Changes

Changes (Chapter Seven)

The doors flew open, crashing into the walls as they whirled on their hinges. The boys rushed into the room, dodging obstacles in their way as they made their way to find Cassi. A large table blocked their passage- Remus dove forward and rolled underneath, whereas Romulus leapt into the air over the blockage. As they arrived, a knife appeared in Remus’s hand, and Romulus was ready with his fists in the air.

Cassi’s scream petered out when she saw the boys enter the area she was standing in. She rushed over and clutched Romulus, whose arms instinctively wrapped around her to stop her shaking. Her finger was pointing desperately at the floor across the way from them, but neither of the boys needed the visual aid- they’d spotted the body the instant they’d arrived. Romulus continued to comfort Cassi, while he directed Remus to inspect the body with a nod. <<Find out what happened.>> He then directed his normal voice towards Cassi. “Cassi. Cassi! Calm down, and tell us what happened.”

Cassi stuttered in her haste and uneasiness. “I wa-walked in and th-there wa-was that bod-body on the floor, a-and it…it…”

“It what, Cassi…tell me, I need to know what we’re dealing with.” Romulus said soothingly.

“It’s still bl-bleeding…” Cassi murmured.

<<Son of ah bitch! Cahssi’s right, this poor wretch wahs only just killed not too long ahgo…The throat’s been sliced bahy something reahl shahrp. And the edges->>

<<Are blackened. Fuck. It’s->> Romulus didn’t even bother to finish the thought in his head-both boys just blurted it out loud as they snapped to attention. “Shunjii.”

Remus’s hand was behind him in a flash, latching his fingers onto the hidden rod in his coat. Pulling it out, it was merely the length of his forearm, but a quick twist sent the ends telescoping outward, expanding into a sizeable steel staff.

Romulus’s coat flapped back and his own weapon was removed- a full length katana, black to the hilt with barely detectable swirls of green decorating the sides. No sheath was visible, and Cassi assumed that it was built into the coat itself.

The boy’s preemptive self-arming turned out to be a very intelligent decision, for not a moment later, a screaming mass of swirling metal fell from the rafters. Each boy sent his weapon flying up above them, in order to deflect blows that seemingly seemed to come from multiple angles.

Cassi threw her body backward, her rear hitting the wall behind her and forcing her to run to the side and hide herself. She looked at her bare hands, wishing she had something she could fight with, to help her newfound guardians. Her mind finally caught up with her, and she looked around at the ground around her. Boxes, wrappings, every bit of trash that cluttered the area, she ruffled through, growing more frustrated as she found nothing useful at all.

Then something was shoved into her, and Cassi was sent flying forward. The wall rushed at her, then everything went black.

* * *

Remus swung his staff up into the air at the same time as Romulus did with his katana. Both were halted by the CLANG as the metals came into sharp contact with a similar weapon, being swung by the 200 pound man above them and sped up by gravity’s pull.

Both boys were pushed downward by the force of this impact, but they pushed back with all their might, sending their attacker back several feet.

No time was lost preparing for a second attack- once again, the black blade of the attacker standing in front of them sliced through the air. Romulus ducked down, choosing to roll to the left to attack, while the blade continued another foot or so before being stopped by Remus’s staff. However, the defensive move worked at the cost of the kick that sent Remus stumbling backward into Cassi, who fell against the wall and stayed still.

Romulus brought his blade up and shoved it through the now sluggish air around the fighters- but the man knocked the blade upwards with his own just in time. He punched Romulus in the face, causing him to stumble backwards, hand to his face. Romulus had barely enough time to raise his sword once more when the man’s attack began- quick, lightning strikes, both left and right, ranging eye level to waist level. Romulus was quick enough to block the blows, but didn’t have the speed to halt the attack and launch his own offensive- so instead, he waited for his opportune moment.

Remus arose, and took a step forward towards the swirling blades, and the man stole the tiniest of glances to assess the danger. Romulus saw it and grabbed the chance. The last blow bounced upward, so Romulus slid forward on his toes while keeping his head and upper torso back- from a side view, he probably looked much like a diagonal line. Another blow came at him, and he blocked it upward once more, using the force to push himself down to the ground- and he kicked upward.

The foot connected with a layer of cloth, and the man was lifted off his feet and tossed into the air, landing on his back on the other side of the room. Remus finally reached Romulus, and the two of them stood facing the foiled assassin, Cassi lying behind them.

The figure straightened up and stood. “You fools. You should have learned your lesson before! Do not meddle in my affairs.”

