The Risen King - Part 2

Zhen and her friends were geared up and were walking to the courtyard. "What happens if we run into anyone from Zhēngfú's Fist?" asked Silica.

"We'll deal with them and continue to Zhōng, no one will stand in our way." replied Zhen, her eyes were filled with determination and motivation.

"Even if we need to face father?" asked Hannah. Zhen didn't want to answer, she knew him as a cruel man but he was still a father to Xing and Hannah.

"If he doesn't let Zhōng go and stands against us, we'll have no choice." stated Xing, she saw Zhen look over her shoulder with uncertainty. She nodded her head at the princess telling her it was okay. 

"So what happens if we stand in your way?" asked King Alexios as he blocked their path with Lord Tyron, Wēi, and a couple of Spartan guards.

"We must go, he needs us." stated Zhen.

"I can't let you fly into the Iarnă Mountains. It's the middle of the storm season, you won't be able to make it far." declared King Alexios.

"Even so, Zhōng is flying through it." argued Pina.

"That was till he took refuge with my brother; he hasn't flown since." said Lord Tyron.

"I don't mean to argue, my lord and your majesty, but Zhōng isn't hiding anymore." stated Tony as he, Jack, John, and Hòuhuǐ arrived and joined Zhen and her friends. "Zhōng's beacon just took off, it's heading southwest towards Mount Anagenni̱ménos."

"I assume you just came from that room," guessed Wēi.

"Indeed, your majesty, we agree with your daughter and want to go help Zhōng." responded Jack.

"But even if you know where he's going, you still have to worry about the weather and the enemy that's lurking." warned Lord Tyron.

"My lord, you haven't been here for long, weather isn't always accurate. Am I correct, your majesty?" said Tony.

Everyone turned to look at King Alexios as he knew something that they didn't. "Our meteorologists predicted that the storms in the mountains will be unpassable. However, the storms we received are nowhere near as bad as they predicted." he stated.

"I've heard missed predictions, but how could they miss so terribly on weather?" asked John.

"There was one factor that they didn't calculate and that is Mount Anagenni̱ménos's activity." replied King Alexios.

"Let me guess, they predicted its next eruption wasn't due for another hundred years?" stated Tony, they saw King Alexios's head lowered and nodded with guilt.

"Then it's another reason to go, Zhōng might not know it's active, or if there's a fight, he could be in danger." declared Zhen.

"If so, I am not allowing you to go. I won't risk my men to protect you up there and if something bad happens to you, I am responsible." exclaimed King Alexios.

"Then allow us, your majesty, you're not responsible for what happens to us." stated Tony as Jack, John, and Hòuhuǐ stood by his side.

"We swore to fight with Zhōng, we have a promise to keep and a favor to pay." stated Hòuhuǐ. He looked at Lord Tyron and nodded at him, he believed he was ready and could let his past go.

"Zhōng is very fortunate to have you," sighed Lord Tyron. He looked at King Alexios and nodded his head.

"Very well," sighed King Alexios. He stood down and his guards stepped aside to let the boys go through. 

"Mother," began Zhen and Wēi turned to look at her daughter. "I owe Zhōng as well, please, let us go."

"You know he'll not like this," stated Wēi.

"He has no choice, I am pledged to serve him." stated Zhen, she touched her bellow where a scar was branded on her.

Wēi looked down at her mark she sighed and said, "King Alexios I won't fault you if anything bad happens to my daughter."

"Are you sure about this?" asked Lord Tyron.

"Do you trust her abilities since you trained her?" questioned Wēi.

Lord Tyron looked at Zhen, she was similar to Zhōng as they stood demanding attention and cooperation. Her body spoke her mind was made up and ready as her eyes glared with fire like Zhōng's used to do. He realized that Zhōng became her example of who she wanted to be. "She needs to find her true self but she's more ready than anyone." he said.

"Very well," said Wēi and she stepped aside. Zhen approached and they hugged tightly for a few moments. "Be careful," she whispered.

"I will," promised Zhen. The group soon continued and took off heading towards the Iarnă Mountains and Mount Anagenni̱ménos.

