(A/N: This is the last actual chapter. The next is just the epilogue and just ties everything up. Sorta. Enjoy.)
Dawn of Terror
Chapter 24: Last Dawning
Kevin woke with a start, finding the spot where Rei had been cold and empty. He felt a sense of panic start up. The room was already milling with neko-jins, stirring to life, but where was Rei? The short boy jumped to his feet. "Rei!" he shouted into the throng. "Rei!"
There was no answer. Kevin sat down, feeling confused. "Maybe he just didn't hear me..."
The door creaked open, then banged shut. Lupinex and Sagounex had entered the room, along with two other people. "Line up!" Lupinex barked and the neko-jins who had been there longest jumped into a line formation.
The new neko-jins milled about, confused. Lupinex gritted his teeth. "Line up, now!"
The frightened neko-jins jumped into the line and suddenly found themselves shackled to the one in front of them. Lupinex smiled wickedly and hefted a long cruel whip over his shoulder. "It's out to the fields with you!"
The room was terribly silent. The new neko-jins were too scared to make a sound and the older ones knew better than to speak. "Forward march!"
The line started forward, the clanking of chains and the scuffing of heavy feet scraping the floor filling Kevin's ears. Where was Rei?
The small neko-jin was shackled to a mammoth of a neko-jin and he had to follow blindly, because he couldn't see around him. The line moved forward, shuffling out the open door. Kevin kept his eyes on the floor, listening instead of watching.
They were marched out of the abbey, into a sort of courtyard, then by there, out of the immediate abbey ground. They stopped in a big cornfield. Kevin glanced up. Lupinex stood in front of them all, looking over them with a sort of knowing air. "You will pick the corn until sundown. Anybody who refuses shall find himself at the end of the whip. Understood?"
There was a few uneasy murmurs from the neko-jins and then, they were set to work.
About mid-morning, Kevin noted that Lupinex was talking to someone new. For a while, he'd been listening to the wolf-man's conversations - first with Sagounex, then with one they called Cenotaph, and with one called Zomb. Now he was talking with...Kevin's ears strained and he forced himself to find a match for the voice. "Boris," he hissed under his breath, but never stopped plucking corn.
A shadow fell over him and he paused, glancing up. Boris and Lupinex were standing over him. Both were smirking...but who was that with them.
"Kevin!"
The green-haired neko-jin tugged viciously on his restraints and his heart leapt up in joy. "Rei!"
In a single motion, Boris cuffed Rei soundly. The Russian's eyes never left Kevin's. The small neko-jin gritted his teeth. "Don't hit him!"
Lupinex lashed out with the whip. "Shut up and get to work!"
Kevin fell to the ground, whimpering in hurt. He heard Boris cry out and then everything was a jumble of confusion. He caught flashes of things - Lupinex, the whip, Boris, Rei - and then, it was all gone and Rei was being dragged away. The black-haired boy reached out for him, screaming, "Kevin!"
Kevin reached out feebly for him, but it was too late. Rei was gone. Kevin sat down and stared blankly at the place where he'd saw Rei last. The big neko-jin beside him prodded him. "Hey. Little buddy. You need to get back to work."
Kevin glanced up at him and saw he had a kindly face. "Yeah...thanks."
He turned and went back to the corn.
~*~*~*~*
Kai dashed down the hall, trying to be as silent and as stealthy as he could. He was headed for Boris's office to carry out Enrique's plan. After all, he was just a pawn in all this. He no longer had control over his own fate and it sickened him.
He slowed down as he approached Boris's office. The end was drawing nigh.
~*~*~*~*
"I thought you said you wouldn't hurt him!"
Rei slammed his fists down angrily on the desk, as if trying to get his point across to Boris. The older man waggled a finger in front of Rei's nose. "Ah, my dear, we had an agreement. I said you may see your little friend, but you may not talk to him. You didn't hold up your end of the bargin."
Rei growled and gritted his teeth. "You promised," he said weakly and Boris chuckled lightly.
"A promise is only a promise so long as both ends like it," he said darkly.
Rei shivered and tried to pull away. Boris hung onto his wrist tightly, grinning at him wickedly. "Would you like to show me how very sorry you are for breaking the rules?"
