(no subject)
***
It was about making a good first impression.
This is what Tyki had reminded the new hodgepodge of hosts again and again. They looked at him oddly, smugly, dismissively. They had power at their fingertips. Power that their most wild and imaginative dreams could not have foretold. Why worry about finesse or any plan at all? They could do anything they wanted and break anyone who stood in their way. The people of this world were nothing but insects to them. An annoyance and nothing more.
Tyki rubbed his temple after they had departed. "Boss, were we really that foolish of a group?"
He didn't need to hear the laughter of the Maker. He knew the answer to the question.
In the end, he managed to convince them to try it his way at least once. He didn't have the Millennium Earl's charisma. His sheer force of presence. Or the grandfatherly and sagely way that made the most convoluted path obvious. But what he did have was Joyd and Adam's Memory, a sly tongue and a desire to see things through to the end.
So the toolbox was different, but the game was the same.
The first target was the North American Branch. The European contained the Exorcists, the firepower and the gate guardian. Not the best place for a practice run. The Asian branch still held their Guardian powered by magics long forgotten. She would remember him. He wasn't ready for that quite yet. No. Best to start small and work their way up.
Tyki left his troupe in the Ark and told them to watch from above. Perhaps they would learn a trick or two. Eventually see that a little planning and a bit of showmanship went a long way. When he arrived, he was in full Exorcist garb. Oddly he couldn't remember where he'd gotten it, but it was hand tailored with a silver button carved with his name to match. He straightened it before walking in the front door.
The staff was surprised and delighted to have an Exorcist come visit. The paperwork had gotten lost in the mail? Of course, it did! Most of the Akuma had been weeded out by now, so the Order was free to go about its business unhindered. Tight schedules and scrutinized inventory were things of the past. What was a few missed crossed t's and dotted i's?
The alarm went out hours later. The first Exorcists on the scene could only stare in shock at the devastation. The building was no longer there. Smooth, black glass garish to the eyes stretched across the landscape. It wasn't until the more senior and older staff came that the word 'Edo' was whispered amongst the crowd.
***
The back of his knees caught the edge of the cart causing him to tumble backwards. Support and structure gave way as the wood creaked and splintered spilling both occupant and fruit to the cobblestone pavement. Tyki threw an arm over his head to shield from the assault of reddish yellow apples, but it seemed a small gesture compared to the sight in front of him.
The man who had inherited the rage and hate of Noah had stopped screaming a while back. He lay on the stone with eyes wide and mouth agape. Not dead. Not yet, but no one seemed to be home at the time. A pair of Exorcists entered the streets walking over the downed man who was oblivious to the world. The one on the left had an Innocence whose abilities could match Wisely. Mind control. That was unexpected.
He was about to haul himself up when something sharp and quick cut through the air above him. The other Exorcist. Another new Innocence. It seemed going through the produce cart would be a wiser course of action. Come now, how many more compatible users could they have found over the years?
He rolled forward getting to his feet to meet the pair head on. Quick and dirty. That is had how it had to be. No survivors to report back. The strategy had worked well so far, and Tyki did hate to change a tactic that wasn't broken. In the end it was a race against time. He didn't fancy himself a drooling mass on the floor as his ally was, but the Exorcist was activating his Innocence as he raced forward. Concentric circles appeared around the flesh as the attack recharged itself coming too quickly for the Noah to close the distance. Tyki realized it, but he didn't alter his path. Counting on momentum and a heavy dose of luck to come out of this mess as the green glow flared spotting his vision for a moment.
The outcome was a surprise to them both.
Tyki's hand was buried past the elbow in the Exorcist's chest. His opponent looked at him dumbfounded and then at his own weapon as if it had betrayed him. But it hadn't. It had fired off successfully. Then why didn't --- Any further thoughts fled from the dying man as he sank to the floor.
The other Exorcist didn't last much longer and Tyki was soon standing over the haphazard mass of his other party member. He waved fingers in front of the man's eyes, but he didn't even blink. Tyki shrugged as he dragged him back into the alleyway calling for a doorway back to the Ark. Wisely's new host could take a look at him. As he waited for the entrance to appear, Tyki rubbed the back of his neck. That was a unexpected outcome. He'd at least suspected a ringing in his ears for the effort and fool hearty action. It seems betting on luck wasn't such a bad decision after all.
For how was he supposed to remember the gift of technology's future buried below the skin of his neck?
***
When all was done. When years of planning had come to fruition. When the world had reached an end. There was only red. The sun and moon had turned that scarlet color bathing the landscape day and night in its hue. Even the dying woman's blood seem colorless in comparison as it mixed in with the ripples of the water and dribbled down the blade being pulled out of her chest.
The body fell into the water with a squelching sound as the sword rested on top of the waves as if it were ground. Rivulets of blood dripped down staining the cross, white on black steel, into the liquid below. Tyki scanned the water as he stood above it. A shadow move across the surface. A grin grew on his face.
"There you are. It has been a while."
Years. So countless he had lost track, but that didn't matter as the darkened and wispy form swirled about his ankles. In agreement. In question. With this one it was so hard to tell.
A short chuckle escaped his lips as it crawled up to his knees. "Don't tell me this isn't what you prefer. You must have found that existence to be rather restricting."
"It is time you came home. ♥"
The shadow vanished. As it did, the exposed skin on the man lost its rough exterior. Scars of battle and lines etched from too many sleepless nights waiting for this moment in a maddening determination faded. The man looked as if the years had not changed him. Had not altered him from a wanderlust soul where his feet would guide him day after day. He walked over the fallen corpse, the former host of the Noah of Form, as he looked for something else in the water.
"There is your answer."
His shadow nodded in agreement as it rested its hands on his cane as Tyki picked his way across the desolate and eerily quiet landscape. For why should the man who originally bonded with Joyd be content with one or the other. Be content with choice.
He wouldn't give up one or the other. Both was his word given in good faith. The promise he gave to a man with a vision. To complete a task started when rain poured and poured until it had no where else to go but to wash away the land to start again anew. A task that was spawned earlier than the birth of the Memories in his head. A play that demanded to unfold as written by the script.
But he wouldn't give up his other promise as well. To live a life as he saw fit unbound by any law or duty or reason. To laugh in the face of what was presented and twist and mold it into what he wanted. To cheat the rules when they didn't suit him.
Two desires at odds, but in the end would he truly be Tyki Mikk if he couldn't claim them both?
The doors of the Ark spread before him their gates open wide. No number adorned it for the place they were going had no record in this world's history. Only in his memory. One he refused to forget. Of a place of hi jinks and madness. Of doors that wouldn't open and exits so rare that even the most precious gems seemed common place.
"Will you be coming along for the ride?"
The shadow of the gentleman merely tipped his hat in response. For the question needed no answer.
***
This mostly came about because I wanted to draw Tyki with the Earl's sword. ... It never happened as I can't draw, but I did a photoshop tweak instead.
Currently, choosing between going home and finishing the job given to him or going to a new world and having margarita shooters on the beach is forefront in his mind. I could tl;dr on this forever, but in game he just might go back now that he knows of an exit. But upon return he'd lose some of his playing charm due to his shift in personality. And he'd lose his prone to failure and some silliness. So this is staying in the 'what if' realm for now.
... This is why I need a second character, because I think too much about this one.
Also to note. Tyki has too much junk! He's got half a dozen items I wanted to weave into this story that he took from the DR, but he'd look like Rambo with all the things he'd bring with him. If I tack onto this, note: the figurines in the Ark with Road, handcuffs from Cross, his cursed poker chip, the knife of Innocence he is trying to make (uncertain if he will), pistol from Firebug, Bessy/Betsy.