Morality of a Necromancer

Chapter 13: Major Escalation

Suspended in the air, drifting towards the edge of the roof, Sandova couldn't help but laugh.

"You give me that cheesy speech and then try to lift me from the roof? Really Crystal? Man, you are one of the worst villains I've ever met."

Crystal Clear's face contorted in fury, and he put more power into his spell. Sandova rolled his eyes and his own horn flared up.

"Last chance chump. Let me go or I will hurt you."

When the corrupt detective didn't react Sandova sighed and cast his spell. Black tentacles burst from the ground beneath Crystal Clear, ensnaring him immediately. He yelped and lost his concentration, dropping Sandova. Sandova landed on his hooves and trudged through the foliage he'd landed in. When he got out he was rewarded by the sight of Crystal Clear slowly getting crushed to death by Evard's Black Tentacles.

"I warned you, chump. Bet that hurts, huh? Getting crushed to death isn't something I'd like to experience. I can only imagine how much it must hurt!"

The tentacles grasped a little tighter, and there was a series of loud pops coming from Crystal Clear.

"Aah, that were your ribs. Last chance my friend, seeming that you only have some seconds left before you will be crushed like a tin can. Will you answer my questions now?"

Crystal Clear looked absolutely terrified by now, and he tried to nod. Sandova waited half a second before dismissing the spell, dropping a gasping Crystal Clear on the roof. Sandova calmly trotted towards him, whistling a merry tune. When he got to him he lifted a hoof and gently pressed down on Crystal Clear's ribcage, eliciting a scream.

"So, let's just forget that you just tried to kill me, and carry on this conversation like proper gentlemen. Oh wait, it's gentlecolts here, right?"

Crystal Clear groaned and spit out some blood, then looked at Sandova with undisguised hatred.

"What are you?"

Sandova pressed down again, a cruel grin appearing on his face.

"Tsk, tsk. I am asking the questions here. Now, where have your friends taken my friends? I'd like to know where to send the cavalry."

Crystal's face had become ashen, and he winced in pain every time he took a breath. He coughed up some more blood before answering.

"T-to the headquarters, Abyss' office. I-I don't know much after that, I was only told to keep an eye on you when you came back."

Sandova nodded and removed his hoof.

"See, that wasn't so hard now was it? I want you to turn yourself in, and to tell everything to your colleagues. If you do, I'm sure you'll get a slightly lighter sentence. That reminds me, what is the punishment for attempted murder, anyway? Nah, don't answer that. I'm sure that I'll know after they locked you away."

Crystal Clear laughed, then immediately groaned in pain.

"And what if I told them that you just attacked me? From what I gathered, the princess doesn't completely trust you. Who do you think they'll believe, the wounded detective or the sinister necromancer?"

Sandova's voice became cold as ice, and Crystal Clear shuddered.

"Because if you do that, you'll be signing my death warrant. Which means that I have nothing left to lose, and I will end you before they get me. You will know fear like never before, and die screaming in terror. I don't think you'd like that now would you, detective."

Sandova spat the last word out in disgust and looked at the downed unicorn. Crystal Clear swallowed and nodded.

"I-I'll talk, I'll talk. Please, don't kill me!"

Sandova smiled again, lifting the detective with his telekinesis.

"Glad you're seeing reason, now let's go talk to your colleagues. I'm sure they're interested in what you have to say.
~
Twilight woke up with a splitting headache.

"Ugh, what happened?"

She tried to rub her head, but discovered that her hooves were bound. She remembered talking with Trixie when the lights went out and-

Twilight gasped, she remembered the voice and the cloth. They had been abducted! She tried the ropes but found them tightly bound. She stopped struggling and tried to take in her surroundings. She was lying on some kind of stone table, but the room itself was too dark to see much else. She turned her head and saw Rarity lying next to her, still unconscious.

"Ah, you're awake. Good evening, miss Sparkle. I'm afraid I can't offer better accommodations, but I'm sure you'll manage."

The voice was deep and cultured, and came from directly in front of her. Twilight tried to light her horn and see her captor, but she felt a sharp pain coursing through her horn instead.

