but then how had naive and oblivious ever come to mean anything like endearing?
//And will you puzzle all this out before you meet Atropos for a final time? Doubtful.//
Irritating, possibly even unfair. A mystery with no end to flip to.
Homunculus heard his name being called, roughly, and pulled his attention out of his own thoughts, to realize he was standing at what had been deigned the front of the room. Dielle was beside him, but all eyes were fixed on him, some quite interested, others feigning boredom for dignity’s sake. He was rather surprised he’d managed to gain even their grudging respect.
“What do we do now?”
“Atropos has been issued the challenge?”
He didn’t know the djinn’s name - perhaps she didn’t have one - one long arm extending up languidly, the cuff of her sleeve tumbling a bit down her arm. Eyes like ice cubes, and she was smiling a bit, remembering whatever she’d done. Homunculus could only imagine how she’d delivered the message.
“It was easy, she wanted to be found.” The words were ominous, but delivered with anticipation. Ready for combat. So she would be an asset to him, if an unstable one.
“I believe there is no need to wait, then. The battle lines have been drawn. All that remains is our victory.”
He could deliver it as if it wasn’t a bold lie. He doubted the other djinn had planned any strategy, had even thought to work together. It wouldn’t matter, he was fairly certain how to end this. The most powerful spells weren’t even that difficult, much of the work was in having the confidence to use them, the will to deliver such a blow... and recognizing, on occasion, the necessity of sacrifice.
A single moment stretched in time, as they left the doomed house and the abandoned plane, moving as together as any group of djinn ever could. Dielle was very close to him, he could hear the gentle rustle of her wings, stirring the wind that wasn’t quite wind.
“I never thought you would do something like this.” Her voice was a soft murmur, meant for him alone, even though she didn’t look his way.
“I’m afraid I’m out of options.”
“I know. I still thought you’d walk away first.”
Maybe he would have, once. No, he /certainly/ would have, before Eike, and he knew she knew it.
“So little, they have so little and yet they’ll still sacrifice it willingly. They’ll give up such short lives.” Dielle smiled, it was surprisingly tender.
“You know what’s going to happen. Why are you here?”
She looked at him, and the sense of peace in her eyes, the serenity was unnerving. “Where would I go, Homunculus? What would I do, if I chose to be the last of us?” She sighed. “It isn’t just our friends who make us strong, who make life worth the doing. It can be our enemies, too. The ones who think too much, who are too proud to ever call us friends.”
“I...” He’d had centuries where he’d learned less, had to deal with just /less/ - decisions, emotions, change. He glared at Dielle when she laughed, and before he could unravel the tangle of words, to try and make sense of any of it, they’d arrived.
It was a simple enough space, a marble shadowed in deep grays and blues, inlaid with hardwood here and there, supple and mellow and polished so they glowed. A pentagram, a massive design, but Homunculus could see that there was no power tied into it. It was a pretty taunt, designed as a goad and nothing more.
The horizon ended somewhere just shy of never, so it was a little difficult to see when she finally appeared, wavering into being almost like a mirage. Maybe appearing so far away so that she could take them all in before the fight. Maybe it was just for show.
Homunculus turned at a soft snicker from his right - a rather large, python shaped creature - he couldn’t remember what the creature’s other forms had been, who he might be looking at.
“You mean /that’s/ Atropos? You called us all together to fight a girl?” The djinn slithered forward slightly. “I think I’ll be biting her in half now.”
“If you attack her, she will kill you.” Homunculus only received a disdainful snort in reply - but he’d been expecting something like this. It would give the other djinni a chance to see what he meant, why he was taking things so seriously.
The djinn never had a hope of victory. It wasn’t a question of strength - Atropos was stronger - or speed, Atropos was faster. The djinn was preparing what would have been an awesome blow, lunging at her with the spell glittering incandescent off his long, curving fangs - but she met it head on with the edge of her blade raised high, breaking the spell and shattering his fangs, the momentum driving his body along her blade, slicing him neatly in half.
No body hit the ground, the djinn’s energy returning to its original state, vanishing in an arc of flame around the small, pale figure. Atropos, smiling, kept her blade raised for a few more moments than necessary.
“Would anyone else like to do this on their own?” Homunculus spoke mildly into an absolute silence. No one moved.
