Damage Control

"I've never been fond of him," Detor mutters, sitting with his legs crossed, spear laid across his lap, "Perlo has always been a crude, selfish person. I have always told new guards that if he tries to get close to you, then you have something he wants."

Yoru hums, "Do they listen?" She asks, voice sheepish. She can hear Detor's words, but she can't see him. She can't see anything in this darkness. Yoru knows this is for her protection, but having her eyesight taken makes her pull her knees tight against her chest. She feels alone, even with Detor beside her.

"Rarely. All City Guards are old men who think they know everything. They don't know how cunning Perlo can be, so they believe they will be able to swindle rather than be swindled," Detor says, "It always ends the same. Perlo takes all he can, then uses his position to threaten the ones who hold a grudge. I sometimes wonder if the man has an ounce of kindness inside of him."

"Save yourself the trouble. He doesn't have anything like that in his heart." Yoru responds with firm words, "Only Perlo matters to Perlo. Shit on what others feel." Just saying the name makes her want to vomit.

Detor hums in agreement. There's silence for a time. Yoru can imagine that Cage, Kyro, and Ingen are fighting somewhere in the city, or maybe they're still in the courtyard. She can't hear even a muffle of what's going on outside, it's been like that since Cage first trapped them in here.

No matter how hard she tries, Yoru can't help but wonder if all of them are okay. This prison of darkness still stands, so perhaps Cage is alive. She wants to believe that, if he is alive, then the rest are living as well. Cage would never let Kyro and Ingen die. Not if he can do anything about it.

But what if Cage is actually dead? What if his powers linger after his death? What if this prison falls just for Ludan to take her back to the dungeon? Or even worse, what if he kills Yoru on the spot?

She should believe in her family, Yoru knows that. But she is a Scholar at heart. There will always be a part of her brain that searches and picks through the unknown. Her mother made sure of that.

"Don't you want revenge?" Detor suddenly breaks the silence, words quiet but holding genuine care in them, "For what he did to you?"

"I..." Yoru says, sighing with a shaky breath. It's funny, Detor is the only one that she has told about the hurt Perlo inflicted on her. The scars. Not her own brothers, not Alyra, but a man that she barely knows. The son of the Epoch. But she can't tell them, not even Cage.

They all love her as a sister and friend, they would do anything to protect her. But that's the problem, they care too much. Yoru knows that every one of them, Kyro, Ingen, Cage, and Alyra would all tear themselves apart after learning she was hurt without them knowing.

By a man that has grinned in their faces for years, no less.

Detor cares just enough. He would probably show up to Yoru's funeral, but he would not have tears in his eyes as he watches her being lowered into her resting place. That's okay with her.

"I did, for a long time. But would it change anything? Would it rid me of the memory?" Yoru asks, trying, and failing to keep her voice even. At least the dark hides the wetness of her eyes, "I don't care anymore. I just... I want to be free from ever having to see his face again."

"I see. Well... You and the others are leaving Raj, are you not?" Detor asks slowly, taking the hint that the subject is one to avoid, "Where will you go? What will you do?"

"I'm not sure... Do you know Cage? Pale, black eyes. He came with Kyro and Ingen to save me," Yoru responds.

"Of course. I've never spoken to him other than that day at the gate, but he seems nice enough," Detor says.

"Almost too nice," Yoru chuckles, sniffling and wiping her face with the back of her hand, "He wants to find someone. A person that, by all accounts, should be dead. Yet Cage swears that he's alive. Either way, he freed Kyro and Ingen from their trackers. Cage kept his promise, and now it's time for us to make good on ours."

Detor hums softly, "You won't miss Raj?"

Yoru sighs, "Of course. Me, Kyro, Ingen, Alyra... We've spent our entire lives here. If things had been different... if Mavyl was still here..." She pauses for a long moment, memories flashing through her mind, good and bad. Her lips curl slightly, "The past is the past, it can't be changed. My brothers and I, we're not wanted here anymore. But we have each other, and no matter what happens or where we end up... that's all that matters."

Detor pauses. He opens his mouth to speak, but he's interrupted by a flood of light pouring upon him and Yoru.

Yoru cringes back from the blinding light, hands raised in front of her eyes. It takes a moment for her eyes to adjust. She feels something touch her shoulder and flinches.

"I'm here," A familiar voice speaks softly to her.

Yoru drops her hands slowly, brows raising, "Kyro?" Her heart floods with a tidal wave of relief, "Is it done? Are we safe?"

