Shrouding Dark Cloud

[Jaixe Furiael]

The Seeker of Darkness stood atop the balcony, hanging overhead the busy flows of traffic that sped by below, weaving their way through a luminous cityscape that never truly slumbered. The wind blew softly, cold from the night that blanketed the world at the time. A cold that bled through the thin, scarlet long-sleeved shirt and black pants that Jaixe wore, but scarcely bothered him. It was a mere few hours for him since Jackie had been apprehended, but for the world, it appeared as though time had sped forward considerably.

This strange warping of time that constantly occurred occupied his thoughts. His curiosity compelled him to mull over the laws of the reality he was now forced to be a part of. There was no Realm of Darkness, no Heartless horde to call upon, no connection to the negativity that flowed through all mortals. The cityscape was relaxing, in a way, but his thoughts set him on edge. He finally came to the inevitable conclusion that he had dreaded for so long. The truth that he was so completely isolated from every living being.

Alone. He was alone, in a way he was never accustomed to being. It was not the kind of loneliness that people often think of when away from friends or family for an extended period. It was a kind of haunting sensation, an ever-present emptiness that embittered him. It was the source of constant pain; a rejection by reality to his mere presence. And it was all the fault of one trickster of a deity.

“This world of yours is a rather creative form of torture for everyone involved,” Jaixe sighed, leaning over the metal railing.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted movement. A shadow sliding along the wall, one of his creations. It ran up towards him, morphing along the thin bars of the railing and popping back into a three-dimensional shape, balancing on the rail. Its yellow eyes stared blankly at Jaixe. They were simple creatures, even simpler now that Jaixe had removed their insatiable desire for Hearts. They now mutely awaited to be commanded, and held only a shard of curiosity that often set them to explore. They never traveled far from him, always returning after a few minutes of adventure, much like a pet checking up on its owner from time to time.

Jaixe hummed to himself, patting the small creature before it eventually scuttled off again. It was unlikely they would cause any mischief while he wasn’t paying heed to them, but he kept a telepathic leash on them all the same.

Doing so was more a reflex anyway. He was so used to commanding armies, it seemed such a waste to have to manage a mere two Shadows now.

“I will need to make more…” He noted to himself, pushing himself off from the railing and turning around, entering back into the hotel room he had booked for himself.

For all intents and purposes, it was a comfortable, yet small room he had gotten. Though it was certainly suitable enough for his needs, or lack thereof. He was thankful he still did not require rest or sustenance in this nightmare of a multiverse, though the act of either was admittedly refreshing from time to time.

It was a small, square room with a full bed with plenty of blankets overlaid. The other Shadow Jaixe had summoned to this world had busied itself with wrapping as many blankets around it as it could manage. The second seemed to have taken up assisting him, dragging more covers from who knows where it had gotten them.

It’s odd, he didn’t remember adding any penchant for self-amusement to them… Perhaps it was a subdued detail he had missed before.

Rolling his eyes, he continued towards the wooden desk that sat opposite of the bed, and picked up the office chair that the Shadows had somehow managed to overturn.

As he sat down and spun back around, pulling out his dataverse device: a small rectangular frame with a holographic interface centered inside of it that lit up on demand. He set himself to reading up on news he had almost certainly missed. Though, aside from the usual chaos arriving from Primes, little else was of note. A message from Ash was a most welcome surprise however. The fact that she had not only survived, but seemed to be thriving was rather intriguing to the Heartless.

The news that she had died at least once was less of a shock. More an inevitability, perhaps.

“Raal seems to have disappeared in the time I have been away, and though I have made some connections with the Empire, they are far from anything substantial…” He mused to himself, trying to form some coherent plan moving forward.

One of the Shadows scurried along the floor, up the desk, and popped into being in front of him, staring at him with unblinking eyes once more. Jaixe reciprocated, his mind idly wondering as his dimly glowing orange eyes stared into the empty yellow.

“I need allies. An army...“ He spun around in his chair, looking at the second Shadow that had now fallen over due the sheer weight of all the blankets it was wrapped in. It was silently squirming in a vain attempt to free itself from its cocoon of blankets and covers.

“... perhaps something more competent than far-too-hastily conjured Shadows as well…”

---

He was ready to begin. He stood up, having cleared a spot on the carpeted floor for the sort-of ritual and conjured a great deal of Omnillium for the task ahead. The two Shadows had taken up perches, observing him with modest curiosity. One was clinging to the wall, and the other hung from the ceiling, looking down at Jaixe, its neck bent in an impossible way.

”I need to ascertain the rules of creating more Heartless… first, let’s begin with a more direct approach.” The Heartless thought to himself, bringing the Omnillium together and concentrating.

The iridescent orbs congregated together into a shining light, forming as one, as mere thought beget creation in a way that defied any logic Jaixe could bring to bear. Minutes passed by, then hours, with Jaixe diligently focusing on the experiment.

He focused on the form of the subject, its shape. It had to be humanoid, and far less bulbous than a normal Shadow. Taller, broader, and much more defined rather than as thin and frail like a Neoshadow.

Heartless were effective at power, but often lacked subtlety. Try as they might, they could only manage to hide in darkness at best, or forsake all stealth and overwhelm with sheer numbers and power otherwise. For normally unthinking creatures, raw emotion and a strong sense of pack mentality was dominant.

But he needed something smarter, more cunning. Something that didn’t rely on the usual advantages of the Heartless, which they now desperately lacked.

Bright light slowly faded to black, as an impossibly black silhouette, resembling closely a person in stature, though nondescript otherwise, stood in front of Jaixe, its creator. For a moment, it stood statuesque, until it opened its eyes. Eyes of pure white, similarly unblinking and round like its Shadow cousins, stared at its master.

As it slowly awoke, veins of white formed along its arms, twisting around and ending at each fingertip, which were more like elongated claws than human fingers. They twirled around its legs in a comparable manner, though ended at the ankles in an odd, swirling band of white lines. Energy seemed to radiate off the white bands, providing a very faint light that further illuminated the rest of its pitch-black body. Two antennae poked out of its head, shaped like bolts of lightning, gradually curving around its bald head and down to its neck, where they tapered off to a paper-thin point.

Jaixe could feel it reaching out, ever so slightly, and knew he was connected. Though, despite it being intentional, he did not anticipate the thought his creation had directed towards him at that moment.

“What is my purpose?”

It had used emotions to convey the thought, but the intention was still there. It had purposefully directed its confusion and curiosity towards Jaixe, and then attempted to form words, though disjointed as they were, trying to communicate its question.

Jaixe was taken aback, but managed to retain his composure, hiding his shock. Though, in reflection, he wasn’t sure why. Appearances were pointless with Heartless that were so unerringly loyal to him regardless.

“Your purpose is to serve. Your calling is to mimic those around you. Your mission is to observe and learn as my eyes and ears.”

Jaixe had directed his command back to the newborn Heartless, which stood almost as tall as him, ignoring the antennae. It seemed to contemplate, its thoughts, or rather, its collected stream of emotions and vague ideas had pulled back onto itself.

Then, it morphed, shifting, as a black mist formed around it during its metamorphosis, camouflaging the finer details of its transformation.

In a mere minute, after the purple-black mist had dissipated, what stood before Jaixe was… well… another Jaixe.

Or at least a very convincing facsimile of Jaixe.

“Impressive…” The original noted, stroking his chin as he closely examined the duplicate that stood before him. Excepting the sharp silver-white eyes that it bore, it was incredibly accurate.

