Hello! New chapter. I have to let you know, that this chapter does get pretty dark and something that almost happens or is hinted at in this chapter is the main reason I gave this story the M rating. Either way, ENJOY!

Chapter 26: Who We Are – Part Three

Age 789 – Planet Jasutin, the city of Zahin – Outer reaches of the Milky Way

On the dank and filthy street of this large and overpopulated city, many homeless children lived. Having been abandoned, parents been killed or just lost in the strange world, these children all lived hard lives. One such child, a small and innocent 9-year-old girl, lived by herself down some dark alleys, behind some bins. She had been on these streets for as long as she could remember. She was green-skinned, with a snake like nose that protruded just a little bit. She had messy and unkempt white hair, and was very skinny.

Nobody knew what race she was from, or if she was even born on this planet, but then again, nobody even spoke to her. This girl's name… was Talia. During the days, Talia would have to steal food from some of the shopping stalls that opened on the streets. The markets were always busy and it was relatively easy to get food, although there was always the chance she would be caught. Even if she did get the food, she would then have to stand up to the bigger homeless men, women and children that would try to steal her food from her. Talia had become good at moving fast and getting into small spaces to get away from any that tried to chase her down.

It was a hard life, but as far as she knew it had always been her life… and always would be. One day, Talia noticed a man walking through the market that was wearing a black cloak of sorts. It covered him from head to toe, but Talia managed to glint something shiny at this man's waist when he took out his pouch of coin to buy something. This man must have quite a bit of money, and surely wouldn't miss it if Talia managed to sneakily get it. This was like a jackpot for her. Surely there were others that would try to rob this man, but maybe she was small enough to actually get in there and get what she needed.

Talia got to a higher point and managed to see this man from the front, however, he was wearing some sort of mask that covered his whole head. She didn't know what species he was from, but that didn't matter. All that mattered… the money in that pouch on his belt. It would be hers. She dropped down from her vantage point and started moving through the crowds. Diving through legs and making her way towards the man in the black cloak.

She decided not to be too secretive about it and bump into him, grabbing the pouch as she did. This plan was going to work. Talia was sure of it. She ran into this man's legs, grabbed the pouch and dropped to the floor. The man stepped back and let her stand up quickly. She kept her head down and held up her right hand as if to apologise. She then rushed off down an alley. The man stayed in the same spot. His hand came up to his belt and he noticed the pouch was gone. He looked towards the alley, but stayed in the same spot. He then covered his belt again and carried on moving through.

Talia made it underneath a large bin and took the pouch. She counted the money and knew that she would have enough to get some food and water from one of the all-day stalls later that night. She just needed to get to a safer part of the city first. If that even existed.

A few hours later, that night, Talia finally emerged from her dumpster and rushed off into the streets. She made sure to keep her head down and stick close to anyone that didn't look dangerous to her. She had become a fairly good judge of character in this city. She could tell which ones were the most dangerous and which would pay her no mind. She was making some good progress and managed to get into a much cleaner part of the city. That was until… someone grabbed her arm.

Talia slipped on her heel and this person let go of her. As they did, Talia fell flat on the ground and dropped the pouch of coin. She looked up to see three male aliens. They were clearly skinny and weaker due to living on the streets, but they were still bigger than her.

"Where are you rushing off to, sweetheart," one of the said, stepping forward. He looked down at her and noticed the pouch. Talia looked up and down at the pouch and then quickly took the pouch back and jumped to her feet, hoping to rush off. Another of the men moved forward and grabbed her leg, lifting her up.

"Don't leave us," this man said. "We need to know what you have in that pouch."

Talia tried desperately to struggle out of this man's grip. He dropped her to the ground and the pouch slipped out of her grip again. She was in pain and tried to get up again, but one of the men picked her up and held her hands behind her back.

"Let's take this off of the streets," The first one said as the three of them walked off down an alley and one of them made sure to sweep up the pouch. He opened it as they walked down, "Holy Mother… this is a lot of coin… thanks a lot, girl."

"Give that back! Let me go!" The girl screamed through tears as one of the men held her down.

"Nah… we can make better use of you," The first man said again as he pushed his friends back and bent down in front of the girl. "Take off those rags."

