Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Le Maree Della Guerra (The Tides of War) ❯ Dark Souls ( Chapter 10 )

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Le Maree Della Guerra

By: Revamp

Movement 10: Dark Souls

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“You see, I come from the Deep Sea,” Isatsu began to explain details he had not disclosed to anyone. “I was born to the royals of the transient orca group.”

There were three different types of orca, resident - those with rounded dorsal fins and a little different color pattern. They ate fish as a main source of food. Transients had straight, pointed dorsal fins. They wore patterns that had large areas of black that did not mix with their white markings. They belonged to large pods that contained up to ten members and mainly ate marine mammals. Then, there were off shores, which also possessed rounded dorsal fins that had notches on the edges of them, much like the notches on his own dorsal fin. They mainly ate marine mammals and sharks.

Doku immediately picked up on the blaring flaw in his story. “You were born a transient, but you call yourself an off shore.”

“My lifestyle has changed, and I don't want to associate with the transients,” Isatsu paused as if he were trying to think of a way to finish the sentence, “because of reasons.” Reasons, he wasn't really willing to discuss.

“But, you still look like a transient. The nicks in your dorsal fin are just from wounds-“ Doku had been close enough to him in combat to notice the evident scarring around them. Why would Isatsu do something like that? There was not a doubt in his mind that the man wasn't crazy, but surely there was a reason he'd go through such lengths to be something he wasn't.

“I put them there,” Isatsu cut him off, “I needed to blend in.”

“So, you took chunks out of your own dorsal fin to make yourself look like a transient? Sadomasochist,” Doku frowned. He still didn't understand why the orca did something like that.

“My pattern is off, but that's fine. I'm an outcast.” It made no difference to him. He could easily just take out those who wanted to argue with him on the issue.

“Aren't you royalty?” It made even less sense to Doku that Isatsu wouldn't want to wear his heritage with pride. Weren't royals proud of that kind of thing?

“I am.”

“Your story seems fake,” the octopus didn't have time for his fabrications. If he was just going to lie to him, then why bother with talking at all?

“I am the king of Orcinius Orca,” Isatsu stated a fact.

“Orcinius is just another term for orca,” Doku pointed out.

“I don't think you understand, I am the Orca King,” he wanted to make that point known. He wasn't just royalty, he was the highest form of royalty anyone could be.

“Then why are you always away from your people? You hate it here, don't you?” Doku was still very skeptical. He had a lot of questions that needed answers. Orcas were social creatures who were family oriented. Isatsu was charismatic, but the octopus had not seen him with any of his family the time they had been serving in the royal court together.

“I had a family once,” Isatsu's words held distant nostalgia, but they didn't seem heartfelt in any way.

“What does that mean?” Doku didn't like the sound of that at all. What did he do to them?

“I did something very…unsavory,” the orca's voice darkened and a cruel smile crossed his face. The taller man radiated malice and devious nature. It was something that the sage couldn't shake.

“You can't be any more toxic right now,” despite the devious nature radiating from the other, Doku looked unmoving. He wouldn't find out the answers if he backed down, nor would he live it down if he acted afraid of him now. There was no doubt that he was dangerous, not only as an apex predator, but as something much more.

“I killed my family.” The answer came, as dark as the octopus anticipated it would be.

“Vile,” the word slipped off of the sage's tongue like poison.

“It's actually not what you think-“ Isatsu tried to defend himself, but he was quickly cut off.

“Wicked,” there was no excuse for that, not in Doku's mind.

“It probably was, but-“

“Evil.”

“I'll wait until you're done insulting me before I continue,” the orca stuck his hands in his pants pockets. He knew Doku had a lot more unflattering adjectives, and in truth he deserved all of them.

“You're insidious, low, revolting,” Doku continued to insult him. There was a special place in hell for someone like him.

“Thank you,” Isatsu smiled. There was a sense of pleasure he took from enticing rage from the other male. In combination with the string of accurate descriptive words it made this moment all the more interesting.

“It's not a compliment,” Doku glared him down.

“I thought you didn't generalize,” he was quick to remind the octopus of their prior talk in the Spiral Gardens. He certainly was painting him just like any other stereotypical murderer, wasn't he?

“You'd better explain,” Doku didn't know how he was going to give him a proper explanation of what would drive him to murder his entire family. For both of their sakes, it had better be something miraculous, or his opinion of the Orca King would only decline from this moment on.

“Have you heard of Tyrant King Fuma?” Isatsu asked about a man who was known in the history of the ocean.

“He's infamous. Before the Deep Sea Forces were formed, Fuma tried to rule all of the sea with an iron fist. He was an orca who was driven by competitive measures and believed that the fittest survived and the saw himself as superior. If the denizens didn't pass his tests, he would exile them. He even did it to other orca,” Doku knew all too well about that king. He was an awful man, so much so that even speaking his name made others project a look of fear and disgust.

