Scarlet Shadows
© Kaz, 2003

Chapter Five – Theof

Xenakis' underground hideout had more or less the same framework as what Clotho had predicted, although the gang leader obviously made a few revisions. But their knowledge was enough for them to plan out their assault, spreading out on both sides to cover a larger area. As Lachesis stealthily made her way towards the eastern wing, ducking all the way as she was tall enough to tower above the frontier and get spotted by their adversaries, Atropos hurried to the west, not having to worry about being seen, as the walls were high enough to cover her.

When her comrades were secure in their hiding places, the youngest member of Moirae prepared for the show she was going to participate in, double-checking if her weapons were carefully concealed. Taking a deep breath, she pulled off her mask, tucked it inside one of the many secret compartments of her bodysuit, pushed back the stray locks of her blond hair behind her ear, and kicked one of the boulders that were close to where she was standing, sending it down towards the bottom of the pit of sand and stone.

Immediately, the gruff-looking guards looked up and found nothing but blond strands of hair sticking out from behind a boulder, and that was enough for them to charge, their weapons at hand. Tahiri Veila fought back, but only enough to disarm her opponents. As soon as their weapons flew away from their hands, she pretended to lose, and was doing an excellent job at posing as a damsel in distress. "Let me go!" she screamed, continuing with her act by struggling to get away from her captors' grip. "Where are you taking me, you scums?!"

"To Lord Xenakis," they chorused in a low, almost lifeless tone, and that was enough for the fifteen-year-old. She stopped struggling, allowing the gang leader's cronies to bring her to wherever their boss was, but she still kept her guard up. She didn't want to take any chances, most especially now that she was weaponless. She allowed a glance towards one of the walls, and found Atropos peeking through. Good. They were still secure.

Upon reverting her gaze to what lay ahead of her, she realized that she was standing at the rim of a large arena, only that it was deep and hollow instead of high and elevated. Sitting on a large chair that was made to look like an extravagant throne right across her, was their target: Xenakis. He was a huge man, short in height but obese, with a round face like an over-inflated balloon, small and beady eyes, and a goatee instead of hair on his shiny head.

"Well, well. Look who decided to come home," he began with a twisted smile, not bothering to stand from his gigantic throne. He waved a pudgy hand, and two of his warriors moved over to Tahiri to bind her hands together behind her back. Afterwards, he smiled even more, his yellowish teeth showing through. "You know, Butterfly, I was hoping you'd come home sooner, but you made me wait for a long, long time. And I grew tired of waiting so I decided to just forget all about you. Tsk, tsk. And now you're back. Well, I can always make your death count."

"By entertaining you in this ridiculous battle dome you built?"

"But of course! I see you still know how things work around here, I'm impressed. But I'm impressed not only because of that, dear, but most especially because of your astounding influence on others. How many members of our crew ran off after you did? A short while after your disappearance, Zekk stalked away, never to return. He was then joined by Raynar and Eryl, who we luckily managed to drag back here and feed to the lions," Xenakis said, then his eyes brightened considerably, an idea striking him. "That's it! I shall feed you to the lions as well! Let's see how you'll fare now, Tahiri Veila."

The look on the young woman's face was that of confidence. When their Aunt Arica rescued her three years ago, the so-called 'lions' they fought against were but five gang members who Xenakis considered to be the best of his squad. With three years worth of training, she was sure that she would defeat them without having to pull out the weapons she had hidden all over her bodysuit. She even felt that she could knock them all down with her eyes closed; although she reminded herself just in time not to take chances. That had always been her mistake.

Xenakis stood up, although he had a particularly hard time in doing so, and spread his arms out, a menacing grin on his oversized face. "Too bad only these lucky few will witness the downfall of the legendary Butterfly," he taunted, a mischievous glimmer shining through his eyes, "but I'm sure it will be entertaining despite of the absence of cheers and howls, nonetheless. You see, Tahiri, I've made a few changes over the years. I learned from my mistakes, and made the necessary revisions. You will not get away this time."

A roar reverberated inside the chamber, and Tahiri's blood ran cold.

"Got a minute, Jace?"

