AN: SOOOO sorry for the wait. Really, I am. I won't give you excuses. But I
feel I should let you know that this wasn't the entire thing for this
chapter. Less than half, actually. But you've waited way too long as it is.
I'm making just one request: tell me if I should delete this chapter and
replace it with the whole thing once it's done, or just keep it and keep
adding? Anyhow, onto the story.
Chapter 16 By Android Eleven
When the image of the round table in the high-walled stone room began to fade, Takeru was once again found himself surrounded in thick fog. He didn't find the experience quite as unpleasant as the last time he'd been there. But it had gotten colder. Shivering slightly, the Ishidan prince pulled his cloak tightly around himself and vigorously rubbed his arms.
He paced for a while before he began to notice the fog thickening again. He stood still this time as he was cocooned in the chilly mist. Once more, he almost ran out of oxygen before the "mirror" appeared in front of him.
Watching closely this time, Takeru saw the pictures slowly appear on the surface. It was much like watching ice melt. It was hard to distinguish the exact moment swirling colors became pictures, when faintly hummed whispers became words. And it was also hard to notice just when he was pulling out of the fog dimension and into the reflection.
*
~It was nighttime. Takeru had appeared in moonlit courtyard, standing beside another boy about his age who was crouching in the bushes. At a glance, Takeru could tell that once again nobody could see him. The boy in the bushes was obviously hiding from the armored guards who were on duty not ten feet from where he'd hidden. If the guards had seen Takeru, they would have rushed over, swords drawn if they were any sort of soldiers.
But they didn't see him and so they stood at their post, chatting together quietly. After a few minutes, they turned directly opposite the bushes that the boy was hidden beneath and he silently proceeded to remove a small satchel from his tunic. Curious, Takeru stepped closer and crouched beside him to better see the fine glittering powder the boy poured out from the satchel. The boy leaned forward and, taking a deep breath, silently blew the powder in the guards' direction. He quickly retreated to the shadows of the bush as the powder floated over to the guards.
It was only seconds before the first guard collapsed. Surprised, the second guard bent down and tried to wake him up. It was only another couple of seconds before he too slumped to the ground.
After waiting to make sure that they were really out, the boy from the bushes stood up from his hiding place and walked over to the guards, an amused smirk on his face. Takeru followed him every step of the way, watching intently as the boy took the guards' swords and hid them behind the bush before making his way into the castle.
Takeru and the boy encountered only a few more guards on their way up the stairs. The mysterious boy always seemed to sense their approaching presence before they ever came into sight and would hide, waiting until they left or blowing more of his magic dust and hiding their weapons before going on.
Takeru was starting to get a bad feeling about this boy, like cold fingers running along his spine, when they finally seemed to have arrived at their destination. A gigantic, ornately carved oak door watched by yet another pair of guards. The boy rolled his eyes and stepped into the light where the guards could clearly see him. "Good evening, gentlemen."
The guards started and turned to face the two boys who'd entered the corridor, one invisible, the other smirking. "Young Master! What are you doing here? Your Master, the Guardian, said you had been banned from the grounds for the next fortnight-"
But the boy, the "Young Master", ignored the guard's warning and pulled out another handful of sleeping dust. Within seconds both guards were on the floor. The boy chuckled to himself at the sight and tied his satchel of powder back on his tunic. "Banned am I? Maybe he should have gotten guards who could have actually kept me out then, shouldn't he?"
The boy stepped over the slumped bodies and opened the door in front of him with only a wave of his hand. Takeru stared, but went in after him. Inside appeared to be a bedchamber, and it was one big enough to match the giant door. The room was dark, but the moonlight did filter in through a short row of windows near the back corner of the room. The boy paused now for a moment before slowly heading towards the back of the room, where a canopied bed was visible.
Another shiver made it's way down Takeru's spine and he suddenly KNEW something bad was about to happen.
The boy waved his hand again and the curtains hanging around the four- poster bed flew back. He stepped up beside the bed, surveying the still- sleeping occupant with a small smile playing over his features. He glanced up above the headboard where another carved door rested, this time the opening of a cupboard. The boy reached over and carefully opened said cupboard, pulling out what appeared to be a sword. The boy held it up to the light for a few moments, just looking at it and Takeru took the chance to briefly inspect it.
