Eclipse - Act 4 - Cycle's End

Chapter 14 - Judgement Day

Outside of the room, Pyrrha sighed, and sat down at the other end of the table, staring at the Deacon. Then he finally spoke of the reason they were here. "You know who I am? Not my title... have you any inkling of who is behind this mask?" He asked her.

"You're a Huntsman. That's all I've been able to gather. Why?" Pyrrha inquired.

He leant back in the chair, his metal hands pressed against the table. "I'm the Survivor of Evernight." He revealed.

Pyrrha's eyes widened, and so did Jaune's.

"Yeah. I thought I was the sole survivor of Tyrian's little rampage, but it seems I was wrong on that too." Cardin said, his arms crossed. She looked up at him, then back at the Deacon, who was looking directly at her.

"I... we all looked for you... when we found those tracks in the Amphitheatre... we..." Pyrrha stammered.

"I know." The Deacon reassured. "I know of everyone's efforts to find me, and truly I appreciate it, and I don't blame you all for giving up on the search, eventually. I went to great lengths to disappear from the world... to hide from... him..." The Deacon explained, his metal arms trembling as he pictured his face, hearing that laugh all over again.

"Tyrian Callows is dead." Pyrrha reassured.

"Yes. But he was not the only party guilty of what happened to my friends. My team." The Deacon explained, glaring directly at her. Pyrrha's green eyes widened with fear. She started to put the pieces together. "Where is he, Pyrrha?"

She was quiet, her lip trembling. "That's why you're here..." She sighed.

"You knew this day was coming, Pyrrha. You couldn't keep that monster hidden from the world forever. Sooner or later, this little happy lie you've been living would come crashing down." Cardin explained with anger in his voice.

"I take it he told you? About all the things he did to us?" The Deacon asked.

Cardin scoffed. "And she still married the bastard."

"It wasn't Jaune. It was Thaddeus Rex, okay?" Pyrrha calmly said to the Deacon.

He suddenly slammed his hand against the table, so hard that cracks split across it. He remained motionless afterwards, staring right at her. "Do you have any idea... how many times I've heard people tell me that? It's belittling... when people are telling me who tortured me, and who enabled the worst of it. Like I wouldn't know?" He growled, his anger growing more and more.

His fists were shaking, then he exhaled, calming himself down. Pyrrha's fist was radiating with black energy, ready to pull Milo and Akoúo off the table and back into her hands if this was about to go badly.

Inside the closet, Oriana looked at her father with confusion. "Dad? What is he talking about?" Oriana whispered.

"Not now." Jaune whispered back.

"What is it you want with him? You want to kill him? Because if you think bringing everyone here to stop me, you're gonna need more than this." She promised. Eryka stepped forward like she wanted to speak, but Neo stopped her. The Deacon clasped his hands together, leaning across the table as he stared at her.

"What do I want? I want justice." He answered, getting up from the chair and walking around it into the kitchen beside her. "I did not come here to murder a man, even if he deserves it for what he did. I came here to do this correctly, and bring him to the Court of Remnant and have him tried for what he did. Then I will let the world decide his fate based upon those crimes." The Deacon explained.

"It's better than he deserves." Cardin growled, but Pyrrha glared up at the Gladiator.

I just wanted to have a nice day with my family...