“I thought you were joking, demon, and then I thought it was a trap.” The pale girl shook her head, smiling. “Now I see you are simply a fool.”
He could hear Dielle’s wings rustle slightly, could feel her tense up beside him, as Atropos slowly moved to meet them. Homunculus could feel Atropos’ power growing like a wave behind her, and the quiet hope he’d had of victory and survival was unceremoniously crushed.
“I think we should try to present her with a smaller target.” He said calmly.
“Hm?”
A puzzled noise behind him, and Dielle looked over her shoulder, to whatever djinn it seemed hadn’t gotten the message. “Scatter.”
Homunculus was grateful when he and Dielle moved in one direction, and most of the other djinn went in the other - catching Atropos’ attention, allowing him to study her attacks, search for weaknesses. He doubted so many of the others would have followed him, if they’d known their main purpose was as bait. He loved selective silences. So much more useful than outright lying.
Atropos was making short work of anyone she could catch, though most of the djinn had reverted to smaller, more sprightly forms and were not making her job any easier than they could possibly help. Homunculus watched carefully, as she fended off four at once, two attacking physically while the others cast spells. Atropos blocked them all, sword tipping to send one of the spells ricocheting back at its caster, before bringing the blade around to deal a nasty blow to an unguarded arm.
//... there.// A hesitation, the barest catch in her technique as the sword swept back - so she wasn’t flawless, but she was damned close. His eyes narrowed as he looked into a pair equally red, but much more malicious, and she smiled.
//So it begins.//
Homunculus barely had time to think of a spell before she had closed most of the gap between tehem. He did, however, hear something murmured behind him, saw out of the corner of his eye as Dielle lifted her hand, a staff coming up from the ground and landing with a snap in her open palm even as she rushed forward, blocking Dopple’s swing a few inches from his head.
The djinn stepped back, useless in physical combat, shifting through the spells he had, searching for one that would work against Dopple without endangering Dielle. Homunculus wasn’t so surprised it was a fair fight. He’d seen her in combat before, though he had to admit the wings were a rather striking addition this time around. Dopple was watching him past the guarding line of Dielle’s raised staff, still smiling. Homunculus wondered if any of the other djinn had a spell strong enough to take advantage of her distraction, doubted it.
“Oh, don’t you dare look at him! You’re fighting me!” Dielle yelled, twisting the staff and catching Atropos in the jaw before bringing it sharply around for another blow, finishing it off with a jab to the gut that sent her staggering back. The djinn was grinning fiercely but it only lasted for a moment, Atropos regaining her balance and lunging with a fierce cry. Homunculus shifted his attention from the sound of steel sliding on steel just long enough, murmuring the spell softly, something that might be enough to end this.
//Damn!//
Dielle cried out in shock and fury, weapon wrenched from her grasp by a lucky blow, and Atropos raised her weapon for a deathblow. Homunculus bit down on the longer version of the spell, making do with what he had. Atropos didn’t see it coming, a series of bolts slashing fast and sharp through the air, striking the pale figure as she staggered back, screaming. The energy didn’t dissipate, but rose up as it struck the ground, spiraling into a prison that flared brilliantly around her.
“Will that hold her?” Dielle grunted, dragging herself up from the ground, feathers falling in a dark rain to the ground.
“No.”
He barely got the answer out before the energy flickered wildly, and collapsed, Atropos stepping out of the shimmering field, expression somewhere between amused and bored. He realized the djinn had gathered behind him again, falsely assuming he would have some idea how to begin a second siege.
//I’ll wait, and I’ll take her down while she’s busy killing the rest of you.// He doubted it would inspire confidence. Eike must have been rubbing off on him, if this really was the best he could come up with.
“All right, Homunculus.” Dielle panted, leaning a little on her staff. “So what’s our /next/ half-ass plan?”
“I think half-ass is giving him too much credit.”
Homunculus froze. He’d anticipated many possible ways the battle could go, many different things Atropos could try. The thought that anyone else could even get involved had never crossed his mind - and he turned slowly, shocked by the sound of such a familiar voice behind him.
