Mandrake woke up in a hospital bed. His ears were still ringing, but he felt like he could move. He opened his eyes, only to find that only one would, the other stinging with a horrendous pain. He sat up and looked around, not expecting to see anybody. His brother's school would probably avoid letting any of students know anything had gone wrong at the high school... What had gone wrong at the high school? To Mandrake's surprise, there was somebody in the room with him, but not a family member. His guidance counselor. He frowned, "Mercury Mars?"
"Hm?" She answered, then offered him a bittersweet smile, "Oh, good, you're awake. I was wondering how long it would be."
"Why are you here?" Mandrake cut straight to the chase, "And what happened at school?"
"Actually, I was caught on the outskirts of the blast as well, so they brought me here to make sure I didn't have any shrapnel stuck in me or anything. When they cleared me as fine, I decided to see how you all were doing, and they said it was most likely you'd be the first to regain consciousness," Mercury explained, picking at the bandages on her arm, "Looks like they were right about that. What happened, well, there was a bomb under the table. The fire crew released specifications that it was on a timer, set to go off during lunch block..."
"Who?" Mandrake questioned, expecting that whoever made such a flashy attack on a high school would take responsibility, even if under a fake name or in the name of an organization.
"Well, no terrorist groups have claimed responsibility yet. Not even that group who said they were responsible for the assassination of that spirit medium in Japan a while back..."
"The Order?"
"Yes, them. Even they aren't saying they did it, and unless some group comes forward, the police are going to investigate the student body and faculty. If it's action taken by an American individual, people will forget it ever happened, given the low extent of the damages, as far as the media's concerned..." Mercury paused, bringing her knuckles to her mouth and chewing on them, "Your injuries, as well as Ju-Ri's, are confirmed temporary. Scars are the most you'll suffer in the long term, same with me. Arietty may have been permanently blinded in the explosion. Marou and Ariel..."
"...They're dead?" Mandrake questioned, panic inching its way into his voice. He'd been taking the situation in stride up until then, but the idea that two of his close friends had been killed in a freak event-
"Not exactly," Mercury halted his train of thought with her next words, "Actually, they're missing. Without bodies, they can't possibly be confirmed dead. Only assumed so. Still, I think it's strange. Firefighters confirmed the bomb was placed closest to Arietty, but you and Ariel were equidistant from her, and you're expected to make a full recovery. I think," Mercury blinked slowly, then stared at Mandrake, her gaze hard and cold, "The bomb's purpose was to blind Arietty, but whoever did it wanted those two dead as well, and took them away to kill them elsewhere."
"That's awful complicated," Mandrake glanced away from her, "Besides, who would want to do something like that?"
"Do you really want to know the answer?" Mercury asked, her hands in her laps. She didn't seem like a guidance counselor right now, but somebody far more dangerous, "If I was to tell you the truth, you wouldn't be able to go back to a normal life."
"My life's never really been normal, Mercury, I think you know that pretty well," Mandrake chuckled, "What could possibly be much stranger than my home life already has been...?"
"Well, you see-" Mercury was interrupted by a loud, long, shrill beep which caused her to freeze up with a shiver, then looked above her head to see the source of the sound was the television which had, up until that earsplitting sound, been playing Simpsons reruns. The screen was blank, but a man was speaking.
"Sorry to interrupt this television broadcast. My name is Paul. I'm sure you will soon be hearing about an incident which occurred today, an explosion at a Boston high school which may be seen as an act of terror. However, the truth is that this explosion was a terrorism countermeasure. Masquerading as normal high schoolers were a pair of villains who threatened not only this great country, but all of humanity. The threat has been neutralized with no unnecessary casualties. Thank you for attention. Have a nice day knowing you're all safer for it."
Mercury just sat there for a moment before she looked at Mandrake again, "I was wondering when they'd make that bullshit announcement. Ah, Ariel and Arietty weren't a threat at all... yet. The International Intrigue Agency is a group of idiots who say they're working to protect the entire world, but ever since their new management took over, it seems more like they just want to warp the world to fit their ideas. I should know. I used to work for them, but I left when I could no longer reconcile myself with what they're trying to do."
"I understand," Mandrake clenched his fists, "But how would knowing that prevent me from living a normal life from now on?"
"Because your girlfriend's already enthusiastically agreed to my offer, and I know that if she ordered you to, you'd accept as well," Mercury laughed, bringing one hand up to cup her own cheek, "Ah, sorry, I lied! Arietty woke up before you, and has already decided... This world that the IIA would shape to their twisted desires in the name of peace... Wouldn't the best way to avenge your friends be to destroy it before they can achieve those rotten goals?"
