:Runs from GMB:
"EEK! I'm sorry, I know I put Dark Eco in Torn but I promise, it'll all work out!"
:RenjiLuvah runs into a cell and locks herself in, sticks her tongue out:
"HAH can't get me now!"
:GMB smiles and RenjiLuvah looks at Serena for answers. Serena shrugs her shoulders. RenjiLuvah's eyes widen at the realization:
"Oh crap now I can't leave either…DAMN! OK I've updated! Calm down ok. Oh and Jakfan, as for what you said in your review…can't promise that Muahahaha. The writing machine will have so much fun with Torn!"
:GMB eyes Renjiluvah:
:speaks nervously: "Gulp, don't worry, when have you known my stories to end badly? Heh heh…"
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Chapter 13
The underground dungeons of the Baron's palace reeked of death. Dried crimson stains spattered the gray stone slabs surrounding the halls and cells. Rats hid in holes bitten in the corners and the damp pipes overhead was covered in auburn rust. Voices echoed in the halls behind the banging of the pipes crawling on the ceilings. Some of the lights flickered and dimmed and the large steel doors drowned out the screams of the Baron's victims.
Ashelin walked through the halls calmly as she tried to ignore the goose bumps on her skin. She hated the dungeons. She hated what her father did in them. She heard a strained cry from a nearby cell of a voice unfamiliar to her. She flinched at the painful yells but once her father looked down on her, she returned to her solemn expression. She felt her passionate hatred burning inside her. She couldn't wait till the day he'd meet his demise.
A devious smirk spread upon his lips, "That's our Dark Eco subject. We've had him for a year and he still refuses to give in to its effects. We could probably use him if he gives into it. We've already gotten the mute to scream so I'm sure he'll give into it soon"
As he laughed sadistically she heard the man give out another yell, except this time it was as if he were trying to call out a name but the pain was preventing him from reaching it. It sounded like a woman's name, began with a K. She'd never heard of her. Whoever the woman was, it must've been her memory that was keeping this Dark Eco subject from going insane or dying.
Finally they came upon another cell at the end of the hall. It was the largest room where her father liked to discuss his dirty business away from prying eyes. She couldn't understand why he'd take her down there. Had he suspected her betrayal? Had she been seen with his ex-KG soldier Torn? Had word of her helping the Shadow's Underground reached his ears? She hoped not, it was too early for their plans to be detected and they still needed time before the Baron could be taken down. They weren't strong enough yet.
The Baron closed the door behind her and locked it. She felt a nervous lump growing in her throat and clenched the cold metal of her pistol at her side in case of the worst. She met the commander's empty gaze as he grinned at her slyly. She hated Erol, she couldn't wait for him to die either. She looked upon an operating table, the silver steel tools were covered in a white sheet. She observed the curves of someone lying on the operating table also covered in a white sheet. As her father uncovered his latest victim, her eyes widened.
"I think you've met this soldier, have you not?"
Ashelin hid the panic rising inside her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her trembling fingers dug into her sweaty palms, "Yes, I have seen him before. What are you doing to him? What was his crime?" She demanded an answer. She knew this man was innocent.
"Oh we haven't done anything yet. He refused an order and abandoned his mission. So for this, he is a trader, and traders will not be allowed to live under my rule"
"How has this man betrayed you!" Her voice rose a bit although she was trying to contain her emotions. The man's golden eyes trembled and glistened as he watched their conversation with a gag in his mouth. His brows furrowed in anger at the Baron and his red wrists twisted and turned inside the steel restraints. His long ebony hair was moist in sweat and a few loose strands fell over his forehead. He was a young and handsome man. It was a shame that it had come to this.
The Baron did not give her a straight answer. "He's seen too much. In exchange for his life I ordered him to carry out a mission but he refused" His back was facing her as he stared down at his victim, still in his tattered KG uniform.
Even though her father's replies to her were vague, she could guess why he had this man arrested. She knew this man had good morals and a good heart. He was probably ordered to kill someone innocent because they had seen just as much as he did. His refusal led him here. She felt so helpless.
