The Armor of the Soul

By Dixxy

Chapter Forty-Six: Trulpa's Plot

(Kento)

"How long do you think it'll be until she does whatever she's going to do with us?" asked Sage. Trulpa had tossed the three of us into one of her darker dungeons, which Sage recognized as the one he'd met Sam in. All of us stood, sat, or paced in subarmor. Aside from trying to formulate a plan of escape that would prove to be futile, we had nothing to do but sit and wait.

"The girls will come for us," I said finally, thinking of Keisha. I really did miss her. Over the past week I'd known her, I just, I just felt so, happy, around her. So much happier than the desolation, despair, and feelings of impending doom we'd all been surrounded by during out captivity in the Dynasty.

Sage grimaced after I'd spoken. "I don't know, Kento. Trulpa's jacked up the security like no body's business. By the time they got through, it might be too late for them to save us."

"Sage, don't give up," said Cye, who was experimenting with some of his father's powers in the corner. He placed his hand on the ground and a small, pink rose came up from the dirt in between the cracks on the floor. "We have to have a little faith. It's not just the girls. Cara, Tiger Lily, and my father are out there."

Sage sighed heavily, blowing up at the fey lock that almost always lay before his right eye. "Still, there's a lot of guards out there. It could be too late. But you are right, we do need to have some faith."

"That's the spirit!" Cye said, getting to his feet. "We can't give up hope yet!"

Sage looked up and attempted to smile. "You're right. They were able to save us from Kaze once, and they can probably save us from whatever Trulpa's throwing at us next, too."

The sound of the previously locked door opening startled us. We looked over to see Trulpa had entered the dungeon. All of us looked at her. Trulpa sneered. "I know you all have a deep, burning hatred for me, but it's no matter," she said. She grinned maliciously. "For you see, I have some new, but old, plans for you three."

"What do you want?" Sage snapped.

Trulpa laughed mercilessly. "Kaze."

The three of us stared at her in disbelief. Me, well, my old temper was set off. I lunged at her. "Kento, no!" said Cye, trying to hold me back before I did something incredibly stupid.

Too late.

Trulpa cried out as she sent a very powerful and painful energy wave my way. I cried out as I hit the floor. Every part of my body felt as if it were ready to explode. My head, my legs, my torso, everything was throbbing and screaming. I bit my bottom lip to try and keep from screaming again, hugging myself to try and ease the pain.

It soon stopped, Sage and Cye holding my throbbing head in Sage's lap. I felt weakened and sick, so I just laid there, letting Cye clutch my head in his hands. "What did you do to him?" asked Sage. "I've never seen anyone in this much pain before!"

"Nothing," said Trulpa. "Just punished a bad boy, that's all."

Sage glared at her through hard eyes. "You know Kaze failed the last time, so why are you bothering with going through it again? The Senshi obviously figured out how to split him and they'll probably do it again."

Trulpa cackled loudly. "This time I have something that will help me dearly."

I saw a glint in her hands. I tried to focus on it. Slowly, it came into focus. The black beet shaped rock that had caused us all a lot of grief sat in the palm of her hand. "The, the Jewel of Death. . ." I said weakly.

Trulpa smirked. "Despite your current state, you've managed to find my little secret, Hardrock," she said. "Yes, boy, this is, in fact, the Jewel of Death. The only useful thing my brother ever created is right here."

Cye looked at the Jewel in fear. "She's going to use that to ensure that the Senshi can't free us this time. If she adds that thing into the mix. . . only God knows what it'll do to us."

"My, my, my, you boys are sharp, aren't you?" said Trulpa. She grinned. "I'd like to see them try and free you from THAT tangled web. Though, I supposed it wouldn't do you all any good."

"Um, excuse me, but we were able to save Cye from the affects of the Jewel of Death, they can definitely do the same again," said Sage. Trulpa's eyes began to glow brightly red, but Sage stood his ground. Maybe it was how strong he suddenly looked that prevented her from attacking him like she had with me.

I began to kind of realize that Sage was slowly emerging as a leader almost as strong as Ryo. And he was beginning to come through with a bite that I didn't know he had. Sage was normally the quiet, reserved voice of reason. What had happened? Had it been the frustration from being captive in the Dynasty for nearly a year that gave him the edge? Or was it the realization that Ryo and Rowen weren't going to come this time and he had to step up to bat as our leader? Maybe it was the fact that even though he was only at most two months older than us he still felt a sense of seniority?

I sat up, Cye trying to support me as Sage faced Trulpa down. "Four days," she said coldly. "Fours long, agonizing days until the point of absolutely no return for the three of you."

"No return?" I asked.

"This time, when I make Kaze, I can incorporate the Jewel of Death to demolish your souls," she said. The three of us paled. "Even if they freed your bodies, it would be too late to save their precious Ronin Warriors, now wouldn't it?"