The other mimicked him, seeming to duplicate his motions, closely observing Jaixe in return.

“You can accurately copy me, that is admirable… Though I wonder, can you speak?” Jaixe challenged the duplicate. If it was made correctly…

“... Yes,” it answered after a moment of strain, as if attempting to learn how to move its jaw and tongue to properly mimic the appropriate sound, “I… c-can speak.”

“Hmm, not too terribly either, though you may need to practice.”

The mimic simply stood there, watching its master intently, as Jaixe walked over to the chair and sat, thinking again.

”I can create Heartless that exceed any abilities they may have once been limited to… But creating Heartless at such a slow rate would not only strain my limited supply of Omnillium, but would require far too much time. Time I would ideally not like to waste.”

Jaixe looked back up to the mimic, who was still standing there, staring, as the two Shadows circled around it. They had kept their distance. The mimic was foreign to them, its mind unusual and its emotions kept exceptionally hidden from the fledgling thought stream that was slowly growing, flowing through their common master.

“Take up a new form, one similar to a civilian of this world, and seek suitable targets with darkness in the lower tiers of this world.” Jaixe commanded audibly, transferring the requisite information from his mind to the Heartless that awaited its purpose. It would be a suitable test, perhaps.

“Note them, but do not attack them,” Jaixe finished, as the Heartless, intriguingly, nodded its affirmation and morphed again, into a human Jaixe did not recognize. So, it could be creative with its appearance, that was interesting.

He seemed to be from a middle-class lifestyle, with simple clothes that fit rather loosely, but were suitable enough. There was little fancy to this form, and unassuming was apt in describing its short brown hair, roundish face, and overall average build. Truly, the only oddity about the man that stood before Jaixe was its, sharp silver eyes.

The man walked towards the exit and left the room. Moments later, its thoughts faded from the dwindling thought stream, its connection with Jaixe stretched to its limit and evaporating.

“Now to see if this prodigy of my genius passes the first trial…” Jaixe hummed lightly with a slight grin, eagerly waiting to see what his creation could dredge up from the waste that was the lower tiers of this forsaken world.

[Jaixe Furiael]

It had delved into the depths of the world, beyond where many of its finer folk would dare tread. Beyond where most of its army would go, even. The lower tiers of Coruscant were little more than a world of gang leaders and warring clans of criminals rather than a well-structured society. But it did not know or truly understand such things. What it saw, with eyes of silver-white and a particularly studious mind, were prey.

Soon-to-be victims of a crueler, darker master. A man missing here, a few missing there, it wouldn’t trouble the Empire too greatly to learn that its criminals were occasionally disappearing. And so long as no witnesses were left, all would be well.

Its part in the scheme was simply to observe. It would watch, whilst covered in shadows and mist, as others passed by. Some who wandered were simply lost, but many others held a purpose to their steps. Driven by addiction, by maliciousness, or simple desperation, the silver eyed creature witnessed them all.

And judged them accordingly.

For a night and a day, it observed, assuming many forms as it crept through allies and trudged through slums. Each time, it wore a different face. It liked experimenting, really. Sharp chins, squinted eyes, rounder ones with big ears, broad foreheads, or gaunt cheeks, it tested them all in varying combinations. The body, while similarly varied, did not seem so important as the face, it noted. Always, people observed an area that was a fraction of the whole of the being. It was odd, but the mischief it could cause was thereby incalculable. Sometimes it amused itself by taking on another’s form, approaching their friends, and bewildering them. It was valuable to do so to gain information, but such was only an excuse. The confusion it could spread was entertaining, whereupon people would swear they saw double for a moment, before the silver-eyed mimic vanished. The master may not appreciate its antics, but it was not here to say otherwise.

Or was it an “it?” Perhaps the master was a male, as he appeared, but he was one of them. Hmm, strange thoughts. Far too complicated to deal with. Best to let the matter be, it concluded.

It was an it, and he was a he. Yes, that would suffice.

It also learned to talk, and articulate itself more effectively. Accents were tricky, however. It seemed each area, each person, were unique in that regard. It had difficulty mimicking the mouth movements and the sounds it needed to emulate without having to fluctuate constantly. It was an annoyance, but it was something to improve on. It must become perfect at its purpose, or else the master would greatly disapprove of it. It couldn’t have that, it might die otherwise, and that would mean no more mischief.

It stopped in its tracks for a moment, listening for something. Its instincts told it to do so, and it often obliged, even if it seemed rather silly to stop in the middle of a bustling road of poverty-stricken pedestrians, beggars and homeless straddling the sidelines, and the occasional small-time gang hiding at their usual places around the archaic, weathered stone and concrete buildings that housed them all.

But then again, instinct was a great deal of what drove it. That and the search for prey were the core of its being. So when it told itself to stop and listen, it stopped and listened.

Passers-by brushed past it rather roughly as it stood stoically in the roadway, sometimes cursing that it was in the way. Eventually, it obliged by moving to the sides of the road and sitting, waiting, listening.

At first it didn’t know what to listen for, the sound of shuffling feet, chatting bystanders, zooming, flying cars, and the overall busyness were difficult to sift through. Though eventually, through some trickery of the ears - bending and shaping them in subtle, particular fashions that it would find difficult to explain - it heard it.

Rumors of monsters.

Was it, itself, a monster? Hrmm, another annoying question. Best to ask the master that one. It shrugged away the thought, then continued to listen to the trio speaking - or perhaps boasting was more accurate - across the way. A small gang, it seemed. They bragged about how they would fare against the monsters, if they even existed. One even claimed that it could wrangle one as a pet.

The monsters lurked the lower levels. And their description was rather fascinating. Spiky, misted in darkness, striking from the shadows, with glowing eyes that haunted people’s thoughts. Yes, all of that seemed rather familiar, in fact. How bizarre, and yet… vague.

Was that what it was listening for? It forgot why it stopped to peruse the conversations and rumors around it. It had done so many times already, and had learned much from them, but keeping track of them was like remembering the passage of time. Before, it was difficult, but here, in this underworld of the city where no natural light shone, it was impossible.

The master will know how, it supposed, then stood up and began walking again. Its work was far from done. There were more forms to copy, more targets to mark. Yes, much more to do.

[Jaixe Furiael]

Monsters in the lower tiers, which were described as vaguely Heartless in nature, candidates abounding in the slums and criminal hives, and an all-too mischievous shapeshifter, eager to display its newly found prowess in mimicry, these were all the things that Jaixe had to deal with all too soon. But the flurry of sudden activity only made it easier to ignore the existential dilemmas that he had yet to fully confront, so it was a welcome distraction.

The first step was to establish his forces and power base in Coruscant, however meager it may be. The shapeshifter provided a veritable cornucopia of potential targets, mostly criminals and the poverty-stricken denizens who were particularly desperate, which came as no surprise to the Seeker. The lower tiers were always rife with a level of despair that, even when mixed with the near-toxic air and claustrophobic, chaotic landscape that disgusted him, still gave him a measure of joy and comfort. It was a paradise almost unregulated by Imperial Authorities.

He concluded that it was these thoughts that made him return here, as he walked the streets with these second-rate thugs and shoddy vagrants. Compared to them, he clearly showed he was from the higher tiers. Wearing a dark, double-breasted, waist-length trench coat with a dark-blue undershirt, and forgoing the ever-despicable ties, his fine and clean choice of attire stuck out sorely against the tide of riffraff, though a discerning scowl, with a modest boost provided by his telepathy, often kept the more brazen beggars at bay.

