Part 60: Face the Music
Slade was in his office deep in thought with a computer monitor being the only light in the room. He was remembering his last fight with the Titans and how close he was to victory until Draco defeated him. He swore that things would be different next time and Tartarus would start to make their move. He then began to think of Kat. If anything should happen would she be ready to lead? Slade had great confidence in his apprentice, but to lead an entire organization? She just needed a little more time. Suddenly he was taken out of his thoughts when he saw a blue flame erupt from the office and from the flames came two figures cloaked in shadow with one being shorter than the other.
"Greetings, Mr. Wilson. We finally meet," spoke the taller figure that was clad in a black cloak with blue trim.
"And you would be?" Slade asked calmly as he leaned back in his chair.
The man pulled back his hood and revealed himself. "Oh, where are my manners? I am Brother Occultus, master of the Orphenoch race."
Slade smirked, "I've heard of you. Please, give my regards to your brother."
"On the contrary, I'm glad he's rotting in hell." Occultus smiled. "Though I am flattered you know of me. It makes things easier."
"State your business. I am a busy man you know," Slade replied bluntly.
"I've come only to give you warning. Surrender your futile attempts at controlling this world, for I plan to destroy it soon."
"I have only heard rumors but now I know it's true, you are a complete lunatic," Slade began. "What's to gain from it?"
"My ascension to godliness, of course!" Occultus shouted "What better opponent for a god to slay than the entire world?"
Slade looked to the office door to notice Copycat walking in slowly and silently. It seemed that she had activated her Zodiac Armor before coming in. She crept behind the smaller cloaked figure and was about to drive her claws in. But before she could perform her attack, her would-be victim caught wind of her presence. With an unexpected show of speed, Copycat was face to face with her prey and was knocked back from three punches to her stomach and face. The figure removed its cloak and underneath was a teenage boy who looked no older than thirteen years of age. The boy had short parted black hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a black sleeveless muscle shirt, navy blue pants, black wrist bracers, black boots, and a black leather choker. His eyes flashed green when he stared at Copycat.
"You must be Copycat, Slade's apprentice," Occultus acknowledged as he turned to face her. "Well then, young lady, let me introduce you to my apprentice. Miss Copycat, I'd like you to meet Grave."
As if commanded by the sound of his name, Grave clenched his hand to a fist and it was soon covered with a green flame. Copycat's eyes widened when she saw it. She recognized this power.
"That green flame, that couldn't be. The only person who has that power is…" Copycat spoke up.
"Yes, that is Mortuary's power," Occultus interrupted.
"But how did you-?" Copycat asked still bewildered by the revelation.
"I'll just say that Mr. Smith should watch whose face he spits his blood on," Occultus answered before turning to Slade. "Enjoy all these moments you have before the world is destroyed, Mr. Wilson. I bid you goodbye." Occultus then made his way back to the blue flame and disappeared in it.
Grave followed his master but before stepping into the portal he turned to Copycat with a smirk on his face and waved to her before disappearing into the flame. With both Occultus and Grave gone the flame extinguished itself.
Copycat looked up to her master and noticed he was staring intently at where the flame was. "Slade-sama?" she questioned.
"You've picked the wrong man to make enemies with and now that you're in my way you'll be crushed just as mercilessly as the Titans," Slade declared.
Copycat smirked at her master's statement. "I'll see you later, Grave." She looked forward to driving her claws through his body and hanging his head from the ceiling. Even if he was a child, anyone who got in her way was going to pay for it with their lives.
A swirling black portal appeared into existence on the grounds of the Hasuma-Narukawa Mansion. There was a roar of an engine as a vehicle sped out of it. Its rider's cloak flapped in the wind before he put on the breaks and killed the engine. He removed the keys from the bike and removed his helmet. Sighing, he looked up at the door.
After challenging his sister to a fight, Shadowcobra a.k.a. Ichijyo was exhausted. Interference from ARMS had derailed his plans but also opened his eyes to see how his sister had improved. Moon was wounded but with help from the Titans East she would recuperate and be up and running in no time.
