Amandla Castle's wall towered over Sune's head, piercing the sky, communing with the clouds.
He could scarcely make out the top without straining his eyes.
The surface a cragged mountain of burnt and blackened stone brick. Ash and charcoal smeared down it's walls like paint on a canvas set ablaze.
Jagged silhouettes of towers and barracks jutted out from the centre like branches of a haunted tree.
Smoke hovered thinly through the air, fogging the atmosphere and stinging Sune's eyes till they watered; the ghostly breath of a graveyard.
It appeared in use, yet devoid of life. Loud, yet silent.
Intact, yet in ruins.
It's enormous scale mocking him, leering over him...
As if to say: "You'll never reach these heights."
Yet, he ignored it all.
Without hesitation, Sune broke out his climbing claws, and began to ascend.
Eyes locked on the top. He refused to look down, but above was no comfort either.
The more he climbed, the ever taller the castle appeared, the more Sune began to comprehend how deep into enemy territory he was travelling.
A world he did not belong in. A world that did not want him there.
They can kiss my feet on my way in.
As he scaled the charred walls, voices drifted past his ear.
Idle conversations most of which he filtered. Barked commands from high-ranking commanders...
It seemed that after confirming that there was in fact life within the castle, it only felt more lifeless.
Soldiers spoke like they were actors rehearsing for a play they never auditioned for.
Parroting the meagre selection of words they had been allotted.
Playing the role.
If Amandla castle was a graveyard, these were it's ghosts.
Sune snickered. The word 'pathetic' flashed in his mind, immediately offset when he remembered the peril he was in.
The wind breezing past his back, dragging him to his death.
His clothes whipped in the wind, his scarf nearly blowing from his face.
Sune nearly removed one hand from his climb to place it back.
Concealing his Gimen identity had become instinct.
Either way, he could not keep this up.
His arms grew achy and loose of blood, his head beginning to pound.
Finding a foothold became harder, lodging his claws into the wall became harder still.
Sune scanned around, desperate for somewhere he could stand on two feet.
His eyes caught the city beneath him. Brick-red roofs stacked upon one another, suffocating. Each house a different shape, a different size - yet all wore the same face.
Clotheslines crisscrossed the alleys like webs, strung with dull fabrics that barely even fluttered.
Thousands of lives tucked into crooked homes. No protest of poverty, no cry of misery. Nothing so interesting.
The city was merely... waiting.
A sea of men and women swallowing their discontent -- too tired to utter it aloud. It was not out of fear, but out of the lack of anything at all.
At least, that was what Sune saw, in his momentary glance.
His bladed resolve sharpened itself once more as he turned away.
But this distraction did him no favours. His grip was waning, as the last ounces of blood fled his fingers.
Panting as though he were winded, Sune glanced around frantically. Feeling with his feet for a single inch of solid ground to stand on.
As he began to question whether he should find an easier route inside... his eyes fixed on the solution.
Finally. A way in.
A tower, connected to the main castle and to the outer wall he was climbing, by a lengthy stone bridge, lying far up and to the left of him.
If I can somehow get up there, and get inside...
The rest is nothing.
Inching sideways, little by little, body clinging to the wall like a dying insect... Sune hauled himself to the bridge.
Every movement dragged him down. His muscles filled with acid over blood.
He grew lightheaded, like part of him had already fallen.
But still... he grew closer...
Until he was only an arms length away...
Sune wedged his foot deep into a crack-- and launched.
For a moment, he flew. Then his body hit the stone.
He tumbled, scraped, rolled...
But he landed.
Guess who?
Sune gathered himself, trying to shake the fatigue from his arms.
Then, getting a measure of his surroundings.
It was just as he had seen before.
The tower was connected to a stone bridge that led directly into the castle.
All that stood in his way... was a single wooden door.
Sune re-wrapped his scarf, preparing himself for what was next.
Breathing deeply once. And once more.
Everything he'd endured.
Everything he'd lost.
It all gave birth to this day.
The day the Humans would begin to pay.
The day they would learn of The Wingman.
Sune broke into a sprint, boots slamming against the stone as he charged across the bridge.
A running head start should do it
And it did.
He slammed his shoulder into the heavy door.
BANG!
It blasted from the hinges as Sune crashed to the floor along with them.
He barely looked up before instinct kicked in.
Two Human soldiers. Both frozen, staring.
"Who the hell are you?! What's the meaning of thi--"
Sune pounced. A rapid neck-chop mid-sentence.
The guard clutched his throat, choking, sputtering.
Sune slipped to his left, chaining a kick into his arm.
CRUNCH. CRACK! His bones shattered on impact.
The man hit the wall like a ragdoll. Slumping to the floor. Leaving a thin long dent in the brick.
Sune's gaze snapped to the other soldier, who stood paralysed by fear.
"N--no-no... no please!"
Sune lunged forward before he could blink. A clean punch to his jaw.
His head spun as he collapsed to the floor like a dropped rake.
These are the 'mighty' humans I used to fear so...?
Sune chuckled breathlessly, all concealed by his scarf.
After checking the coast was clear, he peered around his surroundings.
The castle was far more castle-like on the inside.
Candles illuminated the dim wooden corridors in orange light.
Extravagant ornaments and antiques littered over the sides below enormous paintings hung on glossy golden frames. Displaying the very image of wealth and power the owners wished to represent. Something alien to Sune.
And through the centre of this passage, a red carpet, stretched out all across it's length...
Only stopping at a downwards leading stair-case.
The words of Sune's guide flashed into his mind at the perfect moment.
"It doesn't matter where you enter from. Keep heading down, and you'll find them."
Sune jolted around the corner. Nimbly darting to the staircase. Racing in silence. He could not afford to raise the alarm,
The staircase was winding, sunlight peaking through the miniscule windows on each side. He stared through as he dashed past each one. Taking in the sight of an alternate reality.
It gave Sune ample time to think.
This world was entirely foreign to Sune. Beautiful in it's mystery, even in it's silent misery.
He had to appreciate it regardless.
For this is where he would set the stage...
Where he would begin his revolution...