[Side Story: Alexander]
Before the story could move forward, a minor footnote was unfolding—one that wouldn't alter the plot, but would certainly enrich it.
While Ricky indulged in the full-course meal that was Agatha, elsewhere, Alexander found himself encircled by a fleet of pigeons and a legion of homeless cats.
Ordinarily, the animals of this world were beyond comprehension.
Normally, the animals of this world couldn't be understood, their noises nothing more than a collection of grunts and chirps.
But now, thanks to the translation ring, Alexander could speak to all forms of life.
Including these stray bastards that dared to question his rule.
"Are you the one they call Alexander?" a cat asked, stepping forward with deliberate grace. Not a single sound trailed from its paws as it moved.
"It's rather rude to ask for an introduction without giving one yourself," Alexander replied, his tone even as his eyes lifted as he motioned for Philotas to stay behind him.
"I am Whiskers, leader of the street cats." Whiskers hissed, swiveling his yellow eyes towards Alexander who nodded.
"I am Alexander, as you've all come to know," Alexander announced, spreading his hands as he gestured to the swarm of enemies surrounding him.
"Then-"
"However, what you've failed to understand is that my rule wasn't something to be negotiated." Alexander continued, slowly pacing around his own encirclement as if they were his army to begin with.
"It is absolute." Alexander squinted, Philotas hurriedly scanning their surroundings to see that all airways leading out of the manor were being blocked by the pigeons.
"You cannot claim the neighborhood without the approval of the noble house pets-" Whiskers said, denying Alexander's rule, only for the gerbil to pounce on his words.
"Then where are they!" Alexander demanded, spreading his arms wide as he slowly paced around his current encirclement.
"Bring them forward and let us-"
"You are not worthy of meeting their noble gazes." Whiskers hissed, lowering his stance as if ready to leap at any second.
"Ah, I see." Alexander mused, rubbing his furry chin as his gaze swept over the cats.
However, as his gaze lingered, he didn't spot a single collar.
In fact, none of these cats appeared to be pets of man. Rather, every one of them was a street cat.
An omen of how this animal kingdom was beginning to take shape, its hierarchy forming right before his eyes.
"I have been ordered to deliver our leader's message." Whiskers announced, taking a slow, deliberate step toward Alexander until his shadow fell over him.
"Join the alliance, and your status as leader of the birds shall be acknowledged-"
"Not enough." Alexander waved his hand, immediately dismissing the offer as the black cat frowned.
"Then, the noble house cats have permitted your claim on the street with supervision-"
"Not enough!" Alexander roared, spreading out his paws toward the cat with a wide grin, savoring the very interaction between them.
"....." Whiskers immediately fell silent, surveying the gerbil who didn't show even the slightest hint of fear in his eyes.
"What is it that you want, Alexander?" Whiskers finally asked, his tail flicking with cautious curiosity.
"That is a bottomless question to a never-ending answer." Alexander spoke dryly, his tone measured, almost philosophical.
"But I will tell you, as per the letters that I have sent out to all animal races." Alexander continued, his gaze sweeping over the gathered beasts.
"I want this neighborhood-"
"You cannot-"
"I can!" Alexander declared, hoisting his finger toward the sky above, his voice ringing with a conviction that made even the pigeons hesitate mid-flap.
"I can and I will, for I am Alexander the great." Alexander proclaimed, his chest swelling with pride as if the heavens themselves bore witness to his claim.
"If my mind is set on conquering a mere neighborhood, then it shall be mine without question." Alexander chuckled, lowering his gaze with a confident smirk
"You are nothing-"
"I am absolute." Alexander boldly yelled, actually taking a step forward until he was right under Whisker's gaze.
"I am a being you cannot fathom, and now, you will understand," Alexander said, slowly backing away as Whiskers narrowed his eyes, the faint curl of a hiss forming in his throat.
"You-"
"Philotas, move!" Alexander shouted, leaping onto the youngling's back and tugging him upward, urgency flashing across his face as the air around them began to stir.
WHOOSH
The very second Philotas lifted off the ground, the pigeons descended, swarming around him in a storm of wings and feathers.
"Your Majesty, I can't-"
"Do not focus on them, fly!" Alexander shouted, shifting his weight to steady himself as the pigeons dove in pursuit of the wounded Philotas.
"DO NOT KILL THE RAT, THE NOBLE HOUSE CATS DEMAND HIS HEAD-"
"RAT!" Alexander screamed, fury erupting across his furry features as he instantly summoned his tiny spear.