Jacen Solo looked up from the documents he was analyzing, blinking repeatedly to clear his vision, as it grew hazy from all the staring he did the past half-hour. His brother, seventeen-year-old Anakin, was standing in front of his desk, the expression on his face unreadable, much to the older Solo's disappointment. He wanted to know what he was getting in to before saying yes, but it looked like he didn't have much of a choice on that matter. "Sure, 'Kin," he conceded. "Sit down."

The younger boy could not stop himself from chuckling as he took his seat. "You're starting to act a lot like Dad," he teased, amused at the way Jacen carried himself, as he appeared like a true diplomat. He then leaned forward, lowering his voice. "I actually came to ask you a favor. It's not much, but still… I don't know if you'll agree to it, knowing you."

"Well, what is it?" Jacen asked, filing the papers on his desk and putting them away, tucking them inside one of the drawers of his wooden table. He then clasped his hands together --- a mannerism he developed from hanging too much with other politicians through the years --- and waited for his brother to explain the favor he wanted to ask. If there was anyone who would be patient enough to listen to a raving criminal and still understand his point of view, that would be the eighteen-year-old aspiring politician.

"I was just wondering if you would be so nice to accompany me to the Feu de Joie tomorrow."

As the younger Solo expected, one of his brother's brown-colored eyebrows went up apprehensively, a hint of disbelief in his handsome features. Jacen stared, trying to see if the other was plainly joking, but found that the speaker was dead serious. His brother, the renowned mechanical genius Anakin Solo, wanted to go to a nightclub and play with women who sold their love to men?! It didn't seem right for the eighteen-year-old, but he had the feeling that it was another one of his little brother's 'adventures' in the vast land of Corellia. However, he just could not help but ask, "Are you serious?"

The boy's blue eyes were serious-looking, all right, but Jacen could feel that he was still hiding something. "Yes, big brother, I'm very serious about this," Anakin answered, then quickly added, "But it's not what you think! There's just this girl I met at the marketplace, and I was told she works at the Feu de Joie on Fridays. I just want to apologize to her because I upset her today. You know how easily I get depressed due to guilt. Please, Jace? I don't ask favors very often."

"All right, all right, I'll go," Jacen said with a sigh, defeated. "I don't have much of a choice anyway."

It had taken much of Arica Jade's temper to acquire permission to visit Thrackan Sal-Solo in his prison cell at the military stronghold of Corellia, and it was evident in the way she ignored the guards who led her towards the man's private spot in the detention house. They threw one insult after the other at her, yet she only kept herself quiet, silently urging herself not to give in to her anger and kill them on the spot. She might not get to visit the man anymore if she would commit that crime in the open.

After a few minutes of turning around corridors and going through dark passageways, she and her escorts arrived at a thick metal door securely padlocked on the inside and the outside. The woman allowed a smile to leak through her pale features; they sure knew how notorious the prisoner was. Folding her arms in front of her chest and tapping her foot impatiently, she waited for the guards to pry the door open, who pulled off the task longer than the other guards did. Newbies, she thought in amusement, a few complicated but effective plots already forming in her mind with regards to her friend's escape.

But she pushed all of her brilliant ideas away as she was led inside, and rather roughly at that, as how most women were treated in their society. That pushed her even more to put her plans into action, but she decided against it. It wasn't the time… not yet. At that, the redhead nodded curtly to the guard who reminded her sternly that she only had five minutes with the convicted murderer, then she walked up towards the prisoner casually as the door slammed shut.

He was, undeniably, a handsome and gallant-looking man, with dark hair and expressive brown eyes, but he seemed tired and weary. He was sitting on a cot with his hands clasped together firmly, as if he was supporting his degrading self with his own strength and will to live, and upon looking up slightly to peer at his visitor, a hint of recognition crossed his face. He did not smile, however; he just gazed on, brown eyes meeting green. Then, calmly, almost without emotion, he said, "Mara."

"Han."

This time, he let out a bitter smile. "Thrackan, dear."

She did the same, although it didn't make much of a difference as that specific kind of smile seemed to be on her face all the time, ever since her world came tumbling down three years ago. "And that's Arica for you," she told him in response, before she moved forward and settled down beside him, leaving a comfortable distance between her and the prisoner. She then looked away, a sad light squinting through her emerald eyes, her voice threatening to leave her throat. "Mara died three years ago, just as Luke Skywalker did."

