Dawn rose outside quicker than I had expected. Konzen stayed at my side all night with Goku sleeping soundly in my arms. When Kenren and Tenpou reappeared we all looked at one another.
"It's time." Tenpou stated. We set up our traps and readied our escape. Kenren picked Gojun up and we were away. We descended into the tunnels below that I was told the army used to use to get from one place to another easily. Goku was still a bit sleepy holding my hand and Konzens. We didn't hurry, walking along until we heard the explosions go off.
"There it goes." I said.
"Quite a lot going on up there. The men outside will be a little short handed now." Tenpou muttered. Konzen turned to his friend.
"Are you sure that's alright? Your precious books and art collection were in that room." He muttered. It was obvious the man cared about the Marshals feelings. Tenpou shook his head, a small smile appearing on his face.
"I don't mind. They were empty images. All that possesses form eventually breaks." He quoted.
"Another quote from the world below?" I asked. He nodded in agreement. Konzen looked thoughtful. Goku squeezed tightly to my arm and I looked down at him. He looked a bit depressed so I nudged my lover. Konzen looked down too and removed his hand from the child's grip to rub his head.
"It's alright don't look like that." He muttered. Goku nodded and we continued. As we got near the end of the hall a doorway stood in our way. Tenpou took the lead opening the room up. It was huge with a ceiling far above our heads and shelves of documents upon documents.
"Where are we?" Goku asked.
"The library of the Jade Palace." Kenren replied quickly.
"You were connected to the palace? How come you never visited me Tenpou?" I raised an eyebrow. He laughed nervously.
"Well the Emperor's chambers are a bit farther so I'd have to sneak a good deal and I'm not so good at not gaining attention apparently." That was true. Because of his rank and infamy Tenpou didn't go un-noticed.
"I'll let it pass...for now." I mumbled the last part while he shook his head.
"It was easy to get to assembly though, just had to walk on over and I can borrow all the books I want!" He seemed so excited about the fact which made me giggle.
"It's not borrowing if you don't ever return them." Kenren muttered. I let go of Goku for a moment and inspected some of the shelves since it was probably the only time I'd do so. There were so many titles, I almost regretted not being able to read them. Kenren turned to Gojun and held up his gun.
"This is where we leave you." He said to his former superior.
"What are you going to do?" Apparently the Dragon King had expected the worst of us but he was quite wrong.
"Well sorry but you are going to wait here until they come rescue you." Kenren pointed his weapon in the air away from Gojun. The man visibly relaxed.
"I apologize for dragging you into this but...there had to be some sign that you as our commanding officer wasn't involved." For a moment Gojun looked surprised at Tenpous words but the look disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. We all turned to leave, Konzen, Goku, and I in the lead.
"In that case...report properly." I raised an eyebrow and watched as both men resigned officially from the western division of the army. With that we all left the library in a hurry. The army would be on our tail any moment now, we had little time to reach an Izora gate and get to the lower world before they managed to get to us. As we turned a corner the battle began. Guards came down on us at every turn trying to subdue us. We fought hard to get through eventually pushing forward.
"It's the door at the end of the hall!" Kenren called to Konzen. He ran out hard followed by Goku. I managed to get in right after followed by Kenren. Tenpou was still fighting. Aforementioned former general slammed his foot against the door to keep it open until our friend got in. I tried to catch my breath, listening to the others do the same.
"You okay Kaguya?" Kenren asked. He'd seen me struggling to move around in the damn kimono but I nodded, suddenly reaching down and ripping the silk to just below my knees. It would be so much easier to move this way.
"I'm good, stupid kimono." I hissed, throwing away the extra fabric.
"Konzen?" He asked. The blond replied with the affirmative.
"They're not giving us a rest." Tenpou spoke the obvious. They were going to keep at it until we were all dead most likely which I found ironic somehow. What ever happened to not wanting to get their hands dirty? I heard the twang of a bow and my eyes reached skyward. The room we had entered was circular with a platform above us that jutted out enough to hold standing soldiers. On that platform stood a great mass of archers. They were pointing their arrows straight down onto us. We all placed our backs together trying our best to keep close ranks.
