Firestorm0122: Tears of Twilight
Chapter 30.
Thunder sat down on his bed and stared at the floor in dismay. It felt lonely without Kaye in the room with them, and he could only wonder how she was doing. He hoped Jakada wouldn't try and mess with her in any sexual perverted way. He didn't trust that scumbag as far as he could throw him. Cye laid down on his bed, his back facing outward as his eyes stared at the stone wall before him. He felt bad for Kaye and could only imagine how lonely she was being all by herself. He didn't see why she had to be locked inside that cage, and he wished he could set her free, but he didn't see how that was possible with the nether energy surrounding the cage.
The two boys were silent, each one not sure of what to say to the other. All they could do was just sit together in that room with their silent thoughts to themselves.
They heard a clicking at their door, and only Thunder looked up to see who was entering. It was Sekhmet. The Warlord of Venom placed two trays down on the desk and left quickly, remembering to lock the door behind him as he went.
Thunder sat up and looked over at the food. "Come on, Cye. We better eat."
"No," Cye said.
"What?" Thunder looked over at him with a frown.
"I'm not eating," Cye refused with a hint of fury in his voice.
Thunder frowned. He should have figured that Cye would be like this, and he couldn't blame him. However the consequences could be dire if he did not. He stood up and gave him a sad look. "Cye, do it for Kaye, would you? If you don't eat, then Talpa will be furious and punish you. He may even hurt Kaye because of it. If you don't eat for yourself, at least eat for Kaye."
Cye did not move. He continued to stare at the wall as if he didn't care about anything else. But that was far from the truth. He was afraid to eat, because of two things: One, what if Sekhmet had poisoned the food? And two, what if Kaye was not being fed. Those two things prevented him from eating. "I.. I can't." He stammered.
"Why not?" Thunder demanded. He knew he sounded irritated, but he was only concerned. Cye had to eat. Who knew what would happen if he did not.
Cye did not answer for a moment, and when Thunder believed he would not reply at all, and was just about to open his mouth again, Cye spoke. "I'm afraid," he whispered.
"Of what?"
"Of the food being poisoned. I know Sekhmet despises me, and I despise him just as much. I don't trust him at all, Thunder. And.." He let out a deep sigh of pain. "I'm afraid that while we're being fed, Kaye won't be."
Thunder frowned deeply as he watched Cye. He now understood why the young Ronin would not make a move toward the desk. It was a natural thing to feel fear when you were amongst enemies. He himself had felt it many times before. He decided to check the food just in case. He walked over to Cye's tray first and stood before the desk, staring down at the small chicken strip, the vegetables, and the rice pilaf. It was rather surprising to him how Talpa had decided to give them better nutrition rather than a stale piece of bread three times a day. And yet, he was not complaining one bit.
He opened his Second Sight, allowing him to see every detail of the food. He could see the vitamins and the nutrition it had, but there was no trace of poison. Feeling relieved, he checked his own. It was the same as Cye's. He looked over at Cye, now back to his normal vision, and said, "Cye, the food is fine. There is no poison at all within them."
Cye looked over at him and searched his face, trying to determine whether or not he was certain. When he met Thunder's eyes and realized that the taller warrior had indeed spoken the truth, he swung over and let his legs dangle over the side of the bed. "But… but what about Kaye?"
"Kaye might feel hunger pangs if you don't eat, Cye. I don't know how strong your bond is with her, but if it's really strong enough for you two to feel one another's pains, why risk it?"
Cye let out a sigh as he slowly stood up. "I suppose you're right," he admitted.
"Trust me on this," Thunder said to him as he hoped he would be successful. And he was. Cye picked up his tray and returned to his bed, sitting upon it. The two boys ate in silence, each one wondering when this whole Prophecy thing would be over and how soon they would see their friends again. Though they had been locked up for a week or more, the hope continued to move forth within their souls, neither giving up their dreams for the deaths of their enemies.
