Chapter 7
Will found himself in a pitch black room. The tentacle around his waist had loosened after being pulled into the aircraft, so he pulled it off over his head
Shirley! Jay!" he called out. "Are you two all right?"
"I'm here..." Shirley replied, also wiggling her way out of the tentacles.
"Me, too..." Jay said bitterly, untangling the tentacle from his legs.
"Oh...where are we?" Shirley asked. "I can't see a thing!"
"Ah hah hah!!" A maniacal laugh filled the room, seemingly coming from nowhere.
"Who's that?" Will asked.
"That laugh!" Jay gasped. "That can only be..."
Suddenly, the lights came on, nearly blinding the trio for a few seconds. Then they spotted Dist sitting in his chair at the edge of the room, drumming his fingers.
"You again!?" Jay growled.
"I told you I'd be back to deal with you," Dist said. "Though the circimstances are different from what I had planned."
"You know each other?" Will asked.
"He's one of the shady characters I mentioned earlier," Jay told him.
"Shady? Why, I never! Oh well, first things first..." Dist suddenly flew forward in his chair, grabbing Jay by the jacket, then flew up towards the ceiling.
"Ah!" Will and Shirley gasped as they watched, unable to do anything.
"You little imposter!" Dist growled. "How dare you pretend to be Jade! You don't look anything like him!"
"What? But..." Jay began to protest.
Dist then threw him forward. Jay hit the wall before falling to the floor roughly. Will and Shirley quickly rushed to his side.
"Are you okay?" Shirley asked.
"I'm just not having a good day..." Jay grumbled.
Will stood up to address Dist. "Just who are you?"
"He calls himself 'Dist the Rose,'" Jay said.
"Ah hah hah!" Dist let out his maniacal laugh. "So you remember my beautiful name! Well done!"
The group gave him an odd look.
"Now, what do you want from us?" Will asked.
"Oh, I'm just fulfilling my end of the bargain, that's all," Dist replied. "It's nothing to worry about."
"Then...could you please let us out of here now?" Shirley asked.
"I'm afraid that's impossible, my sweet. You see, my new friend has plans for the star-spangled urchin. It's a shame; the two of you could have been spared if you hadn't been so meddlesome."
"Um..." Shirley stepped back in defeat.
"Enough with the urchin crap!" Jay exploded.
"Jay, by definition, an urchin is a mischievous boy," Will said. "So technically, you are an urchin."
"I don't care! I hate that term!"
"Enough of this!" Dist snapped as he held out a long chair with several shackles attached. "Now, please slip into these, will you?"
The group paused, studying their situation. Trapped in some strange structure thousands of feet into the air, they had no other choice but to comply...
--
The Oresoren frantically searching Werites Beacon, eventually finding the rest of the party in the Quiet Lands.
"Senel!" Quppo called.
"Oh!" Tear looked down at the little otters with a sweet smile as they stopped to catch their breath.
"Quppo, what's wrong?" Senel asked.
"Jay, Will, and Shirley were taken captive!"
"What!?"
"They were taken to the bridge," Poppo said.
"Well, we'd better get going then." Senel started to leave, but paused and faced Luke's group. "I guess you guys can wait here, or..."
"No, we'll go with you," Luke said.
"What? Are you sure?"
"Sure," Guy said. "You helped us out before."
"So we're going to return the favor," Anise said.
"I'll go as well," Jade said. "I believe this is partially my fault."
"What's this?" Norma gasped. "Is Snake actually being nice??"
"If your friends are being held captive, then they must be rescued," Natalia declared.
Tear continued to stare dreamily at the Oresoren. "They're so cute..."
"Tear?" Anise called.
"Oh!" Tear cleared her throat. "I mean, yes, let's go rescue your friends."
"By the way, Natalie," Norma said. "You still haven't met JJ, have you?"
"Oh...no, I haven't," Natalia replied as the revelation hit her. "What kind of person is he?"
"He's very distinctive; you'll know when you see him. He might be an obnoxious brat at first, but he's not so bad once you get to know him."
