Re: How Gay Can We Make This (Twin and Blue)

[BluePawProductions]

Kaliko listened to his explanation of his previous affiliation with water. For a moment, her eyes grew wide at the mention of his past life, color partly draining form her face. She had the distinct feeling of fear, not of him but for him. For a moment, she could have sworn he’d just revealed himself to be a memory shiniko. But- No. that was impossible. The odds to that were slim to none. She put the thought out of her head firmly and assumed he must have asked….or….yeah- something like that.

Expression settling and getting back to whatever awkward state that passed as normalcy for her, she offered back, “I died in water too. Some big storm came a sunk a small boat I was on. Somewhere out in the ocean I suppose.” She spoke as if it were entirely normal as well. What strange lives shiniko led, she mused silently.

She paused for a moment, thinking, then decided aloud, “It’s good that you couldn’t feel anything. A lot of shiniko have had very painful deaths. The lack of pain, in a way, is a blessing.”

~~~

Ves gave an amused smile to the new child as he began to fumble through trying to recover from his greeting. He couldn’t help but be tickled by the situation. Yoko was trying so hard. “Pleasure to meet you too, child,” He greeted, hopefully easing the boy’s worry.

His eyes lifted to the taller boy that came in behind and gave a slight head bow to him in greeting as well while the other two were speaking. When Gau expressed that they did have the tool, though, the boy was immediately distracted. Shiloh smiled wide and looked to Yoko, hoping the boy was pleased by the answer.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Sadin gave a nervous smile back and remembered how rare his kind was. It probably wasn't safe to be blabbing that kind of info huh? "Well, at least that's what Ves says. He told me about my school records, mostly since Aderyn does schooling for Alex and me. So he told me some stuff so I would know where I left off." He explained. That was half true at least.

Giving a nod he decided she was probably right. "I think it was to cold water, it numbed me before anything else happened." He said.

~~~~~~~~~

Gau gave a smile, glad that Yoko got the chance to meet Ves. Now the boy had a face to the name. The small shiniko beamed with excitement! "Good!" He said, dancing in the sand a little. He had collected many other shells that he stored in his room. He'd be able to make a few things out of them.

Yoko turned to Shiloh and smiled. "Let's go get it then. I have some more shells in my room, and some string we can use for bracelets and stuff." He said. "We'll be right back Gau!" He said and started up to lead the way back to the house.

Gau smiled and looked at Ves. "Little bundle of energy isn't he? I'm glad he was able to introduce himself. I had told him a few weeks ago that in the event something happens he could to you for help. Always good to have a face to the name."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile back at the massive estate. A small shiniko, completely bare bottom ran into the house, running through the halls and to a storage room where he hid. He was almost as small as Yoko was. He had long golden blond hair and ocean blue eyes. His eyes were thin and slanted, he must have had Japanese heritage. The poor thing pulled down a loose quilt from a shelf and covered himself wth it. Water dripped from his hair, he must have fallen into some water at some point before getting into Gau's estate.

[BluePawProductions]

Kaliko entirely bought the partial lie that Sadin put forth. He offered an explanation of how he would know what he did and she was more ready to accept that than to assume he was something so rare. She already had mostly decided against it so his excuse was mostly just accepted up front. She nodded, as if to say that made sense and didn’t press it. The topic seemed to be dead in the water after that, which was likely good for both of them.

“Well, I for one am glad you at least weren’t in pain,” She offered back to the boy, happily gripping the fingers intertwined with hers with a bright smile. She’d forgotten her predicament yet again and instead was expressing her heartfelt opinion. She didn’t know him well, but he seemed like a sweet boy and he didn’t deserve to suffer.

~~~

When Yoko turned to him, Shiloh eagerly agreed, “Yeah! Of course!.” Anything that Yoko wanted to do was good for him. He wasn’t fussy or picky and he honestly had no idea what he was doing. He was just enjoying the ride and was happy with the company he kept. Everything was so new to him that they could have literally been doing anything and it’d have been the most interesting thing on the planet. “Lead the way, good sir~” He half joked with a playful half bow that almost spilled his shells.

Ves wore an amused smile as the boy seemed to get giddy with the idea of working with his shells and immediately turned to the other. He was an adorable little kid. He hoped that it would work out in the house with all the new housemates. It was a big change to bring in so many at once, especially if they had special needs like memory shiniko…

“He certainly is that,” he replied to his brother as the two scampered off. He gave it a moment before he added, “And of course. The kids can always come to me for help. I’d never turn them away. It’s good for them to know that.”

~~~

One of the new children Gau spoke of was walking the halls back home, enjoying the quiet rustling of the large sakura tree and the ringing of the bells around his neck with each step. Kovu, a strikingly beautiful young man, tall like a building, and ginger like the sunset. His golden eyes held a deep warmth and gentleness to them….but were absolutely useless. He was blind. In the absence of sight, he focused on remembering the voices and subtle sounds of his housemates so he could identify then approaching or speaking to him. Thus, it was easy for him to pick up on the patter of new feet through his house.

At first, the boy tensed, hand going to his blades that hung at his side and bracing for an attack. Fear shot through him and he immediately thought to call for his close friend Luca to brace herself, wherever she was. His first impulse was to think it was trouble coming back for him again, a large group….but then the feet nervously skittered into a storage area and none joined it.

Shoulders easing, he inched forward a few steps, listening carefully like a deer on high alert… and the quiet persisted. Thus, he moved with his naturally very soft and quiet footsteps to approach where he heard the sound. Gently, he crouched down by the door when he reached it, listening to the rustling inside… then carefully and quietly knocked. “Excuse me?” his voice held more of a hesitation and question than it probably should have, but it was a sweet and gentle tone. He was naturally softspoken, despite the deep, warm rumble of his voice. “Do you…need help?” It only seemed right to ask. The movements he could hear were scattered and frightened.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Sadin smiled at Kaliko. She bought his excuse. This would be easier on both of them. "Perhaps." He said. "Sometimes I feel like I don't quite understand what others went through. What happened to me happened so fast that I still had the last hour and a half of my life fresh in my mind." He said.

After a moment he decided to try something. Small orbs of water floated up out of the water, but only for a moment before the dropped back down. That was a lot harder to do than it looks. Sadin had focused on making several points in the water float. He accomplished it, mostly because he wanted to show off a little.

The splashes, however, snapped his attention to the water. They were in deep water. His lime green eyes slowly lost their confidence. Thankfully he didn't freak out, panic, or lose his composure and turn this south. You could just tell he was focusing on the water now.

~~~~~

Yoko smiled and lead the way back to the house. Gau watched them, and smiled. He smiled and nodded to Ves, glad his brother would be there for his kids if they ever needed him. You never know what could happen these days.

"Thank you, I definitely want him to have good exposure to us. He was fortunate to be one of Crota's shiniko, but you know how other market dema can be. Yoko was very skittish around me for the first few days but he warmed up to me with time and food." He said.

~~~~~

A small and soft yelp was heard inside the storage room. The small shiniko listened to Kovu and breathed in. "I-... I don't know." He said, confused. His voice was similar to Yoko's but this voice was clearly younger, softer, and timider.

"Can... Can you tell me what those monsters are? Why can people not see me?" He asked.

~~~~~~~

Yoko stepped back into the house, not aware of their surprise guest, and made his way to his room first to get the crafting materials. He had gotten out a box that had tropical beads in it, other shells. and different strings for making bracelets and necklaces. "Alright, now all we need is the Dremel." He said with a smile.

[BluePawProductions]

“Well, we’re all in the same boat in one way or another. None of our deaths were objectively good. Some, yes, worse than others, but we’re all here now. You don’t have to feel apart from anyone,” she assured her patient, with a gentle dip of her head.

She watched the orbs of water lifting around them and her face reflected the same sparkling light of the sun that caught their smooth surfaces. She was mesmerized, up until they crashed down and splattered all over their faces. She flinched slightly but giggled, smile wrapping her face. This was a good day, she decided promptly before opening her eyes and realizing that Sadin had lost himself to staring at the water. She could tell his discomfort and several ways of taking his mind off of it raced through her head, but she settled on one quickly, one which wouldn’t just push the issue under the rug and may actually start to change his mindset, if even just a little.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” She asked with a calming tone, shifting her toes in the sand, barely seen through the clear, teal-tinted water. She gently moved one of his hands over and unlaced her fingers so that his now free hand laid over her arm so that he could still hold on with bot hands. Carefully, she rested her knuckle under his chin and tipped his face up away from the water to look her in the eyes to distract him. “It’s alright,” she reassured him, “We’re not in any danger.” Her brow pursed slightly in a sympathetic gesture as she added, “We can head back in to the beach if you feel like you need a break.” She almost added in that he’d made good progress, but had to remind herself that he wasn’t that kind of patent and this was just her wild hair of helping that had gotten them there, not some scheduled plan.

