Chapter 17
Chapter 33
"Bermuda?"
"Yes, Neville?"
"What's this I hear about Harry Potter being 'rescued' and now causing waves of chaos in Magical London?"
"Oh, that."
"Yes, That."
"Well since I didn't wish to return and I'd rather not deal with Magical attempting to invade Vendicare every other day; I sent an insane, AU traveling, marshmallow obsessed maniac in my stead."
"...You know Bermuda, this is why we can never leave you alone."
Harry Potter was insane. Vendicare had driven Harry Potter insane.
It was the only explanation Albus Dumbledore could think of considering the result of That fateful day.
Blood. There was so much blood it dyed the street crimson as the elderly wizard rushed towards the sound of destruction, tying his best to ignore the bodies- of both Light and Dark Wizards- that only grew in numbers the further he came to the source. To be honest, Dumbledore had expected to find Voldemort himself at the end of the trail, not a white-haired teenager -who's trademark smile had vanished only to be replaced with a fierce scowl- holding an unholy gleam to his eyes.
It wasn't loyalty that had triggered the young man into action. Nor was it vengeance for a fallen companion, let alone a sense of Justice. Instead, it had been marshmallows which had been vaporized by a stray spell.
Marshmallows...
So many lives- who could have been reformed if given a chance- had been lost over a bag of sweet fluffy snacks one could easily buy from a store for a Knut...
Thank Merlin the people of Magical London were all but sheep as Dumbledore doubted anyone would truly follow young Harry into battle had they known what he had done; let alone what he was truly swearing vengeance for.
Of course, there lied the other problem as well.
How was he to get Harry to fight- and die by Voldemort's hand- when the younger only fought to seek vengeance for marshmallows? It wasn't as though Tom had declared war on the sweets- if anything the two was more likely to bond over their little obsessions with the fluffy treats then attempt to kill each other- nor would he.
A soft sigh left the Headmaster as he plucked a Lemon Drop from the bowl on his desk, Life -and his plots- had been so much easier before young Harry had the nerve to fall into the Veil. Now it was just Chaos; plain and simple.
Yet, if nothing else, Albus Dumbledore was determined that - insanity or no insanity- he would win this war, even if he had to throw Harry Potter in front of a Killing Curse himself. He had to win no matter what- or who- the elderly wizard was forced to sacrifice.
It was -like everything else he did -For the 'Greater Good' after all. Now if only the goblins would understand that.
To be honest, Bermuda is mildly surprised when he- and the Vindice as a whole- receive an invitation to another of Vongola's Traditional Balls. Hadn't the results of the last one taught them anything or did Vongola just like watching their Headquarters burn to the ground?
Despite most likely having been sent in good faith, the invitation opens up a problem the Ex-Night Arcobaleno could have lived without.
After all- besides himself and Jager- only five out of the remaining Vindice can accompany them seeing as the rest would have to take care of Vendicare while they were gone- It wouldn't do for the prisoners to get any 'smart' ideas due to all the guards being missing. Thus lies the problem...
Who was coming with them and who would have to stay behind?
The moment Bermuda's issue registers within the other's minds, Vendicare descends into utter chaos.
It wasn't often they were willingly invited to social events -Who but Vongola would have the utter nerve to invite Demons into their domain?- and none of the Vindices wished to be left behind now that some naïve fool had done so.
"Jack's not coming."
Jager speaks up bluntly causing the redhead's eyes to automatically dart towards the golden-eyed man.
"Agreed."
"What?! Why?!"
"Vongola put it down as the one exception: 'Seven of those who reside within the halls of Vendicare may attend this Gathering as long as one; Jack of the Vindice, is not to accompany them in any shape, way or form. Which includes anything and everything touched by said being.' I believe they're still upset those covers you granted them to replace their destroyed ones turned out to be Lethifolds."
Of course, they had honestly been actually blankets until Jack had touched them... For some reason, Vongola as a whole- minus Tsunayoshi-kun- didn't believe him in the least.
"I thought you didn't bring Jack."
The voice instantly drew Bermuda's attention as a bandaged head turned away from his cake in favor of glancing at 'The World's Best Hitman'.
"I didn't."
"Then how do you explain that?"
The dark-haired child gestured his hand out at the Chaos - where Fire rages amongst the rubble, blood stained the everything and anything it could reach, screams of the Damned and creatures of the Unknown consumed the once majestic Ballroom- surrounding them.
"I brought Luna."
"Luna?"
Bermuda doesn't bother with words- as there were none he could think of to describe His Mist that would do her 'Chaos' Justice- instead of taking another bite of his cake as a bandaged finger points towards the crackling Lovegood standing next to Decimo's Mist Guardians. Damn it, he thought he warned Small Gia not to let those two meet...Speaking of which, where was said Vindice?
