Of Frames and Forgeries (Open)

The address turned out to be in a seedier part of town, one which seemed disturbingly bereft of the one constant of city streets...

Children.

They were an endless presence in all other parts of town, the war orphans and other homeless waifs. They also served an important function since it was easy enough to hire some to act as messengers or such. Quick feet and small bodies could sometimes navigate crowded streets faster than those grown could.

But these streets were bare of them... disturbingly bare.

One lone child raced up to grab Banissa's hand as they turned a corner, putting something into her grasp. "Lady protect you! There's darkness in there!"

Banissa opened her fingers to see, of all things, a pink feather. She looked up at the quickly retreating boy. "Wait, what Lady?"

"The Lady in Blue! I'll pray for you!" Then he was gone and Banissa turned to the others, her breath shaky as she tucked the feather into a belt pouch for safe keeping.

"I'm getting a baaaaad feeling about this."

Steel nodded to her. "The boy probably speaks of Altana, though I have never heard her called that before." He looked up again. "We are not far from the address, stay behind us, kitten."

She didn't argue with him.

The address turned out to be an otherwise common-seeming building, an artist's shop below with residence for the artist above. The building, though, reeked of an unseen aura, one powerful enough that even the insensitive could tell. Something very, very unclean made its home here.

Steel's eyes narrowed as he struggled to keep the rage at bay. He had to keep his mind clear. "We're here, it seems."

Fury followed along as the galkan and the mithra walked around looking for where the artist lived. He half paid attention to the child who had approached them and talked to the mithra. She had seemed disturbed by the action, but Fury was used to this weird crap by now. So he just kept an eye on their surroundings. Luckily, it appeared that no one had found the senator yet, so the guards weren't looking for them. He couldn't help but reach for his pistol each time they passed a set of guards. The last time he had been in Vana'diel, he had to shoot his way out along with Crucent. She was less than pleased when they had to resort to killing guards, but when someone was trying to kill him, Fury doesn't show them mercy.

They stopped in front of an artist's shop and Fury could smell... something. It reeked like decay and Fury's hopes were dashed. Whatever they found here, he could tell it wasn't going to be good. His hands clenched into fists as he thought of the fact that the kids were not much older than his own daughters. Whoever was responsible for this wasn't going to get the courtesy of being turned in for a bounty. No, this man would suffer.

Fury looked at the "closed" sign in the window of the door and sighed. He knocked, once, twice, three times and no one answered. He hung his head in defeat before bringing his foot up and crashing it through the door. The door flew off its hinges and flew across the room, crashing several statues and pieces of art across the floor. He looked to the others and said, "Oops... well since it's open, we might as well go take a look." He stepped off to the side and said, "You guys go ahead in, I'll keep watch outside."

Shade had just rounded the next corner of the street when her gaze caught sight of Haylo scampering in mid turn to dash into the entrance of a building. She was just about to call out to the pup when Haylo's small form came rolling backwards onto the sidewalk only to get back up on her floppy paws and run forward again with a victorious bark. Shade caught up to her just as Fury was giving their hyper little companion a scratch, then nodded to what information her brother stated they found. "None of the other counselors or representatives are in, so for now, we've got no political support for what we may find. But with two Humes at the Galka's side, he'll at least have a chance for defense before someone dares to hand out a death sentence right off the bat."


They went on to follow Steel since he knew where to find this particular address better than any of them, and Shade remained watchful and silent as always the further they ventured into an unknown section of the city. The streets here contained a mix of small businesses and residential homes, but were unusually quiet even for the late afternoon hour until an unexpected child approached Banissa to exchange a few words before tearing off as if he had seen a ghost. Shaking her head slightly, Shade didn't give it much thought until she noticed Haylo behaving strangely. At first it was just a nervous whimper of whine, but the further they went, the more anxious she behaved and even began snarling and growling with her wings flat against her sides and her fur standing up all along her spine.


Now at the address, Shade already had her crossbow loaded and the safety deactivated as she watched her brother grow annoyed by no one answering the door, and so opened it himself in his usual welcoming manner. Since he decided to guard their backs, Shade nodded and would follow Banissa and Steel within the residence to handle what confrontations may come inside. Yet after one sniff of the air , Haylo erupted into her adult wolf form and already snarling by the negative energies she was feeling before taking a single step inside. Seeing that the wolf was far too restless by her instincts, Shade didn't think it was good idea for Haylo to venture any further. "I think it's best she stays with you for now, Fury. Whatever in here already has her far too distracted and upset." Then she looked up at Steel and gave him a nod to lead the way as Shade kept behind the Mithra girl to keep Banissa safe between herself and the Galka.

Steel nodded to Shade and Fury as he led the way through the now-open doorway. The initial shop seemed normal enough, works of leather and bone and other materials sat along the walls or in display cases. They seemed harmless enough, but something about them made his skin itch...

He hoped that it was simply that he knew what this particular craftsman had worked in. He prayed that none of the works they passed were made of similar materials as the abomination that had been used to damage his good name.

He hoped; he prayed; but he didn't hold his breath.

They passed a desk as they made their way through to the further parts of the building, where the craftsman would have his workroom. A quick glance found several letters and one unfinished response. He glanced at Shade before his curiosity got the better of him.

... production continues at the expected pace. As per your specific instructions, the blade has been forged and quenched. I am even now creating the particular finishings which would complete the weapon.

I hope to have the blade ready for final assembly within the month, provided that the Mithra girl promised by the Senators arrives as agreed. They say that there have been some "complications" in acquiring her, so I have begun looking for a suitable replacement should they fail, but finding a White Mage of such purity of soul for sacrifice to seal the blade is proving difficult.

I would seek a possible candidate on one of the other worlds, but your instructions specified that all the components must be native to Vana'diel...

Steel clenched his teeth against the sudden need to retch as he handed the stack of letters to Shade. Among them was correspondence from the Senators guilty of arranging to frame him. His eyes were hard and rage burned deep in them.

"We have the proof, Lady Shade," he murmured in his deeply rumbling voice, "but I'm not leaving until that monster is dead." He turned to tell Banissa to leave, when he saw her eyes flare open and her voice gasp in horror.

Mithra ears are good, and Banissa heard the sound mere moments before it was audible to the rest of them. The faint, whimpering sounds of a child in pain, and from the mewling... it was a Mithra child.

She broke, then, nearly running towards the sound, further into the building, and Steel had no choice but to follow her.

Each step they took was taken in caution with Shade's every nerve standing on end. Something wasn't right here.... something foreboding, yet it wasn't due to the stench in the air as it grew even stronger the further the trio ventured within. There was just something within her instincts that made the pit of her stomach lurch and the grip around the hilt of her sword turn her knuckles ghostly white.


When Steel paused to look over the parchment spread over a desk, Shade took a moment to glance behind them just in case Fury gave a sign that someone might be approaching. Just as she turned again, Steel was directing her attention to what he found upon the desk. Taking the letter in hand, her eyes scanned over the written words until certain words grasped her attention and led her to read again with more intent. Her head began to shake slowly as her eyes widened a bit more before tossing the papers in anger and disgust as if they were on fire.


