Being Captured...and Tortured
"I still think it was rather rude of you to send me flying like that again, especially after I made such a warm-hearted and kind gesture," stated Aaron. Sage gave him a devilish look, which immediately told him to shut up. He was a look-struck fool, but he wasn't just an idiot. He knew 'the look' and he knew what often followed the look, a stern slap, a gunshot to the head and with this chick apparently a blast to the chest with some mysterious power. Nonetheless, his family wasn't big on staying quiet, "sooooo, what's the rest of your crew like?" Hopefully this question would be nice enough to try and edge his way back on to her good side…if she had one.
Sage smiled for a brief second. All this time in the prison, worrying about them and putting up with this new guy, she had forgotten the reason why she was looking for them. Why she considered them her crew. It was a moment of weakness, a moment of happiness, but it did not go unnoticed by Aaron who beamed at her while he waited to hear about the crew of his latest and unreciprocated 'friend'. Sage sighed, deciding that it appeared that she was stuck with this man, no matter how mad he drove her. "They're all good guys…except for one of them." Sage looked away, immediately turning to disgust at the thought of Ridley. Nonetheless, she didn't feel like delving into his her crew's positions. If this guy wasn't a friend, then she could accidentally be telling him their secrets.
It didn't seem like that thought bothered Aaron as he wore a broad smile and continued on walking. He was in a good mood apparently and he wasn't about to let Sage's secrecy bother him. He kept up a steady pace as he looked around. Apparently even being half-distracted wasn't enough to slow him down. Suddenly he stopped, he turned his head to the side. He noticed a mass of tapirs standing around a small area. Suddenly it seemed like something went off in the top of his head, almost like a little light. He sensed something else, other than the tapirs. He walked forward towards the nest. The tapirs didn't take to it that well, they all bucked up, kicking their front legs into the air and uttering a war cry as Aaron approached. Sage didn't move from her spot. She didn't quite get why Aaron was moving forward what reason possessed him to continue on his path, despite the tapirs who were obvious ready to defend whatever it was behind them. He stopped short a few feet away from them, neither side seemed willing to make a move. Suddenly Aaron twisted his body around, sticking one foot out towards them, but twisting his entire body in the opposite direction, building up tension throughout his entire upper body. "Impact." Faster than Sage could blink Aaron untwisted his body, releasing a mass of built-up tension in a short burst.
There was a legend of an attack called Rankyaku, which allowed people to create powerful cuts that could traverse air with just their legs. Aaron's so-called 'Impact' worked in a similar manner. After building up all that tension, the 'snap' as he came back to the original position was basically the kick, as a result it allowed him to fire fast, concise bullets of air.
And that was exactly what happened. The bullet of air was thrown forward at nearly imperceptible speeds, the tapirs who were of average or possibly even below average intelligence for animals didn't even notice it flying at them. The blast of power smashed into one of them right above the left eye and sent it tumbling up and through the air completely out of control. The rest of the tapirs were distracted watching one of their allies fly through the air at incredible speed that they didn't even notice that Aaron was already on the move again, rushing towards them at high speeds. Sage had to note that the speed was similar to that of Mikoto's although the technique definitely appeared different. Mikoto's basically just ran, this man's pace had a different kind of look to it.
Aaron disappeared beneath one of the tapirs and, using a similar method as to when he was blasted by Sage, he slammed his foot into the ground and rotated his body around and launched a devastating kick straight upwards, traversing all of the momentum from his short sprint into it. The kick hammered into the tapir's underside and lifted even its massive bulk off of the ground. The tapirs let out a grunt, as if finally understanding the situation and the fact that they were under attack. They bucked up, lifting their front legs into the air and uttering a war cry. Suddenly they started to move in on Aaron, however, he proved to swift for their bulky and overweight bodies. He drifted backwards for a split second and then brought his leg snapping to the side, imitating the form and speed of a whip. The tapir's head was smashed in by his ankle as he drove the point home, flipping the beast and putting his foot back down on solid ground. The tapirs weren't discouraged by two of their friends being sent flying with such ease, if anything it just mean they had to redouble their efforts. Once more in frenzying war dance they began to throw themselves at Aaron, who didn't seem the least bit discouraged. He pivoted around and launched several kicks, most of which landed squarely on a tapirs face, causing them to temporarily halt their advance. Once the animal's approach had been stopped Aaron moved in, diving down beneath their attacks and finally pressing his two hands together, releasing another short-lived, but incredibly powerful burst of speed forward. His hands shot forward, shooting into the tapir's chest and squishing its flabby fat in between him and the beast's hard rib cage. Suddenly all of the strength and speed of the attack was dispersed forward, crashing into the animal's rib cage and beyond. The shockwave of the attack shook the tapir's entire body as it made its way through, eventually winding up at the heart. All of this transpired in less than a second. The tapir gurgled out a mass of blood, spitting it forward and staining the fresh green grass and a little bit of it landed on Aaron's shoes. The rest of the animals were finally beginning to understand how outmatched they were. They slowed their approach, becoming almost cautious, as they took another half step for Aaron. Aaron pivoted towards them, his attention seemed to set off alerts in their heads now as they cowered backwards. One of them wasn't quick enough and Aaron had set off, bringing his body towards with a kick, but stopped short. He turned around; feeling like the beasts had learned their lesson. Causing a stir wouldn't do anything to help him it would be best for him to just leave the beasts be. Besides they weren't what he was after.
