"How is she?" Yasi asked.
"Exhausted." Vincent said quietly.
"Shock. Her brain got overloaded this afternoon, decided to shut
down until she could process what she's been through." Yasi said
from experience. "It was a good idea to bring her back to your
place. It's better not to leave her alone."
Vincent nodded, his expression haggard. "I just can't stop
thinking that if I'd listened to her six months ago…"
"Yeah." Yasi sighed. "There's blame to go around, and
very little of it to her." Yasi looked him up and down. "If
you don't mind my saying so, you seem to be taking it well."
Vincent shrugged. "Last time I was in mortal danger, they beat
me within an inch of my life. Today was more like that scene in all
the James Bond movies where you meet the supervillain."
Yasi gave a mirthless chuckle. "Guess so."
Vincent collapsed down on the couch, and she perched on the armrest
to join him. "Yasi…" He croaked. "I kept a record.
You told me to burn it all, and I kept a copy for myself. I'm so
sorry. I gave him everything."
"If you hadn't given it to him, all three of us would be dead
right now." Yasi said. "He only let me live because… I
don't know."
"Because he wanted to do it himself." Vincent said
absently. "If he'd given the order to kill you, it would have
been someone else that took you down. He wants the straight up fight.
He wants a Duel. You should have heard him. He knows all your names,
has his attacks all planned out."
Yasi glanced over at him. "Tell me everything you know."
Vincent rubbed his eyes and told her everything as quickly as he
could. Including Vandark's ideas on how to take down the three
leaders of the Underside, one by one, including her.
Yasi looked incredibly
frustrated. "Who
is telling him all this stuff?"
"He didn't say." Vincent drawled. "It won't be long
now, you know?"
Yasi nodded. "The entrance list was the last thing he needed."
"He won't wait too long now. The longer he waits the more ready
you'll be."
Yasi jumped up. "I have to go." She said shortly.
Vincent was already reaching for his jacket. "I'm going with
you. I don't know what good I can do down there, but I'm going with
you."
Yasi paused, halfway to the door, and looked back at him, biting her
lip.
Vincent felt something break inside him, just from the soft, sad look
in her eyes. "You don't want me to come." He realized.
"Yasi, I screwed up, no mistake… I have to make it up to you
somehow…" The words sounded hollow, even to him, and he
deflated.
"Vincent…" Yasi whispered. "You're right. I don't
want you to come, but not because I think you'll flake out."
"Really." Vincent deadpanned. "So there's a long list
of reasons?"
Yasi winced. "Ah. Should have thought that through."
"If you had any brains, me flaking out would be the smart
reason." Vincent admitted. "There's a war coming, and so
far I've shown a pretty unbroken trend toward being a coward… even
when my own life and Connie's was at stake, to say nothing of the
fact that I basically gave the bad guys the front door."
Yasi sighed. "You want to talk about this? Fine. Let's talk
about this." Yasi moved back to the couch and sat on the
arm-rest, in a cross-legged meditation pose. "Last time we
spoke…"
Vincent winced. "I feel bad about that."
"Everything you said was true." Yasi pointed out.
"I called you a killer."
Yasi was silent a moment, still in her position on the armrest. "I
never told you how I became the Captain of the Shinobi, did I?"
"Rumor is that it had something to do with the Riverfolk."
Vincent said softly.
"Keeper and Archivist were running the place, and I've spent my
entire life fighting the 'little princess' role that everyone assumed
I'd have. The Shinobi seemed the best way to do it." Yasi
explained. "Seven years ago, the Riverfolk got organized. They
tried to flood part of the lowest levels, take it over. I was still a
kid really. But I was driven, and I was good. The Captain led us down
to the River to fight them back. The Riverfolk were always a problem,
but never really a threat. Mostly they just popped up here and there
to try and scavenge. Usually they scared a few people. A guard on the
lower Markets was all it took to keep them at bay. This time they
were ready. They swarmed over us when we came in; flooded out a
chamber to cut us off, and then came up from the water like sharks
with legs." She had closed her eyes, reliving it. "And they
took the Captain first."
"How did you survive?"
