Well, here I am, trying my damndest to actually have a schedule for chapters. Time between will still be extremely inconsistent for a little while, but my plan is to have a new chapter every week or two.
With that, enjoy chapter 16!
Before I forget, for the squeamish, you may want to skip the section after Jay's P.O.V. it has graphic depictions of torture, so not for the light-hearted.
Chapter 16: Betrayal
No P.O.V., 15 minutes following "Escape"; 6:49 P.M.
"What do you mean they got away?!"
Kenshi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sir, with all due respect, our men weren't prepared for a rescue mission so soon. The recon teams had reported that they were still on their flying ship, not on the ground trying to bust out their buddy."
"Pathetic! You were supposed to be the best money could afford!" The Overlord rasped. "But look at you now, bested by some teenagers and their robot!"
"Sir, there was nothing we could do, but we've learned now. Patrol sizes have been increased, and the recon teams have thermal now. This won't happen again, you have my word." Kenshi began to walk away, before the Overlord snapped his fingers, and near instantly, Cryptor was pinning him down.
Kenshi struggled, still at the mercy of the Nindroid general. "Hey! What's this all about?"
The Dark Lord sneered. "Your insolence will not go unnoticed. I know you had something to do with the ninja's escape, but you will tell me, or die."
Cryptor's hold moved from his chest to his neck, choking out the swordsman. "Jus–Justin, stop! I know you're in there, deep down. Fight it, dammit!" Kenshi slammed his fists on Cryptor's arms, but to no avail.
Finally, on the verge of unconsciousness, the Overlord snapped his fingers once more. "Stop. Take him to the Red Room. Either get him to tell how he helped the ninja, or kill him. Understood?"
The General nodded. "Yes sir, I understand."
Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, Cryptor dragged Kenshi down to the Red Room, where only the strongest survived, but only by a thread.
Jay P.O.V., 1 hour, 26 minutes following "Escape"; 7:00 P.M.
"Jay? Hey, bud, you awake?" Ugh. Just leave me alone to sleep a while longer.
"Kai, please do not disturb Jay, he needs his rest. We have all been through much, we need sleep." Yeah, just let me sleep a while longer.
A huff, then a defeated sigh. "Fine. I'll tell you when he wakes up, so you can check his heart and stuff."
"Very well. I will occasionally check back in, in case you need anything, alright?"
"Ok, see ya later Zane!" Zane, that was one of the voices' names. Right, right. The Master of Ice, and the other was Kai, the Master of Fire.
Jay opened his eyes slowly, trying to avoid burning his eyes from the bright lights. He did not succeed. He groaned, his eyes straining before adjusting to the white light of the infirmary. Kai turned to him, grinning like a maniac. "Welcome back buddy! How ya feeling? You need anything?"
Jay sighed. "Thanks, tired, and water."
Kai looked at him, confused. "Wait, wh– ohh. Ok, let's just get Zane or Cole. They can get your water. You hungry? I think I heard Zane say he was making udon and tempura tonight. Sound good?"
Jay nodded slowly. "Yeah, sure, but can I really get some water now? My mouth feels like Ma and Pa's junkyard."
Kai chuckled. "Glad you still have your sense of humor. This might still be a little too early, but please, can you tell me what happened to Nya? I have to know, I've been so worried this past while."
Jay looked down, as if reliving the past. "Well, I don't remember much, and we had such little time together. . . All I remember was her saying that they were treating her fairly well, and that the guard soften snuck her better food than what we were getting. Something about a lot of the mercs feeling bad about kidnapping some kids, even if we had powers."
Kai nodded slowly, still coming to terms with his sister's conditions, before turning back to Jay. "Well, how about you? What happened to you? And what's up with the robot hand?"
Jay glanced down at the prosthesis, admiring the craftsmanship, despite being made by the enemy. "Well, that's a long story. It all began with Zane, while he was still hacked. He froze my hand, then shattered it. So after that, Cryptor decided he wanted to build me a new hand, so a while later, he showed up with this and a medic, and just, just attached it.
After that, they sent me into this room, where all they dud was cuff me to the wall, use some torture devices, especially the cat o' nine tails, and just tried to get some info outta me. I wouldn't budge, never made a peep. The day before you guy came out and saved me, this one guy named Kenshi came in, telling me about himself, and then before he left, he said something about not meeting the ninja everyday. The next day, he let me go free when the lockdown started going off."