"...What would you need a normal guy like me for?" Mandrake asked, shocked to find that he didn't even oppose the idea that Mercury set forth. Destroy the world... it wasn't as if this event had particularly traumatized him, but it was something to do, wasn't it? A goal that he could have? And if Arietty wanted to do it, then he would follow her, he'd follow her to the end of the world. It was with this offer that he realized exactly what Mercury was referring to, "You're The Order, aren't you?"
"I'm a member, yes," Mercury nodded, getting to her feet, "The problem we have is that there's no leader, nobody truly in charge, nobody coordinating anything. It's wild acts of destruction, and The Order is just a name we're able to slap onto that idea to claim we stand for something. Remember five hours ago when I told you that you could become a leader?"
"Of course I remember, it was five hours ago," Mandrake deadpanned.
"This was what I meant. My intention was to bring up the idea a bit later, but unfortunately, circumstances have come to this moment. It's sudden, but if I wait any longer to ask you now, you'd be left behind by Arietty's ambition. So, can you give me an answer, Mandrake? Will you do it?" Mercury stepped closer to him, staring down her nose at him. This image of her seemed nothing at all like her usual self, and Mandrake didn't feel like he could have any power over her, even if he pulled out all the stops. She was asking him for a favor, but even this favor wasn't something which could be held over her head as something to work for. She made it incredibly clear that this was a privilege she was offering Mandrake, and not something she really needed of him.
"I'm a teenager," Mandrake gave a non-answer.
"That's right, and a high school senior too! The perfect time to decide what you're going to do with your future," She laughed again, "You'd mostly be a figurehead, anyhow. No need to do any work unless you want to... You just have the air about you of somebody worth listening to."
"If I do this, I won't be a mere figurehead," Mandrake answered, lifting his arm from under the paper-thin sheets to stare at his hand, "Well, I suppose Arietty would do better to be in charge, but she can't be in the spotlight. You understand that, right, and that's why you're asking me? Still, I have things I could do, too. I know ways to make people listen."
"I never said I didn't want you to do anything, but it's up to you if you do," She clarified, sitting on the side of his cot and tapping two of her fingers against the palm of his hand, "I understand it's strange to be so suddenly called to action like this, especially for a group with such unconventional goals, but you have to understand that I wouldn't dare ask if I didn't think you were capable."
"I know," Mandrake nodded, then made that hand into a fist again, this time in earnest rather than distress, "Let's do it, then. Let's be bad people."
"That's the spirit!" Mercury grinned, "Be a better kind of evil than that father of yours."
----------
Gary Birch was not a happy child.
He was thirteen, and just about finishing up at middle school. He loved his mother, but she was never home, and he hated his father, who he saw all too often given that he worked at the very middle school that Gary attended. He didn't have any friends at school, not because he was antisocial or unpopular, but because he was scared. He knew that Mandrake made sure never to bring any of his friends back to their house, and that it was all because of their father. Diovolo was a man who ought to be avoided by everybody, at all costs, and Gary understood this even at his age. Still, despite the fact that he was avoiding friendship out of concern, it made him feel lonely, and generally sad.
Even without a group of friends, however, Gary heard the buzz. The teachers were trying to suppress the news, but everyone knew that something had happened over at the high school. The general idea of course, was that it was a bomb threat. That was a common prank in public schools, so it only made sense that would be what everybody assumed. It was just a matter of gossip for most, but Gary found himself really concerned. Maybe his older brother was weird, and mean to their mother, but he was still an important person in Gary's life. They got along with each other pretty well, even if it was difficult at times, and Gary didn't want anything bad to happen to him. It wasn't until school let out that he heard what had happened at the high school for certain, though. His father walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Gary."
"What do you want?" Gary questioned, turning to look up at his dad. He was tired. So tired.
"I'm sure you've heard that something happened at the high school today, but to avoid panicking the student body, we as teachers kept the information unavailable. The truth is, a time bomb placed under one of the tables in the cafeteria exploded," Diovolo didn't even show any emotion as he explained the situation, "Your brother and his friends were seated at the table in question. Mandrake is fine. Two of his friends are dead. One other is fine. One is blind. We'll be picking him up from the hospital this afternoon, and you are to leave him alone and not offer consolations or taunting. Either action would only serve to trouble him more."
"O-Oh no!" Gary gasped, taking quick breaths in general, "That's horrible! Who would do such a thing!? Why Mandrake!? He had to go to the hospital, that doesn't sound fine! Is he really okay?"
