Rise From the Darkness
Music Suggestion: Requiem- Avenged Sevenfold
Chapter 9: Baptism by Fire
i.
Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls,
And ask the ghosts if honor matters.
Their silence is your answer.
-Javik, Mass Effect 3
i.
"Talon! Talon!"
His eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the dimly lit room. His head hurt and his vision was foggy.. At first, he could only make out black apparitions in the shape of humans, but slowly their distinctive features came into view.
There were three of them. Big, intimidating, burly men. Tattoos lined their arms and scars weaved across their faces. They stared at him with hungry eyes that were beyond bloodshot. Their mouths were moving, but he heard no noise. His ears rang loudly, so much so that he felt as if his brain was going to implode. The men started advancing slowly, menacingly; their smiles only widening with every step and eyes nearly popping out of their heads with twisted anticipation. He felt a presence to his left and turned his head only to find his partner, Kavyn, tied to the wall by his hands and ankles. Talon realized he was in a similar situation, with his ankles and wrists tied painfully tightly to the decaying brick wall behind him. He couldn't recollect how they had gotten here, but it definitely seemed he and his partner in crime had gotten themselves into some serious trouble.
"Talon!"
He heard it. He heard Kavyn's plea for help. The ringing in his ears had minimized to a tolerable rate now. He tilted his head slightly to the left and whispered: "I'll get us out of here, just let me think". And think he did. His mind raced with possibilities, sifting through different outcomes to escape. Each one ended in failure. This was a situation he could not think his way out of.
The men were only a few steps away now. Talon swallowed his anxiety and spoke up, "Whaddya want with us?"
The men laughed in response, now only a mere foot away from the young boy. The largest and most imposing one cleared his throat, and promptly responded. "Shaddup boy!" A searing streak of pain crossed Talon's cheek as the large man struck him across the face with his muscular, calloused hand. "You and yur' friend fucked wit' the wrong guys!" Another punch, this one to the stomach from one of the leader's lackeys. The man to the left had begun pummeling Kavyn, throwing hooks to his chin mercilessly.
The men were relentless and unwavering, delivering blow after painstaking blow to Talon's damaged body.
He felt his ribs crack, his stomach caved in on itself.
He felt his nose break, crushing the cartilage and bone alike.
He felt his lung collapse, making breathing a hell of a lot harder.
His eyes drooped as waterfalls of blood seeped from his mouth. The pain had long left him, leaving only a hollow numbness and emptiness of spirit in its wake.
His breaths became ragged and forced; he turned his head slowly to check on Kavyn.
He was in poor condition, though not as bad as him. He was bloody and bruised, but could consider himself lucky since they had spared breaking any bones on him. Yet.
"Talon!"
There it was again. His name had gotten through to him; through all the pain and embarrassment and hopelessness, his name seemed to reach his ears, no matter how deaf they wished to be.
"Talon!"
He turned his head to get a better listen.
"Kill him! Don't kill me! It was his idea! Kill Talon! Kill Talon!"
...Kavyn. Kavyn had offered him as a sacrifice to appease the thugs. Kavyn had thrown him to the wolves to save his own pathetic life. After everything he had done for his friend, from protecting him to feeding him to saving his life and everything in between, he had sold him out in an instant.
If Talon had to mark a particular moment when he decided he would walk alone, this would be it. Many atrocities had occurred in his life in the slums, but this one cut the deepest. Kavyn had been his partner, his companion, his friend.
He would've done anything to protect him. But he… He sold him out at the first sign of trouble.
Some friend, huh?
The rest of the night was a blur to Talon, but he vaguely remembered breaking his restraints, he vaguely remembered slaughtering the three thugs with a rusty knife he had in his pocket, and he vaguely remembered slitting Kavyn's throat and watching the light fade from his eyes.
Often times he wondered where he got the strength to do such things considering he had practically been beaten to death prior. But he decided not to dwell on it too long.
After all, why ask a question you don't want answered?
"Talon!"
…
"Talon!"
…
"Talon!"
He finally stirred, eyes opening to reveal a red world.
His brain hadn't connected all of the dots yet, but he remembered what had happened just before he fell unconscious. They had beaten him mercilessly. More importantly, they had hurt Riven. Even now, her body lay limp on the ground a few feet away.
That simply wouldn't do.
The four man squad that was assigned to beating the daylight out of him seemed interested in Riven and had left him alone.
Perfect.
He propelled himself off the ground and landed on his feet. The other Crimson Elite in the ring noticed him, but… They seemed unable to believe it. He had been pummeled to a pulp, with bones broken and muscles torn, yet he stood before them. His usual purple cloak was tattered and ripped in several places, making it nothing more than a piece of cloth.