The eyes continued to watch Kaye with such an intense force that Kaye felt herself awaken. She let out a gasp when she could see the yellow eyes peering at her from the darkness. What was in there? she wondered. Was it a monster? Was it a new soldier of Talpa's or even Jakada's? She held her breath fearing the worst it could possibly be and was trying very hard to appear she wasn't worried. And then the eyes moved forward. Kaye found herself on the defensive side as she waited in anticipation. It came closer. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest. And closer it came again. She could feel her breath quickening within her lungs. And then it appeared before her.
Kaye's eyes went wide and she jumped back a little bit, bruising her lower back on the bars of the cage. For standing before her was a wolf almost the same size as Flash's wolf, just a little smaller in size. Its fur was pitch black, its left eye had a scar above and below it, reminding her somewhat of Cale, the eyes were golden yellow and the way the wolf's posture was, told her, this was one wolf not to be messed with.
She and the wolf regarded one another, and she began to feel uncomfortable. Had it come to eat her? She hoped that was far from the truth. But then, as she continued to stare deep into the wolf's eyes she felt transfixed. She could see pictures within its eyes. It suddenly hit her after a few minutes. It was communicating with her! Remarkable! For the first time ever she met a creature that could communicate telepathically with pictures rather than words.
The wolf showed her how Blaze had sent him to guard over her and keep her safe as much as he was allowed to. He also showed her how Kento was still determined to rescue her and that the others had not given up on them, nor on finding each other. This comforted her, knowing that even if they were all apart from one another, they were still in a sense, together through their hearts, minds, and souls.
A smile came to her face, the first smile she had since the day she was brought to this hellhole. "Thank you," she whispered to the wolf. "Thank you for giving me hope again."
The wolf stared back at her, then lifted his head and let out a lone howl, before it suddenly transformed into a hawk and flew up to the rafters where it perched on a beam and remained there, watching over her. Once again, Kaye had been surprised. She stared up at the hawk with her mouth half open. "Okay, that was unexpected," she said. And then she heard footsteps. Her head quickly turned in the direction of the sound and she felt herself getting defensive again. She hoped it was not who she feared.
Just as Rowen was about to let his arrow go off, Scorpio suddenly put his arm down on the cock of the arrow and shouted, "Wait! Don't shoot!"
Rowen and Kento looked at him with disbelief. "Scorpio, are you nuts?" The Strata bearer demanded. "That could be an enemy!"
Scorpio stared at him in the eyes, his face determined and yet even happy it seemed. The smaller boy shook his head. "Trust me, that's no enemy! That's Flash!"
"What?" Kento couldn't believe it. He looked toward the hunch back figure drawing closer to them and then returned his eyes back to Scorpio. "How can you be so sure, man?"
"Because I can sense her! I know that's her!" And without another word, he ran down the hill. Rowen, Kento, and Lightning watched him. The two Ronins stared at one another with a dumbfounded expression. They weren't really sure what to make of all of this.
"Rowen, do you get the feeling we missed something?" Kento asked softly.
Rowen nodded his head. "There's a lot we don't know about these Warriors. But come on. Let's go down and see if he's right." And the two boys ran after Scorpio, Lightning running by their side. When they got close enough they could see Scorpio was kneeling down by the strange looking creature, his face looking very stressed. And they could see he was right. They learned that this hunchback creature had been White Blaze carrying an unconscious and badly injured Flash.
"Oh my god!" Rowen shouted. "What happened to her!"
"I don't know!" Scorpio cried as he lifted Flash from White Blaze's back. He laid her on the ground and tore off her blood stained sleeve. They could see a hole within the area within the muscle, just a bit under the shoulder and a few inches above the elbow, both on the inside and outside of the arm.
Kento could not believe it. This had to be the Dynasty, and those monsters were going to pay once he got a hold of them. He covered Flash's wound with both of his hands. "She's losing a lot of blood!" he shouted to them.
