Broken Thunder
By Rich Wulf

"The Day of Thunder would change the world as we knew it, revealing the birth of a magnificent new Rokugan."

- Miya Satoshi, Imperial Herald, 1128 by the Isawa Calendar, the Sixth Year of the Glorious Reign of Hantei XXXIX

* * * * *

The palace shook with the sound of thunder. Doji Hoturi's eyes narrowed as he peered through an archery slot. Outside, he could hardly see the battlefield for the smoke. Lightning gouged the earth at the command of unseen shugenja. He could smell the reek of the walking dead. The banners of the clans stood above the chaos. Most were torn, burnt and damaged.

"It is only a battle," the stranger said. "You have seen this before."

"Not like this," Hoturi said. "We came to save the Empire from Jigoku, but it is already here. What victory can we yet find amid such loss?"

"You might be surprised how much you have left to lose," the stranger said. "There is still hope."

"At what cost? We are samurai planning to kill the Emperor. If we win this battle, what purpose would we serve afterward?"

The stranger shrugged. "If I merely gave you the answer, you would learn nothing."

Hoturi chuckled.

"Think upon it," the stranger said. "I must see to the others." The Hooded Ronin stepped back into the shadows, leaving Hoturi alone. The Crane watched the battle alone for a long time.

* * * * *

Hida Yakamo scowled when he saw her enter - the girl who had taken his hand. "Fortunes," the Crab swore, glancing at Toturi. "Don't tell me she's one of us?"

Toturi nodded briefly. "Do you have a problem with that?" he said, fixing the Crab with his typical cool stare.

Yakamo shook his head. "I know my duty."

Toturi nodded.

"If we fail because of her," Yakamo whispered, "I'll kill her."

Toturi nodded again.

"When this is done, I want to have a talk with whoever picked the Seven Thunders," the Crab added sarcastically.

"You would challenge the forces of destiny itself?" the ethereal voice of Togashi Yokuni echoed moments before the great Dragon entered the darkened chamber. "You will need such bravado, I think.~,

"Are we ready?" Yakamo asked tersely. "Let's get this over with!"

Toturi looked at the Crab. "Why so impatient?"

"We're about to fight a god," Yakamo said. "Either we'll win or we'll die. The Crab have been waiting for this for eleven centuries. I'm tired of waiting."

"We will begin," Yokuni said, "as soon as the Phoenix arrives."

The doors behind them opened.

* * * * *

So this is what it feels like to die, Isawa Tadaka thought as Tsukune and Osugi helped him enter the secret passage. The other Thunders waited for him. With a strange clarity he noted the shock on their faces. Tadaka's Tainted flesh was scorched and bloodied from his duel with Isawa Tsuke.

Tsukune begged Togashi Yokuni not to force Tadaka to enter the battle, but she may as well have begged a mountain. The decision was not Yokuni's; Tadaka would not allow himself to be carried from this place. Better that he die on his feet, fulfilling his destiny, than to die on his back in a tent. Finally, Tsukune and Osugi turned to leave. Osugi looked back, giving him a comforting smile. Tadaka would have smiled in return, but for the bandages covering his ruined face. Tsukune never looked back. Tadaka had never truly told her how he felt, not really. It was a terrible thing, to die with regret, but it was no less than he deserved. His quest for the Black Scrolls had destroyed his clan.

Perhaps redemption was too much to hope for.

The Master of Earth looked up just as the doors to the throne room opened.

* * * * *

Yokuni said something as they prepared to enter the throne room. Otaku Kamoko did not hear him; her mind was on the fight. The Unicorn samurai-ko held her blade ready, shifting her weight from foot to foot. She only regretted that this demon was too cowardly to meet them outside, where she could face him mounted on the back of noble Hachiman. Kamoko chuckled at the prospect, launching herself eagerly into the throne room.

The Battle Maiden paused, eyes wide with astonishment. Two great dragons twisted in mortal combat. A moment before, one had been Togashi Yokuni; the other had been the Emperor. Seeing two of the Kami in their true forms filled the Battle Maiden's heart with fear for the first time.

With a loud snap, Yokuni's serpentine body hung limp in the claws of his dark brother. Fu Leng cast the defeated creature to the floor; the dragon vanished, replaced by the body of Togashi Yokuni. The Emperor appeared as well, seated in the cracked throne, smirking in victory.

Kamoko paused, sword ready. For a moment, she had the feeling that something was wrong, like a missed beat in a steady rhythm. Shaking off the feeling, she held her katana high and charged.

* * * * *

Mirumoto Hitomi knelt over Togashi's body, heart pounding. She barely flinched as Kamoko hit the wall, knocked aside by a single blow from the Emperor. Yakamo and Tadaka charged next; she ignored the battle. Her right hand, the Obsidian Hand, moved of its own accord, fingers clenching over the fallen Kami's chest. The Hand seemed eager to taste his blood, to tear out his heart and rend the meat. She found the urge hard to resist. The Dragon Champion's helm was gone; his face was peaceful.

