Characters © Respective Owners
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Ch. 20: The Descendants pt. 2
Sirin was a descendant of Cesare while Wave was of Lucrezia's loins. Even though her blood was Lunar, her mind, body, heart and soul belonged strictly to the Solars. However, Sirin was purely Lunar in mind, body, heart, soul, and blood. His entire being belonged to Rodrigo and his malicious techno-crazed tribe without any question. Lucrezia felt her heart pounding against her ribcage like it was smashing against a bass drum. The blonde crow trembled, holding her steel pole tightly to remain stationary.
From his cape, Sirin pulled out his senbon needles with the same sneer he inherited from his ancestor Rodrigo. "I've been dreaming of this moment, Wave, itching to abide my fate and kill you," he cooed malevolently.
"Don't even try me, Sirin," Wave hissed, wincing from her head injury.
"Try? I don't need to try. I never miss my mark," Sirin snickered.
"That's what she said," Lucrezia mumbled to herself.
As Sirin propelled his senbon forward, a lone kunai knife sliced through each one. For a few eerie seconds, the senbon remained still in the air before clattering to the snow in halves. Espio appeared in a brilliant cloud of grey smoke, uppercutting the scarred bird across his beak. Grappling to his feet, Sirin barely avoided the kick aimed at his head, but couldn't dodge the wrench sledge into his chest. Sirin's eyes widened in complete agony before he slumped to the ground in hissing pain. Wave, completely drained, almost collapsed to her knees from exhaustion.
"Thanks for the save, Espio," Wave panted as the chameleon assisted her back to her feet.
"It's no problem. I was glad to help," Espio replied with a courteous nod. "I just sensed that Sirin wouldn't be in his designated area, feeling him here. Rest, Wave, and leave him too me."
Grunting, Sirin hobbled to his feet, holding his chest. Gasping, he sputtered, "Then come on, ninja. Show me your skills, and let's see whose gear is faster: shuriken or senbon."
Wave nodded, grasping Lucrezia's hand as they quickly limped behind one of the skyscraper-like snowmen. Espio was about to question Lucrezia's motives, but quickly raised his forearm in the nick of time to block Sirin's heel. The fatalistic sparrow hurriedly lashed his fist as Espio's face, making the ninja detective move his head without seconds to lose. Sirin smirked deviously, grasping his neck with his free hand and began choking him. Surprisingly, he was stronger than he appeared, and Espio gasped down air, trying feebly to breathe.
Espio grimaced, deciding it was time to use his natural talents. He only resorted to those moves if he couldn't wrack his brain for any other possible solution. In a flick of his head, his long tongue suddenly grasped tightly around Sirin's wrist. Hissing in disgust as the slimy tendril slithered along his arms to his cape, Sirin gasped as his cape was suddenly flung over his eyes. Blinded, he released Espio and threw his ebony cape off eyes, back into position. Espio's tongue sucked back inside his mouth, and he began to rapidly spit.
"You're disgusting," Sirin moaned, horrifically gazing at his saliva covered arms.
"Believe me, my sister uses his tongue in several other places, if you know what I mean," Espio scoffed. "I still can't comprehend why Tomo married Nack."
"Nack? I recall him, and I'm pretty positive you precisely remember when you allowed Lord Rodrigo access to harbor himself in your soul. Under your own free will, your consent, you almost took Nack's life," Sirin maliciously sneered. His features, usually morbid, stoic or enraged changed to a look that implicated Rodrigo's with the corners of his beak that stretched to their farthest extent. His cold orbs suddenly brewed with tainted insanity. "You're not as innocent as you appear, Espio!"
The ninja cringed, recoiling as the nightmare returned to his mind. Fear embodied his mind, circling around his head and ate away at his body. Espio willingly allowed nurturing to Rodrigo's soul until Cannon, Stream and Bean recovered his body and head from Babylon Garden. There, Rodrigo implanted half of his soul into Espio, and the other half in his body. His head was reattached by unknown means. As Espio regretted his heinous actions and recalled the gasps and jeers of horror from his allies, he could barely avoid the multiple senbon being thrown at him. As the needles sliced against his scales, Espio flipped backwards into the air and decided there was time to mourn later. The skilled ninja chucked several shuriken to counterattack the senbon.
Sirin hissed, knowing his senbon skills were growing redundant. Each senbon would attract a senbon like magnet to a nail. The sparrow decided that new methods would have to be used, some very cunning ways only he would accomplish. Sirin bolted past Espio when he landed, and he aimed his senbon at his the defenseless young ladies hiding behind the snowman.