//No, two?//
He recognized one of them immediately, the Eike he had just left behind, looking more than a bit nervous and bewildered. Having him here was something Homunculus had never wanted to see. Sending him away should have made him safe -
//Or it started all of this in the first place.//
The man standing next to Eike was the one who had spoken - another Eike. Similar but not, enough of a difference that a person would look twice before really thinking they might be twins. This man was not bewildered, or frightened, walking with a bit of a swagger - and he was carrying a very large, very dangerous looking mace, glowing red-hot with magical power.
//The same timeline.// He could see it easily enough, the connection between the two figures. //An Eike, split off from him, from some other dimension?//
Homunculus was aware the man had not taken his eyes off of him, was walking straight toward him. He stopped only a few feet away, staring down at him with the strangest sort of half-smile on his face. The other djinn were silent. Atropos said nothing. Homunculus wasn’t sure, when he opened his mouth, what exactly was going to come out.
“You shouldn’t have that weapon.”
Eike laughed, still watching him, and the space between them seemed strangely charged, as if he wanted to do any number of things but couldn’t choose between them.
“I just borrowed it for a bit. I figured I could put it to good use.” A quick look in Atropos’ direction - Homunculus was startled by the sudden, blazing fury in Eike’s eyes, a drawn blade sharper than the one Dopple carried. He turned back, and it was gone, though the djinn still couldn’t read what replaced it. He was grinning, maybe that was enough.
“I still don’t know if I’ve forgiven you, but I’ll help you out anyway.” He glanced up at the other Eike, still standing back a bit, watching warily. “Give me a minute before you do it, will you? I’d like to soften her up a bit.”
Homunculus wondered what he was talking about, but the man was already walking across the battlefield, more than willing to challenge Atropos directly. The other Eike stood a few steps back, behind him, glancing from him to Homunculus, back again, saying nothing.
“I know that weapon. You shouldn’t have it.” Atropos’ eyes narrowed at the other Eike’s approach. “What do you think you are doing?”
“If you’re going to kill me anyway, I might as well have done /something/ to deserve it.”
The pale girl smirked. “Do you think you can defeat me?”
Eike smiled back, his smile equally as vicious as her own. “I’ll really enjoy trying.”
//Where did you come from... and how long?// Homunculus could study this Eike easily enough. The first few blows told him most of what he needed to know - the human had studied long and hard to become proficient with the weapon, when fending Dopple off was challenge enough for any of them.
//Centuries alone... or more?// An Eike just as unbalanced as the one who had created Dopple, but he had held on fast, controlled his own insanity so that... what? He could come here? Fight this battle?
It seemed to be the case. The djinn were all only watching, not daring to intrude on the fight taking place before them. A duel, really, Atropos’ sword not bending to the mace, but Eike seeming to sacrifice little in the way of speed and grace even with the bulky weapon.
//If I didn’t survive... in his future, then he came back to save me?// Homunculus had thought it was his choice, and his alone, whether he became Eike’s destroyer or something more, but it appeared that time and destiny had chosen a path even he didn’t understand.
//Why is the other Eike even - and he must know he can’t defeat her.// A sudden series of staggeringly fast blows by Atropos brought him out of his musing thoughts, back to the now. //He must have known when he came here.//
He winced, listening to steel slide against steel, the weapons locking - which was a mistake on Atropos’ part, Eike had a weight advantage if nothing else. Homunculus couldn’t help but smirk as he put his shoulder into the next blow, sending the pale girl tumbling away in a pale, pigtailed ball. The victory didn’t last, she was up and on her feet within moments, red eyes narrowing as she gave up on her weapon and simply raised a hand, wounded pride demanding swift retribution and sending Eike flying with a blow he could not see or dodge.
“I suppose that’s my cue.”
Homunculus had been so intent on this strange, new Eike that he’d almost forgotten about the man standing next to him. The Eike he’d sent away, staring at him now with a mix of wonder and curiosity - familiar, but triggering a memory much more distant than it ever should have... and his eyes widened, as he realized what the other Eike had done, what part of the past had been changed, without him ever knowing.
“Good luck.” A mild, simple statement, so very Eike, a small, hopeful smile on his face. Homunculus’ eyes widened, he opened his mouth to shout the warning, but it was too late. Eike gingerly tugged at the limiter - it dissolved in his hand, but before he could wonder what came next a brilliant flash of light send him flying back, tumbling hard to the ground.