~~~

Ves gave an affirmative rumble sound to Gau when he thanked him and replied back sweetly, “Of course.” He then listened to the explanation of where the boy came from and agreed, “Crota’s one of the least objectionable there, him and Kimono. I think it’s a good thing you got him from there, though. No telling where he could have ended up. They don’t exactly respect house boundaries there, just nabbing kids from each other. It’s a real mess. I wish we could get it cleaned up but…It always just comes back up, huh?”

~~~

Shiloh was still just along for the ride, keeping up with the scampering Yoko. Their height difference made for an amusing difference in speed as well. While the excited boy scampered left and right in a hurry, Shiloh merely briskly walked behind, keeing up and trying to pick up on what they were doing. It was funny to him, this sort of life. It had a strange charm but alien nature to it. He could hardly imagine spending his days in a restaurant, running to and from the beach with his dema just resting there, watching over him. It was such a foreign notion.

“Well, onward and upward then,” he agreed. He had no idea what a dremel looked like but, whatever it was, surely Yoko would know it when he saw it. “Load me up with stuff you want me to carry. I am your hands and feet, m’lord,” he playfully offered.

~~~

Kovu’s nervous smile flickered on his face as he heard the person inside yelp. He hadn’t meant to startle them and felt bad that he had, but there wasn’t any other way to announce himself, he supposed. The voice that came back to him was small, young, nervous. Perhaps he was in danger? Kovu felt protective, like he wanted to help in any way he could, just to ease their worry. Perhaps it was because he’d spent so much of his time afraid himself.

“Monsters?” He echoed back the child’s request. It didn’t take him long at all to put two and two together. Though he initially felt guilt and thought he possibly could have been the one to miss seeing him, for obvious reasons, he decided that this child must have been a new shiniko. That would explain their panic and confusion.

“Well, there’s no simple way to explain it, I suppose,” He softly began, deciding honesty and a soft word would be the right fit here, “People can’t see you for the same reason they can’t see me most of the time. We’re the same, y’know? I’m sure you must recall something that doesn’t make sense just yet, since things must be very confusing, but you and I are spirits now. I’ve been one for a while and you must have just recently become one. People won’t be able to see you for a while, but soon you’ll be able to be seen when you want to be.” He paused, thinking, then decidedly added, “And those monsters are very dangerous, but you’re safe here. I have a master here that keeps this place safe from them. They’re a type of spirit too, but not the same as us.”

Crouching down and sitting at the closed door, he folded his hands together and rested them in his lap, as if somehow that would make him less intimidating behind the door. “You’re what we call a shiniko now,” He finished.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Sadin took a breath and looked at Kaliko when she took his gaze off the water. He felt reassured, and even more so when she offered that they could go back. "Yea." He said softly. He was used to Kaliko. She was like a real therapist and doctor. Not that Val, Aderyn, or Juliet wasn't. It was just the amount of time that she had spent with them. Living with them and being part of the family.

"I'd like to head back to the beach." He added, to confirm that's what he wanted.

~~~~~~

Gau gave a smile. "Yes. I believe Crota tries to do what's best for his shiniko, even if it means letting them go and getting them out of the market. Kimono's not a bad dude either." The water dema mused.

~~~~~~

Yoko smiled and nodded. thankfully he didn't have anything heavy, but he had a few bags. He handed some over to Shiloh so he could lighten the load a little for him. "Thank you, brave knight, of the dark roast." He grinned and walked over to a tool box sitting outside of Gau's room, and located the dremel.

~~~~~

The child listened carefully and sat closer to the door. "I-I'm dead?" He asked softly. "That... That would explain the last hour of my memories...." He said softly. "So... Your master, he's able to keep those creatures out? He won't be mad I'm here right?" He asked softly.

~~~~~

After getting the tool, he looked up to spot Kovu sitting down by their storage closet and tilted his head. "Hey Kovu, what are you up to?" He called out to his housemate, and then looked to Shiloh, thinking that this sitting at the door behavior was a little strange. He knew that Kovu knew that wasn't a bedroom. Who would he even be talking to?

[BluePawProductions]

Kaliko gave an understanding hum and agreed, “Alright then. We’ll head into the beach.” She made her intentions very clear and was in agreement, sweet and simple so that he would know it was okay and they were headed in where it was safe.

She made sure she had his hands as she turned them around and backed them both in towards the shore, feeling the water recede over her skin with each step. They were moving up the incline and soon had sun-baked sand between their toes as tiny waves washed over their ankles. Only once they were on land did she wiggle her fingers out from his and push her hair off of her shoulders. “See, that was nice, right?” she offered, trying to gauge whether he was more freaked out or more comfortable now.

~~~

Ves was in agreement, though he still had his reservations about the market. “I wonder why they both stay there,” He mused aloud, “Crota and Kimono… They both don’t seem suited for such a place. They’d be better off on their own, I would think, but I suppose we’ll never know their reasons.”

He knew that there was no way he could be convinced to stay among people that were on the market. He couldn’t live like that, couldn’t let his kids live like that. Perhaps, once, there was a similar living situation with the dark demas, but that was a time before shiniko. They didn’t have the kind of slaving that the market had, but similar living conditions, similar dangers. He was so different now…it was hard to say if he’d ever have put up with the market then either.

~~~

Listening to the timid questions through the door, Kovu answered back softly and carefully, “Yeah. It’s not so bad though. We’re dead, but we’re still around. It’s confusing at first and sometimes it’s hard, but it can be a good thing, if you let it. Like a second chance at life, a fresh start.” Well, with some baggage, but he didn’t add that. He was trying to calm the child, not give him an existential crisis.

When asked if Gau would be mad, he said honestly, “No, not my master. I’ve only been here a few weeks myself, but he’s proved very patient and generous in that time. I’m sure he won’t be mad. He’s very sweet with new shiniko.”

The boy had just finished speaking when he heard the voice of Yoko call him. He turned his head to listen over his shoulder, then rose to greet them, as was only polite. He could tell the smaller one was some distance away, so he rose his voice to call back. His bright golden eyes and shining face held a glowing smile as he announced, “Hey, we have a vi-“

Ffwut-

A strange, airy sound split the normal noise of the breeze and Kovu felt tight sensation on one side, like being pelted with a stone. In that same instance, he could feel his weight twisting leaning back onto his heels, the pelt starting to build more into a heavy kick through the ribs, upper left side, just below the shoulder. The kick blossomed into hot, sharp pain by the time his shoulders hit the door hehind him and a warm, wet splatter dotted the formerly pristine surface. His legs, unprepared for the sudden kick, dropped out from beneath him and he found himself soon sideways on the walkway, intense throbbing, pulsing pain and gentle warmth intermingling in his side, pooling beneath him.

The ginger boy gasped violently for air, but it had been knocked out of him…up until the moment he reached up to put his hand over the would and let out a strangled cough at the sudden, shooting pain.

What had- Why had- What was-

His hand lay across the wound to put pressure on it, gritting his teeth as his mind raced and wild eyes darted blindly around. It felt like he’d been-

He’d been shot!

“Ge-“ His throat chocked out when he tried to raise his voice, so it took him a second try to yell out, “Get down!”

Based on the lack of sound and the size of the wound, the way it hit, he suspected it was a sniper. Everyone was in danger… And he had the sinking feeling he knew why…

[TwinTigerPaw]

Sadin was grateful that they were going back to the sand. He smiled and nodded to her. This was at least relaxing and the walking they did in the water was excellent for Sadin's injuries. Good exercise.

Back on the beach he let go of Kaliko's hand and his face settled once more. He looked over at her and gave a soft smile. "Hey, Kaliko. Thanks for that. I don't think I would have tried that if it wasn't for you helping me." He told her.

~~~~~~

Gau listened and nodded. "Maybe they have no way to get out of the market. Sometimes even dema are prisoners there. There's a chance Crota and Kimono just can't leave." He commented.

~~~~~~

Yoko smiled and was about to go over to Kovu when the large shiniko suddenly doubled over and started bleeding. "Kovu!" He shrieked. His first instinct was to run to his friend and help him up, but Kovu had instantly told them to get down. It could have been a gunshot.

Turning around, Yoko grabbed Shiloh's hand and pulled him into Gau's room, shutting the door. "Shiloh, I need you to cover me!" He said as he pulled off his large top and began focusing. The market shiniko would be able to see the boy's more feminine curves now while Yoko started taking on his spider yokai form.

Yoko planned to use his spider form's exoskeleton as a shield to get to Kovu and pull him to safety... No, he had to go to Gau! He gasped a little from the pain as his body shifted and changed forms, growing taller, and his skin turning purple. "I need to get to Gau, and get help... He'll be able to provide better protection." He said as he opened the door again.

He was in pain, but he had to go now. "Shiloh, stay here and stay low. I'm going to go get Gau. Don't worry about me, my spider form has an exoskeleton so I can take a few hits at least." He said.

Yoko ran out of the room, and before he did, he had to be sure Shiloh would not follow. He wanted his friend safe. Quickly, he spun up a web and covered the doorframe with it. It would keep his friend in, and keep at least a few shots out.

~~~~~

The small shiniko was calm and taking in what Kovu was saying. Maybe it was the larger male's energy that was helping him stay calm? Who knew. When he heard the man gasp and fall before showing to his housemate to get down, the small boy's heart sank.

"Mr!?" He said, cracking the door just slightly. "Oh- oh my God!" He yelped, seeing the blood. He opened the door a little more. "H-hurry, come inside before they shoot you again!" He yelped at Kovu.

