by Ree Soesbee
Kachiko pressed against the stone wall and stared past then all, down the passage to the entrance of the throne room. Her face was chalk-white, her lips as red as blood against her skin. Then Hitomi saw what captured Kachiko's attention.
Through the grand doors of the throne room stepped the Last Hantei, his red eyes glowing with an unholy light. Zombies bowed down before him, offering their broken hands as his soft carpet. He walked upon them carelessly as his skin grew taut over his skull. His eyes sank into his face, leaving only two bright red pinpricks that stared from cavernous darkness. The emperor walked among his minions, caressing each man's bloody head as if the undead samurai were cherished pets.
For a moment, Hitomi remembered a strong man, youthful and noble, in the silks of the Imperial Dynasty. Now the emperor's torn silks were rotted and fouled with the stench of the grave, and he was no longer young. In the growing glow of golden light, the Hantei had become a vision of unimaginable horror. Maggots writhed across his shoulders and down his bare chest. His hands were gloves of skin over bone. A darkness that was almost palpable hovered above the shoulders of the slowly moving figure. What had once been the emperor was now something too terrible to imagine. Something fundamentally evil.
"Kachiko ... my beloved wife ..." It spoke, and its whisper was louder than the thunderclaps that tore the sky above the city. "How tenderly you have ministered to me in my time of sickness." The rotten flesh shrank into a smile above gleaming bone and sharpened teeth. Now I repay your kindness ... with an apt reward." The voice was stone and steel, the tone echoing like cold shadows that haunt the dark of the night. All the things that should have never been spawned, all of Rokugan's dishonor and shame crept along in his fouled robes and dripped like blood from his fingertips. As he reached for her, the undead parted, drawing back from their foul master and cowering behind him.
Kachiko took one hesitant step forward on the bloodied mahogany floor, her feet moved by a power that was not her own. Her face contorted in anger as her legs took each shaking step. Her body arched against the dark god's call. "I know you," she hissed, her honey-colored eyes dark and hateful. "You are not the emperor of this land or any other."
"You are wrong, my dear." It laughed, stepping forward to touch her. The emperor's fingers delicately stroked her ivory cheek, leaving a single bloody smear across her white makeup. "I am the lord of the Shadowlands, the master of all that you fear and despise—and I am the emperor. All that you have is now mine, and all that once was ... will be no more." Madness rolled in his red eyes, lighting the air around her cheek and spreading like a bloodstain across Kachiko's pale skin. "And you, Bayushi Kachiko ... you are my wife."
Lightning flashed through the palace, illuminating the writhing bodies of the dead and thundering across the high walls of Otosan Uchi. Whatever Kachiko said was lost to their war cries. The Scorpion empress's eyes narrowed with hatred.
The emperor roared, muscles twitching at his jaw. His hand shot out to grasp her slim ivory neck. He lifted her from the floor. Lightning raced in the sky, flashing in pulses and mad bursts outside the thin paper walls and open windows.
Kachiko's feet kicked lightly, her hands struggling to pull his fingers away from her throat as her face shaded into purple. Unable to escape, she listened to the emperor's sickly whispers, and her eyes narrowed with hatred and fear. As he slowly crushed her throat, the Hantei lifted his other hand to stroke her long dark fall of hair.
Live, or die? Hitomi lifted her sword, preparing to throw herself upon the beast that held Kachiko above the floor. Yet, before she could act, a dark mace raced from her right side. It hurled itself at the possessed Emperor Hantei with a scream of ultimate hatred—a hatred unpossessed by fear or indecision.
Without thought, Bayushi Aramoro plunged his weapon into the creature's back, shouting over the storm, "Go, my lady! Run!"
The emperor staggered forward, losing his hold.
Kachiko fell to the ground at the emperor's feet and gasped for air. Without a thought, Hitomi leapt to her side and reached for her arm, gripping the burgundy silk with one hand and holding aloft her sword with the other.
The Hantei had turned to face Aramoro, and his mad red eyes laughed with fire. "You are doomed, samurai," the emperor chortled, spreading his hands wide in a gesture of indifference. "But your courage is laudable. Will you die with it, or will it leave you before your soul flees the flesh of your body?" He laughed again. "Know this: When I am done, she will be my wife. She will be lovely, indeed, once the skin and blood has been torn from her bones; once the rot and ruin that surrounds her has entered her flesh and made her truly mine."
