The Clan - An unedited excerpt from a short story

This is a simple story on how I think things should go if an anime adventure party is betrayed by those whom they were protecting. It grew a bit while writing, and has some innuendo, some darker themes, along with some violence.

“You're what?” The heavily armored men in front of him snickered.

“We are seizing your assets to pay for the damage you've done to our village! By order of the Viscount!” He closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

“Fools.” He looked back at his companions. “Take your equipment with you, and any personal belongings.” They looked at him aghast.

“Master? You're abandoning them?” The young girl looked shocked to her core. Her Master was a brave man who waded into battle with twisted creatures to protect others and didn't think about his own safety. He only wanted to protect people.

“They don't want my help. They want my estate.” The middle aged swordmaster, a lady with no peer, squinted at him.

“But sir, you know what's coming.”  He nodded.

“I do.” The guards snickered again.

“With this fortress, there is nothing we cannot withstand! Now leave! Before we lose what little courtesy we have left!” He stepped back as the master of the house turned his way.

“If you lose that courtesy, you'll die where you stand.” The man looked ready to unsheathe his sword, but his hand froze.

“I....I....” The swordmaster smiled slightly.

“I see. Master, we'll get our things.” A few minutes passed, and none of the guards moved. They didn't want to let on that they couldn't move even if they wanted to. The master of the house had somehow frozen them on the spot, but used no spell that they could see.

The three women who accompanied him on his journey so far, appeared with one box each. They had all their specialized gear already equipped. The rest were personal items that they favored.

They walked passed the guards, through the middle of them, without incident. Once they were out of reach, he released his hold.

“If you step through this door while I'm inside, you'll die. I will retrieve my personal items, and leave without incident.” The first in the group was angry that he had been humiliated, and decided to try to step through the door. A hidden trap unleashed a set of spikes that tore up through his armor. He was dead before he could try to take another step.

“What the...?” The rest unsheathed their swords.

“If you take one step within this house while I'm inside, you'll die. You will have no other warning.” He disappeared through a door, and returned only a few minutes later. The guards didn't try to enter, a fear had invaded their hearts that they couldn't quell.

He carried one box, and one large bag. His gear was already on his person, so this was all he wanted. When he stepped out of the doorway, the spike trap went back into the floor, and the dead guard fell to the ground.

“Sir, are we going to let him leave after what just happened?” A lower ranked guard asked his superior.

“You know what he's already killed. Do you want to join him?” He gestured to their comrade. “We had our orders, and this fortress is now the property of the state. Whatever he thinks he was protecting us from can not defeat us in the very castle he intended to protect himself in.”

“Right!” They watched the small band leave the courtyard, but the commander wondered if they had just made the biggest mistake of their lives.

“Master? Will we go back to protect them when it comes time?” The young lady who was master of the telekinetic wave asked him. He shook his head.

“They stole our earned wealth, and believe that our home will protect them from what they do not know is coming. The whole town participated in this crime. Would you risk your lives for thieves?” He asked her casually. She frowned.

“Thieves, Master? But they are only farmers, and shopkeepers. They are our friends!”

“They are such good friends that when the lord of this land proposed to take the gold we earned, to take our home through an unlawful trick, they could share our gold among themselves, they all said it was a good idea. There were no exceptions.” She frowned.

“How do you know this, Bastion?” He tapped his gauntlet and a scene came to life before them. “I didn't know you had this ability, Bastion.”

“Its easy to record events in the past. Its just a matter of standing in the right place, and rewinding time for a bit. Listen.”

“I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it!” Jaana ground her teeth and fingered her sword.  She had spent a large amount of time in the various shops, and spent a good deal of her own gold in the stores that needed the income. The village was a poor one, but they were a hardworking people.

“Neither would I.” The telekinetic, Valeria or Lindy as he sometimes called her, stood straight and proud.  Lindy had a protective nature that warred with her hunger. She put it down to protecting her livestock, but Bastion had shown her that she wanted more then for people to be just her food.

They considered everyone in that village to be a decent person, except for the village's corrupt lord. They made little coin due to his greedy nature, and his taxes took what little they did earn.

The surprise was how easily he swayed them. Bastion sighed heavily, and turned away from his companions as the scene faded. Friends, from the poorest to the richest, had quickly agreed to split their wealth when he was run out of the village.

