Ark 25/Episode 03: A slave games

Grey Wind [Maskie]: While Grey was out, she only saw stripes of gold and white. Like a shining light falling upon her. But if she was honest with herself, it was probably just the sun. She was being carried, for days, she thought. Her side didn’t hurt, her shoulder was still sore but not as bad. What just went down? Did they kill everyone? When her eyes finally opened, she was in some kind of clear water, and naked. But that isn’t what shocked her the most, it was that she might have been dead. Panic started to hit her, but then she saw Kin, and it washed away. Half risen from the water, she stared at him, though she knew he had heard her. Grey carefully got out of the water and when she touched her side, she remembered. He screamed and beat the guy senseless, and she went down, she was out. Embarrassment swept over her face; how could she face him? She walked over to him anyway, not really so much concentrated on the fact that she was indeed naked, but more on the fact that he saved her. He LICKED her wounds. That was  what bothered her the most.

“Thank you.. “ Is what she wanted to say, but her tongue caught in her throat. She stood there sputtering for awhile and just took a deep breath, “Did we get em?” She asked, really hating herself at this point in time. Grey sighed and sat down next to him, “I mean.. I’m sorry for leaving you at the end there.. I don’t make a habit of passing out..” She bit her tongue. What the hell was she saying? She just wanted to thank him! Grey shook her head and just looked away, her hair back to it’s original long length and original color. She tried not to exert herself, but it seemed to happen anyway. She killed the fifteen guys, there wasn’t anything to argue about. But there was this air around them. She took a blade for Kin. Risked her life; made an embarrassment out of herself in the process, but she risked her life for him. She hadn’t done that for anyone.. Never. Grey glanced at him and bit her lip, for the first time in a long time, she felt warm. Her unemotional shithead, snarky self was feeling something. Was it wrong?

Kin Tasanagi: He hadnt looked at her as she sat next to him. He wore the same button up shirt as the night they slept though had been tattered now, along with his pants and shoes. His hair wild and frenzied he looked like a beast just in his human form. As she sat next to him he would have looked at her out of the corner of his eye. " Yeah... we got em. " He said back to her, listening to her speak and then allowing the silence to follow soon after. " You were asleep for about 8 hours, you slept the rest of the day, up until mourning. Obviously cause your awake now. " Kin said staring out at the pond before he took one of the fish over the fire, reaching his hand right into the flames, as if he couldnt feel the pain. ( And he couldnt. ) His hand had been singed but it healed over soon after and he broke a piece of the fish off as he turned to her. Sliding her hair out of her face. " Open up. " He said in terms of her mouth. " Ive already aten. Now that your awake we can keep moving, and I need you to eat. To keep your strength up. " Just like she couldnt thank him, he couldnt thank her either. Both too proud, like wolves. Whom the only level of comfort they truly had one another was when fighting side by side. Fighting in perfect harmony, killing in perfect harmony. If she would have opened her mouth he would have began to feed her the piece of the cooked fish, piece by piece until he made it to the second one and continued to do so. He would have ringed out any water from her hair and had even combed it through to straighten it. He was taking care of her, or atleast trying to. In his own way, this was him saying thank you.

" I gotcha some more clohtese the other ones i got you were all bloddied up. Couldnt get out the stains so when we drove through the last village i managed to barter out some clothese for a pocket knife i got back when Kasaihana was still around. " Kin said handing her the tee shirt and short shorts. It was all he could get considering the situation. Kin stood finally staring out at his reflection in the water before he squatted down and extended his claws. Shaving his face with his finger tips alone before his face had been cleaned of any facial hair. Kin was only 20 but he felt so much older, so much colder as well. As if he had seen the depths of hell and returned victorious only to be voided of all humanity because of it. " The Bandit King, sent Lion Corps personell on us. He's afraid... but were gaining on him. I wish to meet with an ally of my father out here In Oasis. With his assitance we may stand a proper chance against Bandit King. " Kin said looking back at her with his clean shaved face. " How much do you know about this area? "

