Ceridwen Lucius – I'm glad you like the shift in perspective :) if you ask me. I think there isn't enough of the empire siding fics on this site.
Unto the story
Play: RED – Canto III
Kane continued to have a dreamless sleep air… but the thing is. His aches did not go away… but he felt off about himself. It feels like something is wrecking havoc inside him. Not only that…. He could hear a voice inside his head
"These soldiers are built to take down every enemy they have. Whether it be their superiors, fellow comrades or coworkers, or even their own family"
"Most of them are either just post souls or loyal to the empire. But yet I believe they secretly find enjoyment in exterminating the enemy"
"They are the perfect killing machines."
Kane sees himself strangling a man before throwing him onto the road for him to get run over.
"Are you sure it good to use them against the Rebel Alliance?"
"Many of them have suffered because of them and even witnessed firsthand destruction they caused. Especially towards the unarmed imperial planets"
Kane remembers his hometown burning down as he remembers rebel terrorists constantly setting fires and killing imperial civilians when he was only a child… that damn day. It was the day he lost everything. That memory is the most painful of everyone one Kane has.
A constant reminder of how scummy the Revel Alliance are.
As these thoughts and voice echoes in his mind he couldn't stop twitching and wincing
"These soldiers are modified not to feel pain. But yet they experience traits of it despite taking their medication."
"These men and women shouldn't be burden with fear nor sadness. I doubt we should classify them as human anymore"
Kane finds himself in an oxygen healing tank. He realizes he's not in his armor and in nothing but experiment shorts he looks at his chest and sees the cut the Jedi gave him. An officer then taps on his tank.
His mouth started to move but due to the water in the tank and the sound of his own breathing he couldn't hear what he is saying. He looks around to see fellow Deathtroopers out of their armor in oxygen healing tanks as well. In fact. He is pretty sure that one of them is the slayer of 11 Jedis.
"Every Deathtrooper that is able to kill 1 or more Jedi should always be kept alive for further use"
"But should we cryogenic them?"
"No. If we do their muscle memory will fatigue Leading them to be more vulnerable to conflict"
Then suddenly he sees a very scary figure come out of the shadows to greet the office.. it was Darth Vader. . Vader then inspects the "Jedi Slayer" Deathtrooper for a few moments before going on to inspect Kane.. Upon seeing him Kane widened his eyes
He felt a surge of fear just by the sight of Vader
"!" said Kane rips awake accidentally breaking part of the chair he rests on causing the pango and Zack to wake up in alarm. They could hear Kane's heavy breathing start to slowly down.
He was terrified of Vader. Every time he sees him. He is paranoid that he will only piss him off. Like when he nearly got killed after fighting the wookie….
"Poi?" said the pango jumping off the pillow and onto the table breaking Kane out of his fear…
Kane looks at the piece of chair in his hand and back at the pango
"Whoah.. did you have a had dream?" Said Zack. Kane then throws the piece of chair at him "Hey what was that for!?"
"…" said Kane as he looks outside. He sees the sun is starting to come out. "….help me up you fool."
Zack reluctantly gets up and begins to support Kane as they leave the room as the pango happily followed. He still doesn't gave any paranoia of Kane due to his aches. Kane still felt the pain of getting hit by that shadow magic orb.
Luckily it's not as bad as earlier. But it's still felt pretty painful. Then. Suddenly the door of Leanna's room begins to open as she leaves with a yawn
"Good morning boys. I hope you had a good night's sleep" said Leanna
"Hardly" said Zack "that thing tried to absorb the energy from my dischargers all night" if Kane's medication fully wore off. He would've chuckled as he then reaches out to the pango
"Poi" said the pango as it jumps onto Kane's hand
"Aww. They truly are best friends" thought Leanna as she thinks it adorable that someone like Kane would carry a pango as they head downstairs. When they did. Leanna proceeds to talk with one of the staff as Zack sets him on a chair with a table. Leanna then comes over to them.
"Kane. I ordered you a stew. It should help with your pain" said Leanna
"…. Thanks" said Kane
"I will be running some errands and then I'll be back" said Leanna getting up and leaving. "I trust you two won't kill each other while I'm gone"
"…sure" said Kane
"*sigh* yes" said Zack "But you won't have to worry. I'll be running an errand as well" as he gets up and they both leave the inn
"Poi?" said the pango on the table as Kane then pets it about 7 minutes go by as suddenly as old lady with a bowl stew and a spoon approaches Kane. Strangely enough she didn't have any fear. The other staff seemed to be intimidated by his appearance.
"Hello there. Are you Kane?" said the old lady. Kane nods to her. She then puts the stew in front of him "I hope you like it. Oh what an adorable friend you have there" as she let's the pango
"Poi" said the pango
"You know. You remind me of my late husband. Let me tell you. He was one of the tallest people alive" said the old lady
"…really?" said Kane showing a slight hint of interest
"Of course. He was about either 6'11 or 7'0" said The old lady. Wow. That lady has married to a very tall man compared to her 5'4 "you're the tallest person I've met since him. Say.. how tall are you?"
"….6'5" said Kane
"That's pretty tall. Now go on and eat" said the old lady "You need something to get rid of those aches. And if you want to support yourself"
Kane then begins to take off his helmet. And puts it on the table and begins to grab the spoon and starts to eat the stew
"My goodness you look so pale" said the old lady
"…" said Kane with a deadpan face
"Oh uh.. sorry. But besides that You look like a warrior. Have you been through tough fights?" said the chatty old lady as Kane nods in response to "Oh dear. Just like my husband. Ah I remember those fighting competitions. I bet he would loved to meet someone like you" as she then glances at Kane's scar
Kane nearly finished his stew. And strangely enough. Even though Kane had no idea who her husband was. But he felt slightly interested in hearing about him.
Kane's aches started to fully go away as he then finishes up his stew, puts his helmet back on, and gets up and stretches.
"That really fixed you up now didn't it?" said the old lady as Kane nods to her in response "Well. By now I got to get back to work. I hope to talk you again soon" she said happily as she then walks towards the kitchen
"Poi poi" said the pango observing Kane as he then sits back down. A few moments go by where Kane sat in silence before Leanna and Zack reenter the inn
"Hey Kane. You feeling Better?" said Leanna as Kane nods to her in response "Alright. Who's ready to hit the road?"
