Tainted Balance

A Final Test Of Loyalties

((Jordan's POV))
That went easier than expected.. I had expected the wizard to put up more of a fight but he went down easier than that baker I killed off a while back! I grinned at the memory. Ianite, he was such a satisfying kill! Though.. I felt.. Odd. Strangely sad as I recalled the sight of Wag's.. No, the wizard's presumably dead body. Ugh. I didn't like it. It made me feel almost guilty. Clearing my mind, I flew towards the spot where my Lady had asked to meet. I couldn't wait to show her how good a job I'd done! After a few minutes of flying, I landed and looked around for a sign of my Lady.

'Hello again, dear follower. You came quicker than I expected. I assume the mission was a success?'

I looked behind me and there she was, looking at me expectantly. Dropping into a kneeling stance (that felt somewhat.. Strange now..), I nodded.

"Yes, my Lady. I took care of the wizard and I brought the book back like you asked."

She grinned. 'I knew I could count on you, dear Jordan. Let me see the book. And the cloak piece, while you're at it.'

Nodding, I pulled out the journal and torn robe piece, holding out to Ianite. Her grin grew wider as she practically ripped them out of my hand. She looked far too happy about this, her smile didn't look happy. It looked.. Sinister almost. Like it was something that would belong on the face of a monster or a villain.

'ExcellEnt! I kNeW yOu wouldn't fAil me this tiME, mY dear folLOWer~!'

That.. Wasn't My Lady's voice. It sounded like it was playing from an old, skipping record. And it seemed to overlap and get louder at random points.. Her image flickered for a second, showing off an image of some.. Thing in the shape of a human body that was dark purple and seemed to be writhing. It was gone in an instant and Ianite seemed distressed.

'O-oh dear.. Please ignore that Jordan.. I've been having a bit of.. Problems lately. Nothing to worry about!'

"What was that Ianite?"

'Nothing. Forget that you saw it or I will /make/ you forget.' She glared and I winced as the familiar throb of pain shot through my head.

"Y-yes Ianite. I'll forget."

'Good.. Now then. To take care of something I should've a long time ago.' She grinned as she held the book tightly in her hands. She mumbled something I couldn't catch before it turned a deep shade of purple and slowly began to disintegrate. She wiped her hands on her clothes, leaving behind a few faint streaks of purple dust.

'Well. Now that that's taken care of.. Jordan. My dear Jordan. I have one final mission for you. Are you up to the task?'

With a bright smile, I nodded. "Of course, My Lady!"

She grinned and laid a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it a bit. 'I'm glad. I can always count on you. Now then, for your mission.. I want you to kill Syndicate. Or rather, Tom.'

My heart stopped and my smile slowly slipped off my face. I felt a pang in my chest at his name. "Wh-what?"

'Did you not hear me? I want you to kill Tom. It shouldn't be too hard, right? You seem to be a weakness of his. It'll be an easy kill for you. Surely, you'll be able to do it? Unless.. You still are harboring feelings for him?' She narrowed her eyes and another pang went through my chest and my head.

I shook my head, trying to ignore them both. "N-no Ma'am. Of course I don't! I know you don't really like him."

'That's a way of putting it lightly. Fine then. I'll give you all of tomorrow and the rest of today to kill him. I think you already know what the punishment shall be if you fail.' Multiple pangs of pain, again, from my heart and head. I couldn't ignore them this time and winced again.

"Yes, I know. I-I won't fail you, Ianite."

'Hmph. I should hope not. I expect to hear good things from you Jordan and I expect that /Dianitee/ to be dead when you next report to me.' She spat the word 'Dianitee' out like it was poison. After a shaky nod from me, she vanished. I sighed, slumping down to the ground and running a hand through my hair.

"I.. Have to kill Tom."

The pangs of pain coming from my chest were stronger now. And I couldn't ignore them no matter how hard I tried.

((???'s POV))
I coughed, gagging on air as I sat up. The smell of blood filled the air making me gag again. My stomach ached as I slowly made to stand up. My vision blurred and swirled, probably from
The sharp stabbing pain coming from my stomach and the blood loss.. Groaning, I finally managed to stand up, even if I was a bit shaky. I shivered as I felt a cool breeze blow in from a hole, ruffling a few nearby papers. My head was pounding but it would fade soon enough. As would the dizzyness and pain.

"Oh thank the gods.. My regeneration spell worked.. A bit late to activate but at least I'm not dead."

I looked around at my torn up room, sighing st the state of it. All the paper and books had been roughly shoved off my desk, there was loose paper and books scattered everywhere and.. A decently sized puddle of blood was right beneath my feet. I'm surprised I didn't slip on it to be honest. Another breeze blew in and I looked over the biggest amount of damage. The giant hole in my tower. Caused by..

"Jordan.!" I had to find Jordan. I had to help him! I took a step and nearly fell back down at the sudden sharp pain in my stomach. Great.. Looks like I'll be out of action for a bit. Wait.. The journal! I spun around, ignoring the throb of pain and..

"Damnit! Of course it's gone.. That'd be too easy, wouldn't it? Wait.. The copy!"

I limped over to the desk and riffled through the scattered papers on the ground. I grinned and lifted the copy up, thanking my magic I found it. Good thing Jordan didn't find this.

"I need to get started on making this cure! ..Ow. After I've healed a bit more.." I winced and rubbed gently at the spot where I was stabbed. I looked out of the hole in the wall and sighed a bit. "Don't worry Jordan. I'm gonna help you. If it's the last thing I do."

I didn't want to think about how true that last statement could turn out to be.

(( //FLOPS ONTO THE FLOOR IN SHAME// I'm sorry!!! I'm so sorry this took so long guys!! I honestly meant to complete it sooner! But things kept popping up and I got writers block! I know it isn't a good enough excuse but it's all I've got! Hopefully, this chapter can make up for it? //gets hit by a brick// O W. Ok i should've expected that.. But anyways! Wag is alive! Y a y! And we're finally gonna start getting into the real syndisparklez part of this fic! (Sorta..) Again, I'm soooo sorry for having this chapter take so long! Hopefully, the over 1,000 words bit will help. Anyways! That's all I've got to say! Hopefully you've enjoyed and I will see all you lovely people in the next chapter (which hopefully won't take another like two months..)! Later!))