"Of all the places..."
"I know." Ilia whispered as they looked across from the trees. "But where else would they keep them anyway. All it would take is one escape and the whole village will have questions."
"Still though." Sienna already felt like the Fang had lost it's way, but to know they kept their prisoners so close to the main base had her head whirling. Worst of all the only way they could reach it was through an underground passage from her own bedroom; which made her shiver in disgust.
"At least they never did anything weird." Ilia suggested as Sienna sent a glare.
"You don't know that. With the tunnel in my room it would mean they'd have had to be working on it while I was still leading them. It's both incredibly disturbing and disrespectful."
"At this point I'm not sure the others held much respect for you anyway."
"That aside our biggest issue now is finding a way in." Sienna despite being crafty felt like the Fang was expecting them to head for the tunnels at this point, with the main piece of evidence being the heavily increased amount of guards on watch. The ex-leader wanted to slap herself for that one as she suspected the vastly crowded base was only like that because of their rescue mission earlier.
"They know we'll go after the prisoners."
"True, but they don't know when." Ilia pointed out as Sienna raised a brow.
"Got any ideas then, I'm all ears."
"I've got one, but I don't think you'll like it."
"Try me."
Several hours later as the night had reached it's darkest point Sienna was gritting her teeth as Ilia tugged the chains acting as her leash. Begrudgingly the bound woman trudged along, said chains rattling as they brushed against her naked form. Dirt and blood caked her battered body, and the shadows seemed to protect her modesty, although only by the barest hint as the natural night vision of the islands inhabitants made vast patches of the dark near useless at hiding anything.
"This better work." Sienna spoke as Ilia tugged harder nearly causing her to stumble.
"It will, trust me on that." Ilia saw the guards out front tense as they approached. "Leave the talking to me, as far as they know I'm still working with them."
Sienna shut her mouth, although it didn't do much as her face was hidden by the cloth that acted as a makeshift gag - not tight enough to silence her for sure, but good enough to fool the others. As much as it hurt her pride Sienna went along with Ilia's 'captured' idea. Given enough time she was sure they could have found a better solution, however they were short on such a luxury and already desperate as it was.
To make it look believable Sienna had dropped her aura completely and given Ilia the go ahead, to which the girl immediately began beating her. Having fought for years Sienna was no stranger to the sting of bruised and torn flesh; even the severe burns of fire felt almost homely to the battle-worn woman. That wasn't to say she enjoyed the pain, but rather it was more like a bitter sense of nostalgia. Still though, the woman couldn't help the small sprinkle of shame that came with appearing bare before others, and the sense of hate she felt as their trousers shifted ever so slightly.
"Ilia... never thought I'd see you in a situation like this." The guard tilted his head slightly as he faced Sienna. "Gagged too huh, damn, was hoping we'd hear the screams and swearing from her defeat."
"Unlike you I'd prefer to keep my hearing intact." Ilia commented as the second guard spoke up.
"Still though..." The man leaned closer and Sienna sent a hateful glare as his thumb brushed across the bruise along her arm. She let loose a small flinch, which he seemed to buy as he backed away. "She's roughed up hard, although it seems like you're doing perfectly fine. Was she really that weak?"
"Everyone needs to sleep." Ilia told with a smirk. "Wasn't too hard to take her then, although the surprise Grimm attack certainly helped."
"Let me guess: you let them do most of the work, didn't you?" The guard questioned as Ilia gave off a small chuckle.
"Use every situation to your advantage."
"True." The man looked to her again, all the while Sienna did her best to look tired. "Any particular reason she's naked? Everybody knows you play for your own team, but I never expected you to be one to take advantage of prisoners."
"I wish." Ilia sighed. "But alas even I'm not that vile. No, she's like this because I didn't want to risk her sneaking something in her clothes to pick the lock and escape." She rattled the chains. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to properly bind someone in chains of all things, and not to mention doing so when they keep struggling? I almost had to break her arms to get them locked. Besides, the only way for her to hide anything now is to force it up her ass or... 'other' places."
"Any particular reason for chains in particular? How did you even get those anyway?" The other guard asked as Ilia gave one word.
"Kali."
"Of course." The guy looked to shiver slightly, no doubt having heard the rumors spread around of the woman's more 'experimental' side. Ilia almost laughed at their innocence, knowing full well the extent of said woman's games - having taken a walk along the beach at the worst possible time once before; she hoped to never end up like Ghira that day.
"Besides she kept breaking the ropes, even in her weakened state. Her claws couldn't cut the chain though, and Mrs. Belladonna was all too happy to lend some toys for my 'date'." Ilia visibly shivered. "T-too many if you ask me."
