Consequences of Capture

By Dixxy

Chapter Eleven: Seer

By the time Kento got back to the now dark apartment he and his friends shared he was frantic. Even if he was still sane. . . well. . . what if the effect was just being delayed a little? What if he was about to snap like a twig any second? Maybe Trulpa was just being impatient with her machine and it really had worked. Maybe it was going to painful when he sanity went away- after all, how do you know what it felt like when a sane person suddenly went insane?

Kento was pacing back and fourth in the hallway connecting the rooms, shedding tears and looking around frantically. He was breathing heavily, his heart was pounding, and he could feel every individual pore on his body secreting drops of sweat. Kento was panicking- he was going to go insane! He was going to loose it!

"Kento!"

Kento saw that Sage had apparently woken up. The blonde teenager was standing in the frame of his door, his arms folded across his chest as he glared at Kento. Sage's hair was disheveled, his face was paler than usual, and he seemed to be giving off a dangerous amount of static electricity. Even though it was obvious Sage was displeased with SOMETHING, Kento didn't care. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around Sage's legs, sobbing like a baby.

"Oh God, Sage, don't let me loose it! Don't let me loose it!" he pleaded.

"Loose what?" Sage asked, sounding irritated and upset.

"MY SANITY!!!"

"Your sanity?" Halo sounded skeptical.

"Oh Sage, it was awful! The Warlords tried to. . . to. . . and then. . . and then. . . Trulpa. . . oh Sage she said. . . and then. . . OH GOD SAGE I'M SO SCARED! HELP ME, PLEASE! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!" Kento began to cry harder and now had Sage's legs in a death grip.

The Warrior of Light looked down at Kento in shock, his crankiness and lack of sleep now little more than a memory. Sage didn't have the virtue of Wisdom for nothing- it was very cleat that something awful had happened to Kento. His throat was going dry as he watched his friend continue to break down before him, trying to find the words to say. "Kento?" he asked.

"Is everyone all right out there?" Cye's voice chirped from his room.

Sage looked up towards the direction of Cye's bedroom. He shook his head, even though Cye couldn't possibly see him. "I don't think so- Kento's worried about his sanity, and he was talking about the Warlords and Trulpa! I think something happened to him!" Sage called back. He looked down at his friend and sighed. "C'mon Kento, get up. Let's go into Cye's room and find out what's going on with you." Almost reluctantly, Kento let go as Sage used his powers to illuminate the apartment.

If eyes could scream, Kento would have been deaf when Sage looked at him in the better light. "Kento! What the HELL happened to you! You're covered in bruises and cuts!" he said, his voice full of fear and concern as he put an arm around Kento's shoulder and led him into Cye's room. "You look horrible! Not as bad as Cye a while back there but HOLY SMOKES what the hell did they do to you!?"

"Oh God, Sage, I don't wanna go crazy on you guys. . . I just can't. . ."

"Go crazy?" Cye asked, sitting up in his bed as Sage led Kento to the edge. He sat the other teen down, then took a seat on the other side. Kento was still crying, causing Cye to extend a hand to his shoulder. Softly, Kento covered the hand with one of his own. "Kento, what's wrong?"

"Oh God. . ." he said. He sniffled, wiping away some of his tears with the back of his hand. "I, I was getting ready to, to take a bath when one of the War, Warlords grabbed me out of the bathroom," he said. He clenched his eyes tight. "They beat me. Everything hurt, and then they tried to. . . to. . ."

Cye's expression disappeared from his face all together as the blonde stared at Kento in shock. "Don't. . . don't tell me. . . not THAT!" said Sage, his eyes wide. Kento went into more fits of hysterics, causing both of his friends to embrace him tightly as he sobbed. Cye and Sage exchanged looks- neither of them had ever seen Kento cry like this, and it was very disturbing to see someone as strong as Kento- both emotionally and physically- reduced to this tear-wracked form. Had the Warlords really done. . . THAT. . . to their friend?

"Kento. . . calm down. . . you're going to get through this. . . we won't let them do that to you again. . ." Cye said, soothingly rubbing his best friend's back. "Once I get my legs back they'll have to go through me AND Sage, and even IF Trulpa has control over our armors we know enough magic to put up a fight. We'll either protect you or die trying."

Kento shook his head. "They didn't rape me," he said. More sniffles, and he hugged himself. Cye and Sage felt a little bit of relief wash over them, but they both got the idea that this wasn't the end of it. Kento continued, holding Cye's hand for support. "Before they could get to me, Trulpa came and started yelling at them." He was beginning to compose himself somewhat, but it was obvious he was still distraught. "She said that she wants us to remain virgins because some rituals require that. And. . . well, she said if anyone was going to have any of us it was going to be her-" Sage and Cye cringed. "She isn't actually interested in that," he finished.