--------------------
The other Eike had pushed himself onto his elbows, just in time to see the explosion and the aftermath, wincing when the other him hit the ground mostly with his face. The djinn didn’t really have control over that first reaction, the spell to contain him shattering to nothing.
//Ah shit, I knew there was something I forgot.//
He couldn’t help but grin, though, as the glow faded, revealing what had become of the djinn who spent so long caged, now freed of the prison of his fragile body. The pale frame was cracking all over, and what glistened beneath it was pure, incandescent fury. Atropos knew what was happening, she was already lunging forward, bringing the knife down with a force and a power behind it so strong it blurred in the air. Eike would have yelled a warning but it was rather hard to catch his breath, and she was moving so fast - not that it did her any good.
A clawed hand, with a grasp wider than Eike was tall, shot out of the pillar of light, catching Dopple by her sword arm and dragging her up into the sky, her pale body swinging back and forth with unused momentum.
It wasn’t all that unexpected. Homunculus’ first urge was no doubt to make the most of his freedom, after so many years trapped in a small, worthless body. Rather dragon-like, though a sudden, familiar surge of pain in Eike’s chest let him know the darkness in his vision wasn’t all the djinn’s doing.
//No, not yet. I want to see this. I need to.// He leaned heavily against one arm, could feel the ground, fingertips, his entire body shaking when the creature spoke. Homunculus’ voice had been distorted all out of proportion by his new, immense body, Eike could only discern a few words, but could guess at the general meaning.
//I poked around in a lot of corners, Atropos. Enough to know that you were terribly happy when Homunculus was caught - suspiciously happy, for something as powerful as you.//
It was all about balance, and order. Before all of this, Atropos and Homunculus had been a balance for each other, order and chaos - and when he was bound her desire for order grew out of control. Without the bindings, he was her equal... and Eike had always liked to think the universe favored chaos, just a little bit.
//He’s just doing your job for you, now. Reeling you in for your own good. Try to remember that when he breaks you in half.//
Eike knew it would be bad if either one of them died, the balance shifting in Homunculus’ favor wouldn’t be better than letting her win - but a part of him really wanted to watch the creature spike Atropos as part of a wild victory dance.
She was screaming, a crackle of energy building around her body - it seemed Homunculus had decided the best course of action was just to crack her like a walnut. The pale girl wasn’t completely out of the fight, though, and in a flare of wild power she burst from the massive clawed hand, tumbling to the ground but catching herself a few inches above the floor. The fury in her eyes was telling - it couldn’t be confidence inducing to have an opponent simply try to squash her flat.
Homunculus stepped down hard, Atropos lunging out of the way, at first trying to create some sort of energy web to trap the djinn, though that didn’t work at all. Halfway through her second spell, she was thrown again by an explosive blast from the other side - Dielle, apparently the only one of the djinn who wasn’t willing to let Homunculus have all the fun.
The dragon shattered, splintering into a column of dissolving ash and cinder as Atropos struggled to rise, vague flickers of energy rising up here and there, all the weak attacks deflected well before they could reach Homunculus - who had returned to his old form, though Eike still didn’t recognize the words that he spoke. Soft and fast, but hollow with an incredible power - and golden lines began etching beneath the pale girl’s feet. Twisting designs that looked nothing like a pentagram, but Eike knew they were to the same effect.
He could almost see the wall of energy building in the air between them, as Homunculus kept casting and Atropos screamed, fighting back with all she had - but it wouldn’t be enough. The balance had tipped from her favor, and perhaps by not killing her outright Homunculus had even increased his chances. The spell at her feet did seem astonishingly eager, tendrils rising to hold her back, sending her last few spells rebounding painfully against her, until with a weak, final cry Atropos fell to the ground.
He was startled when she looked up, weight braced on elbows and knees, staring not at Homunculus or the other djinn approaching, but him. The anger in her eyes was breathtaking... and Eike realized he was smiling back pleasantly even before he realized he was so amused. It took much of his effort, but he managed to lift one hand to wave a weak goodbye.
//Good... riddance.// His hand fell quickly as another blinding burst of pain shot through him, leaving him gasping for air as he cringed on the ground. It was happening faster now, but he’d held off his own fate long enough for it to matter, enough to see that everything was going to be fine.
