Chapter Eighty Two: Brothers Most Grim
~BlackRoseRaven
Fafnir lunged with a roar, but Cadence was ready, catching his wrist between her twin daggers and twisting savagely to yank him off to the side. The destroyer squealed before he tried to punt Cadence as he staggered past, but he was easy to predict without his shapeshifting, the mare leaping backwards with a grimace before she parried another wild swipe at her face, slicing his fingers off.
He staggered backwards as energy hissed out of his severed stumps, squealing in pain as his hand twitched before the digits grew back into place and flexed several times. But every cut, every maim, every dismemberment was weakening the destroyer further, reducing his limited reserves of strength.
“Cygne! Watch it!” La Croix shouted, and Cadence swore as she narrowly dodged a swipe of the monster's tail, which seemed to move like it had a life of its own as it flailed and stabbed at her. She couldn't overestimate herself, no matter how well she was doing: her own senses were distorted, her vision blurry, her whole body in pain in spite of the fact her wounds had healed, and the Swan was still unconscious inside her.
But she had to do this. She was the only one who could.
Fafnir slashed at her, and Cadence dodged backwards before the monster's head snapped forwards to try and bite her, but the mare retaliated with a hoof full of throwing daggers that tore through the destroyer's features. He screamed and wrenched his head backwards, and Cadence leapt forwards, sliding through his legs and slashing through his ankles with her long daggers before she leapt upwards and sliced through the base of his tail, then seized the wildly-whipping appendage in both forelegs and half-turned, wrenching it as hard as she could to the side.
Fafnir began to jerk backwards, then he suddenly spilled forwards with a scream of misery as his tail was torn off, exploding into liquid goop that splattered across the ivory mare and knocked her sprawling. But the destruction entity staggered helplessly away, bleeding both liquid metal and black ooze from the stump of his tail, wailing: “It hurts, it hurts so much!”
Fafnir spun around towards her, snarling furiously, but to her surprise he dropped to all fours instead of lunging at her, growling: “No, no, no! I won't let you do this to me! I won't just stand here and take it, I'll rip you, shred you, kill you apart!”
But the monster didn't lunge or move towards her, only shivering on the spot as Cadence set herself and rose her daggers to ready positions, growling: “Yeah, well, I'm waiting, asshole.”
The destruction entity staggered back and forth on all fours, growling and whining in its throat uncertainly, and then Fafnir suddenly screamed in frustration before slamming his fists down against the stone floor, roaring: “Why? Why why why why why? Why won't you just go back to sleep, go back to death, go back and be happy and die?”
“Because I've got too much to do.” Cadence retorted as she readied herself, flexing and baring her teeth at the destroyer.
The destruction entity snorted, before its insect eyes suddenly locked on hers, cold and serious and somehow sad, as it said in the old language: “Then what are you but a fool, for never enjoying what you have had, for thinking only of the future, and not the past?”
There was silence for a moment, and then Fafnir lunged at Cadence with incredible speed, but the mare met him with both grace and savagery, twisting her knives up and slicing them across the the destruction entity's face before the tips of her blades found his neck and stabbed down. And a moment later, she had the destroyer pinned by the neck, gargling and gasping weakly as Cadence's daggers glowed, her breathing slow and calm, her eyes cold before she focused her powers through her daggers.
Fafnir squealed, clawing wildly at the daggers before he gasped out: “M-Mercy! Mercy! Mercy! Please, m-m-mercy!”
Cadence smiled thinly, focusing more power down her blades as she felt the energy, the very life force of the destroyer steaming up into the air, felt the strings that bound him together being severed under her touch. She could kill him. She could do more than kill him: she could slice apart his spirit, and instead of sending him to the Void, he would dissolve into nothingness...
“Give him mercy.” Thesis half-instructed, half-asked, and Cadence looked up in surprise. She stared at him as Fafnir gasped and moaned and whimpered, before Thesis implored gently: “Just send him back to the Void.”
“So, what, Loki can dig this monster out again? He's a monster! He's... destruction, incarnate!” Cadence argued sharply, before she glanced up in surprise as her father gently touched her shoulder, but it was Thesis who smiled at her, Thesis who spoke:
“Yeah. He'll probably come back. He'll probably be used to try and hurt us again. So what? Mercy isn't about that. We have our honor and our virtue, Cadence, and we are better than destroyers, and animals, and killers. We don't kill in cold blood. We don't kill the people who beg us for mercy, even if we know they'll turn on us. And we don't pretend that being our enemy automatically means they can't be victims, too. Just send this poor dog home. And if he comes back, well... we'll deal with that when it happens. But sometimes, being the good guys means we have to do good things even for bad people.”
“I don't want to be the good guy.” Cadence murmured, as she looked down at the helpless, bleeding creature pinned beneath her, drooling silver blood and whimpering as tears fell from his eyes, pinned through the throat, through the very energy that made up his being, by her daggers. “I'm not the good guy.”
“And you don't have to dig the hole any deeper, either.” Thesis reminded her gently, before he said softly: “Let him go. Send the dog home, but don't do something you'll only regret later.”
“I never regret... killing. I never have.” Cadence said honestly, as she leaned over Fafnir, as she twisted her daggers slowly into his throat, and it was true, wasn't it? She didn't have any compassion for the people she killed. Good, bad, wicked or saintly... I'm a killer. It's what I do. It's what I was made to do. It's the only thing that makes me feel...
