The Trap

Orange flags with a white sigil fly outside the walls of School Town. Two Thousand men stood with them as they faced the five hundred men behind the walls. The men inside looked scared by the stern and determined looks of the men. "Should we let them in, your majesty?" asked Captain Howin to Empress Wēi.

"They're carrying my family's sigil. Though it isn't in our colors it could be my oldest nephew's plan." accused Lord Tyron.

Empress Wēi ponder on the decisions that she had to make soon. A peace flag suddenly flew over their flags. "If they wanted to fight, why did they put that up?" she asked.

"We don't know what he's planning, this could be a way into the city to kill you." stated Lord Tyron. "I'm sure they'll kill you for him if he ordered them to do this."

"I don't think they're with him," said Captain Howin, he was looking out of a spy scope and saw five horses approaching the gate. "I think you might agree with me, Mr. Tyron." he finished, giving the scope to Lord Tyron.

"It took you this long to say my actual title." grumbled Lord Tyron as he looked into the scope. For over five years he wasn't a lord yet people call him still a lord. What he saw was three of the five, he recognized to be close friends of his, the other two he has never seen before.

"You two, you're going to work overtime tonight." ordered the shop master.

"Yes sir," responded the two he called before going back to their work.

"Tonight is going to be great," noted John.

"After winning the hard-working award, they have yet to call us up there." commented Jack.

"They're building something, perhaps they don't want us to know." said Zhōng, putting another part he built in a bin. He glanced deep down and saw a part that was unfamiliar at the bottom.

"At least it'll be fewer people in the sleeping quarters tonight." said John.

"Which means we're almost out of time." concluded Zhōng.

"How much further do you think we need to go?" asked Jack.

Zhōng pondered while he works on another spec part. "About a couple more hundreds." he guessed.

"Then we're going to need to put it in high gear from now on." said John.

Empress Wēi sat behind Principal Jiào's desk while Principal Jiào, Lord Tyron, and Captain Howin stood behind her and Princess Zhen sat beside her. Five lords stood in front of them with Lord Varius in the center, he was old but intelligent. His face barely carried any scars but the ones that did were due to festivals. His beard was trimmed and his black hair brought back into a bun. On one side of him were Lord Reed and Lord Zhihao and on the other were two other lords. "Your majesty, thank you for letting us see you." acknowledged Lord Varius.

"What can I do for you?" asked Empress Wēi. She didn't trust them fully and wanted to know what they wanted.

"With respect, your majesty, we came to speak with Former Prince Zhōng." replied Lord Reed.

"The Fallen Prince isn't here," stated Empress Wēi.

"We thought he was here at this school." assumed Lord Zhihao.

Empress Wēi shook her head guiltily. "He disappeared from us almost a month ago. We don't know where he went." spoke Captain Howin.

"When did you notice he's gone?" asked one of the lords.

"The night which he walked away into the dark mist according to Commander Zhèngyì." replied Captain Howin. "He was one of the last people to see him."

"What a pity," stated Lord Varius. The lords looked at each other lost as to what to do next or to reveal why they came.

"If I may," began Lord Tyron, he looked at the empress and saw her nod for approval. "Can I ask why you wanted to see my nephew?" he requested.

The lords ponder wondering if they should tell, whatever the reason, they were sure the empress wouldn't approve. "Whatever it is, I will not hold it against you nor will anyone else here." promised Empress Wēi.

"Well, your majesty," began Lord Reed, nervously. "The former prince broke a promise to us, a promise which could mean death to either us or him."

Princess Zhen's eyes widen, this was the first time she heard about the promises Zhōng made. She then remembered the mist that the Vow Keeper used and at one point there were cries of allegiance that fill the air for a short while. The sudden memory triggered her seeing him leave that night and the night two weeks ago when she found him. Though there was no emotion, Lord Varius noticed it trigger something but said nothing.

"He took all the blame for us not keeping them, I would like to wonder why he did it." said the second lord.

"Which is why we came," continued Lord Varius. "We would like the former prince to be our voice in your's and your daughter's court."

The request shocked them, they thought they were here for their surrender instead of peace. "Can I ask why he is to be your voice?" asked Empress Wēi.

