by Mark Swaine
“To combine one's senses is not the use of magic,” informs Laoshi, shifting into an alternative attack position.
The Witch screams in defiance of Laoshi's wisdom and thrusts her hands forward sending a daggered ball of energy at Laoshi. Laoshi thrusts out an open fingered hand and conducts the force of energy to her other hand and spins around to redirect it at the floating Witch. The Witch slams hard against the wall and Laoshi pins her there with a combination of air punches. The Witch coughs blood as her eye is knocked through its socket and she screams as her long beaked nose is compressed against her skull. The Witch screeches as her head flings from left to right as her few remaining teeth fly from her rotten brown gums. With the Witch beaten, Laoshi prepares her final death dealing blow, but fails to notice the weapons in the armoury shaking in their racks. Weapons that Laoshi had always instructed her pupils to be so mindful of, weapons that Laoshi had mastered and so not heeded to be so mindful of as they lift into the air behind her. With her head held low, the Witch smiles secretly and Laoshi inhales deeply and crouches low as she thrusts her palms outward at the Witch's chest. In a loud war cry Laoshi finishes the Witch and the old hag's chest explodes. Fragments of her ribcage fling open crookedly as her russet decaying insides are exposed to Laoshi. Laoshi bows reluctantly with a disgusted expression. As the Witch gasps her last breath, she flicks her fingers toward Laoshi, gesturing eighteen steel, blunt and edged Arms of Wushu at the unexpected victor. The children look up from the floorboards hopefully and expectantly, knowing that their Laoshi will survive. As a heavy thud hits the floor, they see her lifeless eyes peering motionless back at them as streams of blood drips around them through the floorboards.
In the Qiūjì Tiě village, a defensive line of blacksmiths and Jade soldiers swing forging hammers and swords back and forth, crushing and slicing heads left and right. Jade soldiers bellow and signal the surviving townsfolk to the river line where they guard the bridge crossing the river. Wei Li, also protecting the bridge entrance, brings his hammer over the head of an undead farmer and crushes it in a 360 splatter of claret, skull and brain. Not knowing who to save, he sees a mother of three children being chased by a tall silk robed undead lord. Wèizào knocks the lord's head off his shoulders and secures the three children under his arms whilst running back to the line of warriors with the panicking woman. Wèizào holds his head in his hands in despair as he watches raiders ransack his hut, and then he suddenly remembers the sword he said he would keep for Yu-Huang until he returned.
“We cannot wait any longer, we must cut the line to the bridge,” shouts the Jade Captain.
“Not yet, there are still people out there, our men are out there!” protests a soldier.
“Any innocent lives caught in that madness are either dead, dying, or infected by the dark plague. We must protect the lives of those we have saved... all we can do for the others is pray for a quick death,” replies the Captain.
“No, wait, my shack. I must recover an item of great importance,” protests Wei Li.
“Whatever worth the item may hold Blacksmith, it is not worth your life,” replies the Captain.
“Yes it is,” replies Wèizào.
“Then I bid you good fortune Wei Li,” replies the Captain, sincerely.
“Are you insane Blacksmith, you will be killed, and for what!” shouts the other soldier.
“NOBODY STEALS MY MERCHANDISE!” bellows Wei Li furiously. “Go, I will cut the ropes,” says Wei Li calmly whilst gesturing the soldier onto the bridge.
A horde of raiders storm by the shacks and towards Wei Li as they see people escaping.
“Bǎ tā liè! (COME TO WEIZOU!)” bellows Wèizào, holding out both his mountainous arms.
Wèizào removes another hammer from his back and duel wields the two in violent glorious fashion. Swinging them sideways, the iron hammerheads meet a raider’s head in the middle, crushing it like an over ripe watermelon. Crushing chests and breaking backs, nothing stops Wèizào's mission to reach his shack. As he nears his shack, Wèizào is so furious at the non paying customers mauling his property he throws his sledgehammer into a rapid hefty spin and breaks a raider's back in half. The other looters are alerted to Wèizào and use his own weaponry to attack him. Wèizào charges with his sledgehammer held raised over his back and ploughs the end through the head of a raider, rips it club end out and smashes the end of the handle into another. A raider appears from behind Wèizào and stabs him in the waist; he grunts with a chuckle as he removes the tiny blade from his hard muscle then drives his face into the raider’s nose killing him instantly.
A large muscle bound Raider walks into view from the entrance of the shack and looks intimidatingly at Wèizào.
“Are you the one known as Wei Li?” says the heavily armoured assassin in a deep voice.
Wèizào ignores the man's question and picks up a faulty mechanical chicken walking in a circle by his feet. Wei Li over-winds the clucking and twitching machine with the key sticking out from under its belly and tosses it to the confused raider. The gigantic man holds it curiously to his face to closely inspect its inner workings, then it clucks once more and explodes in his face. Appearing shocked, the mercenary falls backwards flat on his back and Wèizào approaches the fallen man and observes his face riddled with cogs and sharp feathers and a beak.