Kai whistled. "Damn bro. That's rough."
Jay leaned back into his cot, not realizing that he had leaned forwards as he was speaking. "Yeah, that was a rough few days. Glad I'm outta there and back home though. Hopefully I'll be back up and running soon."
Kai sighed wistfully. "Yeah, too bad I won't be able to."
Jay looked at Kai curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Well, during the first breakout, the Overlord crushed my legs, so now I'm pretty much paralyzed from the waist down."
Jay's eyes fell from Kai's. "Oh," was all he could muster.
Before either could speak, Zane walked in. "Hello Jay, Kai, I came in to tell you that dinner is ready. Would you like to join us?"
Both accepted. Cole soon came in as well, helping Jay walk out of the infirmary and into the dining room, while Zane unfolded the wheelchair for Kai. As they approached the dining room, they passed by Lloyd, who was setting the table. He smiled, waving hi, then resuming to his task.
For the first time in months, Jay realized, they finally had the chance to have a peaceful dinner.
No P.O.V., 1 hour, 41 minutes following "Escape"; 7:15 P.M.
To the untrained eye, the Red Room was merely a room with simple concrete floors, and deep red colored walls, decorated with chains operated by pulleys. However, to both men knew it was much more than that.
As Cryptor dragged Kenshi into the room, the guards outside rushed in, attaching the chains to his arms and legs, hoisting him up into the air, vulnerable to injuries. Just to be safe, the two nindroids sliced into both the swordsman's shoulders, traveling from the shoulder blade to the bicep, rendering him incapable of resistance. As the two got to work ensuring the least resistance possible, another brought in a tray full of knives, pliers, syringes, and multiple other torture devices.
As the three nindroids left, on pulled the eyepatch off of Kenshi's blind eye, revealing a milky eye, remnants of blue still left in it, and a long scar, running from his eyelid to his cheekbone.
Finally glancing up to his former superior, Kenshi sighed. "It's really gonna go down like this, huh? After all we've been through, with the Devil Dogs, with Atlas, and you're just gonna torture me because we kidnapped some kids? I know you're in there Justin, you just need to, fight it. You and I both know that those kids did no wrong!"
Instead of a verbal answer, Cryptor's reply was a swift stab into Kenshi's left pectoral, just above the heart, leaving the blade lodged in his flesh. The swordsman stifled his scream, refusing to show weakness to his torturer, just as his instructor had taught him decades ago in special forces training.
Seemingly disappointed with the lack of reaction, Cryptor once again gripped the hilt of the blade, dragging it across his captor's chest, before forcefully yanking the serrated blade out. This time, the nindroid got the expected reaction. Despite the room being somewhat sound-proofed, Kenshi's screams could be heard all the way to the throne room, two floors directly above the Red Room. Blood streamed from Kenshi's chest in slow, steady flows, the serrated edge inflicting even more damage than a normal blade would.
After waiting a few minutes, Cryptor lifted Kenshi's chin, forcing him to look at his former squad leader. "Do you give up?" He asked, his robotic monotone voice all the more menacing.
Instead, Kenshi spat at him, small drops of blood also get on his chest plate at the same time, uttering only two words.
"Fuck. You."
Yet another stab, this time with a smaller knife, in the shoulder, parallel to the wounds inflicted earlier to immobilize him. Curving the blade upwards and pushing down further into the flesh, Cryptor deepened the older wound, eliciting another blood-curdling scream from Kenshi.
A sudden pause. A tense silence for a moment, only broken by Kenshi's labored breathing. Cryptor turned around, pressing a finger to his earpiece. "Report to the Overlord? Does he require me immediately? Yes, I understand. I'm on my way now."
With the snap of a a finger, the chains released, dropping Kenshi onto the bloodied concrete floor with a dull thud, followed by a groan. Cryptor swiftly walked away, while a tray of food slid in the room, just out of the swordsman's immediate reach, forcing him to crawl towards it.
Was this all even worth saving a kid?
"Hell. Yeah," he muttered before finally slipping into unconsciousness.
Not gonna lie, I had fun writing this chapter. It gave me the freedom to go in depth as to how far they would go just to punish traitors.
As always, thanks for reading, and reviews would be much appreciated.
Good day, mates!
~The Titan's Shadow