Haze & Chaos - Retaliation Part 4
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Anton’s office was a cozy, regal-yet modest room that was quite large–and it immediately invoked the idea of someone who was out to learn all that he could to prepare for something he foresaw on the horizon. The top quality carpets were a royal red, the rich brown wood walls were lined with walnut bookshelves and lit with warm lighting, and there was a smell of subtle mustiness combined with a sweet smell from the vast collections of books. The room was also just the right temperature to be warm, but not too warm. Will felt like pulling a book off the shelf and sitting down to read it, but unfortunately all of them had legal matters to discuss. Two men were in the office, consisting of one who was not immediately in view upon entering, and another who seemed quite approachable. Sure, he seemed on the cusp of being elderly and his brown hair was receding, but something about him said that he was still full of energy and that he was not slowing down any time soon.
The man was naturally happy to see Will, reuniting with an old friend of his… “Goededag, Will!” He said with a noticeably dutch accent as he went to shake his hand vigorously. “I am Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, and I’m here to help you.”
Will laughed as the handshake ended and he flicked his hand a little. “Nice to meet you too, Doctor–”
“Feel free to call me ‘Abraham,’ Will–we were once close friends after all.”
“Oh, alright then…” Will had the weirdest feeling of nostalgia, accompanied by a weird sense of regret that compelled him to apologize for a past blunder… but he elected not to for the time being, lest he make things awkward.
“Lt. Colonel, good to see you again,” Abraham said as he shook Antares’ hand.
“How are you doing, doc? Nothing popped up while we were waiting?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Thankfully no,” said Abraham. He then turned to Quincy. “Everything okay on your end, my boy?”
“Yup, all good,” he said as he took a seat at a side table and picked up a fashion magazine, leaning back to relax. “I’ll let you guys handle all of this legal hoohaa, heh.”
Will was curious given that he could have sworn he saw what looked like a bodysuit on the cover. “What… what are you reading, Quincy?”
“Mode Lunaire–one of mom’s fashion pieces was featured in last month’s issue…”
Anton gave a slight grimace. “It was probably the latex…”
“Eh?” Will had caught that murmur.
“Sorry, it’s just that synthetic fabrics make me nervous… Ahem, Wendelin, would you like to introduce yourself?” He was not thrilled to go from one unpleasant subject (for him at least) to another.
There was a clap from the seat next to the entrance, with a man dressed in eccentric attire stepping forward. The first thing that was noticeable was the man’s tuxedo, which was black with vertical, magenta stripes and extravagant, purple lapels. He wore glasses with golden eyes behind them, and his walnut-colored hair was styled upwards and back. “Guten Tag, Herr Ford–it’s an honor to finally meet you, given all of the mischief you’ve no doubt been through.” His German accent was as thick as Abraham’s accent was Dutch.
Will hesitantly shook the man’s hand, receiving a subtle jolt of electricity from him. In a moment so quick that no one but Will would have noticed, he caught a glimpse of something strange. It was almost like he was looking at a reincarnated god… no, a god in hiding… “Hi, I’ve–I’ve heard of you…”
“In der Tat, I’d say from Sebastian, but he’s been tight-lipped about our partnership ever since The Extinction War–even after I went and got that ridiculous Death Knell Coven back together for his little schemes…”
“Easy, Wendelin,” Anton warned him.
Wendelin shook his head and chuckled. “It’s history by this point, is it not?”
“Yeah, Sam and I have read about The Death Knells and how they fractured,” Will pointed out with a nod. “You got them back together?”
“Ja, but for reasons that I cannot reveal–And given the thrashing Valentin gave them several months ago, I have no plans to bail them out again. They served their purpose, so they’re on their own now–and given how one of my associates is gunning for that incompetent Hecate, I’d dare say I’d made the right choices.”
“Fascinating…” Antares remarked, albeit it was more scathing than a compliment. “So you’ve got a bone to pick with Laurence?”
“Certainly, given that that undesirable has been sucking up to the imbecilic Audoin, and The Profane Alliance ever since the ACF-100 incident.” There was a subtle hint of irritation in his voice that made Will crack a smile for some reason.
