Heartless | KUN

5 - Potential Partners

"How many people are we breaking out?" Ten asked, raising his red access card up to the dim lights.

"Everyone." Kun replied. "I thought you said you wanted an army."

"I suggested we have an army. We don't have to if you don't want one. You're the one who wants this, after all."

"What if they refuse to join you?" Dejun asked. "Many of the prisoners would prefer to be left to spend eternity in peace and not in conflict. They've watched their ancestors do what you're trying to do. If we were to ask them to assist us, they'd laugh and say it won't work."

"If they refuse to help us, we leave them be." Kun said. "But I'm sure it'll be difficult for them to say no."

He was right. He was the most respected and feared prisoner. His crime alone would make everyone bow to him. There was no denying the impact he made.

"And what would you know?" Ten scoffed. "You're just a warden. We'll dispose you when we're done, right Kun?"

Dejun pursed his lips and looked away. Kun remained silent.

"Relax, Xiao." Ten chuckled. "I was just pulling your leg."

Although his voice sounded reassuring, his facial expression told another story. 

Dejun guided them to the dining hall and gestured for them to sit. The room was a mixture of white and blue, filled with metallic tables and chairs with mirror-like monitoring screens at the back. 

"Who are the best people to take out?" Kun asked, picking a scab on his thumb. 

"In this tower, there are four people including you." Dejun began. "You are all the most dangerous criminals, reason primarily being the crimes you committed. The top of the tower has a cell well known as the Sanctuary."

He placed his hand on the table and a red hologram spread around half the table. A hexagonal bath and vines and trees materialised and formed a solid image. A few centimetres behind the bath stood a glass box filled with what was assumably water.

"The prisoner who lives there is the prince of the Wetlands." A holographic image of the prince formed on the centre of the table. 

He's quite a handsome man, if you ask me.

"His birthname is unknown. All we know is that he prefers the sobriquet 'Hendery'." Dejun continued. 

"He was arrested for manipulation and the falsely accused attempted assassination of his older step-brother, King Yitian."

"Why is his cell like that?" Ten asked. "The other cells are smaller and less stylised."

"Same reason why Kun's was so different." The medic replied. "They're designed to destroy their inhabitants. Hendery is a powerful hydrokinetic, which came as a great advantage for Crada."

"One's greatest power can also be their weakness." Kun muttered.

"I guess you were listening to me during our sessions." Dejun smiled.

"So, this cell was made to hurt him?" Ten asked. Dejun nodded. "I'm guessing he gets dropped into that glass box full of water when he does something weird."

"Only when he misbehaves." 

"Misbehaves how?" Kun asked.

"Manipulation, seduction, threats," Dejun listed, pushing down one finger for each point.

"He dislikes the idea of implementing physical harm. He says the best form of torture is how you play with someone's mind."

Dejun placed a small red disk on the table and pushed down the white button. A light screeching sound rang in their ears before clearing to silence.