~*~*~*~*
Brian tried to relax, looking out to open sea. The small boat was tossed to and for, as though the sea thought it were a toy. The gulls wheeled and cried, sometimes diving into the open water. Brian tried to ignore them and focus on his mission. He fingered the pistol at his side.
It was sort of a comfort to him. The weapon would protect him, if he was fast enough, quick enough. Tala had taught him that. His thoughts shifted to the red-head. He sighed lightly, partly wishing that Tala had returned safely from his last mission. Tala had been his best...friend, he supposed, and a formidable advesary as well. He supposed he missed him, even just a bit.
Brian looked at the well-disgused pistol, resting happily in its holster. He would have liked to have Tala's gun, or the one Enrique had shot the other Russian with, just so that it was more like revenge and less like an ordered mission.
The captain of the small ship, an older man called Douglas, called out to him, shouting that they were nearing the docks. Brian merely looked at him and nodded in understanding. The moment of truth was drawing steadily nearer. Brian looked eastward, watching the nearing mainland appear out of the depths of the sea.
He touched the gun again, just for reassurance. This mission would be his last.
~*~*~*~*~*
Kai paused outside Boris's door. He heard...voices. Shouting voices. Boris was yelling a someone, someone was yelling back at Boris. Kai wracked his brain. Where had he heard that voice before? It surely didn't belong to Lupinex or Sagounex - it was too sweet, even when it was being used to screech like that.
He opened his eyes and faltered a moment. He knew who was in there. Rei. His precious little kitten was alone in a room with Boris. Kai didn't want to fathom what was going on. Rei was helpless and defenseless - Boris could be doing anything.
Kai tightened his grip on the gun and swallowed nervously. What if he shot Rei accidently? What if he missed entirely? What if Boris knew he was going to kill him and was holding a knife at Rei's throat, just waiting to slit-
Without a second thought, Kai kicked open the door to the office and took aim. Boris and Rei stopped shouting and stared at the bluenette, who realized he had the gun aligned with the wrong heart.
Boris smiled. "Here to kill my pet, Hiwatari?"
Rei looked at Kai in mock horror, then gritted his teeth. "I should have known," he growled.
Kai could merely fix him with a bemused look. Rei turned away from Boris and clenched his fists. "I should have known that you were just like everyone else! I should have known that deep down, you hate me!"
The gun dropped from Kai's nerveless hand. "Rei - "
"Shut up! I've had enough of your lies!"
The gun hit the floor and went off. Rei screamed and hit the floor, hands held over his head. Boris's eyes were a mixture of shock and pain, even as they started to glaze over and he fell to the floor, dead. Kai stared at the corpse, eyes wide. Rei slowly uncurled himself, gazing back at the corpse as he got up. He looked at Kai.
The bluenette looked deeply sorry. "Rei - "
The neko-jin jogged out from behind the desk, into Kai's arms. "It's okay," he mumbled into Kai's shoulder.
After the momentary pause, Kai realized that somehow, they had to get out of here. He grasped Rei firmly by the shoulders. "We've got to leave," he whispered urgently, suddenly feeling as if all the fortress were watching and knew what had happened.
"But- "
"There's no time for buts, Rei! We've got to get out of here and fast!"
He glanced around, as if searching for an answer to the problem. He licked his dry lips, then looked back at Rei. "Listen, I'm going to go get the neko-jins -"
"They're out in the corn fields, just past the abbey walls - "
" - and you're going to go get the soldiers."
Rei paled. "The soldiers?! They won't listen to me!"
"Tell them that they have to get to the boat and that's an order from the General."
Rei glanced at the floor, the nodded. "Right."
Kai kissed Rei on the cheek. "Hurry and be careful, for goodness's sake, Rei."
"You too," Rei whispered.
They headed out the door, dashing down different corridors. Fate had separated them again.
~*~*~*~*
There was a frantic knock on the door. All the soldiers glanced up at the door, then went back to their various activities. Max casually wandered over to the door and opened it. "Hell...o."
He glanced up at the taller boy, who was a neko-jin. "Hey," he said, trying to sound cheerful.
What the heck was a neko-jin doing here? The ebony-haired boy glanced left, then right, then looked at Max. "You've got to get out of here."
Max blinked. "Me?"
"No, all of you. Boris is dead."
Max frowned in suspicion. "Hey, how do you know all of this?"
