A Tale of Two Torrents

By Dixxy

Chapter Ten: Termini's Plot

(Sara)

While I was in the shower, I thought over what had happened the previous day. The attempted rape was still shaking me and probably would continue to do so for a few days. But I felt better in knowing we'd be going home later on, even if Cye had to beat the way home out of Termini.

I stepped out of the shower, happy with my cleansing and grabbed a towel, drying myself off. Normally I used my powers, but today I wanted to do it the "normal" way. Doing things the "normal" way sometimes made me feel better if something was bothering me, like what happened to me earlier.

I changed back into the outfit I'd been wearing the day we'd arrived, seeing as Cye had done the same. I gave the bathroom over to Sue Lee, who had her things over her shoulder as she ran in to take her own shower. I smiled as she ran in, the small girl a simple reminder of the days when I was like her. Young and somewhat innocent. Sue Lee, we all know, would probably never live a normal life due to all that she had been thrown into, but she was still a sweet girl. A little less naïve to the ways of the world, but still a sweetheart.

I started to brush through my hair infront of a mirror in our room, the darkened blue locks still wet against the back of my shirt. I pointed behind me and evaporated the water, only to be greeted by an undesirable frizzy look. I stuck my tongue out at the reflection and searched my pockets for an elastic of some sort to tie it back. I succeeded and found one. Pulling my hair through it quickly, I debated on whether or not I should go look for Cye and see how he was fairing.

As I stood up, I suddenly felt a pain in my heart. Something was wrong and whatever it was, my body was feeling it. I fell to the floor, clutching my chest as an ominously dark feeling overtook me. I clutched the end of the bed, breathing hard as I tried to regain my composure.

The Gruff ran to my side, using its large head to push me up on the bed. I fell back onto my back, breathing heavily. I could feel my forehead burning, my palms begin to sweat, and my head beginning to pound. The Gruff started to sniff around my hips. "What are you doing!" I demanded. The Gruff looked up and me and began to paw at my pockets.

I wasn't sure what it was doing at first, but then I figured it out. It wanted me to get my armor orbe, which was usually in my pocket! I patted my jeans, trying to remember which pocket I'd put it in. But my fingers were not greeted with the familiar feeling of the little marble I used to call up my powers. The Gruff was still sniffing, then butted into one of my breasts.

At first I couldn't figure out what the creature was getting at. Then I remembered where I'd stuck the darn thing. Since the dresses Termini provided me with had no pockets, I had to use my "natural" pocket to store my armor orbe. "Who says you can't learn anything from Jamie Lee Curtis movies?" I said, reaching down my cleavage to retrieve the said armor orbe. The minute I touched my armor orbe, I felt instantly better, but I still knew something was horribly wrong.

The Gruff snorted at me, rolling its eyes at me. I gave it a smug smile. "Hey, no pickpocket is gonna go looking for anything THERE," I said, pointing at my chest. The Gruff stared at me oddly, raising one ear as the other ear flopped down. "Well, MOST pickpockets."

I grasped the armor orbe tightly, drawing more relief from it. My hand around the little marble seemed to put my chest as ease, but I still felt danger around. Something must have happened to Cye. I turned back to the Gruff, ready to give it instructions. "Stay here with Sue Lee. Once she gets dressed, bring her and come find me and Cye, all right?"

The Gruff nodded, snorting. I stood up, stuffed the armor orbe in my pocket, and bolted out of the bedroom door. I had to find Cye. Something bad was going to happen, and if I didn't find him, it was only going to get worse. Please be all right, Cye. Please be all right.

I frantically searched for my partner in arms around the complex, hoping I was going to avoid the sick bastard from the previous day. I had to find Cye, and I had to find him fast. I just KNEW something was wrong. What had happened in our room wasn't some random armor spasm. No. Trouble was lurking around the corner.

Maybe it was my armor, maybe it was woman's intuition, we may never know.

But, I was right.

I ran into every room I thought I might find Termini, since that was probably where Cye was. He wasn't in the main hall, wasn't in any of the gardens, and I didn't see him in any of the hallways. I checked a library we'd found and saw no sign of our host there, either.

In fact, I didn't find ANYONE. Not even a servant.

I found myself in a wing that was full of offices of some sort, probably studies, considering the time period that Termini drew his home from. All of them were pretty much identical. Desk, books, chairs, papers, and fire places. All done over exactly like the previous room before it.