Grey Wind [Maskie]: Grey gladly accepted the food and the treatment, but she felt a little weird. How could it be this easy to go from battle to battle. Mind you, she had no qualms about it, but for him, it seemed like he would just break under the pressure. She wanted to ask where they were but when he said the name, her face turned cold and she moved away from him. “I know too much about this place. We must meet your friend and leave. Quickly,” she demanded, grabbing the clothes and putting them on. She didn’t want to be here any longer than they had to be. It was not only dangerous out here, with all the raids, but this is also where her story began. Where her mother’s story ended, and where everything went wrong in her life. She stumbled over to the water again and cleaned off her face, trying to calm herself down, but she was getting angry. If he finds out anything about what went on.. She probably wouldn’t be treated the same. He would pity her and she hated that.

“We must avoid.. the Slave Village.. It’s east of here.. It’ll just be trouble,” she told him, after she had calmed down a bit. She stretched her side and shoulder, making sure she could still throw a few good punches. She was still sore in her shoulder, but she didn’t mention it to Kin, he was already in enough stress, her injury would only slow them down. Keeping it a secret was her best plan of action, and hoping that they didn’t run into that unholy Village. She never wanted to go back. Not after what she went through. Not after what they had done to her. Grey ducked her head under the water then came back up, flipping her hair back and gasping for air. She erased the thoughts from her memory and stood up. “Let’s get going. Do you have his scent?”

Kin Tasanagi: He cocked a brow over how she had reacted to this location but he kept that same emotionless demanor. " Slave town? If there are slaves we should set them free. No need in running off. " He said crossing his arms. He would have detested further but he could sense her distress he could almost litterally smell it. " Fine, if we can avoid it. Then we will but we may not have a choice later on. No promises. " Kin said as he squatted down, he tilted his head up and tried to catch Lord Kaguya's scent but the jungle had been clustered over with scents from all sorts of animals all over. "No, its not clear here. Were going to have to go into one of the towns here. " He said to her as he stood to his feet finally. " Lets go. " He said as he guided the two of them for a few miles out in the jungle until they reached a town of some sort. It was small and the people seemed to be minding there own busniess. " Come on. " He said reaching his hand out to her as they approached a slope, if she would have taken his hand he would have slided down the hill with her so they would have made it down the slope together before they reached the ground. " Here we are." He said still holding her hand for a brief moment before he'd finally pull it back after reality hit him once again. " Sorry about that, my most apologizes. " He said turning his attention back over to her.

Once they began to trek the town he would have come across a merchant. Selling random things like CD players and Boom boxes, to toys and clothing. Kin leaned over his shops counter and titled his head up. " Oy, you from around here? " Kin said to the man whom simply nodded his head. " yeah, born and raised out here in Oasis, its nice. That accent, you some kind of Inlander? " " Yeah, Kasaihanaian. " " Ahhhhhhh sorry bout asking then. " " Its alright, listen im looking for a guy. Older man. Names Lord Kaguya, he's an Old Samurai. He used to protect these parts of Skyland, however i hear he's been MIA since the Death of Zetsui over 40 something years ago. " " Ahhhh the old guy? He's out in the temple about 8 miles from here on foot. Cant miss it. Becareful thouugh heard some raiders, or slavers were out there around those parts. " The Merchant said and Kin would have closed his eyes rememeber and now heeding to Greys former warning. " Thank you for your assitance. " Kin said pulling away from the counter.

" Stop! Theif! " A lady would have shouted as a young man rushed down the street with a bad of her shops merchandise. Kin would have crossed his arms and looked over at Grey." Consider this more training... go catch that Kid. " He demanded as he looked at her, cocking a brow.