"Get her out," the Bayushi samurai shouted to Hitomi, raising his ninja-to for another strike. "A life for a life, Hitomi-san. You owe me yours. Take her to safety, and your debt to our clan is repaid."
"Done," the Dragon snarled, holding Kachiko's arm and pulling her away from the emperor. Hitomi's eyes lit at the thought of her freedom, despite the undead that moved down every hall and chamber. They were all that stood between her and her first duty, and surely the hand would be enough to defeat anything she encountered, even in these fouled halls. "A life for a life, Aramoro-san. And may Shinsei have mercy on your spirit."
"Aramoro..." Kachiko rasped, her throat sore and bruised. "He will kill you!"
"No time, Bayushi-sama," Hitomi grunted. She carved a path out of the dead end. "We must go now."
"Aramoro!" Kachiko screamed hoarsely as Hitomi half-dragged, half-shoved her away from the blood-covered throne room.
Zombies surged toward them with renewed fury, eager to tear their flesh from their bones.
Looking behind them as they ran, Hitomi saw the Bayushi samurai take a defensive stance. Then the mad god reached for the heavens, and a burst of wild lightning tore through the palace roof, coating them all in debris and rain. She could see no more. Praying to Shinsei for Aramoro's soul, Hitomi hauled the empress through the corridors. The footfalls of the undead dogged them down the halls.
As she raced through the cold stone corridors of the Imperial Palace, Hitomi could hear the bitter laughter of an unrepentant god. It followed them through each twist and turn. Somehow, Fu Leng lived. The dark master of the Shadowlands, fallen god of the south, lord of corruption and decay—he commanded the Emerald Throne, and he held Rokugan's very soul in his filth-encrusted hand.
As she passed each room, Hitomi saw dead men rising at every turn, slaughtering courtier and bushi alike and adding to their fallen number. Each time a samurai fell, he rose only minutes later, animated by the Dark God's will and the presence of evil that now permeated the palace.
"In here," the empress's murmured, pausing their flight. She pointed a finger toward one of the stone pillars that marked the palace's outer wall.
Kachiko touched the wall with caressing fingertips, staring at the stone as if reuniting with an old lover. "Yes, I remember you, old friend. . . ." Kachiko panted breathlessly, lifting her hand to touch a brass lantern-holder. As her fingers pressed against the delicate metal, a panel in the mahogany floor rose to reveal steps below.
The Dragon daimyo stared down into the darkness, listening to the screams of the dead and dying that echoed through the palace around them.
"Ah," Kachiko whispered. "How fitting that we leave the palace this way. Another riddle to mystify you, Dragon. Your champion would be pleased." Gathering her strength, Kachiko took a shaking step down the secret passage, shaking away Hitomi's supporting hand. "Through this passage, it is best that I lead you, Mirumoto."
They descended into darkness, the floor panel closing behind them. Kachiko threaded their way through snaking paths.
"We will enter the gardens soon," Kachiko said in a quivering voice. "The undead soldiers that serve Fu Leng's command cannot find us there. The Imperial Guard does not even know this route exists. Neither will the Dark Lord."
"How do you know where it will lead?"
The empress leveled a scathing glance at her c
ompanion. "Because this is how Shoju's armies came in."
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Beyond the palace, the royal gardens stretched for miles. Rain poured from the heavens, cascading in thick sheets. Lightning danced wildly among the clouds. A high stone wall wandered through the garden hills, surrounding streams and lakes that boiled beneath the downpour.
Fresh earth turned to mud under Kachiko's slippered feet, and her torn kimono flapped wildly in the high winds. Her neck was bruised. Blood stained her white cheek. At her side, a wounded Hitomi marched, oblivious to pain or torment.
Freedom.
"Here," Hitomi said above the storm. "There is a break in the wall. We can rest here before we continue on." A small niche in the stone provided some shelter from the raging storm, but the lighting strikes above the palace continued unceasingly. Hitomi knelt just outside the alcove, watching as the empress sank to her knees within the dirt and vines of the little niche.