With his personal space and authority over the commoners solidified for the moment, Jaixe returned to his thoughts.
“I sent the shapeshifter ahead, though whether this “Inkeeper” will take the bait is another matter entirely.” Jaixe pondered, barely noting the wide berth that most of the crowd was giving him thanks to his telepathic aura discouraging them. “We shall have to see whether I must turn him or if this will be a mutually profitable relationship…”

He idly went through possible avenues of discussion and manipulation, gathering his thoughts for the mental and verbal battle that lay ahead of him. Though, when he finally arrived at his destination, he had to admit his own level of surprise. The Innkeeper ran a series of establishments, disguised safehouses really, that helped maintain a level of control and organization to this sector’s underworld organizations. While his was the smallest of these groups, it was by far one of the more influential, as every thief and assassin needed a place to hide, every boss needed a place to meet with others on neutral grounds, and every client needed somewhere to place their contracts. The Innkeeper’s “inns” were just the sort of place they needed, and thus were frequently busy with a rush of inbound and outbound traffic.

It was the lack of traffic through the front of the hotel and the group of armed guards that met him when he turned down the alleyway to one such establishment – a twelve story tall hostel of brick and stone that visually appeared to be in disrepair, which allowed it to blend in with its surroundings – that surprised him. That the Innkeeper would even regard him highly enough to take such precautions was not what he expected.

“An escort? How quaint.” Jaixe commented to the group, who seemed to be expectant of his arrival. Without a word, they stepped aside, waiting for him to walk on inside of the back entrance of the hostel. After they had entered one of the hotel’s dimly lit corridors, with its filthy maroon carpets, a color choice with more meaning than Jaixe cared to assume, flaking, stained wallpaper, and a series of heavy, wooden doors denoting rooms, arranged in a measured pattern, Jaixe had a feel for what this Innkeeper was likely to be.

“The Innkeeper received your message. She and your “pet” are waiting above.” One of the guards finally spoke to the Seeker, as the group of six continued to escort him through the hallways. He seemed disgruntled, but the Heartless was momentarily distracted by the revelation that they ascertained the shapeshifter’s identity. No matter. He was already achieving his goal.

On occasion, people glanced, cracking their door open just enough to peer into the hallway as the convoy passed, but soon they quickly retreated inside. It came as no surprise to Jaixe that these tenants would be paranoid and suspicious of anything that deviated from the norm.

Aside from the guards that escorted him, there were several staff and additional security members that patrolled the hallways, keeping watch. While the staff seemed to retreat at Jaixe’s mere presence, likely a side-effect of the telepathic aura that he kept up, the guards merely glowered at him briefly as he passed and continued. They were mentally sturdy, these guards. He took a mental note, and then began prodding at some of the guards escorting him, peering into their minds to pass the time.

“I will have to compliment the Innkeeper on selecting his guards well.” Jaixe thought at the difficulty of doing so, but with time to spare, he had managed to access the mind of at least two without notice.

Several minutes passed before Jaixe was brought to the room where the Innkeeper deigned to meet him. At the front of the door was an aide, idly flipping through notes, and yet more guards, standing sternly and more visibly armed than the group of escorts, with each shouldering a blaster rifle and appearing far more disciplined than the standard thug. Former soldiers, Jaixe concluded, given their stern posture and the brief glance that served as the only acknowledgement they gave to him.

“Quite the interesting dilemma I have found myself in.” Jaixe thought, as the aide stepped forward, waving a hand at the guards to return to their patrols as she addressed the Heartless. She was of a smaller, slimmer frame than most, rigid in her demeanor, with a sharp face and piercing, studious verdant eyes. She did not seem like pleasant company, but by her appearance alone, Jaixe knew her to be dedicated to her work.

“Mr. Furiael, I presume?” She began rhetorically, looking the Seeker up and down quickly, and with an even, calculating gaze before continuing to thumb through her notes, searching for something specific amongst the two datapads and several sheets of paper in her hands. “There is little point in asking a Prime if they are armed, however, I will request that you behave appropriately in front of the Innkeeper.”

Jaixe responded only with a slight scowl, emphasizing his displeasure with telepathic prodding. He noticed, for a brief moment, that the aide flinched at that, but quickly steeled herself.

“I did not come here to speak to attendants and guards,” He retorted coolly, taking a step forward to the door. The aid seemed at first as though she was going to speak, but then relented and nodded to the guards, who opened the door for the Heartless to enter through.

Despite the outside and interior disrepair of the building, Jaixe was surprised to find that inside of the Innkeeper’s office was clean, organized, and rather tastefully decorated, at least by his standards. It was still simple by comparison to the higher-tier’s offices, but for a crime lord, it was intriguing all the same.

The office was white, with dark wooden floors and three hanging lights, positioned in a triangular formation above. Bookcases and file cabinets dominated an entire wall to themselves, and the array of texts, datapads, and folders was vast enough to rival a small library. To the other side were hanging portraits of people Jaixe did not recognize, a widescreen TV, and a pair of potted plants, likely synthetic. In the center of the room were a pair of soft armchairs atop a red, circular carpet. In one of them, the shapeshifter, having taken the form of a young man of an unknown identity, seemed enamored with the comfort they provided than the arrival of its master, or the threat that lay beyond the sturdy, gilded wooden desk.

The Innkeeper was a curvier woman than her aid, more elegant in her features, though had the same, sharp face and piercing, ever attentive green eyes, though faintly, bags were forming underneath. She was also clearly older by at least a decade, with wrinkles just beginning to form across her face. She wore a fitted, black suit with a red, collared undershirt and a white tie. When Jaixe entered, with the two guards taking positions on either side of the doorway, she stood up and nodded to the Heartless.

“I’ve been expecting you, Mr. Furiael. I hope the guards weren’t too curt when they escorted you here?” She spoke with clarity and dignity, motioning toward the other free chair for him to sit down.

“As well as can be expected, I suppose. You are the Innkeeper, I believe?” Jaixe replied in kind, walking over to the chair and seating himself, crossing his legs as he did so and watching the Innkeeper attentively. As an afterthought, he prodded the shapeshifter telepathically, commanding it to sit straight rather than snuggle the chair. It obliged, though he sensed a tinge of disappointment in being made to do so. Once Jaixe was seated, and the shapeshifter straightened itself, the Innkeeper also reseated herself, returning the Seeker’s even gaze.

[Jaixe Furiael]

“I was rather curious that the Prime responsible for so thoroughly annihilating Jackie’s cell, something that has been a challenge for the Empire, would walk up to my door, asking for a meeting.” The Innkeeper spoke with a hum.

Jaixe smiled slightly as he formulated his reply, “Ah, so you have heard of my brief foray into the gambling industry. Not some of my finer work, I must admit.”

“Perhaps, though it’s rare to meet someone that can best the Kilstar siblings without injury, as you managed,” the Innkeeper spoke with a touch of respectfulness and admiration, “so then, what can I do for you, Mr. Furiael?”

“I find myself in need of resources, in particular, manpower. Given your position, I had assumed a business proposition might be of mutual benefit to us.”

“Oh? And what proposition did you bring me?” She spoke, growing visibly more intrigued and equally wary.

“I know enough of you to ascertain your role in this sector of the underworld. You are quite the important organizer, from what I have discovered.” Jaixe was being cautious with his choice of words, choosing to flatter the crime lord rather than making bold proclamations. “I presume that Jackie was quite the… irritant, given his rashness?”