The man said this as he reached forward and lifted up the rags she had been wearing as a sort of dress. Talia tried to hold it down but the man held her arms in his left hand and used his right hand to continue to lift her dress up.

"I like them young," He said as he reached down to the front of his own clothing and opened them. Talia closed her eyes and started to scream for help, but the people that were on the streets just walked past, ignoring what was going on. Talia, eyes still closed, could hear laughter all around and felt her rags be removed. Her screaming persisted, but the man now had his right hand free and put it around her mouth to silence her. He started to move forward to her, ready to do whatever it was he had planned… Talia was in Hell. She had to be… she just wanted to die…

Suddenly, the man let go of her and his presence was gone. She opened her eyes and saw the man being held up by the man in black from earlier. Talia stayed in that same spot on the floor, covering herself up. The man in black took out a sword and drove it through that homeless man's throat. Blood spurted out and some of it got on Talia. She panicked when it happened, but didn't take her eyes off of this man in black as he sliced down the other two men. He then reclaimed his pouch of coin. After this, he tore off part of his cloak and wrapped it around the girl.

She was shivering and shaking in pure fear, but none of that dissipated. This man might be just as bad as those other men. She couldn't trust anyone in this city. The man in black carried her out of the alley and towards one of the fancier looking hotels. He walked in and went straight to the elevator which carried him to the penthouse on the top floor, 2,000 storeys up.

He entered his room, the girl still in his arms, and he switched on the light. When he did, a young woman was revealed on the bed. She was probably about 24 years of age. Long red hair, and was clearly of some other race. That was clear from her two antennae and tail. She moved a little and looked over to the man in black.

"I see you're back… want some more, do ya?" this woman said as she started to reveal more of her body, but stopped when she saw what was in his arms. A small girl. She sat up, surprised. "I didn't expect you to be into that kinda stuff… but ok."

The man in black set this girl down on the bed and walked off.

"I want you to clean her up and give her some of this medication," the man in black said, through some sort of metallic or robotic voice changer. It made him sound very intimidating, so that woman was unsure of what he wanted.

"That's not what I usually get paid to do," She said playfully. The man in black took no notice as the woman walked over to him and tried to seduce him.

"It's what I'm paying you for today, now do it, I need her at full health," He explained. She was now standing right behind him and chuckled to herself.

"I see, you want her to be just right for you to do whatever you want," The woman said, in a teasing tone. The man in black swung around and grabbed her around the throat, even lifting her off of the ground. He forced her to look right into his mask.

"I am like that… do as I say and clean her up," He said, dropping her to the ground afterwards and walking through into the next room, but he called back in. "Do this for me and I'll pay you double later on."

The woman looked to the doorway and then back to the girl on the bed. She was looking around, looking very scared, and dirty. The woman covered herself up and went over to the girl. She put on an almost maternal persona.

"It's ok, we're gonna take care of you, don't worry," She tried her best to assure the little girl, but she was still rather terrified. Hopefully she would feel much better in the morning.

The next morning, Talia woke up in a bed. She shot up and looked around the room in fear. She instantly went to her body, expecting to be hurt, but noticed she was wearing nice clean clothes. The young alien moved to the end of the bed and looked to the window. Finally, Talia got out of the bed and walked towards the window. For some reason, she felt like she was fully rested and energised, but she could hardly remember what had happened… only two things shone in her mind. The people in the alley… and the man in black. Talia trembled at those memories and walked right up to the window.

She put her hands against the glass and looked out on the city. The realisation of how high up in the city shocked her. Talia stepped back, quite scared by the sheer intensity of it all. She turned around only to bump straight into someone. She fell to the ground as this person bent down to come to her level. Talia looked up and saw that mask again. The man in black. The mask was more of a helmet, it was black and silver with rounded eyes that shone red. The mouth was shaped slightly triangular without the bottom line.

Talia was pretty scared of this strange man and started to back away. This man held his hand out for her and tried to calm her.

