Agent of the Sway: Isolation - Part Ten

      It was quiet - Marko and the Double Agent appeared to have done their job in getting the majority of the Citadel's forces committed elsewhere. Things would be a lot easier.

      One more Clayton crept along the corridors of the fortress, making his way to the meeting point in Marko's chambers. He supplied the secret knock they had arranged, before opening the door.

      The sight that greeted him was not one he expected.

      Marko's office was in disarray, as if a struggle had taken place. Parchment was ripped and thrown on the floor, his bookcase toppled haphazardly across the room, and ink leaking all over his desk.

      A groan underneath the bookcase alerted Clayton to the presence of the Darigan Meerca. He helped the furniture off Marko, helping him to his feet and getting him settled in a chair. He was injured, badly.

      "Who did this? Have we been discovered?" Clayton asked.

      "It was Elizabeth," Marko rasped heavily - he appeared to be having trouble breathing properly.

      "Elizabeth!?" Clayton gasped.

      "She arrived here soon after teleporting up," Marko explained, having to pause for breath more than usual. "Then she started talking about how this wasn't a good idea - how we should stick to the original plan of Darigan taking over Meridell and Brightvale, and then the Sway ruling all three."

      "But Darigan is no longer in charge - the plan won't work!" Clayton insisted.

      "I know that," Marko agreed. "I tried to tell her, but she said that Kass would be an effective ruler - that the fact he had fallen to the Three proved he was malleable, that he would be a good servant to the Sway. I questioned her judgement, and she attacked me. I fear... I fear she may have been compromised. The Three may have claimed her."

      "No, that's..." Clayton tried to protest, but he couldn't.

      Suddenly, her actions back in Meridell - delaying the news of the Court Dancer's arrival, her awe at the power of the Three, suggesting so quickly that all was lost when the Court Dancer's spell was lost - it all clicked into place. The Three had been influencing her actions. Subtly, perhaps, without her even knowing. But now, so close to their centre of operations, their influence had extended. Could Elizabeth have become just another pawn of the Three?

      "She knows all of our plans," Clayton said. "Which means, now they have her, the Three know them as well."

      In the higher levels of the Citadel, a horn was blowing. The remaining troops were being alerted to Jeran's surprise attack. What had been an effort to eliminate the scouts on the fortress walls would soon become an all out battle.

      "It doesn't matter," Marko said, trying hard to keep himself upright. "The majority of the Darigan forces are still groundwards - they won't be able to return in time, and even if they could, a retreat would just give the main bulk of the Meridell army the momentum to break the Citadel. Jeran's attack may be discovered, but it will still be effective. She can't do anything about Lord Darigan, either."

      "But they will be expecting him now, even if Kass himself isn't," Clayton said. "They will be planning something, I'm sure. Did you see which way Elizabeth went when she left?"

      "No, I-"

      Marko was cut off by a sudden rumbling sound that rocked the entire Citadel.

      "What was that?" Clayton asked.

      Marko's eyes had gone wide with horror.

      "The Citadel's engines," he answered. "That was them backfiring!"

      "She must be shutting them down!" Clayton gasped. "That's their new plan - if Kass failed, destroy Meridell by crashing the Citadel into it! I have to get to the engine room and stop her!"

      "Follow the hallway past the kitchens," Marko instructed. "It'll take you across the lower battlements, straight there."

      Clayton nodded, leaving Marko to tend his wounds. This was no time for sympathy, if Clayton didn't move quickly, they would all be dead.

      He followed Marko's directions, crashing by what remained of the kitchen staff and out onto the lower battlements. From there, he could see the fighting happening in the courtyard below. Jeran appeared to be fighting Kass one on one, their swords locked against each other.

      Another tremor came, this time much larger as the engines finally gave out and stopped working. The ground in the courtyard trembled and split, opening up directly below Jeran. The Lupe knight fell, clutching to what remained of the earth with the last of his strength.

      Kass gave a ruthless smirk as he forced Jeran's fingers away, sending the Lupe plummeting down. Clayton hoped Psellia was still around - she would be able to save him from Kass's intended fate.

