***
Night had fallen, the sun retreating behind the high hills of Japan. It was a crisp Friday evening in the ronin household. Everyone had finished Cye's dinner and had headed to bed. The house was silent, only the sound of the wind and peepers echoed the halls of the mansion. Surprisingly, rest came easy to all the ronins and Aimie.
The wind blew outside, rustling the leaves of the tree. "This is perfect," a voice remarked from the shadows, "There's a girl."
"Honestly, I do not understand mortals. Good men will always fall to women's love. They could have proven to be prosperous minions of Lord Talpa," another replied.
"You joke. Don't you mean they will?" yet another voice stated, "You said yourself, Dais, there's a girl."
Dais appeared from the shadows, Kale next to him, and Seckmet to their right. "Good men will always fall for women's love," Kale smirked, uncrossing his arms.
Kento's eyes shot open. He had heard something break. Something glass. He sat up in bed and quickly, yet silently, tiptoed from his room and down the hall. He waited, in the center, for another noise. A blade pierced Aimie's bedroom door, then reentering the spilt wood again, back into her room. There was his answer.
"Holy shit.., Aimie!" he shouted, and raced to her door. It was locked. He jiggled the handle, attempting to ram it open, shouting as he did so. He wanted to go back and get his kanji orb, but he was afraid to leave the door. "Aimie what's happening in there!?"
Dais' spider claws dented through the wood, "Shut up, Hardrock," he said, now chuckling playfully, "Go back to bed. She's fine in here with us."
"US?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HER, DAIS!? LET HER GO!"
Aaaaahhh....!!!!! Rowen! SAGE!!!! Help me!!! Oniichan!!!!! There was a desprate call, that belonged to Aimie, coming from the other side of the door, Help! Someone please! Kento! Cye! Ryo! There was a another breaking noise, and a loud thud, followed by a blood curddling scream.
"AIMIE!"
Kento!!
"LET HER GO GOD DAMN IT!"
Dais laughed mockingly, "Poor Hardrock has gone soft...and for a girl! How pathetic! The ronins will finally fall!" Kento grasped his hand into a fist and grit his teeth. The others had finally woken up, and came running.
"Who's in there!?" Rowen shouted to Kento's face.
"DAIS!"
Aimie's sobs could be heard from through the door.
"Hahaha! You're little girlfriend isn't behaving herself. Looks like we'll have to punish her," Dais laughed.
"....." Rowen's eyes motioned to the door, staring in complete and total contempt. His heart raced, adrenaline rushing through his veins, filling his muscles with oxygen, ready to fight. Ready to kill anyone who now stepped infront of his main focus. Sage's rage was felt by all, as well as Rowen's. Sage's fist broke the wood of the door, but did not make it all the way through. Rowen was frozen stiff, still focusing on Aimie's voice.
Rowen....Rowen............He swore he could hear her through the walls. Standing, facing the door, Rowen silently requested room. Pulling back his arm, he hurled it forward and broke open the door. The group rushed into the room. Nothing was there. Not even Aimie.
They peered around, inspecting everything. A trail of sparatic pools of blood went from her dresser to the window, then stopping just before the frame. The window was broken, and so was Aimie's small hand mirror, which had looked like it had been thrown. The walls were gashed with blade marks, as was the furniture and bed, and even the floor. "Damn them!" Ryo growled, picking up a piece of the glass.
Sage was infuriorated. He could not stand still, walking quickly around the room, kicking and punching any item he could find. His face was covered in pure anger. Anything around him that reminded him of the warlords, he had to destroy, which meant the walls as well. He grabbed the curled pieces of wallpaper and tore them straight from the wall, yelling and cursing up a storm. "Damn those Walords!" he shouted, at the top of his lungs.
None of them spoke after that. It was dead quiet.
**
"Say it," Seckmet growled to Aimie, "Say it now."
Aimie picked up her head, bloody and bruised, She was tethered to the wall of the dynasty dungeon, by both hands and ankles. "Never..." she murmured softly, "You cannot make me."
"Perhaps you're right," Dais said to her, leaning against the wall beside her, "We can't make you, but if you don't, you might have to."
"I don't care if you want to kill me, I will never say that I hate my own brother!"
Kale shifted his shoulders, "But I thought you did...you know- for shoving Rowen."
