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REWRITE Tale of Origin Chp14-The Truth

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    Tale of Origin
    By Arecus. Conberma
    Chapter 14: The Truth



"I should have slit your throat when I had the chance, my dear nephew." His voice carried so that there were very few who missed the words.

Everyone on the boat, even the Atlantians who had surfaced just moments earlier, heard this. Numerous glares and gasps were directed toward Rakar, who remained standing there nonchalantly as if his admission had been nothing of particular interest. Although Kaze and Darren glowered the most at him, Athena's disbelief was almost choking.

"R-Rakar…why?!"

It was more of a breathless whisper than a solid question. Athena was having a hard time speaking. After all, Rakar was the only one left besides her sons who was related to Mortesen. At times she'd felt so alone and having Rakar there, his accent and manners so much like her husband's that he didn't seem so far away... It had helped.

Mortesen had trusted him, so she did too, not realizing he had such a deceptive mind and dark heart. She used to have a better judgment of character... How could she be so blind that she'd given over every facet of ruling to her husband's murderer?!

The dark brown hedgehog didn't seem to be fazed at her exclamation. If anything, he coldly smiled at her reaction, as if her expression of confused despair entertained him.

On the other hand, Kaze and Darren were both boiling with rage. They had already disliked their uncle since their youth, but now knowing that he was the one responsible for their beloved father's death and had continued living under their roof for many years as regent had pushed their anger to its limits. They wanted to lunge forward and rip him apart.

Sapphire's hand touched her prince's arm and he looked back with surprise. A floating bubble of water encased her from the waist down so that she could join them on deck. Athena was too focused on Rakar to notice her until she spoke.

“You've sought war between our kingdoms, otherwise you wouldn't have sent my blood to Atlantis to antagonize my father. Why is our alliance such a threat to you?”

“Sylvia?” The queen blinked, wondering at the protective way Kaze stood close to her.

“It isn't an alliance I fear, merhog,” Rakar shrugged. “It certainly would have made things easier for me later. In a way I suppose it was just to test how simple it is to turn different peoples against one another.”

“The mourning gifts!” Darren said suddenly, the memory clear as when he first heard the news on the previous night. “I know Mother sent one to Atlantis.”

“Of course I did,” Athena added. “Marissa was my friend.”

“Mortesen was mine,” Posiden called from the ocean just beside their ship. “Three months after the war I sent treasures of gold as a token of my sorrow, but we received nothing in return.”

“Nor did we,” Queen Athena insisted. An instant later she recalled something. “Rakar was the one who oversaw the port of Cosium back then, and all imports were inspected by him…”

“You killed father and sabotaged Cosium's alliance with Atlantis!” Darren accused.

“Traitor!” Kaze yelled through gritted teeth.

"How could you!?" Queen Athena shouted at Rakar. "He was your brother!!"

A dark, blazing hatred kindled in the murderer's eyes. "My half-brother had everything. He had the kingdom, he had power, he had the Cosmos Diamond, he could sense sincerity... All his potential was ruined because he got himself an unreliable little minx—you."

The last word was said with stinging venom. He turned and glared at Athena, who seemed stunned at the statement. It was the first time he had dropped his persona of ease and absolute control of the situation.

The queen's brow wrinkled with confusion. "What do you mean?"

Rakar's glare never ceased. "It was your fault that Mortesen went soft! It was your fault that his iron rule weakened! It was your fault that my idol became nothing more than a catspaw! With his talents he could have been the greatest king in ages!" he barked with fiery rage in his veins. "You are the one who forced me to get rid of him."

"I helped him to become a better person! Is that a crime to have a king who ruled his kingdom in peace?!"

"YES!” Rakar snarled, gripping the railing beside him. “A king should never be tricked into feeling 'sympathy' or 'compassion' towards his people or they will take advantage of him. Only the rule of iron fist can keep the unruly masses in line!"