"Die, sister! Pay for your crimes against the glorious Lunar Tribe! Fate is on our victorious side!" Sirin bellowed, his voice cracking in shrills.
"Wave, stay down!" Lucrezia screamed from behind the snowman.
Wave was already on her knees as the melancholy pain dripped and seeped into her bones. The weakened swallow fell onto her face, the blood from her nostrils blending the snow's white into a light red from her scarlet blood. Sirin unleashed his senbon in a flurry as Lucrezia snatched her pole and began rotating it like a helicopter propeller. Surprisingly enough, her swinging actually blocked the senbon from harming Wave. However, that didn't mean a few swung by and nailed her into her arms. Wincing, she dropped her pole and groaned in pain.
"Damn, Lucrezia can still fight," Sirin muttered, stopping his assault. "Good thing I weakened her."
"Stop talking to yourself! Your fight is with me, Sirin!" Espio roared. "I am your adversary!"
"You are just another pest I must eradicate," Sirin quipped ruefully.
"You sound like Omega, but come on, sparrow. Are you chicken?" Espio chortled coldly.
Not one to comply with insults, Sirin merely chuckled at the magenta chameleon's tactics of mockery. How old was he, five? Espio began to perform handsigns, but Sirin was already keen to his symbols, darting away on his Extreme Gear that he pulled out of his cape. As the final handsign was completed, Espio's grin widened in a victorious joy.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Espio cried.
Brilliant flashes of light grey smoke heaved through the air. Wave and Lucrezia ducked behind the snowman, just in case anything went wrong. Sirin's normally emotionless eyes ran cold with brittle shock. Nine copies of Espio stood around to real one likes soldiers in war by their admirable commander. What Sirin didn't like was that each one had the same expression as the real one: They were all smirking.
"Clones?" Sirin murmured almost fearfully. "You actually believe that some pathetic clones can defeat me?!"
"Exactly," the Espios replied in unison.
All at once, the Espios suddenly pulled thin wires from their belts, tossing them skillfully at Sirin's Extreme Gear, launching him back to the ground. Sirin yelped as his body made contact with the freezing, unforgiving snow. As the clones dismantled his Extreme Gear, the real Espio calmly strode up to him with a drawn kunai.
"Are you prepared to concede?" Espio suggested, twirling the ninja knife like an expert juggler.
"Never! Lord Rodrigo's reign with occur," Sirin insisted.
Espio kneeled in front of him, placing his kunai threateningly low at his neck. "I will ask you again: Do you give up?"
"No," Sirin spat, spitting at his feet. "I shall never be defeated by the arrogant likes of you!"
"You're just as blind as Cannon before he died!" Wave accused, stepping out of his snowman's giant shadow.
"Wave, get back into hiding with me!" Lucrezia fearfully commanded.
Ignoring her ancestor's warning, Wave carefully maneuvered towards her half-brother, using her wrench like an elderly man's cane. Sirin watched her, bug-eyed in hatred and slight fear at her intentions, but wondered what the genius swallow was plotting. Kneeling next to the sparrow, she said nothing at first, slowly bubbling up courage form her chest and sighed the rest up.
"Who do you think would win in the long run if Rodrigo lost?" she questioned slowly with closed eyes.
"He would not lose!" Sirin persisted.
"Answer the stupid question before I pound your idiotic skull into sludge with my wrench!" Wave shrieked.
"I…am not sure. I never doubted him or went against his word," Sirin admitted, but only because of her threat. "but there's absolutely no chance he could lose. It's written in fate that my ancestor would-!"
"Fate, fate, fate! Is that all you yammer on about? Give it up!" Wave screamed, slapping Sirin across his face. "Listen to me!" She grasped the sides of his face, pulling him close to her chest. "If I can control my fate, so can you, Sirin. Lucrezia went against her supposed fate because she knew it was wrong. If she hadn't, I never would be with Jet. I would never be happy without Jet, Storm, or even Charmy in my life. Fate is just a word, Sirin. Defy it."
Something among those words clicked in the realizing sparrow's mind. If Wave was joyful by going against her fate as a Lunar Rogue, how come he was so miserable by abiding faithfully to fate's will? He glanced at the ground, watching as Espio dispelled his clones and placed his kunai back into his glove compartments. Gulping, Sirin felt a genuine smile creep onto his face, but it was soon replaced with a sheer gasp of terror.