Jaixe received no direct reply to his question, but the darkened expression on the Innkeeper’s face said plenty.

“It is difficult to acquire what I require in plain view of Imperial authorities, so I could not very well make use of his cell… Instead, I am here to ask it of you. I am certain there are other, more bothersome groups. All I ask from you is to direct me to them, and I will… appropriately remove them.”

With the offer laid plainly on the table, Jaixe had made the first move. Although, truthfully, her response did not matter. Either way, Jaixe would have what he came here for, though he preferred additional contacts, if possible. He knew this, and maintained a slight smile, patiently waiting for the Innkeeper.

The Innkeeper, however, looked disturbed though still intrigued simultaneously. She leaned back in her chair, pondering the offer for several moments. Silence dominated the room, with only the soft ticking of a nearby clock, standing atop one of the shelves of the bookcases to cut through it and denote that time was still flowing.

After a time, she leaned forward again and spoke,

“And how would I know this wouldn’t backfire onto me? I can hardly call you trustworthy.”

She took the bait. Excellent…

“Truthfully, my trustworthiness is irrelevant, as is yours. This is not a proposition based on trust, otherwise you would actually be talking to me in person,” Jaixe responded, as the Innkeeper raised an eyebrow at that.

Or rather, the hologram of her did.

“So you noticed,” She smiled.

“I must admit that it was more of a hypothesis, given your guards’ behavior. Nonetheless, I can hardly place blame onto you for being cautious. Much as you cannot blame me for such…”

Once those words left the Seeker of Darkness’s mouth, the guards suddenly flinched as two beings of flimsy shadow coalesced after crawling through underneath the door. They hastily snaked around them, with their arms forming into sharp blades of inky blackness, poised to slice their necks. They had moved silently and suddenly, defying logic with how they morphed and molded.

While the guards were taken off-guard, the Innkeeper was more fascinated with their appearance than anything else.

“The rumors were true…”

“Oh, rumors? How surprising that such news would travel so quickly. Though, I cannot say I am so surprised that you are familiar with my shadows, given that you quickly ascertained my subordinate’s nature as well,” Jaixe leaned back, smiling just a touch broader now, “Regardless, I believe I have proven myself to be capable of being discrete, when necessary. You also no doubt tried to interrogate my subordinate and got nowhere with it. I need not prove myself beyond that, therefore, I will be blunt now: your approval is not a requirement.”

The Innkeeper frowned at that.

“You have already given me access to a source of manpower with this inn. It would not take long to coerce them. In fact, you will have to, regretfully, replace two of your guards already,” Jaixe leaned forward, speaking with sharpness and directness now and capitalizing on his advantage. “So, my offer is this: supply me with the information I require, and I will remove these problematic groups for you. Or, I can take what I need from your tenants and employees. I could not care either way. However, I feel a profitable relationship would be better for the both of us.”

The Innkeeper went silent at that, her face hardening. Though Jaixe had hardly backed her into a corner, after all, one establishment among many would hardly be missed, he concluded that the Innkeeper failing to maintain security against a growing threat to underworld’s influence would be problematic for future business. However, the alternative was the possibility that her cooperation with this master of darkness would do much the same to her standing. Though the collateral may be less drastic in the short term, in the long term, she could very well find her position crumbling underneath her.

Jaixe knew this much, without even needing to know the full scope of her operation. He attempted to alleviate part of her concerns while equally pressing his advantage, and as before, he had to wait patiently for her response.

[Jaixe Furiael]

“This one is far too bold.” One of the three men spoke up. He was an exceptionally older man, whose age showed clearly through a weathered voice, wrinkled face, bent nose, and silver gray hair. Though, with how he emphatically waved his arms as he spoke, and often times stood up to pace at every pause given in the conversation the three were in, she was convinced he never saw himself as a day over sixty.

The other two that sat at the small table in the darkened room, watching through the viewscreen as Jaixe conversed with the holographic “Inkeeper” maintained their silent ponderance of the deal just offered them.

“He’s bluffing, he can’t take an entire apartment building of thugs and hired guns on his own! He needed the Empire to even take on Jackie! Do you know what he brought? An entire platoon of Stormtroopers! A platoon!” He continued, standing quickly and slamming his fist on the table,

“How can he expect to take on half the underworld on his own when he can’t even take on Jackie without help?”

The second figure held up his hand, a sign the elder took to reseat himself.

“It isn’t wise to be so active at your age, Three.” The second man spoke calmly, his voice akin to silk against the almost eternally winded elder’s. His features were hidden behind a black mask, however, and only his eyes peered through, their emerald green piercing those he witnessed.

“Tch.” The elder responded, vainly attempting to stifle his heavy breathing.

A moment passed before the second man looked at the first, sitting at the head of the table. She was beautiful in her young age, with a slender, curvaceous form, form-fitting dress, and soft, deep blue eyes. Those same eyes looked back at the second man, as she held her hands folded in front of her, hiding a soft smile.

“Tell me, two, do you think the same of this creature?” She asked of him in a soft, almost singsong voice.

The second man nodded, his eyes losing some of their sharpness as she spoke to him. He hummed for a mere moment, but he likely already had an answer prepared for her before she even asked. He simply put on a game to hear her voice, or so she figured.

“A Prime is always more than just capable, it wouldn’t be wise or prudent to underestimate him. And while I loathe the overconfident types, he also seems the type to have more than one card to play,” He started, turning back to the viewscreen at Jaixe, who waited patiently, staring down the Innkeeper with a cool gaze that seemed to penetrate through the screen and into each and every one of them. She found them strangely alluring, personally, but it was hard to say what the others thought.

“Truthfully, leaving him empty-handed may be the more dangerous path to take. Though, accepting his awfully brazen proposition is hardly my idea of a fair trade, given the risks. Still, the choice is yours, One. You seem rather taken with the man, after all.”

She dropped her hands and simply smiled at him at the last comment, offering no response or rebuttal. Many men often fascinated her, though most for but a few moments at a time. Jackie was once one of those men, but that flame burned out long before his fate caught up with him. Truly troublesome, that one… Though, maybe this Jaixe will prove to be less brawn and more prudence.

---

“You play a dangerous game, Mr. Furiael,” The Inkeeper finally spoke up, her face softening and her frown subtly transforming into an almost devilish grin. It wasn’t a face, or really the kind of response that Jaixe expected.

“And you play it boldly, but with at least a touch of intellect. You are much like Jackie and his brother were when they were in this office, offering a similar proposal. However, they failed to commit, as well as meet their obligations to me. Now you, the one that killed them, are saying that you can fill in their role?”

Jaixe hummed, that wasn’t an outright refusal, but it wasn’t acceptance either. Perhaps he overplayed his hand?

“I would prefer if you did not compare me to a dead man and his broken sibling. If they failed, it was simply because they either chose not to oblige, or were too incompetent to meet your standards, much less save themselves from death and destitution. They betrayed your freely given trust. I did not ask for your trust, however, and I care little for it. I would ask for your resources in exchange for my services. Be that a onetime occurrence or a long-lasting relationship, that choice is yours to make.”

Jaixe responded with a steely resolve, and truthfully, he was insulted to be compared to that brute and his dimwitted brother, as well as being tested in this way. This Inkeeper seemed conflicted with herself, and that took irritated him. She lacked decisiveness, and instead applied too much caution.