"This can't be.... I thought for sure such a sick practice was put to end when...." She was simply voicing her own thoughts to herself until reaching into her pocket to snatch her worn PDA device that also served as a universal communicator. Not wanting to tip off whomever may still be in the building by making a verbal call, Shade simply typed an urgent message to a fellow Mithra who would be greatly concerned by their unexpected findings. No doubt, Gohrick would arrive within minutes if Cypher wanted any sanity spared in his life....


When placing the device safely back within her pocket, Shade hissed Banissa's name through her teeth for suddenly taking off without her and Steel, and quickly followed behind with the Galka with her weapons ready....

Banissa fairly ran through the building, towards the back where there was a door open in the floor of a storage room. The sound was growing louder, and it was plainly apparent that Banissa was barely holding back pain-filled cries of her own.

She scampered through the opening in the floor so quickly that it seemed that she simply jumped down instead of using the ladder.

Steel, though, did jump, mostly because he didn't trust his weight on the wood and he didn't want to threaten the easiest path for smaller people than him to take. He had to duck his head, though, once in the tunnel below because of the limits of the ceiling height. He barely managed to catch Banissa by the shoulders, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back from running pell-mell into whatever waited for them at the end of the hallway.

"Quietly, kitten," he whispered, "I'll get you to the little one in time. Let me lead, in case whatever's hurting her is still there."

A pain-filled yowling shriek filled the air and Banissa shuddered in empathic pain before nodding quickly. "Quickly, please!" She let Steel go forward as she followed as closely behind him as she could.

The tunnel wasn't very long and opened up to a room with a barred chamber attached to one curved wall. There was a table, blood soaked, and a very small form shackled to it, golden brown hair curling around her head like a blood-stained halo. Standing above the tiny Mithra child was a hume, bent over her with a knife in his hand.

He was skinning her alive.

Steel's rage exploded then and he took three steps forward, bringing one huge fist crashing down against the hume's head, knocking him away from the child, the table, and into one of the carved walls of the chamber.

Banissa rushed forward, her hands already alight with healing magic as she reached out to begin the process of knitting the damaged kitten back together, her voice a soothing murmur, in spite of the tears rolling down her face. "It's okay, sweetling, the bad man's not going to hurt you anymore. You're safe now."

Gohrick smiled as he put the finishing touches on his painting, working with a very fine brush to get the most intricate of details. This wasn't his finest work, but he felt it was just as important as he sighed and took a step back.

The feline was in only a pair of shorts, his fur marred with ink and paints as he ruffled his own hair as he stared at the sealing array before him. It was an obscure branch of ninja art, or so he was told, and he had a tendency to agree. However, he if he could get this to work...well, he wasn't sure what good it would actually do him in battle. It took much too long...

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the sounds of his phone going off. He had it wired to the ship, so whenever it got a message, he got a message...not always a good thing with Kyto as a party member. He was quite sure he didn't need to know what he did with his tongue...

Still, as he heard the phone going off, he quickly put down the brush and pallet, cleaning his paws on his lean chest and started to look around for it. His room was a mess, as it had started to be a few months after he had gotten healed with Shade. He still talked to her, and he was more certain than before what his feelings for her had been and still were...and speak of the Angel.

He stared at the phone, seeing Shade's name and quickly looked at the message. His eyes widened, before he quickly moved to his door, hitting the intercom.

“Trip canceled, emergency transport to Vana'Diel, cordinates -.00217, 1.365,5.69874. I'll be up at the bridge in a bit, but step on it Jiranto!” he ordered, going into captain mode without a second thought. He knew there was going to be a few moments before getting there, so he made for the shower quickly. It wasn't like Shade to contact him for an emergency like this...something was clearly far more wrong then he thought.

Once out, he changed into his Black Ninja armor, before pulling the hood up over his head. Vana'diel was a dangerous land...even more so for a male Mithra. The last thing he wanted was to be spotted as such. He carefully hid his tail, before making his way to the bridge.

Jiranto turned around and shook his head.
“There's no way we can park there...it's the center of Bastok,” he said, earning a sigh from Goh. Damn elves...

“Pass over it...I'll leave as we get close to one of those tall buildings. After that, just stay on call...and try not to let them shoot us again,” he said with a smirk, before heading to the tether system. He soon navigated his way outside as the ship continued to fly over head.

'Kids, don't try this at home...' he thought, before jumping down, catching himself on one of the buildings and jumping his way down to the roof top of another building. He took a few moments to catch his breath and get feeling back in his legs...that was a lot lower then he thought it was. He took a look around...it shouldn't be that far from here...

It took him about ten minutes of jumping and evading to get to the destination, of which he landed in front of with ease, noting the male and a large dog with a familiar scent. Shade would know it wouldn't take long to get here, so he was sure she wasn't too far ahead of him. Still, the man had a familiar scent as well now that he paused, the last flames of the Calamity trailing over the city as it sped off.

Fury nodded to Shade as her and the others disappeared into the building. He gave one, quick, loud whistle and Haylo walked right over to him. The dog was obviously on edge, the hackles on it's back were standing straight up and she kept staring at the door leading into the shop. Every once and a while, she would let out a low growl that would trail off into a whimper. Fury sat down next to her and leaned his back up against the house. He watched the crowd as he sat there petting her, trying to keep her calm and not running straight into that building.

A short while passed and Haylo still seemed on edge. Every time she thought Fury wasn't paying attention to her she would inch closer and closer to the door, causing Fury to look at her and say in a low voice, "Haylo..." which resulted in her looking back at him with her ears pressed against her head, almost as if she were asking him what she did wrong. Just as soon as she did that though, she would turn right back to the door and stare at it. Fury gave up on trying to calm her and just sat there lightly stroking her back.

Eventually, Fury spotted a cloaked man moving towards them from across the street. Even for late in the day, Fury found the hood and dark clothing suspicious. He slowly stood up as the man approached and deftly unstrapped the holster of his pistol in a way that the man wouldn't be able to see it. "Can I help you?"

As if his words broke the spell holding Haylo in place, the dog turned to investigate the new-comer. After a brief moment of hesitation while she sniffed the air, Haylo got up from her sentry post by the door and walked over to him. She nudged him with her nose and then looked to the door. Then she repeated the action over and over until finally, she was doing it while whimpering. Suddenly, she stopped all together. Her body went ridged and her ears perked right up as she stared at the door. She bolted straight through the door just as Fury heard the screams from inside.

Fury drew his pistol, and ignoring the man who just showed up ran into the building after Haylo. He followed the dog down into the basement and entered the room just as Steel punched the man away from the table. His eyes followed Banissa as she ran over to the table where the mithra child was. Fury's mouth hung open for a moment as what was happening before he arrived started to sink in. How could someone do this to a child?

He walked over to the table where Banissa was attending the child. He pulled out a small silver cylinder and placed it on the table where Banissa could see it. "If you inject her with this it should help your spells do more to heal." He would not look directly at the child's eyes. He just couldn't.

He then turned and walked over to assist Steel in anyway possible. He kept an eye on the one who followed him in there, though. He still didn't trust the feeling the man gave off.

