Author: Amadaeus
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Quick Recap of last episode (Chapter 1): Waking up in a strange place with a new body, Amadaeus learned what had happened to him and his brother the night before. A mistake of the Freedom Phalanx's freed the brothers from the Circle of the Thorns' influence, the event that caused their exile, which lead to Gilthanis having to transfer Amadaeus's soul to a stone body he created, making him an avatar of an old god, and this was at the cost of all their formerly-learned magic. After meeting Sister Psyche, Amadaeus and his brother were led by her to the headquarters of the Phalanx.
Chapter 2:
A New Life
There they were, the last place the brothers thought they’d ever willingly be: the Headquarters of the most powerful supergroup in the city, and possibly even the world. They proceeded into the building, being led by Sister Psyche. Gilthanis seemed to feel just fine, probably because he had already encountered the Freedom Phalanx under good terms not too long ago. Amadaeus, however, wasn’t so confident. Being in this place gave him the jitters and he couldn’t stand being there. In some ways, the orderliness and seeming single-mindedness on their work was sort of reminiscent to him, which only furthered his anxiety.
They came to a large door and Sister Psyche opened it. Without touching it, naturally. The massive door swung open and she led them inside. Closing the door behind them, the brothers waited while Statesman spoke to a man in an expensive-looking suit. Amadaeus took this time to voice his concerns to his brother.
“Hey, Gil,” he whispered, “do we have to come here? Couldn’t they just come to us..? This place creeps me out. It’s almost like being back in Orenbega.” His brother just sighed and looked over to him.
“Listen. The only way we can gain their trust is to do what they ask without argument. And we want their trust, brother. Unless you would prefer to run from both heroes and the Circle, that is. At least this way we have some sort of protection.” Amadaeus sighed and nodded to his brother.
“Fine, fine. Have it your way. Just don’t expect me to like it.” He straightened up from having to lean over his brother to hear him and waited eagerly for their conversation to start. Unfortunately Statesman was still talking to that man. He had glasses, wore an expensive suit, and was looking very frantic, waving his arms as he spoke. Amadaeus just sighed. Geez, wonder what that guy’s problem is. He doesn’t look too happy.
They finally stopped speaking, then turned to look at Amadaeus and his brother. The man seemed even more troubled suddenly and looked pleadingly at Statesman. In reply he just smiled and nodded, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. He said something short to the man and he left. Statesman then walked over to them and stopped in front of Sister Psyche, his hand on his forehead.
“Sheesh, another museum was robbed…again… Anyway, it’s nice to see you again Gilthanis, Sister Psyche. And you must be Amadaeus, the dead brother. Nice to meet you.” He extended his hand and Amadaeus reluctantly took it. Amadaeus’s hand swallowed Statesman’s, taking him a little by surprise. “Well, I guess they weren’t kidding when they said you were big, huh?” Amadaeus’s lips cracked into a smirk, making a sound like grinding sand.
“Yeah well, you can thank my brother for that.”
“Right. Anyway, let’s get down to business. If you could join me at the table, we’ll talk about what to do with you two.”
“What do you mean by that?” Amadaeus said, crossing his massive arms. Gilthanis reached up and put his hand on his brother’s arm, shaking his head at him slightly.
“Come, brother. We’ll soon find out.” He made his way to the table and Amadaeus followed. He sat beside his brother and the chair gave out under him. He stood up looking annoyed.
“Woops, sorry about that. Here, I’ll get you Citadel’s chair. That should hold you.” Sister Psyche sat across from Gilthanis and levitated a large, metallic chair and placed it under Amadaeus. He sat down and looked across at her.
“Thanks,” he said. She just smiled back than joined Gilthanis in looking at Statesman.
“Alright then. Ladies, gentlemen, I’ve called you all here to discuss what’s happened to you, and what’s going to happen to you. Once the others who aren’t on duty get here, we’ll start. Shalice, if you could—”
“Just did,” she cut Statesman off and gave him a smirk. “Mind you, we’ll just have Positron, Numina, and Manticore here with us. The rest are out doing one thing or another. And speak of the devil…”
The doors swung open and the three heroes stepped in and took their seats. They all nodded to each other and exchanged greetings with the brothers. Then, it was down to business.
“Ok everybody,” Statesman started, “As you might have guessed, these are the brothers Shalice and I told you about. I know you’ve all been informed about what happened to them, now the question stands: what should we do with them?” He looked over to the brothers, “Why don’t you two start. What would you like to have happen?” Suddenly, in unison, all eyes turned on the brothers. For Amadaeus this was a little disconcerting, but his brother didn’t seem bothered by it.
“Well, first of all,” Gilthanis started, “I’ve been thinking. Shouldn’t we be compensated at all? After all, it was the Freedom Phalanx who inadvertently led up to our being forced out of our home. It would be quite a shame if this was let out, wouldn’t you agree? You are, after all, the symbol of everything good and true for not only Paragon, but America. One could argue that your influence spans across the entire globe.” Gilthanis leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and crossing his fingers between his hands. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
The heroes seemed taken aback by this unexpectedly assertive statement. Though one of them seemed amused, smirking under his red mask. Manticore finally broke down and laughed, turning his eyes to Statesman. He pointed at Gilthanis with his thumb and smiled widely.