~~~~~

Yoko had taken off running, and would quickly make it back to the beach. "GAU!" He shrieked. His dema turned around quickly, hearing his shiniko's destressed voice."Yoko? What's wrong, why are you in Jorōgumo form?!" He asked.

"It's Kovu, someone shot him, and I think the shooter is sill around!" Yoko barked quickly in reply. Gau looked at Ves. His eyes were wide. He didn't know what this was about but he knew he needed to get back to his house and fast.

The dema shot up and started running back to his house with Yoko following close behind. Clockwork and Taddle had already picked up on their dema's panic and were watching Ves from the beach. They were not sure if they should follow or not.

[BluePawProductions]

“It’s no problem, really,” Kaliko beamed, “I’m just glad I could help!” She was awash with excitement about having been able to help someone like she did. It always felt really nice. She was also welling with pride for having gotten herself under control and over her flustered nonsense while they were out there. That was a good job. Yes. Nice professionalism. She silently patted herself on the back in her head.

It was then that she noticed a spider-like, quite familiar sight come racing onto the beach for Gau. “Oh no…” she breathed out with tense worry. That meant something had happened. “Stay here with Yoru, Taddle, and Clockwork,” She told Sadin as if it was just obvious what the order would be and immediately took off up the beach, long strides carrying her towards the demas in time to catch Gau up and racing off.

“What happened?!” She called desperately, snagging Ves’s wrist as he shot up to follow.

The dema’s hair whipped around like a halo as his face turned to her, concern in his vibrant eyes so intense that she let go and startled back a few steps. She caught her breath but didn’t waver in her question.

“House Gau is under attack. There’s a possible shooter. We don’t know much else,” the war dema replied quickly, almost like barking orders at a soldier. His eyes shot up and looked over the beach. Two still recovering shiniko… one child…two young adults… He didn’t want to take them into a shooting situation. “Kaliko, do me a favor and group with the others. Don’t sit out here. It’s too open. If the attack is aimed at the house as a whole, they may come here. Get everyone to get off the shore and into the cover of the forest. Head up the back way towards my house and take them home. They’ll be safe there with Mora and the others until Gau and I come for them.”

He stopped, leaning slightly over her and telling her with force and authority, “Do not let anyone leave the house until one of us clears the situation. Do you understand?”

Without missing a beat or batting an eye, she replied back, “Yes sir.” She was used to taking orders. She was not used to what followed.

“Thank you,” he breathed as he turned and ran after his brother to provide support. If there was an attack on house Gau, he would be there to help. He’d have the other children safe and keep the ones not in the house away, but he was going.

With that, Kaliko turned from the dema, racing back towards the beach and bellowed, “Everyone group up! We’re headed to Ves’s! There’s an incident at Gau’s and we’re not safe here. I’ve been ordered to take you to a secure location. Move it!” Her voice lacked its normal timid nature and instead carried firm authority.

~~~

When Kovu hit the floor, Shiloh had frozen for a moment, mind too slow to immediately piece together what happened. He didn’t realize what had truly happened until he saw the boy gripping at a growing red stain forming on his shirt. Shot- he’d been shot! A hidden shooter most likely. He turned sharply, hearing another shot whizz by and plant itself in the railing, like a warning shot to keep away from the fallen. He was going to go after wherever the shot had come from without a moment’s hesitation, but he suddenly had his hand grabbed and found himself in a whirl of motion, ending up in a nearby room with the door shutting. For a split second, a flush of anger ran over him and he reached for the door, exclaiming, “We can’t just leave him there!” That wasn’t his way! He couldn’t just leave a man bleeding out in the field. They had to DO something!

When he heard Yoko ask for his assistance, he had to stop himself from impulsively running back out into danger and instead agreed quickly. “Yes, of course.” He’d cover the boy. He wasn’t looking to catch a glimpse, obviously, but had thought nothing of it when Yoko took off his top, revealing feminine features beyond what was just a normal, small frame. The shock didn’t really have time to set into confusion, because he forced himself into the task at hand. Getting between Yoko and the door, protectively preparing for a fight. He didn’t hear anymore gunshots planting themselves in the ground or walls, but did hear pain from Yoko. He was familiar with his- her?- /his/ other form, so he knew what must have been happening. It didn’t make it easier though…

When Yoko explained that he had to get help, Shiloh nodded affirmatively and agreed, “Get your dema. I’ll try to-“ He was going to say he’d hold things down here and get to Kovu, but the boy told him to stay there, claiming to be safe and leaving immediately.

Shiloh instantly reached for the door, but it didn’t budge. Putting his back into it and both arms, he tugged firmly at it, but it barely shifted. For the love of- He couldn’t just sit there like some child! There was a shot, bleeding man out there and now Yoko was out in the field! He had to help those still there! Who cared if he got hurt!? It was his in his BLOOD to help!

Kicking at the door, he couldn’t get it open, so he stood there, helpless as he heard the voice of that quiet ginger rise again, concern belting out, then footsteps, lots of them… everywhere…on the roof, on the path… His heart tightened and he quietly backed away from the door when he heard them coming past him. Holding his breath, he had backed a few steps away when a loud shatter bust across his face and broken glass from the window sprayed over his side.

~~~

Outside, Kovu had at least been glad when Yoko ran off with Shiloh to cover. It gave him a sigh of relief. At least they would be safe, he thought. Pushing himself back, he felt the wall with his hand, leaving smears of blood as he located where it was. He had to get behind it…get cover. He could hear the door the Gau’s room open a second time as he pressed his back up to the wall, trying to brace himself to stand and dart around the other side. From what he could hear, Yoko had taken another form and was racing off. Good. Escape, he silently urged. Help or not, he wanted as many to get out of here as possible.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when the door beside him opened and the voice came out, startling badly, but he remembered quickly what he’d been doing before all this. With a rattled breath, he tried to calm the child, “I’m alright. Stay down. Get back inside.” He tried to tell the kid what he needed to hear to keep him out of this. He knew this wasn’t the end and he was right.

Footsteps and a lot of them rumbled through the walkway beneath him…and a lot of them. Frantically, he reached up and grabbed the side of the door, desperately shouting to the kid, “Don’t come out!” He didn’t wait before his arm roughly slammed the door shut, likely throwing the kid back into safety. He could only pray he stayed there. Pushing his arm back as hard as he could against the door to stop the kid, he braced for what was coming, pressing his blind eyes shut and listening with tense breaths. At least now he was the only one out there….



“Kovu, what the bloody hell!?”

A furious and somewhat panicked Welsh voice barked out. Kovu could make out the sound of flesh cracking against flesh, violent Welsh cursing, a loud crash, a struggle, then a heavy slam against a wall. It quieted enough that the thunder of approaching feet overpowered it .

~~~

When Gau got to the house, he’d find most of the house left as is, but the scent of dust kicked up in the air. The window to his room was shattered out, a cord left dangling from the roof beside it… Someone must have swung in. The door was left locked, like a baited trap, but the bait had been plucked out. One of the rails near the storage area was splintered from where a sniper shot had taken it out, then another hole in the side of the storage wall’s exterior where Kovu’s gift had planted itself. One of the rails nearby, between the storage area and the boy’s rooms was busted through, blood splattered against the grass and the side-wall where a small frame had been thrown.

There were smeared handprints to match where Kovu had been, red trailing the door where he’d slammed it, the floor where he’d propped himself up, the wall where he’d blindly tried to feel his way, then clawed down the walkway and against the railing. It looked like he’d been thrown against several rails, but it must have been fast. The trail ended abruptly, likely intentionally hiding the tracks, and there was nothing to be found of him beyond that. Empty air and silence haunted the house.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Sadin smiled but watched Kaliko go and he met up with Taddle and Clockwork. He watched Gau disappear and then Kaliko speak with Ves before he do disappeared over the hill with Gau.

He blinked and then looked at the others again. "What?!" Taddle said. "But we have to help!" He added.

"No, if we run in there, we'll only make it worse. Let's go to Ves' place and wait it out. Clockwork said. Sadin looked at the sand before gathering up some of his things. Clockwork took down the umbrella and Taddle packed up their cooler and towels.

"Alright..." Sadin said. "Let's get back home then..."

~~~~~~~

Gau made it back and when he was able to make out the crime scene, his eyes narrowed. Yoko came up next to him and looked at the Gau's room windows. He shook, and his six eyes shimmered. "Shiloh?!" He yelled and went over, cutting his webs down and opening the door. "Shiloh!" He cried out. He wasn't there. His dema looked around, spotting a few of the small details but mostly noticing the blood.

The dema took in a deep breath through his nose... "Kovu..." He said, walking over to the storage closet. He breathed again and looked around. His eyes grew wide as the scent hit him like a bag of bricks. "Aderyn." He weased heavily. Yoko ran out of his dema's room and to Gau's side. "He's gone- they took Shiloh!" He said frantically.

The dema's eyes held a cold look in them, one that his shiniko usually never saw, but an old look that Ves may recognize. The same eyes that made the great city of Atlantic disappear.

A small sound, however, snapped the dema's attention to the closet. He opened the door, getting a yelp in response. Yoko peered in. spotting the kid. Poor thing was trembling, and holding back tears. He was so afraid.