“Well how about we have a seat, gentlemen,” Abraham suggested as he indicated the comfy-looking chairs before them, with Anton going to sit at his mahogany desk. “Alright, so the name of the game is exposing Laurence for the criminal that he is, and we finally have a crack in the dam to take advantage of. Now, Will–since this is your first rodeo, I suggest you let me and Wendelin do the talking–”
“Sure,” he agreed. “My forte has always been heading out into the field after all.
“I won’t be attending the trial with you, Will,” Antares added. “General Aalders wants to handle this, and well… you know me, ha.” Will chuckled, thinking back to when he was arguing with Marcus back in September.
“Despite Laurence’s slander of you, Will, Wendelin is the main driving force behind this trial,” Abraham resumed. “Wedenlin?”
“Ja,” he answered as he leaned on the side of the chair to get into a more comfortable position, resting his ankle on his leg. “As you no doubt have read by now, William–Laurence is the son of Harbor Duckenfield, a man who attempted to fund the Nazi war effort in 1939 through a series of illegal coal mines that ended in The Glintrock Coal Mine collapse of 1942, and The Rocke-Harrison Mine Collapse of 1943. I became well aware of this given that Sebastian was utterly furious that latter day, especially considering it was the day he had met das arschgeige, Karnage Dethgrave…”
“Can I tell Sam about this stuff?” Will interjected. “Given her previous relations to Karnage?”
“Natürlich, and be sure to tell her Volf says hallo.”
Anton exhaled through his nose quite loudly, but made sure to keep his tone subdued and amicable. “Given that she’s now a part of The Liger Brigade, it would be pertinent for you to tell her, Will.”
“So where does Laurence come into play with all of this?” Antares inquired, wanting to get the conversation back on track.
Wendelin cleared his throat a little before readjusting his position in the chair. “Harbor managed to escape all responsibility for his misdeeds on account of his wealth and connections, and groomed Laurence to be just as undesirable as him–and before we continue, Anton, I have some information that you may be interested in…”
That caught Anton’s attention, with him raising an eyebrow. “Oh? Do tell…” In that moment it felt like a meeting between two gods, and the mild anxiety emanating from Anton almost became a haze that shrouded the whole room.
“As Abraham can attest, Kit wanted to bring Harbor to justice, but was unable to… or so the story goes. In reality he and The Lynx God tracked him down in The Unlight en route to The Realm of Chaos and brought him before The Sepulcher God, who promptly slew Harbor where he stood.”
“Really now?!” Anton exclaimed. “What was… what caused Sepulcher to be that heated?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Harbor would have caused nothing but trouble, stabbed Sebastian in the back, and joined that utterly stupid Profane Alliance–you remember how Sepulcher handled the ACF-100 incident?”
Will was glancing back and forth between the two, then looked at Abraham. “Kit who?”
“Kit Alastair Llewellyn, one of our co-workers,” he answered.
“Ah, okay–Hey, Anton? What are you talking about?” Will waited, but Anton seemed a little hesitant out of uncertainty. “I ran into The Reverse Serpent in the other lobby…”
Anton exhaled, then laughed. “Of course… You were injected with The Undead Plague after all…” He sighed to ease his nerves. “Well I might as well just say it now–I’m the core personality of The Tyrant God, Will. And yes, Sepulcher was a close friend of mine… up until we conquered Lost Carcosa during the Epoch, which is when things started to fall apart.”
Quincy looked up from his magazine. “Wait… seriously?”
Anton nodded. “Everything is a mess right now, son–I am trying so hard to get all of my power back, but there’s just one hurdle after another right now, and it feels like I’m spinning my wheels…”
“Jeez…” he said as he went back to his magazine. “Well, um, I don’t know about gods and whatnot, but you’ve got my help either way, Anton.”
“Thank you, Quincy–I wish things could be simple, but you know how it goes. And I have to give Sepulcher credit–he made a good call on that one. And I’ve noticed he’s been trying to get things back in order, given that he’s openly refused to let Karnage–or Ultinn, back in…” Anton had also given Wendelin a look that said he knew what was going on with him.