"All right, is everyone ready?" Senel called.
"Ready," the others nodded.
"All together now!" Norma called. "One, two, three..."
"Charge!" Moses and Grune were the only ones who joined her.
"Oh come on, show some enthusiasm!" Norma whined. "We're going to rescue our friends here!"
Chloe shrugged. "I guess this is one of those times."
"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt," Natalia agreed.
"All right, one more time!" Norma called. "One, two, three..."
"Charge!!" This time, everyone joined in.
"Now that's more like it!" Norma cheered. "Onward!"
--
Meanwhile, Dist brought his captives to the control room of the bridge. He held the long chain, while Jay, Will, and Shirley were bound in the shackles attached to it.
"Special delivery!" Dist sang. "I brought a few extra packages; I hope you don't mind."
The Terrors turned to face him.
"He's captured Raynard and the Merines..." Cashel said, a little awed. "He can't be that bad after all."
"Don't tell me that you actually doubted the ingenius and beautiful Dist the Rose!"
"Him, beautiful?" Jay whispered. "I thought he was part of the garbage."
Will and Shirley kept a laugh in.
Dist spun around in his chair to face them. "What did you say!?"
"Oh, we weren't talking about you," Jay lied.
"Hmph..." Dist turned to address the Terrors again. "Now, when do we find Jade?"
"Commander..." Solon said. "Dist has fulfilled his part of our deal. Would you mind helping to search for this person? I have matters to attend to with my apprentice."
"Very well," Vaclav replied. "A deal is a deal."
Solon snapped his fingers, summoning a team of ninjas, who appeared throughout the room.
"Take the apprentice away!" he ordered.
The ninjas took Jay out of the shackles, and he immediately began to struggle. He broke free of their grip, then gave the first ninja a hard punch to the face, and then gave the second ninja a fierce kick to the chest. Solon moved in, connecting a brutal punch to Jay's face, knocking him to the floor. Afterwards, Solon began to cringe in pain.
"Argh! That hurt my fist, you little brat!"
The ninjas pulled Jay to his feet, holding him roughly by the arms.
"If it hurts so much, then stop hitting me!" Jay snapped.
"Grr!" Solon punched him yet again, causing another surge of pain in his arm. "Get him out of here! I'll be there shortly to deliver my proposition."
"Yes, sir!" the ninjas responded in a monotone before disappearing with Jay.
Solon continued to hold his aching wrist. "Impudent little brat..."
Will and Shirley gave him a nervous, silent look.
"So, Commander..." Dist said. "What should we do with the other two?"
Will and Shirley felt a cold chill in their spines.
"I'd like to eliminate them as soon as possible," Vaclav replied. "But I'd also like to see if we can sap their power."
"Just leave that to me," Dist grinned. "I have something that might do the trick."
Will and Shirley swallowed hard...
--
The ninjas appeared in another room of the bridge, still restraining the struggling Jay. In an attempt to stop his struggles, they kicked the back of his knees. Jay stopped as he fell to his knees, and the ninjas put a dagger to his throat. Jay looked up at them, breathing heavily.
A few seconds later, Solon appeared behind them. Sensing his arrival, Jay got back to his feet, resuming his struggles. Solon walked up to him, whacking the back of his head with his open hand.
"Hold still!" he ordered.
"Ah!" Jay stopped to catch his breath again.
Solon now moved to Jay's side, hooking an earpiece with a microphone to his ear.
"What are you doing!?" Jay exclaimed.
"You'll see," Solon replied with a smile.
After fastening the earpiece, Solon went over to the computer terminal, giving a nod, and the ninjas shoved Jay forward. Right when Jay hit the floor, Solon pressed a button on the terminal, instantly encasing Jay in a clear fiberglass that extended from the floor all the way to the ceiling.
"What!?" Jay jumped to his feet, punching and kicking the glass, but it was no use.
Meanwhile, Solon fixed an earpiece onto his own ear. "Can you hear me, Jay?"
Jay paused as he realized that he was hearing the voice only through the earpiece. This is...soundproof glass??
"Yes, I can hear you," he responded bitterly.