She closed her eyes, then swore quietly under her breath before she suddenly wrenched her daggers to the side, nearly beheading the destroyer with the ferocity of her slice. But even as the destruction entity rolled backwards, gargling and choking, he seemed almost relieved as he clutched at his neck, his liquid metal body rapidly disintegrating as energy steamed into the air and faded from sight, returning to the Void from whence he had been summoned.
There was silence for a few moments, and then Moonflower croaked: “Well, Cadence. I'm glad to see that even without my help you managed to succeed and do the right thing.”
Cadence smiled faintly despite herself, looking up to see the unicorn was half-laying against the wall, breathing hard but smiling despite his badly-burned features. “I'm glad to see you didn't kill yourself with whatever you did. What about...”
“Dead.” La Croix said simply, and Cadence blinked in surprise as she looked up to see La Croix standing over Mfalme Kuoza's puppet body, the Loa shaking his head as he studied the half-corpse, half-golem. “I bound his spirit to the shell, but I didn't have to do too much. He was already plenty weak: even this cocodril wannabe ain't strong enough to be jumpin' from corps to corps like he was likely forced to. And when that monstre stuck a finger through his eye, well...”
“That was more than a finger.” Thesis muttered as he turned away, looking back and forth before his eyes locked onto something across the cavern, and he slowly approached the broken remains of the collar. But there was only a faint hum coming from it now, and Thesis gave a wry smile before he muttered: “Stolen Clockwork technology, likely modified in some makeshift facility. I guess that Auriculos is broadcasting using cross-dimensional tech... and considering all this, he's probably doing it of his own free will. My only question is...”
Thesis turned towards Cadence, and then mare grimaced as she reached up to touch some of the dried blood on her face, muttering: “The Swan is still out, so I can't tell you much. But it was like... like something exploded through the Astra. It's impossible to describe. Maybe once the Swan wakes up, I'll know more.”
“But whatever this force was, it was powerful enough to knock the Swan out?” Sombra asked, and Cadence nodded after a moment with a grimace, which made the unicorn frown slightly as he looked up at Thesis.
Thesis, however, only shrugged and sighed a bit, replying tactfully: “I don't know. Out of all of us, only Cadence here has ever really experienced the Astra. Mom and Hel and all these other smart people put forth a lot of theories about the Astra, have made a lot of deductions, but... they've never seen into it. Not even a Jötnar like Dad... uh, Valthrudnir, would have been able to look into the Astra without risking, well...
“Going crazy. Or worse. It's... weird in there.” muttered Cadence, closing her eyes. “It's not a place, you have to remember that. We talk about it like it's a place, but it's not. It's... everything. It's all of us. Inside all of us, outside all of us. The Astra is everything and everywhere.”
She sighed a little, then shook herself quickly before she spun her daggers at her side and finally holstered them. The Nzambi had all been killed or captured, the destroyer was gone, the collar was broken and Auriculos had probably wiped the software and just left the wreecked pieces of hardware behind, and... “I guess we're not going to get anything out of Mfalme Kuoza then, are we?”
“Not... necessarily. None of y'all gonna like it, though.” La Croix said hesitantly, and Cadence frowned a bit as La Croix mumbled: “Well, I am a Loa, and you know my specialty be handlin' the dead. But Mfalme Kuoza, well... he a real nasty, real old, real dangereux spirit. However, with some help from some amis, I might just be able to pull the shreds of Mfalme Kuoza's spirit out safely. He ain't comin' back, no. But he so malignant, so evil, if I don't get help he could easily make what we call a stain in this here reality, and stains be real bad.”
“Yeah.” Cadence murmured, and then she shook her head quickly before she glanced over at Thesis, and he smiled and nodded briefly.
“Yeah. Do your thing. We trust you, right guys?” Thesis said, looking around, and Sombra smiled and nodded calmly as Moonflower shrugged and gave a wry smile as well.
“You are a... decent enough minion.” the unicorn said, and La Croix gave him a flat look before the black unicorn dropped his head and murmured: “Thank you for saving my life for the thousandth time.”
La Croix looked almost startled for a moment, but then he simply laughed it off and waved a hoof, replying in a falsely-irritable voice: “Hey, don't go readin' too much into it, m'su. Just another day at the job, that's all.”
He halted, then cleared his throat before brushing himself off as he faced Mfalme Kuoza's corpse, muttering: “Now, let's see if I can still do this. Hopefully these two been able to avoid Bondye's wrath, but I bet he's got all sorts of nasty eyes watchin' for 'em from the shadows... but I know just how to get 'round that.”
La Croix produced a bottle from his cloak, then a powder, asking: “Papa Sérénité, you mind lendin' me a bit o' your magic? Need an extra boost and some poison to make an antidote.”
Sombra nodded, striding over to La Croix as Cadence sat back on the ground, and Thesis sat himself down beside the ivory mare as she only sighed and lowered her head. There was silence between them for a few moments as La Croix tinkered in the background, before Cadence finally looked up and murmured: “I thought you had died.”
“Voidborn. It'll take more than that to kill me.” Thesis shrugged and smiled briefly, touching his own chest lightly before he asked: “And how are you doing?”
“Crappy.” Cadence confessed after a moment, and Thesis nodded a few times before the mare glanced up at him and asked finally: “Why am I so broken? Why am I a monster? Why am I driven to kill?”
She quieted, then looked over at Thesis and asked bluntly: “Is this what Hecate wanted me for? Because she knows the Swan... that I need guidance? That I need to... kill?”
