It was morning, the first day of Rends the Gar's punishment. After his Rite he'd had some quick words with Mocks the Night, then gone off to be alone. He couldn't stomach the thought of facing Zoe or Eaton as he was; robbed of everything that had given him purpose. He could feel the shame burning deeply in his chest. It was steady and hot but failed to fill the void that had been left by his stolen Rage.
He thought he had at least until nightfall before the restless dead came to torment Zas. Normally he'd spend the time on patrol, scouting the city with the Sept's defenders, or training the local pups in the ways of war but his emptiness made all of that impossible. He was dead weight. A drain on resources that could contribute nothing to the Sept. This was the real punishment; the heavy shame of being made a broken tool. Cast aside, if only for a short time.
So instead he stood alone atop a small rise overlooking the Bawn. Though it was partially shielded by scrub and trees he had a good view of a large portion of the island as well as the sea on two sides. If nothing else he could keep an eye out and help raise the alarm if anything slipped past the defenders further out.
But he had another purpose here as well. With this purpose in mind, he reached into his bag and withdrew the metal clad skull of his father. In the days since Omega had bonded the fetish the metal had tarnished in whirling patterns of blue, gold, purple and bright grassy green.
As he set the fetish on the rocky ground the empty eyes filled with an alien light.
"Rise and shine, Omega. We got some plans to lay out."
The strange light flared bright, then faded to a steady dim glow. Omega looked up at Rends and as he spoke the whirls on his surface flowed and warped.
"Yes, I'd say we do. Tell me, do you still plan on issuing a formal challenge to the Usurper? Or does your newfound taste for suicide include a strong desire to jump off a cliff? If so I request you leave me with Mocks the Night. He may also be insane, but he at least has the good grace to not hand his enemies the very means to negate him as a threat."
Rends growled, but couldn't manage feeling more than annoyed at the spirit's admonishment. Still he managed to snarl
"Keep yer voice down! I don't want anyone hearin' about this and tellin' Robert! But forget about that fer now. We ain't here to talk about how I fucked up. We's here to talk about how you're gonna help me avenge Jack and get the God's Nails out of Robert's hands!"
Somehow, Omega managed to roll the eyes he didn't have.
"Yes, well, I can only do so much. While I have more information on Robert than I did before, I can hardly account for every little bit of insanity you people display at any given chance."
Rends frowned down at the skull.
"What crawled up your ass? You knew what you was gettin' into. Quit whinin' and do yer damn job."
Omega's eyes flashed as the patterns on his surface swirled faster.
"I see I'm failing to penetrate that unnaturally thick skull. Perhaps a different approach is required..."
The eye lights faded, and the swirling patterns came to a stop as the skull began to rattle. Rends could feel heat radiating off the thing. Then, the colorful swirls melted off the skull and left clean gray metal behind. The colors pooled on the stone beneath Omega, then as if caught up in a sudden tiny tornado they swirled up and rose above the skull. A moment later Tames the Weaver stood before Rends, looking unnatural in hues of purple and green. Rends could see through him as if he were a ghost. He quickly jumped up and put himself between the facade of his father and the bulk of the Get as he snarled down at Omega.
"What the Hell are you thinkin'?! Any of the Get see my Pa out here and they'll kill me then melt you down fer scrap and bonemeal!"
Omega laughed with Tames the Weaver's too familiar voice.
"Relax, boy. Can't nobody see me but you. Part of the bond we share, ya see. I figured if you ain't gonna listen to reason you might listen to a familiar face. I spent enough time with the Apex Deviant to fake him well enough, and he talked about you often enough in those last days so I might as well see if I could scare some sense into you."
Rends glared at him for a moment before turning away to spit.
"Fine. What's yer point?"
Omega sneered down at Rends.
"My point is you're an idiot. You played right into Robert's hands with that little stunt in the alley. He was never gonna help you and yours, but you gave him a silver bullet, if you'll pardon the pun. Sure he might have lost any chance at allying with the local mystics, but getting the chance to humiliate you and put himself on the right side of the law was worth it."
Omega chuckled again, a humorless sound.
"He didn't play you, boy. You played yourself."
Rends was quiet for a long moment, staring out at the sea as he adjusted his wide brimmed hat. He still hadn't figured out how to make it sit right with the missing ear. After a long consideration, he turned back to Omega.
"Alright, so I fucked myself over. Congratulations, you's the tenth person to tell me that since breakfast. But he didn't kill me so this ain't over. I'll jest have to make sure next time I have the Litany on my side so he can't find any excuse to deny a challenge or have me killed."
Omege scoffed, shaking his iridescent head.
"It's more than that, boy. The local Get will have reason to hate you too, if things don't start to look up around here soon. You're an out of towner who showed up and made trouble with a potential ally. Robert couldn't ask for a better scapegoat once the shit hits the fan and he needs to save face. You gotta do more than save face; you gotta get this city stabilized if you want any chance of having their support."
Rends stood still for a moment, soaking in the words. Then he took out and stuffed his old pipe. He lit it with a match, and took a few puffs in silence.
"You's a real bastard, you know that?"
Omega regarded him with his father's too familiar sneer.
"You do realize I'm not actually your father, right?"
Rends puffed his pipe in silence, considering the tasks before him.
"Ya, you's your own kind of bastard."
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