"Relax, I don't want to hurt you," He said, through his metallic/robotic voice. This only served to scare Talia a little more and she continued to back up. The man stood up and turned to face away from the girl. He lifted his head to his helmet and slowly removed it. He revealed he was red skinned, with short, spiky black hair, in a buzz-cut style. His ears were pointed back a little too. He appeared to be about 30-40 years old. He put his helmet on the bed and bent down to be level with Talia again.

"My name is Yamo," The man in black revealed. His voice was a little bit gravely, but not deep. "Yamo Niha."

The man smiled and Talia at she started to feel a little more relaxed in this scenario. She stood up and walked forward, her eyes staying on the man's hand.

"Please, don't be scared, I want to help you," Niha tried to assure her as best he could. She was still wary of this strange man, but he did save her, and help her. Maybe she should thank him.

"Tha… thank you…" Talia muttered, nervously. She tried not to look Niha in the eye, still scared of what he may be capable of. Especially considering she saw him kill those three men. Niha stood up and put his helmet back on. He walked into the next room and came back, attaching his blade to his waist. Talia just watched this. He put his black cloak around his body, but didn't put the hood up.

Talia just watched, not sure what to do. The man looked back at her and approached. He threw a smaller black cloak towards her. She dodged back and looked down at it, surprised.

"Put it on, we need to leave this place," Niha turned around and walked to the door, "You're coming with me, and I'm going to train you."

Talia didn't know how to react to this, but as the man left the room she found herself chasing after him. She had nowhere else to go after all and maybe this would play out to benefit her in the long run. She followed Niha closely as he made his way through the crowds and he made sure to keep her in his sight at all times. They made it to Niha's spaceship and he showed her to a space that she could rest. Talia did and would stay there until she knew what would happen next.

She sat there, pretty much in silence. She didn't know what to do. This strange man, Yamo Niha, hadn't even asked her name and he had already told her they were going to train. Talia sat on the small bed that was in this room and kept her silence. It was best to just wait.

About an hour into the journey there was a knock at Talia's door and the young girl was unsure of what to do. The fact that he knocked meant he was giving her a choice about whether or not to speak to him. Talia stood up and slowly walked to the door. She pressed the button for it to open and Yamo Niha was stood there, looking down on her, wearing the mask. She couldn't get a read on him, but something was telling her that he was powerful. There was a lot of energy in the room. He knelt down to be level with her again.

"Tell me your name," He requested of her. Talia stepped back a little, feeling scared, but she did her best to remain strong.

"My name is… Talia," She answered. Niha pulled back.

"So, you do have a name, surprising considering you were living on the streets for a very long time," He said, curiously. He stood up and walked inside her room, sitting on the bed. Talia watched this and was starting to feel some comfort around him and turned around.

"It's the only thing I know about myself…" Talia said. She couldn't tell what Niha thought of this due to his helmet, but he must have been contemplating something. Talia shifted awkwardly on her feet and Niha stood up again. Talia seemed to flinch at this, but he just walked past her.

"It's the only thing you need to know, you'll have a new life soon," Niha explained as he stepped out of the room. "A different life…"

He closed the door behind him and Talia heard him walk away again. She was beginning to get a little more worried about what might happen to her, but surely it couldn't be any worse than what had already happened to her.

Eventually, Talia felt the ship begin to slow down and she took it upon herself to walk out into the other parts of the ship. She walked up to the main cockpit and saw Niha sitting in the pilot's seat with an empty chair next to him. Talia went right up to the front, next to Niha and looked out of the window.

"We're in space…" Talia stated. Niha didn't pay it any attention, but this was the first time Talia had seen the vastness of space. She got up on the chair next to Niha and stood up, looking out of the window properly and that's when she saw a planet. Her first new planet. It was big, and a mix of reds and browns. Talia looked to Niha, but he paid her no attention. She looked back outside again. "Is that where we're going?"

"Yes. That is the home planet of my clan," Niha answered. He didn't seem to be thrilled to be back here, but Talia couldn't really read that. "This is Haken."

Talia nodded, taking in that small bit of information. This new planet was going to be the doorway to Talia's new future. This was going to be her new life, and she really hoped it would be better than her old one. Niha took the ship down into the atmosphere and Talia got a better look at it all. The sky was red and orange with dark clouds, and the ground was dark and brown.