“You don't need to do anything, Cadence, except what you want to do.” Thesis said gently as he wrapped a foreleg around her, and Cadence sighed and lowered her head, but she didn't pull away as he continued quietly: “Mom doesn't need killers and murderers, and I think you know that. She doesn't see you that way, either. She sees you as a leader and as a pony who can be depended upon to get the job done at the end of the day. And you are that, and I think you know that, don't you?”
Cadence grumbled a little, shifting a bit before she sighed and lowered her head, nodding and murmuring: “I'm trying my hardest to be. It's just that I always come back to... to that. To the killing. To the fact that taking life is so easy for me and it's become second nature. And maybe... I don't know. I just... don't know.”
There was silence for a few moments, before Moonflower grunted as he sat himself down beside the two, Cadence glancing up at him in surprise, but Thesis only smiling as the unicorn said: “Well, I never thought very highly of myself... I mean, you know, apart from being a God of Magic and all-powerful and far superior to every mage and magician and unicorn around me, but that was never really all that high and mighty, was it?”
Moonflower smiled briefly, before he added quietly: “No, we know that was all nothing but play and nonsense. No, I'm no... no great wizard or powerful god. I'm just...”
Moonflower reached up and rubbed at his burnt face; La Croix had at least helped him apply some sort of salve over it that was speeding up his healing, but it still looked like it hurt. He scowled a little, hesitating, but then finally he mumbled: “Just a foolish unicorn. A criminal. All my whining about you all being so low class and unaustere and I'm the one who's a criminal.”
He stopped, then smiled briefly over at Cadence. “But a criminal, a stripehorse, and your father, who is so handsome and dignified and strong but... has his vices, too...” Moonflower said delicately, earning a scowl from Cadence. “But you bring us all together. You make us function as a team. You're the balance to us, Cadence, and perhaps we balance you out a little too. Except I don't think you need us half as much as we need you.”
Cadence shrugged a bit, and Moonflower chuckled and murmured: “What I'm trying to say is that a killer couldn't do that. You're much more than that. You're the... the one pony who holds us all together, who keeps us all going. You're the... I don't know. Herdmistress.”
“Hey, she's my mistress. Well, I mean. Not like that. Or like that.” Thesis rubbed awkwardly at his face as Cadence scowled at him, and then he said finally: “Everyone looks up to you. I know you probably hate that. But you're a leader, Cadence, an officer, a... something that people listen to, whether you like it or not.”
Cadence grumbled under her breath, but then she sighed and nodded before looking up as La Croix called: “Okay, gonna see if this works.”
Cadence cocked her head, glad for the distraction: it looked as if La Croix had gotten her father to create some kind of small summoning plate out of black gemstone, along with a bowl that he had mixed some weird concoction in. La Croix turned away from them, muttering some strange incantation under his breath as his hoof sizzled with magic over the bowl of liquid.
Eerie green smoke vomited up from the bowl, and La Croix scowled before he gritted his teeth at another burst of smog, muttering: “There, there, y'idiots just...” A third burst, but this time it was tinged darker, and La Croix grinned as he called: “Y'all turned into cowards with me gone? C'mon, c'mon! Ici, ici!”
A rumble tore through the air, green energy sparking over the plate of black stone as another burst of dark smog rose up from the bowl, and an incredulous voice echoed out of the gemstone tablet: “La Croix? Mon frère? Is it really you?”
“It really be me. You gonna make me wait all day before showin' me whether or not that really be you?” La Croix replied mildly, and there was a short laugh from the bowl as strange images formed in the liquid.
“Hey!” shouted another voice from the bowl, this one sounding more excited and cheerful. “There you be! We been wonderin' about you, brother, especially with how Bondye been dredgin' the bayou lately! We were worried you'd ended up here... but hey, we can't talk-”
“Yes y'all can. Y'know why?” La Croix suddenly upended the bowl over the gemstone plate, the water splashing down before there was a tremendous burst of green and black smoke, and a moment later, two stunned, soaked zebra were left sitting awkwardly on the tiny black tablet, and La Croix threw his head back and laughed loudly.
The one on the left was wearing a fancy hat with a large feather sticking out of the brim, a full suit with flowing tails covering his body, polished buckles and buttons glimmering over the expensive clothing. The other, on the right, had a silk jacket and a long scarf hanging around his neck, a skull-topped cane clutched in one hoof as the two zebra who looked almost eerily like La Croix blinked, then both scowled horribly at the stallion as their brother said cheerfully: “Well, ain't this nice, seein' y'all here again right in front of me!”
“La Croix, the hell you doin'?” shouted the fanciest of the three, the zebra leaping to his hooves and gesturing violently at his scarfed brother. “Cimetaire and I can't be here! You fou?”
“Oh, calm down, Samedi, you safe enough here. Just take a look at that big ol' poisson I caught and you tell me whether or not you gotta worry 'bout bein' eaten up by the minnows.” La Croix said airily as he gestured behind the two, and the pair of Loa turned before they both jumped backwards in shock at the sight of Mfalme Kuoza.
“Merde!” swore Samedi, and then he shook his head before he looked quickly over his shoulder at La Croix, asking with disbelief: “You managed to put that couyon down y'self?”
La Croix grinned and opened his mouth, and then Cadence loudly cleared her throat, the Loa coughing loudly before he awkwardly stepped to the side and gestured back at the others, saying finally: “I had a little bit of help. Lemme introduce ma famille. They been real good to me ever since I joined up with Nanny Hecate.”
