Consequences of Capture
By Dixxy
Chapter Five: Bittersweet Sixteen
I'm drowning.
Never before had Cye felt at danger in the water. For him, the water was always a place of safety and refuge. Even when he still lived in England he was in the water whenever he could manage it. Being surrounded by his element (though there was a time he didn't know it was his element) always made him feel at peace.
But now the water was suddenly a place of danger. He was being weighed down to the ocean floor, and his ability to breathe under water (a perk of being the Warrior of Torrent) was beginning to fade. He was struggling against the invisible weights, screaming out for help that would seemingly never come. Bubbles escaped from his mouth, floating towards the distant surface, a place that Cye desperately wanted to be.
Suddenly, out of the blue, Cye felt arms snake across his shoulders as a head nuzzled into his neck. Soft hands rubbed his shoulders and back, gently stroking his arms. Cye gasped in surprise at the notion and turned to see who, or what, had suddenly come to him.
Large pink eyes stared back at him with a playful charm. Cye's own eyes widened as the figure backed up to reveal a girl not much younger than he was. Deep blue tresses floated around her head like an angel's halo as slightly tanned limbs waded in the water before him. She swam closer, holding his chin up with her hands. She smiled cheerfully, appeared to giggle, and swam closer to Cye, cuddling closer to him.
Cye stared at the girl in wonderment, wondering who- or what- she was. She didn't have any fins or gills, so he didn't think she was a mermaid of any sort. But something about her made him feel safe in the water. His breathing was suddenly coming back to him and his second home felt like a home again. Carefully, Cye returned the embrace of the girl.
"Don't be afraid," she said softly. She looked into his eyes once more, smiled brightly, and giggled. "You're too strong for that!" Cye looked at her in disbelief. She laughed. "Don't act so surprised! You are strong, Cye- stronger than you think you are. Remember that, now." As she said those final words, she began to fade away. . .
"WAIT!"
Suddenly, Cye found himself sitting upright in his bed, his eyes wide in surprise. His heart rate was up, his breathing was a serious of quick gasping and exhaling, and he felt far warmer than he was used to. He placed his hand on his forehead, closing his eyes as he tried to comprehend the strange dream he'd just had.
"What was that? Who was that girl?" he wondered aloud. He stuck his tongue out. "I've been in this realm for far too long. Bloody hell, when am I getting out of here?" Cye sighed in frustration. "No point in complaining about it- no one here can help us get back home."
It had now been around one and a half months since Trulpa kidnapped Cye and his friends. And what those WONDERFUL one and a half months had been! Their captor thought nothing about randomly doing something awful to them just for the sake of being cruel. Sage and Kento refused to talk about their ordeals, which Cye could understand. Some of his ordeals had included acid baths and being force fed some disgusting concoctions that he had no names for.
At one point someone had been thoughtful enough to give them each a calendar of sorts, though he wasn't sure why. It was a plaque that changed the date by itself, though Cye had no idea how accurate the date was. Still, it was SOMETHING to go by. At this point, they reasoned,
"October 14," he said. His eyes widened. "It's Sage's birthday today."
That it was. Sixteen years ago on that day, Sage Date had been born into the world. Cye smiled briefly at the thought, then frowned. Yes, it was his friend's birthday, but it wasn't going to be a very HAPPY birthday. Out of all the places and ways that Sage could've spent his sixteenth birthday, Cye was fairly certain the Dynasty was at the bottom of the list, if not very near close to the bottom.
Cye groaned in frustration. Poor Sage. This was going to be hard on him.
Sage certainly didn't need to Cye to tell him that.
Sage awoke on the morning of his sixteenth birthday with a backache and an overall sick-to-his stomach feeling. He stood up, moaned, and stumbled towards the bathroom. His legs felt as if they'd suddenly turned to Jell-O as his body swayed back and forth across the room. Sage grasped the edge of his dresser and slid to the floor, his bare back against the cool wood.
"Many happy returns of Sage's 'birthday'."