"Poi!" said the pango hopping excitedly for another adventure before jumping into Kane's hand before leaving the inn.
Upon leaving the inn. Many of the enforcers were gone. This tells Kane that they were probably fired. And now that they dealt with this shadow magic. It's probably going to change the town for the better.
As they all went to the exit path. They were all surprised the only thing that really didn't change was the amount of security they had. But every town needs to be cautious. Right?
"Good day ma'am and gentlemen" said one of the guards tipping his hat at them as Leanna smiles and waves in response
".Leanna. How much farther is Ilumia?" said Kane as they all continued to walk a certain path
"If we just keep walking. We should reach the place… most likely before evening" said Leanna
As they continued to walk. Leanna couldn't help herself but peek at the pango on Kane's hand every once in a while wishing she could hold it. Kane looks to see what appears to be a whole kingdom afar. Kane strangely felt the urge to run up ahead
The pango looked excited about it as well. Maybe there something it's excited about. And Zack didn't say anything the entire trip.
"Kane?' Said Leanna gaining his attention
"?" said Kane
"Can I hold him?" said Leanna referring to the pango
"Poi?" Said the pango curiously as he looks at Leanna then back at Kane. Before Kane them hands Leanna the pango and she has some sparkles in her eyes.
"Your so cute" said Leanna in a girly fashion holding the pango close to her. Though the pango seemed to be happy that it got some real attention. Other than slight pets.
Later
When they finally arrived to IIumia Kane got some stares. But not as much stairs because apparently he isn't the strangest looking person walking around. He could a group of people wearing animal themed outfits..
Or maybe a few plague doctor's walking around. This made Leanna feel slightly better now that she back to Ilumia and able to report on what she has found
"Alright you guys" said Zack looking at one of the side streets "This is my stop. Not only that this is the shortcut to the inn" as he then goes down the path waving goodbye
"Goodbye Zack! I hope our paths will cross again!" said Leanna
"Poi poi!" said the pango in a 'goodbye' fashion
"...I don't" said Kane accidentally aloud. As Leanna gives him a look before elbowing him.
"Be nice" said Leanna before having what appears to be a moose swing from slightly miffed to a happy tone "And the mage academy is way up ahead. We should arrive sooner than we thought" pointing to the huge castle like building. As they both proceeded to walk towards it.
"…Leanna?" said Kane
"Yes?" said Leanna
"…You studied here… did you?" said Kane
"Yup" said Leanna "So what's your academy like… er.. if you went to one" filled with genuine curiosity as she continued to hug the pango
"….My academy?" said Kane as he wonders how much he should tell her.. before deciding that being vague is the best idea.
"Poi" said the pango as Leanna then holds him out do he can jump onto Kane's hand
"….My academy… It was very hard" said Kane as he remembers his training after he got modified.
"Hard?" said Leanna
"We had to a set of physical exercises everyday ranging from push ups, durability tests, and agility" said Kane
"Wow. That sounds like a really athletic place" said Leanna "What else did you do?
Kane starts to think what else should be tell her… Hunting? Nah. Lifting? She probably already has athletic down. Killing? Probably not… Eat pills? She might think he's a drug addict... then he gets an idea
"The gas test?" said Kane
"...Gas test?" said Leanna as she hopes he does not mean farting.
"It's when we had to go into a room filled with gas meant to sting you" said Kane "You go in, take off your helmet, and your forced to soak in that awful stinging sensation to build up a resistance to it for a minute" this spoke somewhat volumes to Leanna.. he isn't just a trained fighter…. He is trained in a school lf elites…. She could only wonder what others are capable of.
Not only that. She has never heard of an academy that forces it's students to go through things possibly dangerous substances.
"You must really have…. Powerful classmates" said Leanna as it Dawn's on her that Kane might be more dangerous than she thought. She began to feel she should really keep an eye on him
"…" said Kane as he felt he has told her enough. He still remembers many things he did in training. He absolutely hated the gas tests even if it probably helped him in certain missions. He still remembers that stinging sensation
"So… did they wear the same armor as you?" said Leanna
"Yes….. but many of them are taller than me" said Kane. Leanna couldn't stop thinking about what Kane just said….. there is a whole army if giants…. Not only that. But if Kane is short compared to them then who knows how tall they can reach
"Did they have anything to differentiate them? Other than height?" said Leanna as she gradually gets more interested in Kane and his fellow deathtroopers
"We we're all assigned a number" said Kane
"..and what is your number?" said Leanna
"…..DT-136" said Kane thinking that telling her that won't hurt at all
"Well… what else did you guys do?" said Leanna
"…" said Kane as he feels he told her enough for now…
"Kane?" said Leanna
No response. She then gives up asking him questions like that for now as they continue walking through the city
Kane begins to look around the city he walks through. The place isn't as rustic looking as he expected it to be. People are still using horses and carriages for transportation. He could also get used to a sight like this. It reminds him that there maybe hope in a place like this
But he thinks he can't be too hopeful. Because there could be a possibility he just jinxed it. However Kane's silence gives Leanna the impression that he had a dislike towards them…. Even if it isn't true.
Later
After a while of walking. Kane and Leanna finally made it to the mage academy. They see it has a very nice looking front. To Kane's surprise there are a lot of different pangos ranging from many different colors hopping around
The pango in Kane's hand began to hop excitedly at the potential new friend it can make. Not only that. There are a bunch of students both alone and in groups walking around .
Eventually after short time of walking towards the door. Many students began to give Kane a slight started whenever they happened to see him. This time Leanna isn't as bothered by the stares… probably because she is more familiar with the people here
"…So this is the mage academy?" said Kane looking around
"Yup. Is it everything like you imagined?" Said Leanna
"…." Said Kane. Then eventually come near the door into the academy. Eventually Leanna saw a girl in a white cloak reading a book. Leanna began to stare at her for a moment
"…do you know that person?" uttered Kane
"Not really. But we share the same house." Said Leanna "see. Every student here is divided up by cloaks which represents the magic in particular they are learning. See those green cloaks. Those people are learning earth magic"
Kane turns his attention to three students in green cloaks ad they levitate dirt off the ground… similar to how a Jedi uses the force. As they enter the building
Kane sees a lot of students walking around. Not only that. He sees pangos hoping around everywhere. This makes him think that this mage academy seems to like having pangos around.
