A/N: Remember the Veil on Shen's feelings is only partially weakened, so he will fluctuate between hating Mudan and loving her. Just to clear up the confusion!

Bhen above ^^.

Shen

Black. My vision cut to black before I could even move. I remembered the electricity zapping through my body, the current surging through my bones, leaving me a feeble form on the floor. I remembered Chu going down first, Bhen followed right after.

And of course, I remembered her.

Her knees sunk to the floor in finality. When she fell, I knew it was over. Kai managed to slip away, the arrow that pierced him obviously didn't finish the job. He was dragged away by his Ajisai pals and all those who weren't stunned to the ground vanished into the night, leaving the rest of us to burn in their wake.

I was so fucking pissed. And dead inside. I was absolutely dead.

She was gone. I hated that a part of me felt empty. I didn't want to feel anything, I knew it had to happen at some point. It didn't occur to me that it would happen so soon, so abrupt. She was ripped from existence, slowly and painfully. I didn't even get to see her eyes when they closed shut. I wish I hadn't seen anything at all.

Everything was falling apart. I didn't know if I would remain sane. Master betrayed us.

He betrayed us all.

I didn't want to believe it, partly because I believed he would've told me about his plans. I at least hoped he would've trusted me instead of Bhen, Chu, Kai and Yura. But no, Master didn't just leave me out of the loop, he did something worse.

He kickstarted a war...without thinking of any of us. I imagined this whole ordeal didn't go according to plan, but even so, it couldn't be ignored that Master indeed conspired with the enemy, only to get betrayed by them as well.

Perhaps I needed to stay away from that family for good. Betrayal was obviously in their blood. And I was so sick of looking like a fool.

But I knew I'd always be the biggest fool, because if she lived, I knew I'd go back on my words and search for her all over again. What I'd do when I found her would come to me in the moment.

Ha, Shen, you loser. Even if you did search for her, you'd find nothing. Because she's dead. You sad, sad dumbass.

Kai. I wanted to kill him, and I would. I promised myself that, not only for killing Mudan, but for orchestrating the ambush that led me to spill my guts like some desperate sap. I cringed.

I loathed that day. I told the truth, the truth she was never supposed to know. Kai would die for causing me that pain. He'd also die because he was Kai, and he was an asshole.

I didn't want to think anymore. After I was electrocuted, I had dreamless nights of sleep. When I awoke, I was surrounded by bleak, moss-covered brick walls.

There was a small window barred with iron, letting in pinches of pale sunlight. There was a metal door, the only opening being the slit in it.

My head throbbed and my spirit felt awfully uncomfortable in my own body, like I was wearing the skin of someone else. There was a shift in the shadows in the corners of the room.

I quickly moved against the wall, reaching for my small knives, finding only my small pictures and her bloody sleeve. I was even stripped of my poison darts.

Damn it. Those rats had cleaned me out. I narrowed my eyes on the spot that moved, catching a glimpse of gentle chestnut hair and familiar green eyes.

I was not alone.

"Bhen?" I said with heaviness. I didn't even sound like myself. It hurt to speak.

"Y-Young M-Master?" He said with just as much effort. "Where are we?"

"Prison, probably," I sighed. "Can you move?"

"Yes, but it hurts. Those Rangers really did a number on us."

"I was not planning to admit that out loud, but thanks."

I willed myself to get up and stroll around the dungeon. Somehow I lost my footing and tripped over something. I hit the damp floor with a groan, feeling the fleshy log under my shins.

I kicked at the figure a couple of times, until it shot up and swung out. My knee caught the motion, and a feminine growl cursed the air.

"Gah!" Chu snapped, her eyes still closed. "Can't a girl get some sleep around here!"

I shook her shoulder. "Chu, wake up. We are in prison."

"Grrr!" She lashed out and rolled back to sleep. What the hell. This fucking brat. I turned to Bhen for help.

"Bhen...your sister refuses to awaken."

"She is not a morning person," he noted.

"I'm not certain if it is morning. Besides, we've all been out for days."

"Ah," he sighed. "Well, Chu isn't exactly an anything person. I'm not even sure if she's a person."

"Well whatever she is, you need to wake her up. We need to get out of here."

Bhen stood up from where he sat, stumbling toward us. He grabbed hold of his sister's collar and her body slackened like she was dead. He drew his hand back and started slapping her, alternating between his palm and backhand. The wet smacks echoed through the chamber, oddly pleasing to listen to.

"Wake--! Up--! You--!"

Chu growled back to life like an animal, pushing Bhen so hard that he flew off his feet and smacked against the brick wall. His back thudded upon impact and he sunk to the floor pathetically. I shook my head.

"You idiot!" Chu spat. "How dare you disturb my slumber. That's how your mother slapped your father when she gave birth to you."

Bhen coughed in pain. "We had the same parents you nitwit."

"We both know they wanted me, but you were like the freebie that came free with the real deal."