The ship touched down and Niha went through the power down process before standing up and exiting the cockpit. Talia carried on staring outside and saw they had landed in front of some sort of large, black castle. It was huge, and isolated. There were people in Black cloaks walking out of the entrance, coming towards the ship. Talia turned to look back on Niha as he put his own cloak on and attached his sword to his belt. He looked over to Talia and motioned for her to follow him.

He stopped her before they left the ship though. "I just want you to know, they won't be trusting of you at first. You will have to earn the loyalty of the Masters."

Talia nodded and made sure to stick close to Niha. They walked down the ramp of the ship and made their way across the bridge towards the four cloaked men walking towards them. They were a little different to Niha. Their cloaks weren't as flowing and they wore their swords on the outside. The swords were a little smaller as well. More like large daggers.

They also didn't wear masks or helmets. Talia could see their faces. She was still a little scared and stayed hidden behind Niha, somehow trusting him. They spread out and appeared to stop Niha from walking any further. Niha stood his ground though and moved his hand under his cloak towards his blade. Talia was beginning to wonder if they were really all allies.

"Your blade has tasted blood," one of the cloaked beings spoke up, he didn't sound happy. Niha stepped forward a bit more, hand still on his blade.

"Yeah, and what of it?" Niha questioned, sounding rather annoyed about the way this one spoke to him. He stepped forward again. "I wish to see the Masters."

The four clansmen remained in those positions. They looked to one another and then stepped aside. Niha walked through, taking Talia's hand and guiding her through. One of the four stepped forward a last time though.

"Don't think the Masters will let you keep getting away with this," The cloaked being said, Niha simply brushed him aside and kept walking.

"Unlike the rest of you false blades, I only serve the true Master," He said back to them and he continued on with Talia. The girl looked back as the four of them watched after her. They were wary. This only terrified the girl a little more. She had to keep close to Niha.

They entered the castle and walked through the halls. Talia was taking in all the ornaments, statues, the way the structure was built. It was all different to what she was used to back in that city. This was so new, but also old. The duo continued on and stepped on a platform in the middle of the opening hall. Talia looked around her and saw many staircases and hallways and other cloaked beings walking around.

She couldn't really take it all in properly as the platform she was on started to rise up higher. It was heading right to the top of the castle. Presumably to these Masters she had heard about. They eventually stopped and came to a huge door. Niha walked forward and Talia rushed to keep up with him. Niha pushed the door open and walked into a circular room. There were chairs all around one side in a semi-circle… nine of them and each chair had a member of this clan sitting in it. They all had their cloaks off and were wearing some form of robes, or Gi like clothing. It was of course a mix of blacks, browns and greys. One man, seated in the middle, had red on the top half of his outfit.

They were all a mix of different alien races, but the one in the middle was devil-like and was clearly a leader. Niha walked into the middle and dropped to one knee. Talia stood next to him, but noticed him bow down and she did the same.

The devil-man stood up and walked towards Niha. "Rise," He said in a raspy, aged voice. Niha stood up to come face to face with this Master. He placed a hand on Niha's shoulder. "You have disobeyed some of our orders once again."

"I killed three criminals, yes," Niha responded.

"That is beside the point," The Devil-man continued. "You know it is against our rules to harm those that don't stand in our way."

"They were in my way," Niha continued, "They were harming this girl… and… I couldn't watch it happen."

"There is too much emotion inside that head of yours, Yamo," The Master responded. He turned around and returned to his seat, but didn't sit down. "It is why you haven't take the trials just yet."

"You just know I'm far stronger than any of you… and you're worried I'll take over," Niha explained, smirking. Talia didn't know what to make of any of this. The rest of the room stood up now and Talia flinched.

"The girl is weak," one of the other Masters said.

"She could never be like one of us," another piped in.

"She is full of more power than any of you can realise," Niha said with a chuckle. "I'm surprised that you really aren't as all seeing as you imply."

"You wish to take her as your student?" The main Master said, ushering for the rest to take their seats, as he followed. "I will allow this… on the condition that you follow our rules more closely. The Dark Blades have evolved beyond what you believe us to be. One day you will have my seat… but until then… you must train yourself, as well as this girl."