Yasi opened her eyes, and met his gaze. "We were in a chamber
below the waterline. Air pressure kept the raised water out, the only
exit was a ladder leading into the River… we were all feeling it in
our eardrums, the air was getting thick, water lapping at the edge of
the room, five of us crammed together. Our lanterns went out, and we
were in the dark, starting to freak out. I crouched by the edge and
stayed there for over half an hour, and the instant I felt the water
shift, I dove in, feet first; and I landed on two Riverfolk that were
looking to thin us out. I dragged them deep as I could stand it and
rolled them over twice until they didn't know which way was up. They
were easy pickings, and I stole their lenses."
"So you could see in the dark." Vincent said from
experience.
"And Underwater."
Yasi agreed. "The water does things to your depth perception. I
grabbed one of their spear guns, took a deep breath, and went alone
underwater through to the other side. I honestly thought I was going
to die trying, but… I made it, and managed to drain the tunnel. My
people escaped, and the Riverfolk were suddenly the ones cut off from
the River. We hacked and slashed our way through to the Market. Their
leader was there picking trophies off our Captain's body when he saw
us. He moved first, I moved faster. I took the Captain's sword and
sliced the Riverfolk leader in
half."
Yasi held the blade like a trophy. "Keeper and Archivist were
stunned when we came back victorious. They thought we were dead. So
when they had to pick a new Captain…"
"It fell to you." Vincent agreed.
"I am
a killer, Vincent." She said simply. "I get to say that
because I have taken lives. If you had pulled the trigger six months
ago, you would be a killer too. This does not make me evil and you a
saint. It means only that I have done something that you have not. A
number of police officers, soldiers, and more than a few others can
say the same."
Vincent nodded. "I know." He said in a small voice.
"Doesn't mean I have to like that about you."
"No, you don't. And frankly, I'm okay with that. It's not like
it's a hobby for me." She said seriously. "But what comes
next, means I have to fight. Vandark is invading my home, and I'm
Chief of the Guard." Yasi said, holding the blade before her
like a talisman, close enough to brush her lips across the flat of
the steel. "It will be the most vicious scrape I've been in for
seven years. It'll be rough. And if you're not watching… you'll
still like me when this is over."
Silence.
"Yasi?" Vincent said finally. "Do you remember the
other thing I said to you the night Berlin Below went under?"
"You said a lot of things."
"You know what I mean."
Yasi met his eyes evenly. "You said I could always come here if
it went bad."
"I meant it." Vincent said. "I love the place too, and
I want to see it safe, but when it happens… you don't exactly sound
optimistic. So if there's a chance… I want to go sneak into movies,
and I want to go back to the Met and I want to walk through walls…"
"Like it used to be?" Yasi guessed. "Like it was three
years ago?"
Vincent looked down. "Does it sound as corny to you as it does
to me?"
"Yeah. But right now, I'd give anything to have it be three
years ago again." She admitted. "Vincent, whatever you
do... Don't come back. I don't know if you have a way in after all
this, but… Don't come looking. If you don't hear from me, it means
I'm dead." Yasi said. "It's gonna be bad."
"How bad?"
"Not as bad as it'll be when I tell Keeper who gave him a list
of all the entrances to the Labyrinth." Yasi gave Vincent a
pitying look.
Vincent almost chuckled, despite himself. "Maybe she won't be as
mad as you think."
~oo00oo~
"Never, EVER, trust an Upsider." Keeper raged. "I
swear: I am gonna have that tattooed to the inside of my eyelids!"
"Screaming doesn't help." Yasi said, colder and harder than
she had ever been. "Finding the Entrances to the Labyrinth was
the last piece Vandark needed. He has an army, he knows where to send
it. Vincent made it clear that Vandark has been planning this and
reviewing his opponents for a long time."
"Are we ready?"
"No." Yasi said simply. "The Elite Guard was our best
chance, and they bailed. There is no more help coming."
"There's got to be a way." Keeper hissed.
Yasi met her mother's eyes with fire and steel. "A way to win a
straight up fight? No. A way to drag out the fight to the point where
we can outlast them? Maybe. But you won't like it."
"That's a given. What's the plan?"
"First, we start telling people." Yasi said.
"Who?"
Yasi's jaw was set. "Everyone."
~oo00oo~
The Triumvirate held court in their Throne Room, with most of the
higher ranking Lostkind in attendance. More of them than the room had
ever held, packed in tightly. Keeper was the mediator between
everyone, her opinion worth gold to them on any matter. She had told
them the facts of what was coming, and they were terrified.
"What's the tactical situation now?" A voice called from
the back.