Sage turned his head quickly to see Trulpa standing over him, a snide grin on her face. Quickly, the boy brought his legs into his chest to try and hide his nakedness from his captor. He stared at her fearfully, his eyes wide in terror. His body quivered, and his palms began to sweat from nervousness. "What. . . what do you want?"
"Why, I just wanted to congratulate you for completing another year of life. I bet that after all you've seen and done you should be very proud for making it this far!" she said sarcastically. Trulpa sneered. "You've grown into such a tall, handsome young man- bet those Mortal World girls would have LOVED to spread their legs for you. After all, someone with such supreme breeding as yours must be worth something."
Sage felt his stomach sink. Did she KNOW!?
Trulpa scoffed. "I know your little secret, SAGE. I hear the three of you talking in your sleep quite often. I know some secrets of yours that the three of you are afraid of anyone finding out. I even know that this day, to you, is nothing more than a superficial symbol."
His face went white. Trulpa snapped his fingers, and suddenly Sage was on his feet. He jumped away slightly, covering himself as his captor began to circle him. "What does that have to do with ANYTHING!? I am who I am, and I don't see why you give a rat's ass about it."
Trulpa laughed as she glided a pointed nail across Sage's shoulder, creating a shallow cut that slowly dripped crimson blood. "Face it, Sage. Somewhere along the lines someone decided you were worthless. Those who took pity on you lied to you. No one truly gives a damn about you. You really are just a worthless little weasel. For all the rest of the world could care, you could just sell yourself as a prostitute on the streets of your own world or mine. It isn't like your parents would care."
Trulpa's words stung Sage. Even though he knew deep down inside Trulpa was just toying with his head to try and break his spirit, he was still shaken and hurt by her words. Everything that she was saying- save some of the dirtier thoughts- were all things he'd thought about himself since he'd learned the truth. He'd felt betrayed and worthless several times over- maybe even the thought that he wasn't quite "good enough". After all, he'd been a very sickly child and because of how different he looked he'd get odd stares from the children at school on a regular basis.
Seeing that she'd shaken him up, Trulpa waved coyly at Sage and disappeared in a puff of smoke, Sage crumbled back onto the floor and hugged himself. Tears were now pouring down his face. Even if he and his friends DID escape from the Nether World, would he have a home to return to? He was still furious with his parents over what they'd kept from him and he didn't want to go back there.
Slowly, Sage got back to his feet and braced himself against the dresser. He gazed into the mirror, and reached out to touch his reflection. Trulpa was right about one thing- he was certainly tall and, though he didn't want to sound conceited, he could admit that God had been very kind to him in the looks department. Even when un-brushed his buttery blonde hair seemed to shine and give off a light of its own. And as frightening as a lot of people thought his eyes were, there was a certain mysterious look them that had always reminded Sage of those detective movies from the age of film noir. And his pale features- though they weren't sickly pale, his features were light in color with a very delicate look to them. More over, there HAD been a lot of girls who had tried to get into his pants in the past (and he had lost his virginity to one of them the year before) and he was certain that there were probably plenty of rich perverts who would have loved to use him as a quick screw.
His eyes lowered, and his eyes caught site of the small razor blade that he used to chop up herbs and spices for teas and spells. Slowly, he picked it up and examined the edge in the light. It glistened, showing off its sharpness and smoothness. Sage held it in his hands as suicidal thoughts began to enter his head. This little blade could be his only escape from Trulpa's hell hole. From his whole, meaningless existence.
Quickly, he pressed the blade against the base of his palm.
"SAGE!"
Startled, Sage dropped the blade to the floor before so much as a puncture was made in his skin. He felt strong, firm hands grip his shoulders and spin him around to face the wide, worried, and ANGRY eyes of the Ronin of Justice. "What the HELL were you thinking!? Don't you DARE try to tell me were weren't thinking of killing yourself because I'll KNOW you're lying to me!"
"I. . . I. . ."
SMACK!
Sage stumbled backwards from the second shock in the last minute, crashing his back into the corner of the dresser. He cried out in pain as his crumpled to the floor in a sobbing, hysterical fit. "I'm so sorry. . . I'm so sorry. . ." he blubbered, staring up at Kento through helpless, tear-soaked eyes.
