New Blood
by Saber Alexander McConnell
Rated PG13

CHAPTER 37: Twisted Beauty

Killian was very bored...but he reveled in it. He, Tarun, and Demetrius had been left strictly alone now for at least two days, but he thought it might have been three. The only time the doors at the end of the cavern chamber were opened was for one of the lesser warlords to poke his head in, check on them, and leave a plate of food.

It had been a great surprise when they'd first left food for the group, and Killian suspected at first it might be drugged or poisoned. But then he'd remembered Demetrius's ordeal and realized that Talpa's miserable goons didn't need to resort to trickery to poison them. They'd do it outright and describe the whole process as they did.

The plate had been filled with a loaf of bread and some very odd-looking fruit that didn't taste half bad. None of them had been fed during their imprisonment, and though having water was some relief, it was no substitute for food. Killian had to force himself to eat slowly so as not to get sick, but by the gods it was good to get some food in his gut!

As the hours and then days passed, fear turned to boredom, but Killian did not mind. It meant that no one was torturing them, and they were able to begin regaining their strength. He didn't know why Talpa was allowing this, but for the moment he wasn't about to argue.

The best part about the whole thing was that they were able to begin regaining their spirits. Tarun had woken the two older boys with his cries during that first night, and Killian had spent fifteen minutes calming the boy from his nightmare. But by the next night, Tarun had taken to racing around the chamber, both in and out of armor. He began singing again, something that was comforting to Killian and Demetrius, and Killian was grateful he was bouncing back so quickly. He suspected having his armor on again helped, but not all of it. He was a courageous child, and his spirit could never be permanently squashed. It was a relief. Seeing the blood on the kid, looking at his half-shredded kabaddi uniform, Killian had felt like crying. He had cried, in fact. But Tarun had since cleaned up and looked far better.

Demetrius was recovering, too, quite faster than Tarun had. Killian had been able to take the poison from him completely, and without the vile stuff in his system, and with a cavern full of rock to take strength from, it had not taken long for Demetrius to regain his strength. As for Killian, all he needed was the water, and he had plenty of that.

That third day, sometime around noon according to Tarun, Killian was tickling a giggling the kid and Demetrius had discovered he had the ability to gouge out stone with his hands while armored up. As Killian and Tarun roughhoused, he had taken to seeing if he could use this ability to tunnel out of the cavern, gouging out great chunks of rock and tossing them aside. After nearly being hit by one, Killian had moved the tickling match to the other side of the cavern.

However things didn't go much farther than that. The doors suddenly opened, and everyone stopped what they were doing, Demetrius hastily banishing his main armor and trying not to look too guilty, and Tarun standing up and summoning his riot gear. Chills washed over Killian as Talpa strode into the chamber, flanked by all of his warlords, and gazed at his three prisoners. Killian suddenly felt very inadequate, standing in the middle of an underground pool with only two of his comrades with him. Talpa alone made a very frightening sight, without ten warlords standing at his sides.

Shit, said Demetrius, moving so that he was in front of Tarun. Tarun caught sight of the woman, Jin Tanaka, and made a quiet, scared noise, grasping Demetrius's hand. Killian caught a burst of terror from him on seeing the woman, and narrowed his eyes furiously. "What do you want?" he asked rudely, sounding far braver than he felt.

Talpa didn't answer, and Killian wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or worried. When he looked at the grim visages of the warlords, he began leaning towards worried. But when light flared behind the bastards, making Demetrius hiss and cover his eyes, the worry went straight to outright fear. Several Nether Spirits floated into the chamber, all of them facing the little group of Ronin, hovering just beyond their reach. 'As if I'd want to touch one of the foul things!' Killian thought, backing up a step despite himself. He didn't think they were here just to drain their power, else Talpa and his Goon Squad wouldn't be here, watching! He was certainly something horrible was about to happen.

He glanced at Demetrius, who squinted up at the spirits, his hands clenched defiantly. Tarun scowled angrily up at them, shifting his gaze from them to the warlords. Killian finally looked back at Talpa, summoning his nerve, and began to ask: "What're you--"

The first of the spirits, the one closest to Killian, suddenly shot towards him, as if meaning to tackle him to the ground. Killian yelled in alarm, and then in agony as the Spirit didn't collide with him—it entered him. A horrid rending, searing pain went through his entire being, as his world became nothing but sick, tainted, orange light-energy—for just a moment he felt as if he had no body at all, that it had become a part of the awful light. He couldn't even begin to bear the pain; any more of it and his mind would snap like a toothpick.

And then it was gone, just like that, and he was on his knees in the water. He stood—except it wasn't him standing. A dire panic came over him as he tried to move his hand, and could not—but something else did. Something else was there with him, alongside his mind, alongside his very spirit. The orange glow flickered faintly around his eyes, reaching deep in his mind, blurring his vision and nearly obscuring the world in front of him. 'It's possessed me,' he thought in horrified amazement. 'Oh my God! No, let me go—stop it, let me go!' His thoughts dissolved into a near-frenzied panic as he tried to fight, battling to drive out the entity that had so easily taken control of his physical body. He was still there, his mind was still feeling and seeing everything, but he had never been shoved rudely into the backseat of his own mind, watching as if from the outside his body walking and—talking!

Tarun looked as if he had succumbed also, standing in the water and looking stunned, but Demetrius's expression was that of excruciating pain—he was still fighting. Suddenly proud of him, hoping beyond hope he could shake off the intrusion, Killian silently cheered for him. Strong in body and mind, more stubborn than a dozen mules, Demetrius looked as if he might just succeed.