Keeper indicated Yasi, who took up the question. "At the moment,
we don't know a whole lot about what they've got on their side, but
we know they have us outnumbered. On our side we have fortifications,
and time to make them stronger. The civilians and the secrecy of the
Lostkind are the top priority. The maze will slow them down and
bottleneck them, wherever they come in. Closest to the surface are
the Borrowers and the Watchers. They have places and caches just
inside the Labyrinth. We can seal off that section, slow them down
some more. After that is the upper level including the Throne Room
and the Whisper Gallery, and after that the Markets and the
Evergreen. Then Twelfth Level."
"And below that, the River." Someone shouted. "Does
this have something to do with the Riverfolk attacking the Steps six
months ago?"
Keeper looked at Yasi, Yasi glanced at Archivist, Archivist glared at
Keeper.
"Yes." Keeper said simply
A silent roar went around the room. Incredible electricity filled the
air. The Lostkind packed into the room all knew the Riverfolk.
Vandark was a name, the Throwbacks were a forgotten minority, The
Riverfolk were their Boogeymen.
"So what are we doing?"
"I'll field that one." Yasi rose to her feet. Her face was
without expression, her voice hard and powerful. "First: I am
ordering that all business above the Whisper Gallery is to be shut
down immediately."
A low rumble went around the room at that.
"For how long?" Yasi couldn't tell who was saying it, but
from his clothing, he was a Borrower.
She responded with iron. "For as long as it takes."
Another rumble went around the room. This was unprecedented. The
Borrowers and Marketmen did their trade above the Twelfth Level,
including the food brought in from the surface. The longer they were
shut down, the more likely that the Underside would starve.
"Second!" Yasi roared over them, and they quieted. "I
am ordering that we collapse the entrances to the second tier.
Everything below the Labyrinth, except for one route, which will be
under constant Shinobi guard."
This time the reaction was much stronger. Even Keeper and Archivist
were staring blankly at the ninja, not believing a word she said.
"I know that doing this will paralyze the Underside." Yasi
said without remorse. "Which is why all members of the Underside
that have food or drink supplies are hereby required to turn them
over. They're our only stores. The attack could come any minute. I
would like to do this differently, but this is coming at us like a
train, and we don't know when it will. This is the fastest way I know
to fortify our home against invasion."
It was a cool, clinical deconstruction. But it made the Lostkind
afraid. They weren't used to being afraid.
Archivist nodded and stood, moving to stand with Yasi. "We live
our lives by Three Rules. Be Invisible. Be Daring. Be Beautiful. I'm
looking around this room and I see fear. It's understandable. Rule
Number One is of no use to us; our cloak of secrecy has been ripped
away. But this is not a fight that can be won by following Rule
Number One. Today we must look to Rule Number Two. Be Daring."
Archivist scanned the Lostkind. He saw them taking notice. The fear
was still there, but they were listening.
So he kept going. "We
do daring things often. Anyone who's ever been to the surface has
done a daring thing. I know, because I personally supervised it.
Ability to follow those Three Rules is the benchmark; required
learning by all Lostkind. I know, because I taught it to most of you.
You do the daring thing. You have to, just to be
here."
It was working. The Lostkind were chuckling, standing straighter.
Keeper rose and came to
stand next to Yasi and Archivist. "We've lost people this week.
They walked right out the front door. We didn't lose them to Vandark.
We lost them to fear. Our enemy is a master at playing on our fears.
Fear of losing what we have, fear of change… Even our fear of the
Riverfolk. Every single one of us has overcome fear. We have to. Most
of you don't remember my first time here. I was overwhelmed with the
truth of this place; of what it meant. I overcame it." Keeper
scanned the room and pointed to Kamy. "Kamy! What about you,
sweetie? You're one of the youngest here. You were born
in the Underside. But time was, you wanted to go Above, at the age of
four. At four years old you wanted to go out there; alone
if you had to. New York is the most intimidating city in the world,
especially if you've never seen the sky, but there you were, trying
to feel your way through the Labyrinth alone."
"We will face this coming danger the same way we face everything
else." Archivist boomed. "Be daring and beautiful, and
always conquer fear. We are the Lostkind. We are not afraid!"
People from the surface would have cheered, would have roared in
agreement, but the Lostkind were a different breed. One that knew
Silence to be Golden. But fear had been banished, replaced with
energy.
"Let's get to work!" Yasi barked.
~oo00oo~
The Underside became a hive of activity. For the first time since the
original construction of the Secret City, the entire Lostkind
population was working toward the same task.
