The War Within - 2
He didn't know how long he had been in this forest of terror.
All he did was run.
Because as far as he knew, this was the only way to survive.
Within the now shattered container, he was locked in, there was a note alongside the knife. On it was the seal of the Empire - a red and white shield with a wingless, crimson dragon circling it - and on the other side of that piece of paper it read: The Empire has chosen you to be their next generation of defense. You will now partake in an examination to test your strength. Your target is the hill on the edge of this forest. Your object is to survive.
Occasionally, he would hear the pained and horrified screams of other children along with the roars of various beasts in this merciless labyrinth of trees.
The dark greenery flashed past him as he rushed down a natural dirt path. The knife that he had used to kill the wolf-like beast was still clutched tightly in one hand and it was still stained with the beast's blood, as were his clothes, hands, and most of his upper body.
Suddenly, Hei tripped over a small rock and with a yelp, he fell forward. With the built-up momentum of his frantic sprint, the boy rolled across the rough dirt ground and the coarse terrain left scratches all across his arms and legs.
Just as he was about to come to a stop, without warning the ground collapsed from underneath and the boy found himself sliding into the pitfall. Hei desperately clawed at the ledge as he felt his weight being pulled down by gravity. With some quick thinking, he was able to stop himself from falling in at the last second by stabbing the knife into the earth and anchoring him in place as he dangled above the darkness. The boy swung one arm up and with his feet pushing against the trap's walls, he was able to crawl up and back to safety.
"That was too close," Hei huffed and swallowed saliva down his throat that was dry from all the running.
He only rested for a short moment before going around the trap, careful with his steps, and kept going, slowly building up his speed before once again sprinting through the forest.
But every turn he took, and every path he ran down, the surroundings looked the same. It was as if he was trapped in an intricate maze of mirrors.
He jumped in his skin as he heard another scream, and this time it was closer. His orange eyes widened in horror as he dashed past a grisly sight. A large frog-like Danger Beast with horns was devouring a child whole with the legs dangling out of the amphibian's mouth. The creature's cold, emotionless eyes stared into nothingness as it held its unfortunate prey in its giant mouth. A sickening crunch was heard as it swallowed more of the child, crushing the knees and femurs as it pushed the body further into its large gut where it would digest its victims alive, with stomach acid so potent that it could dissolve even the strongest of metals. There was a small dagger punctured into the giant frog's shoulder, signifying that the child did fight back in his or her last moments.
The frog's rectangular pupils suddenly flickered toward Hei, triggering the boy to run even faster than before.
It felt like hours had passed in this death forest when Hei finally saw what looked to be the edge of this horrific natural maze.
'A hill!' he exclaimed mentally upon seeing a dome of green grass through the cracks of the treeline.
But the forest had other plans, and time seemed to slow at the snapping of a twig. Hei looked to his left and his terror-filled eyes wavered when he saw a Boar-type Danger Beast crashing through the undergrowth, heading straight towards him. Thick, gooey, saliva hung from its jaws. With four dangerous tusks, a backward-pointing horn on its head, and hungry red, beady eyes, the tank of pure muscle and rough, spiny hair came barreling towards him.
Standing upon the hill overlooking the entire forest were three men.
In the middle was the flamboyantly dressed Professor Fashio, older brother of Dr. Stylish, top scientist of the entire nation, and head of the 'Hybridization Project'. He was also the current wielder of the Teigu; Glorious Hands of God: Perfector. A pair of fully-enclosed, dark-blue gloves that increased the speed and precision in the user's fingers by several hundred-fold. For someone like Fashio that was constantly performing experiments and other scientific activities, it was the perfect accomplice.
To the left was Uncle Bill, a man that looked to be entering their forties, who was also an Imperial Scientist. He was tall and bald and wore a dark, long trench coat with gold accents and a pleated collar. His most notable feature was the monocle over his left eye. A sinister, scheming grin was always present across his wrinkling face.
On the right was another tall, middle-aged man that had a sharp-looking face. His hair was blonde and fell to just above his shoulders, he also had a short beard. He wore a white dress shirt, tucked into a pair of black trousers that was tightened by a leather belt. A dark-red scarf was loosely wrapped around his neck too. His trained green eyes swept expertly over the forest while resting one hand on the hilt of his katana, the infamous Teigu; One-Cut Killer: Murasame. This man was named Gozuki, one of the Empire's best assassins and former member of the Four Rakshasa Demons.
"The last of them should be arriving any time now," commented Uncle Bill as the wind caused the ends of his cloak to flutter, "Well, that is if there is any left at all,"
"I'm sure there'll still be one or two," said Gozuki with a smirk, "But it is getting late and all the high-class Danger Beasts are coming out at this time. So our expectations shouldn't get any higher than before,"
"Easy for you to say, you already have your seven in mind don't you?" Fashio asked.
"That I do professor," replied Gozuki as he brushed his hair back with a slick movement of his hand, "Now I'm just here to accompany the two of you. Have any of you been keeping score on how many kids have made it out?"
"Exactly ninety-nine," Uncle Bill answered.
"Huh, well I guess we could call it a day then," Gozuki shrugged.
"Didn't you say that we needed a hundred?" the monocled man questioned.
"Yeah, but ninety-nine is close enough," said the swordsman, "Besides, we can just do this again in a couple of months. With the number of children that the Empire provides, we can redo this selection process multiple times over by the end of the year,"
Just as the three were about to head back to their camp, Gozuki noticed something moving at the forest's edge in the corner of his eyes. He pivoted his head to check it out and his eyebrows raised, slightly impressed at what he saw.
"Oh? What's this now?"