The last room I checked (fourteen, I think) was different. This room had the same stuff in the other rooms, but it was a mess! Papers were all over the room, chairs turned over, and books in piles on the floor. I looked around, getting a sense that whatever had happened to Cye had happened there.

"Sara!"

I turned around to see Sue Lee was RIDING the Gruff as the creature bounced along the hallway, Cye's backpack over her shoulder. She was dressed, but her hair was still wet. "What's going on!" she asked. "The Gruff started to go nuts when I got out of the bathroom and-"

"Cye's in trouble," I said. I looked the Gruff in the eye. Sue Lee had given me a great idea. There was only so fast I could go on foot. If I was riding something, I would be able to go a lot faster. Would the Gruff let me ride him like he'd let Sue Lee ride him? "Room for one more on there?"

The Gruff nodded, bending his legs down low enough so I could straddle his back. Sue Lee moved back so I could sit up front. Once I had a firm grip on his fur and Sue Lee had her arms wrapped around my middle, I gently nudged his side and the Gruff took off.

"Whoa!" I said, not used to the sensation of riding the strange creature. It was like some sort of a strange roller coaster ride, constantly up and down, up and down, and gaining speed. Man, Mexican jumping beans had NOTHING on Sue Lee and me on the back of the Gruff.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

Down the halls we went, the Gruff's tongue lolling out as it sniffed the air, searching for Cye's scent. The Gruff seemed almost exited, whipping his head from left to right. He went this way and that, never seeming to find who he was looking for. With each dead end we hit, I began to get more and more concerned.

Finally, the Gruff paused, sniffing the air. His ears perked up and he lowered his head, sniffing at the ground. "What is it?" I asked. The Gruff lifted his head and looked around silently, then bolted down the area he had sniffed out. He turned down hallways, this time in some sort of organization. He must have Cye's scent, I thought.

After a while, I realized that the Gruff, if he was onto the trail, was headed for the front door. So was Cye outside? So then whatever Termini was doing, it was probably outside, if we were right. There were too many ifs for my liking, but I didn't have much information to go on.

"Stand back, Gruff! Your riders and you shall not pass!" I looked ahead of us to see that a small gathering of Termini's soldiers were guarding the front entrance, most holding wooden shields and spears. "Lord Termini will not be interrupted! Go back and he will be merciful!"

The Gruff wasn't phased by this in the least. The creature had no reason to be frightened of these guards. These guards had wooden shield and wooden weapons. The Gruff was not of afraid of these wooden weapons and defense items. Why was he not afraid? Because he had something better than that.

The Gruff opened its mouth, pulled its head back, and began to breath fire.

"Gruffs. . . can breathe. . . fire?" I asked.

I got no response. The Gruff yipped happily, obviously pleased with itself. Not only were the guards out of commission, but the door had been burnt down, too. Our furry friend leapt over the now unconscious and rather crispy looking guards into Termini's courtyard.

Well, it HAD been a courtyard.

All of the carts, sheds, and weapons were removed, leaving a huge, empty front yard. In the middle of the courtyard, a tall, fifty-something foot pole stood, oriental symbols scrawled on it, the symbols glowing every so often. I stared at the pole, trying to figure out what its significance was.

I gasped in shock when I saw Cye was at the bottom of the pole, barely conscious, his hands tied above his head. Above his hands, hanging from a string looped around a nail, was something I thought I would NEVER see again. "Oh God no, not that," I said. "Anything but THAT!"

The Jewel of Death.

"Cye!" I screamed.

Cye wearily looked up me. "Run. . . away. . . leave. . . me. . ."

"No! I'm not leaving you!" I cried, jumping off the Gruff.

"Hello, Lady Torrent, fine day today, isn't?"

I turned to see Termini had emerged from somewhere, dressed in dark robes. He was no longer the cheery yet creepy looking guy who had saved us from the pack of wild Gruffs. Now he looked reminiscent of a Star Wars Darth character. I growled, making a fist at our obvious enemy. "Termini! Let Cye go this instant!"

Termini let out a belly laugh, his hands over his stomach as he made it. "No, not while I'm so close to doing what Trulpa failed to do," he said. Termini grinned a dark grin. "Controlling the Child of Destiny would help me reach a higher level of power, don't you agree, Lady Torrent?"