"Calm down," Diovolo hissed, grabbing Gary's shoulder and leading him out to the car, "I told you your brother's fine. He was injured, but nothing crippling or life-threatening. Thus, fine. Would you prefer I dropped you off at the house before retrieving him? I will do so if I doubt your ability to follow the rules I set for interacting with him, being the lack of interaction."
"How am I supposed to not talk to him?" Gary asked, clutching his stomach as he buckled in to the back seat of the car. He felt like he was going to be sick with worry, "I want to talk to him I want to make sure he's okay I want to-"
"Stop," Diovolo snapped, "That's obvious, then. I'll take you home before I get Mandrake."
Gary thought that was fair. When he arrived home, he was too nervous to do anything, even to get his homework done. He just sat at the kitchen table, tapping his fingers on the table. Despite what his father had told him, he couldn't stop being afraid that it was a lie, or a mistake, or... something. Diovolo was not a trustworthy man, and his outlook was so cold and uncaring. That callousness wasn't unfamiliar, but it had never come up in a situation as dire as this. Why had somebody put a bomb at his brother's lunch table:? Was there something dangerous that Mandrake was involved in, or was it just chance that Mandrake and his friends sat at that particular table today? The middle school didn't have assigned lunch tables, so that was always possible, but it was almost scarier. That meant that the same thing could happen to him.
"Gary," Cassandra spoke softly, sliding into the seat across the table from him, leaning her chin in her palm and her elbow on the surface before her, "Don't worry too much, okay? The news said this was a counter-terrorism measure, but I don't think that's an excuse to physically attack high school kids. Even if Mandrake is involved in something like that, I can't be too mad at him if he's the enemy of people who would make such a reckless, cruel attack. As for your safety, well, your father and I have already discussed moving somewhere else for you to attend high school."
"The... The news said something like that??" Gary questioned, lifting his eyes to meet her's, "So they aren't even going to try and get justice for this?"
"The justice system isn't super great at justice," Cassandra sighed, shaking her head, "And the government isn't our friend, either. Everyone, everywhere looks out for number one, no matter what else they say. You understand that, right sweetheart? You'll be fine, though, you'll be safe. I'll keep you safe. It's all I can do."
"Where are we going to move?" Gary asked, tilting his head to the side, "And when are we leaving?"
"The high school has offered to let Mandrake graduate early because of this, so we'll be leaving as fast as we can pack," She explained, folding her hands, "As for where, well, we're thinking Texas. Austin, Texas. He's already got a job offer there."
"I'd be fine with Texas. I'll get sunburned but it will be fun, I guess. Will it really be safer than here?" He questioned.
"Well, I can't say for sure. There won't be blizzards, but there will be scorpions. I think it's an equal trade, but if that announcement was some sort of government cover-up for the act of an individual, it will be safer elsewhere."
"I get it," Gary nodded, then took a deep breath, "I was really freaking out, but I think I'll be okay, yeah. I'm not too worried. Well, I am worried, but I'm not especially worried anymore, like I was a little while ago."
"I'm glad I could help," Cassandra smiled at him, but it fell from her face when she heard the door open. She looked up to see that Diovolo had walked back in, and Mandrake wandered in behind him, his left side all bandaged up. She wouldn't say anything to either of them, expecting that they wouldn't want her to.
"Mandrake!" Gary greeted him, standing up from the table immediately, "Are you sure you're okay to be back from the hospital? That looks like it really hurts..."
"Gary, what did we talk about? Leave him alone," Diovolo glared at him as he passed, going up to his home office to grade papers, probably.
"It's fine," Mandrake mumbled, "I don't want everyone ignoring me just because something bad happened. That's the opposite of helpful, actually. Sometimes Dad's psychology minor is wrong about things. Hey, Gary. I'm okay. It does hurt, but staying at the hospital for longer wouldn't have helped anything."
"Did Dad tell you that we're moving?" Gary asked, holding his arms behind his back as he looked up at his brother.
"Yeah, I heard," Mandrake nodded, "That's fine with me, relocating is probably safest for everybody. Arietty's coming with us. Dad already agreed to it, and I made him swear not to touch her."
"You know his word's not good for anything," Cassandra couldn't help but join in the conversation, "It'll take some serious threats to make him keep his hands off anybody, especially with them under his roof..."
"That's not true," Mandrake shook his head, "Dad's a smart douchebag, after all. He'd never go after anybody who'd cause real trouble for him. Just think about yourself, Mom. You lived with a bedbound grandmother at the time, right? There was nobody for you to tell. He's a predator of convenience."