Samedi and Cimetaire both let their eyes draw curiously over the ponies, as La Croix said: “This here fella be Papa Sérénité, he the nice one of the group. That be Moony, he be a pédé. Then you got Cygne there, and her beau, Thesis. Thesis be a bit of a grand beede but his gaienne be real good. She be the reason we all still alive, really.”
“Yeah, we heard o' that Cygne. Ain't just a pretty bird, but a real dangerous one, ain't that right?” Cimetaire said slowly as he twisted his cane apprehensively back and forth, but La Croix only huffed loudly.
“Y'all are embarrassin' me already! Now taisse-toi, connards. Cygne, mes amis, lemme introduce mon frères, Baron Cimetaire and Baron Samedi.” La Croix said with a smile, winking over his shoulder at his friends. “They done took pretty good care o' me while I was still with Bondye.”
“Yeah, if only we'd let the cocodril eat you, we might've taken better care of ourselves. We ain't barons no more, La Croix.” Samedi answered after a moment, brushing at himself before he bowed his head politely to Cadence. “Pleased to meet y'all. I hope that La Croix hasn't lied too much 'bout us and you give us a chance to make a good impression on y'all. Right, Cimetaire?”
Samedi firmly smacked the back of Cimetaire's head, making him yelp and nearly knocking his hat off before the apparently-eldest, best-dressed Loa turned his eyes pointedly towards La Croix. “But y'know, I ain't exactly sure why you brought us out here, La Croix, 'less you're just lookin' to get us into trouble. Cimetaire and I had a nice little hidey-hole in Darkwater and you certainly ruined that for us by draggin' us out here, mon ami.”
“Hey, hey, hey now, we'll figure out how to fix it, eh? But for now, what I need your help with is dredgin' the spirit of Mfalme Kuoza there. There's enough spirit left in that shell we may be able to extract a bit of information out of him, if the three of us good brothers work together.” La Croix said mildly, and Cimetaire and Samedi both scowled uncertainly at each other, but then sighed when La Croix leaned towards them pointedly. “Y'owe me.”
“Actually, you owe us. A whole lot, at that.” replied Samedi in a mild voice, although La Croix only waved a hoof airily.
“We owe each other, ain't that right? Besides, you gonna owe me big in a few minutes, just you wait and see.” La Croix replied with a wink, before he gestured towards the golem and said mildly: “But if you wanna stop wastin' time, maybe, then we should get to work.”
Cimetaire and Samedi traded looks, then shrugs, before the two Loa turned around, one of them muttering aside to La Croix: “You sure 'bout this? Don't know how much useful stuff we actually be able to pull from this puppet, though... don't think it's much of a risk worth taking. I smell Nzambi: you have one of them hidden up your sleeve?”
“Two of 'em be trapped in the river, but they ain't gonna know nothin'. Mfalme Kuoza, though, you know his link with Bondye goes both ways, and he liked to spy where he wasn't welcome. If we can scrape even a few of his recent memories out of his spirit, I'm sure it'll give us an edge. And it'll guarantee you two a ride home.”
“Wait, wait, wait. What are you talking about, La Croix?” Cadence interrupted, and the zebra looked lamely over his shoulder as the ivory mare said quietly: “Look, we can't promise anything. Hecate might not be looking for new Orphans at the moment, and-”
“We can give 'em a ride. Besides, we'll need information about Bondye, and those two can provide plenty, I'm sure.” Thesis interrupted mildly, smiling reassuringly at the Loa before he winked. “And I'm the acting regent of Decretum, so I totally have more authority and smartness than Cadence.”
Both zebra looked uncertain, but La Croix only nodded firmly, giving Thesis a thankful look before he turned towards his brothers and encouraged: “Don't pay no heed to Cygne, she a real hero but she also a little too serious for her own good. Focus on this bigarno, he gotta be shelled and prepared.”
“Fine, fine. I'm gonna trust in you, and just hope for once it actually goes somewhere decent.” grumbled Samedi, and Cimetaire nodded moodily before the eldest brother muttered: “I'll take the sinister and you take the shadow. Let La Croix handle dexter, he probably out of practice.”
La Croix huffed loudly, but his brothers ignored him as Cimetaire asked: “You sure you don't want me handlin' the whole thing? Maybe La Croix should just handle puttin' down a ward. At least then we can check his work.”
“And here I am, already feeling like I gone fou for thinkin' you two idjits might at least be a little grateful to me for bringin' you out of whatever mudhole y'all been hidin' in, givin' you room and board and a place to live and freein' you from-”
“Oh, taisse-toi, La Croix, let's just get this over with.” groaned Samedi as he waved a hoof grumpily, and La Croix huffed before he strode quickly forwards, the three forming a rough triangle around Mfalme Kuoza's body as the Loa asked in a more serious voice: “Been disturbed since death?”
“Nope, he layin' where he fell.” La Croix said quietly, before he pointed out Mfalme's eye. “That be the lethal wound. Done by a Voidborn, a destroyer. Idjit thought it was Mwangamizi.”
“Mfalme Kuoza ain't never been smart, La Croix. Just real sly, real nasty, and a real good listener to Bondye.” Cimetaire grumbled, before he grimaced as he extended a hoof towards the golem, muttering: “This body ain't even been sanctified properly, but d'you feel that? The essence of the bayou. The blood of Darkwater.”
“Oui. He ain't all-together in there. We better be careful extractin' what we can. Reel him in, slow and steady: trawl for his energies, like you'd trawl for the crawdads.” muttered Samedi, and La Croix nodded as the three Loa all moved in synchronicity, falling in natural rhythm with each other, as if they had never been separated.