Even though Shade didn't know why, her instincts were literally screaming, and growing more frantic with every step she ran after the Mithra and Galka. The audacious odor within the building also grew more rancid the further the trio ventured on. After Steel successfully followed his feline companion down into the cellar, Shade didn't pause in her pace, only to pull her limbs up against her body for a solitary drop through the floor opening to land upon her feet in a crouch position with her sword poised and ready once again as her steel hues quickly adjusted to the dim lighting around them. She was slightly burdened by the stench of the air now so fowl that the vapors brought a painful sting to her eyes, yet Shade pushed on once she spotted Steel's large shadow and hearing his deep rumbled voice trying to sound firm and consoling to Banissa's impatience. She too kept extremely close to keep the Mithran girl well protected from whatever they may find ahead....


What came into view was a startling revelation to the notes Steel had found upon the desk upstairs, and actions went into a flurry of motions before Shade could get into reach of the situation. By the time Shade was in the raunchy room, Steel had already struck the man and sent him soaring into a wall, hearing the Hume cry out in pain before crumbling to the floor. Knowing a Galka's temper when set loose, she ran for him, placing herself between Steel and his target with the deadly tip of her sword aimed directly at Steel's throat with a stern and steady gaze locked onto his own. "Before you haul off and kill the man, valuable information is needed, Steel.... especially if there are others who are practicing such inhumane arts....."


She dared to slowly tear her eyes away from Steel, trusting the Galka would regain his composure as Shade spared a quick glance at the form strapped upon the table, only to feel her own rage suddenly explode through her veins. Just at mere sight of the trembling body upon the table, obviously whimpering and crying in fear and pain while coated in blood sent Shade's powers to boil with an explosion as her wings suddenly erupted from her back with a thunderous crack through the air and her eyes to suddenly glow a luminous dark amber that closely resembled the hues of blood. Hearing the groan of pain from the Hume that Steel had struck against the wall, Shade's other arm flew up and aimed her Gryphon crossbow directly between his eyes for it to be the first thing he laid eyes on when he raised his head.


He dared to sneer. The filth of a being dared to glare upon them all as if they had no right to intrude as the man turned his head aside for just a moment to spit a glob of blood from his lips from the blow he received from Galka. He appeared to be a middle aged man, yet with a thinning dark hairline that now perspired profusely. His beady eyes returned, yet to his victim upon the table and Banissa still there trying to heal. Now his sinister hues narrowed as his sneer grew wide across his lips. "Had I known you were bringing the little snit straight to me, I would have made room for her..." Flashes of the past viciously slapped Shade across the face of another who endured such wretched torture, and was left poisoned and scarred while suffering in shame as well. And all for what? A pelt? A trinket? And planets still allowed such a practice to continue against other races?


This may not have been her own planet.... she may not be the law here.... but at this point, Shade knew no law or punishment would be enough for a crime such as this. When the man tried to get back upon his feet, Shade released a scream that filled the room as her fingers flew wide open and a burst of energy flew from her palm to slam against his chest. He was still pinned flat against the wall and completely unable to move by whatever spell she conjured as Shade struggled against her own instincts to kill the man just yet. Instead, as her powers grew, her wings slowly turned from stark white to a sickening ebony black that seemed to drip from the feather tips like oozing tar upon the floor as her voice growled a demonic tone from her throat. "Before I give your wretched existence to the Galka to slowly tear your skin from your bones..... you will surrender the names of those who also share in this practice.... or I will be sure you stay alive and conscious beyond your physical ability to be sure you feel every damn ounce of pain as you're screaming for mercy to your Gods who will only turn a deaf ear upon your pleas...."

Steel Deer wanted nothing less than to grind that foul beast into the dirt to make a clay that he could use to seal off this obscene chamber, but Shade had a point... and as much satisfaction as he would get slowly disassembling this monster, they needed information before he could indulge the creativity in his rage.

Of course, that was before Shade saw the shivering child, still covered in her own blood, and realized just what the beast had been doing to the babe...

And a babe she was. The Mithra kitten on the table couldn't have been much more than a year and a half old, if that. Banissa's attention was fully on the little girl, though she nodded briefly to Fury in gratitude for his offering. She purred comfortingly to the little one, even though the sound wavered through the tears coursing down her face as she reached with one hand to take the needle and inject the serum into the kitten's leg.

The babe whimpered at the pricking of the needle, and slowly her trembles stilled as the healing energies knit her together again. Only when her flesh was whole again, and Banissa was certain that there were no marks to remain of the trauma she'd endured, did she let her magic fade as she lifted the kitten into her arms, holding her close and rocking her softly.

"It's okay, kitling... no need to fear anymore, baby... the bad man won't hurt you any more. Shhhh... you're safe now and I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

Steel didn't know what to make of the tone in Banissa's voice, but he knew full well that if the kitten's mother could not be located... well, she'd just found one.

Shade's fury, though, drew his attention back to the scum in front of them and he had to applaud her sheer deadly intent... even as some voice in the back of his rage-filled mind noted that he never wanted to see her look at him that way.

Here was a woman who could make even the red-headed SOLDIER seem merciful.

The abomination of a craftsman simply sneered at her with the bravado of a man who either lacked the imagination to understand her threats or who was too stupid to know fear. "Knowing the names of those who will rule will do you no good before the day has come for them to announce themselves... and when that day has come then there is nothing you can do but bow down before them as grain to the threshers."

Steel had to give the man credit for the quad... but it wasn't going to do him a damn bit of good, not against him and certainly not against Shade. He was about to be gelded before they killed him.

Gohrick stood up and stretched out his arms, hoping that this wasn't going to end up being a confrontation and showing that he had no ill intentions...at least for now. He continued to stare at the pair of them, before his ears perked up slightly as the man spoke. Just as he was about to answer though, the eerily familiar dog got up and that was when the screaming started. His eyes widened as the screams sent a chill down his spine. They were faint at first, but before the man even started to run in, he knew that they were coming from the building behind him.

These were not screams of terror or pain...these were screams of something much more horrifying to anyone with a soul. These were screams of approaching death and torment. Screams such as ones he had scarred his own throat with at one time...

He was but a few steps behind the dog and the man, the ink in the well on his back stirring violently before it sprayed and flowed over his furred hands, slowly taking shape into several feathers, each one with a sharp, deadly point. Throwing knifes in all sense. He held them four in each paw with two feathers appearing on his sleeves as spares. His eyes adjusted to the dimming light, hating the copper like smell in the air as the screaming grew louder.

Once he entered the basement, he could only gasp in shock as to what he was seeing, what had been happening if the blood on the table surrounding the kitten was any indication, the same blood, no doubt, that was on the downed Hume being towered by the Galka and held at bow point by Shade, with the man having some sort of gun in his hands, ready to down the monster as well. He turned and saw a single female Mithra healing the kitten already and Gohrick found himself cursing the fact he never bothered to learn a healing spell. He then set his eyes back on the 'Hume' before them.

He paused as his head tilted slowly, his bright blue eyes seemed to dull slightly as he felt an incredible anger start to rise. The ink on his back seemed to bubble slowly, as if reacting to his rage-filled soul. Gohrick had thought himself cursed when his own back had been skinned and branded by Biharo...but at least he could fight back the pain and eventually fought back and gained his freedom. But to do this to a child...defenseless kitten...this was far beyond what he could have imagined even possible.

He almost missed what was being said by Shade, watching as her wings turned black with a morbid fascination, her voice even sending a chill down his spine as he swore the room dropped a few degrees. He slowly moved forward, wanting to see the face of the beast, before his eyes widened once more and he felt his knees grow weak. No! No way!