For a moment, Bermuda complete forgot about Reborn in favor of searching for Gia and Pino -He really hoped they weren't trapped in Luna's 'Wonderland' again seeing as The Vindice Warden himself was the only being willing to play therapist for the two- before the Ex-Sun Arcobaleno decided to make his presence known once more.
"You brought one of your psychotic prisoners with you?!"
"Of course not, Luna's a Guard."
"...Tell me you at least brought a camera."
"Of course,"Bermuda couldn't help but shoot the other a pointed look- despite knowing he couldn't see it- as he pointed directly above them, "Jager's filming Everything."
"Can I have a piece of cake to watch the show with?"
"No."
"You have six whole cakes-"
"Reborn-kun, if you touch even one speck of icing on my cakes; they'll never find enough pieces to identify you with."
"..."
"I'm scared."
Jack couldn't help but admit as he watched The Vindice Warden crackle- he couldn't quite say like a madman for the rouge as even they would sound sane in comparison to the noise leaving the Inhuman eyed infants lips- as said Warden held an official-looking document from Gringotts. Out of the Ex-Night Arcobaleno's Guardians only Jager was brave enough to near His Lord- and no, the other Vindice did not simultaneously choose to sacrifice the golden-eyed man. They were just respecting his position as Their Lord's right hand, Honest!- though there was a sense of caution to his every step.
Usually, the only thing that could make his Lord so pleased was the idea of Checkerface going the personal Hell they spent almost a millennium crafting solely for the creature.
"Lord Bermuda, may I ask what has happened?"
The bandages covering His Lord's face shifted slightly- just enough for the golden-eyed man to see the outline of what he recognized to be His Lord's 'I'm about to make someone's life hell and enjoy it' Slasher Smile.
"Jager," There was a tone of sadist pleasure in the younger's tone as the other turned his body so to show the Vindice's Strongest Warrior held his full attention, "The Goblins have sent us a copy of an Audit they perform." Without a thought, Bermuda held out the paper towards the taller- who carefully took it as though he expected it to explode in his face or maybe come alive and attempt to devour him- watching as the golden eyes scanned over the document before a gleam of determination and sadist pleasure filled golden jewels.
From the corner of his eye, Bermuda noticed how the rest of His Guardians slowly took a step back as they themselves recognized the gleam- through the dark chuckles that vibrated from deep within the elder's chest might have also had something to do with it- in Jager's eyes though chose to ignore it in favor of basking in his own sadist enjoyment.
After all, it wasn't every day he was literally handed all the information necessary to utterly annihilate a well known- and usually untouchable- figure such Magical London's 'Leader of the Light'; Albus Dumbledore.
Now the question was: How did he wish to proceed?
Should he drag the so-called Light Lord here immediately- so he could hear the torturous screams of the wizard as soon as possible yet risk the chance of the Headmaster becoming a Martyr- or slowly draw it out while crushing even aspect of the Wizards carefully built reputation to the point his own 'Empire' was willing to throw the unseen dictator to them?
The next morning the Daily Prophet published a paper with a topic none would have suspected:
Albus Dumbledore
Light Lord or Dark Lord in Hiding?
By: Rita Skeeter
Byakuran chuckled softly within the privacy of his bedroom as the Silverette stared upon his copy of the Morning Paper. He was willing to bet his precious marshmallows that Bermuda-Chan was somehow behind this.
The Estraneo- it would seem- never learned their lesson.
To be honest, Bermuda's stopped counting how many times The Vindice had raided and burned that specific Famiglia to the ground; yet they somehow always managed to bounce back within a decade or so. For a Famiglia so dedicated to the advancement of Humanity- or at least those within their Famiglia- The survivors just never learn their own lesson.
So the Vindice Warden would like to believe he would be excused for skipping over the Trail altogether -He already knew all their defenses like the back of his hand- in favor of chunking the whole lot of Scientist Mafiosos down into the lower levels. Jack had been complaining about the Dementors being rather lonely recently and personal Bermuda just didn't care if any of the Prisoners from that Famiglia lost their souls. After all, you can't lose something you don't have and many 'accidents' can occur within Vendicare's darkened halls, especially for unfortunate prisoners who open their unlocked cells.
"Lord Bermuda, what would you have us do with the children?"
And there was the other issue.
Though the Ex-Night Arcobaleno would like to claim the Vindice were capable of anything- impossible never did seem to exist within the Halls of Vendicare- there were somethings not even they- with all their experience, wisdom, magic, Flames, Ectra... -could fix. Somethings just couldn't be undone and a third of those children would never be allowed to leave Vendicare for both their and the outside world's safety. Another third would likely spend centuries trapped sleeping within Cryogenic Suspension - due to their own bodies destroying themselves. Slowly killing the children that were kept alive just to be observed as Lab Rats- until their Genetic Coding could be stabilized.