The prisoner rested one rough hand on her shoulder, and squeezed it encouragingly. "You've always been strong," he pointed out, the emotion on his face hard to identify because of the darkness that dominated the cell, "and you always will be. Now, what brings you here? Come to play hit-and-run?" He pulled back and shifted his position to gaze directly at her, the lopsided grin he was known for flashing once again on his features. He then raised a chestnut-colored eyebrow, waiting for her answer patiently. He was sure that she would speak up, as she was only given five minutes with him.

"Not now, as much as I would love to," Arica replied, turning back to face him, an unreadable expression on her face. "I actually came to tell you one thing, then to ask you another. But you have to promise me not to attempt to break free of this place once after I tell you all about it. I don't want you to get killed for nothing." His assurance was the simple gesture of putting his hand over his chest, and closing his eyes as he did so. "Good. Well, I just found out that… Leia's alive."

His eyes flew wide open, his hand dropping to his side. "Leia's alive?"

She nodded, putting a finger to her lips to remind him to keep his voice down. "Long story, I don't have the time to tell all about it right now. But she is, and I'm doing my best to get her back," she whispered, then even if it seemed that her voice would not drop any lower, it considerably did. "She's in a mental ward right now, and it's clearer --- now more than ever ---- that your evil cousin is behind all this. Now, don't try to do anything stupid. I'll get her out, then I'll get you out. All clear?"

Thrackan grinned, unable to hide the happiness he was feeling despite his condition inside the military stronghold. Finally, after how many years, the odds were tipping in their favor, and it won't be long before all their efforts would pay off. "Like a giant needle on a haystack," he declared, then a short while after, his features softened. "I miss her so much. I don't know how I've been able to survive all these years without being with her or my sons. Without being near them. Optimism, perhaps? Or the assurance of a good life after getting revenge?"

"I can't tell; that's you. You should know. But you know, I'm really impressed. Seventeen years here in prison, and you're still sane? I never expected that of you, Solo," she teased. She was about to sneak in another topic, when she heard footsteps from outside the cell, and she scowled. It had only been three minutes; those guards were such cheats. "One last thing. Of what significance is the name Jaina to you? Don't ask why, I don't have time for that."

"That's the name Leia and I agreed on for a daughter. If only we got one."

At that, Arica stood up, just in time as the door slammed open, her escorts stepping in, ready to throw her back to the outside world. She didn't even bother to protest about the precious two minutes they robbed her of; she knew that it would be of no use to do so. With merely a curt nod as a goodbye gesture to her friend, she walked out of the cell with guards left and right, uncaring of what they were doing, this time because of her satisfaction at the answer she received. Everything was beginning to make sense --- and a lot of sense, at that.

"Once a thief, always a thief. Didn't I keep reminding you of that, Butterfly?" Xenakis sneered as he fixed his gaze on the helpless figure that stood in the middle of the death pit, surrounded by five lions that were ready to tear her to pieces at the slightest movement. He leaned back against his throne in satisfaction, licking his lips. "Of course I stole them, and I tested their capabilities in the battlefield through Raynar and Eryl. And now, the best test subject yet, the goddess of the pickpocketing world who I took care of and taught with much love and care. Can you fight as good as you steal?"

Glaring daggers at the gang leader while still watching out for her predators, Tahiri snarled, "You taught me nothing, Xenakis. Do you think I would've learned how to oppose your ills and run away if you were my mentor? Experience is the best teacher." As soon as she said that, however, she added to herself with a smile, But only second best to Arica Jade. Then she slipped one hand into one of the secret compartments of her suit, taking out three poison darts and removing the tip coverings in preparation for her assault. "You're asking if I can fight as good as I steal? Well, let me tell you a little secret, then, Xenakis darling. I was trained to kill."

At the blink of an eye, she hurled all three darts towards the front row of lions, did a back flip, and landed a few good meters away from where she last stood. As she fumbled for her other hidden weapons, the remaining two lions lunged at her viciously as the other three stumbled one by one, the poison taking root. Barely able to mutter thanks to Danni under her breath for being such a genius, two darts appeared from the eastern part of the dome and struck the savage beasts.