“He did,” Isatsu validated his words.

“He was horrid. Just awful.”

“But, they weren't completely worthless.” Again, Isatsu spoke in a cryptic tone. Did he know something about this as well?

“What do you mean by that?” Doku was getting a little tired of this game that he was playing with him. Why couldn't he just tell him everything without going through an inquisition?

“They still had a purpose. When Nautica formed a pact with the ocean during King Fuma's rule, they outsourced the hunting of food to the orca in specifically, and those not worthy were sent to the slaughterhouse. You see, no one would question their disappearance or miss them.” It was a grand scheme. In the depths of the ocean, disappearance usually meant someone was preyed upon and eaten, or they were fished out of the water and even hunted down by other species including humans. The denizens would never know that they were eating the remains of their loved ones and friends.

“So, everyone's food supply came from-“ the sage's face lit up in shock when he figured out what had been going on. A wave of disgust had rippled through him like a jolt of electricity and it made him nauseous.

“Don't act so shocked. It's the law of the ocean. It's been passed down for eons.” It was something that bore down into their very primal instincts. The creatures of the deep had been eating each other since the dawn of time. Things were really no different now. The only thing that was different was that the orcas went out and murdered everyone, versus letting everyone else do it.

“How do you know this?” Doku knew he was a royal, but what kind of intel did he have on something like that?

“I'm Fuma's son.” The words poured from his mouth in a bitter tone. It wasn't something the orca was proud of. In fact, it was far from it.

“No wonder you're so vile. You do bear resemblance to him, now that I see it.” The two of them had a similar hairstyle, similar eyes and a similar body and facial structure. The more Doku gazed at him, the more he looked like his father.

“Fuma had two sons, myself and Zankou,” he explained further.

“You killed him.”

“Yes.”

“Why are you so happy about this? It's sickening.” Isatsu was just as happy talking about this as he was any other trivial subject. Doku just wanted to plunge another sharp object into his body at this rate. It was one thing to have murdered his family, it was another to be happy that he had done it and show no remorse whatsoever.

“I killed them all. Red. It was all so red. Tides stained with crimson.” A look of detachment and psychosis was reflected in his pale blue eyes as memories of the incident ran through his mind. He could see it all, hear it all. Their screams reverberated within the confines of his memories, and the water around him became denser, thicker, like the substance of viscera.

“You're no better than Fuma.” Like father, like son. Doku should have known nothing good would come from this.

“Is that what you think?” Isatsu thought he was a little quick to judge based on what little information he had obtained.

“Your family should be eradicated. Tyrants,” Doku was more than sure of what to think of such awful denizens. His family did nothing but plague the sea with contempt and blood. There was no place in Nautica for violent creatures like them.

“My father was cursed for what he did. You wonder why I have half of a soul? It's because a powerful wizard cursed his bloodline. His first calf would have a hard time at life. That was me. He lives inside of me, eating me out like a virus. I was born with a whole soul, but as I grew, I became sick and weak. My body ate away half of my soul. The high mages found out and told him…and, well…you know what happens to the defunct.” It was no secret that Fuma would have nothing to do with anything he considered below him, and as a result, he didn't care what happened to Isatsu. He was nothing but a worthless child who would have no place in the world. Ultimately, he must die.

“He tried to kill you,” Doku knew what that last phrase meant.

“Oh, he hated me. It was my mother who kept me alive and she taught me how to extract souls,” Isatsu really owed that cow. She was the absolute best, and the only member of his family that he truly felt fond of.

“You became an off shore orca because of that?” It seemed like a strange reason for Isatsu to deny his own race.

“No.”

“What then?”

“You see, I wanted what was mine, but I had to go through a series of events to get it. I had to kill Fuma and Zankou. I had to ascend the throne and become the Orca King,” Isatsu found it was the only thing he could do to stop his father's reign of terror, and to keep himself from falling victim to his sinister ways.

“Why couldn't you rule differently?” Doku didn't see what was so hard about being less of a tyrant than his father. There were alternate means of doing that job. Isatsu could have been a kinder king. He had every opportunity.

“It's not in my nature. I never had the chance to become anything else and you see, I love who I am too much to change. I don't really care to, either,” the orca was forging his own path and he wasn't going to let someone like the master sage influence that. “This was my destiny. I had to kill Fuma, then battle my brother for the throne.”

“You couldn't spare him?” Doku couldn't imagine fighting his twin sister for a position of power, then being forced to kill her for the sake of a kingdom. How did someone like Isatsu have the fortitude to do something like that? The orca had to have an especially cold heart to strike down his own blood. At this point, he could understand why he had to kill Fuma. Isatsu's father had tried to kill him, and abused him…but why Zankou? Was he just as bad as Fuma?