Without thinking she walked up to the soldier and removed his gag. He gasped for a full breath of air before he snarled, "He's full of it! I saw him, exchanging Eco with the Dar-"
Erol jabbed him in his navel and cut off his sentence. Still he continued as he winced in pain. He was trying his best to explain it to Ashelin, someone who he had grown to know as his friend when he joined the KG. "There was a child there, playing in the abandoned area- I was ordered to- ordered to kill-"
The Baron rammed his clenched fist into the man's jaw. Ashelin gasped as she watched his face fly to the side. He turned back to her slowly, breathing heavily as he looked up at her. His large eyes glistened with vulnerability. He knew, he knew she could not help him but it still pained her. She could not afford to blow her cover.
The Baron snatched the gag from the man's neck. The man cringed at him, knowing he was only removing his gag so the Baron could get the pleasure of his death screams later if there were any. The Baron turned to his daughter. "Why did you bring me here?" She yelled up at her father demanding an explanation for exposing her to this cruel event.
"I brought you here because I question your loyalty to me. Bringing you here will clarify whose side you're on since you have crossed paths with this man before. If you truly follow me then you will allow this man's death in front of your very eyes and if you object, then your loyalty to me is faulty and shall result in your own death"
Her eyes widened. She hadn't expected this. She couldn't die. She was the main spy of the Underground and the main key to save Haven from her father's wretched domination. She was the one that kept the Underground up to date with the Baron's plans.
She met the gaze of her friend lying on the operating table. He knew who she was and he knew all about the Underground and their plans for releasing the city from her father's rule. He knew that his death would play an important role in that so he'd have no choice but to give into it. He understood that her life was crucial to the future of Haven. His eyes showed understanding as she felt the pain in her heart throb and stab at her chest. He could see the pain in her eyes and he nodded to her, showing that her actions were forgiven ahead of time.
He whispered to her, "Make sure he stays out of trouble okay?" She knew whom he was referring to although she had never known him personally. He was always the subject of his conversations and worries. She had only seen him once and they barely exchanged words at the time. It seemed that was his last request to her.
He laid his head back on the table with his eyes closed. Erol hovered above him as Ashelin's body stood stiff. Her father was in front of her and slowly raised his arm up. He awaited an objection from his daughter but she stood drowning in her silence. Erol raised his cold pistol against the side of the man's head. The Baron smiled sadistically at his daughter as he brought his arm back down to signal Erol.
The loud gunshot echoed through the halls of the dungeons and a scream of his name followed right after. "Guts!"
Once again her head throbbed once the bright light greeted her squinting eyes. She struggled to open them and her head felt heavy. The blurry colors and shapes around her began to clear. She raised her head slowly to realize she was still in the warehouse. Her wrists were still bound to the wall and the crimson on her navel had long dried. She noticed some of the same markings on her bare legs but she must've been so knocked out she didn't feel a thing, thankfully. She looked out of one of the sunroofs up ahead to see the dark night sky.
How much time has passed? Did they ever receive my signal from the transmitter?
She turned toward a familiar and disgusting face, now bare without his wooden mask. She tried to cringe but her loss of energy prevented her. He turned to notice she had awakened and smiled as he approached her.
He raised his finger to her chin, "Nice to see you awake governor"
She snatched her face from his grasp, "Yeah so glad to see you, Mizo scum bag"
He laughed to her surprise and she raised a brow at him in question. His expression turned serious. "You hear that guys, she thinks we're doing this to follow Mizo's footsteps" The crowd of thugs laughed along with him.
"What the f-ck is so funny? Than why am I here?"
She rushed forward and slammed his hands on the wall beside her face. She turned her face and winced. She felt his hot breath on her cheek as he growled, "You know why you're here! You killed my brother!"
She gasped in shock. No wonder he had looked like him. She remembered now. His face was familiar to her. His hair matched the Ebony on his brother's head except it was shorter. His golden eyes and skin showed age since he was the older one. She had met him once before for only a few seconds a very long time ago when her father still ruled over Haven. It was part of the memories she had forced herself to forget and now they had come back to haunt her.
