A Trip For Beyond. . .
Welcome to probably the most anticipated update of all my stories, we'll delve into this matter together. Enjoy.
"I don't start riots. I start ideas, influence thought, and incite intelligent actions."
- Jeffrey G. Duarte.
A thrumming sounded. An echo of voices over one another became jumbled as the realization began to sink in.
Yago had fucked up.
''U-Ugh. . .'' Yago breathed in a exhale accompanied by a wheezing vocal fry. Yep, his lip and some of his teeth were definitely broken. How had the deal gone so wrong? It was a simple exchange as it had always been. Granted, the client had been demanding more products than could be delivered with the quality and care needed for the price of it to matter. ''Mmm. . .''
''Oh, hey; he's waking up.'' Yago heard a voice sound surprised as the sound of metal was sound against the wooden floor. He had done his best to not speak, to not rat those who had given him his big break, and give his family the life they had so desperately wanted. The torture, so to speak in comparison to suffering would be worse.
''Good, because we're going to need him awake. I don't want it said I killed him when he can try and vouch for himself, but we have enough evidence to warrant a hearing.'' Yago's eyes were harshly assaulted in a form of light that was put in his face to facilitate waking up. What looked to be a shape covered in green slowly revealed itself to be. . .the thing! Hero, he was sure that was what it was called. And he. . .looked angry. ''Start talking.''
''Huh? W-What?'' Yago asked, looking at the shield that was on his arm, and the dried red stain, which upon thinking about it and feeling the sting of pain from his forehead, the stains being his blood suddenly made all the more sense.
''We're asking the questions here,'' the Unicorn looked at Yago, walking forward and tapping at the floor with his reinforced hoof claw, the sound of scraping making his ears hurt and his surroundings made his mind go haywire when he was able to understand where he was at, and more importantly, the reason for the violence. ''What were you doing?''
Deny. Deny. Deny. They had nothing to go on, and they would only use intimidation tactics until they got what would basically be a lie; a means to an end of spreading their mission of oppression and power-grabbing until nothing would be left. ''Y-You got nothing, you colored freaks. You're in Yak-Yakistan, so everything you've done since you set foot here is against you. Prince Rutherford-''
''-Is on our side with making sure that this land of yours is adequately defended against threats, foreign or domestic, as well as cracking down on the shakedowns that have been going on at the docks, and from what I and the kid's seen when we investigated-'' Valiant gestured to the Hero, who looked to be barely containing himself from striking him again. ''-those barrels and the fact that you were harboring some creature who slapped one of your guys' shit and ran off poses some questions.''
Yago huffed, that had almost been him if he hadn't backed away and let his friend take charge with escorting her from the ship. She paid well and kept her mouth shut until they got to port, and that was a capital offense to act such a way to a host. Though against the situation that occurred, Yago was caught with the proverbial egg on his face as he was assaulted, and for no reason other than to flex one's power. ''I ain't talking, so you might as well let me go, and especially since you have no evidence.''
Valiant almost wanted to laugh, but he knew that would only insult the Yak in front of him as he thought him not telling the truth would erase what did before coming into contact with them, and even more so what was attempted to be done before things went south with the deal. He had to applaud him, however. It was a relatively good tactic that was used to deflect on the basis of no evidence and to allow time for those with the small, or big amount of power in such a case to double down on the denial.
But Valiant was smarter than that. Taking a chair from the rear of the room with his magic and bringing it to his rear as he sat in it, he smirked and played his own card. ''You see; what is wrong about that way of thinking is actually that even when you think this little 'spat' will be enough to deflect us off of what we all know is your bullshit, then you are more dead wrong your friends that I fed to the sharks.'' Valiant cleared his throat and looked at Yago with the most unimpressed look, the dullness in his eyes unnerving the Yak the longer the two of them stared at Yago without trying to hurt him any further. ''So, I ask again; do you want to tell us what you were really doing down there?''
''Don't tell them,'' Yago thought. ''They don't need to know, it wouldn't be any use.''
''Look,'' Yago looked to the Hero who walked forward, clutching his fists and scowling, the green light on his shield glowing brighter the closer he got to Yago. ''Whatever it was you and your guys did to my party almost killed them, and if I hadn't been there in time, if I hadn't. . .'' Naofumi growled, withholding a deep breath before it came out through his nose, Valiant looking at his partner before he spoke again, the anger being felt in the entire room. ''If you don't tell us what plans you have going on, or who you're working with, I will make every second from now on the worst you've ever known.'' Naofumi's cold, iron stare began to get under the Yak's thick skin, each passing second with the shield getting closer provoking him to flinch when Naofumi exhaled a breath or grunted until he was only a few inches from his nose.
Valiant silently agreed as a small moment of understanding where something came up when Yago talked about no evidence.
Storm Song. He was pretty sure that was her by the color of the flight streak on the way out. Her information about traveling on the ship could yield something, and being in Yak-Yakistan still would provide the advantage. He also knew that he or Naofumi had yet to tell him about Silver Mark, specifically, so they had plenty of things on their side versus what Yago may have thought otherwise.
They would only need to push the envelope to make it work.
''Well, we could just let you go, and then what good would that do for you? You probably could have your things to attend to, and probably you're late by now,'' Valiant mused, going over the multiple options he would try and deflect to in the event of things going his way. ''To your. . .partners, they must be wondering where you are, and that will make them come looking for you. You'll tell them what we tried to do to you, which will force your plans to speed up, and that's gonna be where you're gonna slip up-'' Valiant said, Naofumi holding his anger in check behind a pressed growl.