The neko-jin grabbed him by the shoulders. "You've got to get out of here and that's an order from General Hiwatari!"
"Hey, Max, who are you talking to?"
Tyson joined his blond friend at the door, then blinked. "Rei?" he asked slowly.
Rei glanced fearfully about. "Yes," he hissed. "Now, get them out of here."
Tyson turned back to the room full of soldiers. "Oy! Get moving! We're to get back on the boat and that's an order from General Hiwatari!"
The room sprung to life with the flurry of soldiers grabbing their few belongings and dashing for the door. With the exception of Micheal, of course. The red-head sat on his cot, flipping through a magazine. "Who says it's an order from General Hiwatari?"
Tyson faltered. Then Max blurted out, "A neko-jin!"
The soldiers stared wide-eyed at the blond. Micheal snorted. "A neko-jin, huh? And who says I'm gonna listen to a lowly creature like that?"
A long, angry hiss issued from outside the door. Micheal glanced up. "We only take orders from the General or the Emperor, neko-jin. Go crawl back to your shackles."
"This is an order from General Hiwatari and if you don't get down to the boat right now, you'll either be shot by Boris's guards or Kai himself," Rei hissed, digging his claws into the wood of the door.
There were footsteps and then Micheal was at the door, sneering at him. "Huh. You expect me to believe you? Neko-jins are liars and-"
Rei didn't bother to hear what the red-head had to say. Instead, he sunk his teeth deep into Micheal's finger, piercing the skin, ripping it away until you could see the blanch white of the bone. Micheal howled in pain and pulled back into the room. The soldiers stampeded. "He bit the Captain!"
"He's rabid!"
"He's mad!"
"Let's kill him!"
Rei grinned stupidly to himself as he took off down the hall, leading the soldiers down the empty corridor. Max and Tyson were near the rear of the pack. The blond looked at Tyson. "What do you think he's up to?" he huffed.
"Dunno," Tyson puffed. "Knowing Rei, he's got a plan."
The soldiers followed Rei right out onto the dock, where the neko-jin skidded to a halt and stood, staring over the hills, then started waving frantically. "Kai! Kai, over here!"
The soldiers turned to look. Leading a parade of neko-jins over the hill, was General Hiwatari.
~*~*~*~*
Enrique woke from his sleep with a start. Pale moonlight crept across the carpeted floor and illuminated the figure sitting on the window still. The blond Emperor jumped in fright. The shadowy being, who seemed to be spun from shadow and moonlight, unfurled himself from his former position.
Brian smiled wickedly. "An eye for an eye, a life for a life, right Enrique?"
The blond drew the blankets up in front of him and backed away, as if to shield himself. His blue eyes were wide with shock and fright.
Two gunshots went off. When the soldiers had roused themselves from their stupor and trampled into the Emperor's suite, they found both Enrique and Brian dead. Enrique's eyes were wide open, as if in fright, yet they were blank. Brian, however, looked like he had fallen asleep, his eyes closed and a peaceful smile gracing his lips.
Brian wouldn't miss Tala anymore.
~*~*~*~*~*
Kai sighed in relief when he saw Rei standing on the dock, screaming and flailing his arms about. The soldiers stood about the estastic neko-jin, looking completely and utterly dumbfounded. Then they saw Kai.
The blunette reached the dock, leading with him the neko-jins from the fields. The soldiers swarmed about him. "General, what's the meaning of this?"
"What are you doing?"
"Why did you free the neko-jins?"
Before Kai could reply, somebody sneered, "Isn't it obvious? He's a neko-jin lover! He's no better than the lot of them!"
Kai glared and turned. "Micheal."
The red-head curled his upper lip. "Lookit you, Hiwatari. You disgust me."
There was a shot. Everyone ducked for cover and when they looked up, Micheal was dead and Max was the only one standing, holding a smoking pistol out in front of him. The blond dropped the pistol and fell to his knees, sobbing bitterly. Tyson, who was beside him, reached out and put a comforting hand on the blond's shaking shoulder. "Hey, Maxie-"
"I couldn't take it anymore, Tyson! Look at them!"
He gestured to the neko-jins. "They're every bit the same as us! They're human too - they feel too! Don't you think they've suffered enough?" he asked pitifully, looking up into the startled eyes of his friend for assurance.