Romulus smirked. “Yeah. We’ll do that, Shunjii. Perhaps you should not involve yourself in affairs that require meddling.”

Shunjii’s lip curled, and Romulus knew he was ticked. Shunjii’s hand tightened around the handle of his dark weapon, and Romulus worried he would attack again- but the sounds of now approaching sirens caused Shunjii to rethink this plan, and instead whirled the blade into it’s sheath on his back. “Mark my words, my friends...this will not be the end. I will strike you down and achieve my goal, and watch as you burn when my master destroys your world.”

And the next instant, he was gone, as quietly as he had fallen from the rafters.

* * *

Cassi was aroused by fingers gently rubbing her cheek, and a voice, creamy and soft, speaking to her.

“Cassi…Cassi…wake up…come on, love. You need to wake up.”

Her eyes opened, and there was Romulus, kneeling over her. He smiled when he saw her eyes open. “Now, that’s better.”

Cassi recalled what had happened moments before she blacked out. “God dammit. That’s the second time I’ve passed out tonight. I’m starting to get real sick of this.” She looked around, but seeing only Remus tending to a small cut on his forearm, she curiously asked “Where’d…where is he?”

“Fortunately,” Romulus started, “You weren’t out long. ‘He’, being Shunjii, kicked Remus into you, and you knocked your noggin on the wall. The fight ended only a minute or two later, and Shunjii disappeared.” Seeing her eyes instantly fly to the rafters, he added, “He’s good at that. But don’t worry- he’s gone. He doesn’t hang around to take a second strike like that- he doesn’t see any honor in it.”

Cassi visibly relaxed. “So, you’ve dealt with this guy before, I take it?”

“Yeah. Once. About a year ago. Kind of a long story.”

“You’ll have to tell me sometime.” Cassi smiled. “I’d like to know a bit more about the guy that’s apparently out to kill me.”

“Oh!” Romulus’s eyes widened. “I nearly forgot. Sorcha needs to know what the heck just happened.” He turned to Remus, who had finished picking at his cut and was retracting his staff. “Remus. Run back to Aisling and tell Sorcha everything that went on. And ask her if there’s anything she thinks we should do tonight.”

Remus nodded, and headed off.

Romulus turned back to Cassi. “In the mean time, you should get whatever you need from here. We need to get going soon.”

Cassi nodded. “This way, then. I put all my stuff in another area, it’s pretty hidden.”

The two set off in the direction she had pointed. Along the far wall of overturned tables, broken desks, and fallen file cabinets, she pulled open one cabinet in particular. It opened to reveal an absence of shelves and a back to the cabinet, and she climbed through it. Romulus followed through, amused. “And you found this how?”

Cassi grinned. “As a kid, some of my favorite things to read about were mystery novels, especially ones that had all kinds of hidden secrets and passageways. As I grew up, I always thought about them, and kinda…foolishly checked for stuff like that. Every once in a while, though, it pays off…I once found an old door hidden in a closet at my great-grandfather’s house, and it led to some secret room.”

“Sounds like you had an imaginative childhood.” Romulus chuckled.

“Well, I certainly managed to keep myself entertained, that’s for sure.” Cassi pulled back a set of shelves, and turned another cabinet. Romulus could now see into another area of the warehouse, almost a room of it’s own. Cassi then used a broken desk to give herself a lift, and hopped over the remaining junk into the room. Romulus followed her in.

“Well…welcome to what was going to be my humble abode.” Cassi managed a small smile. “At least, until now.” She went over to the couch, which Romulus thought looked as though it had gone through the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire, and pulled out a small box from underneath it’s charred fringes of cloth. From this, she retrieved several items that she tossed into a bag that Sorcha had given her, and pulled out her tattered backpack. Into this she placed the bag full of items and all of her clothing, save one outfit. Holding this, she looked uneasily up at Romulus.

Instinctively, he nodded, and made the motion to turn and leave, but Cassi stopped him with a weak plea. “No…don’t go…just…turn away?”

Romulus nodded again, and finished his turn, but without taking any steps. He faced the wall in front of him as he waited for her, listening to the little scrapes and shuffling sounds that she made as she changed her clothes. Suddenly, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and his hand, unseen by Cassi, shot to his weapon’s handle once more. However, it stopped there when Romulus discovered the source of the movement was nothing more than a broken mirror, which was angled just right to show Cassi’s sleek, naked body as she removed the last of her blood-soaked clothes.