"Your majesty, for five years you have treated those who fought against you terribly. While we deserve to repay the destruction, that was justified, we were treated as if we have no say and you ignore any if not all of our opinions." accused Lord Zhihao.

"I apologize for not realizing this, but why would you think I will allow this?" asked Empress Wēi.

"The lines were drawn, the wound is too deep to heal right away. The former prince has worked with you and became a very good ally. The old doesn't trust you, but considering our prince does we will like to follow him and have him become our bridge between us." said Lord Reed.

Empress Wēi sat back on her chair to ponder what was said, in her mind, she thought she did nothing wrong. Considering five lords and ten others started to rebel against her, somewhere she crossed a line that shouldn't have been crossed. "I believe there's no way for me to repair what is broken, so if the Fallen Prince wishes to lead you, then I won't object. If he refuses, may I suggest the now and forever reclaim Lord Tyron be your representative in my court." she suggested.

"We were already planning for that if he objects." agreed Lord Varius.

"Just when people started to call me 'Mr. Tyron'. Now I'm going to have to correct them to call me 'Lord Tyron'." grumbled Mr. Tyron.

"Mother, if I may, since the bond between the Old and you is fragile," began Princess Zhen, she turned and looked at the lords, their heads bowed with guilt. On her first night of being the Old Empire's captive a couple of months ago, she was presented to them and stripped naked revealing her mark on her stomach. "Perhaps I can enforce this deal a little more." she finished, having everyone's heads perked up confused with interest.

"You want us to be your personal bodyguards?" asked Cortana later while they sat in the library.

"You guys are the best sword skills and mech skills I've seen here at this school." reasoned Princess Zhen.

"But you have an arsenal of guards who will gladly be your personals bodyguards, why us?" asked Pina.

"Because to stable the Old and New's relationship," said Xing. The girls looked at her shocked and wonder how she got the information. "What my brother did it all the time, eavesdropping on private discussions."

"Did he teach you how to pick my lock?" asked Kotori. Xing shrugged and continued to read a book on keys and locks that she was borrowing to read for a while.

"So what does us have to do with the bond?" asked Pina before realizing she answered her own question.

"I get Xing being one of yours, she's like her brother except not as wild when comes to the sword." understood Kotori.

"But Pina is right, why the rest of us?" asked Cortana.

"I knew Xing wouldn't join if I didn't allow you guys as well." explained Princess Zhen.

"Princess, I am honored but I won't join because of that reason, I'll join because we are friends and that's what friends do, we help each other." said Xing.

Zhōng's words rang in Princess Zhen's ears. A feeling that made her feel uncomfortable formed throughout her. She brushed it aside and said, "Thank you."

"Although princess, if you're thinking of leaving us out, we would object about it." said Cortana. Princess Zhen smiled, she felt relieved that her friends would gladly assist her.

"So, what should we call ourselves? We got to have a code name." said Pina.

"How about Sinister Six?" suggested Silica.

"I think that's already taken." said Xing, the girls snickered as they continued to discussion for a code name for them.

Later that night as only ten men slept in the barracks room, Zhōng, Jack and John were gathering their tools to continue their work. The room was dark, with no windows, and a few candles were lit as the only source of light. It could house fifty men to a hundred men, depending on if you were brave to sleep on top. Off in the shadows were the facilities and showers to wash themselves and their clothes.

"I heard, there's an army outside of town." said John.

"Is it ours or theirs?" asked Jack.

"Don't know," replied John.

"Doesn't matter much, the shop master has pulled even more men this afternoon alone." said Zhōng as he examined his tools.

"How close are we?" asked John.

"We're going to need to put everything and even more to at least be close." replied Zhōng.

"Do you think we should escape tonight?" asked Jack.

Zhōng pondered before saying, "If we work that long, we'll be too tired to escape and they would have time to catch up to us."

"What if we use the emergency plan?" asked John.

"Even if they hadn't been called, I don't want to kill men sleeping or wake them from it. Also, we would alarm the entire shop and the block ourselves in as well." said Zhōng.