"Hey. Shoo! Get away from that" said a random student shooing a few pangos from an energy crystal. This made Leanna attempt to hold down a giggle at how silly that is.
They continue walking through the place getting the occasional awkward stares from students and professors who aren't used to seeing someone like Kane walking around. He could hear slight murmuring whenever there was a bunch of people that stared at him.
Eventually they reached a library filled with lots and lots of books. Not only that, there was also a lot of students, professors and pangos around.
Eventually Kane sees a group of fine pangos seemingly communicating the pango in his hand looks at them and back at Kane gesturing that it wants to make friends.
"Poi" said the pango
"….go ahead" said Kane putting him on the ground
Eventually Leanna spots an old bearded man looking through a bunch if papers. She then excitedly speed walks towards him. The old man seems surprised yet pleased.
"Professor Oran" said Leanna happily
"Welcome back Leanna. How may I help you?" said the old man now named Oran
"I was sent to investigate magic instances in Meadowhill. But I found out he's the source of it" said Leanna pointing to Kane
"Source?-!" said Oran upon seeing Kane "Th-That's the source!?"
"Yup. Don't worry. He won't bite." Said Leanna patting Kane's back "His name is Kane"
"…" said Kane as he walks towards a bookshelf and picks out a book. He looks at her to see her conversing with Oran and a bald man in a wheelchair.
He could hear them talk about theories of temporal rifts, magic concentration.. and something about a hidden city. He even feels himself being observed by the bald man in the wheelchair and Oran
The book Kane is reading about is records of giants. He reads about some man named…. "Jaws" who apparently was 7'1 tall and a deadly killer. Or a 7'4 man named "Fezzik" who helped kidnap a princess while also ending rescuing her with his friend and her lover.
Hell what surprised him most was there was a man who even reached over nine feet tall. Damn… some of these people might be good Deathtroopers as Leanna then approaches Kane, along with the pango as he jumps onto Kane's hand
"Found a way?" said Kane
"Both yes and no… you see. There are only rumors.." said Leanna "Of a hidden city called 'Embermyst' there was a professor that spent his entire life trying to find it. And not only that. He may have some knowledge we don't have."
"Not even books on it?" said Kane
"Nope. The last one was just sold recently" said Leanna.
Kane began to ponder to himself…. Should he really take the chance based upon a rumor of a possibility of help? In his mind he thinks he has nothing here. So to him it really is worth a shot.
"…..I say we go there" said Kane making Leanna smile at this new adventure
"Let's stop by the inn first. There should be many adventures there that could help us along the way" said Leanna. Kane is starting to like his chances. Little did they know. Someone was eavesdropping on their conversation and decided to follow them
Later
Leanna, Kane, and the pango make their way towards the inn. They still didn't notice the person following them. They enter the inn to see that it's super busy. With many strange looking adventurers hanging around
This time Kane didn't get much spotlight since there are also many strange looking adventurers here as well.
As usual Leanna goes to talk to the innkeeper.. and right when Kane turned his head… he saw Zack sitting on a table. Then she comes back to him with a key before heading back to the inn keeper
"Oh no. Not him again" thought Kane in annoyance as he tries to back away out of his sight. Then Zack turns around and spots Kane "S**T"
"Oh its you" said Zack in his usual time "You finish what you were doing here" strangely enough there was no hostility nor insult coming from him
"…" said Kane as he then gets an idea.. "…is there by chance you are aware of 'Embermyst'?"
"Nope. Afraid not" said Zack. However he could still feel some hostility from Kane… so Zack chooses not to poke sticks at him. Then Leanna approaches them both with a pout
"…No luck?" said Kane as Leanna nods in response
"Greetings" said a girl with pink hair coming out of nowhere "I've began to notice you are looking for Embermyst"
"Hey. I thought the professor told you to stay at the academy" said Leanna as something comes to her mind
"Well. I calculated that my presence to you is far more beneficial than it is to me at the academy. I will happily help you on this quest. Should you take me as a travel companion" said the girl with a monotone voice
Then it hits Leanna. That's who Kane somewhat reminds her of. Kane speaks in the exact same tone and with a similar speech pattern…. She begins to wonder if they are distantly related…..
"poi?"" Sid the pango
"…I say we let the girl join us if she can help us" said Kane before leaving them. He felt like he needed a rest. "We'll deal with it further tomorrow"
"But Kane-" said Leanna only for her words to fall on deaf ears as Kane walks towards his designated room with the pango
Upon entering and closing the door. Kane allows the pango to jump onto the bed as Kane sits upon the chair. Even though he probably wasn't able to find any books actually finding ways other than possible details.
He then proceeds to sit upon a chair. And looks out the window to see it's gorgeous nightlight. It slightly sooths him for being able to have to not have very damaging problems laying around. He then takes off his helmet and looks once again in the mirror.
"….I guess nothing still hasn't changed" thought Kane putting his helmet back on
"Poi?" said the pango
"Take your rest. You will need it" said Kane sitting back down… After a few minutes. Kane started to feel sleepy. For the first time Kane may have gotten sleepy on a normal night. He couldn't hear what's going on outside.
However he hated the fact that Leanna he ran into Zack again. He just has to hope that Leanna doesn't invite him. But he has a strange feeling that she'll do it anyway
But he is dealing with possible travel… it certainly isn't the first time he has dealt with something like it
4 years ago/Flashback dreamscape
Age:16-17
Height: 6'4
"So where are ya? It's been a while"
Kane finds himself on a docking ship with an opening hatch revealing a very rainy city. In fact. This mission he is here to exterminate some people who gave been known to be rebel sympathizers. But the thing is. These kinds of people are more dangerous than the average rebel.