The other two turned back to see what had caught his attention.
Fashio lips curved up into a thin smile, "Looks like the hundredth one, has arrived,"
Walking out of the dark undergrowth, covered in fresh blood from head to toe, and leaving a trail of the thick red liquid, was Hei who trudged up the hill. The knife he had used was now missing.
Uncle Bill was the first to greet him and with a slight incline of his shoulders, he said, "Well done making it through. You've passed the examinations. Go and receive your treatments,"
Hei only stared at the ground with empty eyes and ignored a trail of blood trickling down the middle of his face. A droplet from that same trail dripped onto his bare feet.
"Come, this way," Uncle Bill raised his arm to gesture to the cluster of tents close by.
A guard from one of the medical tents came over to guide the black-haired, blood-soaked boy over to the tent to get a check-up by one of the nurses.
When the boy disappeared behind the flaps of the tent, Fashio couldn't help but open his mouth.
"Number One Hundred, eh?" Fashio pushed up the rim of his sunglasses, "... I want him,"
"He's all yours," Gozuki replied nonchalantly before walking off, "Anyway, I'm off, I need to go and gather my seven,"
"It's about time we head back anyway," Uncle Bill added, and the three of them strolled back to camp.
Meanwhile, inside one of the medical tents, Hei was seated on a bed with a nurse applying alcoholic ointment to his wounds. The boy winced repeatedly at the intense stinging along with the building feeling of heat on the spots where the medicine was spread.
The nurse looked to be used to this type of reaction and simply held him down while continuing with her job without giving him a second glance. Once she had finished up by bandaging up his injuries, the nurse turned around and reached into a bucket of water to pull out a towel. Then, by using the wet towel, she began to clean the dried and fresh blood off of his body, stopping only twice to rinse the crimson off the cloth. As soon as she was done, the nurse simply left the tent, and the leather flaps of the entrance scraped across the dirt as it closed.
Hei was left in the dark, with only a small wax candle encased by glass on top of a barrel next to the bed. Its soft glow illuminated only a portion of the tent. He could hear movement coming from the outside, and the high-pitched but muffled yelling of other children around his age was coming from multiple angles. It felt as if this lasted for hours before the flaps to the tent opened.
The flamboyantly dressed professor entered along with two armored guards. The professor stood in front of the boy with a hand resting on his hip.
"Hei? Is that your name?" Fashio asked, taking off his sunglasses to get a better look.
Hei slowly looked up at the middle-aged man then nodded without a word.
"Hmm, well, you have gained a kill rank of one hundred therefore you are coming with me," Fashio declared as he snapped his fingers
"Bring him to my convoy," he ordered curtly to the two soldiers and spun on his toes before exiting the tent.
The two soldiers wasted no time and one held him down as the other tied his hands together behind his back so tightly that the boy's hands started to turn pale. The first soldier dragged him off the bed he was sitting on and forcefully pushed him out of the tent. After a short walk, they reached an open area that was populated with ten, caged horse-carts that were typically used for transporting prisoners or Danger Beasts. However, this time they were filled with children whose ages ranged from four to twelve. Fashio stood on the side with a clipboard and pen, counting the number of test subjects he had collected.
There was only one cart that still had the door unlocked as all the others were full. The two guards forcefully led Hei to the caged cart and as one of them opened the iron-barred door, the other guard picked the boy up and tossed him inside like a sack of vegetables. The door was slammed shut and locked, the key was then given to the soldier driving the cart. The other kids inside the mobile prison looked down at Hei, some with emotionless eyes, others with empathy, and fear. The orange-eyed boy pushed himself off the metal flooring using his knees and looked around for an empty spot. A short girl with long, snowy-white hair and crystal blue eyes shuffled a bit to the side, creating a small opening in the corner for Hei to sit. The black-haired boy slumped down in the corner seat and leaned his head against the bars.
Outside the caged carts, soldiers were running around packing up the campsite, the ones with higher rankings than the others were shouting out orders, while the lower-ranked soldiers did most of the work. The horses pulling the convoy's carts snorted, scraped their hooves across the ground, and grazed on the grass. Underneath a tree, Fashio was discussing something with Uncle Bill and in the distance in front of the setting sun, was Gozuki's cart and in the back were seven, short, shadowed silhouettes.
Soon, Fashio returned and entered his own, far more luxurious horse cart. Before he closed the expensive-looking door he made a small hand gesture to one of the guards riding a horse, the guard nodded, and from a cloth bag on the side of the saddle, he drew a horn. Once the soldier placed the keratin tip to his lips, he took in a deep breath and blew, the high then deep resonating sound echoed across the grassland where the camp was once set up.
From his horse, Uncle Bill saluted goodbye to Fashio with two fingers before kicking the side of the hooved animal for it to move, and the monocled man along with his convoy of caged children began their journey back to the Capital City of the empire.
At the same time, Fashio's convoy began to move as well, but in the direction of the snow-capped mountains in the distance. Both convoys had a good number of soldiers guarding them on the long route to their respective destinations.
During the middle of the journey and after nearly a full day of traveling, piles of blankets were suddenly slipped through the cage bars to every child in the convoy. While some of them wrapped the blankets around their small bodies, others looked at the pieces of linen in confusion, not knowing why the soldiers and Fashio handed them out.
The white-haired girl sitting next to Hei was among the ones who grabbed a blanket and cloaked it around her body.
They would soon realize why, as the temperature began to drop the further they traveled up into the mountains. The sound of dozens of hooves clacking against the stony terrain eventually became muffled as the snow started to gently fall from the sky and covered the ground. At this point, all of the children had wrapped themselves in the given blankets, several of the kids that knew each other, huddled up to keep warm in the quickly cooling weather.
