Chapter 18: Black Noir Castle

The entire castle becomes their training grounds. Lincoln and Shinyo clash swords through heavy downpours and scorching heat. Each time, metal against metal, both fight to test their mettle against each other. Every swing of their sword echo in the empty fort.

It is their shelter, and they only go out when they must – to hunt for food, to fetch water. Often, it is Shinyo who steps out, but there are days when Lincoln must do it himself, although, much to his disapproval.

But they are comfortable, for the most part enough that Lincoln sometimes forgets that they are still in the middle of a battle that they do not know who is winning, or what they can do to help.

(Should we even be bothered at this point?)

Which sparks a question that Lincoln has in his mind since the day that he lay eyes on it.

"Whose fort is this anyway?" which catches Shinyo off guard as he cooks their dinner – board meat hovering above the campfire, cooking off its heat.

"What?" Shinyo returning the question, pondering, "Why do you ask?"

"Just a hunch that this place has its importance," Shinyo insightfully explains, impressing Shinyo, "To you at least, because this wouldn't be the first place you come to find answers if it wasn't."

When Shinyo does not give him a response, he adds, "Am I right? Or am I right?"

Shinyo cannot, for the life of him, give him an answer as he cannot admit that his insight into his action is impressive. He does not say it, but Lincoln catches on, and makes a smirky smile, bordering cocky.

"Why are you smiling?" Shinyo asks, creeping out with Lincoln's unnatural smirk.

"Are you impressed?" Lincoln asks, teasing Shinyo of his reaction which he ignores.

"You cannot just push this aside," Lincoln adds, "You were impressed just now as to how I came up with an educated guess on my own."

"You are very wrong," argues Shinyo, standing up and walking away from Lincoln and decides that the night sky with a moon casting its presence over the horizon like a sunrise is more interesting than their conversation.

"Admit it!" goes on Lincoln, "Admit it. Admit it," over and over again that Shinyo ends up ignoring him altogether. His shifty eyes scouting the ground below them for any intrusion that they are not aware of.

"You are no fund," adds Lincoln when he notices that Shinyo is completely zoning him off.

Time passes. Silence fills the spaces between them, and while Shinyo looks outwards towards the outskirts of the castle, Lincoln pops his head in and out of the others until it bores him.

"What are you thinking?" courageously asks Lincoln, all the while being insensitive to Shinyo's need for personal space.

"Of how far we have come, and how different it is to what we are used to."

That is when Shinyo turns his eyes towards Lincoln, and he looks at him with pondering eyes before looking back out into the open.

"This fort," Shinyo starts, "Is called Black Noir. It did not get its name until after the first siege by the Renegades."

"But why Black Noir?" Lincoln asks, his eyes attentively on Shinyo.

"Have you noticed the char marks at the foot of the foundation?" Shinyo asks as he starts his explanation, and before Lincoln can answer, he continues, "You may not have as it was raining hard that night, and you were in a rush for shade. But it is because of those. During our siege defense, the Renegades threw at us everything they have and not one was able to penetrate through it leaving only flames at its feet and in their wake. By the time we came down, almost the entire building is charred from them, but not a single break in its defense."

"Dents, however, cannot be avoided, and that is how we stopped the Renegades from expanding their influence even further."

"Where are they now?" curiously asks Lincoln as he keeps eye contact, ��The Renegades?"

"Didn't you notice?" Shinyo asks again in response, then Shinyo points through the window he is keeping watch and points at a very large tower across the sea of trees.

"That is theirs," declares Shinyo, "It is larger, mostly red, and it holds weapons far exceeds ours, and its make, is supposed to be tougher, but it isn't."

"Because this is?"

Shinyo nods and smiles at him.

"Noir, is basically a fancy way of saying dark, but it also gives that old feeling to it which he found appropriate with how this castle was made."

"Where did these come from?" Lincoln curios again, "They don't seem to be consistent, and it looks like that these came from a different age entirely."

"They were offered to us by Shadow who suddenly came out of nowhere."

"What do you mean offered?"