      The Eyrie's victory was short lived however, as a new figure called down from one of the Citadel's spires. Perched there, like some horrible gargoyle, was Lord Darigan. Gone was the bat-thing, and although he was still a shadow of his former self, the Korbat now radiated power and confidence. Kass's eyes went wide in shock, but Darigan did not give him time for much of a reaction. He plunged forwards from the rooftop, entering the battle against his former General.

      Clayton could not stay to watch - the engines were more important, regardless of who won the duel.

      Up ahead, there was a staircase leading further down into the deepest depths of the Citadel. Clayton took it, emerging into a dark room filled with pipes and machinery. The engine room.

      Elizabeth was up ahead, busy messing with the controls. The engines and pipes, which Clayton imagined normally hissed and steamed, were deathly quiet. There was a straining noise somewhere in the distance.

      "We should be falling by now!" Elizabeth was saying to herself, or Clayton realised, to the Three.

      The Cybunny paused, as if listening. Clayton recognised it, both Darigan and Kass had done the same when they had been consulting with the Three. That sold it - Elizabeth had betrayed them.

      "Yes, yes, Morguss - of course!" she said eventually. "She must be working her magic to keep the Citadel afloat. So late in the game, she is turning against us - weak old hag that she is. No matter, her magic will not hold forever. It is only a matter of time until the Citadel falls now."

      She allowed herself a brief dark chuckle, before catching sight of Clayton.

      "Stay back!" she shouted, grasping the controls. "I can sabotage these!"

      "Please, Elizabeth, you don't have to do this," Clayton pleaded with her.

      Quietly, he reached for his crossbow. Even in the gloom of the engine room though, Elizabeth noticed. She flipped a switch on the controls and a blast door came down, separating the two. Clayton darted forwards, banging on it to no effect.

      Looking around, he noticed a couple of levers on the wall nearby. He pulled them down, but nothing happened.

      "If you're trying those levers, don't bother," Elizabeth called through the blast door. "They start the engines, but the boilers need priming first, and that can only be done from in here."

      "Elizabeth, please!" Clayton shouted back. "This isn't you! The Three are manipulating you!"

      "No!" she spat. "It's you who is manipulating me! I see it clearly now! We don't even know who you are - you might not be an agent of the Sway, not really. For all we know you may be working for Queen Fyora herself! No, we have to stick to the plan. Meridell must fall. If we manage that, I'm sure to be promoted - the Sway can sweep in the aftermath and pick up the pieces."

      "Listen to yourself!" Clayton shouted. "You're not acting as an agent of the Sway any more!"

      "Yes I am!"

      "Then what is the Sway's main goal!?" Clayton asked.

      "To protect Neopians and further Neopian civilisation!" she replied.

      "And how does this help?" Clayton asked. "The original Sway plan was to let Kass rule over all three kingdoms, but now? You're about to crash the Citadel into Meridell, Elizabeth! There'll be no one left to rule over, and thousands of people may die! That's not in Neopia's interest! It's not in the Sway's interest! There's only one group that would want such a thing!"

      "... The Three," she replied quietly, her voice wavering. "By the stars, Clayton, what have I done!?"

      "It's not too late, Elizabeth!" Clayton said. "Restart the engines, we can still stop this!"

      Clayton felt the rush of dark magic as the Three refocused their efforts on Elizabeth, assaulting her senses. That didn't bode well for Kass, without their influence, he would be weakened - Darigan would surely win the duel happening above them.

      "I can't!" Elizabeth screamed. "They're too strong!"

      "All they can offer are words, Elizabeth!" Clayton told her. "Remember Darigan - ultimately, they could do nothing to harm him, only torment him. You will always be stronger than them!"

      "Yes..." Elizabeth said, confidence returning to her voice. "Yes I am!"

      Clayton heard a triumphant click from beyond the door as Elizabeth set the controls in motion. The pipes began to rattle and steam as the boilers kicked back into life.

      "Great!" Clayton said. "Now, lets get this door open and start the engines."

      "I can't," was her reply.

      "Of course you can, you're stronger than them!"

      "That's not what I mean, I can't," she said. "Normally, the blast doors come down after a 5 minute delay and then lock, but because I triggered them early, they are already locked - I'm trapped in here. I'm sorry, Clayton, but you'll have to go on without me."