Tyson blinked and stuttered. "I - uh..."
He glanced around at the hungry, sleep-deprived, unkempt neko-jins, and then he looked at Rei, who was hiding under Kai's arm. He looked back at Max and nodded. "They have suffered. They've suffered too much."
Max smiled and wiped his tears away with his forearm. He couldn't express himself with words, so instead, he latched onto Tyson in a bear hug.
Rei had ducked under Kai's arm and was now leaning his head on Kai's shoulder. The bluenette had one arm wrapped about Rei's waist. Kai turned to the neko-jin. "Let's go home, Rei," he said softly.
Rei nodded into his shoulder, not taking his eyes off Max and Tyson. Kai led him down the knoll, onto the dock, and then up the ramp onto the ship. Frankie and Eddy stood there, each saluting smartly to the General. Kai paused and shook their hands. "Ma'am, I'll make sure you stay as Captain of this ship," Kai said earnestly and Frankie blushed deeply.
She curtsied. "Thank you, Sir."
Kai turned to Eddy. "Soldier, you'll be made Captain to replace Micheal."
Eddy smiled. "Thank ya kindly, Sir, but I'd much rather be a sailor on this here boat."
Kai smiled back. "Then you'll be a sailor, Eddy."
Eddy smiled at Frankie. "You'll be the Captain and I'll be the crew of this here ship."
The purple-haired girl smiled.
Tyson and Max raced up the ramp, laughing and cheering, for they'd won this fight, though the war was far from over. Tyson grabbed Max's hands and danced him about in a circle. "Let's go home Maxie!"
Max smiled and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "Mom," he said softly, remembering his mother.
The other soldiers and the neko-jins walked onto the ship, some side by side, some of the soldiers behind, but this time, the neko-jins walked without shackles on their feet or bayonets to their backs. They were free.
Rei stood at the prow of the ship, feeling the soft sea breeze in his hair. Somebody tugged viciously on his hair. He whipped around. Kevin smiled up at him. "Rei!"
The black-haired neko-jin got down and hugged Kevin. "Kevin! I'm so glad you're safe!"
Kevin smiled. "Me too."
He glanced up at the big, burly neko-jin who was holding his hand. "Rei, this is Gary. I was wondering if..."
Kevin paused, and looked at the big neko-jin again, then looked back to Rei. "I was wondering if he could stay at the mansion with us for a little while."
Rei didn't know what to say. "You'd have to ask Kai," he said finally.
Kevin looked at the floor. "I would, but I'm afraid he'll say no."
"Why would I do that?"
Speak of the devil, there was Kai, back from his duties amongst the soldiers. Kevin glanced up, startled. Kai shook Gary's hand and smiled. "Hello Gary, I'm Hiwatari Kai. We'd be glad to have you at the house."
Gary smiled widely. "Thank you, Mister Kai."
Frankie blew the horn of the ship and all the neko-jins plugged their ears. Eddy leaned out of the cabin window and shouted, "All aboard who's goin' aboard!"
The soldiers hauled up the untied ropes and then, they were setting sail on a course for home. There was much rejoycing now, but Kai wondered how long that would last when they got home. After all, there was still Enrique to deal with...
~*~*~*~*
The morning sun had barely risen when somebody threw open the door to Judy's room. "Hurry up, Ma'am! Dey say's dere's a ship in da shipyard!" Grandpa called excitedly.
Judy looked up groggily. "A ship?"
"Yes'maam! Dey say it's da soldier boys a home from playin' dere war games!"
With that, the old man dashed off again, like a five-year old on Christmas morning. Judy got out of bed and threw on her robe, treading to the downstairs. She glanced around for Grandpa, but she didn't find him. She wandered out the front door. Grandpa was standing at the gates, hauling them back. From the other side, there were some people pushing on the wrought-iron. Judy dashed down the dusty drive to help.
As she grabbed hold of one of the bars and began to pull, she caught sight of blond hair on the otherside of the gates. "Max!" she shouted and the blond boy looked back at her.
He was all smiles. "Mom!"
The gates flung open and in flooded the rather depleted army of five soldiers and sixteen neko-jins. Grandpa wrapped Tyson up in a bear hug. "Tyson, ma boy!"
"Grandpa!"
