by Damon Glatz
"Who were those men before? In black?" Daisuke asked.
The Shadow Corps.
Daisuke moved his other knee to the ground, he dropped his sword, growing weaker. "What are you planning?"
Tracking down the Blood Red Spades.
"That’s all I needed to hear." Daisuke flicked a knife into Deyanira's side. She groaned and dropped to the ground.
"What was that you said?" Daisuke stood up. "Only one of these to kill a man?"
She pulled the knife out of her side and slammed it down in anger. "You bastard!"
Daisuke smiled. She did not notice when he picked one of her knives from her belt when they were fighting close together.
She rolled in agony on the rooftop. Daisuke found himself falling to a knee again.
The toxins did more damage than I thought.
"It seems we have reached a stalemate," he said with some effort as he stood back up.
"It's only a matter of time," she said with a snarl. "Don't think you've won yet." She pulled a tube out of her belt and slammed it down to the ground.
Daisuke squinted. There was a brief explosion and a loud cloud of smoke. He found himself immersed in it. In a moment the breeze blew the fog away and he found himself standing alone on the roof.
She could not have gone far.
He took a step forward with a brief stumble. He was in no condition to fight. He pulled the many knives out of his stomach. They clanged down to his feet. Daisuke felt himself losing balance, as he was light-headed.
I need to move, I am exposed up here.
He dropped down to the alley beneath him. He stumbled but was able to catch himself. Deyanira had done a good job on him; the poison was a clever trick. She did not want him dead, just knocked out. That was her mistake. It bought Daisuke enough time to gain the information he needed.
Daisuke walked slowly through the alleys. Keeping out of sight, he was able to follow the trail of Bolt's hoof prints. He could feel the poison begin to slowly work its way out of his system. His wounds were starting to close up. Daisuke could not risk another fight right now however, he was still injured.
He walked all the way to the outskirts of the city and reached an old, abandoned building. The footsteps disappeared suddenly near the brick structure. They looked as if they had walked straight into a wall. Daisuke stood back. This was certainly a secret door.
He felt around the stones. Nothing jumped out to him as an obvious way in. However, he did not expect the entrance to be obvious.
He climbed to an adjacent roof to view the building as a whole. It was large and square, with a courtyard in its center, it looked perhaps like an old mansion. It appeared as if it was unoccupied but that was clearly the Spades’ intention. This was clearly where the Spades were hiding.
The sun was starting to set.
These people have been waiting two hundred years for me... What do they want from me? Do I just knock on the door?
Something caught his attention. One of the windows suddenly opened up. Ohitekah reached his head through the window and looked around. He gave a big wave.
Daisuke smiled.
Smart kid. He's letting me know he's safe...
As fast as he opened the window he suddenly slammed it closed.
"I guess he's alright then." Daisuke dropped from the building he was on. He walked to the base of the wall Ohitekah's window was in. With a small boost from fire from his feet he jumped up to the window and grabbed onto it. He slid it open and climbed inside. Ohitekah was gone.
"I need to heal. I'll wait for him to come back." Daisuke found a chair and moved it to the corner of the room. He sat in silence and meditated.
Falko thumbed through a book he was reading. His personal study was now completely stocked wall to wall with books. Falko paced through the room in silence. His solitude was interrupted by a banging on his window. He turned abruptly and strode to the glass. The window crashed open, Deyanira climbed through the opening and fell to the floor. She was badly hurt. Falko bent over to scan her for wounds.
"What happened?" He asked in a hushed tone, he glanced to the door to see if any of the guards had overheard the commotion.
Deyanira coughed, her mouth had blood in it. She pointed to the emperor's dresser in a panic.
"The antidote? How?" He rushed over to the dresser and pulled it open. There was a glass vile there. He pulled out the stopper and forced her to drink the liquid. The vile was there for the Emperors' protection. In case one of his own assassins tried to eliminate him with a poison dart or knife. He was prepared for every possibility of an attack.