“It was Fuma's last will and testament that his sons fight to the death for the seat of power. He was a man who lived by Darwin's Laws. He died by them as well.” Even now, his father's pleas and screams sounded through his memories. The cracking of his bones as he was crushed to death was like a sweet melody to his ears.

“What did you do?” Doku felt as if he would regret asking, but at the same time his curiosity was piqued. There was no turning back from this hellish story now.

“One day, I had enough of my father trying to murder me,” the orca's story started off grimly as the images from the grizzly events of long ago swept through his mind with vivid color.

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He sat on the edge of his bed, dressed in a shroud of black with white frills that cascaded from his sleeves and a three tier cravat with a tiny orca pinned to it, crafted from the finest pearl, obsidian and diamond that could be found. However, all of his fancy clothes and riches meant nothing to him in the vast scope of things.

“Why?” He clenched his hair in his hands in dismay. “Why can't I make him see my potential? Ever since I became of age, I haven't been able to bring out the best of my potential. I haven't gotten a single thing but more near death experiences…like when he stabbed me when I was nearly dead. This twisting feeling…” Isatsu pulled his hands away from his face, staring down at the black fabric that shrouded them. “Am I losing my edge? Can a destiny be mistaken? Can a purpose have no truth? Is it possible that my destiny as heir is wrong? That I truly am defective? Does a destined purpose get accurate at the time it manifests and grows inaccurate over time? I'm beginning to lose faith in myself. It's hard to get up and face them. They will be waiting. They make my life hell.”

His hands began to tremble as emotion washed over him. His heartbeat accelerated and his breath hitched as he continued the conversation with himself. His voice becoming more and more detached from reality with every word. “I've wasted countless nights, lying awake in bed, wondering what it would be like to let it all go.”

The orca extended his long nails, continuing to gaze at the weapons he had claimed the lives of so many with. “If I ever had the brief moment of courage I could…”

Isatsu's gaze was redirected to a full length mirror that stood a few feet away in his room. The reflective surface caught his sights and sucked them into it. Soon, he stood before it, staring at his reflection in the confines of the glass. It was as if he was in a trance as he continued to stare himself down with a look of madness etched on his visage. He could hear them laughing, mocking him for having the audacity to think that he was good at something, at anything. He could see their faces circling his reflection. It made him feel sick with anger.

“No!” Isatsu shouted in a flurry of emotion as his fist hit the mirror, causing it to shatter and sending the pieces scattering across the black carpeting of his floor. The tiny shards reflected what little light there was in the black room. He was panting, and his eye twitched. It was like it took all of his strength to punch it and his limbs felt like lead.

On his window sill a fish lay, dead and riddled with red pustules that looked as if they were some sort of parasite. He stared down into the fishes' cold, dead eyes that stared up blankly. “It's not that I'm not a good prince. No…I have a gift, a great gift. I've always had it. I would never lose it. It all makes sense now. My family, those parasites. They are like a virus that needs to be exterminated. If I'm to take my responsibilities seriously, I must get rid of them,” the orca walked back over to his bed sitting down, “but what do I do next? What should I do? This is for the best and it would save more lives than it would ruin. However, Zankou might not see it that way. He won't be able to comprehend the truth, not in the way I do.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment, gazing out of the window with a stone cold expression. “I need to be subtle, crafty and yet something inside of me doesn't want to let this go down quietly. I want a show. I need a spectacle. I think…” the orca's mouth twisted into a devious smile, revealing his hellish teeth, “It's time to pay him a visit.”

Isatsu stood up and snatched a family portrait off of the nightstand by his bed. He laughed in an unstable manner as he sent lightning surging through his hand. Pale eyes watched as the picture crackled and disintegrated away as he burst forth in a vortex of madness. For the first time in months, Isatsu couldn't help but smile.

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Darkness surrounded the orcas as they stood on stop of a platform. A maze of pipes and wires circled around them. Circuitry and the rhythmic pounding and crunching of a metal press provided any sound that served as background noise. Isatsu looked down at the two walls, crushing and pounding anything that happened to get in their way. Denizens that were still alive were thrown into its hellish abyss, becoming victims of their own undoing. He could hear their screams and gargled noises as blood filled their tracheas, and the crunching of bone and meat.

“How cute,” Fuma's baritone voice brought him out of his daze as he looked at his father's figure. He was a regal-looking man with a chiseled face, slanted eyes that accented his darkness, and he was dressed in regal clothing. A black suit with golden chains, epaulettes, and a long, flowing cape that was as red as blood. “Such useless, broken pieces of shit think they can stand in my way. They're all laughable compared to me.”

