Chapter Text
“Come on, come on!” Kozmotis pleaded to whatever powers might be listening, banking the schooner so sharply he had to cling to the steering wheel to prevent being flung against the rail of the ship. Even so, the asteroid scraped along the side of the schooner with an earsplitting shriek of warping metal. Then the ship was past the rock with a shudder. Kozmotis winced and hoped that nothing essential had been damaged in the collision. But that had been it, the last of the asteroids in the belt. If the rest of the army had managed to follow him through that, he honestly wasn’t sure how he could be able to evade capture for much longer.
He didn’t know this sector very well; he hadn’t been in this galaxy for centuries now. Stars only knew what sort of military outposts might have been established nearby, which troops might already be closing in on him and- No, he had to be logical about this. Considering the alert level that he had sent out, any reinforcements would have surely headed for the prison planet and the military had been downsized in peacetime. There would be no reason for troops to be this far out. He was heading away from where the empire’s colonization had spread. He couldn’t afford to worry about shadows ahead of him, the troops behind were enough of a threat.
Kozmotis shot a glance backwards in time to see one of the pursuing ships be broadsided by an asteroid with a sickening crunch. He winced again, simultaneously hoping that the crash hadn’t been bad enough to cause fatalities and that it had been serious enough to disable the ship and put them in need of rescue from another craft. He could use all the delay he could get. That looked like it had been the closest pursuer, though, so maybe-
A flurry of movement from the deck of the crippled ship and a sudden booming sound was the only warning he got before a six-foot long harpoon was launched through the space between them, whistling through the air. Kozmotis let out a desperate curse and yanked the ship’s wheel to the right, fighting the instinct to throw himself to the deck. If the ship was disabled, it was all over. He couldn’t afford that. The weapon tore a hole through one of the schooner’s solar sails before flying past the craft and into the abyss. Okay, not ideal, but if they were trying to kill them rather than pursue at this point, then they were running out of options. Kozmotis had the other sails still, plenty of propulsion assuming he could get out of firing range…
Behind him, another shot rang out. There wasn’t time to figure out where it was coming from. Kozmotis knew he needed to lose his pursuers, and he needed to lose them fast. Without a second thought, the Golden General sent the schooner into a dive, shooting straight down into the void of space. Yanking on the wheel, he sent the ship into a spin, glancing behind his shoulder just in time to see another missile shooting past, narrowly missing the ship. He also caught sight of Pitch, apparently fully conscious once more, as he was swinging wildly back and forth on his tether and cursing venomously. If this had been under any other condition, if Kozmotis couldn’t still see the shadows crawling over his brother’s skin, it almost would have been a humorous moment.
As it was, though, Kozmotis had little time for amusement. He had to think of a planet or a moon or something that they could hole up on for a little bit, long enough for Koz to patch up the damage that had been done to the ship and to see… see if he could get through to Pitchiner.
No, he would get through to Pitchiner. He would. There were no other options now. He just needed time. Which meant that he couldn’t be wasting energy worrying about pointless things.
There was an outlier planet orbiting a dying star one sector over, he’d only been there once and there had been little of value on it. It wasn’t even on most star charts, the last time he was in the military. It would have to work for now, until Koz could refit the ship to get to the further reaches of the universe, out of the reach of the empire.
There had been a flurry of frantic but thankfully distracting activity as he landed the schooner and rushed to conceal the signs of their presence on the planet. No doubt such a high risk on the loose would lead to a mass scouting expedition sent out to eliminate the threat. He’d just have to hope that his efforts would be enough and this little planet with its irregular orbit would be overlooked. Time, he needed more time, especially now that he was forced to unhitch Pitchiner from the mast and face the state that his brother was in.
He’d strapped the thing down as best he could, but given the way that it was struggling against the antique bonds he’d been forced to use, he didn’t know how long they would hold up. He’d have to devise a better holding strategy if he couldn’t get through to Pitchiner…
No, he would get through to him. He had to. There were no other options, not anymore. This was their last stand. He couldn’t afford to falter or fail now. He took a deep breath, steeling himself.
“Pitchiner. Pitch. I know you’re in there. Talk to me, please,” Kozmotis pleaded, kneeling on the floor in front of the bound creature, spreading his hands beseechingly. “It’s okay now. You’re safe. We’re safe.”
The thing stilled, then an unsettling chuckle spilled out of its black-stained lips. “That’sss not what your fear says, Kozmotissss,” it hissed, words formed by the same chorus of many dark voices speaking as one.
“Pitchiner?” Kozmotis repeated, trying to pick out Pitch’s voice from the dozens that spoke for the thing. Would it be better or worse if he was one of them?
“Pitchiner can’t come out and play right now,” the thing replied, the discordant voices picking up a sing-song tone.
“Stop it!”
“You don’t want him to come out anyway; he’s very upset. He’d only be begging for you to kill him, and you don’t want that, do you? You don’t want to lose your brother…”
“He’s not going to die. I’m going to find a way to eradicate every last one of you and he’ll be safe again,” Kozmotis growled, clenching his fists.