“Worth every cowrie shell, thank you... Mǎkè Shīwěixián,” says Wèizào gratefully.
With the raiders taken care of, Wèizào enters his hut, but with all the doors and windows closed he can't see anything in the steam-filled shack. With the fire pot burning at full blast, sweat falls from Wei Li as he rummages around the weapon racks looking for the sword that is waiting for his friend Donkey....Emperor Yu-Huang's return. Wèizào cheers quickly as he finds the sharp relic, but blinded by the steam Wèizào trips over a leaning sledgehammer and falls face first onto the massive spread fire pot. Minutes later a flaming man emerges from the shack wreathed in flames. Running with his arms flailing, Wei Li finally commits to his injuries and falls to his knees and onto his face. In the bustling market in the centre of the Huanghua city, Akio and Xunsu peruse the many stalls whilst an entourage of Jade soldiers carries the goods. Akio looks over the crowd and sees Shun-Shiro and few other fellow Samurai sat at a table trying to hide their amusement at Akio and his current work detail.
“Akio, how are you enjoying your child minding duty?” asks Shun-Shiro.
“You are a natural,” shouts another Samurai.
“A natural wench,” adds another.
“Akio, when time permits, I have a bag of underwear that needs cleansing,” says Shun-Shiro hiding his mockery as best he can.
“Cleanse this,” replies Akio grabbing his crotch.
Akio shakes his head in humiliation as they bow their heads to him in a sudden bout of hysterics. Akio bows his head briefly to return the gesture then Xunsu grabs him by the hand and drags him to another stall, much to the loud amusement of the Samurai relaxing under a sheltered stall.
“No slacking Master Samurai,” says Xunsu gesturing Akio to the massive sack of seeds on the stall counter, “and put your helmet on, you are on duty,” commands Xunsu.
“I not need my headgear at the moment Xunsu, though it would conceal my identity better,” replies Akio heaving the large sack onto his shoulder.
“What happens if you have an accident and hurt your head, you will only have yourself to blame,” says Xunsu in an adult manner.
“A helmet will not prevent my head from exploding from within,” moans Akio.
“Oh, oh and we need another sack of strawberry seeds,” says Xunsu, in sudden recollection.
“Xunsu we have enough seeds to plant another country, if we plant any more seeds we will not have any more ground to walk on,” says Akio impatiently. “I can abide immortal life, I can even just about abide this guardian duty, but if there is one thing I hate in all existence... it is shopping,” says Akio in an additional mutter.
“Stop com
plaining, we have over five hundred mouths to feed,” says Xunsu.
“When are you going to stop speaking to me in this ridiculous future foreign language?” asks Akio.
“Cuando dejes de comportarte como una niña (when you stop behaving like a girl),” replies Xunsu dryly.
“I have lost the will to live...” says Akio, passing the huge sack to a non respondent soldier staring up at the sky. “No, he has lost the will to live,” says Akio, snapping his fingers in front of the soldier's stern face.
Akio looks at the formation of soldiers staring afar at the sky and waves his arms in front of them.
“Great,” says Akio, “they have all lost the will to live,” continues Akio mockingly. “See what you did Xunsu? You broke our entourage with your season-long shopping trip. Maybe we should open the sacks; the seeds will have grown into fruit by now,” he adds.
Akio looks at the rest of the market place and looks strangely at everybody still, silent, with their eyes on the horizon. Akio walks back to Xunsu who is also captivated by the approaching force of ominous, soaring beings. Akio’s curious face changes to an expression of severity as he finally looks in the same direction.
“Xunsu get to the portal,” commands Akio sternly.
“No, I am staying, you will need my Wushu,” states Xunsu.
“Drop everything; get to the portal, now! Not make me tell you a second time!” shouts Akio.
Xunsu backs away, upset by Akio's rebuke for aid and he crouches to face her.
“Please Xunsu, do as I ask. I know you wish to fight, and you are quite able, but you know not the evil that will soon be upon us. If you wish to help, escort a squadron of Jade soldier's back to the village with our supplies intact. We need these supplies, please Xunsu,” says Akio kindly and urgently.
“Okay Master Akio, this time,” complies Xunsu, gesturing the soldiers on her lead.
Xunsu and the Jade soldiers race for the portal waiting for them in-between a small alleyway on the far side of the market place.
Akio hails a Jade soldier to his side and discreetly issues another command,
“As calmly as possible, begin rounding up women and children and take them to the Red Sun village,” commands Akio.
Akio counts the passageways leading into the marketplace and shakes his head at the doubtful probability of being able to quarantine the spread of the undead plague. Fortunately, Kamisori no Hikari had placed counter measures all over the city in the event of an attack, though he had hoped he'd never need to use them. Shun-Shiro and the three other Samurai disperse to guard the exits on the North and West side exits, and Akio commands the Jade captain and a squadron of soldiers to guard the East and South while the Captain orders archers to man the rooftops overlooking the alleyways.