Eike had the briefest glimpse of another pair of red eyes watching him before the pain struck again, and he grimaced, wrapping a hand around his chest, trying not to lose himself to the growing gray haze at the edges of his vision. Homunculus would have remembered him, even without Atropos’ glare as a guide, but it was nice to see the djinn while he was still somewhat aware, before the end.
The end, and it wasn’t going to be a painless break, not at all. Eike wasn’t sure which of the two thoughts, oblivion or the getting there, scared him more.
He’d known, though, known for a very long time... and no matter how much it tore at him, it wouldn’t hurt long. Compared to all the time he’d lived, it was less than a heartbeat, a breath. Worth it, for all he’d managed to correct.
“Eike?”
He lifted a hand, shaking his head at the question, hoping his voice could carry far enough to matter.
“No. It’s all right. I knew - I knew...” He’d known, and hadn’t even told his double the entire truth. “Just take care of the other one. It’ll work out all right.”
He was surprised, a few moments later, to feel a warm touch at his shoulder.
“I can do both, you know.”
He grinned, though he wasn’t able to get his gaze up past knee-level. He’d missed that dry, sniping tone more than he’d even realized. “Glad... glad I got to see you again.”
The djinn crouched down into his line of sight, glancing at the weapon Eike had dropped, still glowing brightly. “Where in the world did you /find/ that?”
“Oh, it took me... a couple hundred years. The sharks were easy to get by, the incantation was... little harder. The /basilisk/, now, I wasn’t expecting the basilisk.”
Eike tried to grin, but a shudder of pain snaked up his spine and he gasped instead, reflexively curling in on himself, hands in fists, clutching fitfully to stop the pain.
Homunculus must have been reading him, looking for him in time to see how to fix what was wrong. He heard a soft murmur, probably a curse, when the djinn finally figured it out. “Eike, what have you done?”
“... t-too many loose ends, every time one of us did something, when we jumped... got worse. Unstable. I t-tied it all together, though. I m-made myself... center of it all.”
How could he have told the other Eike that much of his research, much of his time had been taken with such a task? When he realized what had happened and what would have to be done to fix it? No time, no reason when he already knew what was really important.
“... w-was already dying. It didn’t matter if I made it a little - little bit worse.”
“It’s tearing you apart.”
He nodded, winced. “I know... but it worked, right? He’s here, you’re safe. Happily ever after. I got to see you again, at any rate.”
“You’re braver than you look.” It was the gentlest tease, and the djinn was smiling at him.
“Taller, too.”
Really smiling, this demon, this creature who had become more to him than anything else. Eike bet only a handful of people had ever seen something like it. Yeah. It was probably worth dying to be here now. Eike glanced over the djinn’s shoulder to where the other Eike lay. It was better this way, better that he just disappear. The other him would worry, otherwise, would wonder if there was anything that could have been done to save him, when he’d willingly given up that chance long ago.
“Take care of him, all right? Whatever happens, he won’t let you down. I wouldn’t have.”
A small, pale hand brushed against his forehead, running thin fingers gently through his hair. He must be dying, Homunculus would never have spared the tender look in his eyes for anything less.
“You didn’t.”
Eike braced himself, could feel the fury gathering together, another surge of pain on its way - and he held his breath, surprised, as it dissipated entirely.
“... rather anticlimactic.” He blinked, feeling different parts of his body going rather numb, vaguely fuzzy, and glanced down to see that yes, this was what it felt like to disappear. Or rather, what it felt like once the pain was gone.
“... did you?” He couldn’t get any more words out, the numbness and weakness rushing up on him, stealing his breath. The demon nodded, watching him with a bittersweet smile - another emotion he didn’t expect, not through all the years that he lived.
“I won’t forget you.”
Eike couldn’t answer, tried to nod, but even that small sense of himself was gone. He wasn’t entirely sure when it ended, what was left of himself to gaze out of his eyes, until he blinked, and was gone.
Homunculus sat back on his heels, hand still hovering a little in the place where Eike had vanished. He glanced up to where the other Eike still lay. A painless death seemed little favor, for all that had been done for him. A second chance, and he had been given proof without question, just how much Eike would do for him. How much his life, his happiness was worth.