`Kill him,' Isatsu heard a dark voice within his head command him. However, he didn't act upon the notion.

Fuma's polished dress shoe got closer to the edge of the hole, only a slip away from an unfortunate accident. Reaching out, his cruel claw snatched one of the fish by their dorsal fin, which caused them to collapse as it was ripped from their back. Shackles jingled as they sunk to their knees. The orca turned to his unfortunate victim and walked over to them, grabbing their tail and dragging them closer to the crusher. His victim kicked and moaned in agony as their blood streaked over the stainless steel floor.

A booming laugh sounded through the confines as he brought the unwilling denizen across the scaffolding and the intense agony registered on the slave's face. He lifted them with one hand in an incredible show of strength, dangling them above the crusher which pounded below them, hungry for a new body to crush. A wicked smile crossed his face as he dropped them carelessly into the device. The walls crushed them as their screams subsided and the sound of crunching bones and tearing flesh filled their senses.

`Kill him before he kills you. Take your hands,' Isatsu looked at his hands as the voice's seductive words wooed him. `Do it. Extend your nails. DO IT. Kill him. Kill him and it will stop. Kill him, kill him, kill him, kill him-` The words stopped as Isatsu shoved his father into the machine.

Fuma's face lit up in shock as he felt himself fall forward. He turned and grabbed onto the ledge, unable to swim up because of the suction that the device made.

“What's the meaning of this, Isatsu? Tell me this is a sadistic joke! Help me out!” It was more a demand than a plea, and his father's beady pupils were small with rage.

His son nodded blankly and lifted his foot, forcing it down on Fuma's hand with a toothy grin. His father's eyes widened. When he looked into his son's expression, he could only find contempt and hatred. He continued to stomp on his hand, grinding his bones into the floor.

“Wait! What's going on? This isn't funny! Free me now!” Fuma began to yell as he struggled to keep himself away from the crushers below. Once he let go, he knew that it would be all over for him.

“Oh, I'll free you if that's what you want,” Isatsu's voice held amusement to it, as if he was playing a childish game with a friend and their actions were all in good fun.

“No! You can't do this!” His father continued to protest. If he got out of this predicament, he was going to finally kill this bothersome calf once and for all. No one defied Fuma, and those who did wouldn't live to tell the tale.

“Ha! You fool! All of us will eventually die. Let me worry about things from now on,” Isatsu stared past the curled hair of his father into the round hole, where the crushers were slowly closing in, increasing the suction of the water below. Less than half of the voided space was now available and with every moment that went by, chances for his father's survival was waning.

“No!” With a final stomp to his hand, Fuma lost his grip and was sucked into the darkness below as the walls closed in crushing him under their weight with a sickening crunch.

“For the good of the kingdom, you must die. Such bliss, such ecstasy in watching your bones crush like paper. Long live the king!” The plates slammed down like battering rams as Isatsu felt the ichor and blood slam against his body. His father was nowhere to be found as the rams drew back to reveal sanguine splatters. It was amazing to think so much was packed into his father's body.

Isatsu laughed hysterically when he saw his father's severed hand drifting down into the depths of the hole. “I haven't seen anything this amusing all year.”

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“So, you fed him to all of Nautica?” Doku didn't want to believe that was a possibility, but then again, he knew the fate of anyone who was crushed to death in the orca food plant. Isatsu was sadistic enough to do it, too.

“I told him I'd set him free,” the orca teased. Of course he would have set him free, free from the vices of life.

“Sickening,” the very thought repulsed the octopus. While a part of him couldn't blame the orca for doing what he did, there was another part that was disgusted by his actions. How anyone could do something so cruel to their own parents was a concept he was sure would sicken anyone.

“I am this way because of him. I really do owe it to him. I licked his blood off later,” Isatsu smiled bitterly and gave a small laugh. “It was disgusting…but I loved it. All of those times he left me to die…all of those times he manipulated me…they were all in the past. Only one more thing I had to get rid of. Fuma wouldn't have wanted it any other way. The least I could do was give him his dying wish…and so, I did.”

The aftermath of his brother's death was also something fresh in his mind. Isatsu remembered striking down his brother and since there was no turning back now, he figured that he might as well tell Doku what happened between the two of them as well.

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He stood there, facing his brother down. The other orca possessed the same slanted, cold eyes as his father and the same long, curling hair. He wore a suit; much like his own, except it was a dark charcoal color. His brother was taller than he was with a body that was lean and lanky, yet possessed great upper body strength. The two of them had taken quite a bit of damage. Their clothes were ripped and their exposed skin was adorned with wounds and bruises.

Zankou sat on the ground, panting and covered in sweat and blood. Isatsu stood above him, looking down on him like an ominous shadow, smirking in arrogance.