If only Shadow was that lucky. No doubt Bumblebee had contacted Robin and the other Titans had heard and were waiting to talk to him, or yell at him as the case may be. They would want answers but right now Shadow was too tired to care.
He dismounted from his vehicle before discarding his cloak and haphazardly throwing it into the sidecar. He needed to calm his nerves right now and the best way was a cup of herbal tea. He walked up towards the door and before his hand could reach the knob he heard a not too subtle click before the door creaked open slowly. One eye was staring at him, and it didn't look too happy.
"You're back," the monotonous voice of Raven spoke. Shadow swallowed nervously. Whenever she had that tone in her voice, he knew he was in trouble. She stepped back and the door opened wide enough for him to enter. Raven was nowhere to be seen but then again he knew where the Titans were waiting for him. It had been normal for them to confront or gang up of one of their own within the living room whenever there was trouble or conflict. It happened a lot at the Tower, so why would it be different here?
Shadow removed his boots and put on the house slippers before making his way to the living room. The Titans would no doubt want answers as to what he was thinking. He would give it to them straight before going into his room.
The Titans were staying in the mansion because Emiko Narukawa Hasuma, mother of Ryuki Leonard Hasuma a.k.a. Draco had invited them. Aside from Raven, the other original Titans had not ever stepped foot into the mansion. They had been awed by it. Well, all except for Robin who lived in a mansion nearly all his life but it was still a sight to behold. If they hadn't seen it, they wouldn't have believed it.
Robin actually accepted the notion of taking some extra time off in Japan. After they had been given medals of honor for saving Tokyo from Daizo and his ink monsters, the team decided to relax and take in the sights. Robin was planning on taking Starfire on a date and Starfire wanted so much to see a real kimono or yukata. Emiko loved having the girls here seeing as she could 'guilt' them into modeling some of her clothes. It was a win-win situation.
No such luck with Shadow as he walked into the living room. He caught the confused, angry, accusing and disappointed stares directed towards him. What was he supposed to say now?
"So, you've heard, I take it?" Shadow asked Robin who was sitting on the couch with Starfire.
"Bumblebee told us everything," Robin said bitterly.
"And it was hard for us to believe her story at first," Starfire added.
"So, just give it to us straight," Cyborg said, standing to his full height in an attempt to intimidate Shadow. His metallic arms were crossed, "Did you or did you not try to eliminate your sister from the Zodiac War and take her powers?"
Shadow had no reason to lie. They knew the answer to that question. They just wanted him to confirm it. Sighing, Shadow answered, "Yes, I did."
"Dude, why did you do it?" Beast Boy asked.
Shadow turned away, "I had my reasons and just leave it at that."
Robin interjected, "Bumblebee told us your reasons already."
Shadow hissed, "So if that's the case then there is no reason for this. Good day." As he was ready to walk away, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He recognized the aura. "Raven…let go," he warned.
"I won't," she objected, "Not until you tell us why you did what you did." Shadow turned to look at her coldly.
"You already know," he remarked before shrugging her off.
"Please, friend," Starfire pleaded, "Tell us. We need to understand."
Shadow shook his head. Why did it have to be so hard? Turning around, he faced all of the Titans and admitted, "Fine! You want to know why I did it!? Alright, here it goes! The reason I decided to challenge Moon," he neglected to call Moon his sister, "was because I thought she was unfit to be a Knight! I saw her as weak and not willing to do what it takes to win! I thought she didn't deserve to be a Knight, her powers or have any place in this war! I didn't think she could win, alright!"
The Titans listened, shocked at this, but Raven could tell he was lying. Robin could catch that he'd hesitated a few times. There had to be more to it.
"There's more, isn't there?" Robin pressed.
"No, that's the truth," Shadow denied. "Now, is this interrogation over?"
"It's the truth, but not the whole truth," Raven spoke. "There's more to it than that."
"Raven…" Shadow didn't want to continue.
"Just tell us why you really do it and don't try to sugarcoat it," Raven said, holding his hands. He wanted to pull away from her gaze but…he just…couldn't. He sighed in defeat.