Judy was giving Max twenty questions. All in all, it was a happy morning.
~*~*~*~*
Dawn of Terror
Chapter 24: Last Dawning
Kevin woke with a start, finding the spot where Rei had been cold and empty. He felt a sense of panic start up. The room was already milling with neko-jins, stirring to life, but where was Rei? The short boy jumped to his feet. "Rei!" he shouted into the throng. "Rei!"
There was no answer. Kevin sat down, feeling confused. "Maybe he just didn't hear me..."
The door creaked open, then banged shut. Lupinex and Sagounex had entered the room, along with two other people. "Line up!" Lupinex barked and the neko-jins who had been there longest jumped into a line formation.
The new neko-jins milled about, confused. Lupinex gritted his teeth. "Line up, now!"
The frightened neko-jins jumped into the line and suddenly found themselves shackled to the one in front of them. Lupinex smiled wickedly and hefted a long cruel whip over his shoulder. "It's out to the fields with you!"
The room was terribly silent. The new neko-jins were too scared to make a sound and the older ones knew better than to speak. "Forward march!"
The line started forward, the clanking of chains and the scuffing of heavy feet scraping the floor filling Kevin's ears. Where was Rei?
The small neko-jin was shackled to a mammoth of a neko-jin and he had to follow blindly, because he couldn't see around him. The line moved forward, shuffling out the open door. Kevin kept his eyes on the floor, listening instead of watching.
They were marched out of the abbey, into a sort of courtyard, then by there, out of the immediate abbey ground. They stopped in a big cornfield. Kevin glanced up. Lupinex stood in front of them all, looking over them with a sort of knowing air. "You will pick the corn until sundown. Anybody who refuses shall find himself at the end of the whip. Understood?"
There was a few uneasy murmurs from the neko-jins and then, they were set to work.
About mid-morning, Kevin noted that Lupinex was talking to someone new. For a while, he'd been listening to the wolf-man's conversations - first with Sagounex, then with one they called Cenotaph, and with one called Zomb. Now he was talking with...Kevin's ears strained and he forced himself to find a match for the voice. "Boris," he hissed under his breath, but never stopped plucking corn.
A shadow fell over him and he paused, glancing up. Boris and Lupinex were standing over him. Both were smirking...but who was that with them.
"Kevin!"
The green-haired neko-jin tugged viciously on his restraints and his heart leapt up in joy. "Rei!"
In a single motion, Boris cuffed Rei soundly. The Russian's eyes never left Kevin's. The small neko-jin gritted his teeth. "Don't hit him!"
Lupinex lashed out with the whip. "Shut up and get to work!"
Kevin fell to the ground, whimpering in hurt. He heard Boris cry out and then everything was a jumble of confusion. He caught flashes of things - Lupinex, the whip, Boris, Rei - and then, it was all gone and Rei was being dragged away. The black-haired boy reached out for him, screaming, "Kevin!"
Kevin reached out feebly for him, but it was too late. Rei was gone. Kevin sat down and stared blankly at the place where he'd saw Rei last. The big neko-jin beside him prodded him. "Hey. Little buddy. You need to get back to work."
Kevin glanced up at him and saw he had a kindly face. "Yeah...thanks."
He turned and went back to the corn.
~*~*~*~*
Kai dashed down the hall, trying to be as silent and as stealthy as he could. He was headed for Boris's office to carry out Enrique's plan. After all, he was just a pawn in all this. He no longer had control over his own fate and it sickened him.
He slowed down as he approached Boris's office. The end was drawing nigh.
~*~*~*~*
"I thought you said you wouldn't hurt him!"
Rei slammed his fists down angrily on the desk, as if trying to get his point across to Boris. The older man waggled a finger in front of Rei's nose. "Ah, my dear, we had an agreement. I said you may see your little friend, but you may not talk to him. You didn't hold up your end of the bargin."
Rei growled and gritted his teeth. "You promised," he said weakly and Boris chuckled lightly.
"A promise is only a promise so long as both ends like it," he said darkly.
Rei shivered and tried to pull away. Boris hung onto his wrist tightly, grinning at him wickedly. "Would you like to show me how very sorry you are for breaking the rules?"
~*~*~*~*
Brian tried to relax, looking out to open sea. The small boat was tossed to and for, as though the sea thought it were a toy. The gulls wheeled and cried, sometimes diving into the open water. Brian tried to ignore them and focus on his mission. He fingered the pistol at his side.
