Chapter Text
The approximate straight distance between Doomstadt and Sa Pa is 9,000 kilometres, or 5,592 miles, an unbelievably long gap between where Doctor Doom and Ngo Quang are situated. It has been a month after Quang attempted to contact Doom, to tell him that Zora Vukovic was no good, and he didn't listen, as Quang had partially expected. But it was proven to be right after she confessed that she slept with Johnny Storm, the blonde-haired bastard that worked with the Fantastic Four, Quang didn't like them apart from Benjamin Grimm, he was only tolerable, as he had morals, and genuinely good morals at that. But besides that, Quang saw no other reason to even try to tolerate them.
The stars were black, and cold, only leaving the whole, cream-white coloured moon awake, as Quang stands on the balcony and lights a cigarette, pulling it away after an inhale and holding it in his breath.
"Lord Quang?"
The mutant man turns around and look at the caller with curiosity and -upon seeing his most devoted servant, Minh, there- he exhales his smoke, gesturing with the hand that held his cigarette to come talk, face to face.
"Minh, you should be asleep by now, I have no business here at the moment that needs assistance," Quang says, "Why come here?"
The servant took a pause to formulate their sentence, the hesitance in their voice definitely evident.
"I suppose you heard about Doom's wedding?" they ask, their eyes squinting in concern. Quang only nods twice, both in confirmation and also for Minh to continue, "I had hoped not."
"It's inevitable, Doom's wedding was meant to be the downfall of his villainy, I suppose it failed, on everyone's part," Quang sighs as three of his hands go onto the railing, the one remaining hand keeping his cig nestled between his thumb, index and middle finger, "I knew him well enough that no matter the outcome, he would always turn to his only solution, becoming a villain, and so far yet so close to a monster. He sent me a letter saying that I was to never contact him again, and I will respect that, but I am willing to bet this pagoda, my house, that he will be the one to send the message. And if that is so..."
A pause as Quang takes another puff of smoke.
"If that is so, and he asked me to meet him in Castle von Doom, then I will do that."
Minh looks at their lord with a look that insinuated they thought he was crazy, though Quang was fully aware of what he said, and he didn't regret it, either. He draws smoke again and holds it in, longer this time.
"My Lord, y-you must be insane," Minh answers, "he fully believed that you left on purpose out of spite and jealousy, because of the fact that he chose to abdicate and replaced himself with Karadick, a man who made an empire into a military regime, in hopes of democracy!" they walk closer to Quang, daring to look up at him (despite the fact that Minh was 175cm or 5'9, and Quang was standing at an 198cm tall, which was 6'6), "you are willing to put yourself into this sort of predicament for a man who doesn't even remember your face, and a fascist no less!"
They were going to say more, but Quang stopped them.
"I knew you better than to question me while you have to crane your head up to the stars, just to meet my eyes," Quang's third eye squints at Minh as he practically spits at him, "the point you try to make needs to be made, and now, or I'm dismissing you from my home, from your work and from anything I have given you before you decided to open your dirty mouth-!"
"You need to let him go!"
Quang raises an eyebrow at Minh's sudden, bold attitude, and his face becomes stern and unmoving after the wave of confusion wears off, a sneer accompanying his anger.
"You are a servant, not an advisor. Now get out of my line of sight," as Quang speaks, grabbing Minh by their collar and pushing them out, causing the servant to stumble before regaining their footing and running, occasionally tripping and losing their momentum.
...
"Little disgrace from Hell itself."
Quang mutters before continuing to smoke, but then pulling it away from his lips after a revelation hit him. He looks at what remained of his cigarette, and then crushes its flame dead before throwing it away, a strike of lightning catching it and leaving nothing to be left. He enters back into his chambers, but instead of doing the usual and preparing for sleep, he looks into his desk's drawer, pulling on the knob so hard to the point he almost thought he broke it, but even if he did, he wouldn't care. He gazed upon the parchment that laid on the top, taking it out and letting out the smoke that sat in his lungs.
It was the letter that Victor wrote to him, in reply to Quang's warning. The memory of typewriting it, it scorched his heart and bones, so much that he could remember what he wrote to Doctor Doom after so many years.
Dear Victor von Doom,
It has been ages since I breathed a word to you, and I know that I am forgotten in your memory, but I write to you with a warning. Your most loyal subject, your right hand woman, Zora Vukovic, is not worth your hand in marriage. I am not telling you this out of jealousy, nor out of the spite you believe I had when I "left" Latveria, but because my third eye brings a vision, a vision in which she returned to Latveria, back to Doomstadt, but with a companion, Jonathan Storm. Believe me or deny yourself the right to know, but the path will stay the same, no matter what you choose. The choice you make is yours, and it always has been, but if you let your cloud of heavy judgement influence you, there is a price to pay if you decide to go on with this wedding, knowing that I warned you, there is no way for you to point the blame on me.
On top of that, what your judgement tells you is a lie. I never wanted to leave Latveria, I was forced to after General Karadick took the throne, all for the sake of deteriorating the empire in hopes of democracy.
I hope you know the consequences of whatever path you choose -Ngo Quang
A sigh as Quang remembers the letter he sent to Doom, and he looks down at the parchment in his hands. Doom's writing was scratchy, he could hear the quill scrape against the paper with a high pitched, frustrated sound that matched the frustration that Doom felt having to write the letter, and his voice echo in his ears in irritation and rage.
Quang,
I'd never thought I would have to speak to you again, let alone communicate to you using a carrier pigeon, but here we are. I know exactly what I am doing, and I refuse to acknowledge your desperate attempt to mask it up as a warning. I, as Latverian Ruler, Doctor Doom, refuse to be bested by a mutant, one who is without Latverian blood, who has been born with a womb, and chose to fight for the empire.
Do not even think about sending another word to me on parchment, there will be consequences if you decide to.
-Victor Werner von Doom.
...
"My biggest mistake was thinking I could trust you, Victor."
Quang grits through his teeth, ripping the paper and throwing it into the burning fireplace. The paper curls up on its edges and corners and its cream-white colour fades into black and then catch the flames around it, a hole burning into the centre and the scent of ashes and ink filling the room. Quang takes it as a sign to leave it to burn, and he does, turning around and pulling off his robes in preparation for the night.