A portal appeared behind Lucrezia, and a scythe suddenly ruptured through her spine. Blood sputtered through the hole of the body, and the cold metal rested peacefully through its own carnage. The crow's cobalt eyes widened before heavy eyelids slammed shut for the final time. She flopped over dead onto the crimson snow as it spread even farther. Rodrigo stepped out of the portal, quietly removing his scythe with grief in his violet eyes.
"Sirin, what are you doing?" Rodrigo demanded slowly.
"A-ancestor!" Sirin stammered, galloping to his feet. "I was-!"
"I heard it all! Don't listen to them! They know nothing about fate, war, domination, or this world's insanity!" Rodrigo snapped, cutting him off. "Wave is a traitor, and so was my own…precious daughter. They must be eliminated promptly!"
"What kind of father would murder his own 'precious daughter'?!" Espio shot back, eyes never leaving Lucrezia's deceased body.
"The kind of father whose daughter betrayed him twice," Rodrigo malevolently cooed. "It was once in the past centuries ago, and now. Sirin, go and do as I command. Kill them already! I am your only lord and master, and I control your fate! You are nothing, without me!"
"B-but I…no, I have a better idea." Sirin ripped off his cape, symbolizing his loyalty to his insane ancestor and slapped it onto the ground. "I, Sirin the Sparrow, herby announce my defection of fate! I'm leading my own tale, Rodrigo. You cannot control me any longer."
Rodrigo growled, swinging his scythe haughtily. "You were like a smarter Cannon: loyal, emotionless and intelligent, but utterly weak in your soul. Your mother would be disappointed! I am glad she died during your birth, bastard!"
Sirin stamped his boot onto his cape, kicking it to Rodrigo. The devious crow snatched the cape, shredding it to pieces. Leaping back into the portal, Rodrigo grinned cruelly. Shivering, Sirin crossed his arms, helping Wave to her feet. Espio threw an enlarged shuriken at Rodrigo, but the portal vanished, and the star-shaped weapon cut through a massive snowman. Espio grimaced, catching it and folded it back up into his belt.
"Wave, I am so sorry," Sirin muttered sadly. "I was so focused on obeying him, I never thought for myself. When my mother died, I became cold and distant, thinking fate was my unchangeable guide." Sirin faced Espio with a quirky, unused grin. "Thank you for beating some sense into me."
"It's fine, but…" Espio's gaze shifted over to the deceased body of Lucrezia. "…she was on our side the entire time."
"Her and Cesare," Wave announced bemusedly.
"We must warn your friends," Sirin stated. "Their lives are in severe danger."
"Why? And don't say it is because of Rodrigo," Espio grimly replied.
"Worse, it's-Agh!" Sirin was suddenly pelted on his back with an energy ball of darkness, falling face forwards into the ground.
As Espio and Wave were about to react, the door that headed to the stairs slammed shut, locking them inside. Yet, the door was already shut, so who just left? A feminine cackling was heard, slowly strolling upstairs. They were trapped, and not even Espio's Teleportation Jutsu or Space/Time Jutsu could place them where they needed to be which was with their friends. Both of them gazed at the door before Sirin's groan attracted their frustrated, bemused thoughts.
"Sirin, who was that?" Espio frantically asked.
Sputtering, Sirin sat up, shaking his head. "I have only heard her voice, but never her face. She is Rodrigo's wife, Vannoza."
---
Psyko the Wolf's eyes shot open, and he leaped to his feet in his Nightmare World. His knives slowly caressed the pipes that surrounded his realm. His twin brother, Somatic, strode up to him with his machete in hand. An intruder was lurking somewhere; someone had actually managed to arrive into their Nightmare World, but he or she wasn't brought in because of Psyko.
"Well, well, the Wolf Twins," Cesare grinned warmly, jumping from one of the pipes.
"You?" Psyko blinked in confusion. "What was your name again? We met once, right?"
"Yeah, it's Cesare the Crow. We talked about the Babylon Rogues or something. I'm somewhat drunk, to be completely honest," Cesare admitted, holding a flask in his hand. Taking a quick swig, he added, "I need this."
"Issues much?" Somatic asked.
"Exactly! Anyone, I require your assistance," Cesare stated. "I have just lost my dear sister who was murdered by our father, Rodrigo. I need some new recruits, and I feel completely terrible about my loss. I want revenge now for two people, so, are you two in?"
