(no subject)
If "restless" had been Tony's state of being the past few nights, it didn't even begin to describe him now. He stalked through Annie's house like a caged animal; it was a wonder she hadn't thrown him out to stay in the barn. He almost wished she would; restraining himself from demolishing furniture, windows, or anything else that came within his reach was a real pain in the ass, and getting more and more difficult as his agitation rose. He needed to get out of here.
The problem was.... there wasn't anywhere he could go. He wanted to destroy the seals and free his brothers, but for the first time his own safety was an actual important consideration he needed to take. The situation was dire, and Tony being alive was the only thing keeping the end from happening. The enemy would not kill their captive Scions -- at least not all of them -- unless they were sure to kill the last, as well. But if he got himself killed, then suddenly he wasn't the last anymore; the captives were, and that was game over.
And with sylphs everywhere, invisible spying eyes and ears, anywhere he went they'd know he was coming.
Self-preservation was not one of Tony's strong suits. He would gladly take on any enemy with the odds stacked against him, but in this he was completely out of his element. Fighting was fighting, was doing, full of life even as it was full of death. Being holed up here at Annie's -- hiding -- brought more shame than he had ever felt in his life.
A chair crashed against the wall and splintered to pieces, a casualty of the war Austin's last free Scion of Huitzilopochtli waged within himself.
What if they ignored the seals altogether, just busted into that warehouse and killed all the captives themselves? No one would see that coming. And then Evan kills me, Tony reasoned out with a sort of cold detachment. His wish then, to set everything aright? Hell, what if I kill myself? What then? Suicide didn't tend to be an acceptable option to most, but with the Atzlánti and their kin it was always on the table.
Tony wasn't afraid to die. Giving your life voluntarily to preserve the natural balance and order of the world was the greatest sacrifice a man could make, the pinnacle of human aspiration. Would killing the others and then himself fuck their ritual enough to save the world? Or could they just hunt down some of those recent escapees and try again?
No, not suicide.... What Tony needed to do was keep himself alive as long as possible. And the best way to do that....was to force a stalemate. The enemy had two sides, one of which was holding all the captives. If he let himself be taken by the other side.... They couldn't kill him for the same reason he had to stay alive in the first place.
The word "surrender" left a horribly sour taste in his mouth, but his pride would be a small sacrifice if it made them any progress. Let the enemy fight themselves for a while. It might not last long, but maybe if their attention was directed elsewhere it would buy Evan and the others enough time to ruin their shit for good.
Besides, it wouldn't really be a surrender, just making sure it was a battle he couldn't win. Tony intended to go down fighting to the last.
And so the only problem now was.... which side was which?