“Ja, or so I’ve been told,” he replied with a clever chuckle. “Laurence has been a thorn in everyone’s side, and it’s about time we did something about him–especially given his ties to Audoin and Herr Stainthorpe…”
“Given how much of a corrupt scoundrel he is?” Will interjected. “Just say the word and I’m there…”
Abraham took the opportunity to explain how much of a problem Laurence was–from his authoritarian views to the totalitarian laws he tried to pass over the years to the obvious fact that everyone was gunning for him. Laurence was one of the last holdouts of the horrific Extinction Order, which had been a massive threat to humanity despite time running out quickly for the organization. Wendelin provided a great deal of context, and detailed times over the years where Laurence had conned him out of money–Wendelin was a billionaire, so it was more a matter of principle. Will and Antares were wondering what Wendelin’s edge he kept bragging about was, given that Laurence was known for playing dirty. Wendelin figured it was time to introduce his star witnesses…
“Herr Backus?” he called out.
Phasing through the door was a ghost boy that appeared to be a British lad dressed in work clothes, consisting of a beat up t-shirt, overalls, and heavy boots that had seen it all. His brown hair was messy and face had spots of dirt, but that could not hide how polite and kind he was. “Top of the morning to you, gentlemen! And I know who this is…” he said as he went up to Will and shook his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, William! I’m Caelan Backus.”
“You know me already?” he asked, a little weirded out, but still happy to meet him.
“Well of course I would! I’ve been told all about you, and bloody hell–you and your lot have been making noise all over the Cosmos as of late. Plus I know a dullahan when I see one,” he said tapping his neck.
Will chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. “Okay, fair enough…”
“I mean, it’s kind of obvious, Will,” Haze put in.
Caelan went around shaking hands and exchanging greetings, then went to lean on Anton’s desk. “So I was trapped in The Glintrock collapse and, well… to say I was an angry ghost for a while was accurate. I ended up in Rosecloud in The Ghost Realm and wasn’t sure what to do, but then I found out the local mine needed a supervisor or two, so I figured I’d throw my hat in to make sure no one got hurt–”
Will snickered. “Wait, I thought ghosts couldn’t get hurt…”
Caelan paused for a second to give Will a mildly incredulous look, but remembered he was dealing with humans… debatably, given who some of them truly were. “Believe it or not we can get hurt, ha. Anyways, I guess I lost track of time because by the time I heard about what happened to Harbor, he had long since died… And then Wendelin pulled me over for a quick chat one day to tell me what had actually happened, and that he wanted to enlist my help for this case–”
“Wait, we can employ ghosts as witnesses?” Antares asked as he stood up, a little confused. “Seriously? Wouldn’t that throw the entire legal system into chaos?”
“Under normal circumstances,” Wendelin said as he went over to pat Caelan on the shoulder. “As you know, Laurence was involved with the mine collapses… and I had a talk with our future judge–slipping him a few Reichsmarks to help feed the wife und kids, on top of keeping the lights on–well, dollars as you Americans would say, but you catch my meaning.”
Antares was beside himself in disbelief, scoffing a little. “Well then… you didn’t…?”
“Nein–as rich as I am I could never get away with paying for an outcome. Plus I want to see Laurence’s soul crushed before my eyes.”
“Okay then… Caelan, Will knows a few ghosts–”
The boy nodded. “Mm-hm, Trevor MacQuoid and The Fernsby’s–I’ve heard of them. Don’t worry, Will–by holy Camelot I swear we’ll win this case.”
Will smiled, and his neck vented out a plume of pink smoke (with Haze retracting a little to let it out). “Thanks… so who’s the other witness?”
The room went quiet for a second with Anton, Abraham, and Quincy looking nervous. “About that…” Anton said in a slightly sheepish tone of voice.
“He’s going to meet him either way,” Wendelin pointed out.
Anton shot him a critical look that he knew the meaning of and sighed, going to the phone on his desk. After dialing an internal number for the mansion, he waited patiently. “Hey, Camden… could you send Genome to my office? We’re ready for him…”
“Genome?” Will questioned, looking at Antares who shrugged and was just as clueless as him.