"Should have known...you're a bright man...Enrai." Tenpou's gaze was upon a man staged behind the archers. Surrounded and scared I looked up at the man Tenpou spoke of. He was well built wearing imperial armor and a long white cloak. His close cropped dark hair and goatee were very unattractive. Those eyes were full of malice as if he had been waiting for this. A smirk was planted firmly on his face.
"I'm honored that you pay me such a compliment Field Marshal Tenpou." His voice was coarse and smug. He thought he had us but my mind was whirring. There had to be a way out of this. I remembered hearing about Enrai. He and Tenpou never got along so they were put in seperate divisions. Konzen leaned down to shield Goku. The men were talking but still I tried to think of something, anything at all that got us into the lower dungeons before losing a person. I came up empty.
"I always figured someone like you didn't know how the men who followed you felt." Enrai hissed. Tenpou didn't falter.
"Nothing of the sort, I just get on best with people who like joking too." He was grinning like an idiot at the insult. It was a good one.
"And because you are that kind of officer you were content to have a mere fourteen men attached to you." Enrai mocked.
"I don't care what you say about us but I won't keep my mouth shut while you make fun of my squadron." Kenren sounded more serious than I had ever heard him. His face was contorted into something that was far beyond hatred.
"Oh really? So what are you going to do? You have some nerve acting all big in a situation like this." Tenpou nudged me to get my attention.
"When they shoot can you make a barrier? We'll make a run for it while they reload." He explained the plan to me. I nodded in agreement, readying my magic for the shield. I focused all the energy into one hand waiting.
"Shoot them!" Enrai called. I put up the shield above us and we ran for it. I was surprised when only a few arrows came at us, sounds of battle coming from above. Looking up I saw the men of the first division of the western army kicking the snot out of the archers.
"You guys?" Kenren whispered.
"Are you alright general? Field Marshal?" One of the men yelled, taking out a bowman who was readying another shot.
"What are you doing?!" Tenpou screamed. These men were throwing away their lives helping us. They'd die covering our escape. I felt tears collect in my eyes as I saw the loyalty they exhibited even if their commanding officers were traitors. No doubt it was because these two were much kinder than the other assholes who ran things. Goku gripped my hand tighter.
"We have this! Go ahead while you still can!" Yet another soldier called, stabbing one of the offending men with his own arrow.
"Cut it out! You can't get involved in this!" Kenren called but his words were ignored.
"We aren't your commanding officers anymore!" Tenpou tried to get them to leave.
"Sorry sir! Can't hear a word you're saying! Now get going!"
"In the absence of orders take personal responsibility that's our motto right?"
"The barbeque was awesome!" Each man yelled their encouragement down to the men who had treated them like living beings instead of mindless drones. In a way I was just as proud even if I didn't know them.
"We need to leave." I got Kenren's attention. He nodded and we made to leave when I saw Enrai jump down to our level.
"Tenpou!" Konzen and I warned together. The former Marshal jumped out of the way with ease, Enrai's sword striking the ground. He got up attempting to charge into the Marshal. There was a flash of metal and both men ended up with their backs to one another. For a moment time stood still and then blood sprayed from the fatal wound on Enrai's chest and neck. He coughed up a lot of the crimson fluid before collapsing to the floor in a heap.
"Kill them all! That is my final order! Don't leave a single man alive who saw you here! Do you hear me?" Tenpou called up at the stunned men above.
"Yes sir!" They called in unison. We left the rest up to them, going for the opposite door on the other side of the room. Goku kept up easily, his hand still holding tightly to mine. Kenren shot the two guards and we ran, leaving for the corridor. Once the door behind us closed the noise of battle disappeared and we had a quick moment to breathe. I reached up to my face to wipe my brow only find my hand come back red.
"Kaguya! Are you okay?" Goku asked. I began probing for a cut only to find nothing.
"I'm fine, I think it's from Enrai." The fact that I wasn't fazed by this seemed to shake the boy up a bit.
"You aren't afraid of us are you Goku?" Tenpou asked. The boy shook his head.
"No, I think I'll always like Ken-nii and Ten-chan just like those men do." He stated resolutely. I had to agree. No matter how many sins were on their shoulders those two were just too likeable. We continued our trek, killing anyone who got in the way. Most of the guards didn't put up much of a fight and I couldn't do much with Goku's grip on my hand so the three of us stayed back letting Kenren and Tenpou handle the people who dared oppose us. Corridor after corridor was covered in blood splatter. We passed by a few places that were unguarded until finally reaching a large double doored elevator.