"YOUR MAJESTY-"
"JUST FLY FORWARD!"
At that single command, the enraged Alexander suddenly leaped off the back of the flying youngling owl, his bloodthirsty eyes reflecting the startled pigeons that dared to stand in his way.
"INCOMING-"
SPLAT
A tiny spear drove straight into a pigeon's eye, the orb bursting under the pressure, spraying a fine arc of blood across Alexander's face.
The bird shrieked in a high-pitched rattle, its wings thrashing violently as Alexander didn't pause, driving the weapon again and again into the same spot.
"ARGH!" Alexander grunted, slamming the spear deeper until it pierced through the skull and finally into the bird's brain.
"MIKEY-"
"YOUR NEXT!" Alexander roared, twisting mid-air, spear poised as he lunged toward the nearest pigeon, one flapping desperately to aid its fallen companion.
"SPLIT UP THE FLOCK, SPLIT UP THE FLOCK YOUR BIRD BRAINS-"
SPLAT
Then, something that belonged more to legend than reality began to unfold before all who had come to witness this brutality.
It was a sunny day, a beautiful one at that, but for the street cats, including Whiskers, the weather had taken a horrifying turn.
As blood began to rain from the sky.
One by one, the bird-brained pigeons plummeted lifelessly toward the ground, wings flailing uselessly, tiny bodies streaking through the air in grotesque arcs.
Feathers, drenched and soaked in crimson, spiraled down with them, coating the lawn in a horrific carpet of gore and shattered bodies
It was absurd, unbelievable almost.
And yet, these untrained, low-intelligence pigeons were being cut down mid-flight, Alexander leaping from one flapping bird to the next with lethal precision.
All the while, Marino stood at the doorway, completely shocked at what was happening before his own eyes.
"Yeah, boss, and by the looks of it, I think you should come out here." Marino said skeptically, raising an eyebrow at Alexander murdering random birds behind him, before turning his gaze back towards the door.
"No, NO!" Whiskers yelled, chasing after the injured Philotas, who was scrambling toward the treeline.
"YES!" Alexander roared, driving his spear into a pigeon's neck with a sickening squelch before ramming it mercilessly into three others in rapid succession.
"DO NOT LOOK BACK, ONLY LOOK FORWARD!" Alexander screamed, forcing the young owl to snap its head straight ahead.
SPLAT
SPLAT
Philotas's breath quickened, the horrifying sounds echoing all around him.
But not a single pigeon reached him.
Instead, sprays of blood rained across his silver feathers, coating him in a crimson shroud, right up until the very last pigeon lunged toward him.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Alexander roared from behind the young owl, springing away from the dead bird whose throat he had just slit, his claw shooting out to seize its wing.
SPLAT
In the next heartbeat, he drove his spear straight through its body, the sharpened tip sinking into its heart.
BAM
However, with no more prey to leap across, Alexander and the lifeless pigeon crashed into the lawn, rolling violently to the side as Philotas seized the moment, straining to break free.
Only for Whiskers to drop down from a nearby tree.
Bam
"Argh!" Philotas grunted as he was tackled from mid-air, slammed into the ground by Whiskers, who now pressed his claws mercilessly against Philotas's neck.
"Not another step!" Whiskers screamed at Alexander, claws pressed threateningly against the youngling's neck, but his yellow, slit eyes never wavered from the crazed gerbil before him.
Alexander grimaced, squinting slowly as he revved the tiny spear in his hand, clearly ready to throw it at the cat rather than surrender.
"Oh what the sh*t, Alexander!"
[Main Story]
"Oh, what the sh*t, Alexander!" Ricky yelled, stomping out of the Luciano manor and yanking his zipper all the way up.
"Ah ha!" Alexander bellowed, his chest heaving, his breath heavy, pointing at Ricky as if every chaotic moment had unfolded precisely according to his master plan.
"My reinforcements have arrived-"
"There has to be, like, twenty of them." Ricky muttered, stepping onto the lawn as the full battlefield came into view.
Dead pigeons were everywhere, their scarlet blood soaking into his pops' freshly cut grass, painting a grotesque, feather-strewn carpet.
"And why are all these cats here?" Ricky asked, baffled, eyes sweeping over the three dozen cats scattered across the lawn, all frozen stiff at the sight of a human.
"I can explain-"
"Never mind, I don't wanna know." Ricky said immediately, knowing that digging any deeper would only get him tangled in whatever this was.