"True enough." The man laughed a little as he let a grin cross his lips. "So where's she off to now? Fennec never mentioned Sienna was caught already?"
"That's because nobody in this damn place can keep a secret. Word is we have a secret base underground now, any idea how that got out?" Ilia let a growl slip past her lips as both men flinched. "Rumors are only good when they obstruct our enemies, not when they leak critical info." She yanked the chains and Sienna felt the metal collar dig into her neck. "This bitch was planning an attack, and some idiotic fucks gave her the perfect intel to strike..."
"That was... erm..."
"What?" Ilia looked between the two. "Not going to tell how you managed to make such a colossal fuck up? Whatever, just don't do anything stupid like that again."
"We won't." The man's voice was low, and Ilia took advantage.
"You better not." She sighed. "Now then, mind leading me to the other prisoners. Fennec thinks it'll be ironic if Sienna here is thrown in with the humans, and to be honest I'd like to see it too."
"We were told not to leave our posts."
"I know, that's why the second we leave two more will take your place. Now come on, we haven't got all day."
"Yes... alright." The man turned. "This way."
Sienna didn't really know what to think as she was pulled along. On the bright side they believed the dribble of garbage Ilia spewed, but on the dark side they believed the dribble of garbage Ilia spewed; she didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed in her once loyal soldiers.
Maybe I should have put more focus on their mental training?
Sienna nearly stumbled again as Ilia tugged, and she was reminded why they used such a ridiculous excuse in the first place. Sienna had a lot of respect for the Belladonna matriarch, but her mischievous personality and habit of creating small bouts of trouble made things easier for them; the same could not be said for herself however.
It was bad enough she had to take a beating and was stripped of her clothes, but that was relatively light compared to what Sienna saw as they walked along. All of them, each and every one of her once soldiers stared in disgust and rage, barely held back by her apparent pitiful state. Several of them spit at her, and Sienna realized they couldn't care less for her lack of attire.
They hated her, and for as much as she wanted to just brush it off she found it increasingly more difficult as each and every person they passed sent a new look of revulsion directed straight towards her. Sienna herself however couldn't return the favor, how could she? They were her once proud members; those who would stand against the tyranny of the human kingdoms. How could she possibly hate them for showcasing their courage to fight for freedom, especially when she knew the cause of their turn.
Adam. She growled under her gag, only for her eyes to widen as she was yanked forwards and nearly doubled over as Ilia's fist burrowed into her gut.
"Shut it and walk." Her voice was cold, as Sienna knew it very well should have been, and after a second for her to recover they continued their trek.
The walk felt longer than it was, but soon enough they were inside what was once her bedroom. Sienna felt her shame double as the two guards moved some of her furniture to pull back the carpet. The floorboards looked normal, aside from a small crack which one of them hooked and pulled up. Underneath was a ladder which went down, and as she looked up she saw the two guards draw their weapons.
Ilia walked forwards and unlocked the binds around her wrists before drawing her own weapon.
"Down." Sienna did as she was told and got down on her knees, only to receive a swift kick to the head. "I MEAN'T DOWN THE LADDER DUMBASS!"
Sienna obeyed - although with another louder growl which the guards laughed at - and found herself grip the cold steel as she began her decent. At the bottom her feet finally toughed the rough stone that acted as a path.
The entire area looked freshly dug, as most of it was dirt and stone, even the foundations holding it all from collapse looked hastily constructed. For a secret area constructed when she could have returned at any point Sienna had to give them at least some credit to even make it viable, however she knew they had much more time to make such a thing with her gone so she didn't give too much credit.
The broken jagged stone and mud irritated her as she stood and waited for the other three, and as soon as they made their way down the group continued along. With aura walking through the tunnel wouldn't be so bad, but without it Sienna had nothing to keep the stone from tearing at her feet; however it never caused more than some scratches, so she chalked it up to good luck on her part.
"Is this where we've got the other prisoners held? I mean Fennec said so, but it seems a little cumbersome to move a whole ship of humans down the one hole?" Ilia asked as the man next to her spoke up.
"No, we have a few tunnels actually. This one is just the most ironic for our poor ex-leader here." Sienna could almost feel the smirk he wore as his next words flowed free. "Her own bedroom descends into the grave."
"Riiiight." Ilia waved him off. "Disregarding your attempts to be poetic, how many do we have guarding this place?"
"None. Boss wants this place hidden, and any sort of guards would make it obvious to a passerby that this is one of our bases."
"So what do you do if someone wanders in?" Ilia questioned as the guard huffed a little.
"We've got a few secrets set up to hide the entrances. For example the only way in is for one of ours to open one of the many passages from the inside, with Sienna's room being the only exception." The man told as Ilia perked up.
