I have a message from another time... Eyrie Productions, Unlimited presents UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES FUTURE IMPERFECT - SYMPHONY OF THE SWORD No. 4 - Intermezzo: Sympathy for the Devil Benjamin D. Hutchins Plotting Assist John Trussell Anne Cross "Escape" by Perry/Schon/Cain (c) 2003 Eyrie Productions, Unlimited THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2409 7:12 PM CELESTIAL STANDARD TIME ASGARD Corwin Ravenhair finished his business with the Aesir Council and left the Great Hall, longing for his bed. Fond as he was of his maternal relatives and the Golden City itself, he disliked being away from Midgard, especially at this time of year. He understood that the situation in Midgard was a delicate one and that, as one of the very few Aesir living in the world of Man full-time, he was an important source of information for the Council on matters Midgardian. But damn it all, it was -Christmas-. He had never before missed a Christmas with his family and closest friends, and here he was, trudging away from the Great Hall alone while the snows of Christmas Eve fell around him. They'd had him here since July and they insisted they'd be through with him within a week, but they couldn't manage to give him Christmas at home? It would have made him angry, if he hadn't been too tired to get angry for anything short of a personal insult from a deadly enemy. He had a surprisingly small number of deadly enemies, so he didn't think that was very likely to happen tonight. He walked down the Street of the Eternal Heroes, lost in thought on the troubling subject of the darkening of Midgard, and turned onto the stairs to the building at number 2340, where he maintained an apartment for those once-rare (and soon to be rare again, by Grand-dad!) occasions when business kept him overnight in Asgard. As he ascended the steps, he noticed first a pair of sturdy black traveling boots, then someone standing in them, leaning against one of the columns holding up the portico. Someone, Corwin realized as he stopped and looked, familiar. Perhaps, Corwin mused to himself, I thought too soon about that deadly-enemies thing. "Well, well, well," said Corwin dryly, his hands working into fists. "Look who isn't -dead-." For his visitor, smiling sardonically at him from behind the scarlet facial markings of a mid-level demon, appeared to be a man whom Corwin had last seen more than three years ago - lying face-down in a rather large pool of his own blood, on a dueling platform below the roots of the World-Tree. He wasn't lying in a pool of blood today. Rather, he was leaning against the column with his arms folded, dressed not in the white uniform of an Ohtori Academy student councilor, but rather in black robes of a different (and rather more sinister) cut than Corwin's own silver-trimmed black dress uniform. His face was the same, though, allowing for the markings, and the long, bright-red hair, worn swept back from that face and trailing down his back, was unmistakable. He couldn't be anyone other than Touga Kiryuu. "A mutual acquaintance of ours would like to talk with you, Ravenhair," said Touga calmly. "Under bond of peace, of course." Corwin's eyebrows went up. Somewhere inside his own head, he marveled at how matter-of-factly he was taking all this. "Is that so?" he inquired, pushing back his sleeves and assuming a combative stance. "Well, when he gets done putting your head back on, you can tell him I wasn't interested." Touga spread his hands, palms outward, still smiling that same sardonic smile. "Have a care, Aes," he said. "I came here in peace, and there's no war between Muspelheim and Asgard right now. There are rules to this sort of thing." Corwin considered this, then relaxed slightly, returning to his normal stance and shaking down the sleeves of his dress tunic. "Fine," he said civilly. "Then get out of my way and be on your own." "Don't be that way. You could be throwing away a great opportunity." "Opportunity for what? My blood pressure to go up?" Touga grinned, cocking a hand behind his ear. "Listen. Can you hear it?" Corwin gave him a blank look. "Hear -what-?" he asked tiredly. "If your soul has not truly given up," Touga went on grandly, "then you should be able to hear the sound of the engine, racing around the End of the World." Corwin listened. "Oh yeah," he said, nodding. Then he cocked his head thoughtfully and added, "It needs a valve job." Touga scowled at him momentarily before getting back to his script and continuing, "Allow us, Corwin Ravenhair, to invite you to the world that you desire!" Behind Corwin, a car pulled up to the curb with a squeal of tires. Corwin sighed heavily. If he turns on the radio and "Highway to Hell" is playing, Corwin thought, I'm getting out. I don't care how fast we're going. One of the funny things about the modernization of the celestial spheres, as they kept pace in some respects with the world of men, was the fact that the ancient tracks and pathways linking the Celestial and Infernal Worlds had become superhighways. This had rather displeased Corwin's uncle Thor, who was now unable to use his goat-drawn chariot to very good effect, but some found it quite enjoyable to go roaring around in souped-up automobiles. Indeed, drag races between gods and demons were the most common form of conflict during this time of relative peace between Asgard and Muspelheim. Given that, Corwin didn't really find it all that odd to be barrelling down Highway 6 in the back seat of a sports car. In this particular company, yes, that was strange. For that matter, the -car- was rather strange, since it gave every impression of being a 1957 Ford Thunderbird, except no '57 T-Bird ever had a back seat. But the phenomenon itself, no, not really all that odd. He leaned back, giving every appearance of ease, one arm flung over the back of the seat, the other resting on the window ledge, his disordered ebony hair fluttering around in the wind while the falling snow slid around the car's climate maintenance field with a rather hypnotic effect. His big hands lay slack against the cool black metal, giving no indication that their owner was less than two feet away from a person he had sworn, vehemently and repeatedly, to kill. On the other hand, Akio Ohtori was -driving-, so perhaps lunging forward and snapping his neck wouldn't have been a wise thing for Corwin to do in any event. And, as Touga had said, there were rules to this sort of thing. "Poor thing," said Nanami Kiryuu from the seat next to him, with a kind of vicious parody of solicitude. "You look so tired." "It's been a long day," Corwin replied. Up in front, Akio switched on the radio, and a familiar riff emerged from the speakers. /* AC/DC "Highway to Hell" _Highway to Hell_ */ Corwin tested the strength of his original resolve and found it lacking. He sighed, looked up at the gloomy sky, and muttered, "I suppose you think that's funny." "Pardon?" said Akio. "Nothing. Talking to my grandfather," Corwin mumbled. The radio, Corwin noticed as he drowsed in the back of the car, only played songs about cars and driving. He supposed that must get annoying after a while. He wasn't really worried, despite the