Psyko and Somatic blinked at the somewhat drunk avian, recalling that birds can get drunk very easily like Rock Lee. Yeah, they're that bad; just watch Jet when he's stoned. Psyko slowly approached the slightly wasted crow with Somatic lagging behind. The greyish-black wolves sneered at Cesare, holding their weapons tightly as Psyko's gloved knives extended to his hand.
"You give us all the kinks of your plan, and we're in," Psyko grinned.
Cesare felt his spirits rise, and he huddled the twins together, exposing his plan. Perhaps, maybe there was a way to beat Rodrigo once and for all. If only he knew exactly what he was getting into.
---
Back with Wave, Espio and Sirin, they gave Lucrezia a proper burial underneath the snow. Sirin sat by one of snowmen, holding a small photograph in his hands where a young Cannon, Stream, Bean and himself were in a small sandbox. He was in a corner, glaring at Cannon as the other three played by making a king-sized sandcastle with Bean propping up at the top.
"You didn't like them?" Wave asked, trying to make conversation.
'I despised the faulty leadership skills Cannon had," Sirin replied sourly. "Yet, it saddens me now to know that he is dead."
"So, you didn't mourn him two years ago?" Espio questioned.
"No, I left the group prior to his death," Sirin revealed. "I was acting as the head monarch through a monastery because I received death threats, and my advisors urged me to go into hiding where I ruled in private."
"Anyway, we should try to escape," Espio suggested, taking control. "Is the door locked?"
"It shouldn't be from here," Sirin stated, gently pushing the door, but a sudden surge of electricity whip-lashed pain into his body. He fumbled backwards, but Espio caught his arm.
Espio unleashed a torrent of kunai at the door, disabling the electrical shock. Kicking the door down, he and Sirin gaped at the sight: The stairs were gone. Wave cursed at the top of her lungs, still using her wrench as a support. Sirin, aghast at the sight, stroked a hand through his seven crimson headfeathers. Espio removed one of his kunai, throwing it at the darkened corridors, but he could make out three specks of emerald, grey and yellow stripes.
"How can they be walking when there're no stairs?!" Espio cried.
"I can explain," Sirin stated. "Whenever the door leading to the stairs is shut, they become visible to those walking on them. They're here, but we can't see them. Espio came back, but whenever the door opens again, the stairs will vanish to anyone on this level. The people walking up it can see."
"Sirin, who's next?" Wave asked concernedly.
"Tagio Della Volpe," Sirin hissed. "Your albatross friend is fighting him, yes?"
"Yes, but is Tagio strong?" Espio inquired. "He seemed weaker than you or Aliza."
"Tagio's only strength is his swordsmanship," Sirin yawned. "I could easily crush him."
"Oh, good, Storm will be okay," Wave gratefully sighed, easing at his sentiment.
"What about Vannoza?" Espio questioned.
Sirin wracked his brain for any knowledge on her. He only knew that Vannoza's personality was angelic, intelligent, yet stern, and that she was Lucrezia's birth mother while acting as a step-mother to Cesare. That was all he knew, besides her manipulation over gravity which he revealed to them. They dropped the subject and began to brainstorm ideas how to help their friends, Espio continuously tried and failed his jutsus to transport them to the others.
Suddenly, two cloths clamped on Wave and Sirin's beak, effectively knocking them out. Espio snatched one of his cloths, and the stench of chloroform filtered in the air. A hand suddenly slapped Espio's neck, making him wince, and he slowly fell to his knees. His brain slowly fell asleep as his conscious slipped.
Psyko heaved Espio over his shoulder while Somatic collected the half siblings by their feathers. Pulling out a small two-way radio, Psyko pressed a red switch, saying, "Cesare, the birds and Espio are out cold."
"Great work," Cesare replied in a garbled voice due to static interference. "Bring them to the first floor, the Digital Dimension where they'll be safe. Mighty, Ray, Vector and Aliza are already there, making them safe. I-!" Cesare began to sputter, coughing like there was no end.
"Hey, is he alright?" Somatic asked cautiously.
"I don't have…much time left," Cesare grunted. "Please, do as I ask. Over and out."
With the link dead, Psyko shoved the radio into his jean pocket. Nodding his head, the duo entered a grey portal courtesy of Cesare that led to the Digital Dimension.
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Fate can't prevail under the warmth of believers. What is Cesare's plan? Who is the real Vannoza? Can Charmy, Jet and Storm defeat the rest of Rodrigo's faulty army? Find out next time in Rogue's Bee!