"I'm afraid that that's not going to work miss Sparkle, these inhibitor rings are Guard quality. Even you will not be able to break free of them."

Twilight felt herself on the verge of a panic attack. She took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart before talking.

"Why have you done this to us? What have we ever done to you?"

"Always the curious one, aren't we? Don't mistake me for some cheap novel villain that explains his plan in detail, that would be almost insulting. You will just have to lay here and await what's coming. Won't that be exciting?"

Mocking laughter followed, and Twilight could hear her captor move away. Twilight tried her best not to cry, but fear and sadness quickly brought down her resistance.
~
Sandova exited the elevator, Crystal Clear suspended behind him. He noticed that the lobby was still only sparsely occupied by a few guardsponies and no one else. Some looked up when the elevator doors opened, and stared at the strange sight before them.

"Good evening Guardsponies, can I have your attention?"

All of the Guards stopped what they were doing and gathered around Sandova.

"My name is Sandova Mirell, and I am here to help you find my missing friends. This piece of crap here is detective Cryatal Clear, but I think you already know that."

Some of the Guards looked ready for a fight, so Sandova quickly pressed on.

"When I told him my theory about the abduction, he realized that I could pose a threat to him and his allies. His solution? He tried to throw me off the roof! You can understand that I was quite upset with that. It appears our good detective is working for none other than Abyss, who apparently runs the local underworld. He also told me where we could find the abducted ponies."

Sandova smiled at the confused faces around him.

"So, before you declare me crazy you can always ask the detective himself. But make it quick, he really needs medical attention."

Suddenly Crystal Clear started laughing, before coughing and wincing in pain. Sandova looked at him, confused. The reason for the corrupt detective's outburst became all too clear when the first hoof sailed towards his face. He yelped in surprise and dodged the hoof, dropping Crystal Clear in the process. Crystal Clear let out a gurgling scream when he hit the floor, Sandova mused that one of his ribs must have punched through his lung.

"You gods damned corrupt sons of whores! You are all working for Abyss!"

One of the guards chuckled, it was an ugly sound.

"Quick on the uptake, aren't we? I guess we'll have to shut you up and lock you away for attempted murder of our beloved detective. Don't worry, we'll be gentle."

Sandova's blood began to boil, but he remembered Celestia's words. If he killed them, he'd be sent straight back to Baator. Why couldn't things go right for a change! He snarled, activated his fear aura and prepared for the fight. To his left, an unicorn guard swung a chair at him using telekinesis. Sandova dodged the blow and concentrated.

With a plume of black smoke did the skeleton of Chemical Trial appear. The nearest Guards recoiled at the sight of the animated skeleton, giving Sandova time to act.

"Protect me, but no killing."

The skeleton sprang forward immediately, stepping between its master and the surrounding guardsponies. One pegasus tried to slip past the skeleton, but one swift buck sent him careening into a wall. The sound of breaking bones filled the air, and the pegasus slid limply down on the floor.

One earth pony approached Sandova from behind and slammed him to the ground. Other guardsponies quickly jumped on top of Sandova, trying to restrain him. Sandova smiled grimly when he saw most of them become shaken from his aura. He concentrated and unleashed a great burst of negative energy, catching most of the guards around him. They screamed in agony as parts of their skin and muscles decayed, falling back from him. Sandova jumped backwards and cast crushing despair, breaking the spirit of a few guardsponies directly in front of him.

Sandova ducked when another pony flew past and crashed in a broken heap against another wall. He grinned, he might be able to win this! It was then that he got caught in the chest by a ray shot by a unicorn he hadn't seen before. Sandova cursed as he was thrown backwards into a table. He looked up to see that three Guards were still standing, looking at him with undisguised hatred.

"Give it up, Mirell. We outnumber you, and more Guards will be coming for you. Who do you think they will believe, the guards that stood valiantly against a rogue necromancer or said rogue necromancer? You don't stand a chance."

Sandova snarled, knowing they were right. His skeleton had also disappeared, leaving him alone again. He sighed, he'd rather not kill them, but at this rate it seems he had no other choice.

"Do you really think that this was my full power? I'm holding back here, for I'd rather see you tried in court then dead. But if you keep attacking me, I will not hesitate to use lethal force! Ask the detective how serious I am!"