She gagged and coughed for a moment. After a while she calmed down, she spat blood from her mouth several times.
The Emperor stood still and watched carefully. He continued to glance at the door to make sure no one would come in. Deyanira stood up, her lips were red from her blood. She looked furious.
"What happened?" Falko repeated.
"Daisuke," She said as if it was a curse.
"So, you found him. He is here." Falko turned away, almost surprised that the legends of the Shogun were real. A true flesh and blood man.
"Yes. He's here." She said through gritted teeth. "We poisoned each other, he had the upper hand, and I managed to get away."
"What else happened? Where is the boy? Did you follow them?"
"Yes, it was all going according to plan. Then Daisuke appeared out of nowhere and took out two of my men. It won't happen again."
Falko tapped his fingers on the windowsill. He could see the sky turn black from the book burning in the front of the palace. "This is a setback," he said quietly. He turned back to her.
She was shaking her head. She looked up with a smile.
"No, I could figure out where they were heading. Their location is obvious now."
Falko gave a deep nod. "Wonderful work, Deyanira. We move forward then."
He turned back to the inferno of his city.
"We have work to do."
Chapter Eleven
Pieces on a Board
Ohitekah closed the door behind him.
"What's the matter? Where did you go?"
Red shifted in his seat. "I had a run in with the enemy. They want to find this base at any cost. Their leader is a fierce woman named Deyanira. She is also an Oracle. She is the reason Falko has been able to keep track of our movements. This also tells me that the God of the Underworld is on their side. I'm not sure yet what he wants out of this war, but it's clear he's the one in charge."
Ohitekah stared at him. "How did you figure that out?"
"The Oracle only knows what her God tells her. He is clearly feeding her visions of our plans and whereabouts. It’s the only way they could have known we were coming, who we were. The fact you even became the Thunder Mythic in the first place. Which means the God of the Underworld is helping Falko on his quest for world power. Or, more likely, Falko is being used by the God for his own purposes... As one of his pawns."
Ohitekah nodded. The way Red explained it, it made sense.
"So," Ohitekah asked. "What do we do?"
Red stood up. He felt better, in the hours that passed his wounds had healed completely and the poison was totally out of his system. "I am not sure... It’s hard to make a move without knowing what our enemy's end goal is first. But clearly, Falko is a major piece of the puzzle. If we can stop Falko, we might also stop whatever it is the God wants. Which I am sure is not good."
Ohitekah agreed. There was a soft knock at the door. Ohitekah made a face of panic to Red.
Red moved to the door. "Might as well open it now. It is time they knew." The door clicked open. It was Sierra.
"Ohitekah, I just wanted to—" She froze. There he was. Daisuke. He gave a bow.
"Oh! Oh, my god!" She bowed lowly in response. Red raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, come on... It’s just Red." Ohitekah rolled his eyes.
Sierra jumped to her feet. "He is Shogun Daisuke! You will treat him with respe
ct!" She looked him up and down. "Oh... Oh, what do I do? I need to tell someone!" She turned and ran out of the room.
Red gave a laugh. "It seems I have a following here."
Ohitekah crossed his arms. "Don't get them started."
Ohitekah sat beside Red in the same meeting room he was in earlier. He studied the map on the round table in front of him, surprised on how big the Plains were. Out of all the nations, his was certainly the biggest. Unsure of what was about to happen, he drummed his fingers silently on the table. Once the Order realized Daisuke had arrived they scheduled an immediate conference. So far it was only Red and Ohitekah sitting in the room alone.
The doors behind them opened, in walked Galius and the other high ranking members of the Blood Red Spades. Marcus was there, Leif the Vatnic, Darius sat down as well.
"I am terribly sorry to keep you waiting, Daisuke." Galius walked quickly to his seat at the head of the table, he gave a bow and took his chair.
Red raised his hand. "No, I believe I have kept you waiting far longer." Some of the board members gave a chuckle.
Sierra crept in through the doorway and took a seat next to Red. She stared at him with her eyes wide in awe. Ohitekah rolled his eyes.