"That was a dream! -and how did you---..." She was silent with suprise, "You gave me the dream!? You-you--you purposely frightened me!?"
"It wasn't us," Seckmet stated plainly, "A meer prophecy you envisioned within an interpritive dream."
"So what!?" Aimie shouted, gaining back her fighitng spirit,struggling against the chains, "I still don't hate my brother! And never will either! If anything! I hate Rowen! He's the one who punched Sage in the stomach and made him pass out! He's the one who caused me to fall down that ditch, almost die, and he's also the one that dragged me to Japan in the first place! HE wanted to give ME lessons!"
Dais chuckled slightly, "Thank you."
Aimie drew back and gasped a bit. "Now you must obey us," Seckmet laughed, "Or you'll really end up killing them both." She became confused, yet angered and fustrated.
"What do you mean?!?"
"I mean..." Seckmet held out a hand, and played back her image. ...I hate my own brother! So what!? I hate Rowen! He's the one who dragged me to Japan in the first place! HE wanted to give ME lessons!
"You bastard!!!" Aimie screamed, seeing the vision.
The three warlords chuckled.
You bastard!!! the vision echoed, mocking her.
"But! I didn't say it like that!"
Kale smiled slyly at her, "Yes you did, Aimie Datier. Yes, you did."
***
Morning came at the ronin household. Everyone was still unspeaking, except for Ryo and Cye, that is. "What are we going ta do now, Ryo?" Cye asked from his standing position in the kitchen.
"We're going to think this over and go rescue her," he responded. "That's that. I know the others won't want to, but that's the only way we're going to ger her back alive."
"Hmm..."
"Yahh!" Kento swung at his punching bag again, "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Why is it that I hesitated?! Why couldn't we save her!"
Sage was up stairs in his sister's temporary room still, inspecting things, while playing around with his kanji sphere in his other hand, "I'm not going to let them get away with this Aimie. For you."
Off somewhere, Rowen stood, looking out among his arranged arrow targets. The wind blew slightly, enough to brush back his forlocks. Aimie... His mind replayed her first reaction after being knocked out a few weeks ago. Those Three...The TV!!! He knew it would happen, but he always believed that he would be there for her...to save her that is. There was something that didn't quite fit, how could he have let his guard down for so long? Did he just forget? ...No impossible.Then what was it.. he thought, walking towards one of the targets. I was always concerned they'd come back, and my guard was up even more since Aimie arrived. How is it that I could have been so wreckless? Why couldn't I feel their presence before they came into the house...? Placing a hand on the plastic covering, he sighed and looked to the ground, in utter confusion and grief.
***
"What are your final plans, Dais of Illusion?" the voice of Talpa rang throughout his master throne room.
"To send out the girl, and have her return with the ronins feeding out of the dynasty's hand," Dais said with a bow.
"I do not know your methods, but go anyhow. I will have to trust you know what you're doing."
"I do." With that, he turned and walked out, to find Aimie.
***
Aimie was sitting in one of the rooms of the dynasty castle, solumnly staring out the single window, lining the wall. There was an almost imperceptable knock at the door, Aimie barely hearing it. "Come in..." she said, lacking her usual perky tone. Dais walked in, wearing his subarmor.
"Ah, M'lady Daiter," he said, "I see you're observing the view."
"No," she said bluntly, "Just a route out of this Hell Hole." She shifted her eyes to stare at him, without moving her head from looking out the window.
"That's impossible," he returned to his normal, grim self, and shut the door, "There is no way you are to be getting out of here without us getting the Ronin Warriors first."
"Do you honestly think you can keep me in this room long enough to do that and expect me to not try!?" Aimie stood, angered and fustrated, spinning around, in fury, to face him.
Dais walked forward and grabbed her waist, "Or maybe I should just keep you here anyway," he said, ignoring her comment, "The hatred and fury that burn in your eyes show you would make a great addition to Talpa's infantry." His unnerving smile was so close to her face, she wanted to scream. Yet, she knew it would be in vain. No one intrested in saving her was anywhere.
Then a thought struck her. Will they ever come?...What if they cannot find this place? Then what? Am I condemned to this living Hell forever?...Rowen...Why aren't you here right now? "Get away!" she finally shrieked, struggling from his grasp. She sat back down on her chair and gave him a disgruntled look.