fact that he was surrounded by not one, not two, but three deadly enemies. It was a matter of form - with no war between Muspelheim and Asgard, it would have been exceedingly bad form for Akio and his associates to harm a fully recognized member of the Aesir, especially a God First Class, Unlimited. Such an act would have displeased their own superiors in the Pit, let alone the Aesir Council; retribution would have been swift and internal for such a precipitous act. No, he was safe enough, at least in body, invited openly under a bond of peace. If any harm befell him on this trip, it would be because of some mental lapse in the course of whatever this "conference" was to be about. So for the moment, he wasn't worried. What he was, was tired. Tired enough that, leaning back, tipping his head back, and closing his eyes, he dozed off momentarily. When he wandered back to consciousness some time later, the radio was playing the Depeche Mode version of "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66", and the elaborate double-breasted black jacket of his Valkyrie uniform was unbuttoned, its lapels flapping around in the wind. Without raising his head, Corwin angled his eyes toward Nanami, who was now curled up next to him and toying idly with the silver braid on his right shoulder with a weird counterfeit of a mischievous grin. "You know," he said sleepily, "where I come from, it's considered rude to unfasten other people's clothes without asking." "Lighten up," she told him. "Anyway, it's hot where we're headed." Corwin supposed he couldn't argue with that. "You -are- cute," she went on, looking at him critically. "I can see why she wanted you." "Who?" Corwin asked. "You know... -her-." "Ah," said Corwin, unenlightened. He closed his eyes again, listened to the radio. It was a long drive from Asgard to Muspelheim. "Akio," he said, eyes still closed. "Mm?" Akio replied. "Are you in fourth?" "Yes," Akio replied with the faintest trace of irritation. "Mm," Corwin grunted. They must be going like a rocket, then, the way he had that engine wound up. Corwin hoped they wouldn't do something inconvenient, like blow a valve out on the Six Sixty-Six Bypass. He amused himself by mentally cataloguing the different repairs and maintenance that the engine sounded like it needed. "So," said Touga in a friendly sort of way. "How's the old gang?" "Fine, fine," Corwin replied abstractedly, not opening his eyes. "The Rose Bride's pregnancy coming along all right?" "Mm," said Corwin, unperturbed. "When's she due?" asked Touga conversationally. "March," Corwin replied. He opened his eyes, glancing sideways at Nanami, who had ceased toying with his uniform and was now toying with his chest hair. "Akio, you want to call off your she-devil?" he asked idly. "I'm not in the mood. And anyway, I assume you want me -awake- when we get where we're going." "Of course," said Akio dryly. "Nanami, behave yourself." "Yes, Lord Akio," said Nanami with some semblance of a pout; but Corwin thought, out of the corner of his eye, he detected a trace of relief in her slate-grey eyes as she slid to the other side of the seat. Corwin got in a bit of a nap after that, not enough to make up for all the sleep he'd lost in Council by any means, but enough to ensure that he was vaguely refreshed and conscious enough for government work when they arrived in Muspelheim. He buttoned his jacket again, straightening himself up, as he climbed out of the car and stretched his limbs - no need to be sloppy. He was a guest here, after all. Their destination was a palace - and quite a grand one, as the twisted and frightful palaces of Muspelheim went. Akio opened the doors with an iron key, which to someone with Corwin's knowledge of celestial and infernal politics was as ostentatious as saying aloud, "What do you think of my little place here? It's not much, but it's paid for." So. Akio was alive, and he had a palace in Muspelheim. Corwin took it all in as they entered, his mind working furiously. He'd visited seats of infernal power before, and this one was quite well-appointed as these things went. That was an important clue for judging his host's rank in the infernal hierarchy. Corwin knew what must have happened, had worked it out in his head on the way down here. Surtur, the fiery King of Muspelheim, Lord of Destruction, had been known in the past to pluck damned souls from their eternal "reward" and make demons of them. Shades so honored tended to be those of people who had been especially wicked in life - a distinction for which Akio Ohtori certainly qualified, if he could in fact be said to have been alive when committing his wickedness. That was a metaphysical hair Corwin wouldn't have felt competent to split even with all of his brain working, though, so he left it for another day. However it had happened, it was obvious that Surtur had been impressed with Akio's resume, as it were, and raised him - and that he had climbed quite far in the power structure of the Pit since then. An impressive achievement for a man not even four years dead; but then, whatever one said about Akio, one had to admit that he had never lacked initiative. There were a number of odd things about that which Corwin filed for later consideration - for example, how dead Cephireans had ended up in Muspelheim to begin with, when Cephiro hadn't been connected to the other Nine Worlds. (Then again, who could say -what- was going on that day? The universe hadn't quite been working right.) Right now what mattered was that he was here, alive and in a position of power, and that was bad news for Corwin and just about everyone he loved. Like both Kiryuus, Akio wore black robes of a severe and forbidding cut - a style not native to Muspelheim, but vaguely familiar to Corwin, though he couldn't place it. Akio's were the richest of the three, not visibly elaborate but subtly superior in fabric and cut. Wealth and power without ostentation: In the Pit, that was usually a signal of even greater power. Not good. Akio led the way down a black marble corridor, up a flight of stairs, and down another corridor to a set of tall ebony doors. Through these doors, with great civility, he bowed his visitor into a large, vault-ceilinged office - fairly nice, if you liked your decor to be weighted toward black and your view to be the Lake of Eternal Fire. "Posh, for the Pit," Corwin observed, taking in the view, then turning to look over the chart of Cephiro's central nation, Nihonia, that hung on the wall to his left. "It's called Tenjou Academy now, you know, and they tore down that burned-out building. That's where the new Himemiya Botanical Garden is. Really nice setup, too." Akio smiled thinly. "Thank you," he said. "I'll have it corrected right away." He gestured to one of the tall black leather chairs standing in the corner, near the bookshelves. "Please, take a seat. Touga, will you wait outside and see that we're not disturbed?" Touga made a short little bow, gave Corwin a brief, strange and rather unpleasant look, and exited. Corwin brushed back his cloak and sat. Akio arranged himself in the chair opposite, across a small round table. "You wanted to talk," said Corwin. He spread his hands