Grey Wind [Maskie]:  They ended up in the cursed village after all. Their prowling grounds. She bought a peice of cloth as soon as she could and wrapped it over her head, hiding her face. Once they found her, it would all be over. They liked to talk, and talk loudly. They were good at what they did, and very proud. When they got further inside the village, it started getting less sparkly, and more dirty. No one looked bathed in weeks; the streets were littered and the houses were just as bad. Grey stuck close to Kin, trying to blend in, he looked rough enough, and then some man ran by them with a sack full of food. She was commanded to go after him, so she did. Jumping over people, sprinting down the streets. He was quick, but not quick enough, she ducked behind a building and then reappeared as a full on direwolf. She raced after him and finally got to him, biting his calf and making him fall down. They ended up in some sort of alley, and she growled at him. This made him scared and he ran off without the bag. Grey took a few moments to look around, then she turned back into her normal self. She picked up the fruit and put it back in the lady’s bag, sighing. She had run so far, she would never find Kin now. She stood up, bag in arms and immediately froze. Grey heard footsteps behind her, and then realized that her cloth had blown away during the chase. She walked out of the alley quickly, and sniffed around, making her way back to Kin, who might have been comforting the lady. She handed the bag back to her and nodded, “I made sure he didn’t get away with anything..” She told her, then grabbed Kin’s wrist and kept walking up the steep streets. She didn’t look at him, didn’t comment on his silence, just, kept looking at the ground, and it was unlike her to be this jumpy. She wasn’t afraid of anything. Almost everything. She just didn’t want to remember her time as a slave.

Kin Tasanagi: When she had retrieved the bag in the alleyway it looked as if a victory had been in order. However... as the wind passed through Greys hair she would have seen a flush of men interrupt her from leaving the area of the alleway. They were the same league of slavers that had been the ones that haunted her past so heavily. Slavery is a controlled business in the post-nuclear world. Nearly all the slave trade in the New California is done under the auspices of the Slaver's Guild, a group of older slavers who decide prices and organize capture hunts in the Skylands. Anyone caught capturing or selling slaves in New California without their blessing may be forced to undergo a series of trials until either deemed worthy to join the Guild or be killed. The Guild often controls smaller towns in which it operates, although quietly—preferring to remain behind the scenes. Guild members wear a distinctive tattoo covering most of their face, making them readily identifiable and allowing the Guild to make fast judgments when someone without "the tat" has a tribal up on the auction block. Theyve moved all over the Skylands now, selling slaves over seas and to other organizations that plague america. "

" So we meet again, Grey Wind. " The leader said with a scar over his face like three large slash marks. More then likely left by Grey herself long ago. He looked at her with such ill intent, with such malicous desire. He wanted to end her, send her to the voids of hell. And it was written all over her face. " We were wondering.. when you'd come on back home, old yeller. " He said in refernce to her strange ability. " Nab her..." The leader would have said as his men all fired tranq shots at her in attempts to put her down. Once and if the 15 men had knocked her out with there rounds, they would have then proceeded to drag her off elsewhere. Pulling her down into the dark depths of the alleway.

Grey Wind [Maskie]: She growled at them and tried to get away, but she fell, losing feeling in her legs. She shook and was grabbed. Grey was dragged away and she was out. Flashes of her past came back and she felt helpless. Just like she had before. She woke up a few times to women screaming, and realized her hands were tied above her head to a pole. She jostled around and felt chains on her ankles. She wasn’t really aware of everything, she just kept seeing her mother, and what they did to her before they killed her. She was screaming and crying and begging Grey to look away; but she could not. Everything, her childhood, her womanhood, all taken from her in those months. Grey finally floated into consiousness and a group of men threw another woman in, yelling at her.

“Get up. Tie your legs to the pole. Do it now!” One of them yelled, smacking her around. Grey grit her teeth and she spit on the ground. They turned to her and smirked. “Got something to say, Grey?” another asked her. She glanced at the other girl, “Leave her alone. You have me, you have everything you need…” She told them. The girl looked hopeful and she almost smiled. But they had a different idea. “You’re right.. We don’t need her,” he agreed, then nodded over to her. The group shifted to her, and started stabbing her in the chest and stomach, over and over again. She screamed and cried, falling on her face when they were done. They all laughed at her, and the one with the scratches on his face went over to Grey. “She was carrying one of our babies. You just got two people killed,” he told her. Grey shivered and struggled in her hold. “You all are monsters-!” she shouted, and then he slapped her across the face. “You have no right to speak! You are just as much of a monster as I am.. Aren’t you? Miss Wolf’s Blood,” he replied, motioning for the men to leave. They all walked out of the tent, and Greys heart started beating quickly, as if it would explode.