[BluePawProductions]

Ves was prepared for a raging fight with high tensions and a raging water dema… What he got when he caught up with his brother was a worse sight. He arrived shortly after Gau and saw the scene, broken and bloody, signs of a struggle. He could see the number of boot prints that his brother could not… He wanted to say that they couldn’t have gotten far, but the silence said otherwise. His eyes lifted to his brother as the dema began to investigate the scents of his children’s blood.

Kovu… Ves thought that must have been one of the new ones Gau mentioned earlier. The adrenaline in his head sort of messed with the clarity of that. It tightened his heart with worry for his brother, but when he mentioned Aderyn’s name….it just sank to his gut. There was a particular bond a dema had with their first shiniko, especially when they’d been around as long as Aderyn had been with Gau…. He could only pray things were not as bad as they seemed, for his sake.

“Gau I-“

He started to reach out to lay a hand on his shoulder and speak to him, try to figure out a plan of action, but his brother turned and opened a door sharply, revealing a scared, small shiniko. It was then that he did lay his hand on Gau’s shoulder, easing what he was sure was a very tense dema back a step so that he didn’t further terrify the small kid.

Crouching down carefully, Ves asked in as gentle a voice as he could, “Are you alright?...” He gave a pause, then added, “Do you know what happened here?” If they could get answers, they might have a direction to start with. Anything could help.

~~~

“Kovu!”

The harsh kick to his leg and angry, voice snapped the gentle giant back out of whatever lost mindset he was in. It felt like he was pulled from a deep sleep, but it was far from peaceful. When he jolted upright, his side screamed at him and he gave a tight sound of pain, leaning back against whatever wall was behind him for support and grit his teeth. For the love of- Ahhhhh that hurt so bad… And he felt cold, shaky, heavy. That wasn’t good.

“Kovu!”

“I’m here- I’m here- I’m awake,” He managed to stammer back and avoid another jolt. Hand shifting over a cold surface, he determined it to be metal, the same metal as a storage container or cage. “Where…where are we? Why are you-”

Aderyn, looking his housemate up and down from the small slivers of light that made it into their rocking, jostling transport, cut in, “I’m here because the house was raided…or something like it. They took me, you, and Shiloh. He’s still out but I can’t reach him. I haven’t been able to get you up until now either.” Kovu parted his lips with a worried pinch of his brow, but Aderyn again cut him off to say, “I need you to hold pressure on your wound. I can’t get to you yet. They have us separated by bars. I can barely get my leg through.”

The larger boy shifted his foot and felt bars between them, just as predicted, obediently starting to hold pressure on his wound. “How….long have we been moving?” He asked slowly, uncertainly.

“Dunno. Hard to tell. I was out for a while myself,” The small Welshman grumbled, “Bloody wanks just about gave me a concussion, tell you what…. But we can’t ha ve been gone too long. I’d say-“

In the middle of his sentence, the transport slammed to a halt, throwing them all back against the bars to their sides and the doors soon flew open, blinding the one person who could currently see with the glare of spotlights. Harsh voices barked for them to get moving, hands grabbing at them, something jolting Kovu with a rough shove to the side. He could barely stand, but he was being pushed through, hearing the sound of Shiloh drop down heavily beside him. It wasn’t long before they were being separated and he could hear Aderyn start shouting in protest, struggling and getting clocked over the face with something loudly. Kovu went to call out, but he was jammed in the back again and the wave of pain choked out anything he could have said. Soon, they were parted and he couldn’t hear anything from anyone, the loud slam of a door and ice of a bolt locking behind him.

~~~

Shiloh took the longest to wake, head throbbing, pounding. The dim light glared so bright in his eyes that he thought he would throw up. Mind muddled and confused, he rolled to his side and lifted his face enough to see himself locked in a room with only one other person. Separated by thick metal bars and dense acrylic, he could see another shiniko drenched almost chest deep in water. Feeling the cold air wafting off of the tank, Shiloh thought for a second it was a dead body on ice, but he could see breaths and thus immediately tried to get up to help, only to have his legs knocked out from under him by the sudden jolt of his limited movement. Cuffs around his ankles cut him off short and he hit the ground again, moaning and rolling back to his side again.

Well that was a bust.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Gau took a breath. He could tell this kid was innocent. There was no blood on him, and his scent was only in this spot. He listened intently to Ves before looking at the small shiniko again.

"F-forget me, I-I'm fine!" The little boy said, shaking. "The man that was here, they shot him! I tried to get him to come in here but he wouldn't. He shut the door and they took him!" He whimpered. "He said this place was safe, but he got hurt... It... It didn't happen because of me right- I was running from a monster! It has to be my fault." He continued.

Gau knelt down and softly shook his head. He gave a soft whooshing to try and calm him. "No, no it's not your fault..." Gau said. The dema looked him up and down and was able to gather that the shiniko was covering up with a quilt. He didn't have any clothes. Looking to Ves he softly mumbled. "He's new..." He said

"That young man told me that his master would keep me safe, he was explaining things until the bullet hit him. When he shut me in here, I could hear people running in. Glass breaking. They attacked another kid with an accent and knocked him out. I could hear metal, like chains and iron cages." He sniffled. Gau turned to Yoko.

"Go fetch him some clothes, and grab some wet rags just in case he is hurt." He ordered softly. Yoko nodded and headed off to go and fetch what Gau had requestion. The dema looked back and nodded. "Yes, I am Gau. I'm that boy's master and I can take you into my house and keep you safe... But only if you want that." He said to him softly.

~~~~~

The caged shiniko hadn't been moving much, but his gaze shifted when Shiloh started moving. He had been chained by his hands so he could not attack, and his sword was confiscated. He watched Shiloh role with a slight sneer on his face.

"Not the most graceful swan in the pond are we?" He asked as he looked around and got himself upright. These assholes had him figured out already and knew how to keep him held pretty well. He had somewhat of a plan on how to get out of here but he needed to get his hands free, and he needed to get his little partner active. Shivering he shook his head. Sending water droplets all over.

"Hey." He said roughly to the shiniko next to him. "What's your name, and what can you do?" He asked, but he more sounded like he was demanding for Shiloh to answer him. He was grouchy and irritable.

[BluePawProductions]

Ves allowed Gau to handle the shaken child. He seemed keen to do so and forcing himself to be calm might clear his head at that moment anyhow. He listened to the boy’s explanation and let his mind work through it. From what it sounded like, it was either a serious raid or a hit. Either way, planned. They had to have set this up and waited for whenever the dema and most of the shiniko were out of the house. This meant that, likely, they were targeting one or more of the ones they took…but it could have been something like a planned raid where they just took whoever they could get. That seemed to fit with taking such a random assortment…

It was too coincidental though, and Ves didn’t buy it.

He gave Gau and the boy time to speak, then let them handle whatever house affiliation the boy decided before pushing back to the pressing matter at hand. “Unless you’ve ticked someone off recently in particular, Gau, I’d say this has the smell of a mercenary or market house all over it,” he decided aloud, “The longer we wait, the worse this is, but we have to pick a place to start. They’re your kids. What do you think?”

~~~

Shiloh grumbled frustratedly and with a confused daze as he peeled himself off the ground to sit up against the wall. He could hear the mockery of the other shiniko, but huffed. He wasn’t as open with strangers as he was with friends. Yoko and the others had been lucky that he had an in with them, but he was much more gruff with strangers. He didn’t have much trust to give with them.

“Shiloh,” He answered back, wiping at his lip where it had split and trailed blood down his chin, “and not much more than fight. Power-wise, I don’t think I’m awfully helpful in this sort of situation.”