“You must kill the infected in your path, not let one infected person bite you, not let one infected man pass you. Go now, we must contain them here, nothing gets in and no one gets out,” says Akio, urgently.
As dragon wings rush long spiny silhouettes over the long square market place, quiet dread manifests into panicked screams as the bodies begin dropping. Jade soldiers run and climb to their posts and Akio watches Xunsu ushering families and children into a narrow dark alleyway, and she senses Akio's stern eyes upon her as he makes for certain she enters the portal. With the Jade soldiers and Samurai moving into position, Akio pushes his way through the screaming crowd cutting the heads from those that had fallen from above. Some of the panicking people were already being fed upon as they had made the perfect cushions to soften their landing. As Akio approaches victims of the undead plague, he puts them out of their long term suffering with a swipe of his Katana. Some beg to die, others protest with hands raised as they'd suffered nothing more than a mere wrist or ankle bite. Akio puts them down regardless, and he appears remorseless as he goes about slaughtering the innocent bite victims, but inside he condemns himself. But Akio knows, once bitten there is no cure, nothing can be done to stop the process of becoming undead, regardless of the severity of the bite. Even though Akio is one of a hundred Samurai who’ve been infected by Emperor Kazuko's spell of immortality, he too is still vulnerable to the undead virus, and would pray for the very same compassion he is bestowing on the infected crowd at this very minute. By the time Akio is finished slicing and slashing through the crowd, he severs the heads of those lying still before they rise. Stragglers hiding under stalls, carts and bales of hay recoil in fear as he calls them out from hiding.
“Were you bitten, were any of you bitten? Answer me!” shouts Akio.
The people jump at his booming voice and they shake their heads in terrified response. Akio doesn't trust their immediate reply and he looks along the row of people, deep into their eyes. A middle-aged man holding his daughter's hand can barely look Akio in the eye as blood seeps through his grey tunic from the wound on his shoulder. Akio stands before the shaking and sweating father and readies his Katana whilst moving the child aside with the blunt side of his Katana. The girl refuses to let go of her father's hand and stands between him and Akio.
“Akio, please do not hurt my father,” pleads the little girl.
“He is not your father anymore,” says Akio sympathetically, “and if I do not end his life, he will hurt you,” he adds.
“How, how can you be certain of this?” asks the little girl's father.
“Because I have seen it happen with my own two eyes. You will turn, and you will feed on others. I will end your life, painlessly, and you will die with honour,” says Akio.
“Honour, what honour?” says the man crazily as blood seeps from his ears.
“Protect your daughter, you are endangering her at this very moment,” replies Akio.
“Akio, what are you doing, end his life before he turns!” bellows Shun-Shiro from afar.
A sudden pair of teeth lurches for the little girl's arm as her father suddenly attempts to take a bite out of it. Akio grabs the snarling and drooling man by the neck whilst sheathing his Katana. Akio swiftly unsheathes his Daisho and drives it into the man's temple. Akio's face tenses as the girl sobs over her father's dead body and he turns to join Shun-Shiro at the wide North exit.
“Akio I witnessed what happened,” says Shun-Shiro, crossly.
“Congratulations,” replies Akio, apathetically.
“What happens when we hesitate,” says Shun-Shiro, furiously. “Kamui Li...”
“Kamui Li is not here brother, nor can he hear you, so do not speak as if he is amongst us and ready to lick the cow shit from the heel of your boot,” replies Akio, irritably. “What happens when we hesitate?” says Akio mockingly in a whiny tone.
“Do not insult me with your idiotic and insolent manner! Do you wish to become an undead immortal?! The containment procedure is vital; we must keep this area secure for those who are uninfected. That means we stop the infected from spreading by striking them down, whoever they may be, men, women, soldier's, even children!” shouts Shun-Shiro.
“I am aware of the containment procedure brother! I aided in its logic, but how are we to carry out the evacuation now?” seethes Akio.
“I know not, how were we to know of such an attack? Surely the Emperor would have foreseen this,” replies Shun-Shiro watching the undead dragons above.
“Clearly he did not receive the memorandum,” replies Akio dryly.
“What is the problem?” asks a Jade soldier stood beside them.
“The survivors were intended to be safe upon the rooftops where the undead cannot reach them, where they would have been safe should the barricades breach. But we did not factor the possibility of an attack from Undead Dragons,” replies Akio.
“We shall hold them here, the rooftops must be a last resort and not a refuge, but a pathway to escape,” suggests the Jade soldier.
“Very well, should the undead break our defences, see the survivors to the rooftops,” commands Akio. “What choice do they have,” he adds uselessly.
As Akio, Shun-Shiro and the Jade so
ldiers man the alleyway, Shun-Shiro continues his grilling.
“Do not ever hesitate again, ever!” seethes Shun-Shiro.
“Shun-Shiro you are a good friend and an even better warrior, but when you shout as you are doing now, you sound not imposing, but more alike to my former wench,” he adds.
Shun-Shiro exhales deeply, knowing that whatever he says is either going to be met with sarcasm or some other ridiculous slapstick observation.