As for those that manage to fit the requirements to leave: a quarter of them would commit suicide before twenty, a quarter would end up back within Vendicare as Prisoners, and the rest would somehow manage to find enough Will to live on. Out of those in the latter group, only a small handful of them would even go further than 'just surviving' by- having families, making friends- actually Living.
It was an ugly cycle yet there was nothing Bermuda could do about it that he hadn't already done. For no matter how powerful he may seem to others, no matter how many times everyone looked to him for answer, Bermuda wasn't God and he openly acknowledged that he didn't have all the answer. He didn't know how to fix everything. Of course, he would never admit those thoughts aloud, especially outside of the safety of Vendicare where they were believed to be Death Gods.
Wouldn't want to disappoint anyone, now would he?
A soft sigh leaves the infant sized Warden as he gently rubs his cheek against Jager's bandaged one, "We do what we always do."
They must think he's an idiot.
If he was anyone other then Bermuda von Veckenschtein, the Vindice Warden would have been tempted to facepalm as he stared at the dark chocolate cake laying on the ground with a giant box and an arrowed neon sign reading 'Free Cake! No, it's obviously Not a Trap' above it. Honestly, it looked rather similar to something one would have found in an old black and white cartoon.
Did they actually expect him to fall for this?
It was insulting.
Sure, Bermuda would acknowledge he might have a slight obsession with cake and that one did look rather appealing with its thick layers of dark chocolate icing expertly sheltering a what he could make out as a tender and moist three-story velvet cake that would most likely melt in his mouth with a single bite... But he wasn't an idiot. All logic pointed to that cake being nothing more than a tempting deception meant to lure him into what was so obviously a trap it was painful.
The cake was a lie.
A horrible, horrible lie.
He does not need the cake.
It's not like he needed the rich dark chocolate nor did he need the 'melt in your mouth' velvet cake. It's not like it was calling out to him- begging him not to abandon it- or anything...
Still, The Vindice Warden could feel his Night Flames surging beneath his skin, if he couldn't have it; no one would.
Not too far from The Vindice Warden, a blond-haired Vongola Primo openly wept as he watched the results of hours of hard work burn into ashes within pitch black flames. Next, to him, the Vongola Decimo gently rubbed his ancestors back while trying to reassure the man it wasn't a bad plan at all.
It's not like any of them would have suspected Bermuda to have set the cake on fire. Maybe he just didn't like Velvet Cake?
Chapter 34
Dear Vongola & Co.,
I'm currently on my way to torture and kill you. So for the sake of inconvenience please have your funeral arrangements prepared within the next five seconds or you shall be cremated upon my immediate arrival.
Sincerely,
Bermuda von Veckenschtein
"...You don't think he knows we lost Jager, do you?"
BOOM!
Tsuna barely managed to grab ahold of his office desk so as to prevent himself from face planting onto the wooden floor as the whole of the Vongola Mansion shook beneath furious Night Flames.
"..I'll take that as a yes..."
"Is he still out there?"
"I'm afraid so, Lord Bermuda."
A heavy sigh left the Ex-Night Arcobaleno as he allowed his head to thud back against Jager's chest, "Do you think we should apply for a Restraining Order?"
"Honestly," The golden eyed Vindice's paused in their attempt to smooth his teenager Lord's unruly hair, "It would be pointless seeing as we would have to enforce the Order. Unless of course, the Mafia has somehow gained New Enforcers without us knowing."
In other words; It would never happen. Whatever Gods were out there just hated him too much to allow him a moment of Peaceful -Vindice Caused ONLY- Insanity.
Though Bermuda couldn't see it, a soft smile found it way onto Jager's face as the other slumped further into his chest, "Jager, how do you kill Gods?"
"By becoming a God, Lord Bermuda. Then you enjoy the satisfaction of being capable of murdering them in person."
Tempting.
"And how does one become a God, Jager?"
"They die."
A soft chuckle left the golden-eyed Vindice as he watched His Lord develop a sudden twitch. "Those Bastards!"A dark growl left the younger's throat as hands clenched and unclenched while black smoke like flames drifted from his eyes.
To Kill the Gods, he had to become a God.
To become a God, he would have to do the one thing he couldn't do: Die.
Knowing his Luck, The Gods had probably preplanned everything just so he couldn't ascend- if only to strangle them with their own intestines.- Let alone deliverer his own manner of Divine Justice-coughToturecough- upon them.
"You know, Lord Bermuda, we could always attempt to kill your stalker."
Sure, the Creature would probably escape like it always did but when had that ever stopped them from trying?