Green energy fumed over the shell of the golem, Mfalme Kuoza's corpse twitching once before it gasped weakly out, eyes flashing as it tried to snarl, tried to jerk away. It only managed to resist for a moment, however, before it simply fell limp again as a ghostly essence wafted violently upwards from the corpse, a tattered spirit of a zebra that was missing most of its skull floating silently above the body.
It blinked its single eye, then hissed in disgust before it drew its baleful gaze back and forth, rasping something in a language that Cadence didn't understand. La Croix snorted, however, then he said coldly: “Ain't important how they got here. I got a few questions for you, though, Mfalme Kuoza, like just what it is Bondye's been doin' with Loki.”
The spirit spat something at them, then howled in misery when Samedi twisted his hoof slightly, lightning erupting across the ethereal form as the Loa said in a low voice: “Don't got time for fun and games today, chaoui. How 'bout you just stick to answerin' the questions instead of pretending you have any sort of power left, eh? Won't work on us.”
The spirit writhed, then swore angrily at them: at least, Cadence guessed it was swearing from the sound and tone. But none of the Loa flinched, Cimetaire snorting before he asked contemptibly: “You been tryin' to hunt us down too, Mfalme Kuoza? Or maybe I should just call you Kuoza now, you ain't no Mfalme anymore, and you'd do well to remember that. We can always make sure you don't ever go back to Darkwater, after all... not that it seems like with all the tamperin' you been doin'-”
“Taisse-toi, Cimetaire, stop running your mouth. Let's give our old friend a chance to tell us what he's been doin' for Bondye, hear?” Samedi interrupted, and Cimetaire grumbled before Samedi closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, a glow of magic shrouding his hoof before he muttered: “The poisons are inside the shell.”
“'Course they are. When you a walkin' cauldron, where's the best place to mix your brews?” La Croix said ironically, and then he shook his head before adding sharply: “You heard Samedi, answer the question.”
Mfalme Kuoza twisted helplessly, before the zebra spirit finally relented and grumbled something in a bitter, disgusted voice. The three Loa frowned at this, trading uneasy looks before the spirit suddenly focused in on La Croix, pulling against the magic binding him as he grinned cruelly, hissing out some promise of retribution before he gasped as he was restrained by the powerful magic of the three brothers, his spirit sizzling in visible pain.
La Croix shivered a little as his brothers both looked back at him uncertainly, but then Samedi turned his attention back to Mfalme Kuoza and asked coldly: “What's this nonsense about Bondye takin' over Darkwater? There's no way that he could take on the other Orisha, let alone He Above.”
Mfalme Kuoza writhed and resisted for a moment, and then his spirit crackled before he snarled out some answer. His spirit fizzled, steaming, losing cohesion for a moment, and Cimetaire grimaced before he muttered: “He ain't stickin' together too well. His will ain't all there, either. We might have to give up and break him down.”
Mfalme Kuoza reacted violently at this, flailing for a moment with a series of what had to be ugly curse-words in his native tongue, and the Loa swore before La Croix snapped: “Well, be much easier keepin' you together if you just stop flailin' around like a great damn ouaouaron caught in a damned blender, y'hear?”
After a few moments, the spirit finally stopped flailing, gasping for... well, not air, Cadence reflected. But he stopped struggling, shivering in the air and clenching and unclenching his hooves, glaring at the three Loa before Samedi repeated calmly: “Well? Tell us, what is Bondye planning? How does he think he can take over Darkwater?”
The floating spirit grumbled and shifted, but after a few moments it relented and answered the question in a sulky voice, his eyes darting back and forth with flashes of glowers now and then to the Loa as they traded uneasy looks. Both Samedi and Cimetaire deferred to La Croix after a moment, and the apparent youngest of the three grimaced before he asked: “If he really think that Loki gonna make him that powerful, well... Mfalme Kuoza, what does that mean? You can't mean Bondye hisself gonna be more powerful, so that means...”
“Voidborn.” rasped the spirit: a word that they could all understand. And then Mfalme Kuoza grinned, distorting his broken features even further as he looked towards Cadence and hissed: “Bayou justice will always be done. Your dead shall make more dead for the dark waters!”
“Enough!” La Croix snapped, flicking his hoof, and Mfalme Kuoza howled in pain before he slumped, floating but spiritually unconscious as the Loa growled: “This ain't good, mes amies. As a matter of fact, this be real bad. We gotta warn Nanny Hecate.”
“We gotta get as far away as possible.” Samedi corrected pointedly, as Cimetaire shifted nervously. “And we should throw that cocodril-”
“We made a promise, mon frère, and in the past that used to mean something. Send his scraps back to the bayou. Maybe Bondye take it as a message. Maybe it distract him some. But either way, by the time he returns to Darkwater, there ain't gonna be enough left for Bondye to sew him into a dolly, much less a brand new body.”
Both Samedi and Cimetaire looked surprised, but when the younger brother looked towards the older, Samedi sighed and shrugged, gesturing towards La Croix and saying ironically: “Your funeral, mon frère.”
La Croix gave a wry smile, and then he simply lowered his hoof, the other Loa doing the same as the youngest of the spirits said softly: “ Guess I just learned that there be more important things in life than just lookin' out for your own skin. Even when it comes to dealin' with fou cocodrils like this one.”
Mfalme Kuoza faded from sight, and La Croix shook his head before he said finally: “I'm gonna take apart that shell, draw the poisons out of the serpent. I need some time to think.”