"There is more to why you did it," Starfire said, reasoning, "It was not because you saw that she was unfit, was it not?"
Starfire. Though she appeared naïve in the ways of Earth she could pick up on emotion like Raven, though not in the same degree. But, the two girls had meditated together so maybe it wasn't too farfetched to see that the two had a close bond and the experience they had when switching bodies may have resulted in some subtle side-effects like empathy for Starfire and Raven being more cheerful…to a certain limit.
Shadow had to come clean. No hiding it now. "I was trying…to protect her," he finally admitted. Robin had a skeptical look on his face while the other Titans still looked at him with neutral looks or pleading gazes. "Sometimes, if you want to help someone, you have to betray them."
"From what?" Terra asked. "What could threaten you sister so bad that you had to betray her like you did?"
Shadow didn't want to divulge the information but seeing as he had no choice now, he said it out loud, "Copycat has been hunting down Knights for their powers and her targets have been those who still only have their starter powers. They were lucky that they didn't get killed but they could've and now are in intensive care for their injuries or in comas." He remembered that Ron was lying in a coma due to Copycat. She put him there. Not to mention, Kazuo and Tarou. "Ron Stoppable/Zodiac Knight Animorph, Brick Flagg/Zodiac Knight Boar, Felix Renton/Zodiac Knight Doc, Kazuo Hibiki/Zodiac Knight Tiger, and Tarou Hibiki/Zodiac Knight Lion have already been eliminated and their powers taken." The Titans were stunned. "And, because of that…I decided…"
"You didn't want your sister to get hurt so you wanted to take her off the list," Robin concluded. Shadow smiled slightly. Robin always was a good detective. Despite being impatient and often jumping to conclusions, he could still logically make a conclusion from the facts. Shadow answered with a nod.
"In this war only one Knight can remain and to do that you need to eliminate the others."
"So, is she…?" Raven asked.
"She stood up to me," Shadow said, "And proved to me that she could handle herself. I let her keep her Zodiac Power."
"That is such a relief," Starfire said.
"However, I still worry that when she faces Copycat she may not win," Shadow said.
"She has the others to help her when that happens," Robin said. "And you."
"So…can I leave then?" Shadow asked carefully.
"No way, dude!" Beast Boy stood up, grinning madly, "You have to be punished!"
Shadow quirked an eyebrow and had a worried look on his face. He didn't like the look on Beast Boy's face. This feeling of terror was also added when Cyborg laughed manically and rubbed his hands together. He could scan their minds but did he want to? "What are you going to do to me?"
When one lived in Tokyo, the strange and unusual was part of the norm. There were magical girls in short skirts throwing around corny speeches while fighting monsters and also martial artists with techniques and fighting prowess that went well beyond the imagination. Heck, they even had a large lizard attacking the city and a large monster made of ink that had been human before he was defeated by a group of colorfully dressed teenagers who would be considered heroes. In Tokyo and maybe the whole of Japan the weird was considered normal. So, seeing a portal appeared out of thin air with a bullet train racing out of it was not going to turn many heads, save those who still hadn't gotten used to the strange country that was Tokyo. Tracks seemed to grow out of the ground to allow a smooth ride for the large vehicle itself as it cruised along the ground of the local cemetery, miraculously missing the gravestones. It then made a stop and one of the doors on the side slid open. Several youths and a canine hopped out of the door to land on the ground. The train would remain there to pick them up later.
Ryuki was dressed in a proper black suit walked towards the gravestone, followed by Brimstone who was padding alongside him. With him was Jinx and she was dressed in a black dress too, holding his hand to lend him support. This was something he needed to do. Ryan was there too and he leaned against the ChronoLiner, just as an observer. He hadn't known Tazuka that well in life so he had no place to be here. Ryuki still appreciated that his sempai decided to come.
Ryuki approached the gravestone cautiously and kneeled in front of it before whispering a prayer. Jinx did the same before burning some incense and setting down some flowers. "I'm sorry that I haven't visited you as often as I should. Been busy, niisan."