“You! Of all the...sick bastards...” Goh growled deeply, his entire body shaking as his fangs seemed to extend slightly, the ink in his well bubbling even more as his claws dug into his palms as his fists clenched tightly.

~Flash Back~

Gohrick was curled up on the floor in pain, his back bleeding freely as his vision swam as he tried to make sense.

“Now, with this mark, he shall forever be yours, I'll make a record of it,” came a sickening voice from somewhere above him.

“So, even if I die and my children inherit my heirlooms, they too will have claim to this beast?” Biharo, that bastard...why was he doing this to him? What had he done?
“That is correct. There is a law that would prevent him from fleeing from that fate. He is a beastman by nature, and a rare one at that. You owning him is allowed because he is away from his tribe and must be protected...or skinned. I'll take the bit you have and get it sampled...maybe it would be worth more that way,” came the sickening voice again. Gohrick, through weak eyes, tried to look up, but was kicked hard in the face. Still, he saw that bald head...those evil eyes...then the world went dark.
~End Flash back~

“You should have died on the ship...you were on it...when it crashed...how are you still alive...WHAT GOD SPARED YOU!?” he demanded, throwing back his hood and staring hard at the pinned man, who could only look back at him and laugh.

“F-foolish...Biharo...should have skinned you...and sold your parts...worthless beasts...the whole lot of you,” he strained from the spell holding him pinned down. Gohrick acted without thinking, before the feathered blades in his paws flew with pure rage, four feathers stabbing into his right shoulder, two more into his left, one going through his ear, and the other piercing right into the center of his chest. Not a single deadly shot, but there were still two feathers remaining.

“Give me a reason why I should not rend the flesh from your bones, why I should not watch the life fade from your eyes, why I should not break every single bone, muscle and tendon tossing you before the three heads of Cerberus?!” he growled, the two feathered blades glinting in the faint light, his normally bright blue eyes now showing a darker shade of blue, the ink in the well on his back bubbling violently.

Fury paced back and forth in the background. He wanted the man's head. He wanted the man to die so badly it almost hurt him. How could someone do something to a child? Fury understood racist attitudes, even if he didn't follow them, but they should never be brought against a child. The thought that this child was just as young as his own Alivia would have been when she was taken away tore at him even more. Somewhere out there was a parent who was in pain over this as well as the scars that would forever follow the child.

He couldn't stand it!

Fury blinked once and his normally emerald eyes changed to a furious gold with a sickening green mixed in. His eyes glowed in the dim light of the basement and they showed the true fury that was about to befall the man. He continued pacing, but at a slower, more deliberate pace. He was no longer eager to dive at the man's throat. He was biding his time.

The mithra man shouted out in anger at the man, tossing black blades into the man in several places, including his chest. Fury could tell that the knife was not in any lethal location, but it still made him pause. They weren't going to get any information out of the man at this rate and yelling at him wasn't going to make things any better. They had to figure out a way to...

Fury's eyes widened with an idea.

He stepped back over to Banissa and said to her, "Take the babe away from here. She's seen enough for one day." He then turned to Haylo, who was still sitting next to the baby. He petted the dog on it's head and said in a half-whisper, "Go with the girl, keep them safe." He then walked over to the blood-soaked table and collected the tools sitting there before turning towards the others.

It was at that time that the mithra male asked the tanner why he should live. Fury chimed in with a calm yet dangerous voice, "Because, my feline friend, that would be too easy." Fury walked over and placed a hand on his sister's shoulder and whispered to her, "Go to the senate. I will call you when we have the information we need. That way you'll have a head start."

Fury waited until Shade and Banissa left the basement before he slowly walked over to where the man still remained pinned to the wall by Shade's spell. Fury dismissed her spell and replaced it with his own, one that would stretch all his limbs in different directions from his body. He then rolled out the collection of tanner's tools that he had found on the table. He reached down and slowly picked up a slim saw used for gently sawing the skin from the muscle without tearing it. He inspected the saw in the light as he asked, "I'm assuming you work for the sort of people who like to have their merchandise finished in a timely manner. Am I correct?"

The man looked at Fury for a long moment, not sure how to answer. Finally, he gave him a slow and deliberate nod, sure that the information would be of no use to them. The nod made Fury's lips curl back in a fiendish smile. "That is unfortunate... because you cannot finish your latest project," said Fury as he stood and slowly walked towards the man with the saw, "But have now fear. For I have figured out a way that your clients can get their leather...."

The man's eyes went wide with realization and Fury let out a blood-curdling laugh.

Shade could feel her powers devouring every sense of her conscious mind as she strained her will to keep her sense of control. Every fiber of her being was trembling with restraint as her eyes grew more illuminated by the rise of the boiling rage pulsing through her veins. Had Fury not been here to assist Banissa, the grave injuries on the child Mithra may have proved too severe for the older Mithra to handle on her own. This sick bastard meant for the kitling to die... and to die a most deplorable death by being skinned alive.... and it was obvious by the gleam in his beady malicious eyes that he enjoyed performing such torture....


She felt Gohrick's presence arrive, which only increased the pressure of her spell's hold against the man, forcing his face to turn and face them so he had no choice but to look upon the judgement about to bear down upon him with an iron fist. Her lips pressed tight, not having to utter a single word for the Mithra to fully comprehend the work here within a matter of moments. What Shade didn't expect was that Gohrick actually recognized the man from his own past.... this was going to be a slow death indeed.... and her presumption already proved true when Gohrick's knives drove through the Hume to secure their hold with added pain as well. The man's screams filled thr room, but no one even flinched.


It was only the begining....


Shade already knew what was raging through her brother's mind, for she thought the very same of her nieces. Without even tearing her gaze from the retched Hume pinned against the wall, she could feel her sibling's own powers begin to rise. This pitiful bastard was about to witness the true nature of Fury's name. Yet still he remained poised and silent, stalking like a predatory panther while allowing Gohrick his chance of confrontation. Even the air within the room began to electrify from the immense amount of power within with a dreadful weight of foreboding that was choking the man's lungs. Her outstretched fingers began to slowly curl, mentally willing her spell's hold to tighten over the swine until a satisfactory crack! filled her ears as one of his ribs snapped from the pressure of power squeezing his pitiful form.


He released another blood curdling scream, and just as Shade's powers engulfed her with another wave that would sent his limbs tearing apart, she felt Fury's hand calmly resting upon her shoulder. It was if one power responded to the other, somehow leading Shade to know of her brother's thoughts before he even whispered them. With a slow, acknowledging nod, Shade turned away calmly and began following Banissa as if she were within a trance, then came to an abrupt stop in front of Gohrick to look up into hues and speak with an unexpected calming tone. "You can trust my brother will see to it that revenge is shared among you...." There was far more spoken within her hues that Shade refrained from being said. It wasn't pity, yet the brief gleam of compassion could be caught in her gaze before she continued following Banissa and the kitling. Her steps came to a pause when hearing her brother's laughter that even sent a forboding chill down her own spine, but hastened her pace to get the young Mithra's out of there before they heard anything else that would haunt their dreams for years to come.