Kyro nods, kneeling before her, "We're safe. We can leave now," He says with a smile, offering a hand to Yoru.

Yoru takes the hand and stands with Kyro, looking past to see Ingen and Cage standing a few paces away, smiling widely at her. She returns her own smile, but it soon turns upside down. Her eyes widen, "Ingen! What happened!?" Yoru yells, scrambling over to him, eyes zipping between his face and stomach.

"I'm okay, Yoru," Ingen responds, tapping a facet of the black diamond covering the hole in his stomach, "Better than ever, actually."

Yoru's yellow eyes linger on his for a moment, then drift to the shiny diamond. She taps, rubs, and thumps the unbreakable material with her fingers, completely ignoring the awkward expression on Ingen's face, "You're a Vas user. An internal one, at that. Lucky," She says, suddenly gasping and standing straight, "But this hole. It means-"

"He punched straight through me," Ingen says, laughing, "There's nothing more humbling than watching your life flash before your eyes!"

Yoru smacks his chest as hard as she can, causing Ingen to rub the injured area with a frown, "This isn't something to be laughing about! You almost died!" She yells, shaking her finger at Ingen, scowling.

Cage chuckles as he watches Kyro get roped into the lecture. He looks over at Detor, who scans the area with that constant angry look on his face. The guard sighs and shakes his head as Cage walks up to him, "More cleaning up and repairing. It never ends," Detor says, looking at the black-eyed man, "How is it for the rest of the city? Is there damage?"

A crater in the street. A roof caved in. A hole in the wall of Yoru's home. Cage nods, lips pursed, "I got thrown around a lot," he says, "I'm used to it though."

Detor nods slowly, exhaling hard through his nose. He looks at the crater in the wall, and the drying vomit not far from it, "My father?" the guard asks.

Cage takes a deep breath, "He's dead. I'm sorry," he responds, "It was us or him."

Detor hums, twisted expression never changing, "I do not blame you. I never knew him until recently. And even then, it was only because he needed a pawn to use. I was a disappointment," he says, "We will have a lot to handle in his absence though. The Collectors will revolt as soon as they realize the trackers are useless, and some of us will need to step up in their place to visit Kalar. If we don't, today's invasion will be the last victory for the Rajin army."

"You'll need an Imbuer to refill the Control Orbs as well. No one's going to Kalar without them," Kyro steps up beside Cage as he speaks.

Detor gazes at the blue-skinned Rajin for a moment, then nods, wiping a hand over his face, "Right," He says, "You all should leave. The other guards will search the entire city for what's caused all this damage. They'll make their way here eventually. Perlo will want to know where I've been as well."

"Perlo is dead," Cage says, "I killed him." And a lot of other guards, Cage thinks, but I'm not going to say that. I had to eat. There is still one thing bugging him though, before he absorbed the guards, he saw something fly from their bodies and head toward the Stem.

Cage had stayed in that black form until reaching the tower, and now the endless hunger is mostly gone. But it's been replaced by a deep fatigue that threatens to buckle his knees at any moment.

Detor sighs, "I would thank you," he says, "But his death means that I'm the Captain of the City Guard now. More problems to deal with."

Cage nods, looking up at Kyro, "Are we ready?" he asks, "Alyra is waiting for us. And Krash."

Kyro nods, glancing back at the other two. Yoru still pokes at the black diamond in Ingen's stomach, assaulting the man with questions. That won't stop any time soon, and once Alyra sees it, Ingen will probably find Cage's questions comforting. Kyro smiles, looking down at Cage, "Try to reign those two in. We don't need a bunch of arguing while we're trying to escape a city that wants us locked up or dead," he says.

Cage nods, turning and walking toward the commotion. Kyro sighs as he hears Cage receiving his part of the lecture. He looks at Detor, and the two exchange nods of respect, "You're one of the few that still looks at me and sees a man, Detor. I will appreciate that until my eyes close for the last time," Kyro says, raising a hand toward the guard, palm flat toward the ground, "Whether it be here on Raj or somewhere far away, I hope to see you again."

"You as well, Kyro," Detor says, putting his violet hand over Kyro's blue, their fingers reaching to each other's forearms, "If we do meet again, I expect to hear stories of your journey. Over a drink or two, perhaps."

"Sounds like a plan," Kyro smiles, holding the handshake for a moment. For the first time in his life, Kyro sees the lines around the new Guard Captain's mouth twist into something other than a frown.