"Ah, I see. Only the Fang have access to her room, so when you need to move a large shipment of weapons or whatever you can wait for someone to open the others while one gets in through the 'Fang only' way. Smart."
Stupid is what it is. All it would take with no defences was for one to sneak in or infiltrate their ranks. However they were being run by Adam now, and she was certain he was out trying to wage a war with the kingdoms; albeit quietly. He most likely had many of their ranks shipped out and in waiting for his command which would explain the lack of people in the base, and as dumb as it was to leave prisoners or a base unguarded she knew they didn't have the numbers available to protect everything on the island.
Adam banked on the secrecy of the area to hide it, and Sienna planned to use that to her advantage.
"Hey maggots, you've got a new friend." The larger guard shouted as they neared a set of several cages.
Sienna felt a well of bile creep up her throat, but pushed it back down as she saw the inhabitants and prisoners locked away. Many were dirty and bare like her, but several were frail; looking as though they'd drop at any second. She saw the children huddle close to their mothers in fear as the door to one of the cages was unlocked and yanked open.
Ilia pulled her over and kicked her in, not even bothering to remove the chains which were starting to cut into her wrists. Sienna stumbled into a few of the humans, who simply lay there as if it were normal to be thrown around. Ilia stepped back as the man locked the door again.
"You play nice now, we might bring you some food later." He turned. "Let's go."
"You go on ahead." Ilia said as they faced her. "Fennec has a message he wants delivered in private."
"Ah, so you wanted her in a solitary space then." The guard asked as Ilia chuckled.
"Why? It's only you two, me..." She waved to the cages. "And a bunch of animals. You can head on back and get some lunch; your shift's are done for today."
"Right. We'll leave it to you then."
"Don't worry, I'll put in a good word for you both." Ilia watched as they left. She waited for the sounds to die down completely, which was rather easy as the prisoners were too afraid to make any noise.
"I'm assuming they're gone." Sienna spoke as she managed to stand once again.
"Sounds like it. Want to risk it anyway?" Ilia questioned as several backed away from Sienna.
"We don't have a lot of time so we might as well." Ilia gave a nod as she approached the door, and with a swift movement unlocked it. Sienna stepped forward and Ilia removed the chains which dropped to the ground with a clank and thud. "Were they always this gullible?"
"Did you ever pay much attention to them?" Ilia returned as Sienna sighed.
"Right, so I suppose we have several ways out now, and after you went through the trouble of telling them to keep quiet on secrets too."
"That's not all." She held up a key and Sienna felt her smirk grow. "They're much too sure of themselves. I mean really, you'd think they'd feel me rummaging through their pockets."
"You always were good at taking things that didn't belong to you, especially if it belonged to Blake."
"Ha ha, real funny." Ilia let her tone die down. "We should get moving."
"Right." Sienna turned back to the others. "Come along, we're getting you out of here."
"O-out..." One woman asked as she held her child desperately.
"Yeah, out. Now come on, we don't have much time." Sienna told as Ilia went around unlocking the other cages.
Whether by sheer luck of fatigue the humans followed with seemingly no resistance, something Sienna supposed was due to being put in such a hopeless situation. She wouldn't lie, she'd felt that despair before. In those moment she fully understood just how desperate you felt when any sense of hope appeared, and how easily you leapt at the chance.
They'd taken a random tunnel to head through with the hopes it would take them somewhere that was relatively unguarded, but as the minutes stretched on Sienna started to feel the apprehension set in. If they'd headed the wrong way their was a chance the Fang could be waiting, and they'd be backed into a corner.
However that fear was laced with a mild curiosity as they came to what looked like a door. Unlike the others it was a shabby wooden one with not even a padlock to secure it, and as Ilia opened it they were greeted with moonlight along the beach.
"Hold on a minute." Sienna rushed out for a bit having recognised the scene. She turned back and looked at the cliff, feeling a swell of rage as she saw that up and to the left was a familiar opening.
The cave Kali had shown her, the one she spied on the base from sat tauntingly as the realization of just how close they were to their goal set in. The base that sat on the beach was gone though, and Sienna felt a little relief that they'd properly cleaned it away leaving no traces behind, but she still felt pissed off at how close the prisoners were to them; especially with how much the door in the cliff stood out.
The other prisoners had just finished pouring out as Ilia waked towards her, only to have the same realization.
"Isn't this the beach-"
"Yeah."
"Oh." Ilia shrugged a little. "Well at least getting back to the place is easier. Um... are you okay?"
"Honestly I'm just tired. Come on, Blake will throw a fit if we take too long. Keep them quiet, we've still got to sneak them in." Sienna said as Ilia rounded the humans up for their trek to the Belladonna mansion, all the while Sienna herself was plotting what to say to Kali.