equably. "Talk." "My, you're feeling abrupt today, aren't you?" Akio said pleasantly. "Nanami, would you be a dear and get us something to drink? The Courvoisier for me, I think. And for you, Corwin?" "Alpenstijn Brown if you've got it. Black coffee if you don't." He aimed a dark-browed glance across at Akio. "Hold the pomegranate." Akio chuckled, flipped a hand dismissively. "Nothing of the sort. I only want to talk to you." Reflexively, Corwin thanked Nanami for the bottle and glass she brought him. Akio didn't do the same for the snifter of brandy he received. Dismissed with a little wave of his hand, Nanami went to the couch standing along the opposite wall and stretched out lissomely upon it, eyeing Corwin speculatively from across the room. "So," said Corwin, pouring beer into his tilted glass, "what do you want?" "I want to thank you," said Akio, leaning comfortably back in his chair and swirling the brandy a bit. Corwin glanced thoughtfully across the rim of his glass, drank, and put it and the bottle down on the table. "For what?" "Well - that will take a bit of groundwork, and leads to the -second- thing I want to do for you today." "Which is... ?" "I want to help you escape from a web of lies and treachery," Akio replied. "As you helped -me- escape, several years ago." "Interesting perspective," said Corwin dryly. Akio shook his head with a look of sad sympathy. "I hope it isn't too late for you," he said. "But all I can do is try. Corwin, since the day you and I met - indirectly, since well before that - you've been a pawn, and I would see you removed from the board before you get hurt. I owe you. Please - hear me out." "I'm listening," said Corwin, not seeming very concerned. "Exactly whose pawn am I supposed to be?" "Why, my sister's, of course," said Akio, a rather bitter smile crossing his thinly handsome face. The Muspel-brands only accentuated the dark, slightly sardonic beauty of his face. That was often the case with svartelves who fell, and Corwin knew that Akio was half-svartelven. The only flaw in his countenance was the small, coal-black, slightly irregular dot in the middle of his forehead, beteween the red slashes of his brand. No surgery nor sorcery could repair that scar. It was the seal of an Aes's blood curse, and it had endured through even its wearer's death and resurrection. Only its author's forgiveness could erase it. "My dear, sweet sister Anthy," Akio went on. "She seems so kind and earnest, doesn't she? As though she would never harm a fly, let alone a person. The sort of person who makes the warm-hearted want to do anything for her. That's the outside. And inside? There's nothing. Only cunning and greed, and a need to control." Corwin gave him a look and remained silent. "Of course you think I'm mad," Akio said. "You would - she's had her claws in you for almost four years now. Let me go back and start at the beginning, then, and see if I can shed some light on why I say the things I say." Akio took a sip of his brandy, savored it, and then said, "Many years ago, Corwin, I was a different sort of man than I am now. The name my mother gave me was Dios. I was the Prince of Cephiro - the same position the Rose Knight now holds - protector of all that was good and bright about the Tenth World. Then as now, there were three of us: myself, Prince Dios; Zagato, the High Priest; and Princess Emeraude, the Pillar - my half-sister, by Father's second wife." He looked a bit sad. "But then you met Emeraude, briefly, didn't you? She invested you Rune Knight of Iron." Corwin nodded. "She did." "Mother died when Anthy and I were young, and Father remarried not so long afterward; Emeraude was only a year or so younger than Anthy. Zagato and I were schoolmates at Ohtori Academy - best friends, rivals in almost everything. The only thing we didn't compete for was Emeraude - she and Zagato were in love almost from the start. I suppose the three of us must take some of the blame for what happened later - we ignored Anthy a great deal in those days. She was a bit of a pest, always wanting to tag along, for she adored Zagato as well; but he only had eyes for Emeraude. Anthy pretended to understand, of course, but inside... " Akio shrugged. "Who knows exactly when the decay began?" Corwin took another drink, his face neutral, and didn't insert anything into the spot Akio had left open for comment. Seeing he wasn't going to get much cooperation, the dark man went on. "As it happened, Prince Demio and High Priest Sonett had died suddenly, early in our senior year at the Academy, fighting a dragon in the Morlund Wastes; so there was a Rose Tournament that year. Emeraude was chosen to be the Rose Bride. Zagato and I alternated as Grand Duelist for the entire year, but in the end, I prevailed and replaced Demio. Obviously I couldn't marry my own half-sister, but fortunately that was merely a formality in those days - so she married Zagato instead, and he became High Priest." Corwin nodded, to show he was still listening, but said nothing. "With both Demio and Sonett gone, Princess Diamante no longer had the strength of heart the Pillar's place required, and, foolish, headstrong girl that she was, Emeraude took her place - over my objections. She thought that, since Zagato was High Priest, they could still be together if she became the Pillar... and indeed, she was right, to an extent. The three of us were happy in those days. We were the shining light of Cephiro, the strength, integrity and spirit of the Tenth World. It was a good time." Akio gazed reflectively into his brandy. "A good time," he repeated softly. Then, shaking his head, he roused himself from reverie and continued sadly, "Until my sister destroyed us." Corwin put down his empty glass, folded his hands on his chest, and remained attentive but silent. "Anthy became poisonously jealous of us," Akio went on. "Before long she hated us: me, for transcending my svartelven blood to become the light of hope for our world; Emeraude, for taking Zagato; Zagato, for making the mistake of falling for the bright sister rather than the dark. She maintained her illusion of loving kindness, doting on us all, while inside she hated and plotted to end our happiness. One day, she had her chance. "It was a difficult season in Cephiro - many more people than normal were in need of my help. That may have had something to do with Emeraude's distraction, with Zagato always at her side, but I didn't grudge them their time together. I was willing to work for their happiness, because I loved them. One day, though, I pushed myself a bit too hard and fell ill." Akio closed his eyes and sighed. "It was just the opportunity my sister was waiting for. From somewhere, she had learned the dark arts of our mother's people, and while I lay helpless in my bed, sweating out the fever, she destroyed me." Corwin looked thoughtful. "With an axe?" he asked, sounding slightly hopeful. Akio gave him an irritated glance. "Oh no. No, violence isn't subtle enough to give shape to Anthy's hatreds. She did something far worse than maim my body - she stripped away my identity. She played on our tie of blood to tear the power of the Prince away from me and seal it up within