A week passed. Dakos had helped Buwaro on one scouting mission, and the boy got back just fine that time. "I finally started to get the layout," he'd explained, but the older Fire Demon didn't seem to quite buy it.
At least Lazuli and Talus seemed to accept his explanation.
The meditation exercises helped too – he was able to enhance his body in additional ways, now, resisting physical extremes and applying his power to his punches and claw strikes. With his defensive skill, he was now in a very secure position for combat.
By that time, they had a plan to take on the Angels. Dakos was a very skilled warrior, and he would lead the Angels on a run out of town. The other three would watch and ambush whomever seemed to be slowest. "Shouldn't someone back you up, just in case?" Buwaro asked Dakos.
"I guess," the Demon snorted. "Lazuli?"
"Alright," she nodded. "I'll wait for you beyond the edge of town. Buwaro, can you show us a good spot to ambush them?" Buwaro nodded and went back to the rough map he'd sketched using paper and a pencil, both of which he'd pilfered from a Jakkai village.
Once everyone had their plan down, the two groups slipped out of their clearing, and they began their preparations for the ambush. Buwaro was with Talus, watching while Dakos led the three Angels on a merry chase. The girl was the one who lagged behind.
The Sensitive. Buwaro grimaced and nodded to Talus. The Earth Demon stepped out in front of her, to her shock, and she went to full defense, avoiding his axe strike.
Buwaro was instantly behind her. Not worried about defense just yet, he swiped at her rapidly, missing horribly but knocking her completely off-balance. She swung at him, scared out of her wits, and Buwaro was glad she wasn't well-trained in the Force yet – her swing went wide, but that fear might have fed her power.
Talus swiped with his claws, and the girl barely deflected the worst of the blow, only getting scraped. Buwaro lunged forward, swiping her collar and chest with his claws and eliciting a yelp of pain from her. She stumbled into the wall, and wildly swung again.
She connected this time, and Buwaro grit his teeth against the pain – he vaguely wondered if this was how others felt when they were on fire. That sword must have had the Light magic in it to hurt so much. Either way, she was completely off-balance, and Talus's next swipe at her back spun her to face him. She then got another slash on her back from Buwaro, and she fell weakly, whimpering. Buwaro quickly gathered her up and placed the suppression cuffs on her, while Talus wrapped up her blessed belongings; in short order, the two had rushed off to camp again before they were spotted.
Once they were back, Buwaro noted that Lazuli and Dakos weren't back yet. He sighed quietly. "Talus, can you get to the ambush point?"
"Yeah, sure," the Earth Demon replied. "I'll help 'em out. We only need one to watch her anyway." Buwaro nodded, glancing at the girl and her suppression cuffs. He wondered idly, as Talus left, if they'd suppress the Force too.
Not likely, but perhaps they could be enhanced to do so? He shook his head and began patching her up.
After some time, Buwaro heard Talus's heavy footsteps. Glancing out to his three allies, he noticed they had the two other Angels. That was almost a relief, save for the fact that it might have made his real job harder. Still, he nodded, smiling. "Everyone okay?"
"Yeah," Dakos grunted. "Can you get some rope from that Jakkai village?"
"I can try," Buwaro said. "Keep watch over 'em, will you?"
"Will do," Lazuli smiled darkly.
"And don't beat 'em up any worse," he added.
"Fine," she scowled, and Buwaro just laughed at her nonplussed expression as he left.
Getting the rope was relatively easy – the same abandoned house as before had lots of supplies, and even a spare backpack. He simply appropriated all of the food, the rope he needed, and a few blankets as precaution, before calling Imperius from the bedroom. He ended up having to leave a message for the Sith. "Master," he said, "we've captured the three in town – including the Sensitive. I'm heading back to the group now, I went on a 'supply run.' I'll contact you when I can."
Once that was done, he returned to the camp and showed them his pilfered goods. The girl was awake now, and shivering in terror. He wondered quietly if she was as young and green as she seemed.
Lazuli approached the girl, violent intent in her posture. "Haven't had enough, huh?" she sneered, before Buwaro grabbed her shoulder. "What?"
"I think we need them alive," Buwaro said coldly.
"I wasn't gonna kill her," Lazuli snorted. "Just rough her up."