Under normal circumstances, when one spoke to the dead, the dead never spoke back.
"You know, I'm standing right here. You don't have to talk to a slab of rock," Pasenderos spoke as he appeared, his clothes repaired and cleaned. He was wearing a Gigai that looked just like him when he had been alive and mortal. The reason was that he didn't want to attract too much attention with the Hollow mask fragments in his hair. He still couldn't get them out but there would be time for that later. "So, you came," Pasenderos smiled.
Ryuki smiled back as he stood up, "Hai, you asked so I answered." Jinx stood up as well, eyeing the Arrancar a little warily even after the talk they had earlier.
Pasenderos eyed the incense and flowers and sighed, "You could've brought some sake so we could drink some here."
Ryuki shook his head, "I don't drink."
"And yet you've had sex already," Pasenderos smirked, causing Ryuki's eyes to go wide and Jinx to blush. "Your girlfriend there didn't tell me. I just picked up on it," Pasenderos chuckled.
Ryuki couldn't help but laugh as well. Even when Tazuka had died, he was still with him, literally, in spirit. A blanket was laid down in front of the gravestone as Jinx, Ryuki, Brimstone and Pasenderos sat down on it. Ryuki scratched the demonic canine's head as the Arrancar looked at the Vizard leaning against the train and offered him a seat, "You know, you can sit with us."
"Pass," Ryan waved off the invite, "This is a private thing between you all. I'm just an outsider."
"Sempai, onegai," Ryuki said. Ryan was still being stubborn.
Pasenderos had to ask, "Why do you call him 'sempai'?"
"Remember when I always talked about the Kamen Riders?" Ryuki reminded.
"Oh, yeah," Pasenderos nodded before saying, "You always went on and on about them, wanting to be like them and stuff."
"Ryan-sempai is a Rider," Ryuki said before digging into his pocket and taking out the badge, "And so am I."
"Wow!" Pasenderos was impressed and proud. "Looks like your wish did come true."
"One of them, actually," Ryuki stated sadly. Brimstone whimpered and rested its head on Ryuki's thigh. Ryuki pet the dog. "Don't you get sad too…"
"I've always thought you were more of a cat person," Pasenderos observed. "But, then again, you always had weird taste in animals too. A demon dog?"
"Guess I just love animals," Ryuki said as Brimstone barked in agreement and licked Ryuki's palm.
"A lot has happened, hasn't it? And I missed it all because I was thirsty for revenge," Pasenderos said sadly.
"It wasn't your fault," Ryuki told him, trying to convince him.
"Wasn't yours either so I don't really have anyone to blame."
Jinx had to cut the depression in the bud and make it a good talk between two 'brothers'. "Hey, Tazuka, if you've been out of the loop, let me tell you some stories from Titans Tower."
Pasenderos nodded, wanting to hear some more about his old friends.
"One time we had a thunderstorm and…" Jinx began the tale.
Ichijyo wanted to kill someone. He knew he couldn't though. No, that would upset Raven and Starfire. There was no way he would willingly do that. It was actually one of the last things in the world he wanted to do. Still, he still felt the urge to cause grievous amounts of pain on Beast Boy and Cyborg. His precious blackbird might not mind but Starfire still wouldn't like it.
The reason for his grief? Well, the idiot duo had recruited Emiko and managed to have her dig out some of her home movies in which he was involved in some incidents that he was less than proud of. One of which was his school play of "The Three Musketeers".
That certain incident hadn't been his fault. If the dumb dog had kept his mouth shut about his sister then they wouldn't have started arguing. If they hadn't argued then they wouldn't have gotten into a sword fight while Ryuki had been doing his part. If they hadn't started a swordfight then they wouldn't have knocked a torch down and started a fire. Honestly, who would use an actual torch as part of a backdrop in a school play?
The home movie humiliation didn't end there though. Oh no. Beast Boy and Cyborg immediately took those videos to the computers and compiled them to make a single movie. They then uploaded it onto the internet for anyone and everyone to see.