But the cloak had one important component still in tact.
Talon donned his hood, which was previously being unworn. The shadow it cast on his face was welcoming to him, and in a way, nostalgic. It had been a long time since he let the beast out.
He had tried to fight these people as if they were colleagues of his, as if they were associates, as if they were friends.
That was his mistake.
Friends got you hurt. Letting people in leads to your inevitable demise.
It was time to stop fighting as Talon.
It was time to start fighting as The Blade's Shadow.
The four remaining members of the Crimson Elite broke from their disbelief quickly.
"Talon, you need to see a doctor. You're in bad condition." It was Cade who spoke the voice of reason.
"Doctor? No, he'll need a priest for his funeral when I'm done with em'!" Bonzo seemed irate at Talon's defiance of defeat.
"You continue to impress me." Katarina rang, her voice quivering ever so slightly, perhaps from fear.
Ahren remained silent, as always. Her blue eyes seeked for some emotion from the darkness his hood cast over his face. Was he angry, or injured, or just exhausted? Why had he stood again?
Her question answered itself. Talon tilted his head up very slightly, revealing a full fledged grin adorning his face. It was
a broken smile, and his mouth was covered in blood, but it was unsettling to say the least.
They all saw that toothy, sadistic, insane grin of his, and in truth, were frightened. The Crimson Elite prided themselves on not only their skill in battle, but also their fearlessness.
It was an emotion that got you killed. As such, part of being in the Crimson Elite meant you had to forget fear. Forget how it feels to have a knife to your throat. Forget how it feels to be dead.
It was an emotion better left buried.
But The Blade's Shadow had an uncanny ability to instill fear. Even in the Crimson Elite.
He walked slowly, insidiously towards them. His eyes remained covered, but his mouth still had the same smile plastered onto it. With each step more blood seeped from his wounds, but if it hurt he showed no signs of pain.
He cracked each one of his knuckles individually. The resounded with a *pop* as he continued forward, each step measured and calculated, like he was something less than human.
Maybe he was.
Maybe he always had been.
Bonzo wiped his forehead as it beaded with sweat and swallowed his fear. "What are we standin' round' for? He's half fuckin' dead! Les' finish em' off!" He bellowed, charging forward with a fist raised high.
He neared The Blade's Shadow, and once within striking distance, brought his fist down with as much strength as he could muster.
It collided with The Blade's Shadow's palm as he caught the punch. Bonzo struggled to break free of his vice grip, but to no avail. Slowly the grip became tighter and tighter. Bonzo groaned, trying anything he could to get The Blade's Shadow to release him. He swung his left fist at him, but the Shadow merely ducked out of its way. He swiped his right foot through The Blade's Shadow's feet, but the Shadow merely hopped over it. The constant pressure went on for what felt like minutes, until finally Bonzo's right hand gave way.
*Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack*
Bonzo yelled bloody murder, screaming like he never had before. His right hand had been utterly destroyed. Each finger was individually broken at all three joints, the palm had been shattered and twisted into the wrong direction. He would never be able to use it again.
The Blade's Shadow wasn't done. Bonzo tried to run away, back to the safety of his comrades, but was drug back by a hand on his neck. The Blade's Shadow threw a right hook on the now kneeling Bonzo. It knocked at least four of his teeth clean out.
Cade had enough. "If we don't do something, Talon's gonna kill him! C'mon!" He frantically yelled to his team.
Riven stirred, trying as best as she could to get the world to stop spinning and to reorient herself. Her head still pounded from the blow but she tried her best to remember how she got here. She recalled that Katarina had struck her across the face unexpectedly, and the force of the blow had rendered her temporarily unconscious. It was very temporary, though, because in a matter of minutes, she awoke from her comatose.
She also recalled the reason she had gotten up into the arena in the first place.
Talon.
He was getting beaten mercilessly. Swain had pitted him against four; it was impossible, even for him. She had stayed on the sidelines and watched as long as she could, but eventually she had had enough. He may have committed some atrocious crimes in his life, but no one deserved to be punished like that.
Speaking of Talon, Riven diverted her gaze above, only to find him. He stood tall, facing three of the Crimson Elite members whilst holding Bonzo in his own grasp. Even though she was still somewhat disoriented, she could make out his injuries. They were serious, gravely serious. She didn't know how he was still conscious, but something about the way he loomed over Bonzo was… disturbing.
The other Crimson Elite members seemed to be in some sort of argument. Ahren remained silent and kept her eyes on Talon, but Cade and Katarina were verbally fighting over something. Perhaps whether to save Bonzo or not? Cade's eyes seemed to grow more and more desperate as neither of his teammates left their positions. She noticed Swain, standing outside of the arena, yelling in the general direction of Talon. The other members remained outside of the arena, wishing to not be involved in whatever the hell was going on. Things seemed to be reaching a boiling point.