Lifting his wrists and listening to the metal scrape together, he stewed on an idea for a moment, but it always took him a while to think. If he could…just…get these cuffs off, then maybe he could bust the glass with the metal and they could figure it out. If they had that guy on ice, he must have been more powerful… Shiloh knew he wasn’t exactly pick of the litter and wished he could do more, but it couldn’t hurt to have two instead of one.

~~~

“Well, what’re we supposed to do with the other one?” the voice snipped above Aderyn’s head as they shoved him forward, the side of his face throbbing from where they’d pasted him to the wall when he tried to struggle earlier.

“He’s a fightah. I seen him on the market,” another slurred back with a thick accent, “We should ransom im off to his dema. Bet ya he’s not s’pposed to be off out there.”

“I know he’s a fighter! But that bloody ole man’s broke half the time! He ain’t gunna dropt the dough,” the sharp one snapped back as the practically threw Aderyn forward into a metal chair, causing his small form to mold to it with a heavy thud.

“Well… den why don’ we just’n up and set us a buyer? Sen’ im the note and see if he’ll pay. If’n not, then we ship ‘im off,” The accented one returned as he frustratedly pulled Aderyn’s small wrists back and cuffed them behind the chair so that his shoulders strained taut, “An wat of this one? We din’ need im.”

As Aderyn’s icy eyes met the taller shiniko with a burning fury, a wide smile peeled across his face. He took the end of his fingers and trailed them under the smaller shiniko’s chin as if he just simply owned this little pet now. “Consider him a handsome bonus…. He doesn’t look like much and his form doesn’t matter. He’s basically worthless for muscle, but it’s his brain that hold worth.” Patting the boy on the cheek, he gave a twisted chuckle and leaned a knee up against the seat so that he could tower over the boy, shadow spreading over him as he hissed, “He’s older than he looks and that beautiful brain of his holds just about everything. I know. I’ve dealt with him back in Mongolia. Remember boy?” He tipped his head, getting into the small Welshman’s face, “I wasn’t there when you cleaned house, but I’m here now. Want to pick up where we left off? I bet I could sell just about every bit of your secrets for a hefty price to a broker. And…you know the best part.” Aderyn’s blood started to run cold as he felt the giddy, sadistic emotions wafting off the larger shiniko, who bent down and pinned him by the forehead to keep him from looking over. His vile tongue whispered, “Since it’s your brain that matters, I don’t have to worry about damaging the merchandise, so long as I avoid that head of yours. Buckle up.”

[TwinTigerPaw]

The small shiniko had nodded. He wanted to join Gau, Kovu had promised him he was safe. He took Gau's hand, being accepted into the house, and showing his history to the dema like an open book. "Welcome home, Daisuke." Gau said softly before helping him up and looking at Ves. He listened to him intently.

"I agree... Would you mind if we took Daisuke, and Yoko to your place. I'm not risking bringing anyone with use to find these guys...." Gau said. Yoko came back with some nice clothes and handed them to Daisuke, who put them on while he was covered bit the quilts. The older shiniko took his hand to reassure him and smiled.

"You'll be safe with us." He said as he had caught the tail end of Gau taking in, and naming him. He looked to Gau and Ves, waiting to hear what they'd do.

"Yoko, we're taking you and Daisuke to Ves' place... I'm not leaving you here, and I'm not risking you coming with me..." Gau told him. Yoko looked down, he wanted to protest but he knew that he shouldn't. "Yes, sir..." He said. The dema looked to Ves and nodded. "I need to track the scent now while the blood is fresh. My affinity will help guide us there." The water dema said.

As soon as Gau got up, he could feel eyes staring at them and turned around. He looked up at his roof and spotted a familiar red and black shape staring back. Vlad's eyes stared into the two dema. Gau knew that the phantom could smell the blood, and knew that he had an idea of the direction.

Vlad raised and hand before slicing at his own flesh. A trail of thick black blood gushing out. Gau's nose wrinkled. Blood was blood, and nothing would be easier to follow than a trail of phantom blood. Vlad dashed off the roof, and took off running, following the scent of the dema's shiniko.

"Looks like Vlad is leaving me a stronger trail to follow. He must have a good idea on where they are." Gau mumbled.

~~~~~~~~~

"Not really a lot to work with then..." The shiniko grumbled before looking at the water. He couldn't start a fire like this but it wasn't going to stop him from raising his temperature. He could evaporate this water with time, and get himself dried off in maybe an hour or so... That is if those assholes didn't come dump more water on him.

"Alright... Sparks. Get to work on these." The shiniko said as he lifted his hands up to his shoulders. A sort of creature poked its head out from behind. It looked like a small ash colored dragon with four orange eyes. It opened its mouth, showing of razor sharp teeth and started chewing at the metal, slowly but surely causing damage.

"Oh right, my manners... My name is Singe, and this is my partner, Sparks." He said while his little phantom friend went to town on his chains.

[BluePawProductions]

Ves didn’t have any objections to the plan at hand. He wanted to get to those kids as soon as possible and definitely didn’t want to lost any more on the way. Plus, dropping off the two here would let him check in and make sure all the others made it to his place safe. They’d keep together and fortify his house if they had to, so he could trust them to be alone in such numbers.

“We’ll make it fast so we don’t lose the trail,” He promised Gau, accepting the plan.

When he saw Vlad pop up, he felt a pang of longing. The phantom had run off forever ago and been pretty distant with the house for a while, only showing up on and off. He wished they could stop and talk, but now certainly wasn’t the time for that. They’d spent enough time already. He watched Vlad lay a trail and noted, we better move fast if we want to follow a phantom’s scent. Potent as it may be, it evaporates on its own. I’ll run the kids back and you start following the trail. I’ll be able to follow your path easily enough to catch back up with you and Vlad.”

With that, he gave the children a moment to change, then did as he was told, taking the children down the shortcut back to his place to check in briefly, leave them there, and circle back to Gau’s trail. He didn’t exactly wait for any discussion, since they needed to hurry it up.

~~~

Hearing his lack of use stung. Shiloh already knew he was worthless in this situation. He didn’t need reminded. Frustratedly, he tugged at his cuffs. He could probably find a loose link or maybe get one hand free if he broke the wrist out of joint. It’d hurt and basically make that wrist useless for the time being though…

Hearing the shiniko start ordering something around, he watched as a phantom, of all things, crawled out of him and got to work. It was, for most shiniko, what would be a twisted and almost sickening sight. To Shiloh’s naïve eyes, it was just confusing. It made no sense how or why someone would carry a phantom around like that or partner with one. So far, he’d only met phantosm that wanted to do harm or that were mindless beasts.

“Let’s hope your partner can get you out of those so you can start figuring out your predicament,” Shiloh offered as he began to maneuver his chain around the closest bar of his prison. He looped it around, hooking it with his foot, and began to slowly pull back with as much force as he could, gradually increasing it in case it started to damage his arms too much. He could feel the metal digging in and a sharp throbbing in his side from where he remembered being hit before he was taken, but he kept pulling harder. The chain bent, then gave way a bit, parting in one of the links enough that he managed to slide one out. Persistence favored him where powers did not.

Almost tumbling back when the chain gave way, he caught himself back on his hands and gave a triumphant smile to himself. See? No powers, no help. Freed himself first. See how useless he was now!...or…well…partly free. He was still caged anyhow.

~~~

Kovu tensed and braced as he heard another step forward, followed by the expected punch to the gut. The air flowed out of him with a tense gasp as he began to choke for air again. His ribs were killing him! He knew that at least some had to be cracked or broken through and through. As soon as he’d doubled over forward, feeling the tug of his wrists and shoulders reminding him that he was tied down, he was shoved back on the shoulder roughly again.

“Comfortable?” A voice sneered back, female but not feminine. It was hard, gruff, ragged from damage to the vocal cords, he thought. The woman jammed her thumb against the bullet hole that pierced his shoulder and he let out a wail of pain in response, barely cutting it off before he got too loud. “Good!” She snapped back, “You’re SCUM! Garbage! You don’t deserve to-“

“C’mon.” A hand brushing against the shoulder of a jacket teased across Kovu’s ears and the female pulled back sharply as a younger, possibly male tone cautioned, “We don’t want to kill the guy, right? I imagine the pay’s better when he’s delivered alive.”

“I don’t care! He-“

“/The boss/ will care,” the boy cut her off sharper and she bit back her tongue with a hiss.

“Well, I just won’t kill him then,” She decided aloud, turning her face back to Kovu, which he could only tell from the change in pitch that fell from her lips with deadly weight as she addressed him again, “But you need to suffer. Do you even know what you’ve cost me? Cost so many? And for what? So that you could eek by another pathetic day…. You make me sick…You leach!”

He felt something heavy crack against his knees and he tucked his legs close with a grunt of restrained pain. “Please- I don’t know who you are but-“

“But it doesn’t matter!” She cut him off with a venomous spite as that same heavy, hard object –metal he thought- cracked down over his injured sholder and the back of his neck. “I could be anyone,” She wailed, “You’ve done so much to so many by simply existing, and you couldn’t possibly suffer enough for it. You should have been put down a long time ago…but I’m going to make you suffer-“ Another crack to the opposite arm “for every-“ across the side of his leg “single-“ right to the ribs at the center of his chest “soul!” The object flew up from his chest and cracked across his chin, throwing his head back as it flew out of her hand and clattered loudly across the hard floor.