He would find a way to make the two pay. He knew he deserved some soft of punishment but this was cruel, unusual and utterly juvenile…
But in a way, it felt good too seeing as they were teens and even if they were heroes too they were still teenagers who wanted to have fun. Speaking of fun, he was planning his revenge on the two as we speak.
During the ordeal, he had sensed a powerful source of spiritual energy, which was impossibly familiar. He brushed it off as a fluke but then he felt it again. He was shook out of his musing when he heard laughter from Cyborg and Beast Boy as Emiko played another tape for the Titans. The others were laughing too but not as much as Cyborg and Beast Boy. 'Well…let's see who laughs last, shall we?' Ichijyo grinned evilly as his imagination ran around in his mind. One good prank did deserve another, right?
Pasenderos laughed at the story as Jinx giggled along with Ryuki who was chuckling as well. It felt great to reminisce about the past.
"Imagine the look on his face when he realized he was naked in the hall!" Pasenderos guffawed. "The girls got an eyeful of that!"
"That really happen?" Jinx asked.
"Takada was making this formula that was supposed to eat away at clothing but it spilt all over him," Ryuki repeated. "That was one chemistry class I would never forget!"
"I was glad I came to visit that day too," Pasenderos wiped a tear away from his eye.
Their pleasant mood was soon interrupted by a chillingly familiar voice.
"What do we have here? Laughter in a cemetery? You don't seem to respect the dead, do you?" Jinx's eyes widened as did Pasenderos'. Ryuki's eyes narrowed. Standing there was none other than the former Zodiac Knight of Scorpio and presently one of Occultus' elite. He was the Dragon Orphenoch, otherwise known by his name as…
"Asakura…" Ryuki growled.
Asakura smirked and looked at Pasenderos. "You look familiar. Didn't I kill you?"
Asakura touched a nearby tree and the group watched as it crumbled into burning ashes. Asakura mock scolded his hand, "Oh, bad hand. Why did you have to hurt the tree?" before he laughed out loud like a maniac.
"New power?" Pasenderos muttered.
"He's full of surprises," Ryuki stated, "Unpleasant ones."
Ryan stood up straight and gripped his Guitar Axe, Zanki. This Asakura person was someone that'd been mentioned a lot as a psycho, monster, beast, and murderer. He was worse than a Hollow, believe it or not. The rumors weren't exaggerated as they were all true.
"I think I killed a few people that are here now," Asakura mused, looking around. "Well, I think so. I mean, maybe that was one of my victims," he pointed to a random gravestone, "or was it that one?" he pointed to another one. He shrugged, smiling, "Well, all I know is all my victims end up here anyway."
"Go…away…" Ryuki threatened, eyes glowing a flaming blue. His fingertips were turning into claws as his teeth began to sharpen. One of the only people that Ryuki had never considered having a single piece of goodness had dared to come and ruin this?
"No, I don't think I will," Asakura said before powering up a blast. He then sent it flying. Ryuki grabbed Jinx and pushed her to the ground as Ryan jumped in and used the his Zanki to smash the blast into oblivion. Asakura frowned at the one who'd ruined his fun. "Oh, are you another one of his friends?" Asakura gestured to Ryuki with his head.
"You heard him," Ryan frowned, "You're not welcomed here. This is a sacred place. Respect the dead and leave." That wasn't a request. It was a warning.
"Well, I was paying my respects, in a way," Asakura touched a gravestone. "I mean, I just wanted to say hi to all my past victims." He spoke to the gravestone, "Didn't I put a bullet in your head after I made you watch me kill your husband?"
That was the LAST straw! With a roar, Ryuki leapt at Asakura and allowed the blue flames to engulf him and change him into the Ifrit Orphenoch. Jinx screamed, "NO!" but it fell to deaf ears. Asakura smirked as he too changed into his Dragon Orphenoch Form.
"Come and get it," Asakura the Dragon Orphenoch growled as he waited for the Ifrit Orphenoch to come to him. He wanted to 'repay' him for making him what he was today.
To Be Continued…