Now standing below the opening to the floor, Shade wrapped her arms around Banissa and her charge without warning to swiftly float them up and rush them out of the building with Haylo taking the lead. She couldn't very well leave her wolf companion alone to care for the Mithras safety, especially if guards were alarmed and possibly on their way. "I'm getting you two back to the ship safely before I head off to the Senate...." Once Shade got them to the docks, there were still guards all about patrolling and inspecting everything that went in and out of the city. She wasted no time and conjured her Vanish spell over herself and the others before rushing them back onto Fury's Kestral. After seeing Banissa situate the kitling comfortably, Shade gave the girl strict orders to remain within the ship until everyone returned, and left Haylo to guard over them before fleeing the docks once more to find some damn answers about this grotesque trade being done within the black market of Bastok.

As the kitten slowly calmed in her arms, Banissa felt boiling rage deep in the back of her awareness... but she knew full well that it wasn't just her own anger at the actions of this despicable excuse for a human... the room was so filled with anger and rage that it had her body trembling. The only thing that kept her from joining the bloodrage was the fact that the kitten in her arms clung to her for protection.

She nodded to Fury as he suggested that she leave the room, and she knew full well that what was going to happen once she was gone was going to be very bloody, very cruel, and completely, overwhelmingly, absolutely warranted. She kissed the kitling's forehead and turned her so that she wouldn't see...

...and then flung three wooden spikes from the palm of her hand to hit the most delicate portion of the masculine anatomy as she calmly turned and left the room.

Even in his rage, Steel had to struggle to keep from chuckling. Banissa was most certainly not Mairi... and it was a difference that he found that he could appreciate.

The man screamed in pain as the spear-like thorns pierced him, but it was no more a deadly injury than the ones he had already taken, just incredibly damaging to his ego and pride. Even if he survived, which with this group wasn't even an option, he'd never be a man again.

Banissa was trembling as she made her way out of the dungeon-like room and out onto the city streets. It was all she could do to keep one foot moving in front of the other as she cradled the kitten in her arms and struggled to keep her physical reaction to the anger and adrenaline from making her collapse in a heap. Finally they were back on the Kestrel and she could sit down, nodding to Shade's instructions to stay on the airship.

She wasn't going anywhere. Aside from the fact that she doubted that her legs would carry her, she wasn't going to risk the kitten, and right now that was her primary concern. She knew that between the four of them, Steel, Fury, and the strange Mithra back at the shop, and Shade in the Senate, that they were going to get to the bottom of this situation and that there would be a bloody hell to pay.

She reached into a pocket for a bottle of milk, knowing that the kitten was mewling from hunger as much as phantom pain, and knowing that anything more solid was likely to make her sick. She had to smile at the simple way that the little girl in her arms eagerly latched onto the bottle with a mrow of happiness.

That was the way children should sound.

Back in the dungeon, Steel looked at the still human-looking sack of meat in front of him and growled low. With Banissa and the child gone... well, there was nothing holding them back anymore.

The man glared at Fury's suggestion that *he* be skinned for the project that was to be his masterwork. "You fool. My skin would leave the work marred. It's not just leather I was contracted for." He coughed for a moment. "It was a sword. A sword of exceptional workmanship, of peculiar make." He was going to die, of that he was certain, but if his task was left undone... then the Masters would find another to complete it.

"The hide was to be used as the wrapping on the handle. The blade is complete, according to the instructions of..." he paused, "well, those who will be your Masters. The girl was to be the sheath, so that the blade would bond to the one who drew it from her." He started to laugh, a mad sound devoid of soul, "A blade forged in blood and bone, fashioned from those strongest in magical energies, forged of only the youngest and most pure of the beasts that call themselves 'people'..." He coughed again, blood flecking his mouth, "it was my honor to craft such a peerless blade..."

Steel couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was enough to set his blood pounding through him, thudding in his ears. His expression blackened at the sight of the abominable craftsman, who stained the profession he took such pride in...

"Fury," he said, "that blade needs destroying."

Gohrick wasn't the type of person who got angry often. He wasn't the type of person who hurt others for little reason, nor was he a person who tortured. After everything he had been through in his life, he knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of the blades and under normal circumstances, he could never bare to do anything like what was being conceived by the man as he gathered up the skinning tools. However...when you are confronted by the person who's idea it was to brand you, when you are face to face with the reason you were tortured, beaten, cut and skinned...and you find out that he has done far worse to someone who couldn't defend herself, a kitten of all things...your mind finds itself in the darkest corners.

Gohrick didn't respond when the unknown man told him it would be too easy to kill him, and while he didn't know everything that was going on, he knew the man was important, at least to find out why he was doing such a disgusting act. His ears picked up what had been said to Shade, and found himself dreading just how deep this sort of act was going to get.

As the male started to play his mind games, Gohrick dismissed the feathered blades, knowing just where this was going. The blades melted down, entering the wounds of the man and causing a horrible burning sensation before the ink snaked it's way back into the inkwell on Gohrick's back, just as another orb of ink pushed itself into his paw. From there, his Air Lancet formed, the invisible blade shimmering from the blue wind aura around it as he found himself leaning back, his anger still very obvious, but frozen now. He was no longer raging...his normally bright blue eyes looking dark, almost black in coloration. The ink in his well was still bubbling, but no longer wildly, reflecting it's master's cold hate.

He actually smirked as Shade seemed to break the man's rib with her powers. He tilted his head slightly and wondered just how badly she could break his bones before she stopped and turned to him. As she walked past, he stared into her eyes. His face softened slightly for her as she spoke, his own hues reflecting his inner rage and turmoil.

“Thanks for the call. I'll see you when this is all said and done,” he said softly, giving her a light nod before his eyes turned once more to the man just as three spikes drove deep into his groin. Gohrick didn't even flinch. What he personally had in mind to do to the man would have that look like a paper cut. After all, not much was sharper then righteous anger mixed with Steel and Wind.

Gohrick listened in as the man talked of a blade, and how that kitten was to be the handle wrappings of such a terrible weapon. He found himself growling the more the man spoke and soon the ink was spilling on the floor as it bubbled, as if lit by a raging inferno. His grip on the Air Lancet tightened, and the only thing stopping him from killing the man where he stood was they needed to know just where this unholy blade was located, and who these “masters” were.

Gohrick slowly stood up straight and walked closer to the man, leaving a trail of ink behind him before his blade flashed, sinking deeply into the man's shoulder, breaking through the other side and into the actual wall itself. He stared hard as the man screamed in pain once again, as Gohrick leaned in closer, staring at him in the eyes.

“You will talk. You will tell us. You may think death is the worst thing...but you are wrong. I will show you a dark, horrible world. You think you humes know of torture and pain...I will show you just what us 'beasts' can truly do. I will take you into the pits of hell and show you off as an example. And I will like it!” he growled, before twisting the blade and pulling it straight up and out of the shoulder, the sound of metal cutting stone echoing through the room as the main screamed once again as the new wound was covered in ink, stopping the bleeding, but causing even more pain for the main. Oh no...it wouldn't do for the man to bleed out...and Infinity would make sure he wouldn't.

Fury stopped short of the man when he said that his skin wouldn't work. He was going to use the girl as a sheathe for some sword that was made from other children. Then he spilled into how they would never find his masters, how heir attempts were useless, blah, blah, blah. All Fury was truly worried about was how much pain was going to go into the man. He began to step towards the man again when three wooden stakes flew past him at waist height and struck the man in he groin. Fury's now fully golden eyes followed the invisible path from the stakes back to their thrower and was shocked to see the mithra girl he had told to leave. He scrunched his face in a mock show of pain and reached down to cover his family jewels.