The convoy trekked through the snowy mountain path for another day and a half, only stopping several times for meals and to relieve themselves, and also for the horses to rest. During these breaks, the soldiers would routinely go around counting the children to make sure that none had escaped, or died. It was also during these short intervals that the children were allowed to stretch their legs a bit as they were allowed out to use the bathroom, but they were limited to only two from each carriage and were watched at all times by at least two soldiers. They were also given dry, tasteless, pieces of leftover bread to eat, and were given a single jug of water to share around. The jug of water was always half-fill and was never enough to quench anyone's thirst.
From Hei's carriage, he heard a commotion from the front of the convoy. Two of the kids had been greedy and a fight had broken out inside the caged cart with two boys kicking, headbutting, and biting each other. The uproar caused every child from the other carriages to look their way, and it was only stopped when the soldiers pulled the two boys out of the cage. The two older males then punched the boys in the jaw before tossing them back into the cart.
"Anyone else!?" one of the soldiers yelled.
Immediately, the children that were watching averted their gazes down to their feet. The soldier accepted this answer with a snort and spat on the ground before returning to his horse.
Throughout all of this, Fashio's carriage remained silent and only opened to receive meals.
And once again, the convoy was on their way.
At some point during the journey, Hei had fallen asleep, as did the other children in the same cart. His head was leaning against the iron bars and a blanket was wrapped tightly around his body, even covering his mouth and nose. When the wheels of the cart suddenly stopped, it was enough to rouse Hei awake as his body slightly jerked away from the cage walls. His orange eyes slowly blinked open but found that it was still dark around him as if his eyes were still closed. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness he could see that it wasn't a vision problem but something had covered the cage of the cart. Preventing any more snow from getting in, but also preventing them from looking outside. Slipping a finger through the cage bars, the boy brushed his finger against the material cloaking their carriage.
'Cloth?' Hei pulled his finger back in and scratched his head.
It was then that he noticed that something was pressing against his shoulder. Looking down to his right, he saw the short white-haired girl leaning against his arm with her cheeks squished against his deltoids.
Then he noticed something else.
'Have we stopped?' he wondered as he could no longer hear the trotting of hooves, nor feel the bumpy terrain under them. As he was lost in his thoughts, the other children started to stir too.
It was silent for only a short while longer, but murmurs of confusion from the other carts soon made their way to Hei's ears and the kids locked up with him quickly joined in.
But it didn't take long for their question to be answered.
Suddenly, the heavy cloth covering their caged carriage was ripped off. Revealing that they were no longer being dragged by horses and that they were no longer on a cart, instead, the cages they were in were resting on the floor. It also revealed that they were no longer in the harsh environment of the high altitude mountain range, but instead their surroundings were made of some type of dark-gray metal and in front of them was a gate that was also made from some kind of metal. Hei looked around and saw that every cage was now lined up in a single line with the doors facing the metal gate.
"Where are we?" one of the kids asked.
"I don't know," another answered.
"Are the soldiers still out there?" a third uttered fearfully while twiddling his fingers.
All of a sudden, a clang echoed through the room, drawing the childrens' attention to it. One of the kids on another carriage had kicked open the door, and everyone's eyes grew wide in shock at what they saw.
"It's unlocked," the child sitting opposite of Hei said quietly before a smile grew on his face with tears gathering in the corner of his eyes before shouting, "IT'S UNLOCKED!"
Without another second, that child rushed to the door of their carriage and pushed it open. He burst through and fell to the ground, but the pain was quenched by the joy of being free. And it didn't take long for all the others to follow suit, Hei being one of them.
Their joy was simmered as they realized that although they were out of the cage, they were still trapped by the massive gate.
Several of the older children walked up to the gate, and the one in the middle, a girl with tanned skin and red hair, began to call out, "Everyone that's older than ten or has enough strength, help us push this open!"
Even though she was only a couple of years older than most of the other kids, there was a hint of matureness in her voice that led the others to follow her.
A line of children amassed at the gate only a minute after.
"On three!" the redhead ordered, "One!...Two!...Three!"
The battle cry of youngsters echoed through the room as they tried desperately to push the gate open. But it was to no avail and one by one they left their position, some of the children dropped due to sheer exhaustion while others thought that it was hopeless.
During this entire event, Hei stood at the side watching with the white-haired girl -who still had the blanket cocooned around her- at his side.
Suddenly, the gate opened with a rumble as it retracted into the ceiling and the children at the gate all rushed back to safety.
What greeted them was a large open space around the size of a football field, shaped in a large dome with steel walls stretching to several stories high, and reinforced, tinted glass at the curvature of the dome. On the other side of the dome was another metal gate that was identical to the one that had just opened.
The children cautiously poured out into the open area, and while the timider of the group stayed back, eventually all of them were standing within the dome. Then the gate behind them closed with a loud thud. The lights that were circled around the area lit up, effectively illuminating the entire space.
"Welcome, my darlings," Fashio's voice suddenly rang throughout the dome, startling most of the children. Hei and many others looked around for a source but found nothing.
"I welcome you all, to your new home," the professor continued, "Within this facility, you will be clothed, and fed. You will sleep and train to be the Empire's new unit of soldiers to defend it from threats such as those terrorists calling themselves the Revolutionary Army. Now, this area here is where most of the meals and training will take place, as well as weekly examinations to test your strength. Your...dorms are located in another part of this facility. I advise each and every one of you to be smart, and not to think about escape. All soldiers have been ordered to kill on sight if they see you outside of the compound but I see no reason in you doing that,"
"As when you become a member of the special unit the Empire has planned for you, you will be able to live more comfortably than you ever have before. Eat good food every day, have access to freshwater, sleep in the most luxurious of beds, or whatever else you so desire. You will even earn riches and fame for your deeds. So, please consider this before you decide to do anything foolish. We, the Empire care about every one of you,"
When Fashio had finished his speech, a platoon of soldiers entered from the opposing metal door.