... and just because he could no longer feel the man, it didn’t mean that the other Eike had disappeared entirely. Threads unwoven in time were still threads, probably - and at least to himself, Homunculus could admit that there were things on heaven and earth that even he didn’t know... and he could be glad for it.
---------------------
“Eike? Eike?”
He groaned, more than a little bitter, especially when he realized he couldn’t quite remember why he was laying here, sprawled out with his chin on the floor.
“Eike? Can you stand?”
He knew that voice well enough, but Eike kept his eyes closed for a moment, trying to figure out why he felt so strange. Everything in his head felt remarkably jumbled - it was all /there/, yes, any memory he needed appearing as soon as he looked for it, but still, strange...
//He took my memories! He did it /again/!// It all came back in a rush, the jumbled apology, Homunculus torn and yet determined - and wandering around with himself in the past, blindly following this other him because, deep down, he must have known it was the right thing.
//Homunculus died. I didn’t free him, and he died fighting Dopple... but none of that happened.//
If it really was the djinn talking to him now, it was safe to assume that future had been diverted. Eike groaned, rolling on his back, feeling muscles that usually worked without complaint grumbling a bit with the effort. He opened his eyes, blinking back a few small tears as his eyes adjusted to the light. Homunculus was looking down on him, and it took him a moment to read the slight worry because he hadn’t been expecting to see it.
“I’m still not sure I’m going to forgive you.”
The djinn raised a cool eyebrow, “I’ll find some way to go on.”
Eike didn’t understand exactly how two sarcastic comments could add up to something meaningful, but they did. Apology and explanation and welcome, bundled up in the unique greeting.
“... ‘s good to see you again.” Eike stifled a groan, getting to his feet. The djinn were all in a tight semicircle a short distance away. Dielle noticed him as soon as he was on his feet, waving brightly. Eike glanced back, searching when he didn’t see anything else in the crowd. There shouldn’t be just the one of him...
“He’s gone.” Homunculus’ soft voice was something very close to somber, or sad, as close as Eike had ever heard. “He had his victory. He finished what he’d come here to do.”
//Gone? He didn’t... he died?// Eike wanted to ask, but Homunculus was already moving towards the crowd, and he could think of nothing to do but follow. The group parted, still speaking to one another in murmured growls - likely about Atropos, who was huddled on the floor, bound and helpless beneath the djinn’s spell.
“So, what do you want to do with her?”
He was surprised Homunculus was giving him the choice. Eike looked down. It would have been easier to be cruel if Dopple were not on her knees, powerless, with that childish look of pain in her eyes. Atropos was still there, Homunculus’ power holding her where she was - but she was hiding, letting Dopple take the brunt of this after all she had tried to do, and she was terrified.
“I...” He knew very well what the djinn wanted him to do, although he thought he saw the slightest hint of a smile when he hesitated. “I can’t. Sorry.”
“Well, /I/ can.”
He didn’t even get a chance to see which of the djinn growled that out when there was a sudden flash a few feet away. Eike didn’t think, just threw one hand up - which bumped sharply, surprisingly enough, against the djinn’s. Homunculus had moved to protect him, just as he had thought to shield the pale creature.
//Oh... that’s right. No limiter.// He thought he should say something, or that Homunculus might, but they were both cut off by another voice, rich and thunderous.
“We have come to ask you for the life of our sister.”
“Wow, and they’re here in human form no less.” Dielle nudged him in the ribs, and Eike got the feeling this was some strange form of compliment.
The light faded, revealing not one shape but two, a handsome woman, a little older than Eike, and a young woman, twisting an old-fashioned spindle almost playfully, skillfully smoothing the thread with her fingertips. Eike thought he knew who they were, even without the visual aid, the increasing muttering behind him made him sure the other djinn did too. The older woman took a step forward, raising one hand in a gesture of peace, gray robes trailing a bit behind her.
//Lachesis... which would mean the one in white is Clothos?// He wondered which part of the science no one had discovered yet would explain all of this.
“We have no wish to war with your kind. It was our sister’s obsession, and we have no interest in such matters.”
Eike could feel Homunculus rankle a bit beside him, the woman’s tone had been less apology and much more of a dismissal. The djinn did not lose his temper, impressively enough, his voice perfectly cordial.
“What will you do with her, then?”