"Troopers. The suspect has been seen attempting to develop portals or gateways for easiertransport and was seen conversing with Rebel Alliance forces. We can't let that happen any more" said an imperial officer
"So whats the plan?" said a stormtrooper
"Simply. Kill the target. Destroy what he has made." Said the imperial officer.
"Sire ate you sure you don't want a rain coat or something?" Said another stormtrooper
"I'll be fine" said the officer
Kane along with a Deathtrooper, the officer and a bunch of stormtroopers began to run in the rain. They run towards a run down apartment. Luckily the rain didn't mess with their vision.
"Yo. What you losers in white came to sniff each other's balls? HAHAHAHA!" said a very strange looking alien that looks like he has been on drugs all day
"Hey. Big boy. Put your dog on it's leash or I'll put that rat bastard down" said the officer to one of the human thugs sitting around. Apparently one of them thinks that insult was pretty funny
"Ha! He just called you a dog!" said one of the thugs to the alien
"OH ITS ON ASSHOLE. EAT S**T" said the alien pointing his blaster at the officer. This made Kane and the other deathtrooper's instincts to kick in. As the thug tries to shoot the officer
The deathtrooper then grabs the officer to bring him out of the way as Kane then unleashes his machine gun upon the thug.
"Oh My God! They killed Willie!" Said one thug
"You twisted bastards!" said another thug as they both started shooting their blasters at them
"Sir think there will be more retaliation!" said a stormtrooper
"Then call in the reinforcements!" said the officer as the stormtrooper then proceeds to tune the signal on his walkie talkies "Deathtroopers. Take a few stormtroopers and raid the building while the red if us deal with these guys"
Kane, the deathtrooper, and a few stormtroopers proceeded to bust through the doors of the run down building. Upon running the stairs ye could hear many people talk about the sound they just made.
Eventually they reached at the room they were looking for. Then Kane looks in through the hole. And see him. His target.
"OH S**T THEY FOUND US!" said the target as Kane proceeded to shoot the door in hopes of the lasers killing him. He then kicks the door down and looks around
"Take this motherf***er!" said the target throwing household objects at Kane. Then. After he stops. He tries to open what appears to be a portal. It started to open. Right when Kane as about to shoot the machine. The target with unnatural speed kicks him out of the way.
Right after that. The deathtrooper and stormtroopers pour and started to shoot the target. With amazing agility the target manages to dodge each shot. This certainty wasn't right. How could such a normal looking person like him be able to do that.
While the others where distracting the target. One of the stormtroopers suddenly gets imaplwd with a sword.
"Man down! We have a ma-" said another stormtrooper as is life ends in a brutal decapitation.
Kane's medication is starting to wear off… seeing something as brutal as that broke him a little. He then immediately gets up and shoots the portal machine before it could do anything further.
The stormtroopers then began to attempt to shoot the target like there is no tomorrow. Kane then proceeds to join them
"KILL THE TARGET!" said a stormtrooper.
Right when Kane was about to shoot him. The target then kicks Kane's machine gun out of his hand before kicking Kane in the face knocking him over. As the target was about to stab Kane right in the neck with a knife
The other deathtrooper then then kicks the target right off him. The target then truns a wheel causing too spray over everyone but himself
"!" said a stormtrooper
"Gas…. HE'S GOING TO GAS US!" said Kane as the target lights a match and drops it onto the ground
"That'll teach ya to mess with my s***" said the target dropping the match onto the ground lighting everyonr into flames. This also reminded Kane of the destruction of his own hometown….
Kane's mind went instant panic as he desperately tries to pat down the fires on him. He could also see the others panic as they continued to get scorched. Right when the target was about to run for it Kane grabs him by the back of his shirt.
"Hey let me go you bitch!" said the target as he tries to squirm out of Kane's grasp. When he did. He snatches a blasters and unleashes lots of fire upon the Kane and the others. It kills all but 2 stormtroopers.
Kane turns around to look at his deathtrooper comrade he checks his pulse ….. there was none
"Holy s*** I killed two deathtroopers in one day! Awesome!" said the target
This internally pissed Kane off. He grabs a grenade and throws it at the target's machine. As he pats down the last fire on his shoulder
"NOO MY LIFE'S RESEARCH-ACK!" said the target as Kane runs out of the fire and grabs him by the neck and slams him into the wall, this time Kane made sure that the target couldn't squirm out of his grip. Kane's anger couldn't contain itself as he then grabs the target's arm "W-WAIT it's not supposed to bend tha-"
*Crack*
Before the target could scream. Kane smashes the back of his head into the wall. And as he layer on the ground. Kane grabs his pistol blaster
*Blam*
*Blam*
Revenge have never felt so good….. the two stormtroopers made it out of the fire and exited the apartment. Right when Kane was about to join them. He notices….. footsteps… they don't look like they are from him or the others…. But they originated from the portal…. He takes a good look at them before leaving the building as the fire consumed everything
But little did he know. That thing that came out of that failed portal….
Would be one of the most horrifying things Kane would have to deal with…
Flashback dreamscape end
Kane wakes up to find he is still on the chair….. it's extremely early in the morning. He slowly gets up and looks around. The pango is still sleeping. Kane then gets up and stretches and walks towards the window. There's barely anyone walking around outside
As time goes by and Kane's medication wears away further and further. Kane starts to feel more bothered by the deaths of his comrades than it previously did. He remembers that none of them deserved the often brutal deaths they suffered.
Those cunts. They clearly have no mercy at all.
Kane's fist starts to clench really hard upon remember seeing lots of atrocities throughout his life and the many times he basically "danced with death". It somewhat terrifies him inside to think how much more damage the Rebel Alliance will do now that he won't be around to stop them
That there won't be a death star to stop them…. That there won't be an Emperor to stop them…. Just what hope for the Empire is there?... But then… the voice of a couple seems to calm him down
Kane sees as his 10-11 year old self after the destruction of his hometown…. He was just a scared and stuttering little boy….. he has never felt so devastated and scared by such an event… just sitting in a room alone with nothing but a chair….. visibly shaking..
