Sleepless, Unwakeful - 11

Whisper gasped slightly as she opened her eyes. She was leaning against the wall of the sanctuary, a sheet wrapped around her shoulders. She groaned and rubbed her sore neck, which had been hung low while she slept. She looked up at the platform.
The Ninja was still standing idly. He hadn’t moved for hours from his position.
Whisper lowered her head and sighed sorrowfully. She looked at the katana which she had pried from his frozen fingers. 
It was resting on the floor beside her, the blood now dried and crusted.
She remembered how she had cried and called his name for hours, but received no initial response from him. After that, she lost any hope of waking him from his estranged state. It took her fifteen minutes to pry his blade from his fingers without hurting him, though he didn’t even respond to pain anymore.
She rubbed her crusty eyes, which were red from crying. “I’m sorry, Master...” she whispered, “I should have come here the first time instead of just leaving a stupid message on the consol... I could have prevented all of this...”
She watched him for movement... sound... anything...
He just stood there like an empty husk.
She sighed with hopelessness and lowered her head, closing her eyes. She was exhausted, but she couldn’t stay asleep. With all her nightmares and worries...
She was left sleepless.
The sun began to peek through the closed window as morning slowly came upon the facility, bringing its light and warmth.
Usually such a beauty pleased Whisper.
But at the moment, she felt empty and alone...

~

”Taliel! What are you doing?” Father scolded, “You are wasting too many candles! You do not need so much light!”
“Papa...” a little child whimpered with teary eyes, “They can get me in the dark... They stalk me there...”
“What does, my son?” Father knelt down by the terrified little boy.
“The monsters.” Taliel whimpered, rubbing his little eyes.
Father watched his son and put a firm hand on the boy's shoulders. “I was going to save this for you until you were older, but I will tell you early.” He said with a hushed tone, “Can you keep this a secret between us?”
Taliel nodded with wide curious eyes.
Father leaned close to the boys ear. “Monsters only want you to think that they thrive in the dark, just so you would stay away from it.”
Taliel looked surprised. “What?”
Father nodded. “In reality... the dark is the best weapon against them... they cant see you, so they cant hurt you... but you can see them, and take advantage over them.”
Taliel thought this over very carefully. “But what if I’m not strong enough to overcome them?”
“Then the shadows will keep you hidden. They will keep you safe.” Father replied, “The Monsters stay away from the shadows because they are afraid of the little ninjas who dwell there.” Father combed his fingers through Taliel’s hair, causing the little boy to calm down a little bit.
Taliel thought these words over. “Father?”
“Yes my son?” Father looked down at him.
“I... I’m ready to put out the light.”
“Alright, my son. My little ninja...”
Taliel took a deep breath then exhaled...
... and blew out his candle.

~

The Ninja’s knees gave out, his legs weak with fatigue as if he hadn’t rested in days. He landed on his hands and knees, his head was throbbing and his eyes were burning. He shut his eyes tight and tears finally formed to moisten them. His throat burned and his lungs were heavy almost as if an elephant had been sitting on his chest. He was so stiff and weak...
"You have a very strong will." A mocking voice crooned, "Very clever to conjure up a cherished memory to push away my influence like that."
"Apparently... It wasn't... enough..." The Ninja wheezed between breaths.
Something slithered toward the weakened warrior. It raised up like a cobra and unfurled, revealing a clawed hand with fangs upon the palm.
"Nothing can withstand the power of the true master..." It hissed, "Not even you... A spawn of Isis..."
The Ninja raised his head with a scowl, staring at the evil hand. "You will never find Isis... Her power will always be safe from the likes of you..."
The hand hissed and struck forward, grabbing the Ninja's face and lifting him off the ground by his head.
Ninja was too weak to fight back this time and just hung there, his feet only inches off the ground.
"Oh... I don't need you to tell me where find that power which I deserve..." The dark voice echoed in the shadows as a personage strode forward slowly, "But still... I can work through you to get your young pupil to show me where it is..."
The Ninja growled and grabbed the hand. "Leave her out of this! She has no knowledge of Isis!"
"Maybe." The stranger tapped his chin, "But she will find it for me... From what I've seen, she would risk everything to save the life of her friends..."
The darkness was filled with echoing sinister laughs.
And all the Ninja could do was hang there in defeat.