Lightning frowned. 'You three help her out. I am going for some medicated herbs in which will prevent an infection.' The tiger teleported away, leaving the boys to help the girl warrior out. Scorpio summoned his armor and concentrated in getting some fresh clean water in which to bathe the wound. When he had enough water in his hands, Kento moved his hands away from the wound and allowed the Current bearer the task of cleaning it. Flash squirmed and moaned in pain, but she did not come to. Rowen had to hold her down, and realized she was running a fever. This worried him. Fevers always signified infection.
By the time Lightning returned with the herbs, Rowen took them and crushed them up and with some water from Scorpio, he was able to make a kind of liquid paste out of them. He spread it over the two holes and winced when Flash screamed out in her unconscious state. When Rowen had finished, Scorpio disarmored, and tore off a piece of his shirt and wrapped it around the arm in a makeshift bandage, stopping the flow of blood.
"Well, that should do it, until we can get better resources," he said quietly.
'Put her on my back,' Lightning told him. 'White Blaze seems to be a bit tired.' Kento gently lifted her and laid her over his back. The four of them moved onward, knowing now that all they had left to do was find Ryo and Sage.
Ryo came to with a groan as he looked around. He was in some kind of dank cave with a bit of light running through it. He looked around and slowly climbed to his feet, then he realized there was some type of iron collar around his neck. "What the hell?!" he cried out. He saw the chain as well, and immediately his eyes flashed in anger. So if he was captured, where was Sage?
He heard voices and directed his head to view where they were coming from. Instantly his eyes widened with disbelief. For a beautiful woman dressed like a gypsy and lain about on velvet pillows was being fed grapes by a blond haired young man wearing only a loincloth. Ryo gasped with shock, and his blood boiled. How dare they take his friend and treat him like some common slave! He wouldn't stand for it! He yanked at his collar, then at the chain, trying to break either of them off. "Sage!" he cried out with desperation.
But Sage would not turn around and face him. He continued to feed this woman grapes, placing them into her mouth one by one. When he did move about in a certain way, Ryo could see his eyes. They were vacant. Sage had been hypnotized. 'I've got to do something!' Ryo thought to himself with anxiety. He tried calling out to his friend again, but no such luck. His words fell upon deaf ears. He fought the collar and chain again, but they were too strong. Then he felt himself falling to his knees, his soul filled with helplessness.
The woman directed her eyes over at Ryo, a sneer which made her face appear ugly to the beholder. "He's mine, and will always be mine. You cannot have him ever again."
Ryo growled angrily as he looked up at her. "Like hell he is! I don't know who you are, lady, if you can be called a lady! I will get Sage and myself out of here, and you will be feeling the pain of Wildfire!"
She threw her head back and laughed a malicious laugh. "You are chained to the wall and yet you threaten me? I find that hard to believe."
Ryo growled again at her, then lowered his head. He concentrated on the Ronin power and hoped it would be enough to bring Sage around. 'Virtue!'
At first there was no response from Sage, and the woman laughed again, finding herself victorious at this time. "You see? You cannot win!"
But then her laughing soon turned to a gasp, and her eyes filled with horror. Sage's symbol was glowing and he was staring wide eyed at nothing before him. His eyes closed, and he held his head. 'Wisdom!'
"No! Stop this at once! You cannot have him!" the woman cried out in anger as she went to grab Sage's arm. "He is mine!"
But an expected force blew her across the room where she hit a wall, knocking her unconscious. Sage's kanji faded away and he blinked several times, his visible eye focused and cleared. "What happened?" he asked slowly, a little confused. "And where am I?"
"Hey, Sage," Ryo said a bit weakly. "Glad to have you back. See if you can unchain me, and I'll tell you everything."
Sage turned toward Ryo and when he saw the predicament his leader was in, he walked over to their captor and retrieved the keys from her. Using it against Ryo's collar, he set the bearer of Wildfire free. Ryo began rubbing his neck, glad to have nothing tightly against it anymore. He met Sage's face and frowned. Sage looked very annoyed, confused, and pissed. Not a good combination. "Okay, start explaining," the bearer of Halo said. "How did we get down here, why were you chained, who was that woman back there, and why am I wearing a loincloth?!" Ryo closed his eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it into one huge sigh. This was going to be a most difficult explanation.
