Len was stuck. He needed to find a way out of his room, but what could he do? He'd already picked the lock; he'd already ran from the guards; they wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. He was running out of options fast, and the situation was looking increasingly bleak.
If he made it out, where could he go? He wanted to stop Gakupo, and he wanted to find out what this weapon was, but he wouldn't even know where to start. If he did escape, he'd certainly be punished, and the only thing that awaited Len outside Gakupo's mansion was a painful death, thanks to the collar fastened around his neck.
Len sighed, sitting at the edge of his bed with his head down. He needed more information. Without a plan, there wasn't anything he could do, but he could plan nothing if he knew nothing.
Len blinked, staring at the ground, and it seemed as if the shadows were moving beneath his feet. He rubbed his eyes quickly, frustrated. This was happening more often lately, and he didn't like it. He saw shadows in places they shouldn't have existed; and at night his dreams brought him back to that dark place, full of blackness and screaming voices, the world he'd seen countless times within the shadow of a nameless black monster. It was as if a part of the creature followed him beyond the contains of the machine.
The shadows continued to waver at his feet, seeming to stretch out to the other side of the room. His room was always pretty dark, even with a candle or two, but somehow these shadows seemed different. It was probably only his imagination, but the shadows seemed to all seep from one corner of the room.
Curiously, he approached the shadows, pushing out the dresser which was placed in the corner. In that corner, the wall seemed almost painted with such hazy blackness. When he touched the wall, though, it felt like a normal wall, so what was with the shadows?
He heard voices outside his door, and he replaced the dresser quickly, sitting back down on his bed as he'd been seated before. In walked Kokone, holding a tray of food for him. She seemed busy, so she didn't say much before she hurried off, leaving the tray beside him on the bed. When she was gone, Len glanced at his food, and instead of eating, he took the knife, walking over to the dark corner of his room. He once again pushed aside the dresser, felt the wall hesitantly, then struck it as hard as he could with the knife.
The wall crumbled away as Len struck it, and Len could only assume it was thinner here. He knock away as much of the wall as he could, until he had a hole just big enough to crawl through. Where did it lead, though?
Len bit his lip, debating whether to investigate. It was pitch black, and dirty, and who knew what it held, but he needed something. The idea that maybe there was nothing he could do; the thought that there was no escaping this place was terrifying to Len, even more terrifying than Gakupo himself.
Before anything, Len moved the dresser to a position that Len could just slip past it to reach the hole, but to anyone else looking, they would not be able to notice the hole in the wall. Then, Len grit his teeth, and crawled into the hole, placing his hands in front of him so he could feel his way. There was stone beneath his fingers, and it felt like a sort of tunnel. Confused, Len inched forward, leaving behind his room for now. He felt above his head, and he felt only air, so he stood up carefully. Almost immediately, the tunnel began to curve, and the ground beneath him dropped down slightly. Stairs? Len continued, one hand on the wall to keep from stumbling.
It was totally dark, though strangely, it wasn't that hard for Len to navigate. It wasn't long before his hand brushed over a hard wood surface, and Len turned to face what he assumed was a door. It must have been pretty tightly fitted, since not even a sliver of light shone through. Len felt further along the floor, and it seemed that the stairs still continued.
There was still further to go, but he wanted to see where this opened up to, so carefully, he pushed on the wood, and it swung open with a creak, and he emerged into a small room, lined with shelves of cans and jars. A pantry, it seemed.
He'd come out between two shelves, and quickly, he replaced the wall, which from this side, showed no sign of being a door. It likely was only meant to be opened from the inside. He guessed this meant he'd end up being tracked down by Gakupo inevitably.
Cautiously, he walked through the pantry towards the door, and for the second time, found himself in the kitchen. It was just as busy as before, and no one seemed to notice him with no one chasing him. He worried for a moment his collar would give him away, but as he looked around, his saw at least half a dozen others who also had collars, so he relaxed.
"Hey you, boy! What do you think you're doing here?!" A loud, female voice demanded, and Len turned around quickly, afraid he'd been caught already. A woman with short green hair and eyes looked at him fiercely, an apron tied over her clothes and her foot tapping impatiently. "What do you think you're doing, just standing around? Get to work, get to work!"
Len blanched, eyes wide. "I—I don't know what—"
The woman sighed, waving her hands for dramatic effect. "Add the carrots to the stew, you fool! Hurry up; the Master's food isn't going to cook itself!" Len quickly realized this "Master" was almost definitely Gakupo.
She herded Len over to a counter, where a pile of whole, unpeeled carrots lay beside a boiling pot. She prodded him in the side, saying once again to get to work, and then she was off to do her own thing, though wherever she went, Len could still hear her yelling at someone.
Len stared at the carrots, not entirely sure what to do with them. She'd said, just.. add them to the soup, right? He thought hesitantly, picking a single carrot up. He glanced around him, but everyone was busy with their own task, and no one even glanced at him. He dropped the carrot into the soup, curious as to why there was a whole job for something so simple.
He put the other three carrots into the pot, then looked around. Above him, there was a cupboard, and he opened it quietly, to find it chock full of spices, most of which he didn't recognize. He grabbed a few, smelling them, and took the three that smelled the worst, and promptly dumped their entire contents into the large pot. He hadn't forgotten for a moment that Gakupo was the one who'd be eating this.
