Chapter 96 – To Be Rescued

The sight before them was slightly gruesome; blood dripping from her shoulder, tail, and sides where patches of scales had been forcefully removed, and the smears on the wall were of her own blood. Her hair tussled more than usual, the dye washing out to give way to a slightly brighter brown where her own blood hadn't stained her hair, and scratches all along her cheeks and lightly around her neck. Under the scales, they could see bruising and several swelling spots around her face, one of her eyes being forced closed because of said bruises, and the smears of her own blood on the wall told of some severe back injuries.

"What the…" Sselekk asked, "Who did this to you?"

Mirikka coughed, a tiny bit of blood coming out as she did, "Who do you think?" she asked.

"If you say those ponies…" Image threatened.

"And NO, stupid Meltackian." she scolded, "I may not have communed with you, but I can still read body language. The Law Keeper did this to me."

"What?" Sselekk asked, "He knows this kind of torture is outlawed."

"And yet, here I am." she said and grinned, a few of her teeth missing and blood staining the ones she had, "The fruits of his personal labor and proof of his insidious nature." she started another coughing fit, a few drops of blood splattering on the ground. She sighed a bit, "Well, at least the bleeding stopped."

"You need help." Sselekk said, "Medical attention and Psychiatric help."

"Don't patronize me." she hissed, "And don't blame just the Law Keeper. The Treasure Keeper has to be the mastermind. He promised to make me rich, to put me at the emperor's side when we finally conquered the other three planets. Instead, he gets this laky, the Law Keeper, to do this to me, just because of one simple failure."

"You don't blame Rainbow Dash?" Sselekk asked.

"For my injuries?" she asked, "No. For my pride, I'll destroy her."

"You're still delusional." the large sunik said, "The ponies would have forgiven you, helped you. Not torn out your teeth and scales and then left you to die in a broken dungeon."

"Would they have chained me up?" Mirikka asked, and looked at him, "What are you doing down here anyway?" she asked curiously, "Not to rescue me of course."

"Because I thought I knew the depths that the Treasure Keeper would go, but now I see it's much lower than I had originally thought." he said.

"What are you talking about?" Image asked.

"This place was condemned." Sselekk reasoned, "It would have been the perfect place to hide your sister."

"His SISTER?" Mirikka laughed, "You're here for that Lesser…" she seemed to catch herself in her own words and turned away.

"Are you going to finish that statement?" Sselekk asked.

"Sunik aren't a superior race if even one of us is willing to sink so low, especially to their own kind." she said.

Sselekk let his anger flare, "YOU MEAN JUST LIKE WHAT YOU DID TO KRISSKKIL?" he growled.

"He never felt a thing." she argued, "I was also unaware that they would have let him be their gunner while the other one was out of commission."

"He shot at you! How did you not realize that something was up? I TOLD YOU HE WAS GOING TO HELP THE PONIES! WEREN'T YOU LISTENING?" the larger sunik asked in anger. She remained silent, letting his words sink in. She had no argument for that, and despite what she had said to him after the incident, her feelings were a bit conflicted. She heard the large Sunik growl, and just as quickly she listened to the sound of the key being violently pulled from the wall nearby. Then the cell door opened. She expected him to grab her by what was left of her racing suit, to end her misery right there and then for what she had done. What she didn't expect was the sound of her shackles being unlocked and the feeling of her hands falling to the ground, limp and sore from the steel of the shackles. "Where is Image's sister?"

She remained silent, her surprise and questions running rampant through her own mind. She lifted her arms, seeing the freedom that was granted to her. Rubbing one of her wrists in disbelief. "Where is she?" the large sunik asked again, though it sounded like his voice softened instead of darkened.

"I…" she finally found her voice. She then felt a pair of hands grip the collar of her ruined uniform, lifting her up with surprising strength.

'WHERE IS MY SISTER?' Image thought as he glared into her eyes, though he knew she couldn't hear his words, he knew she could tell what he was wanting.

She was both afraid and intrigued by him now, the aurora of his skin had changed, reds oranges, and yellows, all rising in an upward pattern like that of an inferno. He looked like his very soul was set with the wrathful fires of hell, "I don't know." she said, a bit of fear in her voice, "I was placed in here after everyone was moved out."

"If you're lying to me…" Sselekk heard the Meltackian say, and as if it were instinct, placed his clawed hand on his young friend's shoulder.

"That's enough." he said calmly, though the rage in the Meltackian's eyes now turned towards him he kept his soft voice, somehow hoping to get through to his friend. Image let his eyes close and his grip loosens, the colors on his skin fading from the wild inferno back to the calm aurora that he usually displayed, though his eyes fell to a more sorrowful look as silence dominated his thoughts. "Are you ok?" the large sunik asked as he turned to Mirikka.

"I am." she said, shock still present.

"Then let's get you out of here." Sselekk said, catching both of them by surprise.

"What?" Image asked.

"Look, we said we were getting a female out, and she happens to be the only one here." Sselekk nearly hissed out his answer, "Besides, no one, not even she deserves her scales removed like that, the damage done will show for Cycles even after she sheds her skin. Those missing scales and the pain that comes with them being removed by force will haunt her forever." he lowered his head in reverence before placing himself underneath one of her arms to carry her, "It's one of the most painful things for a sunik." he finished as he placed his other hand somewhere it would not hurt, yet she still grunted from pain.

Image sighed audibly again, and calmed himself, "Ok." he said, and turned.

The three of them made their way out of the prison, the other sunik waiting there with a large grin, "Bout time someone came for…" his grin stopped and fell at the sight of her, "HOLY Egas' offspring! What happened to you?"

"I'll explain later." Sselekk said, "Right now we have to get her out of here."

"Out of here?" the large sunik asked as he traded places with Sselekk, "We've got to get her to the healer is what we've got to do."

"I'll be fine." Mirikka said through her grunts and hisses of pain.

"Whoever did this, knows how to get away with it." Sselekk said as he let the other Sunik take Mirikka, "Taking her to the healer inside the capitol will just set off an alarm. Take her to one of the nearby towns and get her treated there instead. The smaller the town the better."

"What are you going to do?" the sunik asked.

"I'm gonna get my mother out of this wretched place." he said angrily.

"Wait, the People's Voice is here?" Mirikka asked in shock, "The Law Keeper said he had something important to deal with before he left."

"The Law Keeper did this?" the other sunik asked.

"You two find someplace to lay low. I'll deal with this." Sselekk said, and stomped his way towards where he knew the viziers were meeting up, a place he had several times escorted his mother to. "You're coming with me." he said to Image, and the two of them turned to climb the mossy stairs and make their way through the halls. Sselekk's sunik friend adjusted his grip on Mirikka only once and started in a different direction.

"Where are we going?" Image asked in concern.

"There was a meeting between the four Viziers today." he said angrily, "First, I'm going to make sure my mother is alright. Then we'll figure out what to do."

"I feel like there's a step I'm not going to like." Image said.

"Finding your sister may have to be left up to Spike." Sselekk said.

'Oh please." Image thought to himself, "Please find her safe."