Romulus looked away shamefully as soon as he realized what it was, and waited patiently staring in the other direction for her to finish.

“So, where do you boys live, anyway? I hope it’s not terribly far. I fear my legs are ready to mutiny as it is.”

“No, ma’am. Not far at all, actually. Perhaps a fifteen minute walk.” He heard Cassi groan lightly, and the next words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. “But if you’re too tired, I could carry you.”

Cassi smiled. “What a kind offer, but no, I’ll be fine. And don’t call me ma’am, you’re fine with ‘Cassi’. ‘Ma’am’ sounds so….old.”

Suddenly, there was a tap on Romulus’s shoulder. He turned, and it was Cassi, fully clothed once more. “And I’m definitely not old.”

No…no, you aren’t, he thought to himself. “So…you’re ready to go, then?”

“Yep.” Cassi threw her arm around his shoulder. “Take me home with you.”

* * *

Shunjii cursed himself. Failure is unacceptable! his mind screamed at him. You cannot fail your master!

He slowed his fast-paced stride to a crawl. He was not looking forward to telling his master what happened. He would not be happy. In anger, Shunjii drew his dark sword from it’s sheath once more, and with a single swing, put it through a light post. The light atop went out as the sword’s razor edge removed all but a stump of the post, and electricity sparked and sizzled from the wires being severed. Shunjii watched as the electricity arched up the blade, shorting itself out as it reached his hand.

Of course, he thought. I will make them come to me. His blade resheathed, he returned to his normal pace. Oh, you will come, Romulus…and you will die.

* * *

“So…you were going to tell me about this Shunjii character.” Cassi stated.

Romulus laughed. “Really curious, aren’t you? You want me to tell you now?”

Cassi nodded. “Why not? You said yourself, we’ve got a fifteen to twenty minute walk ahead of us…might as well use it productively.”

“Can’t fight you there, I suppose. Alright, here’s the story then. Though, I may have exaggerated a bit when I said it was a long story…”

“Oh, please. Just tell me, you can give me the brief version. I promise not to be disappointed.” Cassi groaned.

“Well, it’s pretty simple and pretty complex at the same time,” Romulus started. “Last year, Remus and I were just getting around on our own in the area. We’ve been friends forever, since we were just kids, but we moved out this way because of some complicated things back home.”

“Sounds like the story of everyone here.” Cassi interjected.

“Yeah, tell me about it. Anyway, we got into a little scuffle with some guys just as Sorcha passed by. She didn’t help, instead choosing to stay nearby and watch as we kicked the guy’s asses. Then she came up to us afterward, and offered us jobs.”

“Jobs? What exactly is it you do for her?”

“Well, back then it was a bit different. We were just starting out, so we just ran small errands and stuff for her, and were two more members of her little backup team. But slowly, we proved ourselves to be stronger, faster, and more hard working than anyone else she had working for her, so she promoted us, basically. We became her second in commands, but it wasn’t until the incident with Shunjii that it became that way.”

“I see. What exactly did he do?”

“He kidnapped Sorcha and killed her second in command.” Romulus closed his eyes.

“Oh my god! Why?” Cassi gasped. “Why would he do that?”

“It was for the man he worked for at the time. We never quite did figure out what he was up to, we just assumed he was trying to make a dash for power by taking out Sorcha and disabling her sphere of influence, scatter her forces.” His eyes opened again. “But by the time he did that, Sorcha had become far more than our boss. She was our mother, our protector, our whole life, with the exception of each other. Shunjii failed to take that into account.”

“Let me guess,” Cassi smirked. “The two of you rallied all of Sorcha’s men together, grabbed a ton of weapons, and stormed wherever he was keeping her, saving the day?”

“No.” Romulus sighed. “We went in alone.”

“You’re kidding!”

“Nope. Remus and I went in alone, with nothing more than our fists and our anger. Knocked out the only guard he had watching the place, and I took his sword. Remus broke off a pipe, and used it as a staff. That’s his weapon of choice, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“So, the two of you went in and just…attacked him? That seems a little…well, one-sided, but on the other hand, he did kidnap her…but still…” Cassi shrugged. “Anyway, what happened?”