herself. When that happened... " Akio spread his hands helplessly. "I ceased to be Dios and became... what I am. "I didn't want to believe that she could have done such a thing deliberately, and she provided me with the means to deny it. Wide-eyed and innocent, she told me she had not understood the full import of what she was doing, that she had only wanted to help me by lifting my burden for a time. And I wanted so badly to believe her, because she was my sister, that I did, even though I knew in my heart it was a lie." Corwin grunted noncommittally. "With the Pillar and the High Priest still distracting each other, without a Prince to preserve the balance in spite of their dalliance, Cephiro began to crumble," said Akio. "My desperation grew with each passing day until, finally, I... well, I went a bit mad," he admitted. "I became obsessed with repairing the damage my sister had done. She insisted that she didn't know how to reverse the curse she'd branded me with, pleaded with me just to rest and have a normal life with her, but that was merely a clever ploy. She knew her entreaties would have the opposite effect, and drive me to some desperate length to recover what I had lost. "And indeed it did. It took me years, but eventually, I worked my way into the confidences of the Ohtori Academy trustees, became their deputy chairman, essentially took over the school. The Academy is the key to Cephiro," he explained. "Within its walls are the leaders and luminaries of the Tenth World always trained, upon its dueling floor are the changes in the Trinity always decided. Once I had control of the school, I was able to modify the Duelists' Code and launch a new Rose Tournament." Akio chuckled bitterly. "Anthy agreed to be the Rose Bride for my altered Tournament, my desperate experiment. At the time, with my mind already weakened by my obsession, I took it for proof that she really did feel remorse for having brought me low. Little did I know that my plan was instrumental in her -own- agenda... but I'm getting ahead of myself. The modified Tournament had one real purpose in my mind - to free the power of the Prince from the prison of my sister. By then I didn't care if it came back to me or went to a suitable replacement, so long as my world had a Prince again! "I -was- cold and manipulative, I admit that, but I was desperate. My world was dying, and only by using the most brilliant of the Academy's brilliant student body, ruthlessly, without remorse, could I hope to save it." Cautiously, Corwin supposed that he could see that, under the circumstances. Akio nodded and continued. "And then Anthy played her own trump card and brought a ringer into my Tournament. I had completely forgotten the girl I'd given one of my signet crests to, some time before my illness, but Anthy somehow found her and used the fact of that ring to involve her in the duels. She abandoned the Rose Bride's sworn neutrality and supported one candidate - an accidental candidate at that! - over the ones I had carefully groomed for the position." "Ah," said Corwin, looking enlightened. "Initially, when I made contact with this interloper, I thought to discourage her, shoo her gently out of the place where she had no business being, and get on with things... but... that was before I actually -met- her. "After that, I found it difficult to consider sending her on her way. I started to think that... unconventional though it was... she might make a good Prince after all, or at least prove able to unlock the power and return it to me. Or perhaps that was wishful thinking and rationalization. My mind was so muddled with all that I was trying to keep in the air at once that I can't say for certain. "I didn't know then that she was the Rose Knight, of course - she had no idea herself - but she was. That was what allowed her to survive, untrained and untutored, in the Tournament in the first place. I simply thought she was remarkable. She dominated my thoughts." Akio smiled, a bit wistfully. "I did some things which, in retrospect, must have been awfully transparent. I was like a schoolboy again. It was all really rather stupid. I'm sure it amused Anthy enormously. At any rate... well... " Akio shrugged. "Ah, it was a long time ago. I don't know why I'm getting so choked up. I guess she was just that special to me. We were lovers, you know, the Rose Knight and I. Did she tell you that?" Corwin glanced up, meeting Akio's dark-green gaze for a moment, and something flickered behind the cool blue of his eyes for just the briefest instant. Akio missed it, and the Aes's face was calm and his voice impassive as he replied, "Yes... I think she mentioned it." Akio smiled. "I'm glad she remembers," he said. "Of course, she's been with Anthy so long now that I'm sure her memories of me are tainted, twisted... but at least she remembers me at all. That's something." Corwin said nothing. "Not long after that," Akio went on, his tone becoming almost self-consciously brisk, "Anthy made the next of her moves. She plied her own charms, poisoned the Rose Knight against me, broke her heart and turned her love for me into hate. Charged with such negative emotions, she completed the Tournament, but something went wrong, as Anthy must have known it would. The Rose Knight, even with her Heart destroyed, became the Prince, but in the same instant was cast out of Cephiro, the barrier sealed behind her. "Now Cephiro not only did not have a Prince, but could never regain one. I had failed, spectacularly and apparently irreversibly." Akio drained the last of his brandy, put the snifter down, and let out a long sigh. "As you might imagine, that, coming on top of the double loss of the Rose Knight herself, didn't help my mental state much. Fortunately," he added with a bitter grin, "my darling sister was able to comfort me. She told me not to despair, that there was another way, another path I might take to save Cephiro, if I only dared take it. Well, of course, I was well -beyond- desperate by then. I leaped at the chance. Tell me what to do, and it will be done, I said, for the sake of our world. "She told me the path was a simple one. The Prince was so desperately needed because the Pillar and the Priest weren't attending to their jobs. They would have to be replaced." "Mm," said Corwin. "Logical enough." "Indeed," Akio agreed dryly. "'Oh, your burden has been so great already, brother dear,' said Anthy - 'let me shoulder the weight of the Pillar, and you can be my Priest and support me. Together we can return Cephiro to its glory.'" Akio sighed. "So we went to Emeraude and Zagato, and told them what must be done." "That can't have made them happy," Corwin observed. "No," Akio chuckled. "You have a talent for understatement, my friend. They flew into a rage, accused us of plotting against them. Which, after all, we were. Emotions ran high. My desperation had begun to unravel the skein of my sanity by then. Everything Anthy said seemed like the unassailable truth. "'If you will not step aside, dear sister,' she said to Emeraude, 'then you and Zagato will have to die.' Suddenly that seemed perfectly logical to me... and Zagato and I fought our last duel, and he died by my hand." Akio