Gently, Kento knelt down beside Sage. "What were you thinking?" he said more softly than his had before. He reached over to Sage's shoulder, swiping his finger across the light cut Trulpa had made early. Kento held up the finger to show Sage the blood. "You didn't do that, did you?"
"No," he said. "Trulpa did."
"Trulpa?" said Kento. He leaned in closer to Sage, inspecting the wound. "I can understand why Trulpa would hurt you in the first place, but this is barely a scratch. Why something so. . . Sage, what else did she do to you!?" Looking Sage up and down, he watched as Kento's face took on a slight green shade. "She didn't. . . rape you or nothing, did she?"
"No," he said. "She just kind of. . . talked about something."
"What?"
"Something I don't want to talk about. It's personal."
Kento sighed with audible impatience. "Sage, I know we've never been that close but I'm still your friend. You can tell me what it is. I can even keep it from Cye if it would make you feel better, but I can't help you if I don't know what's troubling you. And I want to help you."
Sage thought about this. "I. . . family problems. Can I leave it at that?"
Kento fell back on his haunches, thinking this over. "Okay. Fine. Family issues. I can see where a guy can sensitive about something like that." He sat up, folded his legs into the classic "Indian" position, and took Sage's hands. "I don't know what kind of a family problem would drive you to suicide, but whatever you do don't kill yourself. Whatever it is you can work it out. Okay?"
"Not this one. The damage has already been done," said Sage, still shedding tears.
Kento wiped a few of the tears away. "You'd be surprised."
Sage snorted. "So would you."
The other boy shook his head and stood up, helping Sage to his feet. "What you need is a nice hot bath, especially where you've just gotten a little beat up. The warm water will make you feel a little better. And I know you value your privacy, but I'll be damned if I leave you in there alone in your shape. Understood?"
"Yeah," said Sage, putting his arm around Kento's shoulder for support. "Thanks."
"No problem. And sorry for hitting you."
"Don't worry about it."
"Ah. . . a masterpiece if I do say so myself!"
Cye stared proudly at the cake before him. On a mix of an impulse and a desire to bring some cheer to the gloom that he and his friends had face, the Ronin of Torrent decided that a birthday cake would be the perfect thing to bring a little bit of happiness into their lives. Although it didn't look very fancy, the frosting was a simple mint cream in color, though it had more of a butter cream taste to it instead of mint. And the cake itself was a golden vanilla that was so rich and thick it was like eating a piece of heaven. Cye knew all this because he's used the extra batter and frosting to make himself a cupcake, which he decided tasted very good.
His project completed, he picked up the tray the cake sat on and teleported from his room to Sage's. A smile on his face and the cake in hand, Cye proudly stepped forward. "Happy Birthday, Sage! Look, I made you a cake! I hope you like- Sage? Kento?"
Lying asleep on the bed, the covers wrapped around his tall, slender form, was Sage. Kento was sitting on the edge of the bed, gently rubbing the other's back. Bewildered as to what was going on, Cye rested the cake on an end table and sat down on the other side. "Kento? What's going on here? Is Sage all right?"
"Yeah, I think he'll be all right now," said Kento.
"What happened?" asked Cye.
"Trulpa messed with his head," he said. "He. . . got a few dumb ideas in his head. But he should be fine, now." Kento brushed off his pants and turned to Cye. "Don't worry too much about it- he's gonna be all right. I'm just gonna keep an eye on him for a while."
Sage found himself on a rainy street somewhere in the Mortal World. It was night out, and he was lying underneath a street lamp on a city park bench. He saw a lot of tall buildings around, but no signs of where he actually was. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw he was wearing normal Mortal Realm clothing. Jeans, a T-shirt, a button-p shirt tied around his waist, and ankle high brown boots graced his body. "Am I. . . am I free!?" he asked aloud.
No answer. He didn't see anyone around. Confused and curious, Sage started to walk in a random direction. Maybe if he could find someone, then perhaps he could find a way out. Even if he wasn't sure how he'd gotten there, it certainly beat Trulpa's castle. Even so, a certain sense of gloom and isolation hung in the air like smoke in a bar.