''-And we already know what we're going to do to counter that. So it would be better if you just told us before we resort to less civil ways of talking.''
''Pfft, what could that be, yutz?'' Yago asked, not believing what they may have had for an idea to get him to talk, even if it was more violence. He was a Yak; he could and would endure; if it meant his own goals could be accomplished. These two would be able to do little in the face of the great Yaks, and once Prince Rutherford was told of the true nature, then it would be only a matter of time. ''Whatever you got for me will be a piece of cake.'' Yago was deep in thought as he waited to see what lengths the two of them would go in order to get nothing out of him.
Naofumi looked at his shield, working out different scenarios if it would be able to provide any kind of trump card to make the situation better, but knowing if it would be that easy to change the outcome of certain things around him, then he would be probably back home in Japan. Yago was stubborn, but he would eventually crack when prompted.
''That is a very good question; I actually have the answer to that. But, here's another: How willing would you be to go against what you know if it involved your family. . .Yago?'' Valiant asked, a smirk on his face as the Yak's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. How did he know? Did he mutter in his sleep? Were they being watched before their meet? Or were-
''-I would gather, pretty far, as a matter of fact,'' another aged voice sounded from behind Yago, making his worst fears come to light; he had been ratted out. And by one of his own, no less. ''I figured it would be some fuckery in play, but you, Yago? For shame,'' Pagus slowly came into view, shaking his head with a disapproving aura, followed by another figure with a cloak over their head, before the realization sat in from the color.
''You,'' Yago growled to the both of them, wanting the positions to be reversed so he could enact his revenge. ''Both of yous, sellouts!''
Pagus snickered, taking a slow sip from his carry flask of peach and lychee mead, the slow, fruity concoction soothing his sore throat. He knew he could do little in this environment, but he would indeed make the most of it while he was present. He held an idea of who may have been behind the botched job at the docks, only making work for the common Yak all the more difficult while making their pockets richer while draining every bit of commerce versus working hard for the currency agreed upon by the masses.
And especially when it came to his alcohol.
''You got caught, simple. From what I hear, you got off lucky by not getting eaten by sharks. So, what the hell have you guys been shipping and selling for a reduced price? I would love to know from your own mouth.'' Pagus said, circling around the Yak in question, his earrings dangling with every second as Valiant and Naofumi looked on. ''So spill.''
''What you talking about, Pagus? I know you know I walk the straight and narrow; trouble? Never me. C-Come on, what do you think I am?'' Yago asked, sweating the longer the conversation went on, his ground on the matter becoming more and more lost.
''A waste of a Yak, for one,'' the hidden stranger made themselves vocal, throwing back the hood to show a Pegasus mare with a dark blue coat, adorned with golden armor pads that seemed to shine even with the smallest amount of light with the custom molding of letters he was unable to read ever-present. Her curly violet mane was tied back to avoid it getting in her face as Yago spied the rage of 10 Yaks within her as she slowly spoke to him, clicking her tongue when he attempted to find innocence. ''And I already know exactly what it is you are smuggling in and out of these borders, but it would help Prince Rutherford punish you better if it came from the Yak's mouth itself.''
Valiant snickered as Naofumi went to check on his party, making sure they were properly hydrated and if they required anything besides rest. Storm Song and her iron-clad will made almost all under it buckle when provided the right information. It was certainly a blessing that they met within an acceptable timeframe to help the mission go along swimmingly. With Storm Song in the party, any opposition would be dealt with almost no effort. ''Believe me now, yutz, I think you said?'' Valiant asked, his smug grin spanning a mile long.
Yago still held the will to fight, even with the circumstances. They may have known what they were moving to, they couldn't have possibly known for who, or why. They covered their tracks too well for-
''-And we managed to recover the manifesto of everything your bookkeeper's been logging, and from all accounts, we have an idea of the kind of firebombs you're trying to make to end melting and taking down most of Yak-Yakistan's defenses, natural and otherwise. And while the masses that aren't dead fight to make sense of the chaos, you guys will swoop in and take the country by force, and whatever else that comes along with it.'' Pagus summarized from what he saw that Storm Storm showed them before their guest woke up. ''Still want to cling on the notion that you 'know nothing'?''
Pagus's glare, Storm Song's aura of intimidation, and Valiant's gleeful expression of being caught produced a twinge of annoyance for Yago. He knew that if he tried to escape his bonds, he would most certainly be met with resistance on at least 3 fronts, with one being at least as strong as him, if not strangely stronger when drunk. If he continued to stay quiet, they would just goad more information out of him, and chip away at his feelings. He. . .only had one option. It would cost him his bonus, but he figured it would be worth it if it meant he would live another day and his family live through what would undoubtedly happen.
Channeling his thoughts and drowning out the sound of the constant bombardments, Yago slowed his breathing, feeling a cold unlike the harsh winters of Yak-Yakistan take him over as he shivered, movement in between his fur producing a small crystal tear bound by a string through a hole swaying back and forth before lifting up above his head, the trio taking heed to stop their talks and look at what was occurring before the small tear lodged itself in Yago's forehead, the force knocking his chair over and slamming his head on the ground; his last exhale coming out as a rumble that sounded covered with something as his eyes opened to their widest before closing and any tension in his body soon relaxing.
Naofumi came back into the room, hearing the sound with his shield prepared, his eyes focused. ''What was-'' Naofumi was barely able to get out before a wave of extreme cold hit the room, engulfing and swallowing everyone in it.