“You must be new, to not understand that the game here is played best when you both trust and suspect those closest to you. Ah well, it must be rather symbolic that the old tyrant would be replaced with brash new talent. Very well, Mr. Furiael, you may have what you need…” The Inkeeper stood up quickly, gazing over to the two guards, the hologram flickering as she did so. Her grin turned into a smile, and her hologram flickered again, more noticeably this time.

“If you so want to prove yourself, Heartless, then we shall see if you can topple this fortress so easily,” She spoke sharply to Jaixe, as the lights flickered and shut off, quickly followed by her hologram dissipating. At the same moment, Jaixe heard the two simultaneous thuds hit the ground behind him.

“Very well then,” Jaixe smiled, as the two bodies began to smoke and fade, his orange eyes glowing dimly in the darkened room as he gave instructions telepathically to the two Heartless behind him, “Let us play.”

[Jaixe Furiael]

Jaixe hummed lightly as he perused the bookcase, mentally tallying the books into three categories of “have read,” “haven’t read,” and a subcategory of the third, “intriguing.” The shapeshifter, standing behind him impatiently, as denoted by his tapping foot and occasional exasperated sigh, carried the increasingly heavy pile of books that Jaixe selected for later perusal.

This serenity in the darkened room of the Innkeeper’s office was rather distinct from the yelling, screaming, crashing, thunderous gun and blaster shots, and the occasional loud boom that shook the entire complex. Jaixe commanded his now four Heartless to hunt and feast, and they were certainly more than eager. He idly noted that that was likely the cause for the young shapeshifter’s impatience.

“My, this particular crime lord was at least well read… Hmm, some old budgeting statistics. Probably a decoy…” Jaixe commented to no one in particular as the door behind him broke open in a shower of splinters and a man fell through onto the ground, wrestling with one of the slender, dagger-armed heartless, using his rifle to leverage the aberration from his face and body.

“G-Get this thing off me!” The man pleaded to Jaixe, as he calmly turned around and watched the intruding scene with a raised eyebrow. He sighed, sent a thought to the Heartless, and watched as it bent in an inhuman way, stretching its arms past the rifle and into the sides of the man, repeatedly.

“I think not.” Jaixe looked up at the bloodied heartless, its black form and soulless eyes offering little in the way of explanation for the intrusion. He nodded to it and it promptly slinked off to find new prey as the body of the man dissipated in a shower of white sparks, and a new shadow coalesced in its place.

“Hmm, another weak hearted fool. A pity.” Jaixe walked over and briefly examined the shadow before continuing on, offering it only a momentary thought to give it purpose. The shapeshifter struggled to follow behind Jaixe, carrying an almost comically large pile of books in its stretched-out arms.

Outside, Jaixe saw an array of Shadows and their slightly larger, more humanoid forms, all standing where they fell, with only their weapons laying on the ground to denote that they were once something else besides wayward shards of darkness.

They all waited for direction, for a purpose to be given to them.

”I will need to modify them later to give them some level of autonomy… Perhaps an overseer of a sort?”

Jaixe looked to the shapeshifter behind him, who protested against his looting of half the personal library in the office.

”But adding intelligence may be dangerous.”

With a wave of his hand and a telepathic thought, he gave the Heartless their singular command, the same as the rest, and watched as they flowed outward, striking into the upper levels of the complex that still offered resistance.

After a mere ten minutes, the Heartless outnumbered the living, and after another ten, and with careful posting of guard Heartless at the exits, all remaining inhabitants, guards, and staff were eliminated, save one.

Jaixe sat in one of the many cramped, decrepit apartments that served as sanctuaries for the former guests. Its stale, repugnant air offended him, but at least here the lights still functioned. He was examining one of the humanoid shadows standing twitchily before him. It had displayed a brief spark of consciousness that intrigued him, though his observance and hypothesizing was interrupted by the yelling and protesting aide from before being dragged into the room by a small parade of Shadows.

“Let me go! L-let! Me! Go!” She kicked and punched with each protest, but was held down and carried by the procession of darkness before being unceremoniously dumped before their master, sitting and watching bemused on a chair.

“Hello again, miss secretary,” Jaixe offered a feigned greeting, “I see you have made yourself well-acquainted with your former friends and my new employees.”

“Y-you monster!” She exclaimed, scrambling to her knees and then her feet, straightening her already somewhat torn dress and disheveled hair, “the Inkeeper will not stand for this!”

“Oh, I think she will. After all, she offered this place up to me to begin with. Though, I do need a messenger to tell her that the deed is done…” Jaixe stood up and bore the snobbish aide down, “And you’re just the one,” he smiled.

The aide shrunk back, “I, you… Get away from me!” She screamed, trying to retreat back but finding herself blocked in by the array of Shadows behind her. She looked back, panic washing away any shred of stoicism she once had.

Delicious.

But sadly, much as Jaixe would have liked nothing more than to revel in her anxiety and despair a moment more, a broken woman made for a poor messenger. And so, he backed off a step, turning again to study the curious shadow from before.

“You will be the only one that lives from this… disaster. You should feel honored. I would send one of my shadows, but I require them for other, more pressing tasks. Go and tell your master that the task is done, and that I will await her judgement.”

Jaixe spoke, and commanded the Heartless to part from the exit, permitting the aide to pass. A moment of silence followed after he spoke before he heard a hurried tapping of heels against tile, fading into the hallway and eventually through one of the side exits.

The Seeker of Darkness sighed as soon as the aide was out of earshot, taking a mental tally of how many Heartless he had managed to cobble together now.

He believed he had enough, a few dozen of differing types, some ready for transformations if need be. It should suffice for his next venture.

“Yes, I am quite curious regarding those rumors…” Jaixe looked past the neo-shadow standing before him to the shapeshifter that was busying himself with stacking books into boxes for easier carrying, “Monsters in the lower tiers. Sounds fascinating.”

[Jaixe Furiael]

Jaixe flurried the scythe, flowing into a series of swipes, reverse thrusts, and jabs in a dancelike procession, focusing more on the fluidity and focus rather than effectiveness. It was a routine, for him, to train this way every so often, to flex his nonexistent muscles and refocus the mind. He had whittled away the last three days studying the books and his abilities with making and modifying the Heartless he created at the hotel, and was growing weary of the constant research.

It seemed that every datapad, every musty book, every parchment paper, and every experiment done to ascertain the boundaries of this new, foreign reality brought only more questions, more ideas to test, and never any certainties. It was, at this point, truly maddening, that he only found questions and answers in equal measure if he were fortunate, and elsewise nothing more substantial.

And so, in his frustration, he decided to recenter himself, and pushed away all the furniture until he had a clear spot within the center of the room. Or rather, he commanded other Heartless to do the menial labor he deigned not to, and was now observed by five ever-curious bulbous Shadows, their heads tilted slightly in confusion and, paradoxically, mindless wonderance.

He twirled the shaft of the scythe overhead and brought it down in a clean arc, smoothly flowing into the next motion as his body easily continued with the silent rhythm.
And these creatures, He thought, are proving to be rather elusive to my prodding and relentless scouting. And a lack of clear description is making it all the more challenging…

He continued with his routine, flourishing the scythe until it leveled vertically flat behind his arm, blade pointed behind him, held in a careful, purposeful position.

