Disclaimer: I do not own Rioichi Cooper but I own the other characters as well as the plot.
Tales of Rioichi.
Clockwerk spread his huge wings out to the sides as he swooped in through the caverns and landed on a large stone that acted somewhat as a podium all while he observed what was unfolding down below in the catacombs he had been forced to squat in for over a decade now.
The owls body was very tight from having to stay in these cramped conditions and he was now having to cover the back of his neck in scraps of metal left over from old war cannons due to the fact that his neck joins were failing him just like his legs were when old enemies had demaged both his talons and had forced him to take drastic measures.
He peered down over the edge of the stone he had perched upon to watch what was happening below as a sharp grin had spread on his razor sharp beak.
As promised, Tai had brought the Ninja Triad together and even gathered a few more members but then the older adult red panda coon had the idea of creating a syndicate of all the blood thirsty war mongers and generals in all of Japan so they could rise up and seize their oppertunity to shine like the stars against a blood red sky filled with war and anarchy.
This was an admittedly clever plot that made Clockwerk think of all the possibilities that could come from this. If he had failed to take down Rioichi then he would ask for the Ninja Triad to track down the offspring of that raccoon and he'd go and kill it himself. An evil grin plastered itself upon his beak as his evil ruby eyes glared down at the sight of his accomplice pacing back and forth with a devious glint within his piercing rusty brown orbs.
Tai had managed to get most of his strength back after years of being unable to move at all and most of his body being easily susceptible to locking in place. He had a much stronger built chest then before and he even appeared more healthy then before as he whipped his ringed tail threateningly in the air behind him as he walked by several black dressed warriors.
Each of these flexible, strong warriors had been hand picked by Clockwerk himself and some of them were even members of the original Ninja Triad. Some of them were even the offspring of the members Tai worked with and as the male raccoon wandered passed them all with an intimidating raise of the brow, each and everyone of the ninjas and warriors gathered could barely look their superior in the eye as not even the armour they had adorned or the black facial coverings that was worn by some could mask their increase of fright.
The older adult raccoon held a Bo staff as he thumped one thin end of it to the stone flooring beneath them with each step he took. Tai's ear brushed at the sounds of dripping from the ceiling a little ways behind and he took in the heavy moisture-laden scent.
He could feel the caves flooring beneath his bandaged feet and ankles splash a little under each footstep he felt and his copper fur blew in the very slight breeze that had entered through the mouth of these mountainous caverns. His hearing used to be so great that he could sense a foe coming from a few miles away but due to both his coming of older age and having nothing to listen to except for snickering and laughing, that had been thrown into the wind so now his hearing was just ordinary.
Tai abruptly stopped his pacing dead in his tracks as he heard the sound of pathetic whimpering coming from a little ways in front of him. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he decided to follow the sounds and he looked at a pair of rookie warriors who looked nervous but they weren't the source of those highly pathetic whines.
Tai jammed his Bo stick forwards in between the warrior and Ninja who stood before him and used the stick to pry them apart and saw the obvious man he sought out. It was a small adolescent woodchuck whom wore samurai armoury that barely fit around his chubby body.
The older adult raccoon with long locks of 'hair' glared down coldly at the cowering rodent with no emotion in his eyes. He could hear the constant whinging vibrating against the air and this annoyed the Ninja syndicate leader beyond comprehension.
The darkness of the grottos provided a highly intimidating backdrop and the 'drip drop' sounds the droplets of water made each time a dew had let go of its latch upon the icicle-shaped rocks hanging suspended on the ceilings had created an almost terrifying atmosphere to the sudden grim mood this place had took on from the sudden heartless drop these catacoms had shouldered all at once.
The raccoon lurched a russet hand forwards and grabbed hold of the scruff of fur dangling upon the armoured woodchucks neck and within seconds, the young adult rodent was hanging whilst choking on the tight grasp the leader of this pack had on his neck. Tai felt a growl vibrate against his throat before he demanded, his voice tittering over the edge of being a menacing snarl "Who might you be?"
The small fur ball shook and cowered in the copper furred rogue's tight grip. His huge eyes were filled with fearful tears that threatened to pour from those giant orbs and leave damp streaks in their wake and the Woodchuck tried to curl into the smallest ball possible despite being in the impossibly strong grasp of a psychopath. His teeth chattered against the soundless quiet of the caverns as his small circular ears flattened.
All of the army watched with each and everyone of their breaths hitched in their throats and even the battle lords watched in outright horror as the raccoon continued to strangle the fur ball with cold, heartless eyes that would burn right into the enemies soul and tear you like paper on the inside.
The solider woodchuck gulped and continued to whimper as he trembled like the tail of a rattlesnake "...I-I-I...I-" he breathed in through his nostrils deeply, trying to fight the ever growing urge to be sick as he tried to calm his nerves "...I want to become a member of this army. I can do anything you request, s-sir!"
Tai just kept his stone gaze on the marmot but did not release him.
Everyone drew in a big breath as they felt suspense sliver like a serpent into each of their minds as many possibilities of what was to transpire next had crossed their minds. What was going to happen? How on earth did that twerp end up in the line up of fine warriors chosen by the master of metal and flesh himself? What was Tai going to do with him?
The woodchuck was further intimidated whence Tai shoved his muzzle right against the rodents muzzle and he glared piercing daggers "That does not answer my question, Kodomo, what are you doing here?"