      "I'll come back for you," Clayton said.

      "No, you won't," Elizabeth answered quietly. "As part of the boiler initialisation process, this room is flooded with the excess steam. That's why the blast door is there. I... I won't survive, Clayton."

      "Elizabeth..."

      "It's alright, I caused this," she answered. "Just, make sure Kass fails. Make sure there is a truce. Don't make this all have happened in vain. Goodbye, Clayton."

      "Goodbye," was all he could muster as a reply.

      There were voices heading down the staircase - Lord Darigan, Clayton realised. The Kougra slinked into the shadows, disappearing down a side corridor as Darigan arrived with a few soldiers.

      "We'll have to pull these levers at the same time to restart the engines," Darigan instructed.

      Clayton heard the hum of the engines kick back in, sending a brief shudder through the Citadel. They were saved - but at a cost.

      There was a figure up ahead in the passageway. Clayton clung to the shadows, realising as he grew closer that it was Kass.

      The Eyrie was beaten and broken, cowering on the floor and gibbering towards unseen figures. The Three were still tormenting him - they had returned as soon as it became clear Elizabeth had failed them.

      "Leave me alone!" Kass was begging. "I never promised you anything!"

      Clayton must have been close enough to be within the Three's influence, as he heard their voices in his ears just as Kass did.

      So very wrong...

      You promised us everything...

      That's exactly what we'll take in return...

      "No! No! No!" Kass begged.

      But it was no use, the shadows converged on the cowering Eyrie, and in an instant he was gone. No bright flash as when Darigan had disappeared, but just a small smouldering spot on the ground. Clayton briefly wondered if Kass had indeed been killed, and if the Three possessed powers they had not used on Darigan or Elizabeth, or if Kass too had been teleported down to the Meridell farmlands.

      The presence of the Three still lingered though.

      Kass has failed us. No matter, we will find another...

      "No you won't!" Clayton shouted. "Darigan is back now, and he's smarter than before - he won't fall to your tricks again! Darigan is free at last, and so is Meridell!"

      We shall see...

      Clayton felt the presence of the shadows relent. The Citadel was indeed saved. Darigan was restored to power. The war was won. There would be peace.

      At once it was as if the world was twisting slightly, ripples spreading out through the air, but somehow not causing a breeze. The noises of the engines were briefly muffled, and Clayton felt dizzy. Was this the time dilation that Zylphia had been expecting? Had they done it?

     ***

      Clayton did not have to wait long for his answer. He emerged into the Citadel courtyard to find Darigan and Skarl shaking hands firmly, but a familiar face was nearby - the Duchess. The Lenny was watching the proceedings, quietly happy.

      "Congratulations, Mr. Moore," she said, not taking her eyes off the truce proceedings. "I never doubted you for an instant."

      "It worked then?" Clayton asked. "This is... the present?"

      "Not exactly," the Duchess replied. "You felt the strange ripple? We felt it to - I've contacted Zylphia, she was measuring it. She claims what we experienced was the fabric of Neopia establishing a form of time bubble for Meridell to exist in. While we are inside the bubble, it is three hundred years ago, but the moment anyone steps outside, they will be in the present. Meridell is simultaneously now and then, destroyed and saved. It is an... Inelegant solution. But one that will allow Meridell, Brightvale, and the Darigan Citadel to assimilate into modern Neopia. I would call that a success."

      "There were casualties," Clayton said.

      "There always are, every agent knows that when they join the Sway," the told him. "You know that, too. There have been changes in the present day, as well - minor alterations to the timeline, Zylphia says. The Seekers have found themselves relocated to Brightvale, away from the National Neopian Museum in Neopia Central. Several Order of the Red Erisim members now live in Meridell rather than the Haunted Woods. That sort of thing."

      There was silence as they watched.

      "Well," she said, as if they had watched for long enough. "Are you ready for your next task, Mr. Moore?"

      "So soon?"

      "The Sway never rest," she pointed out. "Your isolation in the past is over, Mr. Moore. Duke Hopesmeade is waiting on Terror Mountain. It is time we rid ourselves of a little problem from your past - Galem Darkhand must die."

The End