As he grit his teeth and let out a ragged breath, he could hear the sound of a blade being drawn.

~~~

An earsplitting shriek escaped Aderyn’s small form as he pressed back against the metal chair, digging his back into it as hard as he could as if to escape the overwhelming pain that rocked his body. It was a rare sound, one he hardly ever acknowledged, let alone made, even under the worst circumstances.

“Ahh, finally~” The ropy young man leaned back on his heels and did a turn as if he’d just been flooded with a beautiful victory. “You know,” he chided, waving a scalding hot metal poker back and forth, letting the smoke trail in Aderyn’s face just inches from his eyes, “If you weren’t such a stubborn old man and would just sing more freely, it wouldn’t have to come to this. I gotta know what I’m doing is working, after all. Throw me a bone!” he spoke as if he were an investor making a proposal or an enthusiastic salesman, but he aggressively turned his wrist and pressed down on Aderyn again, the red hot metal end boring down against an already blistering patch of skin on his upturned arm.

The mangled scream that started to escape him began deep but cracked and grew shrill as a child’s broken cry as he pressed back into that seat again, body twisting and tensing in vain. The scream was failing to be cut off until the larger boy tore the metal poker away and slammed his hand against the small Welshman’s throat hard enough to choke out the sound in an instant with a tight cough.

Holding him back and leaning his full weight to pinch off any air, he got right in the boy’s face and hissed, “You know why I’m doing this, don’t you?” His dark brown hair fell in front of burning eyes as he bore into the small shiniko’s very soul. “You killed my men when you escaped, some of my best. You caused a lot of trouble for us, then denied me the satisfaction of finishing what we started, didn’t even have the courtesy to give us what we wanted, then up and killed them the moment my BACK WAS TURNED!” He shoved harder with a furious outburst as he pushed back, letting the boy suck in breath just in time to keep from passing out. After all, that’d ruin the fun.

Sucking big gulps of air and coughing more than he could breath, Aderyn’s body shook uncontrollably as the situation had sunk in more and more. Brave as he was, independent as he was, stoic as he was…Aderyn still was afraid. He knew this face, these hands, these eyes that scalded into his mind. He knew what this was going to be… He never wanted to live this again…Those eyes had kept him petrified, those hands had always stopped him when he tried to get free, that face was always what haunted him as he awaited the next onslaught. He had been hanging together by a thread when he’d gotten away last time…He didn’t want to know how far he could hold on this time.

Pulling a small, razor sharp blade, the shiniko gripped the front of Aderyn’s shirt and sliced it open, revealing his battered, black and blue body, swelling with welts and bruises. Aderyn set his jaw, knowing what was coming, remembering what they’d both ‘discovered’ together. “You…are going to tell me everything I want to know…but first, you are going to be punished,” the older one hissed. The shiniko laid the blade right down across the deeply rooted scar that centered the smaller boy’s chest and pressed slowly, letting the hot, unbearable pain start to well up all throughout his body.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Gau had nodded, letting Ves take his kids to his place. They'd be fine there and they'd meet back up and take care of the problem. The wood floors creaked and splintered as the dema practically disappeared, only leaving his heavy black kimono behind.

The dema followed Vlad's scent before he finally caught up to where the phantom had stopped by what could have been their transport. "They tried to mask the scent here... But I can still smell it. They knew about your affinity I bet... But they don't know about me..." Vlad commented. The vampire cat turned around and took on his true form. He'd be faster, and Gau wouldn't have to worry about going slower.

"Follow me." Came Vlad's distorted, bubbling voice. The phantom took off running once more to lead Gau to the base. Gau was moving fast enough that his feet were leaving large prints, Ves would have no trouble finding him.

~~~~~~~

Singe had nodded while Spark was chewing. He was moving pretty fast. The shiniko looked over at Shiloh and smirked. "Hey, Nice work." He said as he heard Spark gitter at him. His cuffs were now lose. "Excellent." He said as he slipped it off and shook his hands.

"Hey, Shiloh, do you think you'd be able to break the glass. I'd be able to get these bars bending if I wasn't chest deep in water." Sing explained calmly. "And then I'll be able to kill the bastards that did all this, and get your palls out of here." The firey shiniko added.

[BluePawProductions]

It didn’t take Ves long to drop off the kids. He checked in and everyone had made it okay. It didn’t stop him from fussing over them a little, but he knew he had to get moving again. Giving them strict instructions to stay inside and not answer the door for anyone but one of the two demas, he had to part from them. It was always hard, especially in tense situations. He always had that nagging fear that he’d come home to something he never wanted to see again. But he had to leave. He couldn’t let his paranoia put his brother’s kids at risk.

Racing out, he easily picked up Gau’s trail again, following the distinct tracks and was soon catching up. He only slowed when he saw Gau’s racing form come into view. It took him a good while to fully recognize that bubbling skeleton as Vlad, but that came as he approached.

“Brother,” He made his presence known as he huffed once or twice to catch his breath and pulled up beside him, “Any idea where this is leading?”

~~~

Shiloh flashed a winning smile over to the other shiniko as he got onto his feet, shifting the cuffs on his wrists. They were still clamped on, but he had use of his arms to an extent, being able to part them enough to move- or get over someone’s head if he had to he supposed. Stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders, he came over to the glass and replied, “Exactly what I was thinking, actually.”

Bracing him in front of the bars, he lined himself up and started striking the glass with the edge of the cuffs on his wrist. He had to aim through the bars and missed a few times, clipping the edge and jamming his cuff into his wrists with a hiss of frustration. The first few chinks didn’t make much of an impact, despite the rolling fighter’s muscles pushing harder and harder with each blow. Eventually, the glass chipped, then cracked slightly. A large crack broke across the entire glass with force during one of the strikes and extremely pressurized water burst its way out over him, drenching him in an icy spray that nearly had the force to knock him backwards. Squinting through the spray and bracing himself, he struck through it several more times before a large hole broke in the glass, sending his hands through and water dumping out by the hundreds of gallons.

His forearms got sliced deeply and he was bleeding quite a bit, but he gave a wide, victorious smile and burst out, “Huzzah! Freedom at last!”

~~~

Kovu sucked in a sharp breath through his grit teeth and pressed his face into a tensed expression to hold back what tried to tear from him as he felt a now body temperature blade peel open a long gash across his chest slowly. His muscles shuttered as he tried to keep his screams under wraps. With a shuttering breath, he pressed back into the seat as the woman backed off. He could feel her breath on his cheek through what he assumed the be a wicked smile. The feeling of her closeness made his skin crawl with the touch of a cold fear.

“That’s right,” She growled in her raspy tone, “And you’re stuck with me until the employer comes a’knocking or we have to deliver you, so get comfortable. I can do this all DAY!”

“Don’ do that, ma’am.” A deep country accent drawled out, the same one that had taken Aderyn earlier. Whatever the woman was about to do stopped mid-action and could hear the scuff of her foot as she adjusted her motion.

“And why the hell not!?” she snapped back furiously.

“Ey, don’ shoot the messenger. I’m savin’ your life, I’d reckon,” The man’s warm, honey-dew voice, “Those hands o’ his touch anythin’- bam! You’re in a world of hurt. He can turn that stuff to a duststorm-o-death faster than ya can blink! Gotta cut through fabric. Stuns ‘im enough to take the risk out for a hot second.” The way he spoke was extremely warm, friendly, like he was telling someone how to make sun-tea on their porch, not how to survive while torturing a blind man.

There was pause of appraisal and a frustrated huff before the woman’s voice returned with, “Fine. This will do. How you see the world anyhow, eh?”

Kovu immediately tensed. He felt a hand around his ankle and jerked back, tearing his foot away and feeling claws rake over his ankles through the pant leg, his breath hitching as a rush of fear and dread shot through him. “Oh ho, looks like I found a goldmine there, hu?” the woman growled in her gravel tone as she reached back, took his ankle again with a firmer grip, and pulled his leg out to her hip height. With one motion, she roughly stabbed her blade in through the arch of his foot, where his pant legs wrapped around to cover the sole and keep from riding up.

~~~

Shiloh stopped short of celebration when the blood-chilling sound of Kovu’s deep voice went into an agonized, blistering wail of pain. The way it echoed and reverberated down the cold halls made his normally deep, warm tone sound like an icy, distorted cry. Shiloh could practically feel his own lungs ache from the strain.

“What was-“

Another broke out just the same, but tapered of and cracked, leaving heavy silence in its wake.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Gau had been staring down an old building by Vlad's side for a moment before Ves caught up. He sounded winded. "Vlad stopped here, and he's staring at that building there," Gau said as he stepped closer.

The skeletal cat had nodded. His voice rasped out as a hiss. "This is it, I can feel that blind shiniko of yours in there. My collective is already going nuts.... I'm bouncing before it gets worse, I don't want to go too wild in there." Vlad said as he turned around and eyed Ves. "I will come see you soon... I promise... We can talk then." He added as he took off once more to get away from the old building

~~~~~~~~~

Singe stood back and watched as Shiloh got to work on the glass. A few slip ups, and a few missed hits but soon enough, the glass was broken. With most of the water gone, Singe was able to heat his body.

Steam rolled off of him as he started drying himself off, and before long set himself ablaze. He grabbed the bars and heated them before bending them into and wide hole and ripping the bars off the cell.

Doing the same, Singe ripped a few bars off of Shiloh's cell as well. He, however, stopped when the haunting melody of Kovu's cries filled the building. "We better hurry... Sounds like they're taking way too much creative freedom with your friend." He commented. The shiniko looked over at the door as he heard movement.

"I thought you said there was no way in hell they could get out!"

"No, I said there's not a snowball's chance in hell they would!"

There were two arguing shiniko coming to the door. Singe grabbed up one of the metal bars, engulfing it and himself in flames as the door flew open and a shrieking shiniko had his face smashed in by the fiery spirit. The other tried to run but was grabbed by the tail of the phantom and pulled back into the room. Both souls were absorbed quickly by Singe's little friend.