"I've got a date I've been letting simmer for weeks and I ain't missing it for whatever the hell this is since there's no way you'd lose to a couple of animals." Ricky said, opening a portal as his grotesque grimoire pulsed in his hands, its eerie aura making the cats shiver instinctively.
"So, clean this sh*t up by the time the kids get back-"
"Wait!" Alexander yelled, blood-soaked paw outstretched toward Ricky, who pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"Take Philotas with you!" Alexander added urgently, gesturing toward the injured bird pinned under a random black cat.
Sigh
"Fine, whatever." Ricky exhaled sharply, flicking his hand towards the black cat who went flying through the air under the force of his telekinesis as he gestured for the young bird to come over.
Philotas, still stunned, couldn't even move on his own, yet Ricky guided him mid-air to hover at his side.
"I'm serious Alexander, clean this sh*t up." Ricky muttered, squinting his eyes at Alexander who slowly turned back towards the cats who had now lost their leader.
"Oh, I plan too."
The forbidding message was the last thing Ricky heard as he stepped through the portal with the random baby owl at his side.
"Th-"
"Nope, not getting mixed up in your sh*t, shut it." Ricky said, watching the baby owl snap its beak shut instantly as they arrived at a familiar prison.
Instead of answering, the baby owl hovered patiently at Ricky's side as they walked toward a familiar cell.
"What do you want?"
A low mumble drifted from a shadowed corner, where a woman with black hair fell over her face, curled into a tight ball of despair, as if trying to shut out the world beyond the cell bars.
"Hey, beautiful~" Ricky sleazy said, leaning against the cell bars, arms drooping lazily around them.
Because this dirtied woman, still clad in the outfit she had been imprisoned in, was none other than Lady Roma.
"I'll ask again, what do you want?" Lady Roma scoffed, pulling her legs a little tighter as she watched Ricky carefully approach the cell door.
SIGH
"I'm here to escort you to the guillotine." Ricky said with a dejected sigh, his hand pressed dramatically over his heart, as if the very act pained him.
"I-I see." Lady Roma whispered, her voice pitifully small, completely surrendering as she slowly pushed herself up.
"Then, let us get it over with-"
SNORT
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
But instead of the long, despairing walk toward her doom, Ricky's laughter rang out, light and mocking, as he swung the cell door open with a grin.
"I'm just f*cking with you~" Ricky wheezed, pointing at her blank face, now curling into a deep frown.
"Y-You-"
"I know, I totally got you." Ricky cackled, watching Lady Roma flush, her embarrassment barely hidden as she ducked her head.
"Ha~" Ricky sighed lightly, brushing a tear from the corner of his eye before gesturing to a green portal forming at the entrance.
"Anyways, you're free to go." Ricky said nonchalantly, shrugging as if it were nothing, though it clearly caught her off guard.
"W-What?" Lady Roma asked, letting out a dry, incredulous laugh at the absurdity of what she'd just heard.
"Uh, I said-"
"I know what you said, but why?" Lady Roma cut in, her parched throat rasping the question, the thought gnawing at her mind.
In her view, Lady Roma assumed she was about to be killed.
It was the fate of rulers in medieval times, the world her culture had long been drawn from since it wasn't Camelot that wasn't only stuck in time, but the Citadel as well.
Betrayal, sudden executions, and the bloody whims of those in power weren't abstract tales for her; they were the framework through which she had learned to navigate life as she knew it.
So hearing that she, an opposing power, was being left alive filled her with nothing but shock and disbelief.
"Honestly, it's 'cause we're kinda like two sides of the coin." Ricky said, narrative skill flaring as he leaned against the door.
"I mean, both of us got totally f*cked over and used by Merlyn, so when I conducted the investigation, I, uh, took that into account." Ricky lied smoothly, wiping his forehead to hide the sweat since he hadn't even tried to conduct an investigation.
From the start, Ricky had never intended to harm Lady Roma.
The truth was far simpler, and far cruder, than any convoluted scheme she might have imagined: he wanted to sleep with her.
There wasn't any intricate plan beyond getting into her pants, completing the system mission, and rubbing it in Merlyn's face.
That was it.
"Morgana, though, totally wanted to put your head on the chopping block, but I've decided to solve all of this with a single question." Ricky revealed, slowly stepping toward her until he stood directly over her, eyes locked on hers.