Night had fallen, the sun retreating behind the high hills of Japan. It was a crisp Friday evening in the ronin household. Everyone had finished Cye's dinner and had headed to bed. The house was silent, only the sound of the wind and peepers echoed the halls of the mansion. Surprisingly, rest came easy to all the ronins and Aimie.
The wind blew outside, rustling the leaves of the tree. "This is perfect," a voice remarked from the shadows, "There's a girl."
"Honestly, I do not understand mortals. Good men will always fall to women's love. They could have proven to be prosperous minions of Lord Talpa," another replied.
"You joke. Don't you mean they will?" yet another voice stated, "You said yourself, Dais, there's a girl."
Dais appeared from the shadows, Kale next to him, and Seckmet to their right. "Good men will always fall for women's love," Kale smirked, uncrossing his arms.
Kento's eyes shot open. He had heard something break. Something glass. He sat up in bed and quickly, yet silently, tiptoed from his room and down the hall. He waited, in the center, for another noise. A blade pierced Aimie's bedroom door, then reentering the spilt wood again, back into her room. There was his answer.
"Holy shit.., Aimie!" he shouted, and raced to her door. It was locked. He jiggled the handle, attempting to ram it open, shouting as he did so. He wanted to go back and get his kanji orb, but he was afraid to leave the door. "Aimie what's happening in there!?"
Dais' spider claws dented through the wood, "Shut up, Hardrock," he said, now chuckling playfully, "Go back to bed. She's fine in here with us."
"US?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HER, DAIS!? LET HER GO!"
Aaaaahhh....!!!!! Rowen! SAGE!!!! Help me!!! Oniichan!!!!! There was a desprate call, that belonged to Aimie, coming from the other side of the door, Help! Someone please! Kento! Cye! Ryo! There was a another breaking noise, and a loud thud, followed by a blood curddling scream.
"AIMIE!"
Kento!!
"LET HER GO GOD DAMN IT!"
Dais laughed mockingly, "Poor Hardrock has gone soft...and for a girl! How pathetic! The ronins will finally fall!" Kento grasped his hand into a fist and grit his teeth. The others had finally woken up, and came running.
"Who's in there!?" Rowen shouted to Kento's face.
"DAIS!"
Aimie's sobs could be heard from through the door.
"Hahaha! You're little girlfriend isn't behaving herself. Looks like we'll have to punish her," Dais laughed.
"....." Rowen's eyes motioned to the door, staring in complete and total contempt. His heart raced, adrenaline rushing through his veins, filling his muscles with oxygen, ready to fight. Ready to kill anyone who now stepped infront of his main focus. Sage's rage was felt by all, as well as Rowen's. Sage's fist broke the wood of the door, but did not make it all the way through. Rowen was frozen stiff, still focusing on Aimie's voice.
Rowen....Rowen............He swore he could hear her through the walls. Standing, facing the door, Rowen silently requested room. Pulling back his arm, he hurled it forward and broke open the door. The group rushed into the room. Nothing was there. Not even Aimie.
They peered around, inspecting everything. A trail of sparatic pools of blood went from her dresser to the window, then stopping just before the frame. The window was broken, and so was Aimie's small hand mirror, which had looked like it had been thrown. The walls were gashed with blade marks, as was the furniture and bed, and even the floor. "Damn them!" Ryo growled, picking up a piece of the glass.
Sage was infuriorated. He could not stand still, walking quickly around the room, kicking and punching any item he could find. His face was covered in pure anger. Anything around him that reminded him of the warlords, he had to destroy, which meant the walls as well. He grabbed the curled pieces of wallpaper and tore them straight from the wall, yelling and cursing up a storm. "Damn those Walords!" he shouted, at the top of his lungs.
None of them spoke after that. It was dead quiet.
**
"Say it," Seckmet growled to Aimie, "Say it now."
Aimie picked up her head, bloody and bruised, She was tethered to the wall of the dynasty dungeon, by both hands and ankles. "Never..." she murmured softly, "You cannot make me."
"Perhaps you're right," Dais said to her, leaning against the wall beside her, "We can't make you, but if you don't, you might have to."
"I don't care if you want to kill me, I will never say that I hate my own brother!"
Kale shifted his shoulders, "But I thought you did...you know- for shoving Rowen."
