Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Chapter 21:

Ashen sighs heavily as he sits on his couch.

"What's wrong?" Steven asked playing Ashen's Nintendo Wii

"I've been really tired lately..." Ashen replied

"Tired....?" Amelia said

(Silence)

"Oh....if memory serves correctly, Silmeria stays in your room....have you two been....." Steven started

"What have you two been doing!!?" Amelia said grabbing Ashen by his shirt.

"Nothing nothing...I swear..." Ashen said.

"Now I know you're lying! Whenever you start to say, "I swear" then I know you're lying!" Amelia snapped.

"Hey.....why does it matter to you? Ashen is his own man now. Plus, he has Sessaru living inside him so he'll be fine." Steven said.

"No. His mother left me in charge of him when she died. Its my job to....." Amelia started before see was interrupted by a startling scene.

Coming down the stairs was Silmeria rubbing her eyes sleepily wearing nothing but her blue and black striped bra and panties. Ashen's eyes bulge at the sight and he turned a deep red seconds before blood bursts from his nose.

"No wonder you're tired. I would be too." Steven said admiring Silmeria's body.

Amelia glares at him, then punches him in the mouth.

"What was that?" Amelia said.

Steven lays on the ground with blood running from his mouth and nose.

"Silmeria go upstairs and put more clothes on. There are two perverts down here." Amelia shouts to Silmeria.

She stops and heads back upstairs.

***************************

Shingi, Kogamaru, and Shear all sit around the monitors. Each of which has a picture of Nara smirking at them.

"It appears that Nara is aware of your scheme, Shingi." Kogamaru says.

"Yes it does. However this does save us on training scouts since Roswell keeps wasting them." Shingi says.

"Speaking of the troll. The doctors say he should be up and moving again within a few days. He does have remarkable regenerating skills." Shear says.

"To bad he can't regenerate some intelligence." Shingi says.

"We need to get another plan in motion before he comes back and screws it all up." Kogamaru says.

"Forgive my intrusion but I may have an idea." Jade says.

And what may that be?" Kogamaru asks.

"From my understanding, someone is killing all the scouts that Roswell is sending up. And Nara is fully aware of the cameras throughout the school, correct? Well with my idea, you won't need to send any more scouts and the camera will be perfect to distract Nara." Jade says.

"Go on." Shear says.

****************************

Nara walks down the stairs and into the front room to see Ashen and Steven laying in pools of their own blood. He looks at them then back towards the stairs. Silmeria walks back downstairs in a button up shirt that isn't buttoned.

"Oh." Nara says and sits down.

Ashen finally comes to as well as Steven.

"Enjoy the view a little too much did you?" Nara asks.

"Yeah. Where is Amelia?" Steven asks.

Nara shrugs and grabs Ashen's jaw. He looks him deep in the eyes. Ashen's eyes grow real wide before he collapses.

"That should help." Nara says and turns on the TV.

"What did you do to him?" Amelia asks running in about an hour later.

"Saving his life." Nara replies channel surfing.

*****************************

"That is an excellent plan. Go get ready." Shingi says.

"Thank you." Jade says bowing before he leaves.

Kogamaru snaps his fingers and six lieutenants run in.

"Sir!" They shout at once.

"You six will accompany Jade on his mission. We will provide you with the necessary gear to help you blend in." Kogamaru says.

A lowly servant walks in places six bags on the table.

"Inside these bags is the equipment. You will find a necklace that will change your appearance so you will blend in. Also, a communicator that will allow you to communicate with us. However it only works during rainy days." Shingi explains.

"Any questions?" Shear asks.

"No sir." The lieutenants say at once.

"Good. Move out." Kogamaru says.

The lieutenants leave and Jade enters.

"This bag should help you blend in. There is a communicator that will allow you to have direct contact with us at any time. We expect an update every day. Good luck." Shear says patting his shoulder.

*****************************

Amelia is kneeling next to Ashen and shaking him while Nara watches TV.

"What did you do to him?" Amelia asks.

"I put them both into a deep sleep. Ashen was looking so tired so I gave him what he needed. Just relax he will be fine." Nara replies and continues to watch TV.