Chapter 30.
Thunder sat down on his bed and stared at the floor in dismay. It felt lonely without Kaye in the room with them, and he could only wonder how she was doing. He hoped Jakada wouldn't try and mess with her in any sexual perverted way. He didn't trust that scumbag as far as he could throw him. Cye laid down on his bed, his back facing outward as his eyes stared at the stone wall before him. He felt bad for Kaye and could only imagine how lonely she was being all by herself. He didn't see why she had to be locked inside that cage, and he wished he could set her free, but he didn't see how that was possible with the nether energy surrounding the cage.
The two boys were silent, each one not sure of what to say to the other. All they could do was just sit together in that room with their silent thoughts to themselves.
They heard a clicking at their door, and only Thunder looked up to see who was entering. It was Sekhmet. The Warlord of Venom placed two trays down on the desk and left quickly, remembering to lock the door behind him as he went.
Thunder sat up and looked over at the food. "Come on, Cye. We better eat."
"No," Cye said.
"What?" Thunder looked over at him with a frown.
"I'm not eating," Cye refused with a hint of fury in his voice.
Thunder frowned. He should have figured that Cye would be like this, and he couldn't blame him. However the consequences could be dire if he did not. He stood up and gave him a sad look. "Cye, do it for Kaye, would you? If you don't eat, then Talpa will be furious and punish you. He may even hurt Kaye because of it. If you don't eat for yourself, at least eat for Kaye."
Cye did not move. He continued to stare at the wall as if he didn't care about anything else. But that was far from the truth. He was afraid to eat, because of two things: One, what if Sekhmet had poisoned the food? And two, what if Kaye was not being fed. Those two things prevented him from eating. "I.. I can't." He stammered.
"Why not?" Thunder demanded. He knew he sounded irritated, but he was only concerned. Cye had to eat. Who knew what would happen if he did not.
Cye did not answer for a moment, and when Thunder believed he would not reply at all, and was just about to open his mouth again, Cye spoke. "I'm afraid," he whispered.
"Of what?"
"Of the food being poisoned. I know Sekhmet despises me, and I despise him just as much. I don't trust him at all, Thunder. And.." He let out a deep sigh of pain. "I'm afraid that while we're being fed, Kaye won't be."
Thunder frowned deeply as he watched Cye. He now understood why the young Ronin would not make a move toward the desk. It was a natural thing to feel fear when you were amongst enemies. He himself had felt it many times before. He decided to check the food just in case. He walked over to Cye's tray first and stood before the desk, staring down at the small chicken strip, the vegetables, and the rice pilaf. It was rather surprising to him how Talpa had decided to give them better nutrition rather than a stale piece of bread three times a day. And yet, he was not complaining one bit.
He opened his Second Sight, allowing him to see every detail of the food. He could see the vitamins and the nutrition it had, but there was no trace of poison. Feeling relieved, he checked his own. It was the same as Cye's. He looked over at Cye, now back to his normal vision, and said, "Cye, the food is fine. There is no poison at all within them."
Cye looked over at him and searched his face, trying to determine whether or not he was certain. When he met Thunder's eyes and realized that the taller warrior had indeed spoken the truth, he swung over and let his legs dangle over the side of the bed. "But… but what about Kaye?"
"Kaye might feel hunger pangs if you don't eat, Cye. I don't know how strong your bond is with her, but if it's really strong enough for you two to feel one another's pains, why risk it?"
Cye let out a sigh as he slowly stood up. "I suppose you're right," he admitted.
"Trust me on this," Thunder said to him as he hoped he would be successful. And he was. Cye picked up his tray and returned to his bed, sitting upon it. The two boys ate in silence, each one wondering when this whole Prophecy thing would be over and how soon they would see their friends again. Though they had been locked up for a week or more, the hope continued to move forth within their souls, neither giving up their dreams for the deaths of their enemies.