The man slid a knife across her hips and thighs, cutting her in places. “Do you remember what we did to your mother? Probably not, you most likely blocked that out. But I bet you remember what you went through. You were so young…” He whispered, cutting up her clothes. Grey struggled and he stabbed her in the arm, getting angry. “Don’t make me kill you like I did her! I will kill you..” he threatened, taking off his own shirt. While he was distracted, she kneed him in his gut and he fell, crying out. She tried to rip off the rope from the pole and she almost cried trying to get out. But he got up before she got free and started strangling her. “You little bitch.. I’ll make you remember this..” he told her, putting a hand in his pants. Grey closed her eyes and shook her head, knowing this might’ve been the end. She’d rather die than go through this again.

Kin Tasanagi: " DIE BITCH..." The Clawed one said as he continued to choke her to the brink of death, Until, the sound of his men storming in behind him would have alerted the clawed one. " Sir, the new Kasaihana rejects are here. 13 girls, all of them in there 20. And one male, in his 30's. A big shipment meant to be sent over to Luxaton Springs 2 " They had been Luxaton Springs 1, which is a converted strip style shopping mall turned slaver haven in the Skylands, with business ties to further slave trade in The Barrows. It is a constant source of fear for many of the skyland denizens. Luxaton Springs is a roughly square strip mall style compound, protected by makeshift walls of stacked derelict vehicles. The few buildings that are still in use have been converted a bit to suit the slavers' needs. Once someone enters through the city bus gate, they can follow a path to the right into the compound. On the left of the immediate entrance is a weapons shop, Lock and Load, and to the right is Cutter's clinic and the slaver barracks. Once in the "main area', on the right is a makeshift bar and grill. To the left is Eulogy's Pad, a converted movie theater. Further in are the slave pens, and just to the right of those, a single-person Pulowski Preservation shelter that has been refitted into a cruel holding cell named "The Box". As The Clawed pulled from her would have turned his back for a brief moment his keys dangling in her face and a grenade. " Ah.. so they've arrived. Let me expect them before they are fully shipped and loaded. " He said looking back at Grey over his shoulders. " Release this one, take her down to the holding cells with everyone else, I want her loaded up and prepped. Im sure we can make a full thousand grand off her alive. Rough her up a bit, and you and some of the other boys can have some fun with her too. Shes still pretty drugged up. " The Clawed one said as he kicked dirt in Greys face before he turned his back again and his guards went to unshackle her so she could be transported.

GAME MASTER: - Infront of Grey would be the dangling keys on his back, if she chose to take the keys then she may be able to escape later on and free the other slaves, at the expense of having to sneak through the Maze known as Luxaton Springs 1. And the chances of sneaking through were near to damn fucking impossible. OR! Pulling the gernade pin on his belt and blowing him up, killing the clawed one in the process and most defintatly injurying herself. But she'd be getting her revenge for what they did to her mother! She could only pick one! Free the slaves or Get her revenge and feed her ambigous blood lust! -

Grey Wind [Maskie]: Grey heard about Kin through the others and she felt relief rush through her body. Once the keys and grenade were shown, she wanted so badly to pull the cap, it would have been so sweet. But the shrapnel would have killed her instantly, or wounded her for life. She was unshackled and she punched the other guy in the jugular. Grey grabbed the keys and roundhouse kicked the Clawed guy in the back of the head. He stumbled forward and she grabbed his shirt, throwing him into the wall. She grabbed a spear from the mantle on the wall and walked towards him. “You raped my mother and killed her, I could care less. It’s in the past. But what I can’t forgive is you raping me, and attempting to try it again! Didn’t you learn the first time?” She asked, taking the spear and ramming it up his ass, pushing it through all the way through his body. She panted and huffed, the drugs still in her system. The other minion tried to grab her from behind but she grabbed his arms and flipped him over her back, and onto his boss. She glared at him and growled, “You best stop raping women, and I won’t come after you to do the same..” She threatened, turning back and walking out of the tent. She ran to the dungeons, ripped clothes and all, unlocking the doors and letting the slaves out, having them pour out from the bottoms of the village. They attacked the traders, starting a riot.