While Sessaru sleeps, his mind wanders through his suppressed memories.

Later that afternoon, Nara picks up Ashen and sets him on a table before strapping his arms and legs to the legs of the table.

"Now what are you doing?" Amelia asks.

Steven pauses his game to see what is going on.

"Sessaru has blocked out most of his memories and when I put them into this deep sleep that made him relive all those memories. Chances are Sessaru has taken control of this body. I don't want him to do something stupid." Nara replies and puts his book on Ashen's chest.

"What's going on?" Ta asks walking into the room.

"Not sure." Steven says.

Kareen and Silmeria return from shopping and Silmeria drops her bags.

"What is the meaning of this?" She asks reaching for the straps.

Nara grabs her wrists and squeezes. Silmeria drops to her knees and Nara releases her.

"I am trying to save both of their lives. Do not interfere." Nara says sternly.

*****************************

Jade and the lieutenants arrive in the forest next to the playground where Shin is playing with some other children.

"Excuse me little girl. Could you tell me where this address is?" Jade asks.

Shin looks at the address and says, "Over that way mister."

"Thanks." Jade says and leads the lieutenants through the town to the safe house.

"You must be Jade." A man says opening the door.

"Yes and you are?" Jade asks.

"I'm Jake. I do all the electronics for your group. I also do documents for people. I am almost finished with yours actually." Jake says.

"Really. That's good." Jade replies.

"There are four rooms upstairs. The six of you will be in the three with the double beds and you shall have the master bedroom. Go ahead and get your stuff put away while I finish these up." Jake explains and heads back to the computer room.

They return moments later and Jake finishes up.

"Ok. I am going to assume this is your first time here so pay attention and this should go smoothly." Jake says.

"What should go smoothly?" Jade asks.

"Your human training. I have the rest of today and all weekend to train to act like humans so you aren't spotted by Nara and the rest of them. Now pay close attention." Jake explains.

*****************************

"MAKE IT STOP!! MAKE IT STOP!! I don't want to relive all these memories." Sessaru screams as he struggles against the straps.

Silmeria sits on the couch crying with Kareen, who is trying to console her.

Nara puts his hand over Sessaru's eyes and Sessaru calms down.

"What happened? I was having the most horrific dreams." Ashen says.

Amelia looks up and is about to say something but Nara motions for her to keep quiet.

"Now that I have both of you out. We need to have a little talk. This is very important and I do not want to repeat myself." Nara says to Ashen and Sessaru.

Ashen's right side is normal but his left side looks like Sessaru.

"What the hell did you do?" Sessaru asks.

"I temporarily gave each of you control of Ashen's body. Something my father use to do as a punishment. Anyway, that's not the issue. I am going to make this brief. Because you two do share the same body this constantly switching back and forth is slowly eating away at Ashen's soul. Ashen, you are already feeling the physical effects from it by being constantly tired even though you sleep all night. Given the power given off by Sessaru's soul I would say that if you keep switching like this then your soul could die in as little as a month." Nara explains.

The room is so quiet that the electricity in the walls can be heard.

Ashen is quiet for several minutes thinking of what has taken place recently.

"Most of the hosts like this never get this choice. We usually just take over and kill our host quickly but for some reason your soul is much stronger." Nara says.

"I don't want to die just yet so what will I need to do?" Ashen asks.

"That's easy. You are going to have to learn to defend yourself and not rely on any of Sessaru's power." Nara replies.

"What does that mean for me?" Sessaru asks.

"Means you are going to have to learn how to deal with those memories. I realize you want your body back. We are working on that but for the mean time, my friend, you are going to be in a deep sleep." Nara says.

"And what if Ashen is about to die? Then what? I just sit back and wait for him to die?" Sessaru asks.

"No. I am going to lend him my book. If he is about to truly die then my book will act as a shield for Ashen's soul. It will also awaken you so that you may defend Ashen. However, the shield will only be temporary. If the battle drags on for too long then your soul will over take Ashen's and he will die. If you can't win the battle then retreat. Also, once my book has awakened you then I too will be aware of it ad will rush to help." Nara explains.

"I don't really have much of a choice." Sessaru says.

