Lock and Key

Containing the Void

There before him stood the Void. Simon had pictured this moment for what had felt like forever, the Void was completely unaware of what it had walked into. "Apex, grab the Void." he ordered and the children followed suit. He walked over to the Void who looked at him with those same brown eyes it always had. Now devoid of life, or at least to Simon, devoid of any life worth acknowledging.

"Simon, what the hell is going on?" it said to him.

"Silence Void." he replied sinisterly.

"What the fuck is a Void." it asked. Simon smiled before giving the answer.

"Allow me to explain." he said to the vacuous presence before him. He walked past the Void and grabbed the law textbook from which he'd gotten the definition. It was thick, heavy. Perfect. 'Void is defined as no longer valid. Other definitions include completely empty. For our purposes however, Apex what is a Void?" he asked. The children responded in kind, just as he taught them. This was perfect, just as he'd imagined. "Very good." he said, addressing his followers. "Any other questions Void?" he asked. The Void stared at him with an intensity that might have made him uncomfortable a long time ago.

"Yes, many. Let me go!" It said attempting to struggle away from the thirty or so children keeping it confined. Simon shook his head.

"Oh you misunderstand Void. You won't be going anywhere, though I'd be happy to answer all of your useless questions later." He walked behind the void, still holding the book, it's weight shifting in his hands. "Goodnight Void." he swung as hard as he could as the back of the Void's skull where the head and neck merged and listened satisfied at the cracking sound that the book made as it connected to the Void's flesh. He'd practiced this countless times, he needed the Void unconscious for the rest of his plans. The children started in terror as the Void's body became limp in their arms as they whispered amongst themselves.

"Is Grace dead? Did he kill her?" was murmured between the children as Simon ascended to the top of the escalator again and demanded their attention. Fear was useful but it could also backfire. He needed the children's loyalty and some of that would come from disconnecting them from the Void they once knew as Grace.

"Calm yourselves Apex. The Void is not dead, however it is important to note that the Void is not human, and therefore not worthy of your consideration in terms of it's life. The Void is an infestation, a plague on our home who seeks to turn each and everyone one of you into a creature like it's self. Just like a bug we must squash the Void and use it as a tool to warn against any of it's kind attempting to do what it has done. Are we clear?" he asked. The children quickly responded.

"Yes sir Simon sir!" the said in unison. Simon nodded.

"Very good. As for the Void, I will take it to it's new quarters. The Void will be a prisoner of the Apex, a warning for any who seek to side with the Nulls we have been ordained to annihilate. You all have done well today, spend the rest of your time as you please. Dismissed." he announced before descending the escalator once again to collect the limp body of the Void. The children scattered as he approached and grabbed the Void carrying it away. Good. Fear was useful to him in moderation. As he carried the Void he talked to it, despite the fact it was unconscious. "You know Void, you almost ruined my plan. When I saw you I almost wanted to wheel you just on principal, but I kept my composure. This will be far more fun." Simon approached one of the former store's in the car, the one that was in the far back corner all of the Apex kids were afraid of. When the Void had lived alongside him they'd used that area as their relaxing spot, just for the two of them. Simon had prepared it as the Void's new prison. It's shutters even looked like prison bars from the inside. He's had the store gutted, leaving only the exposed piping and even that felt far too good for the Void. Still, the pipes would be useful for keeping it from escaping. Simon tossed it's unconscious body to the ground and began chaining it's appendages to various poles. He'd made sure the Void's bonds were sturdy, after all if it could escape it's own tape it would no doubt have plans to escape any conventional prison. And if the Void escaped Simon's plans would have been ruined. After finishing securing the Void Simon left, closing the shutters to ensure the Void would awake in darkness. He'd be back to speak to the Void when it awoke, but he needed to address his followers. "Apex," he said commanding their attention. "The Void has been imprisoned. As for rules concerning the Void, you are never to speak of the Void without my express orders. You are never to go near the Void's quarters without my express orders. You are never to refer to the Void by it's false name. You are never to speak to the Void. Is that clear?" Simon asked the children.