looked, rather theatrically, Corwin thought, at his hands. "To save my world, I killed my best friend." "But not your half-sister," Corwin pointed out. "You left that little treat for the Rune Knights and me." "I had no choice," Akio told him. "You know full well - you told me yourself - that a Cephirean cannot kill the Pillar. But with Zagato gone, Emeraude summoned the outworlders and her minion Clef made them Knights... and you were caught in the middle of it all. But how lucky for me that you were," Akio went on, "how lucky. -This- is what I want to thank you for. By the sheer luck of your arrival, you prevented me from completing my sister's mad scheme. You stopped me from handing her ultimate power over Cephiro." Corwin gazed at him, his face unreadable. "You're trying to tell me she -wanted- to be in that magic circle. The one you had to throw her bodily into, after tearing her out of Utena's arms." Akio smiled indulgently. "You still don't understand? That little tableau with the Rose Knight was for your benefit, not hers. It backfired because of the strength of your character. What you were -supposed- to do was flare up with jealousy and help me prevent your fellow Knights from thwarting her investiture as the Pillar. It was an act, Corwin. Everything Anthy -does- is an act, calculated to achieve a particular effect. She misjudged you. She doesn't make that mistake often. In your case, she hasn't made it since." "So why did you keep fighting after I stopped her and became the Pillar myself? Why challenge me? You must have known I'd have to hand it off to Utena, newly invested as I was." "I was counting on it," Akio said. "Who else could reforge the Heart of the Rose? When else could it be done? What else could I do? I couldn't leave the Rose Knight crippled. With her heart whole, she stood a chance of shaking off my sister's influence someday. All I could do was induce you to heal her, then face her and fall." Corwin arched a skeptical eyebrow. "... You lost on purpose?" "I'm not saying I would certainly have won otherwise," said Akio, "but... yes. I did. Think of it as an atonement. I was the Prince once. It seemed fitting to sacrifice myself for the good of my replacement. Of course, I had to make it look good for Anthy - and you saw the true depth of her madness when I asked her for her help that one last time." Corwin declined to comment on that point; instead he gestured around the office. "And for that you end up a Duke of Hell? Good work if you can get it." "My work was incomplete," Akio explained. He didn't bat an eye when Corwin spoke the title, which meant the young god's educated guess had been right. No demon referred to by an incorrect title can resist correcting the speaker. "Surtur offered me a means of, perhaps, finishing it," Akio went on. "Of course I jumped at the chance; my time here has given me perspective on Anthy's lies, made me realize the enormity of her evil. If this is what I must become to have the best chance of cleansing the universe of the stain of her perversion, then I embrace it without hesitation. She is a scourge. A blight. A sweet-faced monster, an assassin of joy, corrupting and destroying everything she touches." Corwin's eyes narrowed a little. "That's the mother of my child you're talking about there," he said in a cold, dangerous tone, the first real emotion he'd shown all evening. Akio shook his head sadly. "Corwin, Corwin... the child is a perfect example of the sort of thing I mean. Do you think Anthy really wanted one? Don't be stupid. It isn't about the child. It's about power, manipulation, control. It's about rubbing the Rose Knight's nose in her own powerlessness, reminding her who really runs their life together. "You and the Rose Knight orbit each other like a binary star, almost scorching each other with your heat but never quite touching. Anthy knows that, how could she not? And so she set out to show both of you that, though she will never allow the Rose Knight to have you, she can have you herself, if she wishes." Akio made a negligent gesture. "The child is merely a reminder, there to twist the knife. My sister cares nothing for it, will care nothing for it when it is born. Its only value is as a means to an end, a demonstration of Anthy's power. I'm sorry, Corwin, I know this must be hard for you to hear, but you -must- hear it. You should have heard it long ago, but I lacked the power base to attempt this sort of contact, on equal footing, under the forms of peaceful discourse." Corwin gazed thoughtfully at Akio for several minutes; then he sat back, steepled his hands, and said, "So why must I hear it? Why are you telling me all this now? Because you hate to see people deceived and in pain? You're in Hell, Akio. If that bothered you too much you'd have jumped out that window by now." Akio chuckled. "No. I've become inured to that kind of thing," he said. "No, Corwin, I'm telling you this because we are two of a kind, victims of my sister's grasping heartlessness. We are... we are -brothers-, Corwin, brothers in loss, in denial. Anthy's cruelty has made us kin, and kinsmen help each other." This met with a look of bemused interest from Corwin and the skeptical but encouraging rejoinder, "And what sort of help do -you- want from -me-... 'brother'?" Akio smiled. "You are quick," he said. "I knew I was right to approach you, that it wasn't too late for you yet. Yes, I do want, I -need-, your help." "Mm-hmm. With?" "With the destruction of my plague of a sister, of course! A storm is coming in Midgard, you and I both know it, and it could easily sweep over Cephiro as well. With you, the Rose Knight, and the rest of the Rune Knights under Anthy's thumb, what would become of the Tenth World in the event of a serious conflagration? It's intolerable to consider. No, I've held back from this final act for a long time now, out of some lingering filial sentiment, but no longer. I must face the facts: Anthy is mad and dangerous, and she must be destroyed before she leads Cephiro to ruin." "And you want me to help you." "You are indispensable," Akio replied flatly. "She thinks she controls you as completely as she does the Rose Knight, but I think she's wrong. I think now that you know the truth, you'll understand that what I propose is the only way." Corwin folded one arm over the other and scratched thoughtfully at his ill-shaven chin. "You ask a lot," he said, finally. "Even assuming I -were- willing to kill the mother of my only child, whatever the motivations behind her conception - the others would hunt me to the ends of the universe. Anthy inspires loyalty." Akio gave a bleak laugh. "Mm, she always has, curse her. But with her lying tongue stilled, with her influence removed, I believe the others can be made to see the truth, the necessity of it. I'll take care of that. All you have to do is the deed itself." Corwin sighed dubiously, still worrying at his chin. "Do I have to decide right now?" he finally asked. "Time grows short, Corwin," Akio said urgently. "You know that better than I - what business has kept you with the Aesir Council since July? The storm is coming, and once it breaks there may not be time to act. Better to make