"Its ok dearie. There's still hope" said an old woman's voices as he feels a hand gently caressing his head
"Th-There i-is?..." said Kane full of stutters looking to his right
"Yes. The empire has a plan for everything. You'll just have to have faith and it'll work it's magic" said an old man's voice….. prompting Kane to look to the left
That old couple. Kane remembers that old couple…. He misses them…. Though he is sure they lived or possibly is still living a mostly happy life since he hasn't seen not heard from them since joining the empire Deathtrooper soldiers. But he's sure they are fine. He then wakes up from his dream/vision
This made Kane's hands to stop clenching altogether as he had somewhat renewed hope. Since the Empire has plans for every situation they are able to think of, It isn't out of the question if the emperor Sidious may have planned things out if he were to die….
Though Kane feels bad that right now he won't be able to see those plans go into fruition…
"…poi?" said the pango groggingly as he wakes up from his sleep and yawns
Kane manages to take his mind off his dilemma and looks at the pango. The pango gives him an innocent smile. He then walks out of his room as he is followed by the pango. To his surprise Leanna and the others are already.
"Kane." Said Zack in his usual time. This made Kane give him a terrifying stare. This slightly shook the girl that wanted to come with them "Your late."
"…" said Kane. Though some of his scary feeling started to disappear when they saw the pango hop just right beside him
"Oh right. Amelia. Introduce yourself" said Leanna
Kane gets a good look at her. She looked about 17 and was.. about 5'2 in terms of height. She nods to Leanna as her slight fear of Kane goes away when she realized he won't do anything to her and walked up to him
"Hello. My name is Amelia" said the girl now named Amelia "Your name is Kane. Right?" Kane nods to her in response
"Poi!" said the pango as it jumps onto Kane's hand. This made Amelia make a smile upon seeing him.
"I've heard you may have a way of assisting us?" said Kane. It caught Amelia by surprise that he spoke in the same tone as her.
"Yes. I'm aware of the location of Embermyst. I can direct you guys to the way" said Amelia
"….Are you sure you want to do this?" said Kane
"Yes. I've been hoping to find it for years now. And I know I can't do it alone" said Amelia
"….very well." Said Kane as he wants to be slightly cautious that a 17 year old girl apparently may know where exactly is the city. "Where to first?"
"We must head to the train station" said Amelia
"I thought we were going to get breakfast-Ow" said Zack as Leanna elbowed him Amelia leads them out.
Kane took in the sights as they all continued to walk through the city and into the train station. Even though this place was rustic. At least they have trains… and now that Kane thinks about it…. Maybe this place isn't as rustic as he thought it is….
Its still not that much better in his opinion
"So Kane. Now that we have a lead. You excited for this?" said Leanna
"…." Said Kane "…if it ends up working. Then I guess so…"
"Poi" said the pango hopping a few times on Kane's hand.
"I still have no idea what that means" though Kane
Later
The five of them all arrive at a train station to see it's somewhat busy. To their surprise no one was giving Kane any stares. Giving them the idea they have seen some strange looking people.
"We have arrived. And the train should be arriving in a few minutes" said Amelia
"That's good. I couldn't stand walking any further." Said Zack
"We just walked for miles and you didn't mind" said Leanna
"Yeah? Well people get tired eventually" said Zack "Right Kane?"
"….." said Kane as the pango looks at them in confusion as Amelia went to order the tickets. Zack catches onto the fact that Kane still doesn't like him
"Fine be that way" said Zack as Leanna has a slightly smug look
"Poi poi" said the pango as Amelia comes back with the tickets and hands them each a ticket. Kane looks at his ticket for a good few moments as they all proceeded to wait for their train
"Hey Kane. Been on a train before?" said Leanna as Kane nods to her "That's always good. What about you pango"
"Poi… poi poi poi" said the pango as it jiggles in Kane's hand
"I still have no idea what that means" thought Kane
"Pooiiii" the pango looks at the crystals at the otherside of the station. He then jumps off Kane's hand and tried to hop there. Before he could get far. Leanna caught him "Poi" as she then pats his head to calm him down before putting him back on Kane's hand
A train then reaches the station that they are at and stops. Upon stopping. The doors stat to slowly open as each entrance had staff at it. They all went to a door as the train staff stops them
"I'm sorry but we don't allow pangos onto the train?" said the train staff before starting to feel slightly nervous in the presence of Kane
"What!? But why?" Said Leanna
"Its protocol. And they have a tendency to absorb the energy that powers the train" said the train staff "Just leave the pango here and you can go on"
Play: Undertale – It's Raining Somewhere Else
Leanna then stares at the pango on Kane's hand. As her face shows that she is genuinely saddened to leave him behind
"Pango I'm so sorry" said Leanna as Kane hands her the pango as she the hugs him really tightly "I wish you can come" as her eyes start to tear up a bit. Kane started to feel slightly bad for her. Kane thinks that having a pango like him around probably meant a lot to her.
"Poi?" said the pango in utter confusion
But Kane gets an idea.
As she continued to hug onto the pango. She started to weep before putting him back onto Kane's hand and going onto the train
Kane strangely felt compelled to make it up to her as Amelia then walked up to Kane
"Even though I haven't known you long. I'm sorry to leave you" said Amelia petting him before and going onto the train
"Poi..?" said the pango as he continues to wonder why Leanna is sad. And why Amelia petted him with a slightly sad look
"…Just don't absorb other people's dischargers. Ok?" said Zack giving the pango a slight pat before going onto the train
Kane then proceeded to whisper to the pango before putting him down and going onto the train. The pango then proceeded to jump on the train while the pango jumps under the train
"Your friends are at number 12" said the staff as Kane nods to her before walking down the train cart. Eventually he sees a piece of woon bobbing up and down. Upon realizing what it is. He carefully moves it and the pango hops out.
"P-" said the pango ad Kane immediately put his hand on his mouth to keep him from making a sound.. Kane then makes a 'sh' hand gesture to him.