“Just in time for the main event,” the orca's voice held a tone that made his brother's form shiver. Zankou didn't like the way his brother sounded, nor did he like the promise of whatever main event he had in mind.

“We don't have to do this. Father's rules can be null and void. We can both live,” Zankou's younger voice intoned, pleading his brother not to go through with his malicious plans. Fuma was dead. There wasn't a need to fight for the throne.

“How disrespectful to his rules,” Isatsu mocked him, “pathetic.”

“Let me go. I'll give up my position to you,” Zankou didn't mind doing it. Isatsu was the older of the two, and rightfully deserved the throne by that aspect alone. Ruling over the Orca Kingdom wasn't important to him. Being royalty wasn't important to him. At this point, if he was just made into a slave he'd gladly lick his brother's shoes if he could keep his life.

“Soon enough,” Isatsu told him. “I can't say it'll be in one piece, though.”

“You-“ It was then that it hit him. It didn't matter what Zankou had to say on the matter, Isatsu was going to kill him.

“Let me guess, monster?” Isatsu cut him off, bending down slightly. “I've heard that one before. Your insults are boring.”

“Tell me the truth,” Zankou knew he might not, but he was still going to try regardless. The most he could do was not to die never knowing at this rate. “Did you kill our father?” He had only heard rumors. He wasn't for certain that Fuma was dead.

“Cute,” Isatsu smiled. “You care about that pile of trash.”

Zankou stood, but he soon figured out that he couldn't move his body. His form became paralyzed and no matter how hard he tried to resist, he couldn't. “What did you do to me? I can't move.”

“Let's play a game,” Isatsu propositioned him. “It's called Offering.”

“Offering?” Zankou stopped struggling to question him. What was he doing? He didn't want to know, but his curiosity wouldn't let him not ask the question. As morbid as it might be, he wanted to know how he'd die.

Isatsu didn't give him a reply right away, at least not in a way that he had expected. He just walked behind his paralyzed form. The other orca was obviously doing something behind his back. Zankou knew it wasn't anything good. He heard something click behind him, and he grunted as large fishing hooks were embedded into his arms. They started to pull backwards until they were at their straining point.

Looking up, he noticed two ropes that descended over a thick branch of red coral. Its branches had sharp points that made it look like a dormant tree in the winter.

“It's simple,” Isatsu walked in front of him, holding the ropes in one hand. “You keep offering things that are important to you or…”

“Or?” Zankou asked, trying to concentrate through the pain that he felt resonating in his arms as the bent metal ripped and tugged at his flesh and now broken bones.

Isatsu pressed himself against his brother's body and whispered lovingly into his hear. “Or, I take something away from your friend that she cherishes instead.”

“You're sick!” Zankou tried to back away from the sickening smell of blood, mixed with high end cologne, but it only put more of a strain on his arms.

Isatsu glanced over his shoulder at a small penguin, tied around one of the metal pillars with a heavy chain. She was a petite girl, with snow white skin and golden eyes that pierced through darkness. Her hair was long and black, with two orange streaks in the front. A blue jean dress was wrapped around her small body with a long-sleeved, white shirt underneath. The penguin peered at him from beneath her bushy bangs with large, round eyes that reflected the fear and uncertainty she felt. She was on the verge of tears as she shook her head violently.

Zankou peered over his shoulder, trying to read her expression. `What is this? Don't let him hurt me? Don't do this for me? What are you trying to say, Meraco?' He turned back to his brother, taking a long, labored exhale of breath before his expression morphed into defeat. “Okay, I'll do it, but only if you let Meraco go. She doesn't understand this. She's not even a part of this.”

She was so innocently dragged into their family dispute. Zankou didn't want her involved in whatever wicked plans his brother had. If she could escape, then his life didn't matter. He just didn't want her to see him die, to see any of what was going on. Meraco deserved much better. She didn't deserve to be entangled in this poisoned web.

Isatsu's face lit up with delight. “Good. I knew that you wouldn't back down from a challenge! I'll let Meraco go, once you've sacrificed everything you hold dear.”

“Just tell me how you want to do this,” Zankou just wanted to get it over with. He would go through anything to save her, and he would face off against any trial Isatsu put before him as long as she came out of this alive.

“I thought you'd never ask!” Isatsu's charismatic voice filled his ears as he grabbed the rope and pulled. A shock went through Zankou's body as the hooks pulled his arms back with great force. “The price now, are your arms.”

“You can't make me lose those. I can't fight without them! I need them to survive,” Zankou pleaded with his brother to have some mercy. Without a means to defend himself, he was nothing but a huge target to everything in the ocean that wanted to eat him. All of his life, he had done nothing but take sword fighting classes, helping to strengthen his upper body and make him into a deadly, accurate swordsman. Taking his arms away would take away the one thing he loved as much as Meraco - the technique of the sword he invested so much time in.