"It is over," Kachiko said. Her voice was strangely soft as she looked back at the ruined palace. It had once been magnificent, but had also been Kachiko's prison, where she spent years of tortured existence at the side of the boy-emperor. The Last Hantei had begun his reign by destroying the Scorpion, and would end it be destroying all of Rokugan.
Shoju's prophecy had been fulfilled.
A deep sorrow filled Kachiko's voice as the rain poured bitterly down her ivory cheeks. The blood smear on her face paled and glistened, a trail of scarlet tears against her white skin. "Shoju was right. Our actions brought this prophecy to life. The Last Hantei..." Kachiko's voice wavered, but then gained strength. "He has become the Dark Lord's vessel. The palace is now the Dark God's crypt. All my plans... all my work, wasted. We have truly become what we most feared." Staring at the palace, Kachiko sank to her knees and stared at the lightning that trailed in gleaming gashes across the black sky. "Shoju ..." she whispered, "forgive me." The night wind lashed her long black hair across Kachiko's eyes, stinging them shut.
Hitomi watched from within the storm, unwilling to interrupt the puzzle of the Scorpion's words. She could not hear what was said, but only the wild wail of the wind, the steady rhythm of the rain, and the rapid beat of her own frantic heart. Freedom.
A shadow crossed her face. The Dragon samurai looked up. Gripping the hilt of her katana, she peered through the sweeping rain at a familiar shadow that perched atop the garden wall. Lightning burst around them, tearing a swath through the ground and reducing a cherry tree to ash. Its brightness burned Hitomi's eyes, bringing hot tears. In that instant of light, she recognized his form.
"Yokuni."
His voice surrounded her, forming itself from the thunder that resounded about the plains of Otosan Uchi. I told you it would come to this, Lady. Deep within the iron mask that always covered his features, Yokuni's voice was etched with sorrow.
Hitomi opened her mouth to respond, but realized his words were not for her.
Kachiko's face was pale and wounded, surprised by the Dragon Champion's appearance. She opened her eyes to stare blindly into the storm. "Yokuni," Kachiko murmured. Her eyes flashed. Hitomi could tell that Kachiko knew his voice, perhaps better than even she did. Quaking, Kachiko pulled her ruined kimono tight about her body.
As lithe as a serpent, Yokuni moved above her, but Kachiko kept her eyes turned away. She did not want him to see her fear.
Hitomi drew away to allow them their space, though she heard every word in her mind.
"T-to hell with you and your prophecy," Kachiko stammered at the voice in the darkness. "Toturi's army is on the march. I will go there and join the fallen Lion. He will have much to gain from what I have learned tonight."
No. The voice was steady and calm. He knows. Toturi knows his part in destiny... as do you.
She shook her head. "No. No, I cannot. There is nothing left...
You know what you must do, the voice interrupted. You must return to the palace. You and your poisons have made the emperor what he now is. You must ensure he becomes what he must become. If you do not, all will be lost.
"Lost.. ." she whispered. "As Shoju has been lost? As my clan, my family, my very name have been lost?"
Yokuni's hand moved above the stone, crumbling granite to powder. As the empire will be lost. Each heimin, each peasant and noble—destroyed. The world will become a festering pool of bile. Your family will not be remembered, not by the gods themselves. Each child that runs in the street will be made into fleshly toys for the master's amusement. Every samurai who holds honor dear will be placed on a spike and tortured to death and then to undeath. Lost, Lady, yes. They will all be lost. And more, the very empire that your family once swore to protect will be shattered. Yours will not be the only failure, Scorpion. You will fail in the name of your clan—and in the name of their future.
You are needed, Lady. And you are wise enough to know not to try to deny destiny. Shoju knew that, even as he faced his death. He taught you, showed you where the path must lie. Do you remember?
She was very still for a long time, but then, slowly, she nodded. "I do."
It is as I told you before. You are to play a greater part in all of this than you know. Perhaps the greatest part. And there are others.
She blinked away the rain in her eyes. "Yes. Six others."
No, the voice said as Yokuni faded into the rain. Seven. Do not forget that the descendant of Shinsei walks among us as well.