Kento swallowed hard. "What happened next was worse. Trulpa brought me to this. . . this THING called the Divine Machine. Oh GOD, that was horrible!" He turned his head away. "She tied me down and made me see my own future! And now, now that it's over and done with I-"

"The DIVINE MACHINE!?" Cye exclaimed. "Kento, she used that horrendous device on you!?" Kento nodded, his bottom lip trembling. His friend's eyes widened in surprise. "But. . . nothing happened to you! You're still Kento! Did the machine even work!?"

"I, I don't know," said Kento.

Sage pulled away from the tight huddle, confusion plastered on his face. "Um, exactly what is this thing you're talking about? I don't get it," Sage said. "Shouldn't something with the word 'divine' in it be a good thing and not a bad thing? And the future? Kento, what-"

"In this case 'divine' means 'divination', not something from heaven," said Cye. "You don't know what that is, do you, Sage?" The blonde shook his head, seemingly slightly ashamed that he didn't understand the meaning of a word his friends were very familiar with. "Don't worry about that, the topic probably never came up or something. It's not exactly a common topic. Divination is, well, seeing in to the future. Like fortune telling."

"Oh. So. . . Trulpa hooked up Kento so some automated fortune teller?" he asked.

Kento shuddered. "Yeah. She did."

Cye continued. "Since I've been stuck in this damned bed, I've been doing a lot of reading. The Divine Machine Kento's talking about showed up in a few of the books I've looked through. Basically, it lets a person see their future, or rather forces a person to see their future," he said. He turned to Kento with worry. "Trouble is, humans aren't meant to see their own future. Oh sure we can handle the occasional symptoms of deja veux or even a few freaky dreams that may show us what could happen, but a full-blown vision of the future is something we weren't meant to see. As a result, our minds self-destruct on us."

"That's why I'm upset! I'm going to go insane!" Kento said.

Sage stared at Cye. "Cye, are you-"

"NO!" Cye said, shaking his head, but he seemed to be slightly happier than he had been. "This happens IMMEDIATELY after the vision occurs. If ANYTHING was going to happen Kento would already be insisting he's Napoleon and ramming into walls head first, but in case you haven't noticed he's still our Kento. Extremely upset, but he's still Kento."

"The effect can't be delayed?" Kento asked, sniffling.

"Nope," said Cye, shaking his head. "At best it would be a few seconds, maybe even a minute for the vision to sink it, but by now it's sunk." His eyes widened. "So you were able to survive a session with the Divine Machine without going insane. Kento, do you have any idea what this means?"

Kento made a high-pitched squeaking noise. "She isn't going to do that again, is-"

"Of course not!" said Cye. He smiled, then laughed. "Trulpa might've done us a favor."

"Pardon?" asked Sage.

"MOST human minds can't handle the future, but some of them CAN," said Cye.

Sage raised an eyebrow. "So. . . Kento can see the future and not crack like an egg?"

"Could you be a LITTLE more sensitive around me!?" Kento asked grumpily, now hugging one of Cye's pillows. "In case you've forgotten, I was beaten to a pulp, sexually assaulted by four men AND hooked up to a machine that was supposed to break my mind to the point of no return. I would prefer it if you DIDN'T compare my head to an EGG." Then, he turned to Cye. "Cye, why would I be able to handle that?"

"In general, we as humans can't handle it UNLESS we're gifted," said Cye. "True psychics do exist in both our world and this world, and they have these visions almost every day without going crazy. Simply put, their mind is strong enough to withstand the surprise and shock of seeing into the future no matter how bad it may seem." He turned to Kento. "If I'm right. . . you're psychic."

Kento stared at Cye in disbelief and denial. "No way, Cye. I'm NOT psychic."

"Well, how do you know that?" asked Sage.