“Looks like its Meraco's turn,” Isatsu turned toward the squirming penguin.

The look on her face went wild with fright as she watched him close in on her. Meraco heard his shoes clacking against the metal surface of the floor. “No, please…Isatsu…” Her small voice begged.

“No! Wait!” Zankou's words cut through his ears, causing him to stop inches from the girl. It was funny really, how frantic he was to save her. Isatsu was enjoying this far too much for his own good.

“I'll do it…” the orca lowered his head and closed his eyes. “Just…please…don't hurt Meraco…”

“Cute,” Isatsu smiled over his shoulder. “How you must love this piece of food.” He walked over to another branch of red coral and secured the ropes to it, tying them tight. “Well, chop, chop! Those arms aren't going to pull themselves off.”

His nails extended playfully towards the penguin, who tried to sink back into the metal pole she was bound to. They pricked her skin, prodding her chest with the promise of death as she whimpered under their cruel touch.

Taking a breath, Zankou decided to do what he said he would do. He prided himself on his loyalty to Meraco. Now that it was being put to the test, he was going to give up his way of life for the woman that he loved. Tears clung to the corners of his eyes as they screwed shut. `I should give up…reconsider…but Meraco is at the mercy of this psychopath. I have to do it. Meraco is my…I love her…'

“Yaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggghhhhhh!!!”

Putting all of his weight into an explosive display of power, he pulled forward. The hooks broke his bones, weakening his arms as he continued to pull away. He screamed for several minutes as his cracked bones were pulled out. He panted heavily as tears streamed down his face. “See?...That was…nothing…”

“Then pull off the other,” Isatsu's merciless voice commanded.

“Zankou!” Meraco screamed, shaking her head and crying. She didn't want to watch this anymore! She couldn't bear to see the love of her life destroying himself physically and emotionally in front of her. She would have rather just died than watch and listen to him suffer, powerless to do anything about it.

“Right,” Zankou panted. “Just one more arm…It wasn't so bad. It didn't hurt at all,” his voice was ragged and filled with pain, but he tried to hide it as much as he could. He didn't want to hurt Meraco anymore than she had been. Zankou wanted to assure her that it was alright.

“Yeeeaaaaaggggghhhhhhh!!”

He screamed as the hook pulled apart his other arm and he stumbled forward as most of it broke free.

“It's still hanging on,” Isatsu pointed out that he had not fulfilled the task.

“No,” Zankou gasped.

“Come on, you can do it, little brother,” Isatsu continued to mock the man, reveling in his pain. There was nothing more satisfying than playing with his pray before making the final kill.

Zankou's entire body shook with pain. He was sure that he was trying not to go into shock at this point. “I can't…” His voice was low and defeated, “I'm going to puke….I can't do it!” Tears rolled down his cheeks as he cried with the agony he felt. “It hurts…It hurts so bad! You have no idea…I can't do it!”

Isatsu laughed at him. “This is the limit? How pathetic, you're so disappointing.” He held his arm out, extending his fingernails from their sockets. “Well, now Meraco I'm going to have to ask you to offer the one thing you love the most…your voice.”

“No! Please! No! Help me! Help me, Zankou!” The emperor penguin furiously struggled against her restraints as her voice screeched in fear.

“I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…” Zankou couldn't stop crying. It was all his fault that she was going to get hurt. Even now, he couldn't save her.

Isatsu's nails plunged into her vocal chords, and her scream was cut off.

Zankou turned away, unable to watch the events that were unfolding in front of him. “I'm sorry…so sorry…”

Blood bubbled up from Meraco's wound, and dripped down her shirt, staining it red as the penguin silently cried. She had always prided herself on her voice and she loved to sing. Now, all of that was a thing of the past. Her dreams had been taken away by a cruel man. What did she do to deserve this?

“Don't worry, Meraco. I'm sure he still thinks you're beautiful even without your singing,” Isatsu patted her on the shoulder.

Zankou sobbed loudly, turned away from the girl. He felt ill, disgraceful and weak. He couldn't help the girl he loved when she needed him the most and now he had taken away the one thing that meant everything to her.

“You're so hideous that your boyfriend doesn't even want you now. How shallow your love is,” Isatsu laughed at the miserable couple, both reduced to crying heaps of flesh.

“No!” Zankou shot back. “You're still Meraco to me!”

“Onto phase two,” it was business as usual on Isatsu's end.

“Phase two?” A whole new type of dread bred inside of the younger orca's form. What was Isatsu going to do with them now?

“You're not man enough to do this, so I'll do it myself,” Isatsu turned back to Meraco who still fought bravely against her restraints. Her voice might have been taken away but her fighting spirit remained.