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ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
Anton’s office was a cozy, regal-yet modest room that was quite large–and it immediately invoked the idea of someone who was out to learn all that he could to prepare for something he foresaw on the horizon. The top quality carpets were a royal red, the rich brown wood walls were lined with walnut bookshelves and lit with warm lighting, and there was a smell of subtle mustiness combined with a sweet smell from the vast collections of books. The room was also just the right temperature to be warm, but not too warm. Will felt like pulling a book off the shelf and sitting down to read it, but unfortunately all of them had legal matters to discuss. Two men were in the office, consisting of one who was not immediately in view upon entering, and another who seemed quite approachable. Sure, he seemed on the cusp of being elderly and his brown hair was receding, but something about him said that he was still full of energy and that he was not slowing down any time soon.
The man was naturally happy to see Will, reuniting with an old friend of his… “Goededag, Will!” He said with a noticeably dutch accent as he went to shake his hand vigorously. “I am Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, and I’m here to help you.”
Will laughed as the handshake ended and he flicked his hand a little. “Nice to meet you too, Doctor–”
“Feel free to call me ‘Abraham,’ Will–we were once close friends after all.”
“Oh, alright then…” Will had the weirdest feeling of nostalgia, accompanied by a weird sense of regret that compelled him to apologize for a past blunder… but he elected not to for the time being, lest he make things awkward.
“Lt. Colonel, good to see you again,” Abraham said as he shook Antares’ hand.
“How are you doing, doc? Nothing popped up while we were waiting?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Thankfully no,” said Abraham. He then turned to Quincy. “Everything okay on your end, my boy?”
“Yup, all good,” he said as he took a seat at a side table and picked up a fashion magazine, leaning back to relax. “I’ll let you guys handle all of this legal hoohaa, heh.”
Will was curious given that he could have sworn he saw what looked like a bodysuit on the cover. “What… what are you reading, Quincy?”
“Mode Lunaire–one of mom’s fashion pieces was featured in last month’s issue…”
Anton gave a slight grimace. “It was probably the latex…”
“Eh?” Will had caught that murmur.
“Sorry, it’s just that synthetic fabrics make me nervous… Ahem, Wendelin, would you like to introduce yourself?” He was not thrilled to go from one unpleasant subject (for him at least) to another.
There was a clap from the seat next to the entrance, with a man dressed in eccentric attire stepping forward. The first thing that was noticeable was the man’s tuxedo, which was black with vertical, magenta stripes and extravagant, purple lapels. He wore glasses with golden eyes behind them, and his walnut-colored hair was styled upwards and back. “Guten Tag, Herr Ford–it’s an honor to finally meet you, given all of the mischief you’ve no doubt been through.” His German accent was as thick as Abraham’s accent was Dutch.
Will hesitantly shook the man’s hand, receiving a subtle jolt of electricity from him. In a moment so quick that no one but Will would have noticed, he caught a glimpse of something strange. It was almost like he was looking at a reincarnated god… no, a god in hiding… “Hi, I’ve–I’ve heard of you…”
“In der Tat, I’d say from Sebastian, but he’s been tight-lipped about our partnership ever since The Extinction War–even after I went and got that ridiculous Death Knell Coven back together for his little schemes…”
“Easy, Wendelin,” Anton warned him.
Wendelin shook his head and chuckled. “It’s history by this point, is it not?”
“Yeah, Sam and I have read about The Death Knells and how they fractured,” Will pointed out with a nod. “You got them back together?”
“Ja, but for reasons that I cannot reveal–And given the thrashing Valentin gave them several months ago, I have no plans to bail them out again. They served their purpose, so they’re on their own now–and given how one of my associates is gunning for that incompetent Hecate, I’d dare say I’d made the right choices.”
“Fascinating…” Antares remarked, albeit it was more scathing than a compliment. “So you’ve got a bone to pick with Laurence?”
“Certainly, given that that undesirable has been sucking up to the imbecilic Audoin, and The Profane Alliance ever since the ACF-100 incident.” There was a subtle hint of irritation in his voice that made Will crack a smile for some reason.