And then Killian spoke. He heard himself speak, and it sounded like it always did, except that he never, ever would have said what he did. "Don't fight, my friend," he said, putting a hand on Demetrius's shoulder, feeling his face twist into a look of deep concern. 'What am I doing?' he thought frantically. 'No, I can't say that—I'm telling him to give up to the enemy!'

And it wasn't just him, either. Tarun looked up, seemingly about to cry, entreating Demetrius to stop before they hurt him, or even killed him. Killian never knew if Demetrius could have shaken off the Nether Spirits' attack without Tarun and Killian urging him to give up, but in the end the Russian boy lost his battle. The pain on his face melted into calm, if somewhat tired complacency. From his knees, he stood, smiling serenely at Killian, and Killian was shocked to feel himself smiling back. 'Completely control,' thought Killian, feeling like he wanted to faint. 'They've got total and complete control of us...but not my mind! Not my mind!' He closed his eyes—or rather tried to—and gave up when he couldn't do it. Instead he had to focus his mind while trying to ignore the very great distraction of the warlords' laughter, and Talpa's pleased voice, saying something...

Killian tried to reach out through the mind link to Demetrius and Tarun. He strained to focus his thoughts, to break through the horrible, filthy presence of the Nether Spirits, but he could not; their barrier was too great. Like Sekhmet's poisons had prevented Killian from reaching Demetrius, the Nether Spirits' dark energy kept him bound within his own mind, alone and helpless—helpless in every way.

"Excellent," murmured Talpa as Killian and the others slowly approached. "Excellent, my little Ronin. Your strength has returned, and your wounds have been healed. You will go to battle today, little warriors. You will go to battle against your comrades, and ensure our victory!"

'No," Killian thought, stunned, every bit of his attention now focused on Talpa. He couldn't manage to think anything else, only a desperate negation of what Talpa was saying.

"You see, Torrent?" said Dais, chuckling. "You see how easily your mind was taken over by the dark powers? You resist now, my brother. You fight and despair. But that will soon fade as you come to know our master's power."

"The Ronin approach," said Talpa, turning to his warlords. "Be ready. When they reach my palace, we will greet them. All of us."

Killian realized with a mixture of ire and horror that Talpa had been addressed him, Tarun, and Killian along with his warlords, and was furious as he bowed along with the rest, hearing his own voice answer, "Hai," a word he knew meant "yes".

'Oh, God, Nohano...I'm sorry," he thought hopelessly as he marched out of the chamber. 'If we meet in battle...I'm sorry!'

---

Nohano's group spent very little time within the maze of the mountain. It was nothing to the maze that Rashida had been cast into when the Ronin had been scattered, and she was able to figure this one out quickly enough. He was glad to make it out easily, but less than thrilled at the sight that met his eyes.

There it was. It was real, in front of Nohano's eyes, the evil ten times what he had felt in his nightmare. For just a moment he thought he might be buried in it, before he took a big breath and let himself feel the comforting warmth of Wildfire...of rekka.

"Oh, great," spat Xan bluntly, looking around in disgust. "What a dump."

"A grievous understatement," said Suisei, gazing into the valley.

The lands below them spread out for miles, it seemed, filled with dark stone buildings, and large, bare patched of stone and dirt. There were lakes and ponds, and trees bearing pink leaves...or blossoms, Nohano wasn't sure which. There were gardens of flowers, right alongside crags of black stone and metal barracks. Towers and spires rose towards the dark sky, stark and absolute. And right in the middle of it all, the filthy pagoda shape of Talpa's palace.

When Nohano had dreamt, he had come out onto this view, and looked at the pagoda. He had looked towards a door that to his horror was easily visible from where they stood, and had seen him—the empty-masked demon Talpa. Nohano was slightly reassured when he stared at the door and it remained firmly closed, but only slightly.

Twisted beauty, hissed Amaya through the link, revulsion pulsing through her thought-voice.

"My God," Suisei whispered. "Tarun's in there."

Nohano had known that, and he had known how terrible the place was. But somehow, hearing the horror in Suisei's voice when he realized his adopted child was imprisoned there made it all the worse. Nohano clenched his fists, the sudden desire to rip the place apart with his bare hands too distracting to deal with. He tried hard to calm down.

"What will we do?" asked Amaya, looking to Nohano.

For once, Nohano didn't feel the uncertainty, the lack of confidence he usually did when looked to for a decision. His family was in there, and he was going to get them out, even if it meant his life. "Just go in," he said, shaking his head slowly. "Armor up and go in. He knows we're here; Kale wouldn't have attacked us otherwise. They know we're here, and have to know we're after our friends. Just be very careful. We're walking right into a trap, I know it."

But that does not mean we must close its jaws around us ourselves, said Rashida grimly. Knowing we are approaching a trap will help us.

"Exactly," said Nohano. "Come on—let's go. Whatever happens—try not to get split up. This would be a very bad place to be stuck alone in."

He watched as his friends silently summoned their armor, and did the same himself, looking down at the hateful valley and wondering if they were being watched at that moment.

The climb down from their vantage point was an easy one, and soon the five Ronin stood at the edge of the valley, peering into the dark alleyways and shadowed spaces between the buildings. From what Nohano could tell, most of them were living quarters (storage sheds?) for the Dynasty soldiers. He saw several groups of them going in and out, and he and his friends tried their best to stay out of sight. They didn't want to fight before they absolutely had to, saving their energy for when the time came.