“Wait!” Zankou called out, causing him to stop in his tracks. “I didn't fail this round. Leave her alone!” He pulled off his arms. He sacrificed them for her sake. If Isatsu was going to play this game, then he needed to abide by his own rules.

Isatsu said nothing and began to untie her chains as she rolled onto the ground.

“Hey! Are you listening?” Zankou gritted his pointed teeth in anger as his brother grabbed the girl, ignoring her protests.

“I'm playing by the rules. The second thing you hold dear…is Meraco,” Isatsu looked at his brother with a wicked smile and laughed.

It was then that it hit him. This was a game that he was never meant to win. It didn't matter what he did in the end, Meraco was going to die regardless. Isatsu had just been playing with him, prodding his mind to get the best reaction possible and drawing out their deaths in cinematic fashion.

“You can't! You said you'd let go if I pulled through,” and still, he would beg for her life. It was all he could do in this dark moment.

“You think you have? If she really means so much to you, come and save her,” Isatsu taunted his brother, daring him to rip his other arm free and claim the girl's life as his own. He drew his claws closer to her small body. Meraco scooted back trying desperately to get away from his touch.

`I don't know what he's capable of. I've lost sight of myself, but now I'm playing for keeps. Isatsu's threatening to take what matters and I won't let him get away with it…not anymore.' With a look of determination, Zankou pulled ahead. He felt the sickening snap of his bones and another wave of pain settled over him. Once he snapped his other arm free, he jumped over to his girlfriend. “Hold on Meraco! I'm coming!” When he landed on his feet, his world stopped turning.

Isatsu's claws had already begun to dig into her chest. Blood welled to the surface as they continued to sink into her skin, piercing through her chest.

“What? Hang in there, Meraco!” Zankou shouted.

“Better hurry,” his brother taunted, “her soul's about to…” His claws dug into the girl's chest as her eyes rolled back in her head and her form went limp. “Oh wait…That's too bad,” he feigned an unfortunate tone as he pulled her soul out and ate it.

Zankou fell to his knees, crying as he stared into his girlfriend's lifeless eyes. She lay there, unmoving. “Meraco…please…” His voice cracked with emotion.

“I think we all know I win,” Isatsu held his chest. The soul felt as if it was burning him from the inside out. It was a feeling that he had grown used to.

“Fuck you!” His younger brother shouted in a mixture of rage, disgust and sorrow. He couldn't take this anymore, and he was certain he was about to pass out from blood loss.

“Did you like killing your girlfriend?”After all, it was his fault that she was dead.

“Fuck you! You monster! I'll make you pay!” Zankou couldn't contain his emotions anymore. He was so consumed by what he felt that he no longer cared about his own life. Why continue on? Everything that he loved was gone. Meraco and her beautiful voice, the woman he loved. There were so many things that he missed about her, so many things he could never get back. He was happy with her. He could no longer function as a predator. His arms were gone, and so was his favorite thing to do, practice the art of the sword. Every joy he had found throughout life had been savagely ripped away, stripping him down to nothing. When there was no happiness, there was no will to live.

He hated his brother with every fabric of his soul. He wanted him to pay for his sins, to be put through as much pain as he and Meraco experienced.

“With no arms? I'd like to know how.” It was a little too late for his brother to make idle threats now.

“Are you going to kill me?” There wasn't a way that he could fight back at this point. Zankou knew that Isatsu was far stronger than him with or without arms.

“I love your breakdown. It's so wonderful!” With a lightning quick movement, Isatsu plunged his claws deep in his brother's chest, watching his eyes grow wide at the realization of his ultimate doom closing in for the final strike. “I did love playing with you…my dear Zankou.”

He caressed his brother's soul as he drew it from his body. Zankou's lifeless hull hit the ground with a thunk, landing a short distance from his girlfriend. Isatsu stuck his soul in his mouth, consuming it. “Now you and Meraco can be together, united in my body.”

XxXxXxXxXx

Doku stood there in silence, taking in what this horrible man had just told him. What in the hell was this man? On one hand, he got rid of King Fuma, someone who rightfully deserved to be assassinated but on the other, Doku didn't think that Meraco and Zankou deserved to die in such horrible ways.

“You're psychotic,” it was the only thing that the octopus could even say to a story like that. Isatsu's life was something that was spawned straight from a horror movie.

“That's how I became the Orca King,” Isatsu finished explaining.

“You and Zankou were raised to fight each other for the throne,” Doku made the connection. Fuma wanted his sons to fight for their place. The weaker of the two would have died, and he probably counted on Isatsu being that one.

“We had to kill each other eventually,” Isatsu just sped up the process.

“You couldn't even give him a quick death.” In Doku's eyes, that was worse. Even if he felt like it was their destiny, he at least could have made it easier on him by not allowing him to suffer.