The Shinobi were gearing up, expecting war to come any second. The
lower levels were abandoned, everyone not working on collapsing the
tunnels were quick to lend a hand; moving the families, the stores,
all of it, out of harms way. The River was dragged by razor nets, and
those that knew what to do quickly made more of them, as quickly as
they could.
There was a sense of things ending, of the last days of their home.
Dorcan was on guard, and he could see it in every work team that went
past. The Borrowers were carrying their heavy loads in, but for the
first time, none of them were going out again. The Fixmen were
actually taking steps to sabotage the place. The Lostkind were
closing down the thoroughfares and the walkways. Asking them to
destroy something of the Underside was worse than asking them to sign
over their children, but the New York Ninja demanded, and they
obeyed.
Spotlights were set up over the River, casting bright lights down
against the still waters, just in case anyone tried to come through
the back door during the battle. The Watchers were all retreating
underground, their position on the surface suddenly too dangerous.
Dorcan had suggested that at least some of the Watchers stay up above
to warn them when it was time, but Yasi had overruled him. She had
declared that the Pneumatic Tubes to the surface would be shut down
too. Any method to carry things, even small things, around the
Underside unchecked was too dangerous now. There was no point putting
all their effort into a defensive line if Vandark could courier a
grenade straight down to them. The Captain had sent one last message
through the messaging tubes, and taken an axe to the vacuum; shutting
it down herself. Even if Vandark could take the messaging centre,
he'd never repair it in time to use as a weapon against them.
The kids were working too, the Gremlins had emerged for the first
time, working openly with the adults; carrying tools, taking
messages... They were helping out as best they could, and they looked
terrified.
Dorcan noticed Kamy looking at the cave wall drawings. There was a
new one that Dorcan hadn't seen before. It showed the dome of the
Twelfth Level on fire.
"Kamy?" Dorcan called her over quietly. "What's
wrong?"
"They say we can't win." Kamy said. "They say the
Riverfolk can eat your soul."
"I doubt it. They keep their mouths covered all the time. But
you know what we've got? We've got Yasi." Dorcan said softly.
"The River's Worst Nightmare. The New York Ninja. You've never
seen her cut loose, Kamy; but I have. She makes Riverfolk tremble,
and she has for seven years. Let them come. They can't eat her soul.
I honestly don't think she has one. A cold heart, and a cold blade."
Kamy looked over to Yasi, with a hint of a smile on her face. "Oh.
That's good, right?"
Dorcan grinned and handed her the shovel. "Today, it is."
"Dorcan!" Yasi shouted. "Where you at?"
Dorcan went over to her. "We've evacuated everyone between the
Labyrinth and the Whisper Gallery, we've set all the charges. All
that's left is…"
"That's my job." Yasi interrupted. "It's my crazy
plan."
Dorcan nodded. "Give the order, Captain."
Yasi felt every eye on her.
"Bring it down!" She commanded, her voice rolling off the
walls, coming alive in a way that only the Lostkind could do. "Bring
it down!"
In a burst of fireworks, made louder and grander by the enclosed
space, the ornate stonework exploded, controlled charges ripping
through the archways, the columns, the statues... All up and down the
entrances, the tunnels, the pathways in and out... All of it came
caving in, like a waterfall of stone and marble.
Yasi glanced at her parents. Keeper had a tear in her eye. The
entrance, as with the rest of the Underside, was made to be a work of
beauty... and Yasi had just destroyed it without hesitation. The
first time in seven years that mass violence had come to this place,
and the first time in it's history that part of it was destroyed
openly… and it was not by the hand of an Invader, but its own Chief
of the Guard.
"That just leaves the one." Dorcan said quietly. "All
we can do now, is wait."
Yasi nodded, her gaze on the rubble. There was only one entrance left
to the Underside, only one way through to the Labyrinth, and it was
surrounded by armed guards. "I feel like I just killed the
Underside myself."
"You have. Without access to the surface… we're paralyzed, cut
off, starving…" Dorcan said honestly. "We win this thing,
we make it better. We lose…"
"We lose it won't matter." Yasi dismissed that. "So.
You're still with me on this, right?"
"Always." Dorcan nodded.
Yasi let out a slow breath, and turned her gaze to the ceiling, as
though she could see the city above... and the Invaders that made
their preparations. "Your move."
~oo00oo~~oo00oo~~oo00oo~
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