"And at this point, she's fragile enough that you might break something important," the Fire Demon snapped back. "She's not trying to fight, you imbecile – look at her, she's nearly pissing herself." The girl winced and looked away in shame. Buwaro grimaced. "Just back off, okay?" he told Lazuli quietly.
"Fine," she snapped, "treat your girlfriend."
Buwaro glared at her, but knelt by the Angel girl. "You understand Lingo, huh?" he asked. She nodded weakly. "Alright. Just making sure." He glanced at the two boys, still mostly unconscious, before binding them all together by their cuffs.
Over the next three weeks, the group trudged through the snow, then the grasslands as the snow melted, the three Angels being led along by their captors. Buwaro probed the Angels' minds during this time, and got some very interesting facts from them.
One, the blue-haired ones were twins – from the same mother, same pregnancy, and same clan, the Suizahns – and the boy was Kazai, while his sister was Kieri.
Two, the red-haired one, Zahariah Sanjulo, and the blue boy were quite enamored with each other, and keeping it a secret – apparently, Angels had a problem with different Elements being in love. They thought that a "pure" bloodline would be stronger, so it was almost taboo. Buwaro couldn't help but think of the pureblooded Sith, the original occupants of Korriban, and was disgusted.
Three, the girl – Kieri – had been systematically abused by her mother, emotionally, verbally, and eventually even physically. Kieri had gotten to the point where the girl had actively contemplated suicide before, and was doing so now.
In fact, the day of their arrival above the Gathering in St. Curtis, she had managed to pilfer a shard of glass from a broken jar of preserved food that Buwaro had acquired, and she was about to swallow it when Buwaro caught her wrist. He gently shook his head and held his hand out below hers, for her to drop it. She shivered and did so, looking away in shame. 'Mother was right,' she thought, clear to Buwaro's mind. 'I truly am worthless.'
Buwaro had had enough of her self-loathing by this point, and began to seethe as he glared at her. She shivered, terrified by his glowing eyes and furious gaze, until, several seconds later, he dimmed his eyes, leaned close, and whispered in her ear, "Your mother was a monster to say that to her own flesh and blood." He then strode forward, ignoring her stare of stupefied shock. No one else seemed to hear what he said clearly.
"What happened?" Dakos asked as Buwaro caught up with him.
"She had a shard of glass from that jar we broke," Buwaro snorted. "She seemed ready to swallow it."
"Shit," Dakos muttered, then nodded. "Good eye," he praised Buwaro, then returned his gaze to the road before them.
When they made camp that night, settled into the mountains west of the city, Buwaro went to scout again – this time, seeking to scout the city. Seeing the number of people, he stayed well out of the light, instead bringing as much focus as he could to bear to scan over the town itself. It took him a while to build any real focus, for which he became frustrated.
Taking a moment to sit and center himself, he focused on his thoughts. He quickly realized he was distracted by the girl's plight – she was willing to die, she wanted to die, simply because of her mother's evil. The thought enraged him, scoured his thoughts of all other concerns in a way he hadn't expected.
Then again, how could one prepare for such an awful discovery?
Further, he realized that he could sense three great sources of power. He shuddered for a moment – were they all Guardians? Or were they the Gods? And why did one feel vaguely familiar – as if he'd sensed it before, but only briefly?
Then, his holocommunicator vibrated gently, startling him, and he quickly withdrew it, slinking off to hide behind a tree. He then smiled as an idea occurred to him. Perhaps his master could give Kieri the same loving attention that he'd gotten. As for the Guardians...he simply had to hope none of them tried to kill him before he spoke.
Finally, he activated the com and sighed. "Master," he said, "I'm sorry I didn't get back to you. There wasn't much time."
"It's fine," Imperius said. "I just leaned on the console, honestly. I was worried I'd blown your cover, so I tried to turn it off. Anyway, we're above Medius now. Can I get your location?"
"Yes sir," Buwaro said, pressing a button to broadcast his coordinates.
"We'll be there tomorrow morning. Xalek and Ashara can't wait to see you again, and Talos wants to see a Median city personally."
Buwaro smirked. "Of course the archaeologist wants to see living history." He then frowned. "Master, while we're here...there is something major troubling me. The girl, Kieri – the Sensitive – she's suicidal. Her mother seems to have been a complete monster, an abusive creature from some mythical hell of the galaxy."