The thing giggled, dozens of shivering voices skittering through the air and crawling over each other like a seething swarm of insects. “And how are you going to do that?” it asked, cocking its head to one side and fixing Kozmotis with glowing sulphurous eyes. “You have no resources, you’re on the run. The Golden Army will never stop hunting you, we should know. And even if you do manage to cure your dear twin, you’ll never be able to go back. High treason is funny that way, isn’t it?”
“I’m not giving up. Never,” Kozmotis replied, implacable.
“No, no, you misunderstand…” the thing cooed. “We’re here to help. You can go back home, see your little girl again, you just need to make sure the Golden Army doesn’t get in your way. Together, you and us, we’re unstoppable, remember?”
“You’re not Pitchiner.”
“But we are. We are him, he is us, now. And we’re so much more powerful now, Koz. No one can stop us anymore. It’s freeing, Koz. If you had this kind of power at your disposal too, nothing could ever separate us again…”
“The other prison…” Kozmotis breathed, going still.
“Yessss. It would give everything perfect symmetry, Koz. There’s no reason why Pitchiner should be alone in the dark… We would be together again. Forever.”
“…No. I won’t betray the Golden Army, or my vows. Never,” Kozmotis replied, shaking his head, partially in refusal and partially to clear it from the unwelcome thoughts that were being stirred up.
The thing blinked at him and then glanced around the schooner. “I’m afraid that ship already sailed. Literally.”
Was it Pitchiner that was inspiring the creature’s attitude? That sounded almost like something he would say. “This was different. I didn’t- I’m not hurting anyone.”
“So when they come to kill us, will you not fight back? Will you lie on your back and die for them, like you lived?”
Kozmotis clenched his teeth. “Self defense is different, and I… I won’t kill people.”
Another unsettling chuckle slipped out of the creature. “You’re a soldier. Killing people is what you DO.”
“No. They- You aren’t people.”
The thing shrugged. “Not by your estimation, at least. But we’re in the same boat now, Kozmotis. We may as well help each other.”
Kozmotis clenched his hands hard enough that he could feel the bones creak. “No. I won’t ever do things your way.”
The thing hissed, eyes blazing. “Then you will die. You will die screaming. Everything you ever strived for will amount to nothing. And you will never see your brother again,” it snarled.
“You’re wrong. I will do this. I will evade the might of the army, I will free my brother, and I will exterminate every last one of you miserable parasites. Because we’re together now and, you said it, there’s nothing we can’t do,” Kozmotis stated, unwilling to let his resolve waver for even an instant.
“You can’t hold us forever. And he won’t stop us a second time.” The thing’s many voices seethed with malice.
The general swallowed and inhaled slowly, trying to clear his mind from the darkness that the thing was clouding it with. He didn’t need to speak with it, he needed to speak with Pitchiner. He just had to figure out some way to bring him to the surface, to make him remember.
Kozmotis reached out to feel along the thing’s throat, searching for the locket that should still be hanging around Pitchiner’s neck, the one with the picture of Kozmotis and Seraphina within it. The creature’s flesh seemed to give under his hand a little, and he was left with the unsettling impression of it being composed of millions of tiny writhing creatures instead of one whole form. But his hands encountered no chain or pendant concealed beneath the shadows of the nightmare thing. Pitchiner would have never willingly parted with it, so it must have been lost during the battle, or when… when the door had been opened. He didn’t want to think what sort of portent that might be, that the one thing that was most precious to Pitchiner during his long vigil had been lost, forgotten, cast aside. He didn’t want to think about the possibility that the last traces of his brother were gone along with the locket.
Kozmotis took a deep breath and slipped his own locket from around his neck, the twin to Pitchiner’s missing one. The only difference was that the second portrait was of Pitchiner, not of Kozmotis. He took a moment to glance longingly at the two happy faces found inside. That was why he was doing this, so that they could return to those days, eventually. “Pitchiner, look, do you remember this?” he asked, holding up the jewelry.
Glowing, hate-filled eyes met his and the creature bared its teeth with a hiss. Was that a good sign, or was he grasping at straws now?
“You lost yours, so I’ll lend you mine for now, alright? Later, we can go back and look for yours.”When you’re fixed. Kozmotis draped the locket over the thing’s head, letting the pendant fall against its chest. The creature shuddered and let out a keening noise.
“Pitchiner, please. I know you’re in there somewhere. Can you hear me?”
The monster snarled at him in a dozen different voices, none of them his brother’s.
Kozmotis bit his lip, trying to see his twin’s form in the roiling blackness that formed the creature’s body. The way his vision was blurring wasn’t making it easy. He growled in frustration and used the back of his hand to wipe the tears away. “…I need you, Pitchiner,” he whispered, his head dropping.
There was a sudden snapping noise and, for the first time in his life, Kozmotis’ reflexes failed him. He had been so consumed with grief and guilt and desperation that the realization that the bonds had been broken, that the creature was free, took a full second to dawn on him. By the time he raised his head, the monster was looming over him, seeming to sap all light from the room. There was no time for him to lunge for his sword, to try to fight it off. Kozmotis could only flinch as it reached forward.
A long-fingered hand cupped the side of his face, a thumb smoothing gently over his cheek. “Koz,” Pitchiner rasped.