"Because how can I have EXTRA mental abilities if I don't have REGULAR mental abilities?!" Kento snapped. He was now on his feet, glaring daggers at his friends as he lost his temper. But NOT in a way either of them had ever seen him do so before. "Let's face it, I'm not smart. The Warlords played with my head and did a damn good job at it! They couldn't have possibly done that with any of you! Oh sure, Dais played that game with the illusion that made you and Ryo attack each other, Cye, but Sage saw right through it and I would have LOVED to see Dais try to pull that one by Rowen! Besides, if I'm so psychic, then WHY didn't I see all of THIS coming?! Why didn't I see Cye's attack or Trulpa's talk with you, Sage? Why did I see the three of us getting kidnapped to the Dynasty again!? WHY didn't I see the three of us getting tortured in Talpa's prison!? WHY DIDN'T I SEE THE WHOLE DAMNED WAR AGAINST TALPA THAT'S STOLEN OUR INNOCENCE AND RUINED OUR LIVES!? Sage, YOU were supposed to be the heir to the Date clan, one of the most well-known and admired clans in the entire country of Japan! Cye, with the way you swim you should've been a world-class swimmer in the Olympics! Even I was supposed to inherit my father's restaurant and carry on the family business! Don't you see that Trulpa's fucked us all over!? We're not going to get out of here anytime soon! We can't just go back to our lives and expect to escape all the heat our disappearance will cause! Even if we ever DO get out of here!"

Sage and Cye were stunned by Kento's sudden lash out against them. His eyes were red from tears and his chest was heaving with each breath he took. Suddenly, it was apparent that Kento HAD changed. He was still Kento and he was still sane, but he wasn't who he had been several months earlier.

Kento swallowed hard, stopped, and quickly but smoothly sat back down on Cye's bed. The pause was long and pregnant, as if he was slowly recalling something. "I'm so sorry. . . I. . . I can't take this!" He sniffled. Kento began to shake his head before he began to cry again. "This is. . . it's true! It must be true! Oh God, I never thought it but it's REALLY, REALLY TRUE!!!"

Sage pulled Kento towards himself and Cye, the two supporting their friend from behind. The blonde held the crying teen's hand while Cye brushed a few loose strands of hair away from his face. "Kento. . . it's all right. . . you being a seer doesn't chance anything between the three of us. . ."

"You. . . you don't understand," said Kento, sniffling again. "I. . . I. . ."

"What, Kento?" Sage asked gently. His eyes widened. "Has this happened before?"

Kento sat up and pulled his knees into chest. "I. . . I guess I tried to forget this, but, yeah, it kind of did happen before," he said. Kento looked up at the ceiling. "When I was a kid, I could hear voices in my head- I know it sounds really stupid and really crazy but it's true. It was usually my family's voices, but it scared me because their lips weren't moving. And other times I could see things just before they happened, like a glass of milk getting knocked over or I knew who was going to come out on top in sports games like baseball or horse racing."

"So this has been going on for a long time?" Sage asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" asked Cye. "During the war we-"

"It DID go on for a long time, yeah, but not for TOO long. When I was seven I happened to walk past a church where an exorcism was going on- the guy was hearing voices too, I guess. Well, the priest trying to get the devil out of the man's body, or whatever it is they do, was screaming and yelling and waving all of this stuff around, and the man on the floor was screaming and convulsing. . . I was frightened! What if that was me some day? What if that awful thing happened to me?"

"You were so scared you stopped hearing the voices and stopped seeing things, then tried to forget it ever happened so it couldn't come back," said Sage. "I get it now. Your powers shut off as a self-defense mechanism because you were so frightened of what might happen to you if you kept developing those powers AND you locked away all your memories of having those powers as a kid as well. Kento, that's incredible!" He smiled softly. "Do you realize that even with someone like Rowen on our team you probably have the strongest mind out of the five of us?"

"That's bull."

"He's right, Kento," Cye said. "Rowen and even Sage might be smart, but there are some things you can comprehend that they could never comprehend in their entire lifetimes. You can, or at least you could, read minds, and you can see into the future. Further more, we could use this as an ace in the hole. Even if she knows you're a seer, Trulpa can't do anything about it if you see her demise or something."

Kento shivered. "What about my own?"

Cye paled. "Is. . . is that what you saw?"

"This blue demon was chasing me and said to me 'Your soul is mine'," he said. He looked at the ceiling. "Is that how I'm going to die? Am I going to die at the hands of some furry blue stick?" Kento sighed. "I wasn't that much older, either- maybe a year at the most."

Sage frowned. "Well. . . did you see yourself actually die?"

"No. The. . . vision, I guess, stopped right after it spoke," he said. Kento's eyes widened. "You think this means I might survive that? Because that thing seemed to have the advantage, and I alone- I didn't see you guys or any chicks that might've been the Senshi."

"Like you would've known who it was you were looking at even if you did see them? Neither of you have SEEN what the Senshi look like," said Cye. He leaned back on his pillow. He shrugged. "Not that that's your fault, at any rate. It was dumb luck I saw what I saw."

Sage sighed. "We should have a talk about that so we know our game plan."