Suddenly, the full effect of our situation settled in. She wasn't going to just torment us, drive us as slaves, or turn us against each other. We weren't even going to be lucky enough to spend some time in the gargoyles. No, this time, she was going to flat out kill us.

"You're all going to die," said Trulpa. "Four days, boys. Enjoy them while you can." Trulpa snapped her fingers and in her hands a giant hourglass appeared. "This is how much more time you have to live. I just thought I'd throw in a little something to add to your anxiety."

Sage snarled. "We'll get out of here before that, Trulpa," he said. "We are NOT going to die. We are not going to let you win the Mortal World! You hear me!? We will defeat you!"

"Oh, why can't you just learn to accept your own death with a little dignity, Sage?" said Trulpa, laughing mockingly. "That's all there is left to do. Accept what's to come, since there isn't a damn thing you or your little Senshi brats can do to stop it."

"Says you!" said Cye.

Trulpa snorted. "Four days," she said, slamming the door behind her as she left.

I sat up and looked at the door. "This time we're REALLY in for it."

"Which is exactly why we need to buy ourselves some time," said Sage. He looked around our dungeon, pacing back and forth in an almost panicked state. "We have to figure out a way to stall her."

"How do we do that, though?" asked Cye. He sat down on a metal bench in the dungeon, looking at the floor. Then, he suddenly jumped up on the bench, looking at the stone ground in fear. "Yikes! Rat!"

I looked down and saw a nice sized rat scurrying across the floor. You know, typical dungeon rat. Greasy black fur, red eyes, kinda chewed up tail, one of those jobs. I jumped onto the bench as well, watching it as it quietly disappeared inside a mouse hole.

Sage was watching the rat, too. A wide grin sprouted on his face, making him look oddly like the Cheshire Cat. He looked up and me, the grin only growing as he did so. "Kento, I think I've got an idea."

I looked up. "Is it going to save our lives?"

"Might not, but it could buy us some time," he said, looking down at the rat hole. Sage looked back up at me. "Can you shape shift into a rat and find a way to get outside through the mouse holes?"

I slapped my forehead. Of course! I could shape shift into anything I wanted. Something small like a rat would be a great way to escape! "That's brilliant!" I said. "Just give me a few hours to rest up. I'm still hurting from Trulpa's shock wave." This was true. My head was still ringing from the effects of the attack.

"Take your time," said Sage, sitting back down. "We have four days for you to successfully get out of here In reality, if you escaped just before the time was up we'd REALLY have her going."

"Right," I said. The vision of Trulpa panicking was kind of funny.

"And remain a rat as long as you can," said Sage. "Don't keep changing to human form, it'll be dangerous. When you get out of here every soldier in Trulpa's army is going to be looking for you."

"Unless you impersonate a Warlord or Trulpa, again," said Cye.

I grinned, rubbing my palms together. "I've been waiting to try out my Daria impression for some time, now. This is the PERFECT time to test it! Think about the possibilities!" I said.

"Now is not the time, Kento. Just try to concentrate on getting out ALIVE and NOT making the Warladies look like sluts or bimbos," said Sage. "Rest up. I'll do what I can to help, but after that, you're on your own, soldier."

~

Several hours later, I shape shifted into a nice, white and brown rat. Cye picked me up as I stared at him through beady black eyes. Thankfully, the shape shift hadn't affected my hearing or eyesight (except that everything was now really big), so I could identify everything for what it was. "Kento, I'm going to drop you off at the rat hole, okay? After that, get going!"

I squeaked in response. Once Cye put me down, I scampered forward into the dark, mouse made tunnels. The passageways were littered with rodent droppings, bits and pieces of dried food, and shiny objects that would probably turn out to be coins and pieces of jewelry. I didn't bother with those. I saw a few other rats, all bigger than me, all with oily, black hair, and probably more dangerous in rat form than I was.

Soon, I saw light. I squinted and realized I was at a rat hole that led somewhere outside. I stepped out and looked around. I waddled over to the edge of a balcony and looked down.

I squeaked in amazement. I was looking out at the Under City.

~

More questions, I see. . . many, many questions. . . well, not really.

Musou Misora- The Senshi already KNOW magic. It becomes more evident in later stories, but they know it, all right. I think Rona used her flute once in RSL, but I could be wrong. She'll be using it a lot in the stories after Dragonia.

Iceangel0318- Ryo and Ria (right now) meet up in a story that takes place directly after Dragonia and is only in its earliest stages, but this is subject to change. As for how Rona and Rowen meet? Can't tell you, this is a surprise too good to let out of the bag just yet. Only a few select people know this information and that's because I know them personally or I needed their help.

Keep on reviewing and keep asking questions!

Dixxy