~

Whisper sighed and got up, stretching her stiff arms and legs. She stood there for a minute, watching her frozen master. She was having a severe mental debate within her mind.
Having been unable to awaken her comatose leader and friend, she was debating whether to risk his secrecy by sending for a doctor or psychiatrist... anyone who could possibly bring him back...
She walked to the front of him and examined his blank face for a moment.
It never changed.
She sighed. "I will be back for you, Master..." She said quietly, "I promise to save you as you saved me... I promise..." She took her sheet and draped it around his shoulders.
She left him on the platform and walked to his katana, putting it into his blade case and slinging the strap over her shoulder. she walked to the door, using her powers once more to open them. She paused in the doorway, glancing back at him over her shoulders. "I promise..." She whispered one last time before exiting the sanctuary, leaving the leader of Dissolution standing in the darkness.

~

Yellow tape blocked off the dormitories, and people were evacuated from their rooms.
People were chattering nervously and murmuring, some even shivered with fright while others stood there trying to get a better look at what was going on.
In one of the rooms, guards stood their posts while a heavy investigation ensued.
Sergeant Rickson stood there with a large cigar in his mouth. He stared down at the horrible scene in front of him.
A headless body had been stuffed into the boot closet of the owners room, boxes (which were now moved aside) had been stacked against it to hide the evidence. But it was the flies and smell that gave the grotesqueness away...
Prince was hard at work sampling the DNA of the body, he could barely keep his baggy eyes open.
“Mrrow.” Rosetta bumped into his arm, trying to help him stay conscious. 
“It’s alright girl, I’m fine.” He reassured as he carefully placed a tissure sample on his holoscanner and examined the screen.
Rickson scrunched his nose. “Get that cat outta here, Prince! She’s gonna leave crap all over the crimescene!”
“Yes, sir.” He replied with a sigh and shooed the kitty away.
Rosetta gave the sergeant a bit of attitude before sauntering back into the hall.
Princes holoscanner beeped loudly and he looked down at it. His eyes widened. “No, this cant be right...” He bent down and took more samples, retrying the scan.
The sergeant growled. “You fucking up, raw meat?”
Prince never responded as he stared at the beeping screen with shock. “No... sir... Just baffled.”
The sergeant looked at the screen. “The wound cut is an exact match.” He stated.
Prince never took his eyes off the screen, mumbling something.
The sergeant looked at Prince with a stern look. “Speak up!”
“Sir... the head from our friend, Gabby, had been severed 18 hours ago.” Prince explained.
The sergeant raised an eyebrow. “And?”
“Sir...” Prince looked up at him, “This body is ten days old.”