"Elevator?" Konzen asked.
"Never been on one?" Kenren teased but the joke didn't go any further than the blond glaring at him for a moment.
"We take this to the bottom floor the gate will be there." Tenpou explained. Then one of the doors to my left opened and soldiers began pouring out. I wasn't fast enough. One of them got a solid hit to my shoulder. I gasped in pain, summoning my own weapon and shoving it through the man's chest. He choked and fell to the ground at my feet. Konzen and I protected Goku. A small light screen covered us. It would block one hit at most but at least we'd be able to move easier this way.
"Get inside!" Kenren screamed over his shoulder, dispatching another man. Konzen pried it open and pushed both Goku and myself in before him. A soldier grabbed my arm which I cut off making him fall back screaming. Kenren and Tenpou followed soon after. This was just like getting into the last door, it was becoming a habit.
"Kaguya!" Kenren immediately came to my side, worry lining his features. I held up my bad arm, a twinge of pain going through it for a moment.
"Don't worry about me, we need to keep going." He knew I was right, he had to keep to the plan. Konzen too looked extremely worried but I shook my head at him. Goku gripped my good hand and I smiled gently down at him to let him know I was okay.
"You ready? We'll have to push out." Tenpou said. Kenren nodded. We were instructed to follow. Instead of the elevator we pushed into the emergency stairs without being seen. As we descended the spiral staircase I heard the car creak. They were cutting the lines and in a few moments the whole thing fell down the shaft to the very bottom making a loud crash on the ground below.
"That was loud." I frowned.
"Watch your step, these stairs aren't used often so they probably aren't in the greatest repair." Tenpou called back. That made me nervous. I was actually afraid of heights to a rather large extent so knowing I could fall was uncomfortable. I looked to my fellow agrophobic behind me. He looked nervous too.
"You okay Ken-nii?" Goku asked. The guy didn't answer.
"He's afraid of heights." I told the boy holding my hand.
"Hey! You're one to talk, you hate them too." He grunted angrily. I smiled.
"True, but I'm pretty short, someone of your stature shouldn't be so frightened." He growled at my answer.
"It's nothing to do with stature! Getting over fear of heights or not is decided by nature." I laughed a bit at the answer. The mood was a bit light hearted for now. It was nice to have a brief reprieve after all that fighting.
"You both climb trees though right?" Goku asked. Kenren snarled.
"It's different when it's a height that can be easily jumped off of." He protested. As soon as the mood had descended it disappeared. The sound of footsteps was coming from below us.
"They are sending pursuers from below." Tenpou muttered. The sound seemed to be everywhere.
"And above!" Goku shouted in panic. We were stuck. No matter which direction we went we were going to be captured. The narrow stairway meant that coming from both sides was a death sentence. There was the obvious danger of falling as well as the prospect of others catching up from above.
"Push through, we'll stay close." I muttered. Tenpou nodded and we began to run down the unsteady stairs. Kenren took up the rear with his gun, shooting at anyone who got too close from the front or the rear. I helped throw a few people over the edge, screaming into oblivion. They'd be dead as soon as they hit the ground. Kenren stepped backwards weird and almost slipped. I caught his waist.
"Geez this is dangerous." He sighed in relief that he hadn't fallen to his own death.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to forget your fear of heights." Tenpou called back.
"Well for now I might as well, we'll be pretty low when we get to the lower world." He grinned, firing off another round. From a row above a man attempted to drop down. We were so close together that he almost fell right on top of Konzen. Goku screamed his name as the soldier drew his sword. I held tight to the child's hand but he managed to get next to the soldier. With a sideways smack he knocked Goku out of my hands and over the edge into the abyss. He looked so surprised. I made to follow him but Konzen pushed me back, jumping over with an apologetic look. He knew about my fear of height now. If I jumped I'd freak out. He reached out and fell until both males were lost in the abyss below.