"I think I can handle this. Actually defending myself for a change will be unusual for me." Ashen says.

"Then its settled. If you can't win quickly then retreat, understand?" Nara says.

"Yes. About those memories?" Sessaru asks.

"I will do my best to suppress them for you but I cannot make any promises that they will be fully suppressed." Nara replies.

"That's fine. Ashen I am entrusting you with Silmeria. Take care of her and she is to do the same." Sessaru says.

"Yes milord." Silmeria says and bows.

"Alright. Sleep well." Nara says and lifts the book off of Ashen's chest and Ashen returns to normal.

Nara suddenly collapses to the ground unconscious.

"Nara!" Kareen says.

"He's fine. Just used to much of his power." Shin says walking in.
*****************************

The weekend passes and Monday morning arrives. Jake drops Jade and the lieutenants off at school and they look around like frightened sheep.

Ashen, Ta, Amelia, Steven, Kareen, Silmeria, Aurora, and Lust all walk past them and straight into the school.

"That's them." One lieutenant says.

Nara approaches them and they take a defensive stance.

"You must be the new students. I am Mr. Onigumo." Nara says extending his hand.

The lieutenants shake his hand as well as Jade.

"Follow me." Nara says and heads back inside.

After Nara gives them the tour he leads them back to the Principal's office.

"The principal will be with you shortly." Nara says as Ta is lead in by two police officers.

He is sat down across from Jade and is shackled to the chair.

The lieutenants stare at him in amazement.

"Keep staring and I will be the last thing you see." Ta says in a pissed tone.

"Jade." The principal says opening the door.

"What did you do?" Nara asks.

Four paramedics rush two students into the nurses room across the hall.

Nara watches through the window.

"They slapped a girl so I slapped them back." Ta replies.

"We're losing this one!" One paramedic shouts and starts CPR on the young man.

Nara looks back at Ta and shakes his head.

"I only slapped them once." Ta says as two more officers walk in.

"This one again?" One officer says.

They put more handcuffs and shackles on him before standing him up.

"My fists will be seeing you shortly." Ta says to the lieutenants as he is lead outside.

The paramedics walk out pushing two stretchers out with sheets covering the students.

The lieutenants look on wide eyed.

"Two new slots just opened in my class. See you then." Nara says and leaves.

*****************************

Ashen is sitting in class quietly minding his own business when Amelia sits down next to him with Steven.

"You alright?" Amelia asks.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Ashen replies and looks out the window.

"Don't worry man. I'll be there for you. So will the others." Steven says.

Ashen gets up and walks off.

"What have I gotten myself into? I have never had to defend myself for anything. Is this really worth it?" He asks himself as he walks through the halls.

*****************************

That night Jade and the lieutenants sit around and go over the blue prints of the school with the help of Jake.

"Tomorrow we start gathering intel. Rest up." Jade orders.

"Yes sir." The lieutenants reply.

*****************************

The following day everyone arrives at school and Ta smirks at the lieutenants. They jump and run inside.

"Cowards." Jade says and walks in as well.

Shin silently slips in behind Jade and disappears into a crowd of people.

Jade turns around and sees nothing.

"Huh. Could of sworn somebody was behind me." Jade says before noticing the blood running down his arm.

Shin watches from a classroom and sees Jade heal himself.

"Just as I thought. Let's see what they are up to." Shin says and heads to class.

Everyone files into class and Nara starts teaching when Travis walks in with his mother.

"Are you the one who put my son through a table?" She asks.

"Yes. However, he threw the first punch. I merely defended myself." Nara replies.

She turns to Travis and says, "You threw the first punch? You never said anything about that." She slaps him then turns back towards Nara.

"You will be hearing from my attorney about this." She says.

Nara walks up to her and talks quietly with her. Moments later she writes something down on a piece of paper and hands it to him.

The boys in the class start cheering and Kareen glares at him as he smiles.

"Alright, enough. Class we have a few new students. Please stand when your name is called. Squall. Raijin. Casey. Lawrence. Phil. Deity. And last but not least Jade. Ok sit back down and lets continue with the lesson." Nara says.

After lunch, Deity walks into the bathroom and Ta watches him from his table.

