The Eve Before the Last Bell

Zhōng walked through a burning city, it wasn't the first time he saw one, but it was horrifying to him. Bodies laid freshly killed as blood flowed through the streets, the sky was cloudy and red from fires lit inside buildings that burn. Death and destruction was all he could see around him as he continued to walk. He saw Jack laying down and crouched next to him. He suddenly grabbed Zhōng, surprising him. "Where did you go when we needed you the most? We needed the sword." he said, losing his breath of life. He let go of him and closed his eyes for the final time. Then he saw something terrifying, there were bodies of his family, friends, the empress, and the princess, all laid in front of a black mech. It saw Zhēngfú and as Zhōng drew his Valtryek, he found out it was broken, he drew the Ninja Sword to find out it didn't work. His eyes widened as the black mech readied himself to fire at him.

"Sir?" called out a soldier, waking Zhōng up. He sat straight up quickly and was breathing heavily. "The lord would like to see you." he continued

"Understood," growled Zhōng. The soldier left the tent, leaving him to his thoughts for a minute before getting up to get dressed.

Another soldier was buried on the southern edge of the camp. It was the filth body to be found and the second female to die suddenly. "She was in good health." declared a soldier.

"And she had plenty of blankets." said another.

Empress Wēi and Princess Zhen with her friends came to see the body buried. "Report," she requested.

"Like the other four, died suddenly. No one knows how or when." reported a soldier.

"Have the eastern edges patrol more frequently. If we have killers, I want to know that they came from the inside." ordered Empress Wēi. She then went up to say a few departing words.

"I hear some of the men thinking it's ghosts." whispered Pina.

"There's never been a major nor minor conflict around here to my best understanding." said Hannah.

"It can't be ghosts, they don't exist." said Xing.

"There is one, but I don't think he was behind this." said Princess Zhen.

"So if it isn't ghosts, who is doing this?" asked Silica.

"Bandits, bounty hunters, perhaps even members of the black market." suggested Kotori.

"If it's any of those people, they won't do this unless they have a target in mind that they might not have gotten." said Cortana.

"Are you suggesting, this is going to continue?" asked Silica.

"We need to be prepared, we now must get Hannah on the same level as us." said Princess Zhen as they watched the body being buried.

Zhōng was training with Jack and John, during breaks and once they set up camp, they would train their sword skills for hours. Zhōng had to get used to fighting more than one opponent as the memories of doing it made him recover quickly. However, his mind wasn't focused on training but rather on his nightmare that kept happening every night. It never bother him before but now it has and he was losing control. Suddenly, John struck him with his stick directly on Zhōng's left hip. He grunted audibly as the throbbing pain pulsed through his body from the spot. He looked down to see if he was bleeding through for a few seconds. Seeing he wasn't, he suddenly swung violently, disarming Jack and overpowering John.

"I surrender," said John dropping his sword.

"You think my brother would let you do that?" asked Zhōng.

"Well first, it'll be hard for him if I cut him in half." said John.

"But I became an angry soldier, if there's one thing you don't want to run into is an angry soldier. They're unpredictable, they can be good or they could be bad depending on their skills. Though you could perhaps cut me down, there will be his friends watching and wanting to get revenge." said Zhōng.

"Making instead of one but many angry." analyzed Jack.

"If there is one thing you must be careful of is how many will come after you the minute you sank your blade into your first kill." said Kettei, he came along with only two hundred of Lord Xīn's three thousand men along with Lord Xīn.

"So how do you prevent or prepare for them?" asked John.

"Keep your head cool and focus on one at a time. Or have a reputation of taking all of them out before they can react." said Zhōng.

"Is that how you survive? No one would dare to face you, even when they had numbers to back them up." asked Lord Xīn, he was taking a look around at the camp when he noticed them.

"More or less, my lord." replied Zhōng. "Before I became known as the Dual Bladed Ninja, I had to fight and protect my sister. Every week, someone would come to disgrace her but I was there. I soon became known as the shadow of an alley. A shadow that knows only anger and pain."

"I thought that's what the Dual Bladed Ninja knows." assumed John.

"The Dual Bladed Ninja knew only anger and fear, he knew where to make one run into a trap. The Fallen Prince knew fear and pain, afraid of seeing his world burn and the pain he endured to ensure it wasn't going to happen again." replied Zhōng.

"And yet it's happening, so let me ask you this, who are you?" asked Lord Xīn.

"A dead body with a soul still inside." replied Zhōng. Lord Xīn shook his head and went away with Kettei following him.

"I think he wanted a better answer." said Jack.

"Get ready, let's begin round two." said Zhōng as he took up two practice sticks for the fight.

Xing, Hannah, Kotori, and Cortana were having a two-on-two sword battle. Xing and Hannah were on one team and Kotori and Cortana were on the other. Both teams were good as they worked together to beat the other. Cortana suddenly lost her sword leaving Kotori alone to face the sisters' wrath. After one of them attacked, the other immediately continued the assault before the first took over again. Kotori was easily defeated when Cortana try to surprise them only to have Xing quickly block her as Hannah delivered the final strike.

"The match is over, Xing and Hannah won again!" announced Princess Zhen.

"Yes," cheered Hannah as she gave Xing their secret handshake.

"That makes us thirty-five to zero, anyone wants to go next?" said Xing.

"I think it's safe to say if we all challenge both of you, you guys still come on top." said Kotori.

"Now are you judging us up to Zhōng's level?" questioned Xing.

"There's no question that you two together are the best out of any of us." said Pina.

"Each of your weaknesses is the other's strength, you guys recognized that and play to protect the other." said Cortana.

"You guys dance like fire, calm but dangerous." describe Silica.

"A campfire? That's how we move?" questioned Hannah.

"How the tip of the flames flickers, Hannah." explained Xing. "We move and dance like the tip of a fire exchanging places with one another."

"Oh, well if our fire is as rageful as our brothers, then we can definitely beat them." stated Hannah.

"That might be a little too big for you two to handle." stated Princess Zhen.

"What do you mean? Zhēngfú gave up on practicing his sword skills. He said they're a waste compared to the mech form." said Hannah.

"It's funny that we were moving in that kind of direction, no one thought sword skills were important." said Kotori.

"Till we met the Dual Bladed Ninja." said Princess Zhen.

"More exactly you met him, your majesty." said Cortana.

"What's he like?" asked Hannah.

"A stranger that can bargain almost anything to get what he wants." said Captain Howin, he overheard their conversation and decided to tell them. "He used to wear a hood, all you could see was his mouth and his glowing eyes. No one knew what lay underneath it till a foolish soldier pulled his hood off. A demon with his hair messy as it blew in the breeze, his eyes began to go even colder as the flames became stronger from being exposed. If you dare to cross blades with him, you might want to second guess when you see his face. But his looks alone aren't what's scary about him, it's the blades. A knife that moves like an arrow or bullet from a mech. His two swords are like serpents, if you avoid one, expect the other to come quickly from the other and difficult side. The best and the foolish challenged him when they were found, a terror state was on their dead bodies. His fire wasn't small, it was wild and couldn't be contained." he described.

"Wow, that does sound like you shouldn't cross blades with him." awed Pina.

"Or paths," added Hannah, "I don't think Zhēngfú could ever be that scary if he wanted to."

"That's because most of Zhōng's recent past is cold and painful. Before the fall, it started to show but everyone brushed it off as nothing." said Xing. "shortly after the fall, he had to protect me from harm. I remember watching them beating him up and when they were satisfied, they would leave and come back the next day to do the same thing."

"What about after you met your uncle?" asked Captain Howin.