Imperius was silent. "Abusive?" the Darth echoed, obviously shaken by this news. "She hurt her own child?"
"Apparently she wasn't a perfect warrior, so she was therefore completely incompetent and utterly worthless," Buwaro growled, the sarcasm dripping from his voice like venom from a serpent's fangs. "Verbal, emotional, physical – the only thing she didn't do was violate the girl sexually. Likely out of loathing for the girl, more than anything."
Imperius shook with rage. "I will take care of this," he snarled lowly. Smartly, he continued, "Buwaro – good work bringing this to my attention. I will do what I can for her."
"Thank you," Buwaro smiled, relieved. "Is there anything else?"
"Not that I can think of," the man smiled. "Go return to your group."
"Scouting first," Buwaro smiled. The man nodded and chuckled.
Returning the holocom to his pack, Buwaro returned to his meditative focus, and found himself somewhat calmer. It still took him almost two minutes to reach out far enough to the city. He soon found a Demon mind, wandering publicly, to his confusion – Lakritz's. Apparently, Lakritz and Sahne were with an Angel and her son, wandering and taking in the sights.
No one seemed to be in any distress as he scanned further.
Buwaro stood up and thought for a moment, before entering the city. He was worried, but everyone seemed to notice him, wave, and then ignore him for the most part. Curiously, he scanned the minds of a few passersby.
The initial minds he scanned all thought he was in a costume, and that he wasn't really a Demon – nor were the Angels actually Angels to them. In fact, most seemed to think that, if they were real, that maybe the Great War was really over. A few thought it was the end times, and some were terrified of him, but for the most part people just shrugged and accepted it, and thought they were costumed roleplayers, or part of a convention they hadn't heard of, or something equally silly and harmless.
Now Buwaro was worried. They weren't expecting this attack at all – and they would be decimated, devastated, by the resurgence of the Great War. This was definitely something he had to tell Imperius. He wondered if he could get a place to stay at a hotel. Likely not, as it seemed the festival that the Medians were here for was packed with people. That fact worried him all the more. He didn't have any coin, either – which only made it worse.
Finally, he returned to the group, dazed. "What took you this time?" Lazuli teased. "Get lost in the open plain?"
"There are Angels and Demons in the town, openly," he replied quietly.
Everyone who understood Lingo perked up at that. "Oh?" Dakos asked.
"Yeah, they don't seem to think we're 'real' – like we're in costume or something," Buwaro shrugged.
"Weird," Talus grunted. "Well, we can hide out there, then?"
"Yeah, if we have to," Buwaro smirked. "We don't even necessarily have to hide. Tomorrow, we can stroll in in broad daylight and no one will care, except for our prisoners. As for that, I'll sneak 'em in somehow."
The next day, Buwaro's allies discovered the truth of his word, while Buwaro himself quietly led the Angels through the unused streets to the Gathering. Once there, he told Iratu his findings, and handed the three Angels over by their rope. He and his crew had already gathered one, it seemed – this Angel was all beaten up and looked to be a middle-aged, well-worn warrior. Buwaro grimaced at the man's virulent glare, but said nothing.
Finally, as he was wandering the streets, Buwaro saw a middle-aged man with glasses and a cigarette struggling with a heavy crate. The young Fire Demon walked over and helped him, much to the man's obvious surprise. "Know anywhere I can get some work?" Buwaro asked. "I ran short on cash on the way over."
"Right," the man scowled, glaring at him harshly. Even without using the Force, Buwaro knew right then that the man was likely one of the city's anti-Demon types, and one of the few who knew he was the real deal. "Well, if you want work," he continued, "maybe you can talk to the Trouble Help Center."
"The huh-wha?" Buwaro asked.
"Like a bounty board for troubles around town," the man shrugged. "Go talk to the guy at the booth with the green smiley face."
"Thanks," Buwaro said, smiling. "Any more heavy stuff?"
"Two more crates, yeah," the man snorted. "You offering to help?"
"Sure," Buwaro smiled. "I'm Buwaro, by the way – what's your name?"
"Heathcliff Sinclair," the man responded, still wary.