"Let's get moving." He barked the order and started out the door.

~~~~~~~

Gau was about to try the door when that scream hit him. His eyes were huge. You could feel the moisture in the air gathering around the now very.... VERY angry water god.

Gau turned, one foot stomped into the ground, causing a trimmer to shake the building. Ves isn't the only one who can make mountains. (shot) The dema's fist flew and smashed into the door. A door that was solid steal, by the way.

It smashed open, ripping the frame off with it. Gau walked into the building without a word, not noticing the new party blood stains he walked through. The blood, however, followed him as though it had a will of its own. The dema's affinity willed it to move for him.

The trimmer on top of the sound of a solid steel door being ripped off its hinges would be more than enough of a warning to the people here that they have fucked up... Gau stopped mid stride down the hall. "Ves... Do not let anyone leave this property... Don't kill them, but to be sure they're legs are deemed useless..." He said darkly as he continued down the hall to find his children.

[BluePawProductions]

As they approached the building, Ves could feel the strain building up on his brother. It was always anxious approaching without knowing what had happened yet. They both knew it was going to be bad, based on how things were, but how bad was the question. These sorts of situations…never ended completely well. Ves could only hope that it wasn’t too late to salvage.

When Vlad announced he’d take his leave, he gave the cat a nod and agreed, “You’d better. You’ve been running around quite a while.” Now wasn’t the time for jokes or pleasantries, so he let him go at that. It was time.

Not long after Vlad had run off, there was a horrible cry from within the building, echoing through the halls and piercing even the heavy metal door with a hauntingly tortured sound. It shook and angered Ves to hear such pain, but only more so because he could feel the horror and rage that came off of Gau at that moment. That was one of his children… His brother’s children… That was unacceptable. On his brother’s behalf, he was seething with disgust and anger, having to force himself not to heat and scorch the air. He didn’t stop Gau from busting in, instead condoning it despite the dangers and following behind him to provide whatever support he needed. He was there for Gau, to work as his backup. Thus, he didn’t have any complaints when he was told to guard the facility and make sure none escaped.

“They won’t have a chance to get past me, brother,” He replied seriously, steadily, “Go find your kids. I’ll keep the culprits here.”

And like that, they parted ways, Ves like a watchman at the gate, just waiting for some hapless fool to think they could get away from this horror without facing what they’d done.

~~~

Shiloh shielded his face as the fires roared to life, eyes burning against the light in contrast to how dark it had been before. The head emanated across his skin as the phantom and shiniko combo tore the bars open, releasing him. It was a good thing he hesitated for a moment, though, as two shiniko soon came in and were quickly done away with in a fiery torrent. Shiloh took note of how the two moved together and decidedly made sure he’d keep his distance from the flames. He didn’t want to be caught up in them. What stuck with him more was the sound he’d heard just before the guards came in, however.

“You’re right. We better get going,” He agreed, quickly stepping out, testing the strength of the chains between his arms, and deciding that they’d do well for a choking weapon. Good. At least his bound hands were good for that. He didn’t have to be told twice when orders were barked and they both headed out the door.

They didn’t have much trouble with guards, as the attention was quickly shifted to the tremor that raged though the subterranean building and the ear-splitting sound of heavy steal bending like tin foil. Sounded like the cavalry had arrived.

“Towards the sound,” He directed without hesitation, “That’s gotta be Gau. I was at his place when it was raided. It’s how they ended up catching me in their little powwow.” That was the only way someone like him was worth taking, probably. Quick extra buck. “They took some of his house, so he’s gotta be here for them. He’ll be on our side. Just stick close. He knows me.” It was then that he took the lead, being the human shield between Gau and Singe whenever they would run into the rescue party.

~~~

Kovu pulled his legs back sharply and tucked them as far back under his seat as he could in his position. His feet were in utter agony. They were extremely sensitive despite their toughness, being used to keep him in touch with the world. They were his guidance, his connection. His powers let them be more attuned to the senses in order to compensate for his eyes, as much of him was. In a way, they were a substitute for his eyes, or at least part of it. Thus, it was excruciating to have them badly damaged, especially with something like that. That would hurt anyone beyond belief and /that/ was no understatement for him.

“That’s right ya waist of space,” the raspy, graveling female voice hissed at him, hands closing around his cheeks in a caressing way, condescendingly gentle with the threat of imminent violence, “Scream all you like. Maybe you’ll get a glimpse of what they all felt… Every last one of them. I’ll make sure you do every-“

She cut off when the earth shook around them and the door busted clean off its hinges at the entrance quite clearly, screaming metal breaking through the halls almost as purely as Kovu’s voice had. Roughly, she shoved back from the young man, practically slamming his head back against the chair’s back as she went to the door of the room, peering out the open doorway. She left Kovu with his legs trembling with the pain and anticipation of more to come, flinching at the sound of more feet thundering past towards the door. He did not interpret the loudness as a good sign, bur rather as something he’d attracted, a phantom, and him defenseless.

“You best keep your voice down,” the woman snapped as she slammed the door to their room shut and threw a bolt into place, locking the heavy door and hoping that whoever it was would pass them by. “One peep outa you and I’m slitting your throat, got it?” She hissed more quietly, coming over to him and leveling her blade, sticky and thick with his blood, against the front of his neck.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Singe lisnted to Shiloh as he explained that a dema had come to help them. Singe wasn't really too trusting of dema, but there were a select few he had his eyes on because of a phantom named Vlad. Gau was one of those dema.

"That must be why they took me too... I was close by the house on one of my missions... They made a fatal error thinking they could keep me locked up for long. Even more of an error for putting us up in the same room." Singe said as he followed Shiloh. Spark had turned his head to watch behind the two shiniko and spot any who would try to sneak up on them.

It wasn't long before more screams could be heard echoing in the halls. They were shiniko trying to get away from Gau, and failing miserably. "Sounds like a charming dema... Then again, even the gentlest of giants have their limits..." He mumbled.

~~~~~~~~

Gau was following the smell of blood, blood from his own inside this building. A shiniko had ran out to try and stop him by hitting him with a bat. That didn't really work- honestly, the bat bent the other way when it hit the dema. It was at that moment that shiniko knew... He fucked up. He didn't even get the chance to run away before his body was forced to contort and bend horribly before exploding into a shower of blood. All bets were off the table, any mercy Gau would have given these shiniko was gone.

What little blood splashed onto the dema seemed to sink into his skin, creating markings. A good sign that he was feeding his affinity. He came to one door and ripped it clean off its frame. Two shiniko were cowering in the room, they knew how big of a screw up this was. One screamed as their head exploded, leaving only one. Gau glared with pure hatred. "Tell me where my children are.... And I might let you live."

The shiniko practically spilled their guts in desperation. Telling the dema where Kovu was. "Thank you. No run you pest..." He said, letting the shiniko run for their lives, knowing what was waiting for them outside. Yikes, that's cruel Gau.

He continued on till he found the door the shiniko had directed him too, and stood outside it, letting his presence fill the air. Gau reached forward and grabbed onto the handle to open it..... Locked? Oh, you don't want to play this game girly. The very angry dema slammed his fist into the door. leaving a massive dent in it. That was warning number one to open the damn door or else.

[BluePawProductions]

Shiloh was about to reply to Singe, but he heard the echoing screams as well and his heart went still for a moment. He had seen some demas angry. He didn’t want to cross them again. The receiving end was never a pleasant place to be. It, for a moment, made him question whether or not they were being idiots for heading that way. So much so that he strongly considered taking an alternate escape route. What if they were to head right into him and he was in such a rage that he lashed out at the one with him, the one he didn’t know? Or even Shiloh himself? He might be beyond reason. The image of what must be happening to garner such horrific screams flashed to mind with the thought of Gau’s contorted face, fangs bared, coming at him with full rage burning in his eyes.

“He… seems nice from what I know, but I honestly haven’t been acquainted long,” He admitted to the other shiniko.

He wasn’t about to get another killed on an assumption. He didn’t know enough. If it were just him, he’d probably plow right into danger, but instead he motioned down a side hallway and decidedly stated, “Yeah, we’re not getting in the mix of that. I think they took one of his shiniko down this way. We’re going to check for Aderyn and then get out of this mess before we get caught up.”

~~~

Kovu’s breaths shuttered and body trembled, flinching at the pain that rattled him, the helplessness of his situation. He could handle pain. He’d handled it before. But…normally he could try to get away. This was different. He was trapped here, at the mercy of another who would neither kill nor let him go. The blade resting against his throat dug in slightly as the sounds increased, screaming… So much screaming. It sounded like voices were rising and getting cut off in shrill agony. Painful deaths. Kovu’s expression bent back in horror and remorse. Their echoing cries shook through the halls, reverberating in his ears like a cacophony of fear as each life was snuffed out… One after another. Terror, pain, then nothing. They were gone, or at least silenced.

The volume alone was enough to make the disoriented, reeling world nauseatingly anxious for him, but here he was, enveloped in it and knowing that every one of their lives was traded for his. Aderyn, Shiloh, they were both here because of him. Gau was here because of him. These people had come because he was there. These people, maybe just following orders, were dying…because they came for him.

His grimace bent back, the aching against his ribs worse than the possible fractures in them, lips parting to try to breathe, but then feeling the blade dig deeper against his skin with a hiss from the woman taking position behind him. He was her shield in case someone were to come in, a human shield, but he wasn’t allowed to make a peep. So he pressed his jaw tightly shut, brow furrowing and lip quivering, trying to block out the sounds.

The bang on the door made him jump near out of his skin, not expecting it and suddenly having the earsplitting metal sound reverberating in the room, but the sharp pains in all his open wounds stilled him, as did the woman’s long nails digging into his bad shoulder. “Back up or I’ll slit ‘is throat! I’ll do it!” She snapped furiously at the top of her lungs to be heard through the door. The gargling, raspy, damaged throat choked on her and she had to cough several times before she demanded, “Take your house and go, you beast!” She was no idiot. She knew the state that she’d put the prisoner in. If she opened that door and he saw this, she’d be dead just like the rest.