"This was an empty field, but its beauty cannot be compared. Lush with natural greenery and flowers, beautifully landscaped by Mother Earth herself that even the gardens of kings and queens of old don't hold a candle to it. Even forest animals, in all their wild, instinctual nature gather here just to admire the beauty it holds."

"Then one day, the Renegades camped close to here, and we had to make a stand. We had to destroy what was naturally beautiful to preserve what good there is left, just like how most of mankind does it today. We were only stationed here – me, Dirkan, Judelia, and the current members of the council --."

"Even Birch?"

"Yes! Even Birch," as he laughs at Lincoln's reaction, "He is not that old as you would imagine. His hair is just naturally white."

"Anyways," he continues, soft chuckles still escaping his lips often, "Before Shadow appeared, we only had a shack, but what good is a shack. We were strong, yes, but to defend with just a shack. Even you would be doubtful of our chances."

"Then one evening, Shadow comes out from nowhere and offers to help. Told us that he admired the efforts we were doing, and slowly but surely, every day, he brought debris from all over and eventually built this huge castle that we stand on today. Everyone initially doubted where he came from, but as the days went on, each one of us warmed up to the idea of having him around."

"It was like from the shadows there came light, and hope," Shinyo explains, "But it did not take long before he vanishes."

"He vanished?"

"Yeah, it was right around after he gave us our individual powers. He gave me two, my eye, and this," showing his black cowl again.

"What brought him out, though?" curiously asks Lincoln as this could be the key to what can bring Shadow out in the open voluntarily.

"No one really knows, all he said was he admired our efforts in resisting the Renegades," much to Lincoln's disappointment.

"But," Lincoln inquires, "In my dream several nights ago, it showed the four of you away from this place."

"Who were?"

"You, Dirkan, and Shadow," says Lincoln, "And, Shadow could not even speak."

"Oh, that," a somber expression wash over Shinyo's face, "That was the day when we lost someone."

"Judelia," Lincoln concludes. Shinyo gives him a questioning expression, to which he adds, "She's the only one I have not met those that you have mentioned."

Lincoln does not push Shinyo as his expression is telling him that it is not a topic he wants to discuss, and then, silence once again, but Shinyo jolts into action and hides behind the window as he takes slight peeks through it, before pulling Lincoln down with him.

"What's going on?" Lincoln asks as Shinyo takes another peek.

"I heard a sloshing sound from outside," Shinyo insists.

"Are you thirsty?" asks Lincoln, "We don't have slush, but we have some water, tons of it, downstairs."

"No," a frustrating tone in Shinyo's voice, and panic, "What I mean is that I hear someone lurking outside."

Lincoln laughs. Shinyo puts a finger on top of his lips to shut him up, and the longer they remain silent, the more attune his senses become.

"I hear it," mentions Lincoln, and Shinyo agrees in silence.

Lincoln takes it upon himself to peek as the sloshing grows even louder. He sees the burly, lumbering body of Dirkan roaming around the outskirts of the castle hesitating to take a step inside. He stares at him until he looks up and catches Lincoln's eyes which is all the encouragement he needs to barge into the fort.

Out of panic, Lincoln slips himself back behind the wall.

"What did you see?" Shinyo asks as Lincoln's face tells him that it is someone they know.

Shinyo looks at him longer, out of curiosity, to try and read his face; of what can cause so much panic.

"It-it's D--," Lincoln stutters, but he does not need to finish as the very same person they are talking about steps through the doorframe of their room in the tower.

"Dirkan," Shinyo mentions, and this draws Lincoln's attention towards his towering physique.

"Why are you here?" Shinyo asks, hiding the panic in his voice along with his concern.

"I. HAVE. SOME. QUESTIONS. THAT NEED. ANSWERING," Dirkan replies in a robot-like manner, just like back in the Center Court.

Out of habit and concern, Lincoln unknowingly approaches him slowly but Shinyo eyes him to remind him that this Dirkan is not the same person they know. With tears rolling off his cheeks, Lincoln stops and steps backward, then nods at Shinyo.