"Konzen! Goku!" I screamed. The other two screamed after them. Suddenly I saw a faint shadow of two people hanging from the remaining elevator wire. I summoned my weapon, pushing past Tenpou and knocking everyone I came across over the edge or into my sword. I had to get to them. My fear of heights was gone, I cared little about falling if disregarding such a feeling meant I could save two of the men I loved most in this world. When they came into view I suddenly saw Konzen wincing in pain. The wire was still live, electricity would be shooting through him at an alarming rate by now. I heard Tenpou screaming at the blond.
"Hold on!" I was almost level with them, fighting hard to get close enough to receive Goku and then Konzen himself. I finally made it across from them but didn't wait for Tenpou or Kenren.
"Can you move Konzen?!" I yelled across the gap. He tried but then almost lost his grip. I freaked.
"That's going to be an issue." He called back. The other two had caught up.
"What do we do? We can't leave them there." I said in a panic. Kenren scoffed, raising his gun up and pointing it at the wire.
"What are you doing?! They'll die!" I pushed down on the shaft of the gun. He shook his head.
"It's like you said, we can't leave them there." He tried to raise the gun again, this time Tenpou held me back.
"The wire is strong enough to withstand a few gunshots. We need to do this before Konzen is unable to lose his grip." I looked at him and saw the truth in his eyes. I nodded in agreement. Kenren shot at the wire causing it to swing back and forth. I poised myself on the middle of the staircase.
"When you get close throw Goku over!" I yelled out. The momentum got him close enough and he slung the boy towards the stairs. He almost missed the edge but I managed to grab his belt buckle, yanking him into my arms. Now just for Konzen. The wire was still swinging but not as much. I waited with bated breath as he tried to get over to us. Without warning he let go, unable to take the pain.
"Konzen!" Goku screamed. I yanked him back as Kenren halfway threw himself over the stairs. He held out his hand and the slap of skin resounded through the structure as the former general caught the blond around the wrist. I let out a breath of relief as did the boy still in my arms. As Kenren pulled him up the two of us ran to his side.
"Are you okay?" Goku was so worried as I took Konzen's hand. It was burnt pretty badly and a good amount of blood was seeping from the various wounds.
"Yeah...were you scared?" His question was directed at both of us but it was Goku who answered.
"Of course! What would we have done if you fell?!" I smiled, he was including me. I placed my hand over Konzen's making him wince but as the silver light glowed from my skin the marks on his palm disappeared. Tricky that, my powers only worked on others, never myself. Konzen took his good hand and ruffled Goku's hair. The other two were conversing about something as I finished healing my lover's hand.
"Thank you." He whispered. Goku looked between the two of us, surprised.
"Of course anata." I actually made him blush at the term of endearment. Goku still looked confused but I just ruffled his hair as well.
"No worries Goku, as long as the wound isn't mine I can heal it." I showed him the now clean and healed palm of his father figure. The boy was amazed.
"Come on, we might have found another way." Kenren called to us. I stood along with Konzen and we walked back up to where the other two men stood. The sounds of footsteps were closing in again.
"I'll take the front, Kenren you take the rear." Tenpou instructed. He went in first. I was forced to go second with Konzen third and Goku fourth. We made our way as fast as we could through the enclosed space. I felt like Konzen's breath was going up my dress since I'd ripped it so short. Luckily it was dark in here so no one could see anything but if there were lights...let's just say this really wasn't appropriate. Konzen smacked his forehead into my ass making me squeak.
"Keep your distance unless you want to shove your entire head up my ass." I called back. I heard Kenren laughing.
"I would if Goku wasn't pushing."
"But Konzen you're so slow!" Goku called back.
"Not my fault. I'm trying not to get too close to Kaguya." Konzen grunted. I blushed.
"It's way too cramped in here for your family spats okay?" Kenren sounded exasperated so I shut my mouth. If my beloved happened to get too close again I'd have to just squeak. This did happen at least three more times. Tenpou teased at one point that it sounded like there was a mouse in the tunnel with us. A sudden light came up in front of us.
"Oh thank god." I whispered. Light meant an exit.
"Shhh quiet." Tenpou stopped and we all managed to sit in the tunnel.
"Where are we?" I asked looking over Tenpou's shoulder. It looked like something between a boiler room and a lab. What was this place? The marshal removed the grate and climbed down. He reached out to help me down. I helped Konzen and Goku. Kenren didn' want any help at all but he grunted when he planted his feet on the ground.