The eyes continued to watch Kaye with such an intense force that Kaye felt herself awaken. She let out a gasp when she could see the yellow eyes peering at her from the darkness. What was in there? she wondered. Was it a monster? Was it a new soldier of Talpa's or even Jakada's? She held her breath fearing the worst it could possibly be and was trying very hard to appear she wasn't worried. And then the eyes moved forward. Kaye found herself on the defensive side as she waited in anticipation. It came closer. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest. And closer it came again. She could feel her breath quickening within her lungs. And then it appeared before her.
Kaye's eyes went wide and she jumped back a little bit, bruising her lower back on the bars of the cage. For standing before her was a wolf almost the same size as Flash's wolf, just a little smaller in size. Its fur was pitch black, its left eye had a scar above and below it, reminding her somewhat of Cale, the eyes were golden yellow and the way the wolf's posture was, told her, this was one wolf not to be messed with.
She and the wolf regarded one another, and she began to feel uncomfortable. Had it come to eat her? She hoped that was far from the truth. But then, as she continued to stare deep into the wolf's eyes she felt transfixed. She could see pictures within its eyes. It suddenly hit her after a few minutes. It was communicating with her! Remarkable! For the first time ever she met a creature that could communicate telepathically with pictures rather than words.
The wolf showed her how Blaze had sent him to guard over her and keep her safe as much as he was allowed to. He also showed her how Kento was still determined to rescue her and that the others had not given up on them, nor on finding each other. This comforted her, knowing that even if they were all apart from one another, they were still in a sense, together through their hearts, minds, and souls.
A smile came to her face, the first smile she had since the day she was brought to this hellhole. "Thank you," she whispered to the wolf. "Thank you for giving me hope again."
The wolf stared back at her, then lifted his head and let out a lone howl, before it suddenly transformed into a hawk and flew up to the rafters where it perched on a beam and remained there, watching over her. Once again, Kaye had been surprised. She stared up at the hawk with her mouth half open. "Okay, that was unexpected," she said. And then she heard footsteps. Her head quickly turned in the direction of the sound and she felt herself getting defensive again. She hoped it was not who she feared.
Just as Rowen was about to let his arrow go off, Scorpio suddenly put his arm down on the cock of the arrow and shouted, "Wait! Don't shoot!"
Rowen and Kento looked at him with disbelief. "Scorpio, are you nuts?" The Strata bearer demanded. "That could be an enemy!"
Scorpio stared at him in the eyes, his face determined and yet even happy it seemed. The smaller boy shook his head. "Trust me, that's no enemy! That's Flash!"
"What?" Kento couldn't believe it. He looked toward the hunch back figure drawing closer to them and then returned his eyes back to Scorpio. "How can you be so sure, man?"
"Because I can sense her! I know that's her!" And without another word, he ran down the hill. Rowen, Kento, and Lightning watched him. The two Ronins stared at one another with a dumbfounded expression. They weren't really sure what to make of all of this.
"Rowen, do you get the feeling we missed something?" Kento asked softly.
Rowen nodded his head. "There's a lot we don't know about these Warriors. But come on. Let's go down and see if he's right." And the two boys ran after Scorpio, Lightning running by their side. When they got close enough they could see Scorpio was kneeling down by the strange looking creature, his face looking very stressed. And they could see he was right. They learned that this hunchback creature had been White Blaze carrying an unconscious and badly injured Flash.
"Oh my god!" Rowen shouted. "What happened to her!"
"I don't know!" Scorpio cried as he lifted Flash from White Blaze's back. He laid her on the ground and tore off her blood stained sleeve. They could see a hole within the area within the muscle, just a bit under the shoulder and a few inches above the elbow, both on the inside and outside of the arm.
Kento could not believe it. This had to be the Dynasty, and those monsters were going to pay once he got a hold of them. He covered Flash's wound with both of his hands. "She's losing a lot of blood!" he shouted to them.
Lightning frowned. 'You three help her out. I am going for some medicated herbs in which will prevent an infection.' The tiger teleported away, leaving the boys to help the girl warrior out. Scorpio summoned his armor and concentrated in getting some fresh clean water in which to bathe the wound. When he had enough water in his hands, Kento moved his hands away from the wound and allowed the Current bearer the task of cleaning it. Flash squirmed and moaned in pain, but she did not come to. Rowen had to hold her down, and realized she was running a fever. This worried him. Fevers always signified infection.