An odd feeling came over me. Like I missed their bickering. It had been so long since I'd experienced it first hand, with Old Master forbidding me from having any interaction with anyone besides him since that day Mudan ran.

Somehow, it always leads back to that damn family.

It was just like at the temple when we were teenagers. I remembered those days. They felt so far away now. So unreachable.

My silence was like a warning. Both of them turned to me simulatenously, as if realizing I was in their presence. "Sorry, Young Master," they both uttered.

I rolled my eyes. "You don't have to call me that anymore. I think you both know we can't go back."

The silence that followed was a sad one. It dawned on all of us. It would be the Renge and their allies vs. the other Clans vs. the governments of the world. We had no fitting in this messed up expression. We were outliers. Loose ends. Eventually, we too would be tied up.

We needed to piece back what was left our lives and create a new picture.

"Fuck," Chu's shoulders sunk. "We are screwed. We have nothing to go back to."

"Just when you think Kai is grieving, he comes back leading a terrorist attack, kills two of the most powerful people in the world and orchestrates an all out assault." Bhen said, his voice seeping with monotony.

"That was him grieving," Chu muttered. "I still can't believe he was with them this whole time. For how long?"

"I'm going to kill him," I declared. "I'm going to find him when we get out of here, and I'm going to end him. I don't know if you're going to stand with me or if you're going your own way. But that is where I stand."

"I'm coming with you," Bhen assured me. I nodded gratefully. "We cannot let him get away with betraying us the entire time. He probably knew from the beginning."

And to think you all accused Mudan.

Chu was uncharacteristically quiet. When she did speak, it froze the atmosphere again. "And what of the traitor?" she asked genuinely.

"Oh right! I didn't see her before we were shot down. Did she escape again?"

My blood boiled and I wanted to rip out my heart and shit on it. "No," I muttered. "She's dead."

"What?" the both of them echoed in an annoying way. They didn't mean to speak together, but when it happened it was weird. "She's dead?"

"Yes. Kai drove his sword through her stomach. She died there."

"Oh," Chu said awkwardly. She obviously wasn't expecting that. "Well, that's a shame."

"A shame? You hated her, don't act like you aren't glad." I snapped before I could think. It didn't go unnoticed.

"She was fun to mess with," Chu defended herself. "I didn't think she was going to die."

"Neither did I," Bhen said quietly. "She was like a pest resistant to repellent. No matter what happened she bounced back. I didn't think she would die either. Not here with us at least."

"Well all of you got your wish, she's gone. And she kind of had it coming. She killed the only person Kai cared about, and who cared about him, and she stabbed out his eye. He was waiting for it, everything pointed out to it. And both of you blamed her for being the mole when it was him the entire time."

"Quite ironic, isn't it? You all thought there was something wrong with me for defending her but I knew what I was talking about. And now she's dead, gone, a meal for the flies. They probably incinerated her body along with the other dead left behind. She died after living a worthless life, having nothing but pain to remember-"

"Shen!" Both of them interrupted me, looking at me as if I'd said something disturbing. I bit onto my tongue irritably.

"You are rambling..." Bhen gave me a horrified look. "What is going on with you?"

I felt like I was spiralling. My mind was pulling itself in different directions, partially imploding on itself now that she was no longer around.

"Sorry," It felt weird to apologize. I felt Chu's judgment on me but I failed to care. "I am on edge about escaping, that's all."

"Right..." Chu drawled, obviously not believing me. "Well, we seriously need to find a way--"

Her words were cut off by banging on the door. We turned to see a pair of eyes peering through the slit. "Oh great, you all are awake."

I clenched my fists, ready for a fight. The locks on the door all unlocked from the outside and the person walked in unphased that there were three skilled assassins in the same room.

He was a middle-aged Moon Ranger, the amount of silver stars pinned to his chest displaying his high rank. His salt and pepper hair was slicked back and his thick moustache wiggled under his nose. He slung his arms behind his back and the door folded shut behind him.

We all stared at him coldly, exchanging no words.

"I hope you all had good rests, because now you have the hard part coming," he said. "I'm Sage Yamu, leader of the fifth division, LunarCrest. I'm your interrogation officer, please take a seat. I'd like to do this civilly."

Chu was the first one to break. She broke into a run and jumped to tackle the officer, but was knocked back by a blue forcefield that materialized around him. She sailed through the air, hitting the bars of the tiny window with her back before smacking onto the floor. I face-palmed.

Sage Yamu turned to us with a smile. "Any of you want to take a shot?"

When we didn't answer, he continued, "you see you should be lucky I am here and not the Eagles. They want to rip you to shreds. Their King and Queen are dead and someone needs to be blamed. I was there, I know what happened, and I know who did what. But they do not. And they remember you three entering those gates, so now I will question you and seek your minds for the truth so that we can piece together this tragedy. Deal? Let's pretend you have a choice, just to make this a tiny bit more pleasant."

Bhen and I turned to each other, our minds probably saying the same thing.

We are fucked.