“That's alright. Just be ready for pre-briefing.” Thesis said, smoothly cutting off Cadence before she could say anything particularly unpleasant. “Maybe you two could tell us a little more about where you've been hiding out, and why you had to leave? La Croix hasn't exactly been-”
“Excusez-moi, mon ami, but if even La Croix has had the sense to hold back a little, then you'll likely understand when I say we gotta keep some secrets to ourselves. Such as all of them.” Samedi said pleasantly, bowing his head, and Cimetaire grinned widely.
“Yeah, you know that no one knows the value of information better than the messenger!” Cimetaire added with a wink, and then he glanced mildly over at La Croix, asking: “So what have you been up to with these ouaouaron, anyway? Ain't like you ever been the type to do actual work or nothin'.”
La Croix grumbled at this, retorting: “Hey, I done more work in the last few years than you two done your entire lives! And believe it or not, you idjits, I been a contributin' member of society.”
“Contributing to what? Its downfall?” Samedi teased, and Cimetaire snorted before the Loa turned a smile towards the others, asking: “We heard a lot 'bout your fancy Clockwork World, actually, and I have to say, it sounds mighty-”
“Yeah, don't.” Thesis said mildly, and Samedi blinked before the Replicant continued: “I know what you're trying to do there. Milk for information that you can later use. La Croix had a few bad habits himself when he first came to Decretum, according to his file. Lots of attempting to sneak and peek around, digging in files, trying to blackmail other Orphans. But you know, intelligence gathering is a rough job. They teach you, train you into learning as much dirt about someone as possible, and of course you can't help but try and put those skills to use.”
Samedi smiled awkwardly, and Cimetaire cleared his throat before he hurried chimed in: “Hey, it ain't like that at all! We just uh... interested in bein' the best we can be to uh...”
“Help out.” Samedi finished, giving Cimetaire a pointed look before he returned his eyes to Thesis. “Mo chagrin, though. I didn't mean to come across as anything but curious and interested in... making a positive contribution.”
“Smooth.” Thesis said mildly, before he glanced over at Cadence, then he looked up at La Croix and asked loudly: “You gonna vouch for these two? Because they'll be your responsibility until we figure out where to send 'em if they come with us to Endworld.”
La Croix grumbled a bit at this, waving a hoof irritably, but not looking up from the carcass of the golem as he responded: “Yeah, yeah, I can look after 'em just fine. Don't you worry none, they be my responsibility.”
Both the brothers seemed surprised at this, but La Croix only smiled wryly over his shoulder at them before Cadence strode towards the Loa, asking: “I didn't understand anything that that asshole was saying, except for the part about the Voidborn.”
“Well, you be glad to know that he wasn't just answerin' our questions, then, we were getting glimpses of his memories as he spoke to us. Call it Loa intuition. I'm sure a pretty thing like you knows all about lookin' into someone's soul, though.” Samedi said charmingly as he swept up Cadence's hoof, smiling as he kissed it. “You certainly seem to gaze right into mine.”
Cadence looked at Samedi for a moment, then she shoved her hoof into his face, the zebra blinking dumbly and staring cross-eyed at the end of his scrunched muzzle as she said moodily: “If you or Cemetery there screw up or anything and get La Croix in trouble, I'm going to shove your head up your ass. Do you understand?”
Samedi smiled awkwardly, leaning away as he gave a lame laugh before his eyes rolled carefully towards Cimetaire, who held up a hoof hopefully as he asked: “If I screw up, does that mean you gonna shove Samedi's head up his ass too? 'Cause I just do what he tells me to do, honest.”
“Shut up, Cimetaire.” growled Samedi, before he winced as Cadence grabbed his nose and twisted it, saying hurriedly: “I'll listen, I'll listen!”
Cadence grunted as she stepped back, and Samedi rubbed slowly at his muzzle before he grumbled: “You hang out with a real rough crowd these days, La Croix. Don't know whether I should be proud or worried 'bout you.”
“Don't you worry none, Samedi, I can take care of myself. You know what they say, you just gotta laissez le bon temps roulez, and all that.” La Croix replied airily, before he added quietly: “But if y'all want to fill my friends in on what we learned...”
Both Samedi and Cimetaire traded looks at this, and then Cimetaire shrugged a but and said after a moment: “Well, you know these people better than I do. They look like an odd bunch of ponies, but... I'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt. Even you've never been that much of a sucker, after all.
“Alright then, mes amies. Listen up, and listen well.” Samedi said in a more authoritative voice, straightening and looking around at the others. “Darkwater ain't just Bondye's realm. Sure, he's sectioned himself off a good chunk of it, but there are other Orisha across the bayou, along with pockets that ain't really ruled by anybody, and all the waters that lay beyond.
“I guess you could say that... Bondye took a lot of the old ways and changed 'em around to better suit him. A lot of us barely remember the times before, when He Above...” Samedi looked almost guilty for a moment, and then he shook his head and waved a hoof irritably. “Ain't important. What's important is that it's too wide, too vast a place for Bondye to ever really take over. I probably don't have to inform y'all that he has a god complex... that he considers himself a god.”
“Bondye means somethin' along the lines of 'good God' in our old language, but... he ain't never been benevolent.” Cimetaire grimaced, muttering: “Guess y'can't expect an Orisha shaped like a giant ol' cocodril to be nice, though, eh?”