the change now, so Cephiro can be stable again by the time the storm breaks. Wait until the child is born, if you like, but - yes, that may be best. Then you can strike while she's... incapacitated." "Hmmm," said Corwin, tapping at the point of his chin with his index finger, his face deep in thought. "Listen to me," said Akio leaning across the table, his eyes intense. "The Rose Knight is lost to me, Corwin, we both know that. Anthy has done too good a job of poisoning her memories of me, she will never accept me even once Anthy's lies are silenced. But you have avoided that trap - Anthy is so convinced of your loyalty that she has allowed the Rose Knight to keep her love for you. It amuses my sister to watch your mutual torment, as the two of you hover short of that final consummation for her sake, but to preserve that amusement she must allow the fires that burn within you both to go unquenched. Her arrogance in that can be her undoing." Corwin blinked slowly, gave Akio a searching look that bore a strange combination of dread and hope. "What are you saying?" he asked after a moment more, his voice very soft. "I'm saying," Akio told him in an insistent murmur, locking his gaze with Corwin's, "that if you help me destroy my sister, there will be no one else. She may take some time to accept the needfulness of your action, she may grieve for her illusions, but eventually, inevitably, the Rose Knight will be yours. Join me, do this for me, and I can make possible your fondest wish." The two men stared into each other's eyes for almost a full minute, the silence between them almost humming with the intensity of the moment. Then, slowly, Corwin's face changed from a tentative, indecisive expression to an icy sneer, and he stood up, almost making Akio bump his chair as he rose along with the Aes. "You," said Corwin coolly, "are a real piece of work, Akio. Oh, it's a good story, and you're a good storyteller. On a bad day, I might even have thought about believing you... if you hadn't tried to get sentimental about Utena. Here's a hint: The next time you try to convince someone you're talking about a woman you love, you might mention her by name at least once." "I... it's... difficult," Akio replied, looking aggrieved. "She was so special to me, and it ended so badly... " "Uh-huh," said Corwin dismissively. "Sure. There's another thing, too. I might believe, on a bad day, that I could be a total sap for four years running. It's not likely, but it's conceivable." He grinned icily. "But my Aunt Bell?" He shook his head. "I don't think so. 'A' for effort, 'B+' for overall execution, 'F' for sloppy detail work." Corwin straightened his cloak, stepped right up to Akio, and looked him square in the eyes. "My curse still stands, you scum, you -nithling-," Corwin spat in a voice of cold but barely contained wrath. "So does my vow to kill you. Not here, not now - that would be improper. As your pal Touga pointed out, there are rules to this sort of thing. But someday, Akio, you're going to screw up and put yourself across my path. And when that happens?" Corwin leaned in another inch, so that their noses were almost touching, and whispered in a low, venomous rasp, "_I'm going to tear you apart._" Whirling on his heel, Corwin strode away. "So long, Akio," he said over his shoulder, in an offhanded tone. "Thanks for the beer. I'll tell Anthy you said 'Hi.'" Akio stared after him for several seconds, fists clenched at his sides, his face smoldering with fury. Then he turned toward Nanami and made a single jerky, angry, knife-edged gesture with his hand. Nanami sprang up and ran after the outraged Aes. Corwin left the palace without a word or backward glance for Touga (whom he had startled out of a nap by slamming open Akio's office doors), striding along the corridor, down the stairs, down the other corridor and through the doors to the drive with his eyes firmly front and face set in a grim mask. Without a word to the two startled soldiers standing at the gates to the road outside, he swung those gates open with a screech of iron and struck out for the city itself, bound for the bus station and a long, exhausting ride home. Behind him, he heard a familiar engine, and then a voice crying, "Ravenhair, -wait-!" He didn't slacken his pace. A few moments later, Akio's black Thunderbird roared up, checked with a chirp of tires on tarmac, and matched his pace at a rumbling idle. Nanami Kiryuu was behind the wheel, and apparently alone. "Lord Akio sent me to take you home," Nanami said. "We can't let you -walk-." "I'll take the bus," Corwin said evenly. "Don't be like that," Nanami replied. "Come on, for form's sake, let me drive you home. It would reflect badly on our house if a guest we picked up was allowed to return to the Golden City on a -bus-." "Why should I care about how anything reflects on Akio Ohtori's house?" "If I go back without you, I'll be punished," she told him. "Aren't knights supposed to help girls in trouble?" Corwin stopped walking. Nanami braked the T-Bird to a halt. The two regarded each other across the open space of the passenger seat for a few seconds. Corwin cracked the faintest hint of a grin and climbed into the car, stretching out in the passenger seat. The road out of the Pit wasn't as smooth as the one into it; there was a certain pleasure in that asymmetry, Corwin thought, but it didn't please him much when he could have been having a more restful nap. Still, even if he wasn't asleep, he was comfortable. The fact that he was so tired prevented him from doing what he normally would have done after an interview like that, which was rage around in circles for an hour or two wishing he'd torn Akio Ohtori's head from his shoulders -whatever- the cost. No doubt he'd do that in the morning - the raging, not the tearing. Instead, he sat slumped in the passenger seat of the black Thunderbird, watching Nanami drive through half-hooded eyes. She was a good driver; she obviously enjoyed the work and liked the car, and what was more, she -appreciated- the car, in a way that its owner did not. Corwin smiled a little. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed it. "What?" she asked irritably. "You're a better driver than Akio," said Corwin. "You treat the car like a car, not a hammer." A hint of a blush crept into Nanami's cheeks under the scarlet brands of her demonhood. "No one asked you," she said defensively. Corwin raised an eyebrow. "You're not very kittenish now," he said. "What's the matter? I turn back into a pumpkin when I blew off your boss? Crossed off your Temptation List? Don't think I'm cute anymore?" Nanami scowled. "Do you have to ruin a perfectly nice drive by babbling?" she asked. "Don't get the idea I wanted to be pawing at you like that. It's in my nature. When Lord Surtur translated me from damned soul to demon, He made me a succubus." Corwin frowned. "Hm. A refined, elegant girl like you? Shame. But I suppose that's why it's Hell." "Shut up," Nanami snarled; and then, snottily sarcastic, "Sorry if I embarrassed you." Corwin shrugged. "I don't mind being petted by a pretty blonde now and then. Anyway, I wouldn't hold it against you - you can't help what you are." She glared