The two boys groaned as they tried to lighten up the pace but everything they thought of would be too risky for Zhōng. "Well, I guess I'll get the bucket." sighed Jack.

"Then let's get digging," stated Zhōng. He and John began moving a bookshelf in the corner out of the way, the tunnel bend around and ran along the wall, and went deep into the dark abyss. Their only source of light was their candles, which told them how long before the others returned.

Xing and Silica were practicing their sword technics in the arena. As they fought, Pina and Kotori were fighting each other in their respective mechs. Princess Zhen and Cortana watched them battle, however, Princess Zhen was focused on Xing. Her moves were familiar to Zhōng's but unlike his, hers was in control focusing on every attack. "I see your group is practicing well." commented Principal Jiào as she approach them.

"We're working hard, ma'am. Thanks for the extra practice hours." replied Cortana.

"Ma'am? I thought for sure I told you girls to call me principal." said Principal Jiào.

Realizing this, Cortana immediately said, "Sorry, I'm nervous and didn't think clearly."

"Is it because you never heard anything about your brother?" guessed Principal Jiào.

"Yes," sighed Cortana as they watched Xing and Kotori win. The girls in the arena decided to take a break before they continue their fights.

"Something the matter, your majesty?" asked Principal Jiào, noticing Princess Zhen's gaze.

"It's nothing, principal." she replied. She continued to watch Xing, she was smiling big as if something funny must have been told. The last time she saw it that big was when she went to visit the summer home of Emperor Huo and his family. That was also the last time she saw Zhōng smiling as well.

"She is just like her brother was long ago. Always smiling and having a good time with his friends." mentioned Principal Jiào.

"He had friends?" asked Cortana.

"You know where he was if he can't be found in the palace." confirmed Principal Jiào.

"They were both trained by your brother, correct?" asked Princess Zhen bringing the conversation back to Xing's skills.

"Zhōng had been completely trained by my brother. Xing was never into fighting much since her brother was her protector. But she did learn from Zhōng a little bit, the rest we taught her. This also explains why Zhōng prefers to overwhelm his opponents by his blades becoming serpent's tongues, while Xing likes to overpower hers by each blow being more deedly than the last. It amazes me how much stamina she has." said Principal Jiào.

"Both ways have the ultimate goal, fear." noted Cortana.

"That's correct," praised Principal Jiào.

"But sword skills isn't the only fear technique Zhōng knows to create it." stated Princess Zhen.

"Correct, he has a knife given to him by his mother, his reputation of being a killer, and his ability to vanish." listed Principal Jiào.

"If he's proficient with his sword technics, why does he have an extra weapon and skills of an assassin?" asked Cortana.

Principal Jiào ponder before answering, "If you had to survive five years with only the skills you know while someone is chasing you down, would you not wish to have one for a way to escape?"

"I guess that makes sense," replied Cortana.

"But those aren't his only weapons, he has a watch." said Xing. She and others arrived noticing the conversation was happening as they battled.

"An heirloom that he should never use." said Principal Jiào, her voice making it clear that the secret behind it should stay a secret.

"Is it deadly?" asked Pina.

"It can be, depends on how the wearer uses it." explained Principal Jiào.

"Is that like the last resort then?" asked Silica.

"I'm pretty sure, but he always surprises me." answered Xing.

"That's what makes him hard to read." commented Kotori.

"So he's proficient with one and two blades, he has a knife that is light and quick, talents of running and disappearing, his mind and his aura as you speak to him, and a watch that is perhaps his powerful weapon." summarized Cortana.

"Don't forget, he sometimes has other equipment that can bring him an advantage." included Xing.

"When you think about it, he had tools to last longer than what he did." said Princess Zhen, she remembers when she found out about him. Even back then, he was warning her and was on her side. Over five years, she hated Zhōng for reasons unfair to him. She felt guilty and ashamed, she misunderstood him and now he needed her more than anything.

"It makes me wonder if he slipped on purpose just to fall into the bathroom that night." said Cortana as she ponder on it.

"My brother is many things, but he isn't a pervert." defended Xing.

"What do you call the thing that happened at camp this year?" asked Kotori.