“Then you can't see what's right in front of you, Rakar! An iron fist and severe punishment for the most minor offenses only makes people desperate over time. How many revolts did your father put down in the twenty years he ruled? Dozens. Compare that to the four Mortesen dealt with in twelve years.” She raised her chin with pride. “Whose reign will go down in history as greater? The one who couldn't control his people or the one who didn't need to control his people?”

For a moment there was a glimmer of uncertainty on Rakar's face. Then his red eyes narrowed and he sneered at her.

“This from the so-called 'Commoner's Queen'?” The dark hedgehog gave an ugly laugh. “So proud of living among the peasants that after just a few years in the castle you forgot to have any concern for them at all. I admit, I never would have ruled unopposed for nine years if you hadn't been so oblivious.”

The words stung like a whip and Athena blanched, realizing he was right. Offhand she couldn't remember the last time she'd left the castle except to visit Cosium Town. Not since Mortesen had died, but especially since her eldest son left.

"My 'sister'," Rakar hissed disdainfully, the hands hidden behind his back beginning to glow with a deep purple aura. "As much as I enjoyed our time together, I'm afraid it's past time to say goodbye."

Without warning his arms swept forward, scythe materializing as it swung for Athena's head. She didn't have time to react, and Kaze and Darren couldn't cross the distance in time. They cried out for their mother. The queen hedgehog tried to move away, but for some reason it was as if her own shadow was holding her in place!

She closed her eyes, ready to embrace the scythe's keen edge, and silently prayed it would be painless. At least she would meet Mortesen a little sooner than she expected—

SHIINNNNN!

The queen hedgehog didn't feel any pain, but she did hear a familiar growling in front of her. She cracked open her eyes and let out a gasp of surprise.

Standing in front of her was a light purple hedgehog, his daggers crossed to block the scythe.

"Benonic?" Athena breathed.

"Ben!!" Kaze and Darren both cried in joyful relief. If it hadn't been for the serious situation at hand, they would have rushed across and given their big brother a bone-crushing hug.

"The devil's child…" Rakar snarled at him. He thought he had this abomination out of his life for good. This made things more complicated than he liked.

Benonic kept his glare dead on Rakar, letting out a roar as he forced the older hedgehog away from Athena with a thrust. She was still stunned to see her adopted son right here in front of her when she thought he wasn't even in the kingdom.

"Why are you here? I thought you left Cosium."

'I never did,' Benonic signed. 'I just kept out of sight. Not even Rakar's spies could find me. I stowed away on board an hour ago when I saw the soldiers assembling.'

His daggers were sheathed now so that he could be understood clearly, but everyone who had ever seen him fight knew he'd draw them quicker than the eye could follow if threatened. Darren interpreted aloud so that everyone (including the Atlantians) could understand what Benonic said. He raised a hand and pointed directly at Rakar.

'You thought you could get rid of me, but that only confirmed my suspicions. You freed me to keep my eyes on you even more. It took time, but Carrie and I gathered enough evidence of crimes you've committed that could get you executed!'

Threatening someone Benonic loved would have worked to get him out of Cosium a few years earlier, but not after he met Carrie. He cared too much and trusted Rakar too little to leave her behind. She found the prospect of being a fugitive exciting and joined him willingly.

It was her idea that they use their time to investigate Rakar's activities and find proof of his wrongdoing. Benonic could sneak almost anywhere, locked or unlocked, and Carrie could sweet-talk a surprising amount of information out of half-drunk men (keeping her identifiable scars hidden, of course). It had taken months to get a lead on something and could take even longer to find real proof of it. But three years had yielded plenty of results.

Benonic held out a satchel to Athena without turning away from Rakar. She flipped through the papers inside, finding records of illegal herb and poison shipping, double reports of taxes, as well as lists of judges who had been placed in their offices because they were corrupt. The queen didn't bother to look at more than five pages before crushing a handful of them in her fists.

"Give it up, Uncle. It's over," Darren told him with satisfaction.