It was sort of a comfort to him. The weapon would protect him, if he was fast enough, quick enough. Tala had taught him that. His thoughts shifted to the red-head. He sighed lightly, partly wishing that Tala had returned safely from his last mission. Tala had been his best...friend, he supposed, and a formidable advesary as well. He supposed he missed him, even just a bit.
Brian looked at the well-disgused pistol, resting happily in its holster. He would have liked to have Tala's gun, or the one Enrique had shot the other Russian with, just so that it was more like revenge and less like an ordered mission.
The captain of the small ship, an older man called Douglas, called out to him, shouting that they were nearing the docks. Brian merely looked at him and nodded in understanding. The moment of truth was drawing steadily nearer. Brian looked eastward, watching the nearing mainland appear out of the depths of the sea.
He touched the gun again, just for reassurance. This mission would be his last.
~*~*~*~*~*
Kai paused outside Boris's door. He heard...voices. Shouting voices. Boris was yelling a someone, someone was yelling back at Boris. Kai wracked his brain. Where had he heard that voice before? It surely didn't belong to Lupinex or Sagounex - it was too sweet, even when it was being used to screech like that.
He opened his eyes and faltered a moment. He knew who was in there. Rei. His precious little kitten was alone in a room with Boris. Kai didn't want to fathom what was going on. Rei was helpless and defenseless - Boris could be doing anything.
Kai tightened his grip on the gun and swallowed nervously. What if he shot Rei accidently? What if he missed entirely? What if Boris knew he was going to kill him and was holding a knife at Rei's throat, just waiting to slit-
Without a second thought, Kai kicked open the door to the office and took aim. Boris and Rei stopped shouting and stared at the bluenette, who realized he had the gun aligned with the wrong heart.
Boris smiled. "Here to kill my pet, Hiwatari?"
Rei looked at Kai in mock horror, then gritted his teeth. "I should have known," he growled.
Kai could merely fix him with a bemused look. Rei turned away from Boris and clenched his fists. "I should have known that you were just like everyone else! I should have known that deep down, you hate me!"
The gun dropped from Kai's nerveless hand. "Rei - "
"Shut up! I've had enough of your lies!"
The gun hit the floor and went off. Rei screamed and hit the floor, hands held over his head. Boris's eyes were a mixture of shock and pain, even as they started to glaze over and he fell to the floor, dead. Kai stared at the corpse, eyes wide. Rei slowly uncurled himself, gazing back at the corpse as he got up. He looked at Kai.
The bluenette looked deeply sorry. "Rei - "
The neko-jin jogged out from behind the desk, into Kai's arms. "It's okay," he mumbled into Kai's shoulder.
After the momentary pause, Kai realized that somehow, they had to get out of here. He grasped Rei firmly by the shoulders. "We've got to leave," he whispered urgently, suddenly feeling as if all the fortress were watching and knew what had happened.
"But- "
"There's no time for buts, Rei! We've got to get out of here and fast!"
He glanced around, as if searching for an answer to the problem. He licked his dry lips, then looked back at Rei. "Listen, I'm going to go get the neko-jins -"
"They're out in the corn fields, just past the abbey walls - "
" - and you're going to go get the soldiers."
Rei paled. "The soldiers?! They won't listen to me!"
"Tell them that they have to get to the boat and that's an order from the General."
Rei glanced at the floor, the nodded. "Right."
Kai kissed Rei on the cheek. "Hurry and be careful, for goodness's sake, Rei."
"You too," Rei whispered.
They headed out the door, dashing down different corridors. Fate had separated them again.
~*~*~*~*
There was a frantic knock on the door. All the soldiers glanced up at the door, then went back to their various activities. Max casually wandered over to the door and opened it. "Hell...o."
He glanced up at the taller boy, who was a neko-jin. "Hey," he said, trying to sound cheerful.
What the heck was a neko-jin doing here? The ebony-haired boy glanced left, then right, then looked at Max. "You've got to get out of here."
Max blinked. "Me?"
"No, all of you. Boris is dead."
Max frowned in suspicion. "Hey, how do you know all of this?"