The handle appeared to be made of gold and diamond, much like his own staff. The blade, though, that was what drew the Ishidan prince's attention. It was made of steel and edged with diamond. Just looking at it made Takeru feel...strange. He reached out to touch the sword, only to have his hand go right through it. He jerked out of his stupor as the cold feel of steel passed directly through his flesh and backed away.
It was just as Takeru pulled back that the boy took the sword into both of his hands. He placed a soft kiss on the handle and turned to the man sleeping in the bed before him.
Perhaps it was the noise of the boy turning around right beside him or perhaps it was the feeling of someone's close proximity or maybe it was just the boy using his magic to grant himself the sadistic wish of having his Master awake when it happened, but for some reason the man sleeping in the bed began to wake. He turned onto his back and blearily blinked up at the young man standing over him. Takeru recognized him immediately as the rebellious Guardian who had wanted to train a stranger over his own son.
"What on-" He began to wake when he saw the face of his visitor. "What are you doing here? You were banned from these grounds. I warned you to say away from here, my insolent young Apprentice. You will pay for this intrusion!"
The boy smirked and raised the sword over his head. "And just who do you think will be around to punish me? You?"
And with this statement the boy plunged the sword down with all his strength. Takeru cried out and rushed at him, only to fall right through onto the floor. He stood quickly, distraught, but unable to do anything to stop the deplorable act taking place in front of him. The sword was sunk deep into the Guardian's chest. Takeru winced as the man began to choke. He was coughing up his own blood.
His Apprentice took this as a cue to pull the sword away. With one look at the gaping hole in the man's chest, Takeru knew he was going to die. There was no way to help it. The Apprentice seemed to realize this, too. He was smiling and he reached over and wiped the blood of his new sword with his dying Master's nightshirt.
Even as the Guardian gasped for breath through the blood flooding his throat, the Apprentice sat down beside him, lightly brushing a strand of hair that had fallen into his Master's eyes.
"It didn't have to be this way, Master," he said after a few moments of gurgled breathing. "All you had to do was allow me to have a treasure of my own. If you had only let me, I never would have had to go through the trouble of stealing yours."
He chuckled and one last shiver went down Takeru's back as the two men began to fade from view. The Apprentice bent down and placed a soft kiss on the Guardian's forehead as his last breaths left his body. "Thanks, though. The training you've given me has been invaluable..."
* * * * *
Chapter 16 By Android Eleven
When the image of the round table in the high-walled stone room began to fade, Takeru was once again found himself surrounded in thick fog. He didn't find the experience quite as unpleasant as the last time he'd been there. But it had gotten colder. Shivering slightly, the Ishidan prince pulled his cloak tightly around himself and vigorously rubbed his arms.
He paced for a while before he began to notice the fog thickening again. He stood still this time as he was cocooned in the chilly mist. Once more, he almost ran out of oxygen before the "mirror" appeared in front of him.
Watching closely this time, Takeru saw the pictures slowly appear on the surface. It was much like watching ice melt. It was hard to distinguish the exact moment swirling colors became pictures, when faintly hummed whispers became words. And it was also hard to notice just when he was pulling out of the fog dimension and into the reflection.
*
~It was nighttime. Takeru had appeared in moonlit courtyard, standing beside another boy about his age who was crouching in the bushes. At a glance, Takeru could tell that once again nobody could see him. The boy in the bushes was obviously hiding from the armored guards who were on duty not ten feet from where he'd hidden. If the guards had seen Takeru, they would have rushed over, swords drawn if they were any sort of soldiers.
But they didn't see him and so they stood at their post, chatting together quietly. After a few minutes, they turned directly opposite the bushes that the boy was hidden beneath and he silently proceeded to remove a small satchel from his tunic. Curious, Takeru stepped closer and crouched beside him to better see the fine glittering powder the boy poured out from the satchel. The boy leaned forward and, taking a deep breath, silently blew the powder in the guards' direction. He quickly retreated to the shadows of the bush as the powder floated over to the guards.
It was only seconds before the first guard collapsed. Surprised, the second guard bent down and tried to wake him up. It was only another couple of seconds before he too slumped to the ground.
After waiting to make sure that they were really out, the boy from the bushes stood up from his hiding place and walked over to the guards, an amused smirk on his face. Takeru followed him every step of the way, watching intently as the boy took the guards' swords and hid them behind the bush before making his way into the castle.