Grey slid through the crowd and made her way to Luxaton Springs. She hadn’t been down here since she was young, being transported through here as a slave, servicing men and doing other unthinkable things. As he went through the hallways, she felt like that lost little girl, crying out for someone to help her out. She stopped, having been walking for a good thirty minutes. She looked around and then closed her eyes. She concentrated hard, even still under the influence of the drugs, but was still able to send out her spirit, and look through the building. She kept looking and finally found Kin. She opened her eyes, making her head hurt by not bringing back her spirit before walking. Grey started running, and she followed her spirit’s trail, coming across some cages. There were a few guards and she brought back in her spirit, staying out of sight. She thought back to Kin’s lessons and she started putting all of her energy into an orb, getting it pretty big before launching into the room and hitting all of the guards like a bowling ball to bowling pins. Grey quickly started setting everyone free and when she got to Kin’s cell, she looked in at him and smiled at him. “I didn’t think I’d find you here..” She whispered. She unlocked the cell and opened it up. The guards groaned and she held out her hand, “Come on, it’s going to take us forever to get out of here and I really just want to leave this place..”

Fuck Keyo: Kin had been indeed in the cagesbut it had been apart of his plan more or less. Sitting in the cages had been Lord Kaguya and Kin chained to the floors playing a game of chess. Kin moved a pawn only for Kaguya to say with that deept one. " Checkmate. " " Whats that over there! " " HM!?!?" Kin would have knocked the chess board over with a scowl before Kaguya sighed. " Just as crude as your father. A sore loser is a failed winner. " As they turned there heads they would have seen Grey releasing the slaves and then Kin and Kaguya. " Ahhh you were right Kin, she did come, just like you expected. Shes a bright one, and she showed perfect useage of the Push Blast Technique. Did you teach her that? " " She's a quick learner... she taught herself. " He said turning his head over to Grey smiling. " Dont be angry, I knew the Slavers were coming. If they attacked us as a group, you would have fought harder and this would have been a bust. So I sent you off so i could get captured alone. Once I was taken away, I met lord Kaguya here. I knew you'd make your way here to me and release those slaves. I'd say the first half of your trainings up. " Kin said smiling, Knowing that she had used everything that he taught her to save him and Lord Kaguya. " They had captured him as well but he allowed them to so he could gain intel for his own personal use against the bandit King. Now that he has his infomation. He has given us the Map to where The Bandit King resides, got it off one of his men. " Kin said holding the paper up so she could see it for herself. " Says right here... we'll be getting to him in about 4 days on foot. Im sorry... again for placing you in danger Grey. " Lord Kaguya walked over to one of the beaten gaurds before he turned back around to Duo. " In the mean time, you two can come stay my estate. I'll feed and house you both so when your on your way. You'll be all set and ready. "

Grey Wind [Maskie]: Once he was out and explaining to her, Grey punched him in the jaw. She glared at him and shook her hand, the impact stinging just a tad, if it had hit. “You owe me. Big time. This wasn’t just training for me..” She spat, turning away from him and walking back down the hallways. She followed the same path she took coming down and made it out successfully, seeing the large amount of slaves leaving the village and having beaten the crap out of the traders. She felt a little proud to have been a slave in this moment. This village would never arise again in this land, and she exacted her revenge in a calm-ish manner; she didn’t blow herself up at least. Grey waited by the front of the village and watched the people leaving, reminiscing about the past. She held the keys in her hand and tossed it in her hand. Like she had done earlier in her life, she blocked out the memory for good of the time she was in this village. As an extra step, she went over to the Lord and handed him the keys. “These are the keys to all these cages. I figured you should have them since Kin trusts you,” she told him, bowing to him and then standing next to Kin. She kept looking back at the village and wondered if it had been different if she had blown herself up. Would everyone have gotten out? Would Kin have been saved? Probably not. This was worth it. In the end, she got to rape him with his own favorite weapon.