"These men will escort you to your resting areas but before that, there will be a little formality to accomplish. But after that go and get some sleep dearies. Tomorrow will be...a big and glorious day~," said Fashio, his voice grew more menacing as he spoke, "Good night~ My lovely...hybrids,"
The soldiers armed with bladed, blunt, and ranged weapons, herded the children into a different room and down a long corridor until they reached a checkpoint. A large, marble booth with a double door to its side, and inside the booth was a high-ranking soldier, a commander that gave off an intimidating aura.
One stood up and ordered, "Form a line, one in front of me! I will be registering you into the Empire's system, this will only take a moment!"
Doing as they were told, the children messily shuffled into a single line. However, the soldiers around them decided that they were taking too long and put matters into their own hands. A couple of the armed men stomped forward and dragged some stragglers into the line. With the fear of being beaten or worse, the rest of the children scurried to get into place. After the commotion died down, the registration began.
From so far down the line, Hei didn't know what was happening but as he slowly got closer he heard that the commander was asking for their names, then designating them a number. The black-haired boy's palms started to sweat from nervousness as the number of children in front of him started to lessen.
"Next!"
And then it was his turn.
"Name?" the commander demanded.
"H-Hei, s-s-sir," he stammered as he stood up straight and stared directly forward, doing his best to imitate the guards of his village.
The commander scribbled something on a sheet of paper before speaking again.
"Give me your hand," the commander ordered and Hei complied.
The armored man grabbed Hei's wrist and pricked the boy's index finger with a needle. Hei hissed from the sudden stinging sensation and at the same time, watched as his blood was being sucked into a tiny syringe.
"Your number is 31. Proceed to the door on the right," said the high-ranked soldier as he placed the syringe in a tray with thirty other blood samples on the side of the booth.
"Y-Yes s-sir," stuttered Hei before following his instructions, while holding his wrist and rubbing his hands to rid the slight pain of the needle.
"Next!"
After making his way through the door, a guard led him down a series of hallways. Then they entered a specific corridor that had what seemed to be an endless amount of steel doors lined up against both sides of the corridor, and extending down the path. They passed by numerous numbered doors until they reached the one with the number [ 31 ] neatly painted by the entrance.
"I-Is this...?" Hei started to ask the guard, who didn't answer nor care, and instead opened the door before pushing the orange-eyed inside the cell.
Hei stumbled forward but managed to regain his footing. He heard a hard click behind him and whipped around with wide eyes upon the realization that he was locked in from the outside. Then came another realization, one that had somehow avoided him for so long. The realization of how serious and dangerous his current predicament was.
Everything had happened so fast and escalated so quickly that the boy's mind had only now caught up to his conscience.
Only a couple of days ago, he was still living a peaceful life with his aunt and uncle, along with his two best friends, Chelsea and Natala in the village.
They had planned to go and hunt for a rare sheep, and that was all it was meant to be.
Then it all went to hell when the Imperial Soldiers found them. From there Hei was thrown into a deadly examination where one slip would mean death, and now he was locked up in some sort of facility in an unknown location waiting to be trained to serve the Empire.
Once everything was added together, his heart dropped and it sent Hei into a panic.
"No," he cried as he rushed forward to the door, only to find that there was no way to open it from the inside. He banged on the heavy door helplessly screaming to let him out.
And unbeknownst to him, many of the other kids were doing the same as him at that same moment.
Hei didn't know how long he slept, he just knew that overthinking his predicament over and over and over again had made him exhausted enough to knock himself out. He sat up from his bed, if one could call it that, it was a mattress on the ground with a simple blanket and pillow. That was the only thing in the cell aside from Hei.
The door then abruptly swung open, unsurprisingly revealing a guard standing there. The older man dragged Hei from the cell and escorted him out of the corridor after slamming the door shut. This was happening all around him, and the children were forcibly guided back to the dome.
As they entered the large open space, they noticed that there were dark-colored boxes laid out evenly on the ground, with each of them having numbers ranging from one to one hundred on the lid.
The smarter of the children knew what it meant and they walked to the boxes that were the same number they were assigned the day before. The crowd followed their example and all of them found their boxes.
Hei crouched down and removed the lid of box thirty-one. He furrowed his brows at what was inside and reached inside to pull it out. It was a skin-tight, long-sleeved, black jumpsuit and a pair of white boots. He looked around to see what the others were doing and saw that he wasn't the only one to not know what to do with them.
"Do you like my gifts?" Fashio's voice suddenly fills the dome, "These will be your...uniforms during your time here… Well? What are you waiting for? Put them on,"
The children looked around at each other, all of them hesitant to take off their clothes in front of so many strangers.
"JUST STRIP! You'll all soon be washing together anyway! We're wasting time here!" the professor's enraged voice rang through the area.
Out of fear, some of the kids immediately removed their old pieces of clothing and swapped them out for the jumpsuit and boots. Seeing no other alternative, another bunch of children also changed clothes quickly to not expose themselves for too long. The remaining group of twenty were still hesitant, partially because over half of that group were girls but in the end, they ended up speedily changing after another warning from Fashio.