"Hide in here" said Kane as the pango slides into his pouch on his belt before putting the piece of wood back. Kane then looks around to see that the coast was clear. To which he probably should have done before letting the pango in
Kane proceeded to walk through each cart looking for number 12. And after passing each number. Whoever happened to see him looked at him with a slight fear due to his scary appearance. Right now Kane didn't care
Upon opening the door to room with the number 12 on it. He sees Leanna is still sobbing whilst holding onto a pillow. Sitting alone. Next to a window….. he briefly gets a slight glimpse of himself in a similar position
The other side of the table sat Zack and Amelia
"So you finally made it" said Zack "Took you long enough"
"…" said Kane giving him a scary stare before sitting next to Leanna and closing the door. He also feels the pango squirming in his pouch. He looks at Leanna who looks like she stopped crying but continues to hold onto a pillow for comfort "...Leanna.. are you ok?"
She shakes her head "I still miss him"
"…..I think I can help with that" said Kane causing the three of them to look at him curiously. Kane then takes his pouch off his belt and putting it in front of Leanna "Open it"
Leanna looks at the pouch then back at Kane. She then reluctantly opens it. When she did. The pango plops out of it and onto the table surprising the three of them
"Poi" said the pango in a 'hello' fashion as Leanna, Zack, and Amelia look at him, then at Kane, in shock.
"Pango!" said Leanna as she squeals and scoops the pango and gives him a big hug. Seeing her with happiness starting to renew felt good to Kane.. as he remembers.. when Ashley was sad but yet he wasn't able to do anything
"How did you sneak him on here?" said Zack
"….." said Kane as he takes his pouch and reattached it to his belt
"..I guess the world may never know" said Zack after realizing that Kane will most likely not answer that
"I still don't understand" said Amelia
"I highly doubt he'll tell" said Zack
After Leanna finished hugging the pango. She puts him onto the table and then proceeded to hug Kane
"Thanks for bringing him" said Leanna as Kane was surprised that she would hug him of all. Even Zack could immediately tell that Kane is very surprised at her action. While Amelia wondered if there was something going on between the two of them. "I was sad I would never see him again
"….Your welcome" said Kane as she let's go of him. Frankly she didn't care how he snuck him onto the train. She was just glad he was able to succeed.
"Poiii" said the pango as Leanna gives him a few Pat's
"I hope you guys don't mind me asking. But. What made you guys want to find the lost city anyway?" said Amelia
"I was only hired" said Zack
"We know that Zack" said Leanna in a slightly annoyed tone. Kane honestly didn't feel the need to te them at all. What's the point of getting to know them if he'll never see them again. Right?
"….I always thought…. Dimension traveling was…. Cool" said Kane trying his hardest to sound natural. But there were still some factors that were bothering him..
What if this dimension leads to nowhere… What if he ends up somewhere else entirely?... He doesn't want to think about it that much.. but .. what left of the Empire ..
After a catastrophic blow like the destruction of the Death Star. Only devastation, increased death, void of power, more Rebel Alliance scum running around, and worst of all…. No emperor..
As time goes by and the day starts to turn dark…. Even though this isn't the first time he dealt with this like this. He still is worried if something will come out instead of him going in….
Kane looks around and sees that Zack and Amelia has already fallen asleep. And also sees that Leanna has fallen asleep as well. A few more minutes go by and Kane starts to feel sleepy as well. Even though he prefers to sleep in a laying down position
He can tolerate sleeping in a sitting position like the others. But as he tries to sleep he couldn't stop thinking about the negative possibilities of what if they were to succeed. It still concerned him very much
Buy thinking about it all only reminds him of what he thinks was his scariest mission he has ever done
4 Years Ago/ Flashback dreamscape
"Insanity is slowly taking over. Your guilt us driving you mad"
Height: 6'5
Age: 16-17
Kane has reached his peak height as he finds himself on a very snowy planet along with a 2 more deathtroopers, somewhat of an army of stormtroopers, and… Ashley. It was the first time he ever met her.
Kane was on a snowy planet. If he had to be honest. He really like the sight of it. In fact. It was his favorite site his entire time in the empire with all the gorgeous wintergreen trees that decorated the snowy ground
"Deathtroopers huh. Your much taller than I expected" said Ashley inspecting Kane and the other two. "What are your names?"
"DT-045" said one deathtrooper now named DT-045
"DT-367" said another deathtrooper now named DT-367
"DT-136" said Kane
"Alright then. My name is Ashley. I hope you haven't wet your panties going on this mission" said Ashley "What's wrong. Cat got your tongue?"
"…" said Kane and the deathtroopers making her a bit surprised that they didn't react at all to her insult. As an officer came over to whisper in her ear.
"*Ahem* very well then" said Ashley signaling for the officer to go away "Boys. Let's go"
She leads Kane, the other deathtroopers, and a lot of stormtroopers into an empire base. As they went inside the alarm looks like it has been blaring for a while. They all trekked inside with their flashlights on as the room they were in continued to blare red and off.
Kane then looks onto the ground… it's those same footsteps he saw at the burning building. But how the hell did it end up all the way here? That's what he wants to know. And upon looking. He seemed four paths…..
This certainly has an eerie feeling
"Lets split up" said Ashley "All those who aren't chicken follow me or a deathtrooper" as Kane walks into a tunnel. Unsurprisingly. Not that many stormtroopers bothered to follow him, Ashley or the deathtroopers. If they didn't want to follow they must know that something is up.
Kane turns around to see only 1 stormtrooper has bothered to follow him. They both walked through the tunnel.
Eventually drop of blood fell on Kane prompting him to look up…. And that sight he saw made him feel ill whenever it came up.
The stormtrooper upon seeing it is stunned and proceeded to take off his helmet to throw up.
Kane looked at a bunch of dead, mutilated, and some dismembered stormtroopers all hanging on chains upon the ceiling. Kane had no doubt that he weren't on pills he would've been sick to his stomach.
Something is definitely up. The two of the went further into the tunnel. He sees not only a mess of blood. But sees this place apparently has been ransacked. He puts his hand on the wall to see scratch marks upon it.
