Keith (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tempredmental) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
riverviewlogs2017-10-18 02:38 pm
tempredmental) wrote in riverviewlogs2017-10-18 02:38 pmEntry tags:
tempredmental) wrote in riverviewlogs2017-10-18 02:38 pm
4. Knowledge or Death
Warnings: Violence.
=====
[The Blade of Marmora member closest to Keith was fast, and tackled him, pinning him to the floor almost instantly before Keith had even known what was going to happen. Even Shiro was caught off guard.]
Keith!
He has one of our blades! Who did you steal this from?
I didn't! I've had it all my life!
Lies!
[The leader of the group spoke next, addressing Shiro.] Can you corroborate your friend's statement? Does this blade truly belong to him?
I... I don't know.
[Keith panicked. He'd never shown Shiro the knife. He'd always kept it hidden. He was regretting that now, but he just never knew how to explain it and the strange symbol on the handle.]
Shiro, you know me. [His tone was pleading. He didn't have best track record for behavior. He knew that.] I promise you I didn't steal it. I've had this knife as long as I can remember. [His dad had kept it for him until he left, but never said where it had come from... if Keith knew, he had been too young when he was told to consciously remember.]
We can't trust them.
I'm telling the truth. I saw Ulaz had a knife like this. Tell me what it means. [That seemed to get their attention enough that the leader had the other member finally let Keith up. Keith stood, gripping his arm for a moment where the other had pinned him painfully.]
Our organization is built on secrecy and trust. You two should leave. Now.
We came here to form an alliance, but obviously, we're not welcome. Come on, Keith, we're leaving.
[Nope. Keith was set on this. He had one tie to his past, his mother, his family, all the answers he never had, and this was it. He couldn't leave now. He had to know. This was the closest he'd ever come to finding those missing pieces. He stood his ground, pushing back against Shiro for the first time in a long time.]
Not without some answers. Somehow, one of your knives ended up with me on planet Earth. Tell me how.
Your friend is right. It is time for you to go.
[DAMN IT.] Where did it come from? I have to know.
You seek knowledge? There is only one way to attain knowledge here.
[Keith jumped on it, not even waiting to find out what it was.]
How? I'll do it!
The Trials of Marmora. Should you survive, you may keep the blade and its secrets will be revealed.
Survive? [Shiro stepped up, trying to stop Keith from agreeing to this.] Keith, this is crazy. If they're not going to help us, let's get out of here.
[He couldn't do it. He couldn't leave without those answers.] I'm not going anywhere. I have to do this. [Shiro looked almost sad. He knew enough to understand why this bothered Keith so much. He knew he wasn't going to get the teen to back down.
The leader nodded to the warrior that had tackled Keith.]
Antok, give the boy the blade.
[He held it out for Keith, who reached for it, but, before releasing it to him, Antok spoke.]
We will meet again.
Can't wait.
[As a reminder, the leader said one last thing.]
These trials result in one of two things. Knowledge or death.
[The memory fades for a moment, and when it clears, Keith is standing in an arena alone. A hatch in the floor opens, and a single Blade warrior rises up on a platform. They both ready themselves for a fight.]
Surrender the blade. You cannot win.
[Keith didn't give him long. He didn't even answer. He charged in, and the fight began. It was intense. Both fighters were equally aggressive, and neither was pulling punches. Keith approached this like he would any other fight for his life against an enemy. And it wasn't like they hadn't already put it out there that he had to survive the Trials to get the answers he wanted. He knew his life was on the line.
The warrior's blade made it through and got a hit on Keith's right shoulder, landing hard on his collarbone. Keith cried out, pulling back in pain and clutching the wound as he held the knife out defensively in front of himself for a moment to catch his breath. He managed to get some distance between them for a moment. He steadied himself, pushing past the initial shock of pain to keep fighting.
Eventually, though, the warrior gained the upper hand. Keith reached in with an attack, and the warrior grabbed Keith's wrist. He twisted the arm, forcing Keith to his knees and pinning him, holding the injured arm up and behind Keith in an immobilizing hold. He brought his blade to Keith's neck.]
Surrender the blade and the pain will cease.
I won't quit.
Then the pain continues. [Despite that statement, the warrior let Keith go, stepping back, and looking towards a door in the back of the arena, opposite where Keith had entered from. Keith looked confused.] You are not meant to go through that door.
[Keith stared at him, standing up, and then looked at the door. He took a few hesitant steps, waiting for the warrior to attack him again, but then jogged past, going through the door. The next room looked identical to the last. The only difference was that two hatches in the floor opened, bringing up two warriors instead of one.
The fight began anew, and Keith was once again subdued by the warriors, despite his best efforts to keep going.]
Surrender the blade and the pain will cease.
[He almost growled.] Never!
You are not meant to go through that door.
[Breathing hard, Keith kept going. The memory slipped into something of a montage, then, the identical arenas blending together as it looked like there were just more and more warriors for him to face each time. His arm throbbed from the injury, and sometimes it shook from the strain he was putting it through, but he kept fighting. He took a beating in the process, too. Aches sprung up from deep bruises everywhere... his face, his ribs, his forearms and legs, his back, anywhere he took a hit. But he pushed, and pushed, and pushed hard. Somewhere deep down, this ball of rage that festered ever since he was a kid, ever since he'd been left behind, kept fueling his drive to continue. It kept him going.
Another door. Another door. More warriors, and more warriors. As he watched a group come up from the floor, he noticed something about the hatches in the floor. For a second, his mind moved past the fight, past the anger and fear and pain, and poked around at just what might be beneath. Maybe... just maybe... going through all those doors was a ruse. Maybe there was more to this.
Or maybe, if he got out of the arenas, he could get further into the base and find the answers that way.
He crouched slightly. He'd have to be quick, and those hatches didn't take long to close. He needed to jam it open somehow. He charged forward, going in for the attack one more time, and then threw the knife. It spun through the air and embedded itself with a thunk into the hatch, wedging it open. The Marmora members froze in confusion. Keith ran in, making a bee-line for that hatch. They reacted, trying to block his progress. He fought off a few until he was close enough, then dropped into a slide across the floor, rolling at the last minute to snatch his blade free and drop into the hatch before it slid shut.
Another door opened and Keith stepped out on to a bridge that connected two sides of the base across a chasm in the asteroid they were on.
He was a mess... bruised, exhausted, dragging himself through the pain and fatigue, clutching his injured arm to his side to protect it.]
Guess I really wasn't supposed to go through that door...
[His tired voice croaked a little as he said it to himself out loud, almost punch drunk and amused sounding, just before he passed out, collapsing to the floor in a heap.]