By the time Lightning returned with the herbs, Rowen took them and crushed them up and with some water from Scorpio, he was able to make a kind of liquid paste out of them. He spread it over the two holes and winced when Flash screamed out in her unconscious state. When Rowen had finished, Scorpio disarmored, and tore off a piece of his shirt and wrapped it around the arm in a makeshift bandage, stopping the flow of blood.
"Well, that should do it, until we can get better resources," he said quietly.
'Put her on my back,' Lightning told him. 'White Blaze seems to be a bit tired.' Kento gently lifted her and laid her over his back. The four of them moved onward, knowing now that all they had left to do was find Ryo and Sage.
Ryo came to with a groan as he looked around. He was in some kind of dank cave with a bit of light running through it. He looked around and slowly climbed to his feet, then he realized there was some type of iron collar around his neck. "What the hell?!" he cried out. He saw the chain as well, and immediately his eyes flashed in anger. So if he was captured, where was Sage?
He heard voices and directed his head to view where they were coming from. Instantly his eyes widened with disbelief. For a beautiful woman dressed like a gypsy and lain about on velvet pillows was being fed grapes by a blond haired young man wearing only a loincloth. Ryo gasped with shock, and his blood boiled. How dare they take his friend and treat him like some common slave! He wouldn't stand for it! He yanked at his collar, then at the chain, trying to break either of them off. "Sage!" he cried out with desperation.
But Sage would not turn around and face him. He continued to feed this woman grapes, placing them into her mouth one by one. When he did move about in a certain way, Ryo could see his eyes. They were vacant. Sage had been hypnotized. 'I've got to do something!' Ryo thought to himself with anxiety. He tried calling out to his friend again, but no such luck. His words fell upon deaf ears. He fought the collar and chain again, but they were too strong. Then he felt himself falling to his knees, his soul filled with helplessness.
The woman directed her eyes over at Ryo, a sneer which made her face appear ugly to the beholder. "He's mine, and will always be mine. You cannot have him ever again."
Ryo growled angrily as he looked up at her. "Like hell he is! I don't know who you are, lady, if you can be called a lady! I will get Sage and myself out of here, and you will be feeling the pain of Wildfire!"
She threw her head back and laughed a malicious laugh. "You are chained to the wall and yet you threaten me? I find that hard to believe."
Ryo growled again at her, then lowered his head. He concentrated on the Ronin power and hoped it would be enough to bring Sage around. 'Virtue!'
At first there was no response from Sage, and the woman laughed again, finding herself victorious at this time. "You see? You cannot win!"
But then her laughing soon turned to a gasp, and her eyes filled with horror. Sage's symbol was glowing and he was staring wide eyed at nothing before him. His eyes closed, and he held his head. 'Wisdom!'
"No! Stop this at once! You cannot have him!" the woman cried out in anger as she went to grab Sage's arm. "He is mine!"
But an expected force blew her across the room where she hit a wall, knocking her unconscious. Sage's kanji faded away and he blinked several times, his visible eye focused and cleared. "What happened?" he asked slowly, a little confused. "And where am I?"
"Hey, Sage," Ryo said a bit weakly. "Glad to have you back. See if you can unchain me, and I'll tell you everything."
Sage turned toward Ryo and when he saw the predicament his leader was in, he walked over to their captor and retrieved the keys from her. Using it against Ryo's collar, he set the bearer of Wildfire free. Ryo began rubbing his neck, glad to have nothing tightly against it anymore. He met Sage's face and frowned. Sage looked very annoyed, confused, and pissed. Not a good combination. "Okay, start explaining," the bearer of Halo said. "How did we get down here, why were you chained, who was that woman back there, and why am I wearing a loincloth?!" Ryo closed his eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it into one huge sigh. This was going to be a most difficult explanation.