Seeing the man's caution and understanding it, Buwaro made sure to be respectful and quiet as he helped Heathcliff carry the crates. They were able to get the entire load of product hauled into the wagon in just under five minutes. As they finished, a young girl came over, curious about Buwaro. "Sammy, be careful," Heathcliff warned.
She stared at Buwaro for a bit, before he smiled. "Can I help you?" he asked.
"Well aren't you polite," she grinned. "Nah, just wonderin' what you're doin' hanging around Uncle Heathcliff."
"Just helping him with the last few crates," Buwaro said. "Uh, speaking of which, sir," he added sheepishly, "if you don't mind..."
The man blinked, then shrugged. "Sure, you cut my time and potential back injury rate pretty heavily," he said, and handed the boy three silver coins. Buwaro bowed as he pocketed them, and the man smiled genuinely at the boy's respect. "No need to be so formal about it," he said.
"Every bit helps right now," Buwaro said, tail wagging. "I have some allies that need a place to stay." Sammy giggled as his tail-spade plopped into her face on accident, while Heathcliff looked surprised at the wording Buwaro used. Either way, the young Fire Demon left.
After getting the official button-badge of the Trouble Help Center, Buwaro felt it – his master was approaching the town, likely on foot. He hustled to find a place to stay in the inns. There was, in fact, one room open at the third inn he found, the White Lion's, but it would be cramped for four people. Buwaro decided to wait and see if Sepith was willing to stay in town on his apprentice's dime.
Darth Imperius listened to Buwaro's proposal. "Yes, I suppose it would be easier if we were in town," he said with a slow nod. "It will make it easier to counteract the attack of these Hellions."
"I'll join you in paying it off," Talos said with a grin, "I don't want to be a complete freeloader on this trip." Buwaro laughed, and the two got Talos a button to wear for their side jobs. It would be a full afternoon.
Sepith reclined on a park bench, dressed in as casual clothing as he would consider: dark grey robes with not-quite lavender trim and a brown cloak. The cloak was a gift from an allied Jedi after a great battle against a faction of doomsayers that concerned both Jedi and Sith. The cloak itself had a secret pocket for a meditative focus, a simple charm that allowed those whose power was more steeped in the Light Side to channel their power more easily. The focus was the real gift, but the cloak allowed for its delivery.
Sepith only rarely wore the cloak, as it clashed with most of his gear, but he had a feeling he'd need the focus it stored before this festival was over.
It wasn't long before a man came by – hair greying, but the brown still very visible, wearing glasses and with a cigarette in his mouth. Sepith was sure he felt a second life form in the man's pocket – one of the Fairies, likely. He nodded a greeting to the man, who sat by him. "You're an unusual one, aren't you?" the man asked.
"You could say that," Sepith smiled. "An unusual greeting. Sepith Veilcurse. You?"
"Heathcliff Sinclair," the man responded. "I saw the purple Demon talking to you earlier. His name was Buwaro, wasn't it?"
"Indeed," Sepith nodded. "I've taught the boy quite a bit since I first found him. Barely four at the time." Heathcliff perked up at that, seeming surprised. "Shocked that they're born like everyone else?" Sepith quipped.
"More than a little," Heathcliff grunted.
They were silent for a bit. "He and I seek allies," Sepith said. "You overheard more than just his name, didn't you?"
The man nodded. "The Demons are really planning an attack, huh?"
"Medius is the prize, but not the target," Sepith replied. "You'll need all the help you can get, I think."
Heathcliff grimaced. "I'm not so sure."
"Two Guardians will be no help if they can kill one discreetly," Sepith said quietly. Heathcliff's eyes widened as his head jerked to stare at the Darth, as if unsure of what to think. "I can sense them," Sepith explained. "The boy has a similar power as I do, which is why I was so eager to train him. Still, he'll need lots of help. I'm powerful, but I don't quite know how powerful I'll need to be – and there's one in town whom I can only assume, based on his power and his closeness to the Demons, is there to help perform the dirty deed."
Heathcliff glanced away. "Where can I meet you, then?" he asked quietly.
"The White Lion inn," the sith smiled. "Just ask for me by name." He slowly got up and nodded a farewell, leaving the man to ponder what had just occurred.
