For He Himself Has Said It

‘So,’ said Urquhart, moving his bishop, ‘we enter the endgame.’

I was briefly puzzled. ‘You mean of the chess game we’re playing, the battle to retake Britain, or my match?’

‘Yes,’ said Urquhart, taking a sip of brandy. ‘But for now… let’s discuss your match. I confess, I find the format… confusing.’

‘You and I both,’ I said.

‘What I especially don’t understand,’ he said, ‘is why you’ve been put on a team with the Amoralists. The Order has been known to employ a degree of Amorality, it’s true, but to fight alongside the likes of Valentine… ’

‘I gather,’ I said, taking a sip of my own brandy, ‘that the surviving members of the prevailing team fight each other in a free-for-all. There is a single winner left standing. And so few allies do the Amoralists have that they must turn to anyone willing to tolerate their stench in the name of delayed gratification.’

‘I see,’ he said with the tone of a man who did not really see. ‘Your… opponents, then, tell me about them.’

‘Well,’ I said, pondering. ‘None who’ve been paying any attention can have failed to remark Miataxia; not least, her gruesome visage. She and her paramour, Ataxia, appear to have combined forms; the mess of personalities has left her deadlier than ever. Both she and Ataxia have held the World Championship; she is the strongest of her side, to make no doubt.

Next, the Ripper; one of the legends of this federation… and a villain, it seems, nevermore. He took pity upon the younger Rishel; saving him and joining the Major Arcana. Having failed twice to secure the World Championship this time around… perhaps he felt that this was a chance for glory?

Lilliana Primrose, the newest among them… Jaiden Rishel’s ‘special friend’. I’ve seen her in passing, of course, but I don’t know her. Let’s see if she can provide any sort of challenge.

Xander Owens… I’ve not met him before, but his ancestor and I fought against each other in the last battle of the last war between the Order and the Institute. Laid him out flat… though of course, it wasn’t in a CWF ring, so there is no record of it. No matter. I’ve waited three hundred and eight years to set that record straight, what’s a little more time?

And Silas… fucking hell, I came three hundred years into the future, I hoped I’d at least be rid of Silas. I’m going to enjoy laying down that particular beating.’

‘You’ve given this a deal of thought,’ said Urquhart.

‘More than perhaps most of them deserve,’ I said, taking a sip of my own brandy and moving my rook. ‘Check.’

‘Hm,’ said Urquhart, scrutinizing and blocking with his knight. ‘Now, how did I miss that?’

We played on a few more minutes before he spoke. ‘Carlton,’ he said, ‘the strike we carry out on the Fortress is of paramount importance. Will your cousin-in-law’s moronic plan actually work?’

I shrugged. ‘It’s ridiculous, but their artificial deity seems to think it will. And it’s usually been right on this sort of thing. So assuming he doesn’t fall over his own shoelaces recovering the artifact…’

‘You’re not over-fond of Highlander, are you?’ he asked.

‘He… has his moments,’ I said.

‘Hm.’ Urquhart’s brow furrowed. ‘Well, if his plan succeeds… we will nevertheless need forces to secure the city. I am entrusting you to rally the citizens of Albion; if any fighters are among them, now is the time.’

‘Would not you be the better choice?’ I asked.

‘I have… other preparations to make,’ he said.

I wasn’t sure whether it was appropriate for me to ask. He seemed to make the decision for me. ‘Your cousin seeks one relic. I intend to seek… perhaps not a relic, but information from the past. Tell me, are you familiar with the one who was in your time known as Ryan Sunset?’

‘The heir of the Institute?’

‘Just so; Claude Pierre’s scion, who ran CWF in the last incarnation. I believe your cousin Caledonia actually did battle against him for control of the federation?’

I nodded. ‘She and Jace Valentine were “Team Rish”. Fought for control of the CWF and the Institute itself; but Rishel betrayed them at the last, and though they were victorious… the Institute remained.’

‘It was that battle that was of particular interest to me,’ he said. ‘I believe Sunset shortly re-emerged as an entity known as Eclipse, and then disappeared?’

Huh. What did happen to him? ‘Your history is doubtlessly better than mine, your Majesty.’

Urquhart laughed. ‘I knew making that joke was a mistake!’

‘Perhaps,’ I said, moving my pawn to the far end of the board and promoting it to a queen. ‘Checkmate.’

‘Well played, sir,’ he said. ‘Now, to business. We have several days before the battle. You will rally troops here in Albion and take command in my absence. We will regroup with the others at Flydell North. I shall be searching for Ryan Sunset, or for his remains.’

I nodded. ‘Yes, my lord.’

‘You know,’ he said with a smirk, ‘I was beginning to get used to “your Majesty”.’