All ponies looked at the detective, and realized with a shock that he had stopped breathing. Two guards immediately hurried to his side, checking his pulse. The third one fixed Sandova with an hate-filled glare.

"Run while you still can, necromancer. Before the night is over, I will crush you."

Sandova grinned and made to leave, but before he turned he fired a ray of crackling negative energy at the Guard. The guard howled in agony as his life force was suppressed by the enervation spell.

"I doubt that. Don't follow me unless you want to die in agony, you sons of whores."

Sandova turned and bolted for the exit. When he made it outside he noticed that the crowd had become even larger, and every single pony looked at him in absolute terror.

"Gods damn it! I fucking hate this city!"

He put up his most intimidating face and bellowed at the crowd.

"Out of my way, fools. Else you suffer the wrath of Asphyxious!"

The foremost ponies screamed and tried to get away, causing an enormous panic to erupt across the crowd. Sandova smirked, now he only had to reach Abyss' office before the Guard caught up with him. Or worse, Celestia heard of this and decided to take him out!

Sandova turned and ran across the street, all ponies doing their very best to stay out of his way. Great, Sandova thought, another town he could never show his face again. Oh well, he could worry about that when he got his friends back. Running through an alley he could see some robes hanging on a line. Sandova decided to grab the largest one, hoping it would hide him long enough to reach the building his friends were being kept in. If only he'd make it in time!
~
Detective Hard Facts was going over the case again when her partner stormed in.

"Case? What do you think you're doing barging in like that?"

Cold Case paused a moment to catch his breath before answering.

"Turn up the radio, you won't believe this!"

Frowning, she did as he asked. The voice of some reporter filled the small office.

"-and he is considered to be extremely dangerous. With me is lieutenant Plate Mail from the Manehatten Guard with more information."

"Thank you, miss Flash. As we speak, there is a rogue necromancer loose on the streets. His name is Sandova Mirell, but he might also refer to himself as Asphyxious. This unicorn's motives are yet unclear, but we expect that he is involved with the abduction of the Elements of Harmony during the blackout. When we confronted him he lashed out, severely injuring several guardsponies. One of these ponies, detective Crystal Clear, is in a critical condition and might not last the night. The fugitive is a male unicorn of above average height, grey coat and blonde mane. His most prominent feature is his Talent Mark, an unknown skull wreathed in black flames. We advice civilians to stay indoors and alert the Guard if you notice this individual. Do not, I repeat do not approach him alone. He is powerful enough to severely injure twelve trained guardsponies by himself, and has shown that he is willing to use lethal force if confronted. That is all."

Hard Facts stared at the radio for several long seconds, then turned to her partner.

"What.the.buck?"

Cold Case nodded grimly.

"Couldn't have said it better myself. What the buck do you think what's going on?"

Hard Facts thought about it, this whole situation made no sense whatsoever! Or did it?

"I think somepony has bought himself a lot of guards, and is using Sandova as a scapegoat while he is doing Celestia-knows-what with the Elements."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Shame we will never be able to prove that. What do we do?"

Hard Facts stared at her partner for a second, then her face became resolute.

"Help him of course, we know he's innocent. But the chief will never believe us, not when Abyss has probably bought more than half of the Guard to speak against us. Besides, he'll probably fire us anyway as soon as he discovers that we have been going to the 'rogue necromancer' for advice in our case."

Cold Case blinked.

"Wait, you are ready to throw away your career for some guy from another world that you only know since yesterday?"

Hard Facts gave her partner a glare that could subdue a raging manticore.

"No, I am willing to risk mu career so that justice might prevail. Do you have a problem with that?"

Cold Case gave her the widest smile he could.

"On the contrary, I was just making sure you were still you. Heh, to be honest, I'd actually do this crap for Sandova. Annoying prick he might be, he's a decent prick, and I like him. I'm sure he'd do the same for us."

"You really think so?"

"You serious? This guy just made an enemy out of a freaking city trying to help his friends. I think he's good folk."

Hard Facts cracked her neck and walked towards the door.

"That makes two of us."