"Do you want your revenge?" Ricky asked, his eyes flaring green, sending shivers rippling through Lady Roma's body.
THUMP
Her heart thumped in her chest, pure dread washing over her, crawling into every nerve and leaving her frozen.
"N-No." Lady Roma whispered, her gaze dropping to the ground in shame, knowing any resistance would be pointless.
At that single word, the dread vanished, replaced by a sly smile on Ricky's face as he once again gestured toward the portal.
"Then, you're free to go-"
"What's the catch?" Lady Roma asked immediately, lifting her gaze as if the weight had suddenly lifted from her shoulders.
Sigh
"You can't ever set foot in Otherworld or even think about going near the Citadel." Ricky said briefly, watching her eyes begin to well with tears.
This was entirely Morgana's condition.
Although she hated that Ricky wouldn't let her kill Merlyn's daughter, she hated the idea of Lady Roma ever setting foot back in Camelot even more.
To put it simply, Morgana and Merlyn were alike in that way: neither would tolerate anyone they didn't approve of within their city.
"Where else would I go?" Lady Roma asked, laughing bitterly at the absurdity of the condition.
"All I ever known is Otherworld, the Citadel-"
"And now you got your whole life to live outside-"
"THAT WAS MY LIFE!" Lady Roma screamed, the words ripping out like shards of glass, raw and splintered, scattering into the air between them.
Her entire existence, her childhood, her womanhood, her every breath, had revolved around the Citadel nestled within Otherworld.
"The Citadel had raised me, shaped me, and most of all, chained me." Lady Roma said, clutching her heart as she faced Ricky.
"If I leave, I won't be Lady Roma-"
"Then be Roma, or Denise, or Shelby, or Tanya-" Ricky interrupted, rattling off names one after another without pause.
"You can literally go anywhere." Ricky laughed, spreading out his hands before his words actually took on a softer tone.
"Anywhere except here," Ricky said, a hint of sympathy in his voice, maybe just enough to earn some subtle points with this ice queen.
"I don't know where to go-"
Oh my god~" Ricky heaved, stepping forward and grabbing Lady Roma's arm, pulling her toward the portal.
"Wait, what are you-"
"Giving you a little push!" Ricky laughed, shoving her into the swirling green light as she stumbled forward, arms flailing as the portal swallowed her.
"WAIT!"
But when she screamed those words, they didn't echo in the prison that had held her for so long.
They reverberated through an alley in Times Square.
"This is?" Lady Roma mumbled, slowly rising, breathless, her eyes wide as she took in a sight she had only ever seen through orbs.
"It's a back alley where I kicked some guy's ass one time." Ricky reminisced, breathing in the fresh alley air.
"I think his name was Lass-no, it was Bass!" Ricky snapped his fingers, nodding to himself with a grin at actually remembering the name of the rat.
"Oh man, good times~" Ricky chuckled, walking over to Lady Roma, who was still staring in awe at the old, tiny Times Square.
"Aye, what's your deal? It's like you've never been to New York," Ricky teased, strolling up to her side to help her up.
"Because I haven't." Lady Roma admitted, still in shock, wobbling as she stood and made her way toward the entrance of the alley.
"I've never really left the Citadel, other than to visit the other species of Otherworld." Lady Roma whispered, almost to herself, her eyes wide with awe.
"Well, it's not much, but here's a wad of cash to help you out-"
"To help me?" Lady Roma echoed, turning to him in surprise as he held out the stack of bills.
"Uh, yeah-"
"Why?" Lady Roma asked, raising an eyebrow at the man she'd come to know, someone who never did a favor without expecting something in return.
"Uh, 'cause you're hot, duh," Ricky laughed, shrugging as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Lady Roma's face went deadpan almost immediately as she stared at the shameless man before her.
To literally anyone else, it wouldn't have made sense.
How giving her a wad of cash could be justified by mere attraction, but for Ricky, the notorious poon hound with multiple baby mamas, it made perfect sense.
"Then, thank you-" Lady Roma said cordially, fully aware Ricky didn't have to do a thing to help her and appreciated anything at all.
"But~" Ricky cut in suddenly, yanking the money back just as Lady Roma reached for it.
"But what-"
"But I need you to spend the day with me." Ricky said cheekily, waving the wad of cash beside his stupid grin.
Lady Roma went completely silent as her deadpan expression returned, eclipsing her face once again as she processed the absurdity of the request.