Niha bowed to his Masters and thanked them as he and Talia left. They went to Niha's living space that was located about 50 miles from the castle, and strangely enough, it was in a City. Not everything on this planet was as ancient as that castle appeared to be and it seemed to have a thriving City. Talia was confused, but not really surprised.

Niha turned to Talia as soon as they entered the apartment. "That was easier than I thought… you've been accepted as my student and I will guide you in the ways of the Dark Blades."

Talia really didn't know what was going on with this all and just listened to what Niha had to say. This might be good for her. She couldn't know for certain just yet. Niha walked over to her and placed a hand on her head.

"Tomorrow we will head to a new planet. A place for our training to properly take place. It will be rigorous training and you will become highly skilled in the usage of your energy and a blade. It won't be easy, but the quicker we get to it and the harder the training… the sooner you will be a fully-fledged Dark Blade. And finally, my desire will be realised. You and I… we will rule the Dark Blades… and they will return to the way they should be."

Talia was still scared and worried, but now things were starting to get really, truly complicated for her mind to take. But it honestly excited her and it would be interesting to see where she ended up at the end of this all.

Talia's intense and torturous training took place over the next four years. Yamo Niha took her to planets with the harshest conditions and the toughest criminals and sent her out to fend for herself most times. Made her find her own food and if she didn't, well she didn't eat. Luckily for Talia, she was quite resourceful. Especially after living on the streets at such a young age. She had to adapt and learn, and that was what Niha wanted her to do now. It was about seven months before Niha finally let Talia have a weapon and that was when she began to truly show some more skills.

Having the blade helped her to refine her skills and movements and she was already very fast as it was, but now, things were on a different level for her. She had little track on the days with Niha, not that they mattered to her anyway. Once the blade had become a part of her, Talia's energy started to rise and she became more attuned to it. This was when Niha truly began to see what he had felt when he first met her.

At the age of Eleven, nearly 2 years into their training Talia requested another blade. She wanted two swords. Niha didn't question her about this, but said that her defence may suffer in favour of more attack, but she was ready to prove him wrong. Talia was becoming very hardened and tough. She had so much hate bottled up inside her from her time on the streets and finally was she able to show off that hate and let it fuel her power. This is exactly what Niha wanted.

When Talia was beginning to enter her teenage years, Niha realised that her skills would rival that of a fully-fledged Dark Blade. She had truly found how to harness her own power and she would finally be of great use to him. They returned to Haken and Niha requested the Masters allow her to graduate and become a full member. They accepted, based only on Niha's recommendation. Talia received her official robes and armour. Her two swords, forged from the fires of the next dimension itself. She could finally begin to tap into true Dark Blade abilities and Niha couldn't be happier. Now they could finally go on some real missions… and do some real damage.

Talia and Niha would take part in some missions that were given to them by the Masters, but most of the time Niha would take part in his own missions. Taking jobs from high paying aliens and acting as a sort of Bounty Hunter. Talia didn't fully understand this, but Niha had always been there for her so she graciously helped out where she could. Most of the missions that the Masters gave them involved meeting with Dark Blade sympathisers and helping them with their enemies. Niha would hardly ever let any non-believer live, but Talia would never kill unless it seemed absolutely necessary to her.

Almost two years of these kinds of missions seemed to take their toll on Talia. She wasn't a fan of the senseless killing and often questioned Niha on his methods. When she realised that the Masters really weren't a fan of Niha's constant killing of innocence Talia knew she had to say something if she ever found the right opportunity. Niha had even taken on missions without her, saying he didn't want her to have anything to do with the Cold Empire.

One day, in a big fight Niha lost track of an opponent and was about to be stabbed in the back, literally. Talia spotted this and killed this man, saving Niha's life. He was appreciative of this and praised her. Another day, Niha was very angry on-board their ship and Talia was worried about him…

Late Age 794

Talia was resting in her small quarters. Cleaning her blades and working out when she heard a massive bang and yell from Niha. She rushed outside of the room with her blade in hand and saw Niha standing near the cockpit with his fist in the wall. He wasn't happy.