A little jealous? Ohitekah heard Red though his thoughts. Daisuke gave a smile and glanced at him.
Oh, you shut up. Ohitekah blushed. He faced away.
"Now, Daisuke, as I am sure you have some questions. Let me explain who we are exactly." Galius spoke firmly and with authority, not as welcoming as his tone was earlier with Ohitekah.
Daisuke sat back in his chair and stared at Galius.
Galius stood up and faced out of the window. "I'm sure you remember General Ashikaga."
He looked back at Daisuke with an eyebrow raised.
Ashikaga. A name Daisuke had not heard in two hundred years. He nodded pensively.
"Yes, he was a General under me. He fought in the battle of the Eastern Gate. He was my successor after I was exiled."
"Partially correct." Galius turned away. The correction had Daisuke's full attention. "He was your successor. As legend tells it, he returned to you your sword. Is that correct?"
Without saying a word, Daisuke placed his sword on the table. The black katana.
Galius stared at it intently for a moment. He nodded.
"Ashikaga set into motion the chain of events that would change the world,” he paused. “He was a man ahead of his time."
Daisuke stared at Galius inquisitively.
"Ashikaga understood the gravity of your banishment. He understood that you made the right choice by defeating the Fire Mythic. That you were the true Shogun of the North. After returning your sword, he resigned the offer of Shogun. He left the military for life. He began in secret an underground Order that would be loyal only to the true shogun. You… Daisuke. You see, the Emperor has declared several shoguns over the past two centuries. All of them incompetent, unworthy... That is because they are not true Shoguns. Only the man who wields the black blade can be the true Shogun of the North. When Ashikaga handed you back the black blade, Kaminoshi, he also handed you back the title of Shogun."
Daisuke squinted.
"Obviously," Galius continued. "The emperor did not trust you as the Shogun, the armies are only loyal to the Emperor. So any supporters against his wishes would have been killed or banished. Ashikaga had to work in secret. He planned that when he located you, he would have his own group of supporters ready to work with you. He envisioned you as the permanent Shogun of the North. The Fire Mythic. Leading the armies of samurai into battle. An unstoppable force. He trusted only you, his leader. Your passion for moral good, and willingness to die for your people. Only you never came back." Galius stared at Daisuke. "He died waiting for you. His men who deserted their Emperor and trained their entire lives in order to serve you… Died. How can we trust a man who was never there for us? And expect him to come through now."
Daisuke sat silently in his seat. All eyes were on him. Galius took a deep breath.
"I never asked him to do any of those things," Red spoke quietly. Ohitekah looked at him, unsure of how he would react. "He only gave me one order. Stay hidden. That's what I did. For two hundred years I clung to the shadows. And so did your Order." Galius sat down. Their eyes remained locked. "You were right about one thing Galius." Daisuke stood up, taking command of the room. "Ashikaga was ahead of his time. He understood the importance of his order, the importance of what I had become. He did not want us to meet... Not yet." Galius glanced away, thinking carefully. "If we had met in his time, the order would be weak, an uprising would have torn the country. He did not make your Order to take control, he created it to restore balance. Now fate has brought us together. Today. Why?"
"Falko," Galius spoke under his breath.
"Ashikaga had planned for this. That his order would grow and spread across the nations. To become a driving force for good. That I would stay hidden until something drove me out of hiding. That one day there would be an enemy so great that it would bring us together at last, and we would work together. That was his vision. We were created to face him… Together." He stared at Galius long and hard. "And now that we are together... What are we going to do?"
Galius shook his head. "How could he possibly have seen this coming...?”
Red sat once more. "Well... Perhaps, he gambled?" He cracked a smile.
Galius let out a laugh and nodded. "How very like him... Creating an Order where the ranks are based off playing cards. Off of a gamble. It's so obvious." He looked back to Daisuke. "I'm sorry I mistrusted you."
Daisuke gave a slight bow. "The feeling was mutual."