Zhōng reached Mount Anagenni̱ménos and landed on the outskirts of the summit. He was the first and only one there as he looked around. Something didn't feel right as he didn't run into trouble on his way over. His eyes soon spot the Ninja Sword sticking out on a mound surrounded by ice in the center of the crater. Still in the mech, he took a step onto the ice and cracked under his weight. Sighing with frustration, he looked around again before deactivating his mech. He carefully stepped on the ice as it vented steam from cracks made by him, Mount Anagenni̱ménos was on the verge of exploding. Looking around one more time, he then returned his gaze to the Ninja Sword and slowly started running towards it.

The closer Zhōng came to the Ninja Sword, the faster he ran. He was desperate to reclaim something he never should have let go of as he sprinted with everything he had. Someone shot in front of him, causing him to stop, he looked behind him and saw the Samurai Mech land where he did as it reloaded his ammo.

"The highest peek, where hot and cold meet. Of course, it meant Mount Anagenni̱ménos, the highest and dormant volcano in all seven empires. Well, maybe it's no longer dormant. It's also rumor to be where the seven strongest swords were forged." sneered Emperor Zhēngfú.

"You lost, brother, I'm here first." declared Zhōng.

"You may be here first, but that doesn't mean I can still beat you." said Emperor Zhēngfú. He took a step forward and like Zhōng's Valtryek, the ice cracked beneath him.

"You're too heavy in mech form, even if you hover, you could still break the ice. If you want the Ninja Sword, you'll have to get past me." growled Zhōng, he drew his Valtryek sword and squared off against his brother.

Emperor Zhēngfú chuckled and said, "You think I will deactivate my mech and face you in sword combat? Why should I do that when I have an army that can kill you? I'm sure you're familiar with them." Suddenly, four hundred mechs appeared in the sky as they pointed their weapons at Zhōng.

Zhōng looked around in the sky, he wondered what had happened to them since he had no trouble coming here. "I thought we couldn't ask for help." he said.

"There's a difference between asking and ordering." began Emperor Zhēngfú as two mechs landed behind him. Zhōng recognized them as Xiōngshǒu, his brother's old squire, and Lord Sensou, lord of the border fiefdom. "Asking is you begging for help while ordering is you demanding help. We were told we couldn't ask for help but that doesn't mean he couldn't order it. I guess you didn't think of that since you have no power to command." continued Emperor Zhēngfú.

"True, but I have friends," stated Zhōng.

"Friends? If so, where are they? That's right, you pushed them away like everyone else in your life. You are alone in the dark, fighting for the light that despises you. I'm going to give you one more chance, come back this way and I'll let you go free. I won't hunt you and you can live anywhere you like. But if you take another step towards the Ninja Sword, I will order my men to shoot and they will stop you." sneered Emperor Zhēngfú.

Zhōng looked around him again, he then turned to the Ninja Sword, and he heard an unisoned hum pierced through the whispering winds. He closed his eyes and pondered what to do when a strong gust blew off his cowl. He listened to every sound from the mechs whose weapons were hot, to the ice crackling as the lava pressure increased upon, to everyone's breathing. A sound ranged into his ear and he smiled knowing what it meant. "You're right, brother, I did push them away. But no matter how hard I try, they always come back." he said. He turned around and opened his eyes. They were blue as they shined like diamonds as they stared at Emperor Zhēngfú who crumbled a little from his stare.

Suddenly, twenty mechs were ambushed and killed and the explosion directed everyone's attention. As the fallen mechs fell, eleven mechs appeared from the thick clouds and opened fire on the other three hundred and eighty mechs. "Traitors!" cried a soldier before Tony slashed him with his speed.

"I'm not a traitor anymore," stated Tony. He looked down and saw Zhōng smiling at him before turning his gaze back to his brother.

"Brother!" cried Zhōng as he charged at Emperor Zhēngfú who snapped his attention back to him.

Emperor Zhēngfú prepared to fire at Zhōng, just before he could fire, a volley of shots fell from the sky. When he looked up, he saw two mechs flying at him.