I spent the intervening days gathering forces for our attack on London. The Albionites had been slower to trust me, though whether that was because I was a vampire, a nominal member of AnHellica’s End Games team, or a Southerner, I couldn’t tell. Probably all three, and probably a different amount depending on the individual.

In time, though, I’d managed to gather a respectable number of fighters from Albion. They had been reassured by the idea that a strong leader like Lord Urquhart was all we had been missing when it came to taking down the Amoralists and finally living in peace. And so, we had gathered alongside Caledonia’s Academy fighters, and made our attack.

---

The Amoralists clearly hadn’t been anticipating an attack from this part of the city. Our troops… alright, our soldiers… alright, our roving band of barely-trained thugs, made short work of the handful of Grigori patrollers they encountered as we fought our way to the Palace.

It seems too easy, I thought. But if Lord Urquhart was concerned, his face didn’t show it. He strode forward ever more determined, occasionally disposing of a Grigori agent himself, but charging ever onwards.

It wasn’t much time before we reached the Palace, to find… a battle already mostly finished. A few Palace guards were mostly standing, but more – far more than we had been expecting – were scattered around unconscious. Standing over them and kicking were… just people. One of them, a tall, lean, androgynous person with more prominent cybernetic attachments than I was used to seeing, approached.

‘You must be Carlton,’ they said. ‘Caledonia said you’d be coming.’

On instinct, I extended my hand. ‘And you are?’

‘My name is Eris.’

‘… okay, either I’ve very much not been paying attention, or…’

‘A different Eris,’ they said with a grin. ‘The Eris from this timeline. Also called the Chaote. Many of us took our names from the heroes of the past. You’ve met Caledonia; there was an Elijah, an Omega…’

‘A Carlton?’

They pursed their lips. ‘I don’t think so. I don’t remember seeing you in the historical record…’

‘Really?!’

‘Let me check…’ They closed their eyes and I recognized the signs of someone scanning a cybernetically stored database. ‘Okay… Carlton… “he was a non-active member of the Order of the Oncoming Storm and did not fight.”’

Oh, what the bloody hell… ‘Whatever. Where is my cousin?’

‘Right – she and the others went into the Fortress. That was about half an hour ago. Come. Let’s see if they need help.’

I followed Eris, casting my eye around for Lord Urquhart, but I couldn’t see him. Strange. Well, he’s probably setting up a perimeter, I thought, though something felt wrong.

We made our way through the hallways of Buckingham Palace, with the sounds of battle growing clearer and clearer as we drew closer to the throne room. We entered…

… to a scene of utter pandemonium.

Highlander, Eris, and Nia had been flung against the wall, and still seemed unable to move; Caledonia, in her High Priestess form, and… a woman I vaguely recognized, were moving so quickly even I could barely keep up with them. Caledonia looked up as we entered, and the momentary distraction cost her.

Her opponent – Jezebel, that was her name, Caledonia’s half-sister – hit Caledonia with a massive clubbing blow, sending her sprawling. I didn’t bother with fighting-stances; I charged in and launched a kick at Jezebel, which she barely dodged; my strike grazed her. As she stumbled, she recovered into a spinning elbow strike, striking me in the temple and sending me reeling. I recovered my stance, and the two of us faced down for a second…

… which was all Caledonia needed.

She leapt behind Jezebel and got her into the Bed of Roses hold, and I recognized the blue flames that had covered her body and Lionheart’s right before she had restored his Morality, right before he had felt the full effect of the three hundred years of evils he had committed. It had nearly broken him.

Jezebel…

… Jezebel laughed.

‘Oh, a good try, dear sister,’ she purred. With an explosive effort, she burst free of Caledonia’s hold. ‘But you know the difference between me and Lionheart?’ She launched a running knee at the disoriented Caledonia, sending her flying. ‘This is who I’ve always been.’

Fuck. That was our ace in the hole; Jezebel was stronger even than Lionheart, especially here, at the seat of her power. If Caledonia couldn’t turn her, then…

The doors of the throne room flew open. Lord Urquhart strode through them, an inexplicable expression on his face. Jezebel grinned. ‘Ah, if it isn’t the King of all England! I have to say, I liked you better naked and upside-down.’

Urquhart’s face betrayed no emotion. A group of our fighters, along with the Chaote’s Children, began to stream into the room. ‘Really now,’ said Jezebel, ‘what is this country coming to, when nobody even bothers to make an appointment when they come to see the Queen? I – ’

And then Urquhart snapped her neck.

He moved so quickly that even I could barely follow it; but his body was wreathed in white flames and his eyes glowed orange…

… and comprehension suddenly dawned as to why he had sought the remains of Ryan Sunset.

I remembered the fight between Sunset and Caledonia, but something I had nearly forgotten was something that happened near the end of the fight; the event that would mark the beginning of Sunset’s transformation into Eclipse.