"What is it?" She asked, not used to seeing him this angry, but comfortable enough to just outright ask him. Niha turned, still wearing his helmet and turned to face her.

"It turns out that two of my allies have gotten themselves arrested by the Galactic Patrol," Niha said, seeming to harbour the anger towards his men rather than the Patrol. "I know exactly where they are… and what they've been doing."

"What? What have they been doing?" Talia pressed.

"They have been killing in the name of Dark Blades like I requested, but they've only been doing so in one city… over in Setruvio," Niha explained. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. Talia gripped her blade and stepped forward.

"Are you afraid they'll give you up?" She asked, seeming to be a little worried about him. Niha shook his head.

"No… I'm worried that we'll be found either way," Niha stated, menacingly before turning and walking to the cockpit. "The drone I had set on them showed me this. The Galactic patrol member that arrested them…"

The screen showed a purple-skinned alien, wearing a big coat.

"I know exactly where his kind live… and I know exactly where those failed soldiers of mine are…" Niha continued, even more menacingly. "We're going to pay this guy's home a visit… and then my men. We'll be there way before him."

Niha punched in the coordinates and the ship blasted off at an immense pace. Talia quickly rushed to her quarters and got ready for if any fighting would take place. She had never seen Niha like this, but it didn't seem right to her. He was a little too angry and worried about this. It seemed almost unreasonable.

Once the ship landed Talia was about to walk out, but Niha stopped her. He had his helmet off and it had been a while since Talia saw his face.

"I don't want you out there for this…" He informed her. "Stay here, in the ship, and wait for me to return."

Talia didn't think to question Niha and backed into the ship as Niha walked out and locked the ship. Even if she wanted to go somewhere, she couldn't now. She couldn't even see anything from the windows as well. She was a little annoyed, but it wasn't worth getting angry about. She waited for Niha to return. Niha didn't take long and when he did finally return his blade was covered in blood as was his outfit. He went straight into the cockpit and locked himself in there as they flew off. Talia looked out of the window down at a small town and saw fire… and lots of it. She was actually pretty shocked by it, but kept that to herself.

Niha was once again rapid about getting to the next place and the ship was soon landing again. Niha came to her room this time. The door opened and he was stood there, blade already out.

"I need you this time," He said as he walked out. She quickly followed and drew one of her blades.

"Where are we?" Talia asked as she looked at the clean space and noticed the Galactic Patrol emblem.

"This is Mothership XIV, where our friends are being held," Niha responded as a couple of Galactic Patrol members walked towards them, enquiring who they were. Niha wasted no time in cutting them both down and walking on. He was a man on a mission. More Patrolmen charged at them both and started firing their weapons. Talia had to fight now. She started slicing at their weapons and trying to disarm them and knock them out rather than kill them, but a couple of times her hand was being forced.

Eventually, the duo made it to the prison area and the two Dark Blade prisoners were very scared to see Niha arrive. One of the prison guards shouted at one stationed at a computer.

"Quick… send that message to Gui…daaaa!" The man couldn't properly finish his command as Niha stabbed him right through the stomach. The man fell to the ground and Niha made short work of the other one. It was just the prisoners now. Niha turned to them and entered their cell.

"You failed me… you're the reason I had to kill all of these guys, and you're going to pay for it," Niha said. They started to protest but the experienced Dark Blade soldier grabbed one of them around the throat, crushing it and then cutting his head off. He then turned to the last one and stabbed him right through the centre of his face, and sliced up.

Both were dead and now he and Talia left. They had killed everyone in that Mothership and they had done it without batting so much as an eye. It was easy. Talia finally started to realise just how powerful she could be… and it was terrifying to her. She went to her quarters and washed off, Niha just kept flying. It was about time they return to Haken.

They eventually touched down at the Castle on Haken and were greeted by a rather large crowd, even one of the messengers of the Masters was there. Niha seemed pretty concerned about this. He turned to Talia.

"Keep your weapon handy," He advised her. Talia's brow furrowed and her eyes widened a little. She was unsure of what to think about that. She made sure one of her blades was sheathed on her belt and kept the second hidden on her back and under her cloak. Guida didn't wear his cloak, but made sure to keep his helmet. He walked out of the ship extremely confidently and walked right up to the messenger.