"Good. Now, I'm sure you know what I want from you, right?"
"I can only guess..."
"I want you to join me, that's all. Leave those friends of yours and return to your loving master."
"I...I think not."
"And why not, hmm?"
"Because I'm happy with them. I'm happier with them than I ever was with you."
"I highly recommend that you rejoin me, Jay."
"I don't care what you recommend! The answer is no!"
Solon shook his head. "Fine. You leave me with no choice then."
He looked up at the ceiling, prompting Jay to look up as well. The boy gasped when he saw three rings of orbs in the ceiling. The outermost and innermost orbs were blue, but the middle orbs were yellow.
"What...what is this?" Jay asked.
"Just a little something I put together," Solon said. "After all, you know what happens when you disobey your master."
"You're not my master anymore," Jay spat. "You can't control me anymore."
"Now, Jay, there's no reason to be that way. I took you in and raised you when I could have left you to die. No matter what you do, no matter how much time passes, that fact will never change. Therefore, you should be devoting your entire life to me."
"N-no! I won't let you trick me anymore!"
"I'm not tricking you, Jay. I'm only telling the truth. Now, join me, or I will activate this chamber."
"But what is it!?" Jay asked, a little more desperate.
"Oh, I might as well tell you. Do you see the blue orbs up there. When I activate it, they will release their energy, causing you a great deal of pain. And the yellow orbs will restore whatever damage to your body the blue orbs have done."
"And what's the point of that?"
"When you add it together, the blue orbs will cause you a great deal of pain, while the yellow orbs will function to keep you alive. You will not even be afforded the luxury of death or unconsciousness. All you will feel is the pain, which will never stop. To be honest, I've never done anything this wretched to a living being before." Solon's grin widened. "But I am so looking forward to it."
"You..." Jay was becoming a little intimidated, but he couldn't let it show. "You can't intimidate me!"
"Oh, but you look so scared right now," Solon grinned. "Perhaps a little taste will persuade you to change your mind."
He went to the computer terminal and pressed a button. The blue orbs began to glow; Jay arched backwards, screaming in pain. When the device stopped, Jay hunched over, looking up raggedly.
"Wh...what the hell are you doing!?"
"Interesting..." Solon mused. "I'll ask you one more time, Jay. Will you join me?"
"N-no!" Jay responded. "I told you, I won't listen to you anymore!"
"Well then, I'll just have to keep this up, won't I? I really don't mind myself. Go ahead and resist as long as you like. The longer you resist, the longer I'll savor your suffering. And do you know what the best part is?"
"Wh...what?"
Solon grinned again. "The best part is that I'm the only one who will hear your screams. And I'll enjoy each and every scream that you emit. Heh heh..."
He pressed the button again, reactivating the device. This time, Jay dropped straight to the floor, screaming in pure agony. He twisted and contorted into horrible positions as Solon watched in pure ecstasy.
Solon began to walk slowly around the fiberglass, never taking his eyes off the apprentice. "You know, I can only imagine what you're feeling right now."
He spoke to Jay, but it seemed like a futile effort, as Jay was in far too much agony to pay attention, and his screams nearly drowned out Solon's words. Nevertheless, Solon continued.
"Millions upon millions of pain receptors, all firing at once. At every point in your body, you're feeling the worst pain you could ever possibly feel. It must be an incredible sensation."
"Aaaarrrgh!!" Jay rolled onto his stomach, burying his face into the floor, trying to hold in his screams.
"I'll leave the communication channel open should you change your mind," Solon told him. "Call out to me when you're ready to give in, and I'll go ahead and shut this off for you. But take your time if you must. If you give in, you will be mine forever. But the longer you resist, the longer I will enjoy your screams. So do what you can to extend the fun, will you?"
As Solon turned to leave the room, he gave Jay one final taunt. "Either way, I win."
Once Solon was gone, Jay managed to pull the earpiece from his ear and threw it to the side. "Argh!! D...Damn you!! I don't...I don't want to listen to you!!"
He curled into the fetal position to try to endure the persevering pain.