Then. The two of them could hear blasterfire. They ran towards the direction of it. Which also happens to be where the tunnel leads. When they arrive the stormtroopers and DT-045 killed something…. He could also see that there are only 6 stormtroopers that bothered to follow him
"What did you find?" said DT-045
"Dismembered deceased stormtroopers. You?" said Kane
"That thing" said DT-045 pointing to the dead body that he and the stormtroopers just killed. Kane then takes a closer look at the thing. Probably better that it's dead.
They all proceeded to walk further into the abandoned base as the eerie feeling continues. Then. They an alarm goes off as the lights flicker on and off
*Beep* intruder alert intruder alert *beep* Unknown beasts running loose. All personal please be on guard *beep*
The 10 of them suddenly heightened their guard and looked around cautiously
"We're f**ked" said a stormtrooper as they all heard a growl. Then suddenly a bunch of tentacles started to sprout as they all started to shoot them "MY GOD!"
Kane looks around once again. He sees the same footsteps he saw earlier. Then suddenly. The big metal door suddenly had a huge dent with a 'Bang' sound. Then the door bursted open revealing a demonic looking being as it let's out a monstrous roar
Kane shot at it's head to hopefully kill… however it didn't work as it turned it's attention to him. The beast ran right at them using it's arm to fling away Kane and an unlucky stormtrooper to the wall. D they both landed Kane could feel a tentacles wrap around his leg and pulled him. It made him drop his machine gun. Not only that. The tentacles also grabbed the stormtrooper
"No no! NOOOOOOOOOoooo!" said the stormtrooper as he gets pulled.
As Kane gets pulled he manages to grab the stormtrooper's blaster as he gets pulled into the darkness.
Kane turns on his night vision on his helmet to see the ugly beast that was just about to attempt to earth him and the unlucky stormtrooper as they both desperately held onto the ground only to continued to get pulled. Strangely enough it reminded him of the fish.
"AHH!" Sid the stormtrooper as the beast was just about to take a bite only for Kane to shoot it's mouth. Upon doing that. It caused the monster to face Kane and it tried to bite him instead. Kane grabs his knife and stabs it right in the eye before shooting it more causing it to release both him and the stormtrooper
He tosses the gun at the stormtrooper for him to use as he then gets his baton and whacks the beast once before the stormtrooper unleashed as much fire as his trigger finger could do on the monster
They both proceeded to rush away. They could hear more blasterfire and roars from a demonic beast up. Kane felt like something got broken when he hot the wall but right now he could handle it…
Then they found an opening. But the monster is right on their tail.
"Keep running" said Kane as he then gets his knife and baton and ran right at the beast making the stormtrooper decide to shoot it a few times to help Kane before running out like he was told to.
Kane used both his weapons to slice through each tentacle that came his way as then stabs the monster in it's mouth making it used it's arm to grab Kane and slam him into the wall.. then onto the roof before throwing Kane onto the ground.
Kane then desperately crawls away as he feels it's powerful arm bash his back. Bringing him down fully. And another. And another…
Luckily that strength wasn't enough to severally break anything. But before the monster could bash Kane again. He felt a force pull him out if the way.
It was Ashley. She then activates her lightsaber and proceeded to use her lightning to shock the monster before slicing it to pieces. As Kane got up he realized she want alone. DT-045 cans along with the rest of the stormtrooper squad.. however there were some missing stormtroopers
"Your lucky you survived this. Your friend 367 literally got his guts ripped out." Said Ashley. One if the stormtroopers hands him his machine gun he dropped ad they continued to venture further. Who knows what she and the others went through. But clearly there was less stormtroopers from before.
Then they all make their way to a lab. Kane inspects the big canisters. They are filled with gasoline. The stormtroopers proceeded to all grab possessions and documents of the lab and proceeded to leave leaving it Ashley, Kane, and DT-045
Upon further inspection. Kane notices the footsteps again….. Kane looks up and sees a dead stormtrooper hanging on the ceiling. And… a figure that stared right at him. It looks like a skeleton wearing an old armor as it then extends it's right arm at Kane. Kane moves to the side as it penetrates the ground.
Kane literally just cheated death twice in one day. He wasn't going to let himself go that easily. He then slices it's arm off making it howl in pain before lunging at Ashley. Who tried to slice it with her lightsaber. It somehow was able to dodge her attacks.
It then extends it's other arm. And it impales right through DT-045's making him fall to his knees and then onto the ground dead.
Kane had to act fast in case of has it another truck up it's sleeve. He remembered how he got scorched. But it gave him idea. He ran towards to wheel and turns it causing the gasoline to burst onto both him and the figure. As Ashley jumps away
The figure then dashes towards Kane and grabs the back of his neck. It then proceeds to shove Kane's head onto a machine full of button doing God knows what. The figure slams Kane onto it so hard it actually broke the machine when it was done
Kane the unsteadily gets up, grabs his knife and slashes the lower side of the figure. The figure then knocks Kane the ground as the gasoline continues to squirt onto them. Kane sees a lighter and quickly grabs it
Ashley didn't know what do as she watched Kane wrestle with the figure that doesn't involve lighting a fire. Eventually the figure cuts a bunch of metal poles causing a bunch if machines to fall on them both.
One if the machine ended up breaking Kane's arm. He could not feel his left arm despite trying to move it.
He then grabs the lighter making the figure sees shocked
"You're crazy! You'll kill us all!" said the figure
"Well isn't that a tragedy. Poor little scum." Said Kane lighting himself, the figure and all the machine as the ground starts to slightly open. He could hear the figure's cries if pain as it dies in the fire along with being crushed by whatever Kane's on him.
Kane uses all the strength he and to use his one able arm to crawl out of the mess despite being on fire. Then to his surprise. Ashley uses her force to take the fire off him and put it with the rest of the flames.
"Holy s***" said Ashley helping him up with her force powers. "This has been real hell." As many stormtroopers arrive and escorted them out of the abandoned base. But as they make heir way. Kane notices that there are unfinished parts for a portal…
Even though he knows it isn't possible. But somehow that figure made its way here…. Maybe it tried to bring more of its kind here….
But sadly he would never find out. Not that he really cared anyway. But hey. Kane's arm and all his injuries healed up in 1 months.
Flashback Dreamscape end
Kane wakes up to see he is still on the train. He moves his left arm to make sure it was ok as he remembers that he dreamt of the scariest mission he has ever been through in his opinion…..