He held his arms out wide and embraced the messenger, as if an old friend. "What have you got for me today, old timer." The aged messenger shook his head and there were mutterings throughout the crowd. Talia walked down the ramp of the ship and saw that they were all giving her awkward glances as well. She was a bit concerned as to why Niha was being so informal. The messenger turned around and started walking.

"The Masters require to see you. You've really done it this time," The messenger said as he slowly made his way towards the Castle doors. Niha passed him and patted him on the back.

"Don't worry, I know my way there," Niha continued walking on so confidently. Talia broke into a slight jog to keep up with him. She was too confused to ask him why he was acting this way and the two of them ascended the elevator platform together. Soon enough, they walked before all the Masters. The Grand Master stepped forward.

"How many did you kill?" He asked, looking to both Niha and Talia. She didn't know if it was right to say anything, but Niha started chuckling. Talia looked down nervously.

"Apparently the right amount to make you pissed at me," Niha said, treating this all as a big joke, but Talia honestly had no idea right now. The Grand Master didn't budge.

"You took down an entire Galactic Patrol Mothership, you torched a town, slaughtered hundreds and hundreds of people… and you even employed members of our order to carry out your orders… all in the name of the Dark Blades," The Grand Master continued. "I would ask why, but I don't want to know. You and the girl are both expelled from this order. You are traitors to what it means to be a Dark Blade."

Talia wanted to protest and claim she had nothing to do with it, but she had killed for Niha many times now. Niha didn't give her a chance to say anything anyway. He drew his sword and stabbed the Grand Master right through the throat. The other Masters stepped forward, but didn't draw their weapons. The Grand Master dropped to the floor and bled out. Niha moved Talia behind him and stepped forward.

"You! You pathetic Masters are the ones that have forgotten what it means to be a Dark Blade warrior. We have one true Master and he requires our help to achieve his ultimate goals. Yet you weaklings sit in a room and do nothing!" Niha was definitely letting out a lot of pent up aggression. He lifted his hand up and aimed his wrist towards one of the other Master and fired some sort of dart towards him. The dart shot into the Master's head and instantly exploded.

Talia was shocked by this. She knew he had a mechanical armour, but she had never seen him utilise it fully around her. Then again, Niha had never actually shown to have the ability to use energy properly. Was it all just mechanical? He pounced forward towards one of the other Masters, thanks to the boosters on his armour. He punched that Master in the face with his right fist and shot something right through the Master's chest with his left hand. That Master fell to the ground and the others all backed away together. Niha faced them and walked back to Talia, looking towards them at the same time.

"Come on, Talia," He said, "We're traitors. We've been expelled from the great Dark Blade order. We must find a new purpose in our lives."

The two of them descended, but as they made their way towards the exit they noticed that hundreds of Dark Blades warriors stepped up to fight them. Niha primed a weapon on his left arm and kept his blade out, in his right hand. He walked towards the crowd, firing his weapon and slashing with his blade. Talia unsheathed both of her swords and rushed in too. They weren't trying to kill them all, they were just trying to get to the ship.

Eventually, they managed it, even though Talia did sustain an injury. Someone managed to slash across her side and she was losing some blood, but managed to get on-board the ship. Niha made it on, closed the door and set the ship to fly away fast. They blasted into hyperspace and were gone. When the ship was finally set to auto-pilot Niha went to tend to Talia's wounds. She was in great pain.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Talia yelled. The pain and everything that had just happened seemed to get to her and she wasn't happy. Niha didn't know how to react right away. "What happened back there?"

Niha stopped, took off his helmet and placed his left hand on her face as the right hand kept her hands pressed on her wound to keep the blood in. He wore a serious expression. "When I found you, I saw great power within you. I knew you would help me to achieve the true goal of the Dark Blades. Bring back our true Master. Help him get to full power and take the Galaxy back for our own once more."

"What… what are you…" Talia couldn't get her sentence out as she was starting to fall unconscious from the blood loss. She couldn't help herself, soon enough, she was out.