.
.
Her hand shot forward, and yet still nothing came about. Cinder dropped as the last of her energy left her, appalled at just how weak she had become. Why couldn't it be easy? She'd already crushed everyone and everything in her way for the power, and yet it denied her. Cinder felt the burning of the maiden's magic within, however whenever she tried to call it forth she was hit with a well of fatigue, as if all her muscles simultaneously decided to die then and there.
"Perhaps you need some motivation." Cinder's eyes widened as she leapt to the side, just barely getting out of the way as a Beowolf shot past her. Coming to a skidding halt she turned, her sword appearing just in time to block several of it's claw swipes. Her everything felt like fire, and yet her perseverance allowed her the time to stave off it's barrage until the opportune moment came as the beast overshot.
Her blade tore through it's underside, and as it staggered back she went in for the kill and forced her blade through the underside of it's jaw. The creature let out one last whine as it began to fade, and with a grunt of rage Cinder threw it to the side.
"Hmm, a decent play, however I saw no use of the power you hold." The dark woman approached as Cinder looked away, and yet her vison was pulled as her chin was moved to face the mistress before her. "You're not holding out on me, are you my dear Cinder?"
"N-no mistress, I've simply not recovered enough of my strength to draw it out is all. I need more time to rest." Cinder felt a small hint of unease as Salem looked down upon her, crimson iris's burning as a calm grin stretched itself in place.
"It's been plenty of time already, however it would seem this Pyrrha's strength has left some scars." Salem's look fell, and Cinder felt the unease grow. "But that's not it is it. No, you thought you could handle him, and yet despite my warning you fought."
"The girl, Pyrrha, she ha-"
"Had nothing." Salem halted her. "We could have dealt with her in time, there was no rush. You simply wanted to feel powerful, to test your new abilities, and yet look at what happened; you can't even summon anything anymore."
"I-" A finger covered her lips, shushing her as Salem held an almost motherly smile.
"No excuses, they're an ugly sight on you. Tell me, did I tell you to leave him alone?"
"You did."
"And did I not say you'd fall should the two of you cross paths?"
"But I didn-" A resounding slap echoed throughout the room, and Cinder slowly looked back to the infuriated woman.
"Don't talk back to me Cinder." The glare faded back to calm and a pale hand found itself caressing the red mark now starting to grow on Cinder's face. She flinched as Salem rubbed at the forming bruise. "You may not have yet, but you will. Regardless of all that you've made a mockery of yourself now."
"I can still fight." Cinder protested calmly as Salem gave a skeptical gaze.
"Be that as it may you'll stand no chance should you not master your powers."
"I'll control them, I just need a little more time." Cinder gave as Salem sighed.
"Time is finite my dear, and unbeknownst to even Ozma himself it is quickly fading with every second. There are powers in play you cannot ever hope to understand child, and should you fail to regain control the boy will not hesitate to bring your story to an end."
"He won't be an issue anymore." Cinder said, only for Salem to give a disturbingly sincere look of amusement.
"My dear, he's not out of our game just yet. Despite his death at your hands the pawns still move." Salem spread her arms. "Look around us girl, tell me what you see."
Cinder was silent. As her gaze trailed she saw nothing out of the ordinary. The training room was the same as ever, with it's twisted marble reflecting the lights of the crimson sky hauntingly through it's empty space. Salem herself chuckled as her arms lowered.
"It would seem you cannot see it. Note how everything is still here, notice how the calm air refuses to falter. Should you have really done any major damage worth anything the game would have be disrupted." Salem let out a calm breath, and yet Cinder felt an unknown horror fill her soul. "It appears I placed too many expectations upon myself to suspect you capable of noticing; you cannot know the importance of what it is that's happening, nor the promise I await fulfillment of."
"Promise?" Cinder questioned as Salem waved her off.
"You'd not be able to understand, so explaining it is pointless." Salem turned to leave. "Continue with the training, when Tyrian returns we'll receive his account of this Pyrrha girl's 'resemblance' to the boy. For your sake Cinder, let's hope what you said was true."
Author's note
...
Okay, so as you can see this chapter gave more time to Sienna than anything. I wanted to add the others, but I felt like giving everyone's favorite failed terrorist some time in the spotlight where she's been absent for a good... fifty or so chapters.
Yeesh, nearly a hundred chapters in and we're only starting to near the half way point... well, more like a third of the way through, but still.
Ignoring the terrible pacing for now I'm sure you've noticed this is the first chapter to include Salem proper, and as it was probably expected she knows more than she let's on. The question know is does she really know what's going on, or is this simply a theory on her part. Guess you'll just have to wait and see.
Anyway that's all we have for now, so share your thoughts if you feel up to it.
See you next time.