Kane then gets up and looks out the door. He notices it is very quiet since it's very late at night Though he looks at the others as they sleep. He could only wonder how much better their sleep is compared to his own. He felt a slight jealousy about them.
He then gets up and leaves then to go right outside their room. He stares out the window to watch everything pass by since he is on a train.
To him. His dreams are a purgatory that he cannot escape. Signs that show how much he has failed to save the empire. How possibly devastated many must feel ever since Death Star went kaboom.
The Emperor. Ashley. Many stormtrooper and deathtrooper comrades. His hometown. He watched it all go to pieces before him. Now that his medication continues to dwindle. He starts to wonder if his life may be worse than purgatory. Kane puts his head against the window and squints his eyes.
To have lost so much. Its like a deeper cut than any lightsaber can to.
"Just take the pain" thought Kane as he smashes his head onto the window very hard
*Crack*
"Don't leave me here waiting" thought Kane
Kane has just put a huge crack in a possibly thick glass window. He then hears a door on his far right
"What going on? *Gasp* the window!" said a staff seeding the crack on the window them looking at Kane. Before looking at Kane. Because of Kane's very scary appearance. She backed away.
Kane sits upon a stool he desperately tries to keep himself awake. But couldn't. If he had his medication. He could get through his pain and sleepiness….. but now… he really wished he has it once again.
He doesn't want to enter his purgatory again. He doesn't want another reminder. But his eyes continue to feel more and more tired as he gives him and hopes to that this one it's not as bad
16 Years ago
Age: 10-11
Height: 4'7
"If you wanted to help. Your going to have to go through the pain.. I wish somebody would have told me that."
Kane finds himself. The exact day that his life fell apart. A shattered life beyond repair. It all started. With a simple….. well.
Kane first sees it all started. A single citizen getting sniped. Before Many building starts to break apart. Kane widened his eyes and ran. He could hear the panic of his fellow imperial civilians.
As he continued to run he could see ships that don't look like Empire ships start to land as he hears lots of alarms go off. Prompting him to stop in his tracks and runs towards where he recalled where he lived
"Kane quick get in here" said man he recognizes… his father. He runs into the house. And hugs a woman who he remembers was his mother.. it was the last time he ever got to see them. Even though he doesn't remember his life before this day.
Kane could feel the ground shake as he hears lots of blastetfire. Eventually he could hear bands on the door as his father grabs a blaster and points it at the door
"Julie! Get Kane out of here!" said his father
"But what about you?" said his mother now named Julie as she takes Kane by the hand and runs through the back door. Kane couldn't help but look back and he sees lots of red flashes in his home
Julie leads Kane through the town as it continues to catch on fire and becomes overrun with rebel terrorists. Eventually they nearly reach what they believe to be safe. As he reaches this part… his vision blurs as he hears a..
*Blam*
When Kane's visions stops blurring he finds himself running for his life as he hides in rubble as he watches many rebel terrorists pass by as he wonders what will happen if they see him… he doesn't want to know. Eventually he sees every one that passes by get killed. By an unfamiliar green laser.
The killer looked like a very tall stormtrooper in black armor… it gave him a sense of hope as he runs as fast as he could to the 'stomtrooper'.
The 'stormtrooper' then looked at him with curiosity before gesturing for him to follow. Kane followed the deathtrooper until they see a squad of Stormtroopers and an officer. The deathtrooper points to them as of he telling Kane to go to them.
When Kane ran towards them. They seemed surprised that an empire kid managed to find his way to them
"A child?" said the officer as Kane wraps his arms around the officers holding on tight as he starts sobbing on the officer's shirt. The officer then gets a walkie talkies "We have found a child survivor. I repeat. A child survivor"
Kane's vision starts to blur again. Luckily thus dream wasn't as long as the previous
"purgatory purgatory purgatory.."
Flashback Dreamscape end
"Purgatory. Purgatory.." Kane wakes up that he keeps mumbling 'purgatory'. He looks around to see the sun is starting to shine. He then looks at the damage he did to the window and rubs his hand against it for a moment before getting off the stool
Dreams have brought his mentality to go downhill once again. He really wished he had his medication. He then decides to walk to another train cart. When he did a man spits his drink upon seeing Kane and stood still.
Kane proceeds to walk through the train and stopped right when was at where the man is. This made him shake.
Kane then looks to his left. Making the man shame in fear even more. Then he looked directly down at the man making shake even more
"You" said Kane nearly giving the man a heart attack "What time is it?"
"I-Its e-e-early m-m-m-morn-n-ning" said the man full of stutters and fear
Kane was about to walk further until he heard
"Kane? Where are you?" said a voice he recognizes as Leanna's prompting him to walk back. When he opened the door he slightly started Leanna who was just about to do the same thing
"Kane! Don't scare me like that." Said Leanna "You know how scary you are. You'll scare everyone on the train"
"…" said Kane as he follows her back to her room
"Huh. What Happened here?" said Leanna looking at the window that got cracked by Kane as he shrugs in response
"Leanna. When are we heading to our destination?" said Kane
"Soon today" said Leanna. "You think you can handle it?"
"…..sure" said Kane
To be continued
Aaaaaannnd that's a wrap
The reason why I relied so much on backstory is because if I didn't . Let's say we would be been stick in the city, University, and town much longer than we needed.
And you can relax. The next chapter will not be as backstory heavy as this one. Because the next chapter us where Kane's adventure here truly begins.
Trivia
1: I was originally going to have Vader instead of Ashley show up at Kane's scariest mission.
2: this chapter is heavily influenced by NF, Rag'N'Bone Man, Type O Negative, and Shinedown
3: I actually skipped over a dance scene in this chapter. You can get pissed at me all you want on this. But this will not be something I'll actually care? Why? It's because if I didn't. Kane's presence at a dance would be very forced.
4: And another 31k now. I hope that some of you are satisfied on the backstory.
5: like I said earlier. The next chapter won't be as backstory heavy.
6: originally chapter two was going to be backstory heavy.
Next up: The Start of the Search