"Are you sure this is a good time for that?" Cye asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's late, Kento's been through bloody hell and back and-" Sage shook his head. Cye stopped understanding that Sage was referring to a later time. "All right, I get it now. I would suggest that we give ourselves at least a few more days- I should be walking a little better by then and Kento might've had some emotional recovery by then."

"Right," said Kento. "And maybe I could try and get a better hold on-"

"Absolutely not!" Sage snapped. Kento began to whimper, and the blonde immediately changed his expression to one of high concern and care. "No, that's not what I meant! You need some time to recollect yourself before you go delving into the world of the future. Okay? I promise I'll even help you out if you want me to if you'd just wait a few days!"

Kento sighed. "I don't need your help. . ." he said. "I think I need to do this on my own anyways. But still, thank you for offering." He snorted. "And if it'll make ya happy, I'll spend the next few days cowering in the corner of my room damning the world around me. Sound like a plan to you?"

Sage growled. "He'll be fine. Kento will be JUST. FREAKIN'. FINE."

~

Yeah. I'd say Kento reached his limit in this chapter.

I'm sure by now you've noticed I use words like "damn", "hell", "ass", "bitch", and the like. However, some of the stronger swears I rarely, if ever, use. The reason? The above words, I feel, get used a lot in normal everyday language. Really, "hell" and "damn" are used so often it's difficult to call these swear words now and in the coming years they probably won't be (think about it- stuff like "crap" used to be considered swearing). However, the "f" word is still considered to be very vulgar and I only use it when writing to express an EXTREME, NEGATIVE emotion, usually in a case where someone blows up like Kento did. The "s" word, another very vulgar word, I'm more liberal with for some reason.

Crystal Cat-Chan: Don't worry, he's okay! Ugh I'm not fond of it either. Okay, so he'd probably loose to Rowen in a brains vs. brains match up, but who wouldn't loose to Blue Boy? Kento's a real sweetheart. Yeah, poor Kento. But nothing happened to him in terms of THAT. Well, as you can see Sage and Cye have helped him a great deal in this chapter. I love cliffhangers. . . unless someone else writes them. But I can understand their amusement. Ever read Demons in the Doorway, Monsters Down the Hall? If you haven't go read it, but there's a MAJOR cliff-hanger type thing in there and I went berserk when the story was first published. Yes! Kind of , but this chapter explained that a little. Well, kind-of. The next chapter talks a little more about the history of the Dynasty.

Harry: Yes. But we should all know Trulpa expects things from the Ronins because of Cye. Oh, I was just teasing you, Harry, and you know it so :P ^_~ And I know you won't- sure I'm open to suggestions but I write the stories! BWAHAHAHAHA!! YAY! I CAN MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY!

Marlene: Awesome! Good luck to you. Go girl, go girl, it's your birthday, go girl. . . Hold on. Let me get this straight. You like my stories. . . yet I'm a meanie. Oh, wait, it's because I'm cruel when I leave y'all with cliffhangers, huh? ^_^ Bye!

Sakura 123: Thanks! Well, maybe more of a "thriller" or "suspense"- a lot of it is psychological horror, too. Most of the horror is comes from this past streak of chapters that contain horrible events, like Cye's attack. I want this to eventually become their psychological hell. However, I don't have much time left to work with- for them (as in their time, not our time), the next chapter starts towards the end of November. The next story to feature them starts around May/June, but this story should end around March. I've got a timeline I've been trying to sort out that shows a lot of important dates (or estimations of around when they probably occurred). This includes years and months. More than likely I'll figure out a way to get this timeline to you guys here at FF.Net (probably a link to my site somewhere). It's VERY intricate and includes events that occurred thousands of years before the Mystical Armors were even created. Trulpa's really not STUPID, per se- she's actually kinda crazy- not silly crazy, clinically insane crazy. Trulpa isn't and probably won't ever be the best villain I will ever write- Sheila McConner, Commander Curtis (Chrono Cross fanfiction), and Grams are probably the best villains I've written to date. Sheila McConner is a sex-obsessed babe who does some awful things to Cye in my story End of Innocence, Curtis enjoys using disgustingly cruel tactics in times of war, and Grams. . . you have to read Dark Chocolate, White Diamonds to understand what kind of a piece of crap she is. I've got another piece of crap whose full list of crimes hasn't quite been fully revealed yet. Well, I can see you're a big Xena fan. . .

Bunch-O-Nuts: Whoa, for a second there you scared me. Have my reviewers been shallow butt kissers all this time only to have Bunch-O-Nuts speak the truth!? Apparently not. Good, I still kick ass. Hey, life happens, don't sweat it. Well, Ryo and Rowen get their own epic adventure, don't worry about it. I just need get it written, that's all!

~Dixxy