at him and said coldly, "Don't. Go there." Corwin spread his hands. "Sorry. Peace. Y'know, even though you work for Akio, I don't really think of you as my enemy." "That's your problem," Nanami muttered, and she turned her full attention back to driving. She didn't seem able to sustain her anger with him, though. After a few more minutes of her driving and his drowsing, she said in a slightly forced conversational tone, "You want to listen to the radio? It only plays songs about cars, but - " She reached down, switched it on, and out came a driving beat and a high, clear voice - Kaitlyn's, Corwin realized with a mild thrill of surprise - singing: I'll break away, yes I'm on my way Leavin' today, yes I'm on my way Just when you think you had it all figured out Runnin' scared can change your mind I never knew I had so much to give How hard times can fool ya Oh I'm okay, I'm all right Feelin' good out on your own I'll break away, I'll break away tonight I've got dreams I'm livin' for "That's new," Nanami mused. I'll break away Yes, I'm on my way I'm leavin', leavin' today Yes, I'm on my way This is my escape Yes, I'm on my way I'll break away Yes, I'm on my way The next song was the Beach Boys version of "409". Nanami and Corwin looked at each other and shrugged, then went back to their previous activities (driving and drowsing, respectively). They said nothing more for most of the trip, but the silence wasn't particularly strained; in a way, it was almost companionable. In the hazy glow of his semi-wakeful state, Corwin came to the conclusion that he rather liked this girl, even though they were on opposite sides of such a vast gulf. The ruddy hills and scarlet skies of Muspelheim changed gradually to the grey of Niflheim, then the haze of Hel, before finally the sky cleared and the stars came out. They were in Asgard, the snowstorm having ended while they were gone. As the Thunderbird spun up Highway 6 between the tall cresting snowbanks thrown back by the Celestial Highway Department's plow trucks, Corwin glanced at the clock on the dash and saw that it was just a little shy of two in the morning. Merry freaking Christmas, he told himself wryly, but he was too tired to really be as upset about it as he wanted to be. GOLDEN CITY - 45, said the first big green sign the T-Bird's headlights caught at a bend. "So," said Nanami suddenly, jolting Corwin out of a renewed doze. "Mm?" he said. "You still hang around with the old crowd, right?" "Um... yeah," said Corwin. "How's the genius doing?" "Huh?" Corwin asked, confused. "Miki," said Nanami impatiently. "Is he doing all right? Did he and that sister of his ever sort each other out?" Corwin blinked at her, clearing away the wool from his brain. "Oh, uh... yeah, they're doing fine. Miki's spending Christmas with my sister... Kozue's working her butt off in a military academy." "Kozue learned how to study?" Corwin chuckled. "Yeah, and Miki learned how to have fun." "Wow," said Nanami; and then, in a softer tone that was almost snatched away by the Thunderbird's slipstream, "Maybe anything -is- possible... " Nothing more was said until she pulled the T-Bird up to the curb in front of Corwin's apartment building on the Street of the Eternal Heroes. As the weary god climbed out into the pool of yellow light cast by the streetlamp in front of the building (and into the shock of the cold winter's night after the warmth of the T-Bird's climate field), Nanami leaned across the seat and touched his arm. He looked down at her, blinking in sleepy query. "Want me to tuck you in?" she said with that odd, cold burlesque of seductiveness. "You're cuter when you're being natural," he observed, smashing the mask and bringing that little blush back to her cheeks. "Sorry," she said. "Force of habit." Then she paused for a second, the blush deepening, before going on in a quieter, more serious tone, "But the offer stands... " For a very long moment, Corwin stood silently looking down at Nanami, his face blank. Despite his weariness, his first impulse had been to accept, his second, almost instantaneous, to decline. He made himself look at his reasons for the second impulse. Sure, she was a demon. So what? She was attractive, and willing, and there wasn't a war on. Well, she might have been sent with instructions to do this. To what end? She couldn't hurt him; they'd have been seen together, entering the city, and any hostile action on her part now could -start- a war, one the Pit was almost assuredly not prepared for. Besides, he didn't feel that kind of motive from her. Granted, he was tired, and lonely, and possibly just trying to find something, anything, good to believe in, here in this dark hour - but he thought there was more to his impression of her than that. Her face had gone so totally still and serious, her slate grey eyes were so steady and so very slightly sad... he would swear she'd restated the offer on the spur of the moment, that she hadn't had any intention of doing so a second before she actually said it. Anyway, without an agenda of harm, what other point would there be in -ordering- her to do it? He could hardly be ruined by scandal. He was an adult, a fully qualified divinity, and he was expected to make his own decisions about private matters. He had no one to answer to, no one at all. His last relationship had dissolved months before, for reasons he still didn't completely understand. Since then he'd had an opportunity or two, here and there - he was handsome, likeable, and eligible, after all - but he'd passed them up, as gracefully as he could (well, -usually- as gracefully as you could, he thought with a suppressed snort of self-mocking laughter), because of this same groundless, reflexive hesitation. What the hell are you saving yourself for, Ravenhair? he asked himself irritably. Even in his situation, bitterness was a thing largely alien to Corwin Ravenhair, but lack of rest and the raw smarting of the old wound Akio had ripped open combined to touch him with it now. "... Yeah," he said finally, his voice barely audible. "All right." Without a word, Nanami climbed out of the Thunderbird and left it in front of the building. Corwin's extravagant weariness made him slow to respond, but Nanami didn't seem to mind. She took it slow and easy, and did most of the work. It was almost more like she really -was- just tucking him in, putting a tired friend to bed after a long day, than a sexual coupling. She was good at her job - that should have come as no surprise, Corwin had never heard of a succubus who was -bad- at it - but she also seemed genuinely to enjoy it, which he'd been given to understand was fairly rare. The seductresses of the Pit were good fakers, but their repetoires were famously limited, and did not include the kind of complex, gentle, almost -ceremonious- gratification involved here. Succubi on the clock might have fun, but they were -never- moved, and didn't bother to act like they were. Somehow, she didn't seem surprised when, at the end, he buried his face in her soft, pale shoulder and began to cry. She simply held him, stroked his hair, murmured to him, the way a normal person would comfort a grief-stricken friend. Corwin raised his