"Good, now when I call out your number please proceed through the door towards the left. While waiting the rest of you can mingle and get to know your new brothers and sisters, or you can just rest, that decision is up to you,"
A metal door opened up on the side of the dome, it was the same one that they had tried to push open the day before.
"Numbers 1 to 10, please enter,"
Hei watched as ten children froze and exchanged glances, not knowing whether they should proceed as told. The dome was free of guards at this time, and they were showing more hesitance than usual. However, one of them pulled his courage together and decided to volunteer to go first. The other nine followed one by one after the courageous boy disappeared behind the metal doors.
Then the doors closed with a rumble.
Not knowing what to do at this point, Hei just sat down on the ground with his legs crossed and fiddled with the box now containing his old blood-stained clothes. His orange eyes curiously hovered over his surroundings as he was still searching where Fashio's voice was coming from, but after glancing around multiple times like an animal on edge, he relaxed slightly as he looked back down at the box he was fiddling with in his hands.
'I wonder where Chels and Natala are right now? Did Chels get away and find uncle? Where did they take Natala? He's okay, right? My uncle and aunt are also okay, right? There was smoke coming from the village, wasn't there?... Are they safe?... I hope they're safe...at least they're not here with me. I don't even know what's happening...'
Lost in his thoughts, time seemed to pass rather quickly. There was soft chatter around him as the other children found the silence disturbing and creepy so they began to chat amongst themselves. Although others were curled up in a ball and leaning against the dome's walls, sobbing about the situation they were forced into.
Suddenly, Fashio's voice boomed through the open space once again and the metal doors were lifted open. The abruptness of it startled the children and a few yelps were released.
"Numbers 11 to 20! Please proceed through the door,"
Hei watched as nine children reluctantly headed through the entrance, amongst them was the tanned-skin and red-haired girl that led the attempt to escape the day before. As they disappeared behind the closing gates, Hei found it strange that the previous ten had not returned. Perhaps they were escorted back to their cells.
Just as before, nearly an hour later, another announcement was made.
"21 to 30! Proceed!"
And another group of children timidly approached the open doors. The last to enter was the white-haired girl that Hei sat next to in the caged carriage. The black-haired boy noticed that once again, the previous group had not come back.
As he turned his attention back to playing with threads on his old clothes, a shiver ran down his spine when he realized that he was next. His heart pounded in his ears as sweat started seeping from his palms and neck. His mind was fluttering with thoughts that disappeared and reappeared every second.
Then the dreaded moment arrived.
"31 to 40! Proceed!"
Hei stared at the opening metal doors with his eyes shaking. He tried to move but the fear of the unknown had paralyzed him. But when he saw three of the children walk past him toward the door, looking equally as afraid, Hei swallowed the built-up saliva and pushed himself off the ground to follow.
The doors closed behind him as he and his group were now at the point of no return. In front of them a smaller doorway opened up in the wall and without any other option, they bravely walked through. It was silent as no one had spoken, they could only hear the tapping of their footsteps down the corridor and occasionally the chattering teeth of a terrified child in their group. Soon they came upon a guarded entrance, and once they had all gathered in front of it, the soldiers pushed open the doors and ushered them in.
It was a small waiting room with long benches pushed up against the three of the walls, as the fourth wall had an automated sliding door built into it. It hummed as it opened and Fashio entered.
"Ah, excellent you're all here," he grinned with a hint of deviousness, "Before we continue, I must inform you that every morning before mealtime you will report to the Dome Arena and from there wait until you receive further instructions for the day's schedule, is that understood?"
He was answered by a ripple of nods
"Good, then let's begin. Number 31 you're with me, the rest of you can wait and relax here," said Fashio.
He felt rather safe at the back of the group, but when his number was called the rest of the kids moved to the side, forming a clear path between him and the professor. Hei gulped and hesitantly moved forward.
"Good boy," Fashio smirked as he guided Hei through the automated door.
Hei froze in his tracks and his eyes widened at what he saw.
The room they were in was populated with a dozen scientists working under Fashio, and four guards were stationed at each corner of the room. Bizarrely, those guards were better armed than the ones outside with higher-quality armor and weapons. In the middle of the room was a small octagonal glass prison with the panels attached to the ceiling, inside there was a white, reclining chair with straps on the arm and leg rests. Just outside the glass prison was where the scientists worked, there were large control panels with multiple screens, buttons, and keyboards, and other electronics that were spread across the room. There was a large desk behind the control panel that was kept neat and tidy with piles of research books and papers populating the hard, elevated surface.
Before he knew it, Hei was pushed into the glass prison and strapped tightly onto the chair. His heart hadn't stopped pounding and now, it felt as if it was thumping even faster than before. His orange eyes darted around panicked to see what was happening and what was going to happen to him.
Outside of the glass containment, Fashio strolled around to the front of the transparent structure, albeit he was behind the short wall of control panels.
"Link him up," the professor ordered then turned to look down at the scientist sitting close to him, "Give me the document on #31, I need to check it again,"
"Yes sir," the scientist responded and handed him a labeled file after shuffling through a stack on the side.
At the same time, two other scientists went inside the glass containment and from a hatch on the ground, they pulled out two long, thin tubes with a sharp needle at the tip. Hei whimpered upon seeing it and when he saw that they were approaching him with the needled tubes in hand, he began to thrash around.
But unfortunately, his attempt of resistance was futile as the two scientists were used to this reaction. One put his tube on the ground before holding down Hei's arm while the other scientist punctured the needle through the soft skin of his underarm and into a blood vein. Then using a strong dark-colored tape, they bound the tube to his forearm.
The two scientists repeated the same thing on the boy's other arm before leaving the glass prison.