He shifted through the nest, the tapirs easily moving out of his way as he wandered through the mess. Finally he stopped. He crosses his arms, apparently not too pleased with his discovery. However, when Sage managed to push her way past the tapirs and to his side, she was delighted. It was her comatose captain, the 'Kid Coyote' himself, Mikoto, snoozing on a comfy bed of sticks and leaves. He looked so comfortable there, snoozing away his worries that Sage felt like kicking him a good one for the teammates up above who were without a doubt going through hell. Nonetheless she expressed her gratitude to Aaron for finding him and quickly tried to pick Mikoto up by herself.
Aaron would've offered to help, just to get on Sage's good side, but he was otherwise distracted. He did not rush through and expend his stamina for some unconscious punk, he could've sworn he had detected a pretty lady in this area. He sighed and shook his head. Something must've been broken with his radar. He turned around and noticed that Sage had opted out for carrying and instead decided to drape Mikoto's arms over her shoulders and drag him, it would prove to be an uncomfortable journey up the stairs for Mikoto. Aaron sighed, "Well, if it is for a lady as pretty as yourself, I'll carry the kid." Sage frowned for a second, did she really want to trust this guy? He seemed like a stand-up pervert, but nonetheless, she didn't just instantly trust him because he called her pretty. However, that being said…she also didn't want to drag Mikoto about.
"Fine, muttered Sage, obviously not thrilled with having to play the damsel in distress card to a complete and total stranger. Aaron smiled, taking this as a small personal victory. He graciously accepted Mikoto from Sage. Sage sighed and started to walk towards where the doors to the stairways was. She saw it awhile back in search of her captain, but had turned it down in order to continue her search for Mikoto. After a few steps, she started to hear something weird. She turned around to face her 'temporary companion', Aaron. Instantly she came to understand what the sound was. Aaron wasn't carrying Mikoto per say. He had chosen to adapt a similar approach as Sage, dragging him along on the ground. "ACTUALLY CARRY HIM!"
(-With Zesiro-)
Zesiro rolled over and onto his back. His entire body hurt from the fight, he may have been a bit premature with his charge. He was now injured and stuck in prison and looking around, he couldn't possibly break out of the jail on his own. He walked up to the bars and placed a solid hand on them as if testing them out. He muttered beneath his breath as he realized these were stronger than the ones on the fourth floor that he easily sliced open. The heat from the forges combined with the fact that on those levels all of the fighters had given in to the prison's strange hold must've made the bars weaker and the upkeep on them rarer. It looked like Zesiro would be stuck in here for awhile especially without his swords. He walked into the center of his cell, if he'd truly be stuck in here for so long he would need to keep training.
Even without his swords he'd train. He took up twin imaginary blades as he stood there in the center of his cell, all alone. He missed his own blades. The first two he ever had were gifts handed down from his parents. Daimyo broke one of them and he replaced that blade just recently at the URA, Nito and Ichi had given him a blade nearly the same in weight and power as his old one. The prison guard had stolen those from him leaving him weaponless once more. He won't be leaving this jail without them. They were good swords. He worked hard, heading back to the corner of the cell as he made several quick cuts at the invisible enemies. He sighed as he brought his hands back to his side, it just wasn't the same.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," echoed an empty, hollow voice from nearby. Zesiro stopped his training and looked towards the wall on his left. The voice was clearly that of a man. Zesiro sighed as he walked over to the wall. He was bored to say the least. A nagging boredom welled up on people in places like these. Talking, training, small things like this were the least you could do to keep yourself occupied. Zesiro walked over to the wall and knocked. The voice came back in a hollow and deathly dry voice. "Training is a bad idea. It shows your strength and this place exists to pound out your strength. Doing something like that is like asking for the warden to drag your butt to the torture chamber and slowly wring the life out of your body."
"I'll be out of here soon," muttered Zesiro in response, pounding on the wall. It felt just as sturdy as the iron bars did. It looked like he couldn't even break down the walls to get to someone interesting. The man in the cell next to him sounded like a veteran and Zesiro would be wise to take his advice. However, for the time being the torture cell was locked down. It didn't matter to Zesiro. He would be out of here soon…he just had to believe in Mikoto and Sage. Trust that they'd get him out of here before the torture chamber was back up and running. Zesiro took a deep breath, trying to calm down as the thought that his fellow prisoner had implanted in his mind wriggled around.