eyes to hers, a question shining in them behind the tears. Nanami looked at him with a solemn gravity he hadn't seen on her face before, and when she spoke, her voice was hushed and entirely without sarcasm. "You're still in love with her, aren't you?" she asked, but it wasn't really a question. Corwin looked back at her, nodded once, and said in a whisper, "Yeah. I still am. I think... I think I always will be." Nanami nodded. "I thought so. He went too far," she added softly. "He always goes that one step too far. I saw it in your eyes... " She sighed resignedly. "I can't imagine what it must feel like to love someone that way. I thought I did once, but... " She shivered slightly in his arms. "... but I was so very, very wrong." Before he could ask, she glanced across at the glowing numbers of his bedside clock and said hastily, "I have to get back. I'll already have to explain why I'm so late." "Tell 'em you made one last try at recruiting me," Corwin suggested with a trace of wryness. Nanami gave him a small, rather shy smile, wrinkling her nose a little, and said, "Maybe I'll do that. It'll get Touga's goat. He really hates you for some reason." "Kozue," Corwin said, rising and fumbling with his pants in the dark. "If you've been scrying on us, then he knows we used to live together. That she turned her life around." "Mm, that's probably it," Nanami agreed. "You don't have to get up," she added, shrugging as she did back into her own jacket. "Walk you down," he replied, throwing on his tunic without bothering to button it. "You're my guest," he added with a dry, quiet chuckle. And indeed he did walk her down to the curb. The Street of the Eternal Heroes was pitch-black and silent, dawn still hours away, as she paused beside the T-bird, turned, and impulsively kissed him. "Thanks for this," she told him with an air of slightly forced flippancy - the tone of a person who is speaking truth, but phrases it as a joke to keep it from stinging as much. "It was nice. I've always wondered what it would be like with somebody who at least didn't hate me." She chuckled with a wryness that hid the pain of the irony and added, "My only Christmas present. Merry Christmas to me." Then she hurdled the side of the car, slipping effortlessly behind the wheel, and fired up the engine. Turning her head to Corwin, she tossed her blonde hair behind her and said offhandedly, "See you around, hero. Merry Christmas to you, too." "Nanami - " Corwin blurted suddenly, putting his hand back onto the top of the car door. Nanami stopped reaching for the gearshift lever and looked questioningly at him. He hesitated. What was he planning to do? Ask her to defect? It happened sometimes. It would endanger her, certainly - the creature who called himself her master nowadays was a dangerous and vengeful individual, and -his- master was worse. But if she stayed in Asgard, under the protection of a grandson of Odin, the son of a Norn... ... but he looked at her face and knew he couldn't suggest it. He had never met Nanami before, but he'd heard of her a great deal, mainly from Anthy, who still regretted all she'd gone through for helping the Rose Bride in darker times. This blonde shadow had been a proud girl once, and though she had fallen far and suffered much, some dark reflection of that pride remained in her. Surtur would have seen to that when he raised her from the dead; without it, her new station in the cosmos wouldn't hurt her. Corwin had seen the spark of pride in her eyes in the dark. She was proud of herself for the first time in who knew how long, proud and pleased at having given freely of what her infernal design expected her to sell to her master's advantage, for no cause greater than an obscure solidarity and a fledgling friendship. It had been as much a gesture of defiance against her fate as an expression of affection for him; he knew that, and it pleased him. It would wound that pride to the bone if he offered her his protection now; she would take it as something like an offer of payment for the service she'd just rendered. She would think that he was after all viewing what had passed between them as a transaction, and he would be damned if he would make her think that when he looked at her, he saw a whore. What he saw was a deeply wounded, movingly courageous soul, and though he knew she needed help, he also knew he could not offer it right now without destroying the fragile trust that had sprung up between them. Inwardly, Corwin cursed himself for his weakness and stupidity. If he'd thought to suggest it when they'd first arrived in the Golden City, before she'd made her offer, or if he'd at least deferred his acceptance until he'd had a chance to make the proposal first... but now it was too late. He wouldn't be able to persuade her to stay, and if he brought it up now he would only make her leave in anger instead of peace. Another day, then. He cringed inwardly at the thought of sending her back to that life, to errands in the Pit and the leering caricature of her brother, to Akio whom he had sworn to destroy; but he had no choice. And besides - with that spark of pride still in her, bolstered by her choices here today, she would be all right. Nanami would survive until the reckoning came, and no fiber of Corwin doubted that there would be one. This time, she was not mad, not broken-willed, and if she were careful, so she would remain. All this ran through his mind, weary but suddenly racing, in the space of perhaps five seconds, as Nanami waited with a quiet, expectant look. And though it was an inadequate thing to say after all the things that had just run through his mind, the only thing Corwin, his tired face drawn and serious again, could think to do was lean over the passenger seat, kiss her softly on the cheek, and say in a hushed voice, "... Take care of yourself." "So what do you care?" she replied, her voice almost inaudible, grey eyes shimmering in the yellow glow of the streetlamp. "Knights are supposed to help girls in trouble," he said, coming as close as he could to an offer. "Not -this- much trouble," Nanami replied; then she put the car in gear, let out the clutch, and roared off down the street. Corwin watched the Thunderbird's taillights disappear around the end of the block. He stood there on the sidewalk listening until he could no longer hear the sound of the engine, racing around the End of the World. Then he sighed all the way down to his toes, trudged back up the stairs, and went back to bed. /* Joe Devlin "Betrayal" */ Eyrie Productions, Unlimited presented UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES FUTURE IMPERFECT - Symphony of the Sword No. 4 - Intermezzo: Sympathy for the Devil The Cast (in order of appearance) Corwin Ravenhair Touga Kiryuu Akio Ohtori Nanami Kiryuu Anthy Tenjou Road trippin' to the Pit Benjamin D. Hutchins Cooler man John Trussell Map reader Anne Cross and all the Usual Suspects The Symphony will return [ring ring ring click "Hello?" "Yes, but that's all right. What's wrong, Corwin? You sound... sad." "I'm fine. Are you sure you're all right?" "Oh... that's sweet of you, Corwin. I love you, too." "Merry Christmas, Corwin." click] E P U (colour) 2003