And yet, even with this turn of events Rakar continued to stand there confidently. There were so many layers to his plan that a few setbacks were still nothing to him.

"Oh don't worry, it's far from over."

"What do you mean?" Kaze demanded.

"I'll give you a hint." Rakar glanced overboard. “The contract your little merhog signed had some fine print.”

"But I still have two weeks left!" Sapphire said. “My month isn't over.”

“Perhaps not, but your deal is still forfeit. Too bad.”

Kaze looked at her in confusion, but something slammed into him and he rolled across the deck. When he shook off the dizziness, he saw ink-black tentacles wrapping around Sapphire. The water bubble burst and she tried to scream, but Nymph only tightened her hold until her victim couldn't breathe, squeezing every ounce of air from her lungs.

"Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that little detail. If your payment is taken from me, then all of you is mine!" the Sea Witch declared, a wicked smile lighting her face.

Sapphire's terrified emerald eyes shot wide. This horrible revelation hurt as much as the pain of suffocating.

"Kaze!!" Sapphire choked out, one hand stretching toward her prince.

He leaped toward them as they disappeared over the railing, but Darren and Benonic both seized hold of him. Though the hedgehog tried to struggle free, his brothers were too strong. He could see her just below the waves, still reaching for him as she was dragged into darkness.

"Sapphire!!" Kaze screamed.



To be continued…

Oh finally! A BRAND NEW chapter since the last and old versions before I rewrote the whole thing.

Hope it's worth the wait and hope you enjoy reading it. And don't forget leave down a comment XD



:iconherospeedplz: Previous Chapter:  REWRITE Tale of Origin Chp13-Savages
Tale of Origin
By Arecus. Conberma
Chapter 13: Savages

"Where is he!?" Rakar snarled the words, throwing open the door to Sapphire's room.
Nymph turned to face him with well-composed dignity. Her tentacles had been too susceptible to the dryness on land and she'd changed them into the legs of a spider again.
“If I knew that then I would have him here, wouldn't I? Where is my prize? I heard what happened in the courtyard. Things are not going the way we planned.”
“It is still salvageable,” the hedgehog said, stroking the scar beneath his eye. “Athena is in conference with her generals. This news might be just the push she needs to make a rash decision. Keep looking for Kaze. If you find him, make sure he stays out of sight until the ships set out. You know what to do after that.”
Nymph's smile spread across her face with a malevolence that Rakar found attractive. “I have waited for this longer than you can imagine.”

:iconheropowerplz: Next Chapter:  REWRITE Tale of Origin Chp15-Test of Love
Tale of Origin
By Arecus. Conberma
Chapter 15: The Real Test of Love

"Let me go!" Sapphire cried as she continued to struggle in the sea witch's solid grip.
"Quiet, you wretch!" Nymph snapped as she dragged her straight down at a speed that left the pursuing merhogs behind. She was not afraid of being outnumbered, but she had a diabolical plan and a destination in mind.
While the Coizards couldn't chase the escaping sea witch, the Atlantian army was hot on their tails (no pun intended), especially with King Posiden leading the way.
Nymph grinned wickedly as she reached the ocean floor. A large bed of fire coral was there, filled with colourful fish that vanished at the sight of the approaching enemies. The place she dragged Sapphire to was a strange, wide circle in the middle of the reef, as though it had been perfectly carved out with magic.
Behind them, the king of Atlantis let out a roar, "NYMPH!!"
When she turned confidently to face him, Sapphire as her leverage and h





Kaze, Sapphire, Darren, Athena, Benonic, Mortesen, Rakar, Marissa, and Posiden the Hedgehogs/Merhogs belong to me :iconliyuconberma:

Edited by my Ghost Writer.

Sonic and his friends belong to :iconsegaplz:
© 2015 - 2024 LiyuConberma
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Yes! Let's go Ben!!! Also, is he mute? You said he was signing instead of saying, and Darren was translating...