"A move that ensure we didn't get ill and he was nowhere near us when changed out." said Xing.

"Xing," began Princess Zhen. The girls turn to look at her as they gave their attention. "Has your brother said to you what he thinks of me?"

Xing ponder on it before answering, "He was always thinking about you, your majesty. Even after the war, he always thought of you the same way since meeting you, his friend."

Princess Zhen had tears forming and rolling down her cheek, the girls looked shocked as they tried to figure out what was said. "Principal, let Lord Varius know the Fallen Prince is trapped in a blacksmith shop. Have them search the ones that require mast amount of workers." she ordered. She hurried away with girls shocked and worried following her, leaving Principal Jiào surprised but understood and quickly left to inform him.

Zhōng, Jack, and John worked hard in the lower levels, they were now the only ones left. Fortunate for them they knew when they'll be checked on to continue working on the tunnel. But even just by themselves, the work they had was unbearable. "How much longer?" groaned John.

"Not yet, be patient." grunted Zhōng. He put another part in a bin, he saw plans for a weapon and recognized key parts. "So this is your plan." he thought.

"I think we're almost through." stated Jack coming back, he was breathing heavily and was dirty from digging and working.

"Now is our chance." said John as he and Jack headed back to the barrack room where the tunnel was.

Footsteps thudded down the stairs as the shop master and the other workers came back down. Jack and John took stations close to the room and went back to work on projects at each of them. Zhōng was in the middle and began forging another part as the shop master came to him watching his work. "Connor," he began.

"Yes, sir?" replied Zhōng as he continued.

"Do you know the history of your friends?" he asked. Zhōng didn't answer and stopped his work to listen. "Jack had a family that abused him and force him out, he became a hunter and knows where to hunt for his next meal. Deadly and determine as he schemes and plans for any counterattack thrown at him. And John has a sister, but not only is school dept his only problem, but he also had to keep his family alive and is willing to do anything to keep them so. Cautious but focus on sacrificing himself to help them. How sad they're going to be the reason for your capture Fallen Prince." he said, the men surrounding him revealed blades and bows hidden till now, all pointing at him.

Zhōng moved his eyes left to right and back. This wasn't the first time he was outmatched. His dull eyes glittered as if something terrible was pleading to be let out. He smiled and said, "You forgot something, they're selfless with their talents." The shop master turned around and saw the two boys dump water onto the ambers of the ovens. Steam suddenly rosed as the shop master felt someone shove him to one side.

"Don't let them escape!" he ordered, a wooden door suddenly shut in the fog.

"They're in the barracks room!" one cried.

"Where is it?" asked another.

"Over here!" cried a third directing them over.

Jack and John worked hard pushing bed racks to the door. The door jerked opening just a crack. "We're running out of time now." said John.

"Then let's go!" said Zhōng, he untucked his boot revealing his knife. Using his knife, he cut the side of his bed mattress horizontally revealing his two swords.

"That's what happened to them," commented Jack. They ran towards the bookshelf throwing it to the ground and entered the tunnel. The door was finally swung open enough, just before they could go after them, Zhōng activate an arm from his Valtryek. He fired at the walls and the ceiling of the tunnel. The wall that the tunnel wrapped around, collapsed making it unsafe to follow them.

"Find anything that could tell us where they were heading." order the shop master.

"Sir! We have a problem up here!" cried someone from upstairs. It was followed by cries of pain.

"It's the empress!" claimed another.

"What shall we do sir?" asked a third.

"She's too late to stop us, burn the remaining parts, we served our emperor well." ordered the shop master, he lead his men back upstairs to face their fate.

Water flowed throughout the chambers of the sewers. The sounds of dripping water echoed throughout them as the warm-lit torches place evenly to give light to see. A sudden blast followed by white smoke poured into the chambers. Three boys were coughing and gasping for air, they were dirty and one had a mech arm activated.

"I thought you said we were very close?" accused John.

"I didn't think I was that far off." defended Jack.

"Far enough for having us to do three explosive blasts." complained John.