“Well how about we have a seat, gentlemen,” Abraham suggested as he indicated the comfy-looking chairs before them, with Anton going to sit at his mahogany desk. “Alright, so the name of the game is exposing Laurence for the criminal that he is, and we finally have a crack in the dam to take advantage of. Now, Will–since this is your first rodeo, I suggest you let me and Wendelin do the talking–”
“Sure,” he agreed. “My forte has always been heading out into the field after all.
“I won’t be attending the trial with you, Will,” Antares added. “General Aalders wants to handle this, and well… you know me, ha.” Will chuckled, thinking back to when he was arguing with Marcus back in September.
“Despite Laurence’s slander of you, Will, Wendelin is the main driving force behind this trial,” Abraham resumed. “Wedenlin?”
“Ja,” he answered as he leaned on the side of the chair to get into a more comfortable position, resting his ankle on his leg. “As you no doubt have read by now, William–Laurence is the son of Harbor Duckenfield, a man who attempted to fund the Nazi war effort in 1939 through a series of illegal coal mines that ended in The Glintrock Coal Mine collapse of 1942, and The Rocke-Harrison Mine Collapse of 1943. I became well aware of this given that Sebastian was utterly furious that latter day, especially considering it was the day he had met das arschgeige, Karnage Dethgrave…”
“Can I tell Sam about this stuff?” Will interjected. “Given her previous relations to Karnage?”
“Natürlich, and be sure to tell her Volf says hallo.”
Anton exhaled through his nose quite loudly, but made sure to keep his tone subdued and amicable. “Given that she’s now a part of The Liger Brigade, it would be pertinent for you to tell her, Will.”
“So where does Laurence come into play with all of this?” Antares inquired, wanting to get the conversation back on track.
Wendelin cleared his throat a little before readjusting his position in the chair. “Harbor managed to escape all responsibility for his misdeeds on account of his wealth and connections, and groomed Laurence to be just as undesirable as him–and before we continue, Anton, I have some information that you may be interested in…”
That caught Anton’s attention, with him raising an eyebrow. “Oh? Do tell…” In that moment it felt like a meeting between two gods, and the mild anxiety emanating from Anton almost became a haze that shrouded the whole room.
“As Abraham can attest, Kit wanted to bring Harbor to justice, but was unable to… or so the story goes. In reality he and The Lynx God tracked him down in The Unlight en route to The Realm of Chaos and brought him before The Sepulcher God, who promptly slew Harbor where he stood.”
“Really now?!” Anton exclaimed. “What was… what caused Sepulcher to be that heated?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Harbor would have caused nothing but trouble, stabbed Sebastian in the back, and joined that utterly stupid Profane Alliance–you remember how Sepulcher handled the ACF-100 incident?”
Will was glancing back and forth between the two, then looked at Abraham. “Kit who?”
“Kit Alastair Llewellyn, one of our co-workers,” he answered.
“Ah, okay–Hey, Anton? What are you talking about?” Will waited, but Anton seemed a little hesitant out of uncertainty. “I ran into The Reverse Serpent in the other lobby…”
Anton exhaled, then laughed. “Of course… You were injected with The Undead Plague after all…” He sighed to ease his nerves. “Well I might as well just say it now–I’m the core personality of The Tyrant God, Will. And yes, Sepulcher was a close friend of mine… up until we conquered Lost Carcosa during the Epoch, which is when things started to fall apart.”
Quincy looked up from his magazine. “Wait… seriously?”
Anton nodded. “Everything is a mess right now, son–I am trying so hard to get all of my power back, but there’s just one hurdle after another right now, and it feels like I’m spinning my wheels…”
“Jeez…” he said as he went back to his magazine. “Well, um, I don’t know about gods and whatnot, but you’ve got my help either way, Anton.”
“Thank you, Quincy–I wish things could be simple, but you know how it goes. And I have to give Sepulcher credit–he made a good call on that one. And I’ve noticed he’s been trying to get things back in order, given that he’s openly refused to let Karnage–or Ultinn, back in…” Anton had also given Wendelin a look that said he knew what was going on with him.