Ryan Sunset had taken on the mantle of the Tormented Soul.

An entity none fully understood; it had possessed Chaolin Sahn for many years, before Sahn was eventually compelled to release it to Sunset. It had amplified his strength, but it had also… changed him.

And now…

Oh God.

Urquhart had done the same.

‘My lord…’ I said. It was all I could say.

‘You know, Carlton,’ he said, his voice deeper and more menacing than ever before, ‘I really do think I prefer “Your Majesty”.’ He turned to the assembled masses. ‘There is your “queen” – now, bow before your King!’

The Albionites took the knee fairly quickly, but the Children merely looked furious. ‘I said,’ Urquhart snarled, ‘bow!’

His eyes glowed bright orange, and a force of raw Will emanated from him. The Chaote was able to keep their feet, but they were one of the few who did. Nearby, Caledonia, Highlander, Nia and Eris were slowly rising. Nia’s eyes were full of tears.

‘My subjects,’ he said, ‘the Island of Great Britain has been reclaimed for the Order. With the power of the Tormented Soul, I shall impose my Will upon the rest of this continent, and of this world; I shall purge the Earth of the pestilence that is the Amoralists!’

The Albionites cheered; the Children seemed not to know what to make of this. Urquhart strode back and sat down upon the throne that once had been Jezebel’s. He closed his eyes in concentration, and with a burst of will manifested a crown. He placed it on his head, and surveyed the room imperiously.

‘Urquhart,’ said Caledonia, her voice dripping with fury, ‘you cannot possibly have been so reckless as to call on the Tormented Soul. We don’t even understand it, we don’t even know -’

‘Oh, but I do understand it,’ said Urquhart. ‘It is Power, true Power, the Will to do what one must. Your gentle rebellion might have pried the Amoralists loose here and there; but until they are cut out root and stem, they shall forever be a threat. They shall forever be chaos incarnate. They shall forever be -’

But whatever they would forever be, we would never know, for his sentence was interrupted; he choked over his final words as an arrow struck his throat.

I span towards the back of the room to see Nia, a crying mess, holding up her bow, the string still vibrating. And in a way… I understood. She made eye contact with the Chaote, and the two of them sprinted from the room; I had no idea where they were going. I’m sure that’s the way she wanted it.

‘What the bloody hell?’ exclaimed one Albionite. ‘She’s killed the bloody king!’

‘So who’s the king now?’ asked another.

Mutterings.

‘Comrades!’ exclaimed Eris. ‘You don’t need a king!’ The Children cheered. ‘Come on now! No Kings! No Kings!’

The chant failed to catch on among the Albionites, who were looking mutinous. ‘We were told that our new king would lead us to freedom against the Amoralists…’

‘You have freedom now!’ said Eris passionately. ‘You don’t need a king!’

‘But we like having a king!’ exclaimed one.

‘Oh, for… Constitutional Monarchy! Constitutional Monarchy!’ said Highlander. Caledonia elbowed him hard.

This was going to get very bad very fast. The sad irony was that the lunkhead’s suggestion was probably about the best we were likely to get; the Albionites were adamant that they should have a strong leader, and the Children were determined to be free. My brain worked on overdrive. What could we…

And then a thought struck me.

One that had never even entered the remotest part of my mind.

Before the Order had snatched me into the future, I had been elected to Parliament. There had been talk of my being Prime Minister within a few years. But fate had intervened, and that was not to be my destiny.

But perhaps…

… perhaps this was.

As arguments began to crescendo, I wordlessly stepped forward. I took the crown from where it had fallen off Urquhart’s brow, and turned to face the crowd, who had begun to look at me.

‘We all agree,’ I said, ‘that the Amoralists must be stopped. But we must not displace one tyrant with another. I was as wrong as any of you about Urquhart. More so, even; I truly thought he was on the side of good. But to make a pact with a being such as the Tormented Soul… such a thing is too high a price to pay. With such a being in charge, it would not truly be order. Just more chaos. I wish that Urquhart could have seen more clearly.

But I do see clearly. The Amoralists must be defeated. And at Ascension, I will go into battle – yes, the archaic rules mean that I am on their ‘team’, but rest assured that I will be the last one standing at the End Games. I will defeat the Major Arcana and their would-be Moonchild, Jaiden Rishel; and I will defeat the Amoralists, casting them down one by one. Holmes. Styles. Valentine. AnHellica. They will all fall before me. Because now I have something to fight for – for my people, for this land that I love. And I will cast down the forces that have oppressed the people of this island and this world for three bloody centuries.’

I sat down on the throne… and placed the crown upon my head.

‘I have nothing else to say. Thank you,.. from your King.’