Some time passed by. Niha and Talia were still travelling together and Niha was starting to embrace the role of a bounty hunter a bit more. He was taking down enemies of other people and earning money to pay for upgrades to his ship and his armour. Talia was just along for the ride right now. She had no other purpose in life. She had only known the streets… and Yamo Niha. She couldn't just leave him. Not until she had fully regained her strength.

She also needed to make sure she would be safe from being found by any Dark Blades. They had been tracking Niha and Talia. The duo were now enemies of the Order and the best warriors had been sent to bring them down in any way possible. Niha had already dispatched a few, but they still kept coming. Talia knew she would have to ensure that when she parted ways with Niha, it was in a safe place.

One day, Niha came to her and said that he had taken a job. Talia took this information on-board, but she then made her decision. She didn't want to take part in this mission. She had things to do on their base planet. Niha accepted this and went to do the mission on his own. When he returned, he wasn't happy, but he made it clear they would need to move to a new location.

They went to the ship on its isolated platform and Talia made her decision. She went onto the ship grabbed her stuff and walked out. Niha was on the platform and noticed that Talia was walking towards him, and she had both her blades drawn. He was confused.

"What's the problem?" He asked, but wasn't given a chance to answer as Talia leapt forward, phasing at the same time and she reappeared, slashing her blades towards Niha's face. The man dropped back and flipped away. Talia landed and pounced forward again and began slashing with intent to kill. Niha was doing his best to dodge them and soon activated a small shield on this wrist and started defending against the swords. There was no talking, just fighting.

Eventually, Niha managed to give himself an opening and charged Talia knocking her back against a pillar. She hit it and dropped to her knee, but as Niha opened fire from his wrist gun she sprung up into the air and launched one of her blades towards Niha. It landed in front of him, stabbed into the ground and Niha stepped back. Talia then fired an energy blast down in front of him and that knocked him back, sending him off of the platform. Talia landed and picked her sword up, knowing it couldn't be over that easily.

Niha flew back up to the platform, using his jet boosters and drew his own sword. He charged in towards her and attempted to slice down on her. Talia had to duck and roll to avoid it and jumped up at the end to avoid another attempted slash from Niha. She hadn't fought with him in a very long time, and then it had been training, but this was a real fight. Talia gripped her swords and waited for Niha to come towards her. As he charged in she jumped up and over, and slashed at the back of his suit. It caught some sort of power wire and Niha lost control, falling to the ground. He quickly got up but as he did he noticed a couple of people behind Talia, in black cloaks. They were Dark Blades.

Niha fired one of his rockets towards Talia and the girl had to dive out of the way, but it detonated close to her and flung her back to the Dark Blades. Her swords fell to the ground in front of her and Niha boarded his ship, flying off quickly. Talia tried to get up, but was held back by these Dark Blades. She watched as Niha flew away on the ship and thought about something. He was strong enough to kill her and these Dark Blades… but he decided to leave… maybe, deep down, he cared about her too much to actually kill her. Talia kept this in mind as she was dragged away by the Dark Blades.

She didn't know how long it had been, but she was woken up once she was thrown inside a cell. She hit the ground and finally came to. Shaking her head. It was a Dark Blades prison cell. So, she knew it all too well. She also knew how hard it was to break out. Basically impossible. She looked up and to the cell across from her where two male aliens sat. One large and yellow-skinned, wearing a damaged Cold Empire uniform. The other was purple skinned, a bit more average height, like Niha. They both looked hardened but tired. Talia glared and turned her back on them.

She didn't like being stared at, and she needed to figure out the best way to get herself out of there.

So there's the end of the backstory chapters. Niku's, Guida's, and now Talia's stories have been told. With bits of Yamo Niha's story littered throughout. He will be touched upon more in the rest of this arc, which starts next time!

The couple of chapters of this arc will focus on the team before they met Noca in the previous arc, and then the remainder of the arc will be set after they have met Noca. There are still between 4 and 6 chapters left of this arc if I'm honest. Maybe more. I have quite a few ideas coming.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed this, despite how dark it may have gotten. And please, leave a review if you can.

Next Time... Chapter 27: Breakout