His face dropped back to it's serious state as the girl left and he turned back to the man. His lips twisted in thought for a moment as Steel Deer announced the obvious and Fury began to bring a plan together. He gave the man a long, hard look before taking a step forward with the blade in his hand and opening his mouth as if he was going to speak. Before he reached the man, though, he stopped himself short and raised a single finger in the air. "Uno momento. Por favor," he said as he turned on his toes and grabbed his phone. He dialed Shade's number and placed the phone up to his ear as he said to the man, "Try not to tell us all of your secrets at once, that takes the fun out of it"

After a few rings, his sister answered. "Sis? It's Fury. I've got some information for you. The man says he was making a sword for out 'Masters' out of parts from mithra children. Apparently, our little kitten was going to be the sheathe. So keep your eyes peeled." Just then the mithra man started to threaten the man and stab him. "Ouch... that's gotta hurt. Well, see ya, Sis."

Fury clicked the phone shut and placed it in a pouch on his vest. He looked at the man who was shaking from the pain quizzically and asked, "Where were we... Oh! Oh... yes, I remember. You were just about to tell us where the sword was." The man panted heavily before forcing his lips together to spit at Fury. As the spit flew across the room, Fury's eyes began to actually glow. The spittle stopped a mere inch away from his face and suspended there for a moment before falling to the ground. Fury just shook his head from side to side and said, "You're going to have to do a lot better than that to get me." He raised his hand up in the air and as it raised, the man was dragged up off the ground. He held him about halfway up the wall and then began to curl his fingers into a fist. The man's back arched in pain as his ribs and spine where all compressed inwards on his organs. Fury held him there until he heard a few pops of bones breaking.

Fury allowed the man to drop to the ground and shook his head. "Ooops, I must've squeezed a little too hard.... Yep, you've got internal bleeding. Hang on." Fury stepped towards him and waved his hand over the ink on his shoulder. He forced some of the ink into the man's blood stream and rushed it to the few places where the ribs had punctured the man's lungs. The ink rested there, causing the man the same excruciating pain he felt in his shoulder in his lungs with every breath he took. "There... all better now."

Fury turned to the hulking Galka and gave him a big, toothy smile and said, "Ok, your turn."

With each step Shade took, she could feel her fierce anger slowly boiling through her veins. Her adrenaline was coursing throughout her system at a chaotic pace from the intensity of her thundering heart rate slamming against her chest. She was able to block her mind and emotions from the disgusting turmoil and sickening torture she witnessed in that cellar when she was previously relied upon to get Bannisa and the Mithra babe to safety. But now.... on her own, and dwelling within her own thoughts as she stormed her way through the streets straight for the House of the Senate, Shade was drowning in a downward spiral of furious rage. She already knew none of the Senate members would be there, being safely tucked into their own warm beds, within their false sense of security of hierarchy and stature... but not for long.....


Her mind thought back to that Mithra child and the possibility of others they were too late to save at all. How she saw first hand the painful unhealing scars left behind upon Gohrick's back should the babe had survived at all if they had never showed up to save her. One so young would never had survived such a brutal, unspeakable pain throughout her life as Gohrick had done if that man had chosen to let her live through the ordeal. How Gohrick managed to endure the scorching scar that refused to heal for so many years was beyond her understanding, nor the reasons for inflicting such brutality upon another innocent. And still, Shade's rage continued to climb as her eyes began to illuminate from her powers answering to the call of screaming emotions.


Then, unexpectedly.... her PDA device chimed within her pocket. Her annoyance demanded she ignore the frivolous thing, but her instincts told her it was her brother before she even looked at the screen. Upon clicking the answer button and bringing the device to her ear, Shade first took notice to the odd change in Fury's voice. Her gift in "hearing" one's true nature in their tone told her he was on the verge of releasing his own deadly powers. Her eyes narrowed slowly at her brother's words, yet her lips remained firmly pressed together in silence as the call ended with the crafter in the background screaming again before she snapped the phone shut and shoved it in her back pocket. That was when the thought of Fury's daughter slammed into her mind..... how she was taken to be used for the means of others without any regards to her welfare, and possibly tortured for what powers she possessed that Fury's enemies wanted for themselves. How they found her that day.... strapped to the table just as that Mithra babe was restrained....


This madness was going to be brought to end....


When Shade's hues opened once more, they were a blazing glow that set off a stream of flames to shoot across the street that led her to her destination. Without pause, Shade slowly stalked upon the road of fire as ebony wings began to unfurl from her shoulder blades with each feather tip dripping with a thick tar like ooze to land with a sizzling hiss upon the licking flames left behind her wake. What few people were out and about at such an hour fled screaming into the safety of their homes or any nearby building they could get into. Each step brought her closer to the political domain as the flames stretched on leading her to her point of destination. Now standing at the bottom of the grand, wide stone staircase, Shade brought her luminous amber gaze casually up to the awaiting double doors sealed closed for the night. A twitching sneer flickered over her lip before she swung her hand through the air and a gust of massive tornado strength winds crashed against the ancient wood doors, ripping them instantly from their hinges to go soaring into the building until they crashed violently against the walls within. The echo of their collision thundered through the windows panes, shattering them from the violent vibrations of power.


Still keeping her steps at a leisure pace, Shade appeared as if she were taking a mere casual stroll as she climbed the steps now encased in flames that ventured into the House of the Senate while extending her right hand out at her side. As she continued to walk, a small black pool began to swirl within the fiery path, following beneath her palm as the void slowly grew in circumference. Once she reached the top of the staircase, it was then the winged hilt of her weapon slowly rose up from endless, ebony pit, continuing it's rise to reveal the double blades shimmering from the flame's reflection which illuminated the weapon's already intimating appearance. Now within the elaborate building of marble floors and looming pillars that embraces the widened spiral staircase to the upper levels, the flames upon the floor now flowed up along the walls to shed light throughout the darkened halls, never burning the structure itself. She passed the staircase and ventured further into the first floor until she found the ornate counsel room that beheld an enormous mahogany table lined with countless chairs that served for each appointed Senate member of Bastok; all situated upon a thick, intricate oriental rug that was now engulfed in the flames as well. Yet it was left un-burnt as well...


It was here Shade beckoned them. Each Senate member would find themselves being torn from their beds.... from their merriment of late drink and the comapany of bought women....or hiding from their own tormented fears.... She took her blade with both hands, keeping the steel tips aimed at the floor. With her arms rising slowly above her head, the words that spilled from her lips came from herself, yet from a voice Shade had never heard before. "Those who bode in darkness.... come to me.... Those who relish in the pain of the weak, who glorify in the suffering of innocent.... come to me.... those who hide behind their shields of putrid arrogance...come to me..... for you day of judgement has come....." Her final words shouted and echoed against the ancient stone walls just before her Gunblade slammed into the floor, sending a violent tremor to quake throughout the building and the entire city. "......Let them face their true Master..."

Steel wanted so very much to hurt this horrific monstrosity in Hume form. His hands shook from the need to wrap themselves around his feeble neck and squeeze until bones shattered and blood oozed from every pore. His whole body trembled from the effort it took to hold back the rage that enveloped him.