Cassandra was shocked to find Mandrake was addressing her directly like that, and with what seemed like a level of sympathy. She took a few deep breaths before she spoke again, calming the idea that his words put in her head. No, she was fine. She didn't have to think about the past like that. He hadn't touched her in years, not since Gary was born. He let her be, he let her take the time she needed to attempt a recovery, so she felt she would have to be especially weak not to have properly utilized that opportunity.
"Sorry, did I upset you?" Mandrake asked, his voice still soft as he made his way towards the stairs, "I'll see you both later. Don't try to call anybody, because I'm going to be using the internet all afternoon. I can't imagine either of you have anybody you want to call anyhow, and I don't care if I annoy Dad."
"Okay," Gary agreed, then turned back to Cassandra, "Mom? Can we watch a movie?"
"That sounds like a great idea, sweetheart," She nodded, standing up. She led the way into the living room, and started sorting through the collection of VHS tapes for something to watch. She and Gary ended up agreeing on a rewatch of Home Alone, despite it being April. Seasonal movies were guidelines, not rules.
------------
Mandrake logged onto the dream forum again, typing with just one hand due to the left one being in a cast. He still couldn't believe that he was doing this, but what Mercury had said... Though what happened today was terrible, it was also his opportunity. It opened the door for him to make something of his life, to do something, to be somebody. Even if that somebody was awful, he knew he could never be as bad as his father. He could never, through his own direct actions, lead a woman to be as sad as Cassandra was, or lead a child to be as anxious as Gary was. He was better than that; however, he was also prepared to scrap any idea of morality and go all out to accomplish his newly acquired goal. That might mean humoring men as horrid as his father, but that was a concern for another time. He and Arietty had conspired in the hospital before Diovolo came to get him, along with Mercury, and had decided the best way to go about forming The Order into a group capable of bringing the world to ruin was, of course, to give it a religious bent.
Mandrake was quite certain, now that he'd done it himself, that when it came to religiously motivated terrorism, the intent to wreak havoc came first and the 'in the name of [Inserrt God of Choice]' came later. It was an easy way to explain actions away without taking personal responsibility, though he also thought that this would mark his group as the first doomsday cult to actually facilitate the downfall of humanity. His group... It had a nice ring to it. Saying that something was done in the name of The Order sounded far better than saying that something was done just for the sake of causing destruction, just because hurting people and causing property damage is a fun thing to do. Of course, as the one in charge, he would have to take that burden of personal responsibility, but that was fine. He, Arietty, and Mercury had come up with several rules which would, if he'd learned anything from marketing class, attract a great number of members.
- The Great Gods of Destruction come for all.
- Always show respect to superiors in The Order.
- Maintain participation in Order Forums
- If an Order Function occurs within viable travel range, you must attend.
- Always show proper decorum.
- Do not interfere in plans of Destruction.
- Always be sure subordinates have a useful skill.
- Subordinates’ services must be made available at any time.
- Every member must be provided with a loyal subordinate, though members may refuse if they feel they cannot take on the responsibility.
- The greatest enemy of The Order is International Government who will try to save this rotten world from its rapture.
Arietty agreed to set up a forum site to be 'The Order Forums', though it would hold a different name than that, as it would surely be shut down if it were open about its purpose in the title, and the site's URL would be a string of numbers impossible to replicate. Mandrake checked his email to find that, as promised, Arietty already had it set up, and the link was there for him to begin cross-posting in a few different places. The use of the internet to build up followers for a new religion was a novel concept, and he would take credit for it. Maybe everything else in the future would be Arietty's doing, but he had this at least. There were draws for all sorts of people in the charter, and it wasn't as if they were planning to involve everyone in those 'plans of destruction', only doing so if they had an applicable skill. The subordinates of the charter would draw men and women alike who wished to have something of a slave to do whatever they wished, no matter how depraved. The general nihilism would attract anyone who was depressed. The invention of the Great Gods of Destruction from Mandrake's dreams, too, would pull in his fans on the dream analysis forum.
With the link posted around, Mandrake leaned back in his chair and sighed. This was an endeavor which would probably fizzle out, he was sure, but for the time being it was interesting. Besides, being the leader of a group of religious fanatics would feed his need to be idolized and praised in an entirely new way which almost made him salivate. Fame. If this did take off, it was a way for him, without any especially impressive performance abilities or political background of any degree, to become somebody who was famous. Even infamy was attention, and if he played his cards right, then those who joined The Order would worship him as the vessel through which the Great Gods of Destruction spoke.