“I like this guy. Can we keep him, States?” Statesman looked irritated at Manticore but kept his composure. He turned back to Gilthanis and spoke clearly.
“Well, this is very unorthodox, and the Freedom Phalanx doesn’t take kindly to threats,” He quickly peeked over to Manticore, who looked back at him annoyed. “But, under the circumstances, I’d say that’s a fair request. I’ll talk to the mayor and see what I can do. Is there anything else, preferably sans blackmail? How about you, Amadaeus? Is there anything you’d like to contribute to this meeting? We’re here to help you anyway we can, you know.” All eyes turned from Statesman to Amadaeus. This time, though, he felt more in control of the situation after his brother’s speech, and felt more free to speak his mind then before.
“Two things:” he started. He leaned forward on the table, arms crossed and resting on it. “One, my brother and I aren’t separated against our mutual will under any circumstances. Two, you tell me how I can put this new body of mine to work.” He stared unblinking at the heroes and waited for his answer.
Looking relieved, Statesman replied. “Don’t worry, we wouldn’t dream of separating you two after all you’ve been through. As for putting you to work, we have a condition of our own. Do you want to hear it?” The brothers exchanged looks with each other and nodded to Statesman. “Well, considering the…interesting circumstances that you two are under, we’ll need to read your mind as well, Amadaeus. Especially after bringing you here, normally reserved for heroes, and even then only few outside our ranks, we can’t be too careful.”
“Hey! We never spoke about—” Sister Psyche stood up from her chair in a quick panic, but Statesman rose his hand in an open palm to her and she stopped, sitting back down looking slightly hurt and afraid. Statesman continued speaking.
“As your brother can tell you, it’s not a painful process by any means. I’m sure you understand. So, what do you say?”
Amadaeus looked uncertainly at his brother, who replied with a reassuring nod.
“Well, I guess so. As long as she agrees to it. She didn’t seem to keen on the idea just now. ” Amadaeus replied, nodding his head to Sister Psyche. All eyes turned to her and she looked back sheepishly. She gave a small nod, but didn’t say a word. Manticore, sitting beside her at the table, looked at her apologetically and put his hand on her shoulder, shooting a quick, angry glance at Statesman.
“Alright then, it’s settled. Numina, Pos, sorry to have wasted your time like this but thank you for showing up anyway. Do you mind leaving us alone while Shalice does her thing?” They both stood up and left, giving apologetic looks at Sister Psyche on the way out. “Manticore, do you mind?”
“States, can I see you outside for a minute?” he still looked at him angrily, but his voice was clear and deliberate.
“Please Justin, not now. We can discuss this after it’s over with. Just leave with the other two and we’ll talk privately afterward.” There was a long silence and the brothers just sat back on the edge of their seats and watched silently, exchanging nervous looks. Amadaeus noticed Manticore clench his trembling fist and Amadaeus expected him to punch Statesman, but he just left without saying a word and slammed the door. Statesman sighed and turned back to the others.
“I apologize for Manticore’s behavior. He’s as eager as any of us to do his part for the Phalanx, but he and I don’t always see eye to eye. Anyway Shalice, Amadaeus, when you’re ready.”
Amadaeus looked over to Sister Psyche and gave her a little nod, guilt stinging his stomach like his brother’s knife. She made her way around the table and stood behind Amadaeus, her hands around his head but not touching him.
“Alright Amadaeus, just relax as much as possible and clear your mind. Don’t worry, it won’t take long. Be over before you know it.” He looked back at her and she smiled at him, though he can tell it was an empty smile. She didn’t want to go through this at all and he could tell as plain as day. He shot a glance at his brother who watched him intently before looking straight ahead. He took a deep breath, relaxed his muscles, and closed his eyes.
“Ready.”
And with that, he slipped into a deep trance. At first, he felt like he was dreaming. Memories of his last night in his old body came flooding back into his mind, soon followed by just about every other memory he had. They came rushing at him like a movie in fast-forward. The feeling was intense. Then, something happened that neither he nor Sister Psyche expected. He could feel her growing anxiety through their link. Something was happening and she neither of them knew what.
At first he just felt a slight pressure, like the warning signs of a headache. Then the pressure grew and grew, quickly turning painful. Soon, the pain was so bad that Sister Psyche felt it as well. Before long, they were both screaming from the rush of pain traveling across their minds. Then something else happened that puzzled him more then even this.
As if a barrier was broken, a new pain rushed in with a newfound force that threatened to tear their minds in half. Along with this new rush, however, he heard something. A third, unfamiliar voice started screaming along with them. This continued for what felt like a lifetime before Sister Psyche was able to break their connection. The force of this break shot them both to opposite sides of the room. Sister Psyche as flung over a chair and landed facedown on the ground and didn’t move. Amadaeus was flung into the wall at the opposite side of the room and hit it with enough force to knock a hole into it with his limp body.
Through the blurred vision his quickly fading consciousness allowed him, he saw Statesman run towards Shalice as his brother advanced toward him. It wasn’t long before the other three ran inside to see what was going on. He couldn’t recognize who was who through his faded vision, but he saw what he needed to. Before long everything faded away and he lied on the floor unconscious, that other voice still screaming in his head.
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