THAT'S what this idiot wants! "I won't let you!" I said. I grabbed my armor orbe, threw it into the air, and called out my subarmor, praying it would work. Thankfully, it did, and I was bathed in the familiar energy, emerging in subarmor. "I am Sara, Torrent of the Senshi, and as Cye's partner in arms, I will not allow you to control him!"

The now obviously dangerous man gave me an amused look. "You honestly think that your tricks are going to work against me?" He made a few motions with his hands. "You see, I helped Trulpa and Talpa create the Jewel of Death. I have the power to construct and re-construct dark weapons. Think of me as a magical weapon-smith, if you would. But now that Trulpa is all but finished and her brother has gone to the next world, I've decided that I'd like some of my toys back. The Jewel of Death was my pride and joy, and now it's mine again. I just had to recollect the particles the little Flitteree brat scattered around the Dynasty two months ago. It was no accident you were brought here, though I wasn't expecting you or the child. Now I'll have the Child and the Jewel, and you won't be able to stop me, little girl."

"LITTLE?" I said. "I'LL SHOW YOU LITTLE!" I lowered my hands and performed my most devastating Senshi attack magic. I didn't have a name for the spell, but it's basically a highly concentrated water bomb. I concentrated, trying to put as much magic into it as I could before I released the spell. "YAHH!"

Termini raised his hand and a dark force field surrounded him, shielding him from my attack. I gawked. Oh, crap. He can use force fields. Just perfect. Ugh, this is going to be a lot harder than I thought it was gonna be. "Anything else?" Termini asked, giving me a skeptical look.

Now he was ruffling my feather. I put my hands at my sides, both clenched in fists as I raised my shoulders to my ears. A very angry sneer crossed my face. "Oh, you're gonna regret screwing with me, bucko," I said. Now it was time to pull out the big gun. "Torrent of the Senshi, DAO SHIN!" Flash of light, silks, big armor, blah, blah, blah, you know the drill. I stood in the Torrent of the Senshi, my yari preparing to perform the Super Wave Smasher on my adversary.

"Oh, this looks interesting," he said. "Hit me with your best shot."

"SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"

Termini didn't expect me to come up with such a strong attack and took it full force. I whooped with joy, thinking I had beaten him. "All right! Termini is toasted!" I cried out. I turned to Cye, who smiled at me from his position on the ground. I started to walk over to him. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine, just- uh oh," he said, his eyes widening.

"Uh oh what?" I asked. I turned around and grimaced at what I saw.

"I must admit that while that was a very impressive display of attack magic, no cigar, sweetheart." Termini had emerged from the waterspout. Yeah, he was wet, and yeah, he had a few bruises, but he was (sadly) all right and ready for me. "Is that the best you've got?"

"Sara, do something!" said Sue Lee.

"I, I don't know if I can," I said, dropping my yari. I stared at my adversary, feeling as if all hope was lost. He couldn't have survived that! Unless he's stronger than I thought. . . oh no, we're all gonna die! "The Super Wave Smasher is my ace in the hole, and I don't know if I can do anything more."

"You can't give up on Cye!" she said. "You can't!"

Termini laughed, walking over to the pole. Cye gave him a somewhat dirty look, but he still looked very weak. The Jewel of Death must be doing something to him- it's got to be a Kryptonite effect by now, I thought. Trulpa controlling him with it must make him weak against it. Time for something desperate.

If magic didn't work, maybe a physical attack would work. With a mighty battle cry, I charged Termini. He laughed and sent me flying backwards. I skidded to a stop on the ground, the force of the blow knocking my armor away, leaving me in subarmor. Damn, that bastard was strong. "Sara!" I heard Cye cry.

Termini advanced on me, the Jewel of Death in hand. I winced at the dark light coming from it. Pure evil radiated from it, an evil that was hurting me. "My dear, dear, Senshi, I really do like you. You've got a unique spunk for a Torrent. Too bad I have to kill you now."

I tried to get up, but the power from the Jewel of Death prevented that. I fell back to the ground, struggling against the pain caused from the evil talisman. "No. . . way. . . in. . . Hell. . .will. . . you. . . ever. . . win. . ." I said, but then I cried out from pain and anguish.

My partner in arms was not taking this very well. Now that the Jewel of Death wasn't close to him anymore, he wasn't weak. And the fit he was pitching proved it. "Stop it! It's me you want, leave her alone!" Cye cried. I could hear him struggling against his bonds, but he wasn't having much luck.

"Say good-bye to this world," said Termini. I closed my eyes, expecting the worst.