Chapter 694: Restitution
"So, it is the fact that I did it that's the problem or just the number of people affected?"
She gives a choked hiccup at that, "O-one hundred million people isn't something small, Michael!" she exclaims and marches in front of him before pushing a finger into his chest, "Cendri was a mistake, I see that now... The people who killed me should have been the only victims, not the innocent families! But now look what happened, you use the Spell that I gave you to go around committing genocide in other worlds! That's me! I'm responsible for that!"
"That's bull shit."
"Is it!? If we'd just stayed in Halkeginia or Skyrim would you have killed all those people? If I'd never given you Dimension Gate, would it even be possible!?"
Michael scowls and shakes his head, "You're underestimating me if you think I wouldn't have found a way. There's other methods of world travel I know of, Dimension Gate is just the easiest." he states, thinking to Chaos Knight, the Multidimensional horseman that wouldn't be out of place next to Doomguy.
Tiffania lowers her head, "You've changed..."
"I haven't. If I was this strong when you first met me I'd have done the same things only sooner." Michael affirms.
"I-, I don't know if that's true." Tiffania mutter unsurely, "That your so certain of it is horrifying." she admits, scared that he might be telling the truth in that regard. After all, he'd be the one pushing for revenge against Cendri, he tortured the woman who ruled it in front of her, and anyone who slighted him, or he regards as amoral or evil was fair game...
Had she been blinded by her affection for him that she couldn't see it? Or had she been taken by his momentum and turned to his way of thinking herself? She'd only recently found some stability in her charity work...
She lets out a sad sigh, "I still love you, j-just... Give me some time alone. I-, just can't look at you right now..." she mutters as she turns and enters the orphanage.
Michael goes to follow but has a rock bounce off of the back of his head... Growling, he turns towards the three orphan boys who were readying more rocks...
"Hey, leave big sis alone, you creep!"
"Yeah! Saeko-sensei said to keep away from horny creeps! That means you stay away from big sis too!"
...
Michael palms his face, the tips of his fingers brushing against his horns, "Damn kids..."
He decides to allow Tiffania her alone time and leaves, heading back to the Spire with a slight slump in his step. His emotions might be dulled but he had to admit that this hurt, while his actions had been for everyone's benefit (Aside from Marley obviously), he hadn't thought that Tiff's reaction would be so bad. He thought she'd just send him a glare before shrugging it off as always.
"Uuugh... Gonna have to fix this somehow..." he mutters. Since Tiff was so focussed on the lives he took, he might as well 'give' some lives... That should even things out, right?
-------------------------
He arrives back in the living room and falls into the beans bags-
*Poof*
His weight causes one to burst, sending the tiny white balls everywhere...
"Could this day get any fucking worse?"
"Um..." Charlotte speaks up, separate from the group who were enthralled with the numerous explosions and giant robots playing on the T.V, "Miraak is dead, Surtr is lost, and Louise is here..."
"Louise, is here...?" he parrots with widening eyes and Charlotte just simply nods, no particular emotion on her face.
"... How did she look?" he can't help but ask, the Anime never showed her growing up, but from what he knew about her mother she'd been the same size as a teen too...
...?
"Taller than me...?"
Michael chuckles, "That doesn't really mean anything, if she were shorter though..."
He laughs again when Charlotte sends a glowering pout his way, "Almost as tall as you..."
"So like, seven-foot tall-Ouch!" he rubs his head after a the blunette hits him with a bullet of ice. "Alright, I get it..." he says, ceasing his attempts at humour, "What'd she do... Actually, why don't you just tell me what's been going on while I was away..."
-----------------------------
"Huh? So she can still fire a mean explosion then... Was there a reason she didn't just cast it on our ships?"
Charlotte shrugs, not knowing the reason herself.
"I can't imagine a reason she wouldn't, she seemed pretty merciless last time I saw her... Must be Miraak if he's really the one holding the reins, explains how the guy escaped Apocrypha too..."
-------------------
"Wait, wait, wait, wait... Surtr did what?" Michael cooly asks.
"Tried to brainwash us."
...
Michael clasps his chin with his hand and slowly nods to himself, "Huh, alright... So, why are you all Surtr's zombies right now?"
"Rubick."
"Figures... Does anyone know where Surtr flew off to?"
Charlotte shakes her head, "Not yet..."
"I'll have to look for him myself then... So Louise and that Joseph guy escaped through a Dimension Gate and Surtr ran on his dragon. Anything else?"
"Silencer and Emperor dead..."
"Silencer's dead?... Strange, I didn't feel-wait, the Emperor's dead!?" he exclaims as the information gets processed. "How?" he asks, thoughts immediately going to his last talk with Astrid... He hadn't thought she'd take him seriously if he was being honest...
"Dark Brotherhood... They want Surtr to replace him..."
"Did he plan this or something? The attack on Solstheim coinciding the death of the Emperor and his attempt to brainwash our navy... Does he have spies here or something? But that's impossible right? I checked the city for hideouts like twice a week, Umnii should've been vetting everyone that came in too."
Charlotte shrugs, "Coincidence?"