The neko-jin grabbed him by the shoulders. "You've got to get out of here and that's an order from General Hiwatari!"
"Hey, Max, who are you talking to?"
Tyson joined his blond friend at the door, then blinked. "Rei?" he asked slowly.
Rei glanced fearfully about. "Yes," he hissed. "Now, get them out of here."
Tyson turned back to the room full of soldiers. "Oy! Get moving! We're to get back on the boat and that's an order from General Hiwatari!"
The room sprung to life with the flurry of soldiers grabbing their few belongings and dashing for the door. With the exception of Micheal, of course. The red-head sat on his cot, flipping through a magazine. "Who says it's an order from General Hiwatari?"
Tyson faltered. Then Max blurted out, "A neko-jin!"
The soldiers stared wide-eyed at the blond. Micheal snorted. "A neko-jin, huh? And who says I'm gonna listen to a lowly creature like that?"
A long, angry hiss issued from outside the door. Micheal glanced up. "We only take orders from the General or the Emperor, neko-jin. Go crawl back to your shackles."
"This is an order from General Hiwatari and if you don't get down to the boat right now, you'll either be shot by Boris's guards or Kai himself," Rei hissed, digging his claws into the wood of the door.
There were footsteps and then Micheal was at the door, sneering at him. "Huh. You expect me to believe you? Neko-jins are liars and-"
Rei didn't bother to hear what the red-head had to say. Instead, he sunk his teeth deep into Micheal's finger, piercing the skin, ripping it away until you could see the blanch white of the bone. Micheal howled in pain and pulled back into the room. The soldiers stampeded. "He bit the Captain!"
"He's rabid!"
"He's mad!"
"Let's kill him!"
Rei grinned stupidly to himself as he took off down the hall, leading the soldiers down the empty corridor. Max and Tyson were near the rear of the pack. The blond looked at Tyson. "What do you think he's up to?" he huffed.
"Dunno," Tyson puffed. "Knowing Rei, he's got a plan."
The soldiers followed Rei right out onto the dock, where the neko-jin skidded to a halt and stood, staring over the hills, then started waving frantically. "Kai! Kai, over here!"
The soldiers turned to look. Leading a parade of neko-jins over the hill, was General Hiwatari.
~*~*~*~*
Enrique woke from his sleep with a start. Pale moonlight crept across the carpeted floor and illuminated the figure sitting on the window still. The blond Emperor jumped in fright. The shadowy being, who seemed to be spun from shadow and moonlight, unfurled himself from his former position.
Brian smiled wickedly. "An eye for an eye, a life for a life, right Enrique?"
The blond drew the blankets up in front of him and backed away, as if to shield himself. His blue eyes were wide with shock and fright.
Two gunshots went off. When the soldiers had roused themselves from their stupor and trampled into the Emperor's suite, they found both Enrique and Brian dead. Enrique's eyes were wide open, as if in fright, yet they were blank. Brian, however, looked like he had fallen asleep, his eyes closed and a peaceful smile gracing his lips.
Brian wouldn't miss Tala anymore.
~*~*~*~*~*
Kai sighed in relief when he saw Rei standing on the dock, screaming and flailing his arms about. The soldiers stood about the estastic neko-jin, looking completely and utterly dumbfounded. Then they saw Kai.
The blunette reached the dock, leading with him the neko-jins from the fields. The soldiers swarmed about him. "General, what's the meaning of this?"
"What are you doing?"
"Why did you free the neko-jins?"
Before Kai could reply, somebody sneered, "Isn't it obvious? He's a neko-jin lover! He's no better than the lot of them!"
Kai glared and turned. "Micheal."
The red-head curled his upper lip. "Lookit you, Hiwatari. You disgust me."
There was a shot. Everyone ducked for cover and when they looked up, Micheal was dead and Max was the only one standing, holding a smoking pistol out in front of him. The blond dropped the pistol and fell to his knees, sobbing bitterly. Tyson, who was beside him, reached out and put a comforting hand on the blond's shaking shoulder. "Hey, Maxie-"
"I couldn't take it anymore, Tyson! Look at them!"
He gestured to the neko-jins. "They're every bit the same as us! They're human too - they feel too! Don't you think they've suffered enough?" he asked pitifully, looking up into the startled eyes of his friend for assurance.
Tyson blinked and stuttered. "I - uh..."