"Do it," Yokuni whispered. "Fulfill your destiny. Complete the riddle."

Hitomi paused, fingers hovering above Yokuni's heart. Her mind, usually clear and focused, filled with questions. Could she kill her own daimyo? Why should she not? This creature who had brought so much pain into her life, had sent her brother to his death so his precious Day of Thunder could continue as planned. Hitomi looked up at the battle. Hida Yakamo glanced back, looking at her with his black, pig-like eyes. He was not worth Satsu's life.

"My lord," Hitomi said, leaning low to whisper in Togashi Yokuni's ear. "There will be no more riddles. Live, and relish your failure."

Hitomi saw something in Yokuni's eyes at that moment that she had never seen before - surprise. With supreme satisfaction, she turned and left the throne room.

* * * * *

"Hitomi!" Toturi shouted as the Dragon exited. "Where are you going?"

"I told you," Hida Yakamo shouted, struggling as great chains of shadow bound him at Fu Leng's command. "I warned you not to trust her!" On the floor beside Yakamo, Isawa Tadaka's body lay smoking. Fu Leng had turned the Master of Earth's own purifying magic against his Tainted body.

The Emperor chuckled. "You may come to envy her, Thunders," he said. "She will be the only one who survives this day."

Toturi scowled as he drew his blade. "You are no Emperor!" Hoturi shouted in defiance.

"And you are no god," the Emperor said. "Fight me, and die."

"He is correct," the Hooded Ronin said quietly. "You cannot win; Hitomi has made her choice. The reign of darkness begins."

"No!" shouted Doji Hoturi.

The fallen Lion met his friend's gaze and nodded. Together, they charged. Toturi's blade swept cleanly through the Emperor's neck; Hoturi's pierced his heart.

The Emperor did not flinch. His head did not fall, but simply hovered above his neck. He filled the room with cackling laughter and buried his fist in Doji Hoturi's chest. With a backhand swipe, he knocked Toturi's katana from his hands.

"Thunders!" Toturi swore, staggering backwards.

At Toturi's side, the ravaged Master of Earth staggered to his feet. Yakamo stood beside them as well, shattered chains hanging from his wrists and ankles. "Well, general?" Yakamo asked. "What do we do now?"

"You run," Tadaka replied. "I die."

"Tadaka, what are you" was as far as Toturi got before the Master of Earth began his spell. With a brilliant explosion of energy, Tadaka consumed the throne room in fire.

"We are lost," Toturi whispered, backing into the hall.

"Not yet, general," Yakamo replied. Seizing the Black Lion by the arm, he turned and ran.

* * * * *

The Emperor's hand tightened about Bayushi Kachiko's throat. A savage grin spread across Fu Leng's features. In his other hand, he clutched the Twelfth Black Scroll, torn from Togashi's chest, firmly sealed. Black energy crackled in the wounds Toturi and Hoturi had given him. How had Yokuni expected them to fight something like this?

"A trap all along," he said, looking at the scroll with a bemused expression. "Amusing. . . " He looked into Kachiko's eyes. "Your plan failed. Shinsei chose his Thunders poorly."

Kachiko said nothing.

"Silent, for once?" Fu Leng laughed. "Togashi is dead. Soon, your Empire will be dead. You have lost. Isn't this where you try to insinuate yourself into the graces of the victor, as you always do?"

"Have you won?" she said hoarsely, meeting his stare.

Fu Leng frowned. "Is there any doubt?"

"Kill me, then," she spat in his face. "I would rather die than see the Empire ruled by you! You can destroy Rokugan, Fu Leng, but only an Emperor can rule it!"

Fu Leng sighed and released his grip. Kachiko crumpled to the floor in a heap. "How sad," he said, tucking the Black Scroll behind his obi. "Ever the manipulator, even with your death imminent. What do you hope to accomplish? Do you even know? Or are you simply hoping for the best?" '

Kachiko said nothing, but simply continued to stare into the Dark God's eyes.

"Fine, then," he said with a tolerant chuckle. "If all you wish is survival, then that is what I shall give you. I am, after all, a benevolent god, am I not?" His smile chilled her even more than his scowl. "You will serve me as you did before as Empress and concubine. I will rule Rokugan as Emperor. At my side you shall witness a thousand years of darkness." He knelt and pulled her closer, his breath cold upon her cheek. "You will remember that the Empire I create was fashioned at your request, and that when you had a chance to stop me. . . you failed."

With a shove, he pushed her away, leaving her alone in the throne room with the bodies of the fallen. Kachiko's fingers gingerly touched her sore throat. Tears ran down her cheeks. She had saved the Empire from outright destruction, but would rule by the dark god bring an even worse fate?

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