With that, the voice was gone For a moment, Kachiko knelt in the storm, her eyes turned only toward the green light illuminating the depths of the palace.
"I must," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind and thunder. She looked up at the palace one more time, as if remembering some long-forgotten duty.
Hitomi quietly approached.
The empress shuddered but then steadied herself. She rose from the niche and stepped out into the downpour. In muddy slippers, she began the long walk back toward the Imperial Palace.
"Kachiko," Hitomi shouted over the storm. "You cannot go back. Aramoro—"
"Aramoro will understand, little Dragon," the empress smiled bitterly. "He knows the price of duty better even, I think, than I."
"The empire destroyed your clan, and your family, and still you fight for it?
Slowly, Kachiko turned. "Yes, Dragon. The empire destroyed all that I held dear. My own son died at the hands of the empire, when we fought to save it from this," her emphatic gesture swept over the palace and the storm. "And now that destiny has come to pass. I fought against it once, and I will not abandon the battle. It is what my family would wish. Shoju, my husband, taught me that true courage lies in fighting even when you know you have been defeated." Her eyes shone brilliantly in the dancing light of the storm. "I have not yet been defeated, Dragon. As long as I continue to fight, I never will be."
"My duty was to take you to safety," Hitomi was resolute. "I will not fail in it."
The shadow of Yokuni moved along the wall, listening to her every word.
Kachiko's amber eyes searched Hitomi's very soul. "And you have done so. I return of my own choice, Dragon. You do not need to worry about your bargain. You are free." The empress turned away and walked, slowly fading within veils of rain.
Have you gained the strength you sought, child? Yokuni asked from the darkness.
"Have I?" The Dragon daimyo murmured bitterly. "You tell me, Yokuni. I cannot solve this puzzle. Too many of the pieces are broken, the toys of a careless child."
Your time is not done. There is much still to do before the end. The fifteenth day of the Tiger has come, and you have seen the prophecy come to pass. Do you still have doubt?
"And this ... this is better, Yokuni?"
Even Fu Leng can be defeated.
Prepare yourself for the future. Fu Leng, the Dark God of the Shadowlands, has returned, and Rokugan must fight him. If you fail, the empire will be destroyed.
A flash of insight sang in Hitomi's mind even as lighting crashed once more above the dark pala
ce. "Shinsei's Tao says 'Seven Thunders came from fire and flight, to destroy the Evil One in his lair.' A thousand years ago, they assembled, and they killed Fu Leng. One from each clan...." Her face twisted in anguish. "It is me, isn't it? That's why you can't allow me to die.
That's why you let the Scorpion do this," she held aloft the Obsidian Hand.
"I am one of the Seven Thunders. So is Kachiko, I see. The puzzle is forming, Yokuni, your precious veil is lifting. Seven Thunders must be assembled, to fight Fu Leng, or he will forever rule the empire and destroy the world. Isn't that how the prophecy goes?" Hitomi's voice was bitter and cruel. "Who are the others?"
You will know in the fullness of time.
"Kachiko. Myself. A Crane, I assume, and someone from the Phoenix? 'One Thunder born from each clan,' say the old texts, 'and only together can they defeat the Dark One.'" Hitomi's black eyes narrowed in thought, her face shadowed. "Destroy Fu Leng. Can it be done? We are but mortals, Yokuni. He is a god."
A god who has once before been defeated. Seven Thunders, no more, no less, and it can be done again.
An empty ache gnawed her soul, and a cold hand clenched her heart. "Destiny be damned," she whispered. "Bushido be damned." Yet even as she said the words, she knew that she no longer believed them. Bushido was a part of her, and she could no longer ignore honor or duty—not without giving up everything she had learned.
"Very well, Yokuni, I will serve your purpose once more. But first, I claim my own justice. I do not expect to survive a fight with ... the emperor." Hitomi's skin crawled as she remembered the mad laughter that rumbled from the Hantei's tortured frame. "I will fulfill Satsu's vengeance before I live my destiny. Hida Yakamo will die." She stared bitterly at the palace, watching the storm crash about its high turrets and sweeping roof arches. "When that is done, I will no longer need my life. I will serve you, and save the empire, no matter what the cost."
No, Hitomi. He is still needed. Put aside your revenge.