Nothing they could do to the man was awful enough for the sheer depravity of what he had done.

He was glad that Banissa had left, taken the kitten with her; he wanted to protect her as much as possible from the depths of the rage that his people were stricken with. Some things she just didn't need to see, even if she was tougher than Mairi had been.

Her parting "gift" was proof enough of that.

In his rage, though, he noticed an odd stirring in the air. It was the most difficult thing he'd ever done, but he pushed the furious bloodthirst down and looked over at the Mithra man who had been called here by Shade. His anger was more personal than Steel's own, closer to the core. He'd been hurt like the kitten had been, but there hadn't been a Banissa to cradle him in healing hands.

He put a hand on the man's shoulder. "Don't let it control you. Anger's good, but it's blinding and if you let it consume you… then the bastard still wins." He turned his head and nodded to Fury. "Slime's all yours. I'll look around. Something that obscene… well, it's gotta have an aura to it."

He looked back at the Mithra. "It's your choice, but obviously Lady Shade sees something in you and I'd hate to see someone like that lost to rage and anger."

---
Banissa felt the shuddering in the energies of the city as Shade unleashed her power. She trembled and held the kitten closer, curling her body around the small child protectively. They'd saved her, that was what mattered to her. They'd found the baby-small Mithra in time and they'd been able to save her.

She looked down at the baby, who looked up at her with wide, amber brown eyes. "Well, kitten, I guess I need a name for you… until we're able to find your mommy."

---
Bastok was not prepared for Shade's wrath.

Tradition said that Altana was a protective, gentle Goddess. Wishing health and happiness for her people. Genesis had spoken of a Goddess, too, and they attributed that to some other facet of Altana.

But as Shade unveiled her nature for all to see, what struck the people of Bastok was that this… this was a face of Altana that they'd never seen.

It was well known that Genesis Rhapsodos was close to Shade… but the thought that Shade was his mysterious Goddess in disguise… had never occurred to anyone until they saw her wings unfurl and her power shake the very bedrock beneath the city.

Senators found themselves pulled to her against their will, some sobbing in fear, some grimly resentful, but those who were drawn to her judgment all knew that mercy… was not a trait held by this vengeful Goddess.

Watching from a safe distance away, a master puppeteer shook his head as he watched the events going on in Bastok through a scrying glass acquired by otherworldly means.

Well, Brothers, he said in an inhuman voice, it seems as though matters have suddenly become… interesting.

Gohrick's chest was heaving as he was trying and failing to contain the rage and hate he felt for this man. This monster! It was him who caused Gohrick years of pain and torture! It was him that caused the same for countless others! Kittens and cubs...defenseless beings who could not do anything to stop it! It was him that caused him the nightmares for years, the fears, the waking terrors!

Unknown to Gohrick, as this was running through his mind, the ink on his back continued to boil, spilling out as a dark energy seemed to start flowing from the ink itself, before he felt a large hand on his shoulder. His head turned quickly, fangs bared before he blinked in surprised, seeing the calming look of the Galka and felt his chest tighten as he realized just how much his rage was getting the better of him. He stared up and into the man's eyes as he spoke, causing his chest to tighten once again.

Shade...She wouldn't want this for him...not like this...

He blinked and turned his back to the swine, taking deep, shuddering breathes...He was too close to this...There was no way he could keep his anger in check long enough to get the information. He was so blinded he didn't even realize that the power the male Hume was showing was so similar to Shade's own powers. He did, however, recognize the flow of magic coming from somewhere in the city...Shade...she was still pissed...he almost pitied her prey...almost...

After a failed attempt to take a deep breath, Gohrick spoke. “I'm done...I can't...Get the information you can. I need to...I'll kill him if I try to get information...” he said, his voice shaking as rage and fear echoed through his throat. His grip was tight on his knife, but his breathing was slowly coming back under control. He was on tether hooks though...he wasn't sure how long he could stay this calm without the burning rage returning. Still, it would have to do.

“If you don't mind Brother Galka...I think I'll join you on your search...Least I become the beast the monster tells me I am,” he said, before seeing a filing cabinet and kicking it hard, breaking the side of it off as several papers fell to the ground. He stared down at them and started to read through them...and while it kept his mind busy, it did nothing to ease the flames in his soul, as the ink continued to boil.

Her fiery hues were ablaze by the turmoil of rage fueling into her powers. They were the only movement Shade revealed as her luminous gaze slid over each Senator that was forced into the building against their will simply by the whim of her own. The flickering flames of amber streaked through her eyes, as if flames were attempting to lunge after those she looked upon. One by one, the Hume members of the Bastock Senate hovered through the air with pitiful struggles. Some men, some women; some old, some middle aged; some stricken with fear, while others were arrogantly screeching demands and threats into the air.


The lot of them were now aligned across the grand council room, hovering above the floor and pitifully trying to escape the invisible hold keeping them firmly in place. The bold ones continued their barking and snarling threats once they realized the lone woman standing before them must be the culprit to their imprisonment, but Shade kept to her silence as she studied each one of them while stalking towards the line slowly; much like a prowling leopard. When she came upon the first in line, her hues heightened brightly with her powers which caused the very room to shake and the air within to become stifling. The closer she approached, the more the young man trembled, while trying to contain his bladder from spilling on the floor. Shade leered closely, quietly studying his bright blue eyes staring back with stark fear. He was one of the more quiet ones, and obviously by his attire and tussled tawny mane of hair, he was ripped straight out of his bed.

Shade inhaled slowly before tilting her head; her intense gaze boring through his very soul as she finally spoke with a silken tone of multiple voices that were entwined into one. "What is your name...."

She watched him swallow his panic down hard as his trembling lips struggled to work. "I...I...I am....I am Dreven Kollard.... 7th se..se..se..seat to the Senate...."

Her head slowly tilted the other way as if intrigued by what he said before asking the next question. "And what do you know of the forbidden creations made of Mithra hides?"

She witnessed his eyes widen, but not of shock. The lithe young man appeared thoroughly confused by her words and found a spark of strength to firm his next reply. "I swear to you, stranger.... I know nothing of forbidden creations... or the use of the Mithra race to make such things...."

And there it was.... the pitch in his voice Shade needed to hear to confirm if he spoke the truth, or dared to lie to her. The truth in his tone alone practically screamed his most secret thoughts before she gave him her verdict. "Congratulations..... you live to see your newborn son another day...." Her face now inched away from his slowly, yet her glare remained holding for a moment longer before she turned away and crept upon the next in line. With the same studious, yet intimidating manner, she studied over the new face; elderly and portly with a putrid stench of cheap liquor and horrid cologne, before she repeated the same process as before by leaning close and speaking with the same serene, yet haunting tone. "What.... is your name...."

Although his reaction was quick, there was no slipping past the powers of a Sorceress. Just as the foul wretch sent his wad of spit through his lips to fling into her face, Shade's hues literally became ablaze with flames, igniting his spittle of saliva in mid air before it could ever reach her. His own beady brown eyes widened at the puff of steam remaining before now meeting her glare while silently questioning himself and his arrogant pride. "Armond.....Tremelli..." As Shade's hues now narrowed, the middle aged swine prepared his following words, knowing the next question to come from over hearing it spoken before to his Senate mate.