Xenakis bolted up from his seat, disbelief and rage in his eyes. He let out a deafening roar that sounded nowhere near human, and to the fifteen-year-old's surprise, the lions struggled to get up, their blood stirring at the sound of the gang leader's battlecry. "You won't get away from me this time, Tahiri Veila!" the man cried out, pointing a finger at her. "You will not make it out of the death pit alive!"

A ring of black-robed men formed around the arena, trapping the former thief inside. Either she face the lions, or face Xenakis' top warriors. But she knew better. There was only one person for her to take down; her comrades would take care of the rest. "The one who's not getting away alive, Xenakis," she began in a low, lethal tone, a mischievous gleam appearing at the corners of her eyes, "is you."

She did a somersault, sending her outside the death pit, and outside the ring of warriors, who all turned their backs on the beasts to deal with her. To their surprise, however --- their colossal leader included --- Tahiri had her hands full, as she had a sheathed sword in each hand. Dropping into a fighting stance, the holsters fell off to reveal two very sharp-looking blades, their edges glowing with a lethal light. Smirking at the frightened Xenakis, she announced, "This is the end, Master. I will not allow you to force those children to steal for you. You know, in a way, I'm glad to have known you. But not in the way you think I'm glad to be."

"Finish her!"

One warrior after the other attacked Tahiri, but she fended them off effectively, now easier than ever as she had her favorite weapons in her possession. She did her best not to kill anyone, however, as she knew they were only following their deranged master's command, left without a choice in the matter. No, they're just not brave enough to disobey him, she corrected herself as she parried, then kicked her sword-wielding opponent on one side of his face. He stumbled, obviously not skilled enough to fight her with a sword, but another took his place and attacked. This time she blocked the blade that came crashing down from above her, spun her own sword around and pushed the robed man away.

Xenakis was screaming, ordering the next warrior and the next to attack, but they all fell as they were in range of the female fighting machine. With almost nothing left, he let out another inhuman roar, hoping to motivate his pets and make them attack the fifteen-year-old. They might get past her defenses and eat her up, tearing her limb by limp. But not one of them came, and as he spared a glance at the death pit, he saw all five of the lions lying limp on one side, and two masked strangers standing in their midst. One carried a large sword, thick and bulky but appeared light as she rested it over her shoulder with ease, while the other had a crossbow in her hands.

He backed off, panicking and stumbling back as he tripped over his throne. Desperate to stay alive, he reached out for the secret compartment under his magnificent-looking chair, drawing out a gun and aiming it at where he believed Tahiri was. But he barely had it up on the air when it was knocked out of his hand, and a fist came slamming on his cheek, sending him down on the other side of his so-called royal seat. He attempted to rise and try to retrieve his weapon that lay just within his reach, but the pain stopped him from doing so. It closed on him from all sides, not just from his bruised face.

"It ends now, Xenakis," came Tahiri's whisper, and that was the last sound he heard --- and would ever hear.

---

Author's Notes:

This chapter's title is in Old English, theof meaning thief. Pertaining to Tahiri, of course. So anyway, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Yuriko Oyama aka RaineSolo, Gwendolyn Rogan, Elda Aranel and Kaeldra for reviewing! Thank you to you, too, Shai, for your nice words. Don't worry, it's perfectly fine that you weren't able to review. We talk almost everyday, anyway. Just one thing, though. I go back to school on the ninth this month, so I might not be able to have updates very often. I'll do my best, though. So now to address your concerns:

Raine: Inside jokes are not healthy for other people. =P Jacen/Danni action in the next chapter; it took me a long time to decide on how to get it done. I had to consult my brother, even if it was already late at night. Whee me.

Gwendolyn Rogan: Thank you, I'm very flattered to hear that. I'm going to read your fics sometime, when I get enough time online. I'm sure they're great as well --- even better than mine.

Elda Aranel: Oh boy, that is the question I'm debating about. Don't worry, I'll give it much thought, and go with what the majority wants. Which is, most probably, to have him alive. *smiles*

Kaeldra: Here you go! As you asked!