"Yes sir Simon sir." They responded. Simon nodded, the sound was music to his ears, he was in charge. The Void had nothing.

'Very good." Simon walked to his room in order to relax and write. He'd made many revisions to Esmoroth in the short time that he'd been back and now that he'd successfully captured the Void he had many additions to make, rise of the true king indeed. About an hour or so later Simon decided to check on the Void, gabbing a bottle of water on his way over to the Void's prison. As he entered the void had just begun to wake.

"What the fuck happened?" The Void asked, holding it's head and seeming dazed. Simon smiled, he was happy to fill in the gaps.

"I knocked you unconscious." he said simply before throwing the bottle of water at the Void incredibly intensely. It hit the wall next to where the Void sat with a loud bang. The Void flinched at this. Simon smiled. "You have a concussion. Drink up." he said the Void strained against it's restraints at that moment having realized that it was being held prisoner. "Do you need help with that Void?" it looked at him with anger, but not hatred. Simon couldn't wait to make that change. He rolled the bottle of water over to where the Void could reach and watched as it slowly struggled to open the bottle before getting the water out.

"Why did you do this to me?" The Void questioned him. Simon laughed before stopping abruptly and getting close to the Void's face. It was going to understand the pain it had caused him. He'd make it understand that pain.

"You are a parasite. A plague. You pretended to care for me only to infiltrate and destroy the life we'd built. You let yourself get infected with lies from the false conductor, and chose Nulls over passengers. You betrayed the Apex." Listing the Void's crimes to it's face made Simon angry; he clenched his fists and waited for the Void's response. "Well! Answer for your crimes!" he shouted. Tears filled the eyes of the Void. Proof of weakness.

"Simon we were kids I-" Simon cut off the Voids lies, he'd hear no more of it's falsehood.

"Don't you ever do that! Don't ever refer to me like you know me, like we had a history together! You destroyed everything that we could have had! You disgust me!" he screamed. The Void was crying now, this calmed him. The Void had no power here, the Void was nothing.

"So what Simon? Are you going to kill me?" it asked him. Simon regained his composure and smiled.

"No. The wheel is far too good for you. Nulls are a disgusting blight on the train but they don't know any other way. The wheel is a perfect death for them. Empty and meaningless as the train keeps chugging on. But you, you had the knowledge of the true conductor, the knowledge of your place on the train. And you gave it up. I'm going to teach you a lesson about betraying the Apex, Void." Simon said sinisterly. The Void shook its head.

"Simon, this isn't you. This isn't what the Apex should be." The Void spoke. Simon rolled his eyes.

"This is the Apex in its greatest form, me in my greatest form. You just want to destroy the new order that I'm building." he retorted. "And don't call me Simon. That is a name reserved for people, and you are no person." he said glaring at the Void.

"What am I supposed to call you?" the Void questioned. Simon smirked at it.

"To you, I'm your warden, your jury, your executioner. I am the divine ruler of the train, your all powerful king. But to keep things simple, I am your own personal god and you can refer to me as such. I can be merciful, or vengeful. For a Void such as yourself I would do the best I could to stay on the merciful side considering your life is in my hands and I plan on being the last face you see before death, one way, or another." he explained. The Void still had tears in it's eyes. "Now, get some rest and drink that water. It would be a shame if you succumbed to head trauma before you saw the true power of the Apex." Simon said casually. That was the trick, to switch between personas flawlessly, to keep the Void off it's balance.

"You can't keep me here." The Void said frightened.

"Watch me." He turned and left the store leaving the Void in darkness and shadow as he returned to bask in the glory and light of what he had done. Hurting the Void was fun but that wasn't his ultimate goal. He would break the Void, ensure that no matter what happened it was unable to function without him. He'd make sure the Void's life became tantamount to a nightmare in which the person it feared most was the person it needed. He would consume the Void's thoughts, control it's life the way it had controlled his. That was the true power of the Apex. And he was the god that wielded such power.