“Well…we fought, long and short of it, we won. Basically. But don’t underestimate him…Shunjii is a scary person to fight against. He’s quick as hell. He’s stronger than his thin body looks like it should be. But what makes him one hell of a fighter is his pride.” Romulus shook his head. “He fights as though it doesn’t matter if he lives or not. Which, I suppose, is true, at least, for him. He believes that if he dies fighting for his cause, it only helps justify it, and that someone else will step up to take his place. As such, he takes risks with his fighting styles that other people wouldn’t. Like dropping down from the rafters like he just did earlier…we were ready before he was even completely free of those rafters, and he knew we would be. Any experienced fighter would recognize that the things around them weren’t hiding him, so the first thing you check is above you.”

Cassi nodded silently.

“But nonetheless…we won the fight, though barely. Shunjii escaped, choosing to save his own life and his Master’s plans once he realized we had Sorcha, and Remus was hurt pretty bad. Shunjii nearly killed him when he jabbed his katana between two ribs, and put a nick in his lung. Ask him sometime to show you the scar...it's still there, and lined with black, because of Shunjii's sword. I had to finish the fight on my own, and if I hadn’t fast enough, I would have lost him…but Shunjii left, so I could get Sorcha to him in time.”

Cassi looked at him quizzically. “What do you mean, get her to him in time?”

Remus looked at her, confused, until he realized that she didn’t know about Sorcha’s own powers. “Oh. Sorry…I keep forgetting that you don’t know everything that’s going on in our world. Sorcha has…well, I don’t even know how many powers, but among them is the ability to heal. She can also ‘read’ minds, like Remus and I can…and I know she has other gifts too, but I can’t really…I don’t know.”

Cassi stopped short. “You can read minds? You can read my mind?”

Romulus laughed. “No, no…not ‘read’ per se…not what you’d probably associate with ‘reading minds’ anyway…he and I can sort of…read your aura. You have this sort of cloud over your head. Depending on a person’s mood, thoughts, and general personality, it is different colors and shades. Actually, I suspect, much like your hair. Though, I believe you have far more control over your actual color than the shade of it, am I correct?”

Cassi resumed walking, and nodded. “The color is almost always my own choice, though in extreme situations it just…overwhelms me. Like earlier, when…when Sven…”

Romulus cut her short. “Yes…I thought so. Sorcha too, it was one of the first things she noted when she was trying to determine what exactly you were…Mary came in to identify you, and said something about believing your hair color to be not blue, but green. Which, I see, you’ve switched back to.”

Cassi smiled again. “Yeah…I’m kind of partial to green.”

“Anyway…that’s more or less how he and I can read minds, if you can call it that. In fact, that’s what tuned us in onto you…when you came into Aisling, that man was following you, and I couldn’t see his aura at all. Almost murky, I suppose you might say. Sorcha must not have been able to read much either, because she made note of him right away, as well. However, she sees something a little bit different than we do. I can’t exactly explain it, though. You’ll have to talk to her about it.” Romulus stopped in front of a brick wall. “Ah. Here we are.”

“Here we are…wait. Where’s here?” Cassi looked around, confused. “I don’t see anything. This is where you live?”

Romulus nodded. “You’re not supposed to see anything. We’ve got ourselves…relatively hidden. Here…watch.” He poked the wall in front of them, and his finger went right through, as though there were nothing there but air. “See?”

Cassi put her own hand up, inching it forward, until she was sure the next moment would make contact with the rough, crumbly texture that was the mortar and brick her eyes swore was there. But no- her hand went clear through, and despite her brain’s insistence that it was there, she knew it wasn’t. “Whoa.”

Romulus grinned. “Yeah, I know. Here’s a trick, though…you see the brick wall, because we’ve made it so you do. The problem is, though, that your brain believes your senses. What your brain receives, what the nerves in your eyes, and hands, and the sounds your ears hear, and the taste your taste buds tell your brain is there, is what the brain believes. So, your brain shows you what your senses see, not what is actually there. No trick like this is infallible…if you push yourself, if you train your mind, you can see past any illusion.”

Cassi continued to stare at the door. Her hand hadn’t wavered- there it floated, seemingly cut off by the wall. Her brain still insisted that it wasn’t possible, the wall was there, no no no! But she kept staring.

“Just keep looking…just…see what you know is there, not what you think you should see.”

Her eyes continued to focus on her hand in front of her. It isn’t there…it isn’t real. There is no wall. There’s an empty doorframe.

And slowly, the truth melded into view. The bricks faded into nothingness…and instead, exactly as she knew was there, an empty space appeared, leading to a green door with a most bizarre symbol on it, which stood in front of her.

Romulus stepped forward, shoved a key into the locks, and opened the door. “Welcome to our humble abode.”