"That was a dream! -and how did you---..." She was silent with suprise, "You gave me the dream!? You-you--you purposely frightened me!?"
"It wasn't us," Seckmet stated plainly, "A meer prophecy you envisioned within an interpritive dream."
"So what!?" Aimie shouted, gaining back her fighitng spirit,struggling against the chains, "I still don't hate my brother! And never will either! If anything! I hate Rowen! He's the one who punched Sage in the stomach and made him pass out! He's the one who caused me to fall down that ditch, almost die, and he's also the one that dragged me to Japan in the first place! HE wanted to give ME lessons!"
Dais chuckled slightly, "Thank you."
Aimie drew back and gasped a bit. "Now you must obey us," Seckmet laughed, "Or you'll really end up killing them both." She became confused, yet angered and fustrated.
"What do you mean?!?"
"I mean..." Seckmet held out a hand, and played back her image. ...I hate my own brother! So what!? I hate Rowen! He's the one who dragged me to Japan in the first place! HE wanted to give ME lessons!
"You bastard!!!" Aimie screamed, seeing the vision.
The three warlords chuckled.
You bastard!!! the vision echoed, mocking her.
"But! I didn't say it like that!"
Kale smiled slyly at her, "Yes you did, Aimie Datier. Yes, you did."
***
Morning came at the ronin household. Everyone was still unspeaking, except for Ryo and Cye, that is. "What are we going ta do now, Ryo?" Cye asked from his standing position in the kitchen.
"We're going to think this over and go rescue her," he responded. "That's that. I know the others won't want to, but that's the only way we're going to ger her back alive."
"Hmm..."
"Yahh!" Kento swung at his punching bag again, "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Why is it that I hesitated?! Why couldn't we save her!"
Sage was up stairs in his sister's temporary room still, inspecting things, while playing around with his kanji sphere in his other hand, "I'm not going to let them get away with this Aimie. For you."
Off somewhere, Rowen stood, looking out among his arranged arrow targets. The wind blew slightly, enough to brush back his forlocks. Aimie... His mind replayed her first reaction after being knocked out a few weeks ago. Those Three...The TV!!! He knew it would happen, but he always believed that he would be there for her...to save her that is. There was something that didn't quite fit, how could he have let his guard down for so long? Did he just forget? ...No impossible.Then what was it.. he thought, walking towards one of the targets. I was always concerned they'd come back, and my guard was up even more since Aimie arrived. How is it that I could have been so wreckless? Why couldn't I feel their presence before they came into the house...? Placing a hand on the plastic covering, he sighed and looked to the ground, in utter confusion and grief.
***
"What are your final plans, Dais of Illusion?" the voice of Talpa rang throughout his master throne room.
"To send out the girl, and have her return with the ronins feeding out of the dynasty's hand," Dais said with a bow.
"I do not know your methods, but go anyhow. I will have to trust you know what you're doing."
"I do." With that, he turned and walked out, to find Aimie.
***
Aimie was sitting in one of the rooms of the dynasty castle, solumnly staring out the single window, lining the wall. There was an almost imperceptable knock at the door, Aimie barely hearing it. "Come in..." she said, lacking her usual perky tone. Dais walked in, wearing his subarmor.
"Ah, M'lady Daiter," he said, "I see you're observing the view."
"No," she said bluntly, "Just a route out of this Hell Hole." She shifted her eyes to stare at him, without moving her head from looking out the window.
"That's impossible," he returned to his normal, grim self, and shut the door, "There is no way you are to be getting out of here without us getting the Ronin Warriors first."
"Do you honestly think you can keep me in this room long enough to do that and expect me to not try!?" Aimie stood, angered and fustrated, spinning around, in fury, to face him.
Dais walked forward and grabbed her waist, "Or maybe I should just keep you here anyway," he said, ignoring her comment, "The hatred and fury that burn in your eyes show you would make a great addition to Talpa's infantry." His unnerving smile was so close to her face, she wanted to scream. Yet, she knew it would be in vain. No one intrested in saving her was anywhere.
Then a thought struck her. Will they ever come?...What if they cannot find this place? Then what? Am I condemned to this living Hell forever?...Rowen...Why aren't you here right now? "Get away!" she finally shrieked, struggling from his grasp. She sat back down on her chair and gave him a disgruntled look.