“Ja, or so I’ve been told,” he replied with a clever chuckle. “Laurence has been a thorn in everyone’s side, and it’s about time we did something about him–especially given his ties to Audoin and Herr Stainthorpe…”
“Given how much of a corrupt scoundrel he is?” Will interjected. “Just say the word and I’m there…”
Abraham took the opportunity to explain how much of a problem Laurence was–from his authoritarian views to the totalitarian laws he tried to pass over the years to the obvious fact that everyone was gunning for him. Laurence was one of the last holdouts of the horrific Extinction Order, which had been a massive threat to humanity despite time running out quickly for the organization. Wendelin provided a great deal of context, and detailed times over the years where Laurence had conned him out of money–Wendelin was a billionaire, so it was more a matter of principle. Will and Antares were wondering what Wendelin’s edge he kept bragging about was, given that Laurence was known for playing dirty. Wendelin figured it was time to introduce his star witnesses…
“Herr Backus?” he called out.
Phasing through the door was a ghost boy that appeared to be a British lad dressed in work clothes, consisting of a beat up t-shirt, overalls, and heavy boots that had seen it all. His brown hair was messy and face had spots of dirt, but that could not hide how polite and kind he was. “Top of the morning to you, gentlemen! And I know who this is…” he said as he went up to Will and shook his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, William! I’m Caelan Backus.”
“You know me already?” he asked, a little weirded out, but still happy to meet him.
“Well of course I would! I’ve been told all about you, and bloody hell–you and your lot have been making noise all over the Cosmos as of late. Plus I know a dullahan when I see one,” he said tapping his neck.
Will chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. “Okay, fair enough…”
“I mean, it’s kind of obvious, Will,” Haze put in.
Caelan went around shaking hands and exchanging greetings, then went to lean on Anton’s desk. “So I was trapped in The Glintrock collapse and, well… to say I was an angry ghost for a while was accurate. I ended up in Rosecloud in The Ghost Realm and wasn’t sure what to do, but then I found out the local mine needed a supervisor or two, so I figured I’d throw my hat in to make sure no one got hurt–”
Will snickered. “Wait, I thought ghosts couldn’t get hurt…”
Caelan paused for a second to give Will a mildly incredulous look, but remembered he was dealing with humans… debatably, given who some of them truly were. “Believe it or not we can get hurt, ha. Anyways, I guess I lost track of time because by the time I heard about what happened to Harbor, he had long since died… And then Wendelin pulled me over for a quick chat one day to tell me what had actually happened, and that he wanted to enlist my help for this case–”
“Wait, we can employ ghosts as witnesses?” Antares asked as he stood up, a little confused. “Seriously? Wouldn’t that throw the entire legal system into chaos?”
“Under normal circumstances,” Wendelin said as he went over to pat Caelan on the shoulder. “As you know, Laurence was involved with the mine collapses… and I had a talk with our future judge–slipping him a few Reichsmarks to help feed the wife und kids, on top of keeping the lights on–well, dollars as you Americans would say, but you catch my meaning.”
Antares was beside himself in disbelief, scoffing a little. “Well then… you didn’t…?”
“Nein–as rich as I am I could never get away with paying for an outcome. Plus I want to see Laurence’s soul crushed before my eyes.”
“Okay then… Caelan, Will knows a few ghosts–”
The boy nodded. “Mm-hm, Trevor MacQuoid and The Fernsby’s–I’ve heard of them. Don’t worry, Will–by holy Camelot I swear we’ll win this case.”
Will smiled, and his neck vented out a plume of pink smoke (with Haze retracting a little to let it out). “Thanks… so who’s the other witness?”
The room went quiet for a second with Anton, Abraham, and Quincy looking nervous. “About that…” Anton said in a slightly sheepish tone of voice.
“He’s going to meet him either way,” Wendelin pointed out.
Anton shot him a critical look that he knew the meaning of and sighed, going to the phone on his desk. After dialing an internal number for the mansion, he waited patiently. “Hey, Camden… could you send Genome to my office? We’re ready for him…”
“Genome?” Will questioned, looking at Antares who shrugged and was just as clueless as him.
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ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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