Takeru and the boy encountered only a few more guards on their way up the stairs. The mysterious boy always seemed to sense their approaching presence before they ever came into sight and would hide, waiting until they left or blowing more of his magic dust and hiding their weapons before going on.
Takeru was starting to get a bad feeling about this boy, like cold fingers running along his spine, when they finally seemed to have arrived at their destination. A gigantic, ornately carved oak door watched by yet another pair of guards. The boy rolled his eyes and stepped into the light where the guards could clearly see him. "Good evening, gentlemen."
The guards started and turned to face the two boys who'd entered the corridor, one invisible, the other smirking. "Young Master! What are you doing here? Your Master, the Guardian, said you had been banned from the grounds for the next fortnight-"
But the boy, the "Young Master", ignored the guard's warning and pulled out another handful of sleeping dust. Within seconds both guards were on the floor. The boy chuckled to himself at the sight and tied his satchel of powder back on his tunic. "Banned am I? Maybe he should have gotten guards who could have actually kept me out then, shouldn't he?"
The boy stepped over the slumped bodies and opened the door in front of him with only a wave of his hand. Takeru stared, but went in after him. Inside appeared to be a bedchamber, and it was one big enough to match the giant door. The room was dark, but the moonlight did filter in through a short row of windows near the back corner of the room. The boy paused now for a moment before slowly heading towards the back of the room, where a canopied bed was visible.
Another shiver made it's way down Takeru's spine and he suddenly KNEW something bad was about to happen.
The boy waved his hand again and the curtains hanging around the four- poster bed flew back. He stepped up beside the bed, surveying the still- sleeping occupant with a small smile playing over his features. He glanced up above the headboard where another carved door rested, this time the opening of a cupboard. The boy reached over and carefully opened said cupboard, pulling out what appeared to be a sword. The boy held it up to the light for a few moments, just looking at it and Takeru took the chance to briefly inspect it.
The handle appeared to be made of gold and diamond, much like his own staff. The blade, though, that was what drew the Ishidan prince's attention. It was made of steel and edged with diamond. Just looking at it made Takeru feel...strange. He reached out to touch the sword, only to have his hand go right through it. He jerked out of his stupor as the cold feel of steel passed directly through his flesh and backed away.
It was just as Takeru pulled back that the boy took the sword into both of his hands. He placed a soft kiss on the handle and turned to the man sleeping in the bed before him.
Perhaps it was the noise of the boy turning around right beside him or perhaps it was the feeling of someone's close proximity or maybe it was just the boy using his magic to grant himself the sadistic wish of having his Master awake when it happened, but for some reason the man sleeping in the bed began to wake. He turned onto his back and blearily blinked up at the young man standing over him. Takeru recognized him immediately as the rebellious Guardian who had wanted to train a stranger over his own son.
"What on-" He began to wake when he saw the face of his visitor. "What are you doing here? You were banned from these grounds. I warned you to say away from here, my insolent young Apprentice. You will pay for this intrusion!"
The boy smirked and raised the sword over his head. "And just who do you think will be around to punish me? You?"
And with this statement the boy plunged the sword down with all his strength. Takeru cried out and rushed at him, only to fall right through onto the floor. He stood quickly, distraught, but unable to do anything to stop the deplorable act taking place in front of him. The sword was sunk deep into the Guardian's chest. Takeru winced as the man began to choke. He was coughing up his own blood.
His Apprentice took this as a cue to pull the sword away. With one look at the gaping hole in the man's chest, Takeru knew he was going to die. There was no way to help it. The Apprentice seemed to realize this, too. He was smiling and he reached over and wiped the blood of his new sword with his dying Master's nightshirt.
Even as the Guardian gasped for breath through the blood flooding his throat, the Apprentice sat down beside him, lightly brushing a strand of hair that had fallen into his Master's eyes.
"It didn't have to be this way, Master," he said after a few moments of gurgled breathing. "All you had to do was allow me to have a treasure of my own. If you had only let me, I never would have had to go through the trouble of stealing yours."
He chuckled and one last shiver went down Takeru's back as the two men began to fade from view. The Apprentice bent down and placed a soft kiss on the Guardian's forehead as his last breaths left his body. "Thanks, though. The training you've given me has been invaluable..."
* * * * *