"Xiōngshǒu!" cried Hòuhuǐ before he tackled his friend and they toppled off the summit and down a little while.

"Let me handle her," stated Lord Sensou and charged up and intercepted Zhen. "You risk your life for him?" he growled.

"He did the same for me," stated Zhen and she began to battle with her cousin.

"Traitor," growled Xiōngshǒu as he and Hòuhuǐ squared off against each other. 

"I was one, but not anymore, it's time we finish our dual that started a long time ago." said Hòuhuǐ. The two charged at each other as it was the last ballad for them.

Emperor Zhēngfú watched as his best men struggled to recover from the surprise attack. He watched his sisters pair together were unstoppable as they defeated already twenty. He suddenly felt a chill, when he looked down, he saw the blue eyes of Zhōng before he uppercut him. He was fast and light as his Valtryek sword was a blur penetrating through the Samurai Mech's defenses. Emperor Zhēngfú had enough and swatted Zhōng away and downward cut him.

Zhōng quickly blocked the attack, while it was powerful enough to shatter swords from the Ninja Empire, the Spartan steel supported the blade as he guided it to his left side into the ice. Lava spewed suddenly out causing Emperor Zhēngfú to back away. It was a mistake as a fist of a Valtryek mech sent him backwards. It marched on Emperor Zhēngfú and went on the offensive, pushing the emperor back.

Emperor Zhēngfú was caught off guard as Zhōng used forms found in the Old Royal Technique in between his overwhelming attacks. Soon he was defeated and the blade from the Valtryek mech was close enough to keep him down. "How is this possible? You were never this good with the technique." awed Emperor Zhēngfú.

"It's over brother, stand down and no men need to be lost in the upcoming war." threatened Zhōng.

Emperor Zhēngfú looked up as he saw Tony dealing with ten of his men, they were no match for him as he disposed of them quickly. He then saw Jack and John helping the girls by intercepting the enemy and plowing them away. He finally saw Zhen facing Lord Sensou, and he recognized the technique she used was also the Old Royal Technique. He started laughing and said, "So it was uncle who taught you." He looked back down at Zhōng who kept his blade still pointing at him as his blue eyes glowed. "You're right, it is over," he said and used his left arm to fire rockets. They headed towards the mound where the Ninja Sword was standing and struck the ice around it. The ground suddenly rumbled and lava burst out breaking all the remaining ice. Mount Anagenni̱ménos had suddenly woken up and began to blow.

Hòuhuǐ had finished defeating Xiōngshǒu, he pointed his blade like Zhōng was doing to Emperor Zhēngfú. "You lose," stated Hòuhuǐ as he looked down at his friend. Suddenly the ground beneath them rumbled and a great explosion happened shortly as the snow around them began to glow orange from the reflection. Hòuhuǐ turned around and saw lava reaching towards the sky and other geysers of lava followed the first. "Your majesty!" he realized and started to run back up to the summit.

Suddenly, Hòuhuǐ felt something pierced him, he looked down and saw a blade piercing through the right side of his stomach. "You should've killed me when you had the chance," snarled Xiōngshǒu into Hòuhuǐ's ear. He ripped his blade out and watched Hòuhuǐ crumble after his mech deactivated.

"Hòuhuǐ!" shouted Jack and John, they were charging down and opened fire on Xiōngshǒu who jumped back and flew away. Jack continued to fire at Xiōngshǒu while John checked Hòuhuǐ who was taking sharp breaths to stay alive.

Xiōngshǒu soon reached the summit and fired at Zhōng, causing him to jump away. "Apologies for being late," stated Xiōngshǒu as Emperor Zhēngfú joined him in the skies.

"We're done here," stated Emperor Zhēngfú and he flew higher up. He opened fire on Zhen who was beating Lord Sensou. She was hit and started to fall, but her friends caught her and she recovered. "You struggle to beat her?" he questioned Lord Sensou.

"She's more skilled than she used to be." said Lord Sensou.

