BA3 - Chapter 17

HAPPY LAUNCH DAY(after) MALWARE!

Ena led us through the wide hall on the bottom floor to the back of the pagoda. We hadn’t seen any of the Anbura instructors’ private rooms on our first tour, which was most certainly the rooms we were walking past now. Doors adorned with family names I couldn’t read, symbols and shapes that didn’t make any sense.

‘How’s it coming?’ I asked with urgency. From what I could tell, we’d almost walked the length of the pagoda and must’ve been nearing the Grandmaster’s room.

“TK_Mental shield effectivity maxed out, and your reservoir is a quarter full with the ryzo needed to keep it refreshed.” Mae replied confidently.

‘And the red munje?’

“Still analyzing, but I think your memory is correct. Whatever Hiro did to Bo is what you did to Shin-soo.”

My mind’s eye flashed with the images of black zo rolling down Shin-soo’s arm like smoke. I turned and looked at my rival. His arms still hung limply at his sides, and he glared at me. I returned my attention to the way forward.

Large, double sliding doors emerged before us as we entered a reception area to leave our shoes. We’d been wearing indoor shoes, but Ena removed hers before stepping up to the door. I did the same, but Shin-soo struggled without the use of his arms, but still managed. Hana, Yuri, Cho, Woong-ji, Sung-ki, and Genta each stored their footwear and we joined Ena at the door.

She slid back the paper doors to reveal a very different room on the other side. It was still constructed of wood, but that was where the similarities to the rest of the pagoda ended. Machina of strange sorts I’d never seen populated every open corner of the room. Some looked like suits of armor, others workstations, and some still were monitoring devices.

The screens flickered with the images of the entire school—every room. The far wall was nearly four meters tall and three times as long, all overed in these screens that watched from every vantage point.

Ena clasped her hands in front of her and addressed our awe. “Courtesy of TK_Dokun Corp, but unfortunately under the control of TK_McKingDude. The only room not under observation is this one, to my knowledge.

“Please, come sit.” She invited us in and there was another oddity I noticed.

With every footfall, silvery-purple munje rippled out from under my bare toes. I took another step, my heart pounding with fear, and the munje rippled in jagged, sharp shapes. I looked down at Hana’s feet, and Shin-soo, to see something similar. Cho’s ripples were vibrating and angular while Woong-ji’s were soft, smooth circles.

Ena motioned for us to sit on the bare wood floor while she sat on a raised chair. When her feet left the floor, the ripples from under her calmed, then stopped. Was it some kind of ry detection spell she’d enchanted the wood with?

“Now, Shin-soo, tell me again what you and Jiyong were doing,” Ena said as she folded her hands in her lap. There was no smile on her lips but I felt the arrogance in her tone. She had us right where she wanted.

Shin-soo cleared his throat nervously, and his voice came out quiet as he lied. “We were sparing.” The floor beneath flared bright orange and the pattern changed. It zigged and zagged, the ring formation broken completely.

“You are lying,” Ena said gently. There was an air of victory about her, and though her voice sounded kind, it was anything but.

“We were fighting,” I said, and though the rings below me trembled, they did not break or turn colors.

“About?” Ena asked, looking at me.

“I feel it’s best we handle the matter of our student’s dispute,” Sung-ki interjected, his rings far calmer than mine. “None of the Anbura students were involved, after all, and we will need to exact proper punishment.”

Ena shook her head. “While you are in my walls or on my grounds, everything is my responsibility—just as Min-hwan did. I cannot allow anything of that severity happen at Anbura.”

“Of course, Grandmaster,” Woong-ji said, the floor beneath her placid. “We wouldn’t interfere with your process for protecting the school and the students. We only mean to say that no other Anbura student was involved in the incident. These boys have had problems in the past.” Woong-ji glanced between us with a severe look.

“What were you fighting about?” Ena asked.

I looked to Shin-soo. My lying was still quite bad, but perhaps I didn’t have to for us to get out of this. Shin-soo opened his mouth to speak, the lines under his body already broken and wiggling. Ena silenced him with a single glare.

“The student here, Aki, we know him. His name is Ko-nah, and he’s the one who helped the Jade Fire exchange students poison the school. We were fighting over whether or not to kill him.” My rings were trembling like leaves in a typhoon, but the color stayed true—at least, I hoped that was how it worked.

I keep my eyes on Ena, though I could feel the collective gazes of my friends upon me.

“And which side were you on?” the Grandmaster asked, her gaze wandering to Ko-nah.

“Both,” I said, honestly, and my rings were calm for the first time. “He hurt my friend, badly. I want to see him punished, but it’s not my duty—or my right—to determine that punishment, nor carry it out.”

Ena nodded, satisfied. “And Shin-soo, you feel differently?”

Shin-soo’s rings were whole as he spoke the truth. “He’s treacherous ganhan who deserves a slow, painful death.”

“I told you it would be counterproductive to involve him,” Genta said indignantly.

She smiled at the young man. “It’s easier to trust a familiar face, even one you hate, more than a stranger’s. I believe this had the effect we wanted.”

“Speak plainly. What is this about?” Sung-ki demanded, the floor below him tinting red.

Ena quirked an eyebrow. “No ry commands in here, Instructor. Not while you stand upon my domain. But I will speak plainly. We are TK_Rabatasan—at least some of it. We know you were sent here to aid us.”

Sung-ki grunted. “Why didn’t the informant meet with us in Heiko as he was supposed to?”