(-With Rosa-)
"Come on out," muttered Kohaku, the martial arts expert who managed to deal decent damage to the Infinity Pirates as he went and called Rosa forth. Rosa looked up, her entire body was still sore from the beat down. She struggled up to her feet and went forward to the prison bars. She turned around and slid her two hands between a small slot. Kohaku quickly slapped a pair of handcuffs onto her. This was one of the few floors that handcuffs weren't required to be on prisoners all the time. Rosa supposed it was just supposed to help impose the feeling of helplessness. Their freedom was freely taken from them as they were lead forward. With the seastone handcuffs locked in place around Rosa's hand Kohaku slid open the door and led her out.
Rosa paused for a second as she took her first step out of the cell. She looked left and right, there was only Kohaku around. The other guards were busy elsewhere. Kohaku was going left, if Rosa wanted to she could dodge right. Take off as quickly as she could…she could probably outrun him. Rosa thought about pivoting to the right, but a quick look at Kohaku's body told her it wasn't wise. Kohaku was not like other pirates or even the guards. He was well-built, his physique was quite tank-like and that extended to his calves, which bulged out of his legs like basketballs. He obviously didn't neglect his body in this world. Nonetheless Rosa couldn't help, but flit her eyes to the right. Kohaku was apparently watching her as he choked out in a fairly gruff voice, "don't even think about it." Rosa shrunk back thinking about how it was too late for his stern warning.
Rosa was marched through the prison, several of the prisoners letting out whooping catcalls as they saw her walk by. However, even more interesting to Rosa was that some of them hung their heads and sighed, muttering to themselves something that she couldn't hear. She looked ahead and at Kohaku, watching him as he directed her along the way. Rosa only had a pretty basic idea of how the prison was set-up, but she was certain that they were headed towards the center of this massive floor. Rosa was right. She soon laid eyes on the massive contraption in front of them. It was a torture device. Rosa swallowed hard as she was lead forward and into the room. Kohaku shoved her down and looped her handcuffs into another device, forcing her in place. Rosa looked around and noticed that besides the huge contraption there was a cage with thin iron bars that surrounded them. Even without these handcuffs restraining her she couldn't escape. There was another row of prisoners on the outside all of them waiting and watching the exhibit going on in the center. Rosa clutched at her chest as her heart began beating faster. She wasn't ready for this, she wasn't ready to be tortured. She had only been out at sea for a few months and with the Infinity Pirates for a couple of weeks. Was this really going to be another chapter in her life story?
"Relax," said a young man as he walked in and cleaned his hands free from some bloodstains. "Vat machine is not meant for vu. I've got a different prisoner in mind vor today." He snapped his fingers and two of the guards who had been standing outside just moments earlier walked in with a young girl in between them. The young man walked over to the prisoner and brought across a vicious slap across her face, the sound was so loud that Rosa cringed from it. Was this just some sort of scare tactic Rosa wondered. At least she did until the young girl managed to find the strength to lift her head up…it was poor young Lily. Rosa screamed a completely primal scream, she lunged forward all of her power against the chains, but she didn't have superhuman strength and even if she did she doubted she could've just broken out of the handcuffs. "Oh, do vu two know each other? Vonderful, vis makes things so much easier. No silly introductions!" He said clasping his two hands together and leading the prison guards along with Lily to the machine.
"STOP IT!" shouted Rosa, straining once more against the handcuffs trying to surge forward for the man. "YOU LAY ONE SINGLE STINKING HAND ON HER AND I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL SLAM YOUR OWN FACE INTO THAT TORTURE MACHINE! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY ONE MILLION TIMES OVER!" The man sighed and it was completely inaudible over Rosa's screams of pure rage. He snapped his fingers and motioned for the guards to go over and stop her. The guards immediately set upon her, pinning her to the ground and sliding a gag into her mouth to make sure she stayed quiet.
"Please vuiet down everyone, this is not meant to be viece of work vere the audience participates! Vis is a vork of art! Vetween a man! And vis passion!" He said as he bent down, picking up a pair of hedge clippers and moving in for the bound Lily.
You Touch Her And I'll Kill You!
Right now I'm pondering whether or not I should jump to the top and add a word of warning 'Warning: Insanity, dark, gore occurs in this chapter. This is one of the chapters that may net this story an M rating simply because it is impossibly cruel'. The next chapter should probably get this warning as well.
Also, Monsuta from last chapter was the work of Labyrinth-Designer. I'm horrible at remembering who submitted who and who is my character and who isn't. IT seems to happen most often with Labyrinth's characters.
Oh, well! Another update! I got seven reviews, so if I get three more reviews to this chapter expect a bonus update...it'll probably come Wednesday just for the heck of it to make it fit into my schedule the best. Also is the number to high? I mean is ten too much to ask?