When no one, between the two of them, gives him an answer, Dirkan does not mind and automatically he darts his eyes around the room. His face is a painting of dismay as nothing, other than his wiring sparking, causes any fire in his chest to remind him of his past life.

Without talking to either of them, Dirkan turns around and starts walking away.

Shinyo stops him, much to Lincoln's contradiction, and asks, "Where are you going?"

"I. HAVE TO. REPORT. BACK," the wincing in his face coming back every so often.

"To whom?"

"WHAT. IS IT. TO YOU?"

"Because, depending on your answer, we might have to stop you here and now," Lincoln interjects with so much courage behind every word.

Dirkan gives them a smirk despite the agony in his face, and just like clockwork, raises his right arm in defense blocking a powerful strike from Lincoln. His reaction shocks Lincoln, but more so Shinyo as Dirkan is quick, but this reaction time to a kick from a person who shadow travels is not normal.

However, it is without any repercussions as the wiring in his robotic arm sparks causing it to seizure, but he does not feel it as he focuses on landing another strike. Shinyo rushes forward to grab Dirkan's arm, but the beads on wrist glow to form a protective shield around the two of them, blocking Shinyo's access as he walks away, dragging along Lincoln with him.

With Dirkan unaware, Lincoln shows Shinyo that he has one of the beads and gives him the signal to strike the shield which has not become a wall as it grows wider and flatter the further Dirkan walks off.

Shinyo picks himself up, with Lincoln's encouragement behind him. Unsheathes his sword and gives the wall a full-weight strike. The wall breaks. Dirkan panics

then runs leaving Lincoln behind.

"Are you alright?" Shinyo asks him. Lincoln nods, but more than just a yes, it is an understanding that passes over them, and both shadow flashes towards where Dirkan is, both landing a clothesline as they suspend in midair with Dirkan unaware, using his momentum against him.

As he scrambles forward, Dirkan rubs his neck in agony and turns his attention to both his attackers. His eyes are furious and warns them to stand down.

They don't listen and runs towards him instead, drawing their weapons.

"I. WARNED. YOU," as he charges his arms until both have lights radiating outward; both sets of beads back with him.

"I never saw him do that before," warns Shinyo, but they carry on their charge. But then. Dirkan extends both arms forward and launches both lights from his fists.

"Oh, shit!" Shinyo announces, pushing Lincoln away from the radius of the blasts as they fly towards them.

Even when down, Lincoln charges towards him out of frustration and anger.

"WHAT. HAPPENED TO YOU?" Lincoln asks him, every breath he has put into every word that escapes his lips.

Dirkan dismisses him, but Lincoln is non-stop. Stygian increasingly growing increasingly dark with every emotion that Lincoln pours into their fight. His speed increases, his martial prowess growing. Every strike has become like Shinyo. However, his swings are wild like Stephan's but more effective until Dirkan is now on the backfoot and is increasingly having a hard time deflecting Lincoln back at this point.

"Why Dirkan?!" Lincoln screams at him, his assault is still not showing any signs of slowing down, "WHY HAVE YOU TURNED INTO THIS?"

Dirkan eventually drops his guard, agonizing in pain with a hint of guilt flashing across his eyes and his arms uncontrollable yet again.

Shinyo looks on and sees the opportunity to escape.

He launches himself towards Dirkan's agonizing body and holds him down, twisting one of his arms into submission and tells Lincoln to go.

"I won't leave you!" Lincoln tells him, as he holds down both legs to ensure that he stays on the ground, although failing miserably as he does; Dirkan's brute strength showing.

"I'll be right behind you," Shinyo tells him, a soft tone in his voice, a warm look in his eyes as he turns his attention towards Lincoln, "I promise. You won't lose any more family."

Lincoln hesitates, but he lets go as soon as he feels that his lock on Dirkan's legs is losing. He bolts for the exit where a warm, glowing flash of light radiates the entire hallway. An explosion follows which sends Lincoln flying.

"Shinyoooooo!!!"

Then the light disappears.