Albus Dumbledore: Goat Molester
By: Xenophilius Lovegood
Albus Dumbledore
Tempts Children to the Dark Side with Snacks
By: Alice Kingston
Albus Dumbledore
Creator of Lord Voldemort
By: Rita Skeeter
Albus Dumbledore Charged with Attempted Line Thief
By: Jessica Warton
For a moment, all Bermuda could do was stare at the paper in slight confusion. He would admit to sending the information for the Creator of Lord Voldemort and Dumbledore's charges to the Daily Prophet but what was this about tempting children and molesting goats?
Though he had to admit it was pretty creative- and not that all inaccurate- seeing as there was that one incident with a teenage drunk Dumbledore and his Brother's goat but he hadn't even thought to use it. Feeling a sense of smug satisfaction creep into the room, the emerald-eyed teen turned his attention towards the one person he knew was Sadist enough to destroy someone in such a way.
"Jager," The golden eyed Vindice was learning over the back of the younger's chair- no doubt reading over his shoulder... Again. Bermuda supposed he could let it slide this time.- with an all too pleased smirk on the other's face.
"Yes, Lord Bermuda?"
"I think I love you."
"Think?"
"Well if you kiss me, I'll know for sure."
What could he say? Bermuda found he really wanted to kiss His Sadist for that Twisted Mind of his.
A deep chuckle left the golden-eyed man as his eyes gleamed with open amusement, "I can do that."
Elsewhere, a silver-haired teenager couldn't help but narrow his eyes as he read the paper. There was no doubt in his mind who was behind this and why.
"If he thinks I'm going to just back and permit him to out Troll me that easily, he has another thing coming."
He was the Biggest Troll on this side of the Universe and nothing -Not even the Living Dead- would take that from him.
"I would like to form an alliance between Vongola and Vendicare-"
For a moment, all Bermuda can do is stare at the brunette before him with a blank look beneath his bandages. Those words... He had heard those words before from a certain Primo a long time ago.
"-benefit towards both organizations-"
How sure where they Tsunayoshi-kun had actually been born from a womb and not a test tube?
"Tsunayoshi-kun,"The Ex-Night Arcobaleno speaks suddenly, cutting off the brunette's well-rehearsed speech- he likely had been forced to spend hours in front of a mirror by Reborn-kun until he could speak the words without hesitation- in favor of voicing one question he still didn't have a proper answer to, "Are you sure you're not a clone?"
"Huh? Clone?"
Though the other couldn't see it, Bermuda grants the Decimo a firm look as he slowly nods his head in an 'I said what I said and I'll stand by it till I'm dead' sort of way, "Are you Giotto Vongola's Clone?"
This many similarity shouldn't be allowed unless it was reincarnation- which it wasn't seeing as there was a blond-haired Primo eavesdropping on them.
"Bermuda-san, I'm not a clone!"
"Are you sure?"
Maybe Sawada Iemitsu had problems performing to his wife's satisfaction -like he seems to do with everything else- so they used the Brats DNA to sire the man a son and Vongola a spare Heir? It made a lot more sense than the thought of the man has managed to actually reproduce like a normal human being, especially seeing how his son looked nothing like him and everything like a Brunette version of Vongola's Primo.
"Reborn-kun, why are you sulking outside my Prison?"
"It's in there."
"Pardon?"
"The thing messing with my Flames," The Hitman clarified as he narrowed pitched black eyes, "It's in there."
Really now? A part of Bermuda couldn't help but feel amusement as he watches his sun glared Death at the majestic walls of Vendicare, "Is that so?"
"Yes. "
Strange, The Ex-Night Arcobaleno had been rather certain he was currently outside at the moment but if His Sun wished to glare at a ghost- or echo whichever people called it these days- of his Flames, who was Bermuda to stop him?
"I see. We have a blizzard rolling in tonight so I suggest you do not overstay your welcome, Reborn-kun or I fear you shall never leave."
After all, if His Sun's stubborn pride almost causes him to freeze to death, Bermuda doesn't think he'll have it within himself to allow His Sun outside of the safety of Vendicare's darkened halls and the Vindice's enteral watch.
What?
He was all for allowing his Elements all the freedom they desire just as long as their freedom wasn't a danger to own beings.
After all, he was Their Sky and while Elements was usually used as tools to protect the sky; especially in these modern days. A Sky was also meant to protect their Elements from anything and everything they could including themselves should the need be necessary. It was one of the older rules, Bermuda could agree with and still followed after all these centuries just as long as it was within reason.
The Vindice Warden couldn't help but openly pity the poor naïve- and soon to be dead- fool that ever attempted to force his Guardians to stop fighting and avoid all combat- for it sure as Hell wouldn't be him. The Vindice Warden liked to trust his Elements enough to know they knew their own limitations without him having to hold their hands and baby them all the time- After all; His Elements were quite the bloodthirsty sadists at times.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"See that you do, Renato."