~~~

As Ves guarded the hallway, he could hear the screams. He knew what was happening, and he wanted to stop it… He could only pray his brother had some mercy for the poor shiniko or stopped to consider-

A startled, blood-soaked shiniko came bolting around the corner, frantic, but skidded to a stop in front of the towering, burning war dema. Face going pale, they froze and began to shake, backing up as they realized it was a trap. The other dema, the blood one, he’d sent this shiniko directly into the clutches of his partner in crime, it seemed. Trembling, the shiniko looked down the hall, hoping to escape down another exit, but then the dema before him moved, lifting one hand and suddenly having command of the smaller spirit’s full attention again.

“Don’t,” He warned in a low tone, “Don’t run. Just stay where you are and I won’t harm you, alright?”

The panicked shiniko turned and bolted immediately. With a twist of his wrist, Vesuvius summoned fire from the floor that leapt up and caught the pant legs of the shiniko, badly burning them and causing them to stumble and fall backward. Once down, he relinquished the flames and drew them back to himself. His eyes warned not to try again.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Singe blinked at looked at Shiloh. "You have a better chance than me though. But you have a point, let's look for his other shiniko and get them out too. Even free anyone else that had been captured. Don't wan't them lumped in with the ones who did all this." Singe commented.

The fire shiniko checked over his shoulders. "Lets move quickly then." He added in.

~~~~~~~~

Gau had removed his hand and waited for an answer. His nose wrinkled in anger and he curled his lips. "I smell the blood of my shiniko in this room. If I enter and he is dead, you will be begging for your own death you slimy bitch." Gau snarled as he grabbed the door and ripped it off the frame as he did to the last one.

The angry dema walked in and locked his unseeing eyes right on the woman. "You attacked the wrong house..." He growled darkly. The woman would find that her joints would refuse to respond, or move. The blood dema had used the water and blood in her body to freeze her, and prevent her from harming Kovu.

"Kovu... I'm so sorry I didn't get here fast enough... We'll get you home, and get you patched up, I promise..." Gau said, his stone cold voice had toned down to the gentile loving dad voice that Kovu would know. His attention went back to the woman. "Now then, you're going to tell me where my other shiniko is, and where my child's friend is. He's the coffee colored one with black hair, and the small pale Welshmen. You will answer me truthfully, and if I'm feeling generous, I might let you live..." He growled.

[BluePawProductions]

Shiloh agreed, nodding quickly and was glad that the other shiniko didn’t put up a fuss. So the two of them would head down the halls, making use of Singe’s fire to melt open locks to peer in rooms and both fighting side by side to get past the other mercenaries. Shiloh deliberately was avoiding causing fatal injuries, but he was using chains and metal cuffs to fight as his primary weapons, so it might be inevitable while knocking them out.

Pushing into most rooms, they were empty without a trace or were bunking for the mercs. Living spaces here or there, more halls, a garage that was walled off. Finally, one of them was different, but it wasn’t good. There was a clear indication that a smaller shiniko had been kept there, as given by the size of the seat provided. In addition, it hadn’t gone well. There was blood…a lot of it. Yet there was no shiniko and were no marks to indicate where he’d gone. Aderyn, the Mongolian, and his country-boy partner must have taken off somewhere else in advance, deliberately leaving from this bloodsoaked place, which would hide his scent and trail among the many others if they played their hands right.

Shiloh’s heart sunk. He knew that Gau cared deeply for his older shiniko. Yoko said he was the oldest of them all. That never was good when it came to demas losing them.

“I think…we may have to wait for the big guy,” he muttered, the dread in his tone heavy.

~~~

When Gau entered, he’d find a large, mostly empty room with a chair centered over a drain in the heart of it. Cold, dark, bloodsoaked with ages of suffering and freshly spilt crimson. Kovu, shuttering and small despite his normal stature, held down and torn to ribbons, black and blue where he wasn’t fresh red. Behind him, a woman with a harsh face, angular features, and a long, gnarled scar torn across her throat and shoulder held her soaked blade against his child’s throat.

As she was frozen stiff, a tight sound of fear and anger escaped her, the realization that she was completely at his mercy soaking into her bones. She locked eyes defiantly with the dema, daring him to be as merciless as he could be and strike her down there and then with nothing more than her eyes. They were the eyes of a wild creature, hell bent on revenge and fueled by that lust. Her eyes burned with hatred.

Below her gaze, though, there was that of Kovu’s. Directionless due to their blindess, his eyes were an open book. Fear, regret, horror, pain, all swirling in his useless eyes. Bis brows were pinched and eyes swollen with the restrained agony he’d been enduring. Yet what passed his lips was a trembling, “Please….don’t- Don’t kill anyone…” He was, at his heart, a pacifist, a humanitarian, altruistic. He didn’t value himself highly enough to be worth a second glance, not to mention the lives of others, no matter what they’d done to him. Perhaps he should have wanted their suffering, but he couldn’t bring himself to it. All he could think was that he wanted it to end without any more suffering. No more pain for anyone…

“Weakling….coward…” the woman seethed behind him, hissing quietly, “After everything you’ve caused, you don’t have the right to pretend-“ But then Gau’s attention was back to her and she could /feel/ it. Her blazing eyes narrowed as a wide, wicked grin peeled across her face, “Around, I’m sure. I’ve got nothing to hide, no stake in the game. The market /rat/ is probably stored any old place. We didn’t want him. Not worth our time, but he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Master might pay a handsome price. As for your tiny old man…”

Her lips peeled further like a dog bearing its fangs from a corner as she spat, “Long gone by now. /THAT/ little thing is worthless, but what he knows is priceless. I’m sure they already set off with him ages ago. Good luck finding that trail, you freakin’ beast.”

[TwinTigerPaw]

Singe had followed with out a Single complained. While Shiloh was trying to spare those who stood in their way, Singe did not show the same kindness as he allowed his phantom to kill and devour. He needed to feed his main source of power.

When they found the room Aderyn may have been in, He squinted. His phantom sniffed the air and hissed. "He had to be here...." He mumbled. " Agreed..." He added. "Should we take any prisoners of out own, gather information?" He asked softly.

~~~~~~

Gau listened to Kovu, and he felt a little guilt wash over him. "Alright Kovu...." He said. His child wanted the killing to stop, and so, he would listen to him. His eyes snapped back to a searing anger when the woman spoke about Aderyn... Shiloh was still here, so he'd be able to find him and get him to safety but Aderyn wasn't out of danger yet.

The dema moved his hand to yank the bitch away from his child, and removed her weapon before grabbing onto her neck. Gau pressed his fingers tightly to close off her air ways. He planned to only knock her out but he wanted her to fear him. He wanted her to feel pain for what she did, but he would not kill her. As she'd pass out he would toss her down, and walk over to Kovu to start getting him free.

"Don't worry, I didn't kill her. Just knocked her out... Let me know where you hurt, I'm going to try and get you out of this chair." Gau said as he started trying to undo the bonds that held Kovu down.

[BluePawProductions]

Shiloh looked to his temporary ally and settled his brow thoughtfully. If they took prisoners, at the rate things were going, they’d probably just be slaughtered by Gau when he found them. It’d be a death sentence. Angry as he was to be captured, he didn’t think that earned everyone involved that. If they didn’t capture them, maybe they stood a chance to make it out another exit….Then again, if the ones behind this got out, they’d come back for whatever they were after.

“We’d be setting them for a mass grave, I’m afraid,” He made his choice, deciding aloud, “That dema’s on a killing spree and I don’t think disarming them will make a difference. You can take prisoners if you feel it’s right, but I wont be part of a mass killing that way. I say we wait.”

~~~

Kovu breathed a slight relief when Gau agreed to stop the killings. Though he was still trembling and still in both immense pain and fear, he was glad that the violence was at least agreed to stop. He couldn’t stand the thought of more lives being lost over this.

He only flinched slightl when the woman was forcibly pulled from his neck, but could breath easier when there wasn’t a blade against his throat any longer. Ironic, honestly, because she then could not breath at all. He heard choking, pained gasps and furious cusses getting more and more muffled until she weakly gave up the fight. The body hitting the floor sent chills up his spine and his stomach twisted. But Gau had just said-

He stopped that thought short when Gau explained himself and nodded slowly, trying to relinquish any seeds of doubt. He allowed a small but honest, if not tense, chuckle when his dema essentially asked where he was hurt. “Just about everywhere, honestly,” He admitted with a tired smile to reassure. “I…I don’t think I’m going to be much good for walking, so if you have to fight your way out of here, it’s gunna be a problem.” He wanted out now, honestly. Selfishly, he wished that he could just up and leave now and then go back for the others for a brief moment, but immediately shot that idea down and offered, “Hey, y’know- I’ll be alright to just..sit for a bit. Come back for me. I’ll be okay.”

He doubted Gau would allow that the moment he said it, but tried anyway. He didn’t want to be the reason Gau lost any kids today.

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