“If there's no fun to be had, then it doesn't benefit me,” Isatsu was a sadist. Why deprive himself of enjoying the kill?

“I pity you.” As much as Doku was disgusted, he also felt sorry for someone as lowly as Isatsu. The sad thing about the situation was he half way saw where the orca was coming from.

“That's disgusting,” the last thing Isatsu wanted was his pity.

“You were born into the darkness. You've always known that your heart was on its own.” In that way, the two of them could relate. As sickening as it was, it was also something the octopus could take an odd sense of comfort in. It was kind of nice not being the only one.

“Love is a foolish, blinding notion. Why love what you'll kill one day?” It was the same with everyone who had come into his life. They all met the same fate, bleeding and broken below him. Isatsu was a man better fitted to one night stands than long-term relationships.

“You're still a terrible king…” Doku's cold voice lightened in tone, “but I understand more than I did.”

Isatsu laughed a little, “and you're still a piece of shit octopus that I want to kill.”

“I'm not pulling any of my body parts out or off for you,” Doku frowned. Was he really trying to play this irritating game again? He knew their moment of solace couldn't last forever.

“I'm going to take them by force,” the orca smiled. It wouldn't be fun if Doku just gave up and stopped trying, would it? He liked that about him, struggling until the end.

“Isatsu…”

“What makes you so special that you think you can be informal with me?” Isatsu taunted him. He was a king and Doku was only a member of the royal court. He was nobility. He was beneath him.

“I can't believe I have a lot in common with you. I hate myself even more now,” Doku sighed. As if his life could get any worse at this point.

“How charming. I want to violate you.” Did Isatsu mean that in a sexual way or not? Doku really couldn't tell, and he wasn't about to ask.

“I want you to get stung by a jellyfish,” the octopus shot back.

“I want to dismember you,” the orca continued the string of insults. However, to him they had a completely different meaning. He said them as if they were more sexual innuendos than threats, and that was something that both horrified and disgusted Doku.

“Go die in an oil spill,” Doku was only getting more annoyed; the more they kept up this little charade.

“I wouldn't be around to annoy you if I did,” Isatsu teased. He could tell that Doku was getting more and more irritated with each phrase he cranked out, and it was both cute and amusing. There was something charming about the octopus that he couldn't quite place. The way his eyes turned cold when he was angry, the way his skin turned a little darker shade of pink on his cheeks, and the tone of his voice when he got upset…they made him feel a strange sense of happiness.

“Kill yourself,” Doku's venomous tone tore through his senses.

“Hardly,” Isatsu smiled.

“I wonder what the others are doing,” Doku grew tired of arguing with him. He wanted a reason to get away from this beast of a man before he became his next victim.

“Who cares?” Isatsu wasn't really interested. Besides, whatever they did was hardly important. As long as no one was dying then it didn't really matter.

“We need to find the Beast King,” Doku reminded him of the task at hand.

“Let them do it. They have enough denizens,” Isatsu didn't care enough for Symphony to really care about finding her. She was closer to Angla, so he figured that she would be more active about pursuing her.

“It's for Angla. You love her, right?” Doku was even more irritated at his laziness. Was he really going to be that selfish?

“If you tell her, I'll sever your vocal cords next,” Isatsu held up one of his menacing clawed hands with a threatening smile.

“I won't,” Doku wasn't going to say anything. Even if he wanted to, it wasn't his business or place to do so.

“Cute,” Isatsu teased.

“Stop mocking me before I strangle you,” the sage was getting tired of his bullshit.

“You're not so bad, you know. I can talk to you about these things.” It was kind of nice to have someone to tell his darkest secrets to, someone that actually listened to his problems. As bitter as Doku was, he still found him comforting in an odd kind of way. The octopus might spout off terrible things to him, but he still stuck around knowing what he did. He either had balls made of steel or he just didn't care about his life in the long run. Isatsu wasn't sure which one it was, but it made him happy.

“Consider it a favor,” it was the least Doku could do. He had a feeling that Isatsu was telling him this out of confidence. It didn't seem like something he just told anyone. As much as he didn't understand why he would tell him, he felt a sense of honor knowing he did.

“Just this once, I'll let it slide,” Isatsu figured it earned Doku a free pass from being terrorized…at least for now.

“Cute,” Doku smiled a small smile.

“Shut up,” Isatsu playfully shoved him. “You're gay.”

“I'll leave that to interpretation,” the octopus said in a playful tone. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to keep up this little game of theirs. The stakes might be high, but he thought it could be worth it. No matter how awful this orca was, there was something about him that he couldn't quite describe, something he wanted to delve deeper into. He might be getting himself into something terrible, but the risks seemed worth it.

…To Be Continued