Obtaining the subordinates was a bit of a concern, but Mandrake was sure if anyone did follow through on that, he could work it out. Mercury was the one who suggested that they not only accept the sexually deviant, but enable them, so if nothing else, she must have had some idea of how to fulfill that promise. With everything sorted out, all that was left to do was wait to see if the line he'd cast out into the world wide web got any bites.
While he'd been advertising the forums, he found that Arietty and Mercury had both been online, fleshing them out with various posts. Arietty conjectured that the point of blinding her was to keep her from being able to continue her programming work, but whoever's plan it was had seriously underestimated her. She was so confident in her code that she could just type it out without ever needing to take a second look, and it showed; the forum she created, while graphically lacking, was well put-together. The posts were exactly the right level of ritualistic, Mandrake thought. Those two were good at this. It sounded bizarre and outlandish, but not to a point where it would entirely turn off somebody who wished to join only for the benefits outlined in the charter.
Mandrake went to sleep early that night, chest buzzing with excitement. He made sure to log off of the internet before he did, of course. He, Arietty, and Ju-Ri had all been allowed the rest of the week, and perhaps the entire rest of the year off of school after their traumatic experience with being blown up at lunch, so he wanted the phone to be working when he woke up in case one of them called to hang out. It seemed weird to hang out with this many injuries, the day after something so awful happened, but the three of them had thick skin, in a way. Mandrake was sure it wasn't a healthy way to cope, to agree to help bring about the end of the world. Two of his best friends were dead, and it was something that he would probably never get over. Never return to normalcy. Mercury Mars (Her name at birth, he'd learned) was taking advantage of his emotional vulnerability, but that was what he was doing too, by making efforts to recruit more people with such underhanded tactics.
When morning came, Ju-Ri called, as he thought she might. She was inviting him to her brother's restaurant for lunch, and Arietty had already agreed. Of course he agreed to go, then switched the line to internet once more to check the forums now that he'd received the call he was waiting on. His link posting hadn't received any direct replies, but there were a few posts on The Order Forums. It seemed that Mercury had stayed up answering questions, as nary a post hadn't been replied to. Several clarifying questions which she promised to have added to the information page, as "The answers already existed, but it's taking a while to transfer our entire religious charter to the internet". Clever girl. She was making things seem more like The Order was an established nihilist religion, even twisting the truth to say that the acts of The Order as a terrorist group have always been motivated by a commitment to the destruction of the entire world eventually.
It seemed she'd also gotten several of her existing fellow members to begin posting, lending credibility to her claims even more. Mandrake noticed one question in particular that stood out, however. The user had listed a full name, though it could have been fake; Caleb Anders. His question was about the subordinates, wondering if it was possible to have a custom child to groom, being, one with particular traits. Mercury had answered in a way which was disturbing, given the question. "Of course! :) Just keep in mind that though your subordinate will be providing, it is your responsibility to raise them as a loyal and useful asset to both yourself and The Order on the whole! Thank you, Mister Anders. Perdere!"
Children? Mandrake wasn't expecting that, but now that he thought about it, that did make the most sense. If these subordinates were supposed to be okay with inferiority, and remain loyal, they had to either volunteer to do so, or be raised to believe that was the proper way of existing. It only disturbed him for a moment before rationality took over. He already said he was okay with appealing to people as horrible as his own father, and he couldn't deny that his father was a pedophile. That was just one of many ways he'd have to throw his convictions to the wind. A member of The Order who was attracted to children was a member nonetheless, and hopefully a useful one. With the world falling apart anyway, what did it matter if a few individual lives were ruined? With any luck, Stockholm syndrome would set in and the subordinates wouldn't suffer for too long. Still, Mandrake wondered about the man bold enough to post under what seemed like a real name, asking what sort of victim he could have provided to him. He seemed to be the only poster so far to be interested in a subordinate.
Mandrake decided to look up "Caleb Anders", just to see if there was some sort of information out there on him, and upon seeing the search results realized why he wasn't afraid to post with his real name in a skeevy forum; it would never be found among all of these search results. A number of business articles and the like which had been uploaded including his name revealed that Caleb Anders was in fact, a respected businessman, the young CEO of FeLu Innovations, only a few years older than Mandrake and wildly successful. Successful and powerful, reaching record heights with the stock values of his company. Mandrake owned a FeLu microwave in his kitchen right at that moment, and he came to a pleasant conclusion. Caleb Anders was just the person he needed on his side.
It almost seemed to be fate, too, given the extended name that Mercury had given The Order to make it sound more official. The Order of The Felinus. Pronounced like Felonous, but containing Arietty's last name as a reminder of how she'd suffered at the hands of The Order's enemies.
This was reality.
And Mandrake should have felt bad, but instead he was beginning to love it.