They are careful, perhaps more careful than myself, than to let themselves be seen directly. Only rumors and speculation, some of which point back to myself rather than them. He had been careful, selecting only the targets who he knew wouldn’t be missed. After the hotel incident, which barely registered to anyone but the Underworld, and even then, seemed far more suppressed, he deigned to play it cautiously until he could ascertain the reactions of the Inkeeper and her organization. So far, he has heard nothing. There were no messages, no hidden or coded letters, nobody spied upon him or dared to approach him with vapid conversations with clear “hidden” meanings. The sheer silence bothered him only slightly. If she didn’t want to continue playing, well, that was fine with him.

But that had left him waiting for reactions from something, anything. Someone had to respond to his actions, either her or these mysterious monsters. He didn’t mind the wait, in fact, patience played more into his favor than recklessly acting upon half-accurate or simply false information and vastly imperfect set-ups. Caution, here too in this world, would play into his favor as it always had.

Even if he simply despised waiting for someone to sit at the other side of the board he carefully and thoughtfully set-up, waiting for them to make their move.

He ran through the movements again, the black and scarlet blade of the scythe cleanly slicing through the air in fast, but fine-tuned movements. Idly, his mind traced the blade movements, as he moved with his eyes closed shut to allow him to focus. He could see the lines, like white marks in the blackness, as he felt his body move instinctually from one motion to the next, tension easing from his muscles now that they were properly stretched out and warmed. Any normal man might be strained to keep this routine up for the few hours he had been managing it, sweating profusely, but he was far from a normal human.
He could just barely feel the Shadows watching him, their beady eyes fixated upon their perplexing master. He could command them, like the others, to go out and search for the creatures, but he doubted five more Heartless, amongst a couple dozen, would make much more of a difference to such elusive creatures. And the feeling of being watched, even by such mindless creatures that were incapable of appreciating his training, only added to his routine to ensure he performed it flawlessly.

When he finally finished, breathing out a steady sigh as he relaxed completely, scythe held flat behind his right arm, blade pointed forward and just above the ground, he finally opened his eyes and took in his surroundings again. It was the same hotel room, rented for a pittance of Omnilium by comparison to his growing supply, only now the furniture was left in disarray, shoved to the side nonchalantly, with books and datapads strewn about in barely organized piles. History lay atop the desk, sciences, or what could constitute of such in this unusual reality, atop the bed alongside the theoretical and more obscure works that were hard to classify. Some philosophical and fantastical books were in their own pile on the floor, beside the short dresser. It pained him to treat them all so poorly, but space was suddenly at a premium within the increasingly cramped room. He would need to upgrade, and soon. In fact, it may be long past the time since he should have left this verse, given that the large quantities of text and strange rumors would have drawn the attention of the hotel staff by now. It would be problematic if rumors around his stay here were to become too accurate.

His orange eyes continued to scan the room, registering the five Heartless that sat in odd places. Two, the first two he had made since arriving in this reality, as denoted by their more developed and differently colored thought streams than the others, were nestled under a thin, plain blanket Jaixe had previously conjured as part of a previous experiment, hovering atop a mirror hanging above the dresser, partially molded into the wall. One was staring blankly into the mirror, regarding the parallel world that look so similar, and yet backwards to their own. They watched and explored with genuine interest and an ever-growing curiosity, seeking out what they saw as new. Unfortunately, that turned out to be most things to creatures that were typically simple-minded. This, in turn, led to more than a few broken pieces of furniture, including some light fixtures, and scared neighbors in other rooms, which worsened to the point that there simply weren’t any around Jaixe’s own room now. Though it was pleasant to not have others nearby to disturb him in any way, the sheer frequency by which the duo caused trouble made it seem hardly worthwhile. The other three, featuring substantially less personality than their seniors, were placed almost evenly across the room, sitting idle, waiting. Watching.

He breathed in and out again, more a gesture than a need really, given his lack of lungs, and unconjured his scythe, letting it fade into an array of colors and light that reabsorbed into him. He began to ponder what else he could do to occupy his thoughts while he waiting when he finally received the message he had been waiting for, delivered by a nearby Heartless he didn’t see, but registered the existence of all the same.
A meeting had been prepared, and a place selected.

Finally, Jaixe thought with a tinge of relief, I have been waiting for far too long.

------

Sometime earlier, in Tier 5.

It smiled, its sharp, almost needle-like teeth bared as it regarded the shaking, frightened man that stood before it, holding a knife flutily against itself.
“S-s-stay back! Stay back, m-m-monster!” He shouted, waving the knife in front of him.

Monster? That was harsh. It took careful strides to present itself as but a young, frail woman, with shoulder-length black hair tied back in a ponytail and a few stray locks in front of her face, with a young, attractive face and those signature deep, silvery eyes. Aside from the teeth, it felt that it had done more than just a passable impersonation.

Perhaps he simply failed to recognize art when it stood in front of him.

It couldn’t help but smile broader, somehow, its mouth growing larger than humanly possible as it drew closer to the man, who was trapped in the maze of alleyways with his back to a brick wall, blackened from the pollution and mold.
“Stay back!” He yelled again, striking out at itself.

It morphed, dodging the clumsy strike with ease as it bent itself in an impossible way, the blade slicing only air through a hole within its chest. He dropped the blade in shock and tried to hastily step back, but found himself bound, grabbed by the arm by tendrils of inky blackness protruding from its body, drawing him closer against his will.

“No, no no NO!” He protested, before ink covered his mouth and entire body, swallowing him whole before he was integrated into itself.

His terror and plight were exhilarating to it, adding to the fresh meal that it so desperately desired. It, of course, created another Shadow from the man, not seeking to hold onto his essence or disobey its master’s rather explicit orders. It only sought the crippling fear, the pure and blissful panic that it carefully stoked and stewed as its meal.

And it was more than pleased with how it came out.

That was, until it turned around to see a rather peculiar figure standing at its exit. It wondered who she was. She seemed rather ordinary looking, with a red hoodie, with the hood up, short blonde hair, and a young, but otherwise unassuming face and body, wearing a simple skirt and blouse, and kept her hands in the pockets of her jacket. It regarded her carefully, as she walked slowly up to it. If she heard the man’s screams, then it should take care of her immediately. Though, normally screaming humans were not uncommon in this tier in these dark alleyways, and made the others run or ignore it, not approach its source. This human was different.

She even looked unusual, somehow, in a strange way that it could not describe and found even more unsettling for it.

Nonetheless, its master advised caution, as it commanded the Shadow to morph and hide in the darkness, it stood stoically, waiting for the woman to get closer. Yes… closer, so it could see more of her and understand why she was here.

Though the darkness of the alley worked in her favor to obscure most of her features, the dim light still offered some illumination, allowing it to see what she wore and how she walked. Small details, things most humans would ignore but it found fascinating, as it had to be perfect in its emulation of these strange creatures it called prey.

She stopped a dozen or so feet from itself, standing confidently and unconcerned. Did she see the man it had just eaten? Why was she so unafraid? How boring… and confusing.

It decided to speak first, emulating a woman’s higher-pitched voice with a subtle accent,
“Can I help you? Are you lost, like me?” It asked, carefully thinking of how it should proceed if she were truly a threat.

[Sarah Kerrigan]

The abomination that stood in front of the grinning woman was an interesting sort. Certainly, it had tried it’s hardest to emulate normal terran behavior, but it seemed to fail in the most important areas. What it was interested in, the small parts of their walk… the teeth. In her old life, Brianne was certain she would have ignored the creature or left outright. She was fairly certain her own impression was a far better fit; after all, she was a creature built off of a human, rather than merely imitating one.