Flinching, the young teenaged marmot reluctantly looked into the coons eyes. He could see no kindness within those murderous orbs that seemed to have little to no love whatsoever. His little heart thumped ferociously in his chest cavity as he could feel himself breaking into the coldest of sweats imaginable and his fur became really ruffled and out of place to show just how panicky he was becoming. He jerked around hastily to break free from Tai's firm grasp on his neck but he stopped whence the tight fist squeezing his neck fastened.
The rodent gave a choked gasp when a horrid shudder ran down his spine. He was beginning to regret his decision coming here as Tai slowly began to choke him even further, constricting his trachea so he could barely swallow.
"ANSWER ME!" The older raccoon with copper fur roared viciously as he heaved in deep breaths, his shoulders rose up and down. He felt a certain rush of adrenaline course through his veins like bubbles in a fizzy drink that had been shaken for 10 minutes and was foaming out of control through the bottle cap.
"I-I! Please don't hurt me, g-g-general!" The Woodchuck pleaded fearfully.
When the wanted criminal still didn't get an answer, his patience had run out. The male raccoon instantly used his Bo staff to fling the fearful Woodchuck into the air and all of a sudden, he was snatched up by Clockwerk and the remaining warriors could only watch mortified as they experienced the half mechanical owl tear through his small prey.
Shadows reflected upon the walls as Clockwerk ate the young Woodchuck from a very high ledge and he clearly ignored the pain filled, agonising screams of terror that filled the air. Everyone gasped in horror as they either turned white from pure horror or buried their faces in their hands to avoid seeing the grim sight that would probably befall them if any weaklings wanted to join them or hid amongst them.
Tai turned his back on the grim happenings going on behind him and focused on the large pack of Ninja and fierce warriors as he twirled his Bo staff quick with flexible fingers "I have been training up for years so I could get my revenge on my former wife: Isamu Cooper," he glared sternly at his soldiers "I shall not tolerate weaklings nor whining!" He glared slits at them "Do I make myself clear?"
With fearful expressions, they all nodded simultaneously. Tai knew that they all nodded only because of how afraid they suddenly were but he didn't even care. If he was to take his son's life along with Majin Clockwerk then he needed a top notch army to help this plan along like a crutch on either arm of someone with both legs broken.
The red panda raccoon older adult grinned maliciously "Good," he unsheathed his Bo staff and tucked it behind his back "We shall leave immediately." But Tai's attention was drawn to Clockwerk whose cold voice rang out like a finely polished church bell from his perch above.
"This is not entirely true, Tai-San."
Clockwerk spread his wings and swooped down to greet the army of rodents, mammals, much smaller birds then himself and even flying mammals. Upon landing he was met by respective bows coming from all whom stood before his almighty stature even if he had noticed the shaking coming from most of the warriors whom have been gathered. He smiled viciously at their fright.
The giant owl stomped his metal talons to the ground to empathise his point but he stared at them with an evil smirk pulled at the corners of his razor sharp beak "I have been spying on the enemy but found that not only does he know little about his heritage but he also has no idea what has happened to his dear mother. He is oblivious to all of this and that therefore should give us a much bigger advantage point."
Tai looked confused "Yes but what does this have to do with us not killing the brat instantly?"
Clockwerk shook his wings and pelt a little to, again, empathise his point. He knew that he was the only smart one here and there was nobody else who could match his superior intellect. But now he felt like he really was the smartest being in history! Rubbing at his temples irritably, Clockwerk explained "My goal is to kill Rioichi in front of all the world and I need him to be at a appropriate location for my plan to succeed fully."
Tai furrowed his brows further in confusion "Why do you need to murder the child in front of everyone?"
"Simple fool," Clockwerk reached a talon forwards and used a single claw to snake under the older coons furry chin "I need to prove to all that the Coopers are nothing without their precious book..."
Tai smiled at this. His wife had carried that blasted book everywhere she went and wrote in it all the time! He didn't know what was so special about that stupid piece of literature but it must have been at least centuries of years old judging by the archaic golden piece that had been welded on to the corners of the cover and the back.
So the copper furred adult raccoon gave a leering grin as his tail swished excitedly behind him through the dank, rotten darkness of the small caverns they stayed in all this while. He couldn't wait to see what his son looked like but not for the reasons you may think, he hoped that he would see a lot of the boy's mother in him so he could feel exactly like he did whence Isamu had been slain by his own hands: a trickle of revenge-filled joy.
Giving a single nod, Tai asked "So what shall we do, master?"
Clockwerk's dark grin mirrored his accomplices own. He knew exactly how to put an end to the son of Isamu and he had just the thing to make him suffer.
His cold, emotionless voice contained a hint of thoughtfulness as his lifeless red orbs stared directly at Tai. He was more then certain what needed to be done and he couldn't deny the smile this mere thought had given him throughout his entire body that buzzed in excitement!
"We break him from the inside out."
A/N: Cliffhanger! Ooh dear. Rioichi doesn't need to be broken even further then he already has been. He already lost his adoptive father and he lost his mother whom he barely knew, what else does he have to lose?
Stay tuned and find out.
At least this chapter is longer than last nights one, though, I'm proud of this one. Next we get back to Rioichi and hopefully we'll run into a past face! BTW, which character is your favourite so far? Who do you think is the best character I have done so far?
I thought that I should basically censor Clockwerk killing that Woodchuck since I want this story to be for EVERYONE!
I am also aware that most of this I have gotten from Rioichi's level in Thieves in time. I may have over analysed things with the chapter but I am darn proud of all this! I hope that I get good reviews, guys!
Thanks!
-Chloemcg