~

Blaster walked down the halls with his backpack strewn over his shoulder. He was whistling “crazy train” to himself, each stride of his steps confident and chill. He paused when he heard a commotion around the corner towards the dormitories.
"Huh? Is there a party?" He mumbled, "Why wasn't I invited?" He began walking again and was about to turn the corner, but he bumped into another dissolved.
A clipboard clattered to the floor.
"Oops! Sorry, my bad!" Blaster bent down and picked up the clipboard, "Luckily it wasn't anything fragile and expensive. My pockets are a little short on creds." He stood back up and held out the clipboard to the other person.
Prince stared with wide eyes at Blaster, color completely drained from his face.
Blaster looked confused. "Dude. You look like you just saw a ghost. There isn't anything behind me, is there?"
"You're back? Already? You shouldn't be!" Prince noted, "How long ago did you return?"
"Nineteen hours ago, but I slept in the docking port. Was too tired to return here. Why?" Blaster asked.
"You shouldn't be here... You really shouldn't be here..." Prince whispered.
"Huh?" Blaster raised his eyebrows, "What are you talking about?"
"PRINCE!" A voice barked from the dorms, "Why are you stalling?"
"E... Er..." Prince turned around, blocking the sergeants view of Blaster, "I dropped my data! Just gathering up spilled papers! I apologize, Sergeant!"
Blaster blinked a few times. "What's going on? Why is the investigations unit here?"
Prince hurriedly shoved Blaster around the corner and out of sight.
"Woah! Easy, dude! I'm not feeling horny right now-" Blaster started to comment.
"You're Whisper's friend, right?" Prince asked in a hushed tone.
"Yeah, we're tight like tighty whities. She my little sis." Blaster said.
Prince looked at him with worried eyes. "Then you need to leave. NOW."
"Huh?" Blaster's eyes widened, "Wait, why?"
"A body was found in your closet, and the investigators are convinced that you're the culprit." Prince quickly explained, "There's no time for details. If you hurry, you can escape undetected!"
"WHAT!?" Blaster dropped everything he was carrying.
Prince winced and quickly slapped his hands over Blaster's mouth. "Shh! They'll hear you!"
But it was too late.
"Look! It's him!" A voice cried out.
Footsteps came clomping down the halls and to their location.
"Take 'im down!"
Prince shoved Blaster. "Go! Run!"
Blaster hesitated. "But..."
"GO!" Prince yelled.
Blaster turned spun on his heels and sprinted away at top speed.
Prince stood there, watching as the green dissolved hastily fled from the soldiers which pursued him. His scarf flopped as they rushed by, and he quickly adjusted it.
"PRINCETON! FRONT AND CENTER, NOW!" a very enraged sergeant roared.
Prince gulped and timidly made his way to the sergeant, his shoulders raised defensively and his head hung low. 
He was in deep trouble...

... More trouble than he realized when he failed to notice the shadow that stalked him from the darkness...

~

Whisper's head was a little light as her nerves were racked and a fluttery feeling anchored itself into her stomach. She glanced back at the two doctors that she brought back with her, they following her to the sanctuary.
Both of them had stoic faces, but Whisper could tell they were super excited for the privilege to get to see the fabled Ninja.
However, Whisper made it perfectly clear beforehand that they were not to reveal anything that they saw, or else they would be charged with the penalties of disclosing classified information.
They vowed to keep the secrecy, though Whisper was still nervous.
She noticed the doctors stop abruptly and look ahead nervously.
Whisper stopped too, puzzled, and turned to look ahead. "Oh... Hello, Bonz."
Bonz was standing in front of them, watching the group nonchalantly.
"May I ask why you are here?" she asked, "This area is somewhat restricted."
"Frng." Bonz grumbled.
Whisper sighed. "Are you hungry again? Is that it?"
Bonz just stood there.
Whisper sighed. "I will take you to the burger shack later, but right now, could you please step aside? I have important business to attend to."
Bonz didn't budge. He looked at Whisper before eyeing the doctors, who stiffened upon his glare.
"Hmph." Bonz huffed before stepping aside.
"Thank you." Whisper bowed respectfully and continued onward, the doctors hurriedly passing Bonz to catch up to her.
They didn't make it ten feet before everyone heard the familiar grinding noise of Bonz dragging his scyth as he followed them.
Whisper sighed, knowing that shooeing him away would be useless. She let him follow them, despite the doctors' distrust.
It took a while to arrive, but finally the sanctuary was in view. She turned and faced Bonz. "Okay, I need you to stay right here. Yes, here."
Bonz tilted his head. "Hrm?"
Whisper nodded. "Yeah, keep... keep a lookout for any intruders."
Bonx grunted, satisfied with the idea and raised his scyth, clunking the end of the hilt into the floor, standing guard.
Whisper sighed with relief and turned around again.
Whisper was mentally rehearsing an explanation to her powers when using them to open the door, but her mind went blank and her blood went cold at what she saw.
The doors were wide open.
"Um... Are they supposed to be like that?" a doctor asked.
Without answering, Whisper rushed into the sanctuary and looked at the platform.
She gasped. "Oh no..."
The Ninja was gone.