Emperor Zhēngfú looked down at the former princess who glared at him back. Zhōng soon joined her and their friends as his blue eyes continued to glow with new power. "Enjoy exile, your majesty, because my brother has lost your only chance to return home." he stated. He then led his one hundred and thirty-four remaining soldiers away.

Zhōng looked down at Mount Anagenni̱ménos, lava was still spewing into the sky and was getting stronger as the Ninja Sword still sat in the middle of the eruption. He began to descend when his mech arm was grabbed. "No, it's not worth you dying," stated Zhen as Zhōng turned around to face her.

"I swear I'll be honorable and loyal to the Ninja Empire, they may spit at my name but I can't ignore their cries for help." said Zhōng. He smiled at Zhen who noticed his blue eyes for the first time. She saw they were filled with hope and determination and his smile was human and kind. Zhōng slipped out of her grip and dived straight into the lava geysers.

Zhen was going to follow before Tony firmly grabbed her arm. "He wouldn't want you to follow, besides your mother wouldn't be thrilled that you die by lava. Trust him, he knows what he's doing." he said.

The Valtryek mech weaved through lava geysers as it closed in on the Ninja Sword, its shields were failing as the heat caused Zhōng to think slowly. A geyser blew below him causing him to crash land onto the mound. He got up after deactivating his mech, the heat was intense and beads of sweat formed. He used his Valtryek sword as a cane and stumbled towards the Ninja Sword. His strength soon failed him and he collapsed face-first to the ground. He was close enough to reach it but just before he could grab it, the Ninja Sword melted. "No," he gasped, "this isn't how it should end." 

The world around Zhōng quieted down as his harshed breathing calmed down as well. "Even though I did something I shouldn't, you were still with me. I never lost you till I abandoned you. Please, don't go, I will use you more than ever. I need your power to get everyone I cared about home." he whimpered. He closed his eyes as a tear evaporated off his face, the lava was getting closer and hotter. He didn't realize that the molten metal from the Ninja Sword was flowing down a path into a mold where his Valtryek sword lay perfectly inside.

The final eruption blasted as Mount Anagenni̱ménos shook violently and lava shot out as one enormous geyser. "NO!!!" shouted Zhen, she was being held back by Zhen and Hannah who also knew what it meant. They didn't see Zhōng leave before the final eruption and knew he probably died. "Zhōng! No! Don't leave me again! This isn't how it ends!" continued Zhen as tears started to fall down her face. 

The others were silent and looked away from the volcano. Jack and John joined them, in John's mech arms was Hòuhuǐ but he was slowly dying. "We can't stay here, there's nothing we can do." whispered Jack to Tony who had his back towards the volcano.

"I know," croaked Tony, his hazel eyes were filled with tears. He failed his friend yet again as he turned to look at Hòuhuǐ. He saw him staring at the volcano with shock and hope still in his eyes.

"This can't be the end," stated Pina.

"It is, no one can survive the heat and lava from a powerful volcano." said Tony.

Zhen bowed her head as tears fell down her face, she finally reunited with Zhōng as a friend. She wanted to help him but now the time had come and she was weak and too late to do anything to help him. She slowly opened her eyes and stared at the spewing lava when something caught her attention. A light blue orb was rising in the middle of the lava and stopped halfway. The others soon noticed and looked at the orb with curiosity. Suddenly, it flashed brightly and the lava was dyed blue.

King Alexios, looked down at his sword when he noticed a solid blue glow coming from the blade. He looked outside and saw a blue glow coming from Mount Anagenni̱ménos in the Iarnă Mountains. "So you have awakened and returned." he said.

The Viking Axe suddenly glowed blue in the Viking Empire surprising the chief. "Does that mean something?" asked one of his generals who noticed as well.

"Make the preparations, I'm sure we'll have guests soon." ordered the chief.

"Mentor, what does that mean?" asked an assassin. He noticed his master's hidden blades glowing blue.

"It means the call has become active." replied the mentor as he studied the Assassin Blades.