"Hmm, well that's interesting. Out of all the candidates, Teigu Number Fifty-One reacts to his blood more positively than the others. With the highest compatibility rate of twenty-three percent. Ha! Well then, it's decided," Fashio snapped the file labeled #31 shut and slid it back into the pile.
The professor then ordered with a mad grin, "Let's begin! This boy is most compatible with the DNA extracted from TG-51. Start with a dosage of 0.5% then increase it after three minutes or when I tell you,"
"Yes sir!" was the chorus of replies and the scientists began their operation.
The ones sitting at the control panels immediately punched in commands while the ones at the back watched intently alongside the professor.
Inside the glass containment box, Hei screamed and every muscle in his body immediately tensed as a glowing, fired-red smoke was injected into his body.
The pain was instantaneous the moment the smoke entered his body. A searing sensation erupted through his body as the smoke mixed with his blood, it was as if his whole body was being set ablaze from the inside out. His veins began to bulge from his body and the glowing smoke traveling in the bloodstream could be seen through the skin. His agonizing screams were suddenly cut off as he began gasping rapidly for air, and he could feel his heart beating so fast that it felt like it would burst from his chest at any moment. At the same time, his vision began to blur and spin out of control, and an intense throbbing that felt like a lightning strike shooting through his head. His body was bathed in sweat with a pool already gathering below the chair he was strapped on, and his limbs were starting to paralyze from the unyielding tension they were put under. However, the boy hadn't noticed due to the sheer agony that coursed through his body multiple times over
It hadn't even been five seconds.
"Increase dosage to 0.75%," said Fashio as he watched the boy with an intrigued stare.
Another jet of glowing smoke shot through the tubes and into Hei at the professor's command. Upon receiving the second dose, Hei was sent into a state of rapid convulsions and his strapped body vibrated violently. Despite the hyperventilation, the orange-eyed boy released another pained yowl. His upper body lurched forward as far as it could as a result of the intense muscle convulsions, then he slammed his head back onto the seat.
"Increase dosage to 1.0%,"
The glowing smoke filled the tubes as they invaded Hei's body for the third time. The bodily reaction had remained the same as the pain was increased slightly. But the screaming wasn't quenched at all.
Fashio narrowed his eyes at the lack of change, "Increase dosage to 2.5%,"
The boy's eyes stretched as wide as they could on the fourth dose. The amount of smoke rocketing through the tubes was enough to slightly expand the tubes' girth. Hei screamed until his saliva flew out and mixed with his puddle of sweat. Without him noticing, somehow movement had been granted back to his hands as he gripped the edge of the armrest so tightly that his fingers began digging into the material. His body continued to lurch brutally back and forth until the saliva spraying during his cries started to become blood. The crimson liquid ran down his mouth and dripped off his chin as he pushed his head back against the seat once more.
Veins of black started to conquer over the red in his bloodshot eyes, and it was continuing to fill the white of his eyes until the corners of the sclera turned a shade of black darker than his already jet-black hair.
It was at that moment, that the overloaded pain was too much for Hei to endure any longer and the boy slipped into unconsciousness.
"Alright that's enough," ordered Fashio and the scientists deactivated the tubes, but the lingering strands of smoke inside seemed to reach out for the boy before being sucked out and back into the facility.
"Increase oxygen levels, let the child breath," said Fashio, "And check his vitals,"
"His heartbeat is faint sir," said a female scientist sitting on his left, "About one heartbeat every ten seconds,"
Fashio scoffed before smirking, "Well, at least he didn't die like twenty of the others, he lasted longer than expected too. This one shows promise for our ideal results. Remember to monitor him regularly like #11 and #21,"
"Understood sir," replied the scientists, except for one, who was closely looking at the boy's heartbeats.
Suddenly, her eyes widened, "S-S-Sir, #31's heart rate has returned to stable levels,"
"What!? Already!?" Fashio exclaimed as he rushed to look at her screen, "...Unbelievable,"
"S-S-S-S-Sir…," stuttered a bespectacled scientist who was spectating the entire time.
Fashio glanced back at him, "What?"
"...L-L-L-L-Look," the scientist pointed a shaky finger at the glass containment prison.
Fashio stood up and walked around to see what his subordinate was so scared of. What he saw caused a cold, instinctive, shudder to run through his body. The mad professor took off his sunglasses to get a better look as he walked up to the glass until he could press his face against it.
His blue eyes stared at the boy.
And it stared back.
Hei's left eye.
The sclera and iris were black as the dark, moonless, night sky. The pupil was a bright-red, reptilian slit.
Despite the rest of the body being unconscious, the left eye moved unblinkingly around, gazing curiously at the surroundings. Then it noticed the professor staring, and glared back. From the other side of the glass, the crowd of scientists felt a surge of murderous intent emanating from the black-haired boy, but more specifically, it seemed to be coming from his one open eye.
After a minute, the left eye closed, allowing the main body to rest.
The room was silent.
The one to break it was Fashio.
It started as a chuckle before he broke into a fit of crazed laughter.
"Yes! That's the result I want to see!" he cackled, "I want to feel that killer instinct of a Danger Beast. I want to feel like prey being stalked by a predator! I need more of those wonderful shivers down my back! Ooh~ just thinking about it makes me giddy!"
"Sir, what should we do now?" a scientist behind him asked.
"Untie him and place him back in his cell, but remember to get another blood sample before he wakes," Fashio ordered while calming down his giggling.
"Yes sir,"
After Hei was removed from the room and returned to his so-called dormitory. Things calmed down and proceeded as normal, and one by one, children came and left the room after being tested on. Some left the room alive while others weren't so lucky, and just like that, the next five groups went through the process rather quickly.