"I'm not responsible for killing your brother!" She yelled at him as she backed away.
He pointed at her, "Yes you are! You watched him die didn't you! He told me you was his friend! You allowed your father to kill him!"
"I had no choice! Your brother sacrificed his life willingly. He had refused a mission to kill a child who had seen my father trading Eco with the Dark Makers! He-"
"Shut up!" his hand flew across the side of her face. He stared at her with his burning gaze. "He joined the KG because of you! He knew you were working with the Underground and he wanted to be like you and you killed him in return!"
"No, he joined the KG because he wanted to make Haven a better place. He joined the KG because you were always getting into trouble and he thought that if he could change the city he could change you! Guts' last words were to look after you!"
He raised his blade to her neck. She was pressing his buttons and she knew she might have brought him to his brink. "I don't wanna hear my brother's name pass your lips again you hear?" She breathed heavily. She now knew why she was brought here, as a revenge plot for his long lost brother. It still didn't explain the rebellion he was creating against Rayn and how the fingerprint linked to Mizo. She knew time was short and it would be best to get as much information out of him as possible.
"I don't understand? If it's me you wanted, why bring Kras City and Haven into it?"
He smiled cleverly as he backed away from her. He scratched his chin as he spoke confidently. "Well Mizo was a powerful man. Many of us who knew nothing but the lives of criminals wanted to escape his reign and live life for ourselves. So once his reign was over, we got together and ransacked his hideout for his most precious belongings and secrets. There we found embossed copies of his fingerprint in which he'd lend to us whenever we needed to get into one of his facilities that required his access. He was always sure to take it back but now that we had retrieved it for ourselves, we were able to deceive you with the letter. Our rebellion against Rayn is not because we're following Mizo but because we want to form our own organization with our own rules. We want to live a life where us criminals could live freely without persecution so in order to do that, we need to rise up against Rayn and expand by taking over Haven. Killing you was just one of the extra benefits to the plan" He licked his lips as he said this.
Her eyes widened as she stared at him. She had no idea that he thought up and organized such a brilliant plan. She never knew such thugs were capable of this kind of planning and thinking.
Suddenly they were interrupted when a call from Shiv echoed by the entrance of the warehouse. Cutter turned to face him as the men got into offensive stances and cocked their weapons.
"It's her commander. It seems that he is unarmed and alone. He says he wants to strike a deal and will not attack"
"Hmm, intriguing" He looked up and nodded at something, maybe toward the lone back window on the second level. Ashelin couldn't see what he was looking at since it was behind her. He smiled deviously as he walked up to her again and whispered into her neck.
"I knew he'd come for you but I'm prepared. I'm going to take away what's precious to you as you have done to me"
What was he talking about? Prepared? She suddenly remembered what he had said before she went unconscious the second time. He said something about a trap. He was going to do something to Torn somehow. She strained to look back but she couldn't see. Cutter stuffed a gag into her mouth as she desperately shook her head.
He whispered again, "Now be a good girl and watch us snipe your boyfriend"
Oh my God! He's got a sniper hiding up ahead! Torn! Please, don't come in!
She began to kick her legs but Cutter had pushed them back into the steel shackles against the wall. He locked the clasps around her ankles and stood up. He put his wooden mask back on his face.
He signaled Shiv at the door, "Let him in"
Ashelin watched helplessly as she saw the commander of her city walk in. The screams inside her mind were not heard. She no longer cared about what happened to her anymore. Her desperate eyes stared onto the face of the only man she had ever loved. She silently prayed that she wouldn't have to watch another death that would scar her mind for life, except this time not only would it scar her mind but her heart as well.
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Uh oh! It's a trap! What's going to happen now? Seems like Torn's life is on the line in so many ways huh? Did you like the little hint I threw in there about the Dark Eco experiment in the dungeon. You guys should know who that was. That was Jak and he was calling out to Keira. He had been in there for a year so far and little did the Baron know he'd last for another year before Daxter would come to his rescue. I'm so clever hee hee. So now Cutter's story has been revealed. Whatcha think?