“Sure as enfer arrogant, though.” Samedi grumbled, and then he looked up and said quietly: “But Kuoza said that somehow Bondye, who be no more than a glorified shetani, he's gonna be in charge of not just Darkwater, but all the otherworlds. I don't even know how that could be possible, but that's what Bondye's been promised by this Loki. And apparently the means to do so, the means to... 'control' those who would dissent, and it don't sound like possession or anything like that. Y'can't possess another spirit, after all.”
Cadence frowned at this, before Sombra asked quietly: “And manipulation is out of the question? I mean no disrespect, but I have heard from La Croix that what you do is much less in magic, and much more in...”
“Style.” Cimetaire gave a wide grin at this, tapping the brim of his hat before he became serious as well, shaking his head and answering: “No. That's true. It ain't nearly as important how powerful you are, after all, as how powerful other people think you are. And even us, who've been under Bondye's nasty little claws our whole lives, are cuttin' and runnin' to escape. Partly because he's a fou cocodril, and partly because we know there ain't no way at all he could ever be half as powerful as he thinks he's gonna become.”
Cadence was tempted to interrupt here and ask if that meant they would have stayed with Bondye if he'd actually shown proof he could become what sounded like omnipotent, but her father thankfully spoke before she could: “Then what does Loki have to do with this, if providing Voidborn would not be enough?”
Samedi bit his lip, then he said finally: “I didn't think this... Loki was gonna provide anything to Bondye at first. It all seemed too good to be true. But more and more spirits have been showing up, and Bondye has been expanding his grip on Darkwater already... I've even seen and heard that other Orisha have been forced to bow their heads to him.
“And with what we peeled out of Kuoza, I'm starting to think that somehow, Loki's given Bondye the power to compel and order 'round spirits outside of those who pledged loyalty to him.” Samedi shook his head, muttering: “That would take real powerful mojo to pull somethin' like that off. Even Cimetaire and I were able to slip through a loophole after he exiled La Croix and all, and find our way to... uh... a safer locale.”
“But nowhere's gonna be safe at this rate.” added Cimetaire with a grimace and a shake of his own head. “If Bondye can start commandin' spirits somehow, even ones outside his own pantheon, then we gonna have ourselves a lot of trouble.”
Samedi nodded grimly at this, before La Croix piped in: “That might be true, but hey, so long as you two keep wearin' those charms, you should be alright. What makes me a lot more worried is the fact that Bondye is makin' war on the physical plane like this. Ain't nothin' but a matter of time until Loki turns on him, though, which I doubt is gonna be all that long.”
“He wants you dead, from what I remember. Well, not just dead, but mort, if you get what I'm saying here.” Samedi said mildly, and La Croix grimaced a bit and nodded moodily, but he didn't look up from what he was doing as he carefully peeled off the side of the golem's body. “Also, you gonna take all day there or what?”
“I'm gonna take as long as I have to. This be some real nasty poison, so mal that I think even Cygne might die from it. Y'know, at least once, Cygne.” La Croix said mildly, and Cadence did her best not to scowl at the Loa before the zebra frowned as he swirled a hoof above the golem's corpse, vile energy steaming up from the innards. “Gonna take me a few minutes to break these wards. Samedi, Cimetaire, you wanna stop sidestepping the questions?”
Samedi scowled over his shoulder, and Cimetaire huffed before he turned around and swung his cane at La Croix, grumbling: “Traitor chaoui. You been wearin' the skin of a pony too long.”
“Hey hey now, y'ain't gotta be racist 'bout it. I get enough of that from Moonflower. You makin' us look like nothin' but dumb stripehorses.” complained La Croix, and Samedi snorted.
“You the only one of us who ever been a dumb stripehorse, La Croix. Did this boy ever tell you folk about the time he spent-”
Samedi was interrupted by Cadence stepping aggressively towards him, locking a glower on him that made him shrink back as she said moodily: “I want to know what the hell is going on, and La Croix is right. You're sidestepping. What did you learn from Mfalme Kuoza? And don't tell me about Bondye. I get it. He's an egomaniacal asshole. That doesn't tell me anything, though, I already knew that. La Croix already hinted that he can control spirits and obviously Loki is going to supply him with Voidborn. That seems to be Loki's thing. Something else is going on here and I want to know what it is.”
There was silence for a moment, and then Cimetaire volunteered meekly: “Well, y'see... okay, maybe it's just a tad more complicated than Bondye getting' more power. Kuoza revealed a few... interesting things.”
Cadence narrowed her eyes, wondering how far she could punch Cimetaire, but Samedi seemed to catch the look in her eye and realize what it meant as he cleared his throat before saying hurriedly: “There ain't no need to get heated now! We just trying to... to frame the words, to figure out how to explain it to y'all. For one thing, Mamere Araignée still be spinning her webs and makin' that mist. But it's pointless: Mfalme Kuoza was supposed to kill everyone and raise an army-”
“Know that, move forward.” Cadence said shortly, and Samedi winced.
“Yes'm, you got it.” Samedi paused, shooting a look over his shoulder at La Croix, but La Croix didn't look up from what he was doing, and suddenly Cadence felt like there was another reason that La Croix was over there, tinkering with that corpse. It wasn't that she thought he was suddenly going to betray them, but rather... “Bondye is focusin' in dearly on my littlest brother here. And from what Kuoza has warned us, it seems like Bondye is specifically trying to tap into the old world, the... place where we came from. Yes, his plans are big, but they start with revenge.”
“Just like most plans.” Cimetaire said softly, shaking his head slowly before he muttered: “It's all real fou. We didn't catch more than glimpses, but... enough. Enough to see he's somehow subjugated those who remained loyal to He Above and didn't leave for another part of Darkwater. Enough to know that... he really wants to hurt that La Croix, bad. And no matter where you go, La Croix...”