Sage felt a small hand tug at his shirt. He looked down to see a little girl looking at up him through wife, terrified eyes. She didn't look so good, Sage though. Her long blonde hair was matted and tangled, even in its ponytail, and the skin that showed was splotched in dirt and soot. Her feet were bare and her limbs were skinny. The only thing she was wearing was a night shirt a little to big for her with the neck hanging so low it reached past one of her shoulders. In one hand she held an old, somewhat raggedy stuffed kangaroo that was missing an ear and an eye. "Mister?" she asked in a soft, Australian accent. "Can you help me? Please?"
Sage knelt down to look the little girl in the eyes. "I. . . what do you need help with?"
"I can't find myself," she said.
Sage paused, unsure of what she meant. "Pardon?"
"I need to find myself! I need my help!" she said, slamming a foot into the ground. "Please! I'm afraid of what I've become! I need to make sure I'm okay! What if I'm hurt or scared or lost? Please, mister help me find myself! You're the only person who can help me!"
Unsure of what to do, Sage gave the little girl a hug. "I don't know what I can do now, but I'll try to help you find yourself." He paused to think. Whatever that means. The little girl smiled and returned the hug full force, bouncing a little in his arms as she kissed his cheek and ran off.
"C'mon! Follow me!"
Sage nodded and began to follow, but he stopped short when we saw a huge black pit open up in front of her. The little girl screamed, trying to run away from it. But suddenly she fell to the ground as some unseen force began to drag her to the abyss. She screamed and began to claw at the ground. "Help me, Mister! Help me!"
Sage ran to the little girl, grabbed her hand, and began to try and pull against the force pulling the little girl in. He thought he heard something, and turned his head to see a tall, teenage girl standing on the park bench, her arms folding across her chest as she blankly watched him try to save the little girl. Long, neatly brushed blonde hair hung down to her waist as a large fey lock covered her left eye. She had a strong, athletic build that wasn't overly muscular, but she gave you the impression that she was a fair-enough athlete. "C'mon! Help us!" Sage screamed at her.
"But. . . I can't," she said in a timid, frightened voice. Sage's eyes widened as he recognized the accent- Australian. This was the little girl! Only she was grown up! Then why wasn't she helping herself (as little sense as this was all making to Sage)?! "I can't!" She fell to her knees and began to cry. "I'd only hurt you!"
And everything went black.
UPDATED: September 9, 2007
I did some tweaking shortly before Sage tries to kill himself.
This chapter was a little darker than I originally intended it to be. I also wrote a good part of it while sick with asthmatic bronchitis, so I was kinda miserable while writing it. Not as miserable as Sage was, but still feeling pretty icky. And asthmatic bronchitis sucks royally.
If anyone is unfamiliar with the term "film noir", think along the terms of 1930's and 1940's detective films. Sage would make a very sexy film noir detective. But then again Sage would make a very sexy ANYTHING .
I have some Dragonia stuff ready, but I want to look over it a few more times just to be sure. The prologue alone is going to be a four-part job and I only have about two and three-fifths of the parts done.
I made up birthdays for everyone, so no, I'm not using the YST birthdays. I actually did a chart to try and figure out good places for the birthdays based on ages in the stories, though some will be tweaked. So here are some months and dates: All of the Ronin Warriors, according to the dating I used for AOTS, where born in 1984. Rowen's birthday is on February 18. Ryo is on April 2. Sage is on October 14. Kento is on November 16. Cye is on December 31. All of the Senshi except for Sara were born in 1985. Rona is on January 15. Keisha is on February 9. Ria is on September 3. Sam is on November 1. Sara was born May 30, 1986. Anubis' birthday is still going to be May 5, 1551, though he's so old it probably doesn't matter at this point, as it won't with other Warlord type figures. Mia and Mike's ages aren't really discussed, though I usually put Mia in the 22-25 range, so Mike would be around that same area. Sue Lee and Yuli were born in or around 1992. Trevor and Evan are probably very close to Ryo and Rowen in age, though Trevor is probably slightly older than Rowen.
Dixxy