"Anyone get a weird feeling when Nara introduced the new students?" Lust asks.

"Yeah. There is something familiar about them." Aurora says.

"I'll be back." Ta says and gets up.

Deity leaves the bathroom and walks out a fire door into a small area. Raijin and Squall are already there.

"Any luck?" Squall asks.

"No. I even tried turning on the showers." Raijin says.

"Nothing. Perhaps Jade is having some better luck." Squall says.

Raijin looks at his watch and says, "Well, I gotta get to class. See you later."

Ta jumps down from the roof and startles Squall and Deity.

"Hello." Ta says blocking the only door out of there.

Squall and Deity take a defensive stance and Ta laughs.

"I told you yesterday that I was going to introduce you to my fists and I am a man of my word." Ta says clenching his fists.

Deity shoves Squall at him and Ta ducks. He delivers a devastating right hook to the inside of Squall's right knee. Squall side flips and hits the wall.

"So tell me. What kind of Deity are you? If you are even one. Let me guess, your mother thought that by giving you such a name as that that you would grow up to be something special. If only she could see you now." Ta says cracking his knuckles.

*****************************

"COMMANDER!!!" A lowly demon says watching the monitors.

Shear, Kogamaru, and Shingi run into the room.

"What's going on?" Shear asks.

"It appears that Lieutenants Deity and Squall have been cornered by Ta." The demon says.

They watch on as the battle plays out.

*****************************

"Stay back. I am warning you." Deity says backing up.

Ta smiles wickedly as he steps closer.

Squall gets to his feet and hobbles over to help.

Ta is hit in the back of the head and turns around.

"That it?" He asks.

Ta punches Squall in the gut with tremendous force that the sound of organs being crushed could be heard clearly.

*****************************

"DAMN!!!" Shingi says holding his own stomach.

*****************************

As Squall falls forward, Ta gives him a single uppercut which snaps his neck.

Deity watches on in horror as Squall falls to the ground and his organs leak out of his mouth.

"Your turn." Ta says and grabs him by the face. Deity struggles against Ta's iron grip unsuccessfully.

Ta shoves him against the wall and proceeds to unload a flurry of punches to Deity's chest and stomach. Deity tries to scream but Ta punches him in the throat making it impossible.

When Ta is finished, Deity's entire internal organs and bones have been reduced to nothing.

Ta looks back at his handiwork before leaving.

*****************************

"I don't think Ta is aware of their true identities. So Jade is down to four back ups." Kogamaru says.

"Wonder what triggered that kind of brutality?" Shear asks.

"As far as we can tell. Nothing." Another lowly demon says.

*****************************

That afternoon Ta returns to class completely exhausted and quickly falls asleep.

Lust shakes him several times but no response.

"Okay class. See you tomorrow." Nara says and everyone gathers their belongings. Everyone has left except Raijin who is still finishing his notes.

"What happened to Squall and Deity?" Nara asks.

"Not sure." Raijin answers finishing up his notes.

Silmeria and Lust enter with Ta who is still asleep.

Suddenly, the necklace breaks and Raijin's true self is revealed.

He looks around at Nara, Silmeria, Lust, and Ta. Ashen and Kareen enter and Kareen closes the door.

"Wait! I will tell you anything you want to...." Raijin says before being squashed by Nara's desk.

Silmeria glares at the desk and smashes Raijin again with it before finally leaving.

Nobody says a word and leaves.

*****************************

"Sir, we just lost Raijin. Not sure how. Someone was blocking the camera." A demon reports to Shingi.

"Less then a week and three out of seven are dead." Shingi says.

*****************************

That night everyone is quiet around the house and nobody says anything. Steven and Amelia don't even stop by.

Nara and Travis' mother stay out way to late and Kareen sits at home staring out the window with her bow drawn.

Nara returns and Kareen greets him at the door.

"Just what the hell have you been doing?" She asks.

"Trying to get her to pass out. Never seen a human drink so much." Nara replies as he slightly stumbles.

*****************************

Jade reviews the footage from Squall's and Deity's death and shakes his head.

"What the hell is he? Even in a human body he can produce so much power." Jade says.

*****************************

The next day Nara starts class and no one says a word about the missing students.