In the Medieval Empire, the Medieval Sword glowed blue catching the king's attention as came into his study room from his balcony. Somewhere in the Indian Empire, the Indian Tomahawk was glowing blue as it leaned on a tree while the Indians gathered around a campfire nearby. Pharaoh Ay looked down at the Egyptian Khopesh and smiled, "This is going to be profitable."

Huo watched from the mouth of a cave and smiled as he watched the blue lava rise to the sky. "Well done, my son," he said.

The blue lava geyser continued to spray towards the sky like a beacon. It soon lost momentum and the lava dispersed as a black mech flew out and headed back to the Spartan Empire.

"Is that?" began Hannah in shock.

"It's Zhōng," finished Tony and all of them took off after him.

The black mech flew above the waters of the Spartan capital as it scouted the city. It twirled before heading towards the city and to the landing zone where thousands of Spartan and Ninja Soldiers were waiting. Zhen, Tony, and their friends landed before him, after they cleared the zone, they turned to watch him land. The black mech deactivated and two blue eyes stared at them as he carried a black, blue, silver, and purple sword. He took a step and everyone's heart skipped a beat as he approached. Soon Ninja soldiers surrounded the princess and blocked the warrior's path.

"You're not welcome here," stated Lord Zào.

"Can't you see I'm here to help?" asked Zhōng.

"If so, surrender the Ninja Sword and leave." threatened Lord Zào.

Zhōng gripped the hybrid sword tightly and said, "I'll be hanging on this, I'm not letting go again."

"Your majesty," groaned Hòuhuǐ faintly, snapping Zhōng's attention. He saw his friend was smiling but was dying from his wound.

Zhōng pushed Lord Zào away since he was blocking his path, the ninja soldiers stepped in front of him to prevent him from getting closer. "Let him through," ordered Zhen to the soldiers. The soldiers looked at her to see her eyes glowed as a warning to move.

The ninja soldiers moved away Zhōng rushed to Hòuhuǐ's side. "Hang in there," he said as he inspected the wound. It was similar to the one he received from his brother a year ago.

"It's too late for me, your majesty," groaned Hòuhuǐ.

"No, it's not, don't give up." argued Zhōng. He looked at Tony, then Jack, and then John, he saw all had their heads down in despair. 

"Zhōng, I failed you after you saved me. I betrayed your command and fought to overthrow Empress Wēi. But these final months, I feel like I have atone and have made you proud." said Hòuhuǐ.

"But you saved me twice, I owe you one," said Zhōng, tears falling down his face as he held Hòuhuǐ's hand.

"It's my duty as a squire and a soldier to protect you even if it means sacrificing my life. I grew up through my life with regret, but what I did is something I am proud of. I am glad I get to be the first to see who you truly are." said Hòuhuǐ. He gripped Zhōng's tightly before closing his eyes and taking his last breath.

Zhōng lowered his head, his back shuddered from gasping of mourning. "I'm sorry," said Tony as he joined his friend.

"We all are," stated Zhen as she approached them.

"I know, he wouldn't want me to weep for him forever, not when there's a job to do." stated Zhōng. He stood up and pulled his blade into two, in his left hand was his Valtryek except the silver was replaced with black and in his right hand was the Ninja Sword.

King Alexios approached Zhōng, he felt pity for him since he lost his friend but could see he was ready. "I will forewarn you, the other five empires could offer you a test to prove yourself for their armies. I won't test you since I've seen how much you changed and hereby be the first to join you." stated King Alexios. The Spartan soldiers heard their king's decree and bent a knee to Zhōng along with a few soldiers from the Ninja Empire.

"You know I won't be king," said Zhōng.

"It's early, you could change your mind and I don't mind if you place someone to rule the Ninja Empire as long as you trust them." replied King Alexios.

Zhōng put away his Valtryek sword before looking over his shoulder at Zhen. He saw her eyes glow with courage and determination as she nodded her head in agreement. He returned his attention to King Alexios as Lord Tyron approached them and offered an empty sheath to him. "The call has been made, it's time I stop running away from my problems and attack them." said Zhōng as he took the sheath and slid the Ninja Sword into it.