That's when Talon spoke:
"Shut up."
It wasn't the anger in his voice that scared them. It wasn't the pain. It wasn't the craziness.
It was the absence of all of those things that scared them. All of them.
Despite being injured and severely tortured, his voice came out cool and collected, as always. One may think that an individual would get used to his lack of emotion with time. They would be wrong. To this day, it still sent shivers down Riven's spine, often making her think of that day he murdered her friends like they were pigs.
Silence shrouded the arena, but not for long.
"Talon! Release him at once! That is your teammate!" Swain boomed angrily.
Talon tightened his grip around Bonzo's arm. "I was their teammate." He pointed an accusing finger at the three members of the posse still standing. "Did that stop them?"
"Talon, listen to me!" Swain was frantic now. He knew he couldn't stop Talon with force; The Blade's Shadow was too strong, even for him. His only option was reason, but that seemed to be an ever shrinking hope.
Talon held up a palm to Swain. "No, you listen to me. First, I am going to kill this pathetic excuse for a human being," He shoved Bonzo all the way to the ground. "Then I am going to kill the rest of the group assigned to beating me." Talon adjusted his cowl and faced Swain with emotionless eyes. "Then I am going to kill you."
Riven's breath hitched in her throat. Those words cut right through her and chilled her to the bone. It was just too much to handle at once. Ever since Talon joined their forces, she made a promise to herself to fix him. Despite her anger, grief, and thirst for vengeance directed towards him, there was an underlying feeling he of sadness and pity. She wanted to right all of the wrongs that had been done to him in his despair-filled life.
But she was too late. Because now he was a loose cannon, and if she didn't stop him, he would kill everyone in here.
Talon lifted the heel of his boot high into the air and brought it down into Bonzo's skull with a sickening *thud*. The poor bastard's cranium caved in as the force from the blow allowed Talon's boot to pass easily through the flesh and bone and straight into the brain.
Bonzo's corpse slumped to the ground, blood oozing from his skull cavity. If the other Crimson Elite were sad for their friend's sudden death, The Blade's Shadow didn't give them time to show it. He charged forward and went straight for Cade. Cade attempted to protect himself, but The Blade's Shadow released a barrage of punches. Cade fell victim to Talon's onslaught, receiving several blows to his head and throat. The Blade's Shadow didn't stop. He pressed his advantage and continued pounding mercilessly on the man he once considered a "friend". Katarina and Ahren made their move and attacked Talon from two different directions. Noticing this, he performed a backflip to evade their strike. Once distancing himself from them, he lunged forward, grinding his teeth together in anticipation. The trio met, but it was The Blade's Shadow who came out ahead.
Talon brought his fist to Katarina's face with speed so fast even she could not block it. His heavy punch collided against her forehead with a resounding *slam*. Her body whiplashed and fell limp onto the ground. Talon began making his way to the last member of the Elite that had tortured him: Ahren.
She was trapped in the corner of the arena and forced to stare down The Blade's Shadow as he slowly made his way to her. It felt like staring death himself in the face.
For the fourth time that day, The Blade's Shadow showed no mercy. Ahren was no match for him, and when he got her to the ground, he beat her relentlessly. Each punch seemed more forceful than the last and she seemed on the brink of death as her breathing slowed and her eyes began to gloss rest of the Crimson Elite and Swain were forced to watch. Interfering with Talon in this state would be suicide.
The Blade's Shadow put one of his blood covered hands around her throat and began choking the life out of her. His fingers felt like daggers as they scraped into her skin. He leaned in close to her and whispered:
"No need to be scared, Ahren. Death is the best part of life."
Just when she seemed mere seconds away from her demise, a white haired woman shoved Talon off of her.
He fell to the ground but quickly regained his composure. When he stood and looked his assailant eye to eye, a slight frown spread across his face.
"I thought of all the people in this room, you would be the last to intervene." He said venomously.
"I will not let you harm anyone!" Riven shouted back, standing defiantly up to him.
He chuckled a hollow, pitiful laugh. "This is what you've always wanted, isn't it?"
She only stared at him in response.
He continued. "To kill the man who murdered your friends all those months ago."
She remained silent.
His cleared his throat. "You've changed. I can see it in your eyes. They used to be full of compassion and hope, but now… now they're nothing but two hollow chasms of anger and suppressed rage. Yes, Riven, you've changed. You're like me now."
A/N: sry for delay. review pls. pce.
-rdr