Brianne looked up to meet the heartless’ silver eyes with a cold grin. There was, of course, no need to check the authenticity of the shapeshifter. The lack of certain smells, and the feelings of entirely negative energy mixing within it, the energy of the void, told her she’d found the right target, so there was no need to play along with this little conversation.

“On the contrary, I’m exactly where I want to be.” Brianne answered, her eyes changing to a feral gold.as her vision shifted. Here, she wasn’t interested in hiding her true nature, so switching to a more optimal vision mode was much easier. “Or I’m at least at the doorstep.”

“Your boss has been careless in his security.” Brianne added with a smirk. “I can’t say I blame him - he has precious few enemies willing to check in on his exploits here. It’s quite lucky we’re interested in an alliance.”

“I… I just lost my way-”

Brianne’s response was an imperious smirk, as a golden glow encompassed her. “No need to respond just yet. I’m here to talk to your boss, on behalf of the Zerg Swarm. Consider me the ambassador of the Queen of Blades.” Brianne said with a bow. “We’ll be no trouble, of course.” Brianne added.

At the statement, the darkness began to become littered with red eyes and the snorts and squeals of unknown creatures around the pair. Their baleful gazes were affixed securely on the cornered shapeshifter. “...as long as you quietly take us to speak to your master, of course.”

The creature looked around with apprehension, checking every nook and cranny around it for an escape route. Brianne smiled. Inheriting her master’s sadism, she couldn’t help but enjoy the creature’s confusion as it slowly changed to fear. The look on its face was that of someone who smelled something unpleasant.

There were no escape routes, of course. She needed this one for a specific purpose, and despite the courteous nature of her request, it was more of a demand. The escort was not meant to kill the shapeshifter, of course, as Kerrigan would have preferred her to capture these creatures rather than take them by force, but she would obtain the master of the Heartless’ attention either with an escort from a living shapeshifter, or after the investigation of it’s violent disappearance.

Just as the Queen of Blades would have wished.

[Jaixe Furiael]

There were no exits, no real chance of escape, there was nothing but red eyes all around it, and all it had was a Shadow that it reflexively kept a mental hold upon. It put on an act of fear and apprehension, for as much of an act as it was. It’s not difficult when you’re suddenly and unceremoniously surrounded and cut off in such a manner as this. It was more difficult to restrain itself to keep from overplaying the act.

With little chance of retreat or reinforcement, it concluded that self-termination was the most ideal route, as its master commanded. Though, it was apprehensive about doing so, so it continued to search for a way out, until the woman spoke of requesting a meeting.

In that moment, still maintaining the “act,” it studied its surroundings and adversaries. Creatures hiding in the dark, red eyes darting about, and a woman with unusual powers and appearances leading them. It finally clicked who, no, what this woman was, and it had to suppress a smile.

Master will be pleased. Though, it might withhold the incidental nature of this meeting.

It final relaxed, dropping the act as its silver eyes grew bright, a dark aura overtaking the shapeshifter. It nodded to the woman as it stepped forward.

“The Master has already selected a location to meet you,” The Shapeshifter spoke up, drawing the woman’s attention back to it. It shifted past her in a series of black tendrils etched against the darkness with a blue auratic lining, only reforming into a cohesive mass of blackness and then again into the woman it masqueraded as once it was behind the woman. She watched this too with a curious expression, but still said nothing.

The Shapeshifter motioned for her to follow.

“There is a back way we will take to avoid attention,” it paused, peering back at the other Zerg that the woman brought before continuing.

“Don’t worry about them, they’re used to hiding in the shadows.” The woman responded with a sly smirk before following the Shapeshifter.

------

It was an awfully long walk, following this Void-steeped, silver-eyed Shapeshifter that at times appeared too cautious, and at others not cautious enough to avoid drawing attention to itself and, by extension, her. It was getting to be irritating, to be given the run-around, but Brianne’s patience was soon rewarded.

The Shapeshifter stopped at the end of the alley that led into the traffic-less road. Not even a pedestrian roamed these streets, nor beggars, vagrants, or other criminals. Most buildings here were abandoned and decrepit, and the one the Shapeshifter had led them too looked little different, simply an empty brick and stone office building that was shorter than its surrounding neighbors at only three stories, one of which was collapsed in upon itself. It would have been eerily empty to most, but Brianne saw something different with her golden eyes.

While the other structures were surely empty, the one just ahead of them was crawling; black masses shifting in the darkness around and inside of it. The whole building seemed alive, and the Void energy she felt here was far greater and denser by comparison to the measly amount that the small bulbous figure and the masquerading shapeshifter held. And its core, where it concentrated the most, was what seemed to be the source or pinnacle of that energy. Their “master”, most likely.

She nodded to the Shapeshifter to continue, minding the ties she held on the small host she had brought as escort. It would be difficult for her to say that she was intimidated or terrified of entering the lair of such creatures, though she would not deny some hesitation at first. No, she was more intrigued, even a touch excited, to see the master of such creatures in person.

Part of her was also not expecting to get this far.

As they neared the entrance, a number of the shadows stepped out, or slinked out? It was difficult to comprehend how they moved, it defied convention, morphing and leaping as they were. The smaller ones were tamer in their rejection of physics by comparison to these more base, slender humanoid ones, radiating with a deep desire to hunt prey.

They must have seen her as prey, but were held at bay by an overriding will. Yellow, unblinking eyes staring at her as she calmly walked behind the shapeshifter to the door. Behind her, the small draconian Zerglings plodded along, eyeing back the unusual black masses. One of the Hydralisks slithering beside her hissed at one as it passed, but it offered no response. It only stared back, unblinking, unwavering.

They’re strange, silent creatures. Brianne noted as she entered the building, escort in tow.

Despite the exterior that crawled with a misshapen morass of blackness and yellow eyes, the inside was nearly spotless. Cleaned thoroughly, in fact, missing any form of debris save for that which blocked entry via the stairs to the second level. Simple hanging lights shined brightly, illuminating the mid-sized corridor that served as a entryway into a series of smaller offices. It was admittedly bare, with little in the way of decoration, lacking even a rug to the wooden floor paneling. And it was warm, considerably warmer than outside, and it smelled vaguely of pine.

The shapeshifter ignored the first two doorways into darkened and unused offices, walking past the stairway and towards the third whose lights shined out of the frosted windows. It opened the door and awaited Brianne, staring back with its silver eyes.

She hummed and continued forward until she reached the door, where two more of the slender, humanoid forms coalesced and stopped her.

“Leave your entourage outside the door, though you may bring one if you need the comfort.” A voice spoke aloud from inside the office and simultaneously echoed in her mind. It was clear, aloof, and certainly refined compared to the only other one of the creatures that seemed to speak.

She didn’t glance back to her escort, however, already selecting the hydralisk to continue while the other Zerglings lowly growled and stepped aside. The guards that blocked her also stepped aside, once again permitting entry. She didn’t wait for another objection, stepping through the threshold.

The office was equally clean and simple as the lobby, though with some more decoration, two basic, cushioned brown armchairs sitting across from one another, angled towards a fireplace with a crackling flame offering warmth. On the other side was a dark wooden desk in front sitting in front of a window, flanked on either side by bookcases filled with both new and old books that have seen better days and datapads as well. The same hanging lights were overhead, offering more light, and the smell of pine was stronger here than before.