Michael shakes his head, "There's coincidences and then there's this... I doubt-"
*Click!*
An angry Eren pushes his way through the room in search of an exit, only to pause when he sees the current occupants.
. . .
"Come on, Decepticon punk!"
*BOOOOOOOOOOM!*
"Hell yeah! Awesome!" Megumin cheers, interrupting the awkward atmosphere.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Niggross
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Chapter 695: Slow Rise
Riften was the first city to fall under Surtr's thrall. His tactic of simply flying over the city and using the Bend Will shout on every corner of it was stupidly effective. The shout was able to pass through a few walls before dissipating, allowing him to reach even those inside their basements from the sky.
The only people who were protected against this were those who lived in the Ratway, along with the Thieves Guild, this was easily rectified however by simply having the entire city march down there and drag anyone that wasn't controlled out.
Brynjolf was actually somewhat resistant against the mind control, but when subjected to a dozen or more at point-blank range his resistance quickly fell. He was all too eager to offer the location and identity of every member and hideout of the Thieves Guild.
After the main city was done, he made the effort to fly around the local farms and fisheries to bring the stragglers to heel. It had probably been the quickest invasion in history, if you disregarded the fact that he technically already ruled said city...
Regardless, he had Brynjolf give him everything he had on Michael and his acquaintances, only to find very little in the way of leverage. Most information was old and now inaccurate, even the discory that Michael owned the Skyrend Company didn't help as it'd ceased any and all weapons manufacturing after Alduin had been killed. The only purpose the company served nowadays was creating strange technologies that didn't look too dissimilar from what the Dwemer had.
Those 'Fatherclocks', while intriguing, didn't help him at all in their conflict... Though, he did find a peculiar device in one of the company's shops... It was a black and yellow rectangular object with strange compressable circles dotted on what seemed to be its front, along with a glass screen and 'grill'?
Surtr presses the big red button and the thing crackles to life, and not a moment later someone answers it...? "Skyrend Whiterun, password and designation please."
Mildly panicking, Surtr throws the thing at the wall, shattering it and rendering it a million little pieces of scrap...
"Daedric device... I should have known he would be doing something like this... Containing souls inside little black boxes!? Who knew he was capable of such evil!?"
----------------------
After Riften fell, he made way for Falkreath next... Surprisingly, this was a far harder task than the last as the Hold's spread-out rural population didn't allow him to catch large swathes of people in one shout. This forced him to spend a day tracking people down via their friends and relatives...
Thankfully Falkreath's isolation was made for by its relatively small population, allowing him to quickly move on to his next target... Whiterun.
Except, once he flew into sight of the city, he was baffled to find a group of dragons circling it... Three of which had humanoid silhouettes riding them. "Miraak..." his face falls as he utters, realising that his foe somehow hadn't been killed in Solstheim... Had Michael's men lied about it? No... He saw the explosion, and they had no reason to spare him either...
Wait... Wasn't Alduin able to resurrect dragons with a shout? It would likely work on Dragonborn too, right? They were dragons too!...
He shakes his head and prompts his dragon to approach, flying slightly above the hostile beasts as he slowly neared the three riders.
"How joyous, the prodigal son has returned!" Miraak drawls, "Well? What now Surtr? You're here without your army, without those assassins to kill me for you... What can you possibly do"?
"Maybe you should tell me what your goal is for Whiterun?" Surtr grouses, realising just how bad his position was.
Miraak glances down at it, the peaceful city now sent into turmoil due to his and his dragon's presence. The place had almost been raised by a single dragon, yet there were over ten of them flying around now. "I plan to burn it," he points at Dragonsreach at the top of the town, "That is a symbol of our persecution, we Dragonborn can't allow such a blatant attack to stand... Is what I should say, but in reality, I just want to see the smoke rise." he states with a grin, the mask he was wearing a reconstruction of the one that'd been shattered, allowing parts of his face to show.
"You won't." Surtr promises, "I as Dragonborn was born here, it will stand."
Miraak tilts his head, "So? Try to stop me." he looks to the pink-haired girl flying on a dragon beside him. "Destroy them."
She nods, but as she's casting her spell Surtr speaks up once again, "I challenge you to a duel! Let us settle this as men, true Nords!"
...
"Hah? You want to challenge me? Again?" Miraak laughs, "In Solstheim I beat you to a pulp while my army watched. And now you want me to do it again? You who now faces a small army of dragons?"
Surtr nods firmly, "Do you refuse? Are you a coward!?" he growls challengingly.
...
"As you wish, there won't be any mercy this time however. When we reach the ground, I will kill you."
Surtr shakes his head, "No. It is you who will die today, you've lived long enough so it's time you move on. I doubt Sovngarde will accept scum like you though," he states as they both descend into a large field outside Whiterun, both ready to tear each other's throats out.
They set foot a good distance from one another and wait until their respective mounts leave...
"Remember what I said last, Surtr? The throne will be safe with me, I intend to live longer than the gods, and my Empire longer still."
"Hmph, you say that as if you've already won." Surtr growls as he draws Wuuthrad from his back, "Well then, come! This time will be different from last! Even death won't protect you from me!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross
Niggross
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
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Faruk Ereng
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