On the first day, there were eighty-one children to partake in the experimentations, and only half remained for the second day. However, the Empire was quick to fill in every empty slot and the facility ran for several more years until only six survivors remained. When Fashio informed Minister of State Honest of this, the two of them immediately grouped the surviving children together into an Imperial Assassination Squad, known as…
The Apex Six.
Imperial Year 1020 - 6 Years Later
A gigantic stone fortress was situated on the border of the Empire and the Western Nation. It was strategically built across the mouth of a river, which was the only way for anything transported via water to enter the nation. Its high walls provided a great to scout from above in every direction, and the golden chains thicker than tree trunks barricaded the only entrance and exit. On normal days, this fortress would act as a resting zone for many traders, and thus the place was usually bustling with people.
However, today, it was quiet and the waters ran red. The carnivoran aquatic creatures of the river system enjoyed the feast of corpses that day, and the water surface continuously churned as the feeding frenzy went on. The corpses of men, women, and children were scattered across the ruined fortress, with some of them even damaged to the point of unrecognition. Fresh blood flowed down the cobblestone paths as if they were crimson man-made streams.
Standing on top of the fresh ruins of a stone tower was a tall, buff, and masked young man. The sides of his head were shaved leaving only a short, navy mohawk. The mask was white with a black edge and covered his entire face. From the dark-colored edge, two thick, diagonal, curved lines seeped out and crossed over the center forming an 'X'. The bottom half of the curved cross pattern was noticeably thinner than the top half, and the usual eyeholes of a face mask were replaced by two eerie glowing red circles. The unknown young man's attire consisted of a dark gray martial artist's gi and a skin-tight, black, long-sleeved undershirt with a turtle neck. A crimson sash was tied around his waist. His slightly baggy pants were dark gray, with the bottom end tucked into white boots.
The masked man reached for the corpse lying next to him on the tower's broken wall and tore off an arm. With two fingers, he began pinching out small bits of flesh and sprinkled them over the bloodied water, encouraging the beasts underneath to continue the violent feast.
Around the ruined fortress were five others dressed identically to him.
Close by was a girl in her teens, with a buxom figure, tanned skin, and scarlet hair in twin tails. She walked around the battle-damaged fortress streets, dragging dead bodies into a pile at the center of the fortress. That pile was already as high as an average house.
Within the fortress's interior, another teenage girl was walking through the destroyed corridors of the once great castle. She walked past and over the bodies of soldiers wearing metallic armor that bore the emblem of the King of the Western Nation, which was the head of a bull elk on a green shield with roses around it. She had a thin but healthy body with pale skin, and her short, blond, bob-cut hair bobbed up and down as she started to skip the rest of her way. In her small hands, she held a treasure chest and a steel safe and was unbothered by the heavy weights both objects carried as she continued along her way. She only stopped when a pained groan reached her ears.
On the ground just around the corner, was a surviving guard with a missing leg and blood splattered across his armor. He was sitting against the wall, trying to be as silent as possible as he tended to his wounds. But the moment he saw the masked girl, his eyes stretched as far as they could and started to take panicked rapid breaths.
"S-S-S-STAY AWAY! MONSTER! DEMON!"
The girl smiled gleefully underneath her mask and she dropped the weighted containers on the ground. While happily humming, she skipped towards the guard who only shrieked as he tried desperately to move back until he began to crawl over the bodies of his fallen comrades as fast as he could.
The teen tensed the muscles of her left arm and it transformed into the sturdy, spikey, serrated, three-section arm of a mantis. With no effort at all, the girl cleaved the guard in half from head to groin, his organs slowly slid out. The girl flicked the blood onto the nearby wall before her arm went back to normal, then she turned to pick up the two heavy containers before exiting by jumping out the window. Her jovial humming didn't stop for a second.
On the other side of the fortress, sat on top of a pile of rubble was a short girl with long hair as white as snow. One leg crossed over the other as she flipped a page of the book she was reading, which had a bloodied cover. Her mask was attached to her red sash and her crystal-blue eyes scanned the contents of the page Around her were the bodies of soldiers that looked to be half-melted while several others were wrapped in a thick web and their skin was dark and dried as if they had been scorched by the harsh sun rays.
Adjacent to her was a forest of fallen pillars that once belonged to a now collapsed building. Lying with his hands behind his head on top of the pillar that was mostly intact, was a teenage boy with spiky, ash-brown hair that was slightly pointing forward. He was equipped with the same dark attire as the others, but like the white-haired girl, his mask had been removed and was clinging to his sash. His golden eyes were locked onto a fleshy, red object in his hand. It was the heart of the fortress commander whose mutilated corpse dangled over the stump of a nearby pillar.
The brown-haired teen raised the heart above his head. Then with a popping squelch, he crushed the heart and the blood gushed into his open mouth with the boy drinking every last drop. Once the organ was squeezed dry, he lowered his arm and began to slowly chew on the scrunched-up heart as if it were jerky.
As he gnawed loudly, his gaze flicked up to the fortress's only wall that was still in decent condition.
"Is he still up there?" he thought aloud then looked over at the white-haired girl, "Hey Azi, did you see him come down, or is he still up on the wall?"
"Mhm," Azi answered under her breath as she flipped another page of her book.
"What was that?" The brown-haired narrowed his eyes with slight annoyance, "Can you say that a bit louder? I didn't hear you...Hey!...Azi… Azi!... A-21!"
Azi's blue eyes sharpened and waves killing intent shot out of her as she shot him a death glare, "Don't call me that!"