“We will deal with her appropriately. We will make sure she does not do any more damage to the fabric of time, or its inhabitants...”
Lachesis kept talking, but Eike was distracted by a sudden flicker of movement over her shoulder. Clothos was staring at him, and wiggled her fingers in a little wave, ducking her head shyly when she saw him watching. He could see the slightest blush on her cheeks.
//Is she...//
“Hello, Eike. You were very brave.”
Yes. Definitely flirting. Lachesis had stopped to watch, incredulous but also annoyed, and Eike had the feeling he shouldn’t be so flattered. He was, however, utterly surprised when Homunculus slid a little to the left, placing himself more firmly in the Fate’s line of sight. Clothos pouted slightly, crossing her thin, pale arms as Eike leaned over Homunculus’ shoulder, wondering just what the hell the djinn’s expression was.
“What about Dopple?”
Eike knew Homunculus turned to stare at him when he asked the question, but ignored the djinn’s disbelief. Lachesis paused, glancing down at the pale girl still huddled on the floor. Eike felt a strange moment of something that was almost pity for the creature. He did create it, after all, or might have if things hadn’t changed. “Do you have to destroy her?”
“It seems so.” Lachesis paused. “Although if Atropos cannot return to her duties immediately...”
“I created her to destroy. One of me did, anyway. I think she might be useful to you.”
Lachesis studied him, Eike tried to meet her gaze but eventually had to turn his eyes away, too much there and too deep, as if she could reach inside and carry his soul away, merely by willing it so. He heard her turn, murmur a few quiet words to Clothos, who responded in turn, before turning back towards Dopple.
“Would you like to be the replacement, until our sister can find her feet?” A moment of fury blazing in the girl’s ruby eyes - but Lachesis tipped her hand and it faded. Atropos was gone, only Dopple remained, looking much less murderous now, painfully young instead. He was shocked when she looked at him first, confusion and no little fear - it seemed she had forgotten her purpose while with Atropos, forgotten everything but the face of her creator. Homunculus flinched when Eike stepped past him, but stayed silent, even when he reached down to draw the pale girl to her feet.
“It’s all tangled in my head. I don’t understand.” Ruby eyes searched his face, as if he could give her purpose - and he could, he realized, turning and pushing her a little towards the Fates.
“Go with them. It’s all right, they’ll take care of you.” Eike couldn’t help but grin at the strange insanity of the moment. “Be good.”
He could see her testing the new word out as she turned - good. Lachesis lifted a hand, and all three of them vanished in another flash of light.
“How long do you think it will take, until they let Atropos return?”
“Well, they said until she regained her feet, which sounded pretty soon. So, given the way they measure time - maybe a couple hundred thousand years, give or take.” Dielle smiled brightly. “You’re one crazy human, you know that? You be sure to give him hell for me, don’t let Homunculus walk all over you just because he’s free.”
The girl took a few jaunty steps back, and vanished in a stir of wind and a few gray feathers. Eike could see that the other djinn were doing much the same, quickly separating from each others company now that the danger had passed, leaving the two of them alone.
“So...” Eike shoved his hands in his pockets, and sighed. “You’re free.”
“I am.”
“Sticking with the same body? I was rather impressed with the dragon-looking thing.”
“I thought you liked me like this.”
All their practice, and it was still difficult to have a conversation without looking at each other, speaking without much emotion, as if they were each reading lines from a different play. As if that hadn’t just been a question of his affections. Homunculus’ voice was so soft Eike barely heard what came next. If there had been any other sound, he wouldn’t have.
“I still... we still have an agreement.”
Which meant nothing. It had to, because Homunculus was out of reasons to need or want Eike around now. Memory intact, limiter broken there was nothing Eike could do for him. Nothing so purely selfish, at least.
It seemed all of time was waiting for his response. He opened his mouth and closed it more than once, searching for something to say that would be impressive, something that would mean more than what he was usually able to come up with. Anything that wouldn’t make the djinn cringe. Unfortunately, he was out of ideas, and if he didn’t come up with something soon the pause would draw out too long - he might end up switching to mime.
The thought made him laugh, and he shrugged. “Let’s go home, then?”
He was surprised when Homunculus only nodded, very surprised when he smiled back.
“Now where - or when, exactly, would you like that to be?”