"What matters is we're all alive." said Zhōng, deactivating his arm. He looked around to see if anyone was coming to their position. John noticed the water and went to scoop up some. "I wouldn't drink that," said Zhōng stopping him, he study the water and then went back at looking if someone was coming toward them. "We can rest for five minutes, breathe calmly." he suggested.

Jack collapsed by the wall and breathe as calmly as he could as John joined him. There were still dust and smoke from their escape inside of them making them thirsty as it was dry. "How did he know about us?" wondered Jack.

"Someone must have been doing some digging around with our stuff." theorized John.

"It doesn't change what I think about you guys." said Zhōng, joining them.

"Where are we, if I may ask?" said John.

"Well, I thought it was obvious." said Zhōng sarcastically.

"We know we're in the sewers, but where in them?" asked Jack.

"Again, it's obvious." began Zhōng. "Look at the water, it's cleaner than usual. There's another tunnel on the other side of that wall." he pointed out. "So let me ask you, where are we?"

"We're under the school." realized John.

"How? There's no way this is." doubted Jack.

"We are on the north side of the campus, the only place to enter without being seen. If you dig up, we'll hit buildings just outside of its walls. However," began Zhōng.

"We follow this, we'll be inside the campus." finished John.

"But aren't there guards patrolling the school?" asked Jack.

"They do except one entry point, that's where we'll also clean ourselves a little bit." said Zhōng confidently.

Princess Zhen sat in the tub in the bathroom alone. A faint mist covered the room and drops of water was the only thing audible. She was a mess, ever since informing Lord Varius, she stayed in the bathroom throughout the rest of the day. She could only think of Zhōng and no one else, she was hoping he was still alive. Figuring it was time she got out and wrapped herself up and headed to the changing room. As she open the door, her mother was about to knock to give her news.

"Lord Varius has found a factory that matched your description of where he'll be. The factory was building a part of a weapon that we know nothing about though as the plans were burned away." reported Empress Wēi, she hesitated to continue but her daughter's pleading eyes told her to continue. "Aside from the burnt-up bottom floor, there's a collapsed tunnel. Lord Varius believes this was his doing but does not know where it leads, do you have an idea?

Princess Zhen shook her head and said, "Do they know about this?"

"Not yet," said Empress Wēi. Princess Zhen nodded as she feared for the worst, a single tear was starting to form again. "I'll leave you to your bath." said Empress Wēi as turned around and left.

"Let them know, both of you," ordered Princess Zhen to Pina and Kotori who were standing guard for her. They hesitated but soon went, she closed the door and walked back to the tub. All she could think of was if their bodies were found buried underneath or if the Ninja Sword somehow showed up to her, confirming he was dead. She suddenly realized she was standing in the tub with no water. Looking around, she saw the plug pulled as the remaining water drained away. The plug was rarely pulled and she was the only one in the bathroom. "What the?" she said to herself peering into the drain. Suddenly, a hand appeared making the princess scream and fall backwards.

Another hand popped up as they struggled to pull up the body responsible for them. "Almost up," grunted Zhōng as he is head and chest were out. He looked up and saw Princess Zhen in a towel, closely exposing herself. "Sorry, your majesty!" he said covering his eyes. He suddenly began to fall back down if it weren't for Princess Zhen's quick reaction of grabbing him and pulling him back up. "We should stop meeting like this." he said.

"You know, your sister claimed the exact opposite of what you are." said Princess Zhen. Together, they pulled up John and Jack as both together were heavy. "How did you get the plug off?"

"With great determination, your majesty." replied John catching his breath again.

"It's nice to see you again, your majesty, although I wish it wasn't like this." said Jack politely. He and John had never been inside the campus, they marvel at the bathroom as they were the only ones.

"How did you guys…" begin to ask Princess Zhen.

"That's too long of a story to tell right now." interrupted Zhōng, leading them out of the bathroom. He peered out into the hallway and saw there was no one out there. "Have the guards changed their patrol schedule or gone a different path?" he asked.

"Not that I'm aware," answered Princess Zhen, still wearing a towel.