“We haven’t had contact with them since they departed and fear the worst,” Ena replied coolly.

Suddenly, I felt as though I was missing a large piece of the puzzle. I looked left and right to see the rings below my friends shaking with fear and uncertainty, just like mine. We’d all been left out of the loop… Min-hwan didn’t trust us. We were only children after all.

Woong-ji chuckled. “Convenient. If you speak the truth, and you are who you say you are, step down on your own spell and prove it.”

Ena’s eyes went wild with anger and a smirk crept onto her lips. She uncurled one leg from under her and stepped on the floor. Perfectly circular purple rings radiated out as she spoke. “We are Rabatasan, and you are here to help us. Otherwise—”she paused, her smile turned malicious—“we have no need for you.”

The rings around each of us, student and instructor alike, trembled. Surely Woong-ji and Sung-ki could hold off Ena while we escaped, but we knew the power of a Grandmaster extended beyond our reach. We had battled Min-hwan enough times to know we were outmatched by someone of his caliber. Still, even if we escaped Ena, was the whole school in on this? We couldn’t possibly hope to get very far, or complete our mission, if we didn’t cooperate.

She pulled her foot back up under herself and adjusted her posture neatly. “Now, as Genta and Kotomi have asked each of your students many times, what is your plan?”

The rings below us shook and shriveled, fear poisoning our mood. There was no spell we could cast without being detected, nothing we could do to obscure our intentions. We didn’t know enough about Rabatasan_TK to be discussing our mission, and I certainly hadn’t been kept informed of any deals we’d made to help them.

“Well?” Ena demanded when no one spoke.

Darkness gathered about her like a storm cloud on the horizon. She seemed to grow in her seat, towering over us. “We will not be denied our revolution. You will aid us, or you will be disposed of.”

“We didn’t meet with our informant and can’t confirm your identity. We can share no other details,” Sung-ki said, shaking his head.

Ena disappeared from the chair in a blink and wind whooshed past me. She held Sung-ki by the throat with a massive hand, her body size clearly distorted.

What was the revolution she spoke of? We knew the public unrest had grown when peace talks between Kokyu and TK_Placyplace had been shut down by TK_McKingDude, but had that pushed them to revolt?

Ena whispered, just barely audible to me. “Are you here to aid us?”

“Protocol wasn’t followed,” Sung-ki managed in a gasp, his face turning red.

“Cooperate. It’ll be easy to hide your body and spin a convincing tale of your demise.” Ena squeezed harder as we looked on. Woong-ji’s rings pulsed quickly, and the floor below her changed to a golden orange.

Ena’s other hand lashed out in a blur, batting my master across the room. I jumped to my feet only to have them swept out from under me. I hit the solid wood face first, and gravity pressed onto me. I pushed into my hands to get them under me, but the weight intensified, slowly crushing my bones. I gritted my teeth against the pressure that forced the air from my lungs.

“We need the picture,” I blurted with the last of my breath.

All at once, the weight released and I gasped. Ena pulled me upright—slowly, gently—then set me on the ground.

Hana was similarly pinned to the floor as I had been, but the pressure didn’t appear to be crushing her. Genta had Yuri by the hair, pressing her forehead to the ground, and Cho sat wide-eyed in horror. Shin-soo looked calmest of all—perhaps even enjoying the theatrics. Ko-nah stood to the side, the rings below his feet shaking in fear.

“What picture?” Ena asked with a sickening sweetness.

I took a moment to catch my breath, my brain and Mae’s working a million nodes a second to unscramble the information we’d just learned. TK_Rabatasan was at the head of a revolution. We knew from informants that TK_McKingDude was having anyone with TK_Rabatasan’s colors or emblems arrested, or worse. It was without little doubt that some agreement had been struck to remove him in exchange for a closer placement to TK_Dokun Corp.

I pointed to Ko-nah. “I asked him for the picture that was taken at the port. We need it. Without it, we can’t discuss any plan, because there isn’t one.”

She chuckled softly. “Indulge me?”

“I’d rather keep my head in the event you trade us in to curry favor with the regime—new or old,” I said, taking a gamble on what all her words had meant.

Ena smirked and turned away. “I already have plenty of that. TK_Mr. Yamamatto and I are good friends.”

The blood drained from my face and I thanked my luck her back was turned. TK_Rabatasan had allied themselves with Dokun? Why hadn’t Min-hwan prepared us?

“Get us the picture, then we’ll discuss our plan. Not a moment sooner,” I said firmly, though the rings around me were barely visible from their rapid vibration.

Ena laughed loudly and spun on her heel. She looked to my instructors and crossed her arms and sneered. “What a phenomenal Tsaitsa you’ve trained.”

My brow furrowed as I looked to Woong-ji, who’d gained her feet and was nursing a bloody lip. “He’s not always the brightest,” she said, glaring at me.

I had a feeling if I’d actually done something wrong, I’d be dead—either by Woong-ji’s hand or Ena’s. But this playful deprecation masked my master’s approval. I had done well, despite my inability to lie effectively. Skirting the truth had always been easier, and rarely got me in trouble. It certainly had served us now.

“Genta,” Ena commanded, and he was at her side in an instant. “Report back, tell of our delay, then escort Ko-nah—”she said his name with disgust—“to retrieve whatever Jiyong has asked for.” She looked to me. “I look forward to hearing your plan.”

I bowed to the floor. “Yes, Grandmaster.”

“Return to your scheduled classes. And remember,” Ena said, then gestured to the wall of screen. “I’ll be watching.”