Galius’ eyes scanned the world map on the table, darting around rapidly while he concentrated. "It’s clear what we have to do. We have to take down Falko. What is up for debate is... How we are going to do it." He turned to face Sierra and Darius. "I am going to have to ask you to leave. Faces and Mythics only from here out." Darius rolled his eyes and stood up. Sierra bowed and walked out quietly. Her eyes flickered to Ohitekah, she smiled and closed the double-doors behind her.
I’ll ask him after the meeting. Ohitekah heard her mind briefly as she walked away.
Ohitekah's heart fluttered.
Ask me what? What was with that smile?
"We need a counteroffensive." The man from the Vatnic Isles stood up. "We need to strike him down before he has a chance to go further. If we cut the head off the snake—"
"No." Galius shook his head. "Falko isn't a snake." He placed his hands on the table "He has the nation rallied behind him. He has convinced them that they were attacked by the Fire Mythic. That the other nations are the enemies. And they need to spread their way of life to the rest of the world. If we were to strike, they would just take it as another attack. They would have no leader, yes, but they would—as a culture—take it upon themselves to destroy the other nations. He would be a martyr for his own cause."
I thought I wanted to be with Mae? But Sierra’s strong... Brave... A genius... Ohitekah was not listening to the words of the men in the meeting, his mind was drifting elsewhere.
"Okay. So if we let Falko live, we start a world war. If we kill Falko, we start a world war." The Vatnic slammed his fist down. "How do we prevent a war?"
I never imagined she even thought of me that way, what do I even say to her?
Galius focused on Leif. "We don't kill Falko. We need to kill the idea of Falko." Leif sat down, listening intently. "We need to expose his true intentions. He is only as strong as his army, and the people supporting him. If he loses those, then he is just a man with a spear. And that, we can deal with."
"Okay, then." Marcus leaned forward. "How do we expose him?"
"He was the one that destroyed the lighthouse and he forced the senators to vote for him so, we need to reveal his lies to the public and they will disown him. But first," Galius paused. "We need to sever his connection to the Gods. Take out his oracle. Once that is done, we can plan
further. He has been able to anticipate every move thus far, so cutting out his eyes will make us stronger."
"Deyanira." Red leaned into the table. "That is the name of the Oracle. She is also the leader of what she called the ‘Shadow Corps.’" The room fell silent. "I had an encounter with them before I found you here. They were in pursuit of Sierra and Darius. I intercepted and took them out."
"Did you kill them?" Galius asked.
"Two of the assassins, yes." Daisuke shook his head. "But the Oracle... She is not one to be taken lightly. She is very skilled. The plan was to deliberately let you capture Ohitekah. They were following you to discover the location of your hideout. I poisoned Deyanira but she escaped. I am not sure if she survived."
I should talk to her... Let her know I’m interested too. Ohitekah glanced to the empty seat Sierra had left, now wishing she had stayed. His heart was pounding into his chest, he could barely hear what the other men were planning, and all he could think about was her now. Picturing her blue eyes and short dark hair peeking out from her hood.
Galius turned pale. He slammed his fist into the table. "Damnit." He turned away from them. "Every step of the way." He spun back to Daisuke. "How close did they get?"
"Five blocks away. West."
I’ll go straight to her room after the meeting. Maybe, I’ll surprise her for once.
Galius looked up sharply, he looked at the faces of the men in the room.
"That's too close," Marcus said, sitting back in his chair. "They can figure out where we are with that."
Galius snapped back to Daisuke. "Did you kill her? Yes or no."
Daisuke shook his head. "I believe she survived. Somehow."
The room stood up at once. They looked at one another. Sensing the mood change Ohitekah tuned back into what was being said, having missed the past few minutes.
"We need to evacuate. Immediately." Galius slid his chair back. He pointed to Marcus "Use the tunnels. Burn down the building. Get everyone out." Galius faced the map and shook his head. He punched the table.
Ohitekah looked up to Red with a confused look.