"Oh c'mon, it ain't like that-"
"Ricky-"
"I mean, I'd be down-"
"Ricky-"
"Listen, I need to make a splash in the press." Ricky said, his voice unusually serious as he twisted the logic with his narrative skill.
"I've got things going on, and I need all eyes on me." Ricky hinted, waving his hand to guide her attention.
"Uh huh." Lady Roma murmured, unimpressed at this poor excuse but slowly rubbing her shoulder at the cold breeze.
"And the best way to do that is for Ricky Luciano to be constantly spotted around the city with a mystery woman." Ricky said, speaking in the third person as he spread his arms toward Lady Roma, who slowly crossed her arms.
"Uh huh."
"You don't have to believe me, and honestly, we can just part ways right now." Ricky added, shrugging as if it were no big deal.
"Fine-"
RIP
"But you have no idea where you're going, no cash, no destination, and all you have are those dirty rags on your back." Ricky said, his narrative skill amplifying the logic as Shadow Broker loomed silently over the unaware mage.
"I'm the daughter of Merlyn," Lady Roma replied, slowly lifting her gaze to meet him as Ricky simply nodded, acknowledging her claim without a hint of surprise.
"I was the Vice-Leader of the Citadel-"
"Alright, good luck," Ricky said, turning his back and shifting his gaze to the baby owl.
"And for you, this is where your ride ends, beat it," Ricky added with a chuckle, gesturing with his thumb as Philotas nodded dutifully and took to the skies without hesitation.
'I must retrieve his majesty's banners, I must.' Philotas thought dutifully, flapping his injured wings upward as Ricky watched from below.
"He better f*cking clean up that mess, or I swear to god." Ricky muttered to himself, slicking back his hair while watching the owl fade into the distance.
RIP
Shadow Broker tore a piece of paper, embedding the narrative even deeper in Lady Roma's mind, leaving her unable to look away from the departing Ricky who was slowly opening a green portal.
"Wait!" Lady Roma shouted, her panic rising at a frantic rate, as if her mind desperately needed something, anything, to latch onto.
"Where are you going?!" Lady Roma yelled, stepping forward, her voice trembling with an urgent need to stop him from leaving her alone.
"Uh, to do some dumb sh*t to draw the attention of the entire city, duh." Ricky easily replied, looking over his party.
"I was thinking something like a party, or a bender, something that really screams Ricky Luciano, y'know?" Ricky said, tapping his chin as he pondered how to monopolize the media's coverage tonight.
"No, I don't know-" Lady Roma muttered, skeptical at this weird and anxious feeling bubbling in her chest.
"Well, the papers will, and I need something pretty around my arm. If it's not you, then I guess I'll have to go find someone," Ricky added, already imagining dragging that emotionless Lily along.
RIP
So, as Ricky slowly walked toward the portal, Lady Roma's gaze drifted back to the Big Apple.
RIP
To most, the sprawling cityscape would inspire awe, the kind that made hearts flutter at the thought of endless possibility.
RIP
But for her, for some reason, it was almost terrifying.
RIP
To put it simply, she was a bird that had spent her entire life in a gilded cage.
RIP
The Citadel had shaped her, confined her, and dictated every movement she made.
RIP
Now, given the chance to fly alone, to navigate a world she had only glimpsed through orbs and stories, fear suddenly clenched her chest like a vice.
RIP
The skyscrapers loomed like towering trees in a forest she had never explored, and the crowds below rustled like scary monsters too entrenched in the darkness to understand.
RIP
Deep down, Lady Roma wanted to step forward, to soar, to embrace the freedom she'd long been denied, but the weight of the unknown pressed down harder than any bars ever could.
RIP
And Shadow Broker only made that feeling a hundred times worse.
"Wait."
The single word slipped from her lips and flowed straight into Ricky's ears, a sleazy smile curling across his face, only to be quickly swallowed as he turned around.
An innocent expression now eclipsed his features as he spread his arms toward the anxious girl, as if offering reassurance while hiding every ounce of mischief beneath it.
"Then, shall we?" Ricky asked, holding out his hand towards and giving her a gentleman's bow as Lady Roma gulped.
RIP
However, after being alone for so long, all she wanted was someone, anyone, who could understand her situation.
RIP
Shadow Broker had finally nurtured the seed Ricky had planted in her mind, and now it was beginning to sprout.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, she felt herself leaning toward his favor.
SIGH
"We shall."
Author's Note: Sorry if the side sotry drowned out the main one a little but I'm just tired ngl.