"And what do you know of the forbidden creations made of Mithra hides?"

The Hume actually pulled off the same shocked expression as he too, repeated the very same words his comrade replied with, and with a bit more vigor and rebellion in his tone. "I know nothing of forbidden creations! Or the use of the Mithra race to make such things!" There came a subtle growl from within her throat. How she instantly despised this sot. His own thoughts soiled her mind, leaving a retched scent before Shade broke the connection. As much as she would thrive on torturing and shredding his soul of perversion, the man did speak the truth. He knew nothing at all for what information Shade sought for, thus his verdict was rendered as well. "You live....." Her face rushed forth swiftly, causing him to shriek in fright. "....For now..."

The third of the ten Senate members was a middle aged woman, who obviously kept herself well groomed, finely attired with silks and suede, as well as greatly adorned with an abundance of various jewels. Although she held her tongue in check since upon her arrival, her scornful glare bore upon Shade like a school instructor who glared upon a most bothersome student. Through her steely gaze, the haughty tone spoke out before the Senate woman was even questioned. "Lady Fortyne Vertroze, 2nd seat to the Senate! And you shall pay dearly with your life for such insolence upon....unch!" She found herself silenced with her throat suddenly constricted, even though there was no hand physically strangling her. Her once fully armored confidence was now shattered to dust upon the ground as precious air was now slowly torn out of her lungs and the first snap! of a rib bone caused the woman's body to lurch while her feet still hovered above the floor.

She knew.... this woman knew of the unspeakable endeavors with dues paid by the retched torture and deaths of the Mithra race.... even by the very defenseless young. This woman flaunted their payment of hides by the very jewels she wore for all eyes to admire and long for!

Shade's temper was slowly seething. The hieroglyphic symbols that began to mark her body were now scorching through Shade's skin as even newer ones began to take form. Her powers threatened to take control, and it took every ounce of restraint for her not to give in... for judgement was to be made, and retribution was to be had. With a single forceful blow, Shade tore through the woman's mind like a raging wild beast without so much as laying a finger on pompous wench. With her mental control, she loosened her hold upon the woman's neck just so her ear shattering screams could be heard throughout the entire city while Shade tore through every fiber of her mind in search for answers. "Who ordered it to be done! TELL ME!!"

A verbal confession was never expected. Shade's demands were simply enforced into her mental claws that continued ripping away the woman's thoughts and memories for the rest of truth. Through the endless shrill screams of unrelenting pain, there were no further answers to be found save for what other members of the Senate gained money in their coffers with the blood of the Mithra staining their hands.

A brief slip of control escaped her.... the Sorceress powers took their own hold for just a scant moment, but it was enough to suddenly snap the Senate woman's spine in half with a sickening crack left to echo throughout the massive council room. Her body was left to collapse in a broken heap to the floor with her death stare now locked upon Shade's next known target. Yet before Shade took action, she gave a subtle, dismissive wave of her hand as four of the remaining seven were now floated to the side to be joined with the first two who were found with a clean conscience of the crimes. Looking to the chosen about to flee, her eyes became ablaze once more as she bid them their freedom with a final warning. "Remember this night for the rest of your days.... Remember that one day... this could very well be you...." Her arm lashed out as a burst of piercing light exploded from her hand and soared straight through one of the guilty still imprisoned by her holding spell. The retched sot never even had a moment to blink, let alone scream for mercy as the blast of energy ripped through his torso and the remains of his body suddenly erupted into flames.

Still struck with terror over the events, the innocent stared wide eyed in silent fright as Shade spoke once more. "The weight of their crimes now lie upon your shoulders..... You will make sure to put a stop to this heinous treachery being practiced throughout your lands, or I shall return for not only you.... but for your kin as well...."

They fled the very instant they felt her powers release, and as Shade slowly turned to the remaining pair of men yet to receive their punishment. Her gaze narrowed as the flames came to life again within her hues. Her thick leathered wings slowly rose up into the air before giving a vicious snap through the air, sending a shudder of quakes throughout the entire city. "Now.... I believe the two of you may have a few more secrets to share with me...." Within moments.... all the city could hear was their piercing screams to follow....

Fury continued to stalk back and forth. By now, he had rolled up his sleeves to get "down and dirty" as Jayda would call it, revealing his tatoo, which was glowing a deep purple and pulsing instead of its usual black. His golden eyes never left the man as he paced. He had been at this for about an hour. After Steel Deer and the mystery mithra left to go find the sword, Fury began getting creative with his questioning. He caused the man to squirm and scream under the different tortures, but he held resolute. He was not going to talk. "You aren't as strong as you think you are. You will die eventually, and you are quickly coming up on that milestone."

The man, now haggard and bleeding, was breathing heavily. He looked years past what his age was, which could have been the torture or possibly a torture type Fury had tried. Either way, the man looked to be on death's door. His eyes were sunken deep into their sockets and his hair was thin and grey. His shirt was tore from hi chest, revealing black and blue skin that was torn in several places, pouring blood from the gashes. There were burn marks from where Fury tried convincing him with fire. The man's lips began to move slowly like he was trying to talk. Fury leaned in to hear what he was trying to say and the man spat in his face. Fury reared back and struck the man across the face, causing a sickening crack and enticing a laugh from the old man.

"I know the sword is here somewhere. You couldn't commission the straps for it if you didn't have the actual sword here to make sure your measurements were exact," Fury said in a matter of fact tone as he washed his hands in a nearby basin of water. He stared at the man for a long moment. He could hear the faint screams from outside as Shade continued to terrify the town. He smirked. Showoff

"Do you hear that? That's my sister. She's currently tearing the senate apart finding your friends. Their not as strong as you are they?" The man averted his eyes away from Fury. "They're not and you know it. They're gonna sing like a bird in the spring. They're gonna tell her everything she needs to know and your little stand here will mean nothing. You'll still lose and their's nothing you can do about it. You are just causing yourself unneeded pain at this point. Let me help you sleep. Let me help you finally stop feeling that pain. All I need to know is where the sword is."

The man stared at the ground, contemplating what he should do. He knew Fury was right. He was losing this fight no matter what. But could he betray his masters? Could he be the one that plunges them into the light to die? He looked up at the hiding place underneath the worktable.

And that was all that was needed...

Fury followed the man's eyes from his head to the table. His eyes narrowed at the sight and walked slowly over to the table. He reached under the edge of the table and found a button. He pressed down on the button, which activated a trapdoor that swung open to reveal the sickening sword. He grabbed the hilt and waved it through the air in front of the tanner. He then sent it flying across the basement to crash into the man's skull, splitting it down the middle and embedding the sword into the wall beyond. Fury walked over the the sword and yanked it out of the wall. He walked to the center of the room and sunk the blade deep into the ground.

He searched the building for the others and when he found them, he told them to go outside. Once there, he raised his hands up to face the the building and slowly strained to lower them. As his hands lowered, the building creaked and moaned and slowly collapsed to the ground. Once it hit the ground, two black wings sprouted from Fury's back, sending him flying above the building. He hovered there for a time before he raised his hands up in the air and brought them crashing down towards the building. He compressed time around the final resting place of the sword and compressed it until if anyone ever tried to enter that ground, they would be forever frozen in place. Only someone more powerful than him would ever be able to get to that blade...