He glanced around at the hungry, sleep-deprived, unkempt neko-jins, and then he looked at Rei, who was hiding under Kai's arm. He looked back at Max and nodded. "They have suffered. They've suffered too much."
Max smiled and wiped his tears away with his forearm. He couldn't express himself with words, so instead, he latched onto Tyson in a bear hug.
Rei had ducked under Kai's arm and was now leaning his head on Kai's shoulder. The bluenette had one arm wrapped about Rei's waist. Kai turned to the neko-jin. "Let's go home, Rei," he said softly.
Rei nodded into his shoulder, not taking his eyes off Max and Tyson. Kai led him down the knoll, onto the dock, and then up the ramp onto the ship. Frankie and Eddy stood there, each saluting smartly to the General. Kai paused and shook their hands. "Ma'am, I'll make sure you stay as Captain of this ship," Kai said earnestly and Frankie blushed deeply.
She curtsied. "Thank you, Sir."
Kai turned to Eddy. "Soldier, you'll be made Captain to replace Micheal."
Eddy smiled. "Thank ya kindly, Sir, but I'd much rather be a sailor on this here boat."
Kai smiled back. "Then you'll be a sailor, Eddy."
Eddy smiled at Frankie. "You'll be the Captain and I'll be the crew of this here ship."
The purple-haired girl smiled.
Tyson and Max raced up the ramp, laughing and cheering, for they'd won this fight, though the war was far from over. Tyson grabbed Max's hands and danced him about in a circle. "Let's go home Maxie!"
Max smiled and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "Mom," he said softly, remembering his mother.
The other soldiers and the neko-jins walked onto the ship, some side by side, some of the soldiers behind, but this time, the neko-jins walked without shackles on their feet or bayonets to their backs. They were free.
Rei stood at the prow of the ship, feeling the soft sea breeze in his hair. Somebody tugged viciously on his hair. He whipped around. Kevin smiled up at him. "Rei!"
The black-haired neko-jin got down and hugged Kevin. "Kevin! I'm so glad you're safe!"
Kevin smiled. "Me too."
He glanced up at the big, burly neko-jin who was holding his hand. "Rei, this is Gary. I was wondering if..."
Kevin paused, and looked at the big neko-jin again, then looked back to Rei. "I was wondering if he could stay at the mansion with us for a little while."
Rei didn't know what to say. "You'd have to ask Kai," he said finally.
Kevin looked at the floor. "I would, but I'm afraid he'll say no."
"Why would I do that?"
Speak of the devil, there was Kai, back from his duties amongst the soldiers. Kevin glanced up, startled. Kai shook Gary's hand and smiled. "Hello Gary, I'm Hiwatari Kai. We'd be glad to have you at the house."
Gary smiled widely. "Thank you, Mister Kai."
Frankie blew the horn of the ship and all the neko-jins plugged their ears. Eddy leaned out of the cabin window and shouted, "All aboard who's goin' aboard!"
The soldiers hauled up the untied ropes and then, they were setting sail on a course for home. There was much rejoycing now, but Kai wondered how long that would last when they got home. After all, there was still Enrique to deal with...
~*~*~*~*
The morning sun had barely risen when somebody threw open the door to Judy's room. "Hurry up, Ma'am! Dey say's dere's a ship in da shipyard!" Grandpa called excitedly.
Judy looked up groggily. "A ship?"
"Yes'maam! Dey say it's da soldier boys a home from playin' dere war games!"
With that, the old man dashed off again, like a five-year old on Christmas morning. Judy got out of bed and threw on her robe, treading to the downstairs. She glanced around for Grandpa, but she didn't find him. She wandered out the front door. Grandpa was standing at the gates, hauling them back. From the other side, there were some people pushing on the wrought-iron. Judy dashed down the dusty drive to help.
As she grabbed hold of one of the bars and began to pull, she caught sight of blond hair on the otherside of the gates. "Max!" she shouted and the blond boy looked back at her.
He was all smiles. "Mom!"
The gates flung open and in flooded the rather depleted army of five soldiers and sixteen neko-jins. Grandpa wrapped Tyson up in a bear hug. "Tyson, ma boy!"
"Grandpa!"
Judy was giving Max twenty questions. All in all, it was a happy morning.
~*~*~*~*