“I know. The Nzambi got my scent. Bondye got a bottle of sang he can use to track me, wherever I go.” La Croix muttered, before he sighed a little as he shook his hooves out and stepped back from the golem's body, grumbling: “There. Neutralized it all. Ain't nothing but muck now. We should head back up to Canterlot, I suppose. Got no choice but to wait 'round here until Bondye rears his head again...”
“The mist has nothing to do with anything, right? It was either a distraction or a cover for this.” Thesis half-asked, and Samedi nodded as Cimetaire tilted his head and Cadence frowned slightly in surprise. “Then we should just head back to Decretum-”
“The mist'll screw with you portalin' in and or. One thing for me and Cimeatire to be so rudely summoned, like La Croix did.” Samedi said pointedly, glowering over at the youngest Loa, but La Croix only grinned wryly. “But we're spirits, and brothers. You of the more... fleshy persuasion.”
Cadence grunted, frowning deeper as she felt like something was off, but Thesis only smiled and nodded, replying calmly: “How about we withdraw past Ponyville? We should avoid creating a portal anywhere near a settlement, anyway, just in case Loki attempts to attack us through the rift. What do you guys say?”
“Wait, we're just going to leave?” Cadence asked dubiously, and then she scowled as she looked back and forth, even Moonflower raising his head slightly in surprise. “I mean, it's not that I don't want to, but we only just stopped Mfalme Kuoza, and with that mist still in the air and who knows what other monsters of Bondye-”
“Yes, but this isn't Loki. This is Bondye. And I'm sure the ponies here can handle a little bit of fog.” Thesis said mildly, turning his eyes towards her and silently asking her to trust him with his eyes.
Cadence grimaced a bit, but then she sighed tiredly and nodded slowly, muttering: “Fine. I... alright. La Croix, is there anything else we need to do?”
“There are Nzambi in the river, you said?” Cimetaire asked, and La Croix nodded. “How do you wanna dredge those up?”
“Tempted to say 'don't,' but I'm sure these dumb as dirt ponies would either take pity on 'em or panic 'cause they think it be one of their own down there. Let's exorcise 'em and drag up the bodies after we send their spirits packin'.” La Croix said, and Samedi grimaced slightly as Cimetaire groaned, but then he nodded with a sigh.
“Doin' a lot of work for you already, La Croix. Better all be worth it.” Cimetaire warned, and La Croix smiled wryly and shrugged, giving the stallion a wryly-amused look.
“Hey, it'll all be just fine, just you wait and see.” La Croix almost promised, and then he grinned over at Moonflower, adding: “We got ourselves a fine magician here, y'know. I'm sure he can do a thing or two to get those corpses for us.”
“I am not a... cadaver dog, La Croix.” Moonflower huffed, and Cadence slowly turned her eyes to him, which made Moonflower lower his head lamely. “Cadaver dogs. Those are like. Diamond dogs, but they dig up bodies and carry them away... yes?”
“Those are ghouls.” Cadence said moodily, and then she sighed and said finally: “We'll help. Just...”
She didn't know how to finish that sentence, but her father did for her, and far more diplomatically than she could: “We have our concerns about what's happening, that's all. We don't want to leave this world in Bondye's grip, or let him become aware of what's happening.”
“He won't, don't you worry.” La Croix promised, and Cadence gave him an appraising look before the zebra asked: “For me, Cygne?”
Cadence sighed, but then she nodded grudgingly after a moment and muttered: “Fine. But I'm trusting you on this.”
La Croix smiled, and then Thesis winced when the ivory mare reached up and grabbed his ear, yanking his head down as she growled: “And I want a word with you later, boss. Got it?”
“Yes, dear.” Thesis wheezed, and then he winced a bit when Cadence let go of his ear, asking awkwardly as he rubbed at the side of his head: “But you will uh... listen to me when I'm in official capacity, right?”
“Yes. I'll just be mad at you in official capacity.” Cadence retorted bluntly, and Thesis smiled despite himself.
“As long as you aren't mad at me when I'm your snuggle-muffin.” Thesis replied mildly, and Cadence blushed before she shoved the stallion out of her way and stormed off with a grumble.
Thesis smiled after her, then he added without looking back at La Croix or his brothers: “And in both official capacity and as just plain ol' me, I'm trusting you three. So I'd recommend you don't screw this up doing whatever it is your doing. Otherwise, in both official capacity and as just plain old me...”
Thesis glanced over his shoulder with a smile, but the machinery on his back sparked as his eyes narrowed slightly, making the Loa all wince. “I'll have to hold you accountable.”
With that, the stallion turned and trotted off after Cadence, Moonflower and Sombra both following and leaving the three Loa to look uneasily among themselves for a moment, before Samedi muttered: “La Croix, you best be right 'bout doin' this. You're too close to these ones.”
“This be my one chance to not have to deal with this anymore, Samedi. Let's just keep the talkin' in our heads, where none of them can hear.” Loa muttered, and Cimetaire laughed dryly.
“You cold, La Croix. Or just desperate and afraid. But after what we seen, I ain't blaming you.” Cimetaire muttered, and La Croix gave his brother a sour look, but then nodded moodily as he turned his eyes away.
He strode away, and La Croix followed after a moment with a sigh, lowering his head silently and feeling caught between a rock and a hard place, and only hoping that when the time came, he would make the right choice.