"Well then we're going to have to risk it." said Zhōng. He opened the door fully and quickly and quietly led them through the hallways. Not a word was said among them as each intersection and turn, Zhōng would look ahead, then behind, waited for a few seconds before looking ahead again and continuing through. "Here we are." he said as they stood in front of his old room.

"Great, how do we get in?" asked John.

"I don't think you kept your key for this room." analyzed Jack.

"That's why there's a backup." replied Zhōng.

"Who has your backup then? Your sister?" asked Princess Zhen. At the school, the backup wasn't kept with the owner of the room but someone it trusted.

Zhōng stepped back before running up to and started to climb a pillar nearby. He then leaped to a pillar on the other side before leaping back to the first as he grabbed the edge. He felt something and took it before falling back down, in his hand was his backup key. "I do, princess," he said. He unlocked the door and opened it, inside was still messy due to his night terrors months ago. He opened a drawer and tossed out some uniforms for Jack and John. "These look like you guys' sizes," he said. " Now hurry, we don't have time to lose. We need to get out of these and into dryer ones." The boys begin to remove their shirts as they got ready to change into new clothes. Princess Zhen marveled at Zhōng's back, it was semi-built with a scar on the lower left of his back, a scar left behind by the Vow Keeper. Feeling her stare, before they dropped their pants, Zhōng respectfully ushered her out. "If you want to know, meet us by the shop, by yourself, in thirty minutes." he said as he closed the door. Princess Zhen's heart skipped a beat as she realized what was going on. She hurried back to get change and meet them.

Thirty minutes later, Princess Zhen waited by the shop. Her cloak blocked the freezing breeze as the snow fell around her. She couldn't believe somehow even if she was too late, he was able to escape and be alive. The three boys appeared from the falling snow and marched over to her. "So what's the plan?" she asked.

"John, your up, Jack, give me a lift." said Zhōng. He and Jack stood face to face as John stood on top of them reaching for the open window. "Remember stay away from any alarms." he reminded.

"Relax I got this," gloated John. With one thrust to help him, John disappeared through the window. Loud banging and crashing soon followed before he unlocked the door to let the others in. "I don't think I set anything off." he said.

"You didn't have to, considering you made such a racket." criticized Zhōng. He went to unlock a rack for Jack and John to pick newly finished sword-mech swords. As they picked, he looked for three survival bags, each one could last a week or two. "These we used as our secondary source of food as we journey throughout." he explained before noticing the princess carrying her sword as well.

"I'm coming with you," she declared.

"I can't take you," said Zhōng.

"Why not? I can help you teach them, I'm the best there is in a mech fight." she stated.

"That's not a good reason to have you come."

"Is this seriously how you treat your friends?"

Zhōng shot a look not as terrifying but an uncomfortable still. "Wait for me outside," he ordered Jack and John who had their swords picked out. When they were gone, he continued, "as much as I want you to come, I can't."

"I can take care of myself."

"But can you keep your promises?"

"What does it matter to you?"

"Have you forgotten what happened to us?"

"I never forgot anything even when you turned your back to me. I thought we were friends, is that how you treat your friends? The same way you treat your allies."

Zhōng said nothing but stared back at her for a while. The howled of the wind blowing in the shop was the only sound as the dull eyes locked with glittered and determined ones. "There's someone I met after you, what happened to him bothers me. The reason why I can't take you is this country is on the edge of another war. If rumors come out that you came with me or I take you, it would start the war as if I were revealed to the public." he said.

They stood in silence for a while before Princess Zhen asked, "What happen to him?"

"If you want to know, asked the captain, he knows the story as well." he said, they then continued not to speak for a while.

"Where would you go to find more men?" she finally asked.

"Anywhere and everywhere, you're going to need an army bigger than what you have right now. A weapon my brother has created could be the downfall." he warned.

"Can I ask you one more thing before you go?" asked Princess Zhen.

"If you must,"

"You'll come back to me alive." she said.

Zhōng picked up his pack of food and a whetstone before walking passed her and said, "I shall, princess." He and the boys then left the grounds as she watched them go in the snow. She wanted to chase after them, but Zhōng's words told her otherwise. The next morning, Yáo and two other horses were gone from a stable outside of town. The journey for the remaining soldiers had begun.