"Looks deserted, this is strange. I don't think I've ever been here before." Tenpou commented. Looking at the place it did look much more like a lab. There were many grates and a large machine running in the corner.
"What's that thing for?" Goku asked. I shrugged. Even Tenpou didn't know.
"God it smells like ass down here." Kenren held tightly to his nose. It did stink down here like a mixture of volatile chemicals. I held my good arm up using the sleeve to clog my nose for a few moments. We cautiously moved down the narrow corridor surrounded by grates. As I got close to one I realized the the grate wasn't a grate at all. There were narrow metal bars covering an enclosed space. In the dark I thought I saw something move. Then a pair of eyes appeared in the cage and charged against the steel. I squeaked in surprise accidentally pulling my arm which made me wince in pain.
"What the hell are these?!" Kenren saw the creature pressing itself against the cage. More appeared against the walls. They were monsters with curved and misaligned fangs, beady eyes, and sharp claws. Each one looked different than the next but the farther we got the more hidieous they seemed to get.
"Monsters, disgusting ones." I scrunched up my nose.
"Monsters, yes that is an apt description. Each one is akin to the seitan taisei who stands beside you." I spun on my heel. Before us stood a man in a cloak, the hood pulled up. I looked closer at the creatures fighting at their bindings. Though all different in looks they did have one defining feature. All of them had bright yellow eyes. There wasn't warmth there like there was in the eyes of my son though. These were real monsters.
"Why the hell are there things like this in the basement of the palace?!" Konzen yelled at the newcomer.
"I think I can guess." Tenpou called attention to himself, gazing at me.
"I told you Kaguya, Konzen, that things like this have been appearing more frequently in the lower world for a really long while now." The ones that kept showing up after Nataku appeared? I looked at another one of those things and cringed.
"The ones here have different shapes but they're the same type as the ones our army has been sealing for months." Kenren added.
"As expected of the general and field marshal of the western army, so quick to understand." The hooded man spoke. So...that made sense. There had been something odd in the swift increase of these things.
"So...all this was something Li Touten worked out to get where he is now?" Kenren asked. They mystery man chuckled.
"It goes a bit deeper than that. Li Touten is a link in the chain of our plan. You four raising a rebellion has just sped things up a bit." I felt something nasty run through my veins. Then my heart clenched and the pain caused me to cry out. All eyes turned to me.
"Kaguya! Kaguya are you okay?!" Goku was trying to get me to focus on him but his face was going in and out of focus. Konzen came into my line of vision. He looked determined as he pressed his forehead against mine. A flash came to my brains, blinding me. I heard screams and then he call of my father. A splash of blood appeared and then I could see the world around me again.
"Kaguya, focus on me koishii." Konzen's deep voice helped ground me. What had just happened?
"My...my father is dead and so is the Emperor." I whispered loud enough for all four of my companions to hear. They looked shocked but didn't question my words.
"Who are you?" Kenren growled. The man pulled his hood back. I'd never seen him before but I wasn't surprised. He had slicked back blond hair and sunken eyes. The lines on his face showed his age.
"My name is Kamou, a friend of Li Touten's and also the protector of all the Nataku's here."
"Na...ta...ku?" Goku whispered.
"Oi! What are you talking about?" Kenren called.
"There were rumors that Nataku was a mix of the blood of gods and the blood of youkai from the world below. This means he would have to be made and that would also mean..."
"Li Touten made these things too." Tenpou finished my sentence.
"It took such a long time to make a creature who could take human form. There were so many failures before your Nataku was born." The words made my blood run cold. Who would do such a thing? I looked around again at the creatures. These could have been Nataku, the poor boy who had been treated like a puppet his entire life.
"You're...kidding..." Kenren muttered.
"Nonetheless if I find a way of using them I won't have wasted all the trouble I took to make them." The strange man slammed his fist into a large red button on the wall. The metal bars and grates of the cages began to lift leaving all of the creatures free to attack. We got back to back again watching all of the snarling monsters as they began to notice their newfound freedom.
"Feeding time my pets, you can finish off these rebels instead of your brother."