Even those whose lives they had saved. The other surprise was his elemental companion, Lacy. She had such a tender heart that even this betrayal didn't cement their reason for leaving in her heart. She was normally less temperamental with him.

“But...Bastion! They'll die!” He turned back, and saw the softness in her heart. He closed his eyes.

“Did we take every precaution to prevent that?” She nodded.

“We built our home to house them when it happened! The village could not withstand the assault, but our home could.....if we were there.” She nodded.

“And they stole it from us, the one place we prepared to save their lives, and they took it from us.” Then she saw a deep seated anger in his eyes, and stepped backward. She had never seen him give way to strong emotions, even if he was drenched in them.

“We risked our lives! I risked your lives! Built a fortress with everything I could think of, to save their lives, and they betray us over a few gold coins!” His face cleared of the thunder in his eyes, and the only sign that he had been angry was the scorched ground around him, and the increasing amount of thunderclouds in the sky above them.

“Its time we leave. The next town has expressed an interest in our skills, and offered us a house to stay in.” Lacy cocked her head a bit. It was a little thing she did when she had a question, and he found it distracting.

When did Lacy become a woman? She's grown up so much in these last few years that i almost didn't notice.

Valeria and Jaana smiled slightly. They had also noticed how Bastion's attention had been captured by their companion, but they also knew they already had his affection. They didn't mind sharing him, even if he wasn't aware of their interest in him.

Like most stoic men, he had very little vanity. It was the one of the reasons they liked him so much. No arrogance, and extremely protective of those he considered his friends, or his family.

“They're giving us a home? For real?” She asked. Her curiosity was now engaged.

“Yes. Strange, isn't it? On the very day our home is being stolen from us, another is being offered. Its only a two bedroom home, but its a start.” The ladies looked at each other and smiled.

“Then lets go, Bastion!” She shivered a little. “I don't want to watch it happen.”

“Neither do we, Bastion. Please, lets go see our new home.” Jaana and Valeria both took Lacy's arms and pulled her along. She took one last look behind her, sighed sadly, and turned away.

“A letter has arrived, Bastion.” Valeria opened it and closed her eyes. “It happened as you expected. Every villager was slaughtered by the clan.” She turned away in sadness. “My clan.”

“Not your clan, Lindy.” Lacy said softly. “We're your clan! They are monsters!” Valeria closed her eyes.

“I'm a monster, Lacy. You know this better then anyone.” Lacy smiled and rubbed her neck.

“So you like to bite a little. You never go too far, and you ask me first. Its only when you can't find enough fresh meat at the butchers that you lose control.” Lacy then giggled. “And you bite me in some interesting places when you lose control.” Valeria blushed a bit.

“Be good, you little imp.” Jaana said softly. “She doesn't like it when you embarrass her like that.” She murmured softly and rubbed a sore spot on her breast, which only made Lacy giggle more until she thought about something.

“Lindy, do you bite Bastion too?” Jaana's eyes popped open and she looked at their friend quickly. She shook her head.

“Not a chance, Lacy. That's far too dangerous.” She looked around quickly, just in case he was listening, then leaned forward. “Its not like I haven't thought about it, but if he loses control, we would all be burnt to a crisp!” Lacy giggled again.

“That makes it more interesting, doesn't it? By the way, where is Bastion?” Jaana sighed softly.

“Meditating. He's building.” Lacy covered her mouth with one hand, then looked outside. Slowly, out of the stone far beneath their feet, bricks began to form.

“My clan's hunger will soon wake them up. He wants to be ready, just in case they turn this way.” Valeria looked out the window and watched a heavy chested woman walk by. She licked her lips unconsciously. Lacy giggled and laid her lips at her ear.

“If you're hungry already, I have a few places you haven't bitten yet, Lindy.” She turned towards her companion and watched as her shirt was pulled down slightly. Jaana laughed in spite of her own hunger.

“I swear, Lacy, you've become quite the tease! You know its my turn!”

In spite of the real danger they knew was out there, and the horrific deaths that the villagers had experienced while their life force had been violently ripped from their broken bodies, both Lacy and Jaana found it more then appropriate to distract their friend with darker pleasures.

After all, if Valeria needed to feed, and she gave them such amazing pleasure in the process, who were they to deny her the sustenance she needed to live? They were her Clan, after all.