"Well at least I got your attention," the brown-haired teen huffed as he swung his legs over to sit properly, "I was just asking you if-,"
"Why don't you go and see for yourself!?" snapped Azi as she focused back on her book, before glaring back at him, "And chew your food quieter! I'm trying to read!"
The brown-haired teen shrugged as he stood upon the pillar and dusted off his pants.
With a piece of flesh dangling from his mouth, the teen took two steps then jumped. He was as light as a feather as he leisurely leaped up over six stories high, and landed on the wall without a sound.
In front of him, staring out at the lush emerald blanket of forest and the golden sand seas that lay beyond, was a teenage boy with slightly disheveled, short black hair and equipped in the same outfit as the rest of them. His hair fluttered gently as the quiet gusts of wind flew by.
"Enjoying the view, Hei?" the brown-haired teen said as he walked up to him and leaned forward against the stone railing of the wall.
"...It's nice," replied a now thirteen, almost fourteen-year-old Hei. He had grown much taller within six years and his looks had just slightly matured.
The brown-haired teen chuckled, "Then you should take that mask off and enjoy some of that fresh air,"
One hand reached up and pulled the black and white mask off his face, revealing his flaming orange eyes that no longer shone with the spark of innocence. He then held it by the side of his leg and breathed in deeply.
"Something on your mind, Rai?" Hei asked as he looked out into the distance again.
"I should be asking you that," replied Rai as he stopped chewing on the piece of flesh, "You've been up here for an hour staring out like some kind of gargoyle. So what's up? I know there's something, you can tell me, we're brothers aren't we,"
Hei sighed, "It's just...I don't know, I guess it's some type of uncertainty. We've done contracts before but… This is our first mission away from the Empire's borders, and that worries me,"
"Just that?"
"Yeah,"
"Well, those first couple sets of contracts are just the graduation of all the training we've been through. And the old man said it himself, didn't he? While the Elite Seven and the Group of Terror and the rest of them focus on domestic situations like fighting against the Revolutionist Scum Army and all their allies. Our focus is on weakening the neighboring countries for the Empire to expand its territory and eventually lead to a complete conquest. Besides, we've all done our research on the West Nation, their culture, terrain, systems, and language, and all that. And it's not like we'll be there a whole year, we just need to get in, assassinate some people, burn down some farms, create some chaos within, and get out. With our strength and as long as we stick to the shadows, we'll be back home in no time. You're worrying for nothing,"
Hei's gaze shifted onto the teen next to him as he spoke. "I guess that's true,"
Rai smirked, "You guess? It is true, at least it will be,"
A minute of silence had passed when Rai stopped the chewing and the brown-haired teen's golden eyes fell upon the piece of flesh held in his hand.
"Though this is the only thing that worries me," said Rai as his face turned neutral, "The Inhibitor Masks keeps us from listening to the voices inside our head and going berserk but...,"
Hei frowned and nodded, "The masks can't keep us from going hungry and losing control,"
"Sustaining ourselves with the flesh of humans," scoffed Rai, "What a price to pay to survive,"
"This world is sick and wrong," Hei agreed, "But with the Empire, we can change it, and that's why we kill,"
Rai's lips curved up into a smile and dropped the piece of flesh back into his mouth, swallowing it in a single gulp.
"Power is only given to those who are prepared to lower themselves to pick it up, and with that power comes a responsibility," stated Rai before he turned to look at his squadmate, "That was a saying from my village in the North West. Do you know what it means?"
Hei rested his arms on top of the wall's stone railing and thought for a while before answering, "We lower ourselves by needing to consume humans, but in turn, we use our abilities for the greater good?"
"Heh, close enough," Rai smirked, and the two boys gazed out at the scenic view with the sun slowly setting above them. The light warm hues washed over the terrain, dying everything in a soft pink, yellow, and orange glow.
"Say, Hei," began Rai, catching the attention of Hei, who flicked his eyes in his direction without turning his head, "Do you ever think of your old village? Do you still remember them?"
As he went back to studying the environment below, Hei shook his head, "No, not anymore. Everything is pretty hazy. I probably couldn't even recognize it even if I was standing in the middle of it. I don't even remember the name or the names of the people there. It's like when you wake up from a dream and forget all about it, but part of you still holds onto the hope that you'll remember it one day,"
"I get how you feel. Although I still recall details... it feels like that time of my life was too surreal, too carefree compared to the reality of this world," admitted Rai, "But sometimes, very rarely, I wonder if the life I'm living now is the actual dream, and when it's over, I'll wake up in a fur bed with the scent of my mother's cooking floating in from the kitchen,"
"...,"
"Is there anything you do remember?" Rai asked curiously.
Hei pondered on that thought for a while as his friend waited patiently for his answer. His flame-colored gaze traveled up to the skies that reflected the same warm palette.
"...Hair," he finally murmured.
"Hm?"
"I remember...hair... with colors the same as the sunset,"
The War Within - 2
So first off, I just wanna give a big shoutout and thank you to the first hundred readers, and to the ones who added this to their favorite and follows, and to the reviewer ( I won't be adding any names just in case they change in the future, but you know who you are and know that I really appreciate you guys checking this out).
But aside from that, this concludes the second chapter of [ The War Within ]. We saw the first (of many) times Hei was experimented on. Then a six-year time skip with the brief introduction of his Assassination Squad: Apex 6, along with the mentions of both Akame's and Kurome's respective squads. There will be more on the Apex 6 and their story with questions being answered, along with their interactions with the Elite 7 and Group of Terror in future chapters.
Lastly, I will be following the events of the manga and not the anime.
Thank You For Reading, and Goodbye!