Then, trying not to be noticed, he slipped out into the hallway, the sound of the green-haired woman yelling fading away. The guards waiting by the door at the end of the hall were different now, and they didn't seem to recognize Len, so quickly he made his way down the hall, taking a left and finding the stairs he knew led to the dungeon. Since he was here, there was someone he wanted to speak to.
The dungeon was as empty as the first time he saw it, and just as creepy. He clasped his hands together, nervous, walking up to the last cell on the right. He had no way to open the cell, but he didn't need to. He just wanted to talk.
Before he could speak, a voice called, very clearly, "I believe you'd like to speak with me, Len."
Len sucked in his breath, standing before the metal door. "...How do you know my name?" He eventually asked.
"I know many things," was the cryptic reply he got.
"What kind of things?" Len asked, curious, but also somewhat suspicious.
"I know you've been creeping around in secret tunnels that not even Gakupo knows about," The woman's voice said, soft yet clear, and deeply thoughtful. "Of course, this mansion was not originally his, so there are still a few things he has not discovered."
Len leaned towards the door, peering through the tiny space in the door. It was dark, but he thought he could see the vague outline of the woman he saw before. "Who are you?" He asked.
"My name is Luka," She replied.
"Do you know me? When Gakupo first brought me here—"
"I do not know you personally," Luka said softly. "But unfortunately I have had a part in bringing you here."
Len frowned. "What do you mean?"
"For years, I've been Gakupo's prisoner," She began carefully. "I was cursed, a long time ago, to never speak a lie. Gakupo has used that to his advantage many times, and this was one of those times. I told him how to find you."
"...W-why? Why does he want me?" Len asked, shivering.
"Gakupo is making a weapon, one unlike the weapons anyone's ever seen before, more powerful than even a gun. However, it is... complicated to make. He first had to trap that shadowy creature you've come in contact with; it is known as Nightshade. That creature feeds on the spirit energy of humans, which he needed to harvest for the weapon. The Nightshade renders it into a more tangible form, which he can use to power his weapon. Theoretically, he could use anyone, but if an ordinary person was completely swallowed by the Nightshade like you've been, they'd certainly die."
Len bit his lip. "Am I different, then?"
From what he could see, it looked like she nodded. "Indeed," said Luka solemnly. "Because you're not entirely human."
Len's eyes went wide. "W-what do you mean?"
"You know you and your sister are orphans, yes?" Len nodded. "Your father was a human, but your mother was a sylph. Sylphs are air spirits, and your mother's body couldn't handle birthing you and your sister. She passed away soon after you two were born, but you have part of her spirit, and her magic. It's because of that, that the Nightshade hasn't killed you yet. It's her energy that's keeping you alive, and that's why Gakupo needed you. He has gotten away with many terrible things, if he started kidnapping and killing hundreds of people to fuel his plan, the people would surely rise up to stop him before he could finish.
"Gakupo came to me, asking if there was any way to get his hands on a power source that wouldn't die right away, and with my far-reaching vision, I found you. I saw the day your town was destroyed, and I saw your sister thrown into the lake, and you were about to die. So I told Gakupo, and he found you, and brought you back here. And now you are here," She finished. She sounded just a little sad. "I'm sorry. I see that staying here has hurt you in many ways, but I cannot say anything but the truth."
Len wanted to say something, but his voice seemed caught in his chest. That was a lot to digest. He'd wondered, for a long time, who his real parents were, but never had he imagined this. "...Luka... What will Gakupo do, once he has this weapon?"
"Undoubtedly use it to establish himself above all others. Anyone who does not do exactly as he commands will be slaughtered, and I can foresee him killing many with this weapon. With this, he could potentially make the whole world his slave."
Len shuddered, looking down. "Is there... anyway to stop him?"
"Not yet," Luka said simply. "Do not blame yourself for what he makes with your soul, Len. You are his tool, not his accomplice; this is not your choice, and not your fault."
Len bit his lip. "...Thank you, Luka."
"There is no need for thanks," Luka replied soberly, "I fear my words may weigh on you even more."
Suddenly, the door at the end of the dark hallway flew open, and Len looked up to see Gakupo, frowning irately.
"So there you are," He muttered, walking up to Len swiftly, grabbing the boy by the collar of his shirt before he could back away. "You're quite the troublesome brat." Gakupo looked over at Luka's cell door. "What have you told him, Luka?"
"Of why he's here, and what you're planning," Luka replied immediately. "Nothing that could possibly get in the way of your plans, though."
Gakupo scowled, first at Luka, then at Len. "Come with me, brat," he said sharply, tugging on Len's shirt and dragging him out of the dungeon. Keeping a firm grip on Len's collar, Gakupo marched back up to Len's room, shoving Len through the door roughly. Where normally, he would have just given Len a smug look and left, though, this time, he stepped inside Len's room, rummaging in his pocket for something.
"You're becoming quite the nuisance..." Gakupo muttered. "You seem to be forgetting your position." Len gulped, eyes fixed on Gakupo fearfully, and the purple-haired man pulled out a box of matches. He took a single match, struck it against the rough edge of the box, and a small flame sprung to life. When Len caught sight of the flame, a small spike of fear immediately struck his chest. "But that's nothing a little discipline can't fix."
A/N: This isn't really important to the story, but while I was working on this chapter, I was discussing Rin and Len's parentage to a friend, and we made this joke about their mother being a unicorn and their father being... Bill Cipher. Our laughter, it will never cease.