She turned towards the desk to regard the room’s single occupant, a tall elfin man with nearly shoulder-length black hair, reading a slowly scrolling datapad with a studious expression. When she entered, he turned to regard her in the same way, peering with glowing titian eyes that flared once he met her gaze.

“Finally,” He muttered, taking a couple steps towards her with datapad still in hand, “I was beginning to be concerned that you had been waylaid. After I put so much effort into this meeting, such a result would be… unpleasant.” He spoke with aloofness and refinement,

“Your waiting is over then, fortunately.” Brianne replied politely with a slight flourish, still trying to study the man. He was rather easy on the eyes, a stark contrast to the faceless black masses he controlled, but there was little mistaking that he was their master. That vibrant singularity of void energy, a tempest of negativity refined into the shape of a human, is what made him stand out to her like a beacon. And he put little effort in hiding what he was to her.

“Indeed. I trust your journey here was uneventful and lacking any unwanted attention. After all, you seem to have a strong aversion to attaining such or being followed,” He held out his free hand towards the two armchairs, soundlessly offering Brianne a seat.

She smiled and sat down, crossing her legs and watching as the man did the same across her, firelight dancing across their faces.

“I would ask for your name, but I imagine it means little to your kind. Nonetheless, I will offer mine so that your Queen of Blades will know it. You may call me Jaixe, the master of the Heartless,” He set the datapad atop a short table beside him. Jaixe studied Brianne a moment longer before continuing.

“And I am willing to listen to what you have to offer, ambassador.”

[Sarah Kerrigan]

Brianne smiled as the master of the heartless introduced himself. Part of her was interested in the sheer power of the creature in front of her. Even his casual movements seemed planned, carefully determined, and she could smell the power of the void radiating off him like a suffocating blanket, more and yet less restrained than that of the Dark templar her racial memories had taught her of. For while the dark templar restrained the energies of the pestilent void with the chains of a prisoner, and the whip of a trainer, this one’s energies were restrained with a gentle caress and a few sweet nothings. The darkness was not merely his ally, it hung upon his every word like a loyal dog, thinking of nothing but how to please its master.

The portion of her brain that was subsumed with the animalistic instincts of the zerg told her she should invest every single portion of their forces to consuming this creature, to assimilate it into the fold of its being. Luckily, Brianne still retained some self-preservation - enough to keep her mind on her mission, at least - and she was intelligent enough to know that a hidden canister rifle and a few telekinetic tricks were not remotely enough to handle this monolith of darkness. Besides…

The only being that could decide just when this new species could be consumed was the Queen of Blades, and Brianne would not, could not, subvert her will.

The microsecond it took all of these thoughts to process in Brianne’s modified brain did not show on her face in the slightest, as she moved smoothly into this introductory phase.

“The Zerg swarm has been interested in your…” Brianne slowed her speech, pretending to search for an appropriate word as though the idea had only just occurred to her. “business for quite some time now. We’ve been watching from the shadows for some time, after all, and after some careful evaluation, we found your capabilities…” Brianne pretended to search for a word once more, this time gaining a scowl from the master of Darkness. “...acceptable.”

“As I stated, ambassador, I am willing to listen to what you have to offer, but I did not arrange this meeting to listen to you prattle on. If all the Zerg Swarm is capable of is wasting my time, then hold your peace and leave, before I find a different use for you and your bodyguards.”

The Seeker of Darkness’s words held a certain edge to them, calm and yet threatening, and the sound informed Brianne that she’d best hurry up with her pitch.

“The Queen of Blades is interested in an eventual parley with you. She believes we may have similar goals.” Brianne added, continuing without apology. “She is currently preoccupied proving the extent of the swarm’s might in a mighty contest known as Dante’s Abyss, a tournament where primes-”

“I’m familiar.” The Heartless interrupted, the wrath gleaming in his eyes cooled but not extinguished. “Continue with your offer, ambassador.”

Brianne nodded slightly to the request. “But afterwards, she plans to be more interested in the Omniverse’s… internal affairs. The Zerg Swarm has already proven powerful in the lower tiers, but as the Primes of the Omniverse have already proven, a single prime simply cannot stand alone against many, and even the swarm is not capable of single-handedly opposing the rest of the omniverse at this time. But with an ally…”

Jaixe raised an eyebrow at the statement, staring hard into Brianne’s eyes. “Are you attempting to suggest open war on the omniverse together?” He asked with a tone of incredulity.

“For now, we simply propose an alliance of convenience and a pact of non-aggression. We will avoid consuming those of your brood to feed our hive cluster, and you will avoid attempting to harness the psionic energy within our Warriors. Should a threat appear that might be relevant to both of our interests, we will… look into supporting one another in the process of eliminating that threat. At the very least…”

Brianne smirked. “I think we can both agree that there are a few terrans with particularly vocal opinions about our respective existences that could do with a few more moments of silence.”

Jaixe’s head tilted towards her, and the slight softening of his face was the closest to a smile the infested terran had seen out of the creature since she’d met him.

[Jaixe Furiael]

“An alliance of convenience.” Jaixe muttered, turning to stare into the fire, the flames dancing and reflecting in his eyes.

He weighed the benefits and costs in regards to all of the potential outcomes. A strong ally would be useful, but a treacherous one would instead be lethal, a knife to one’s back. Would the risk of betrayal and abandonment be worthwhile for the chance at the gains? Would he be forced to do the same to these convenient allies instead, simply to recuperate costs and lost time?

He thought for some few moments longer. The prolonging was unnecessary, of course, merely a ploy to add to the ambassador’s anticipation of his reply.

“Those same sentiments were offered to me by another before you. A skeleton of a man, commanding similar vestiges of the deceased. You speak much as he did, with alike reasonings.” The Seeker turned to the ambassador once again, meeting her even gaze.

She was difficult to read. She offered little beyond those golden eyes and stoic face, only choosing to show emotion when it was convenient to emphasize her words. In that way, she danced with diplomacy well, though he found her presumptuousness due to mere association rather unfortunate.

“Very well,” he finally stated, uncertain if he saw a flicker of relief or satisfaction in the woman’s eyes. Perhaps both.

“When your Queen has returned from her tournamental escapade, I will accept a meeting with her to hear of these promises and plans in further detail. Beyond that, I can only promise avoid seeking your kind further, should you also continue to reciprocate.”

Truthfully, that promise annoyed him. The creatures that constituted this “Zerg Swarm,” as she called them, were fascinating. Intricate and yet seemingly random and reckless in their design; a careful balance that could be exploited to make truly powerful Heartless. It was a travesty to see them go to waste.

The ambassador stood and bowed with an exaggerated flourish, “The Queen of Blades will be pleased to hear that you have seen things our way.”

“Hm. Your subtle, sharp tongue and prevaricating words are only amusing for so long, ambassador, and my patience for it is wearing thin. You have your reply. Now leave.”

Jaixe watched her depart, subduing a smile of smug satisfaction as he noted the haste in which she exited the office. Moments later, his Heartless registered that she had departed the building with her Zerg entourage.

Another alliance… Jaixe mused, standing up, grabbing hold of the datapad on the table, its screen lighting up at his touch, and then peering outside the window at nothing in particular. In such an empty, decrepit part of the city, there was little to see.

If this Queen of Blades proves to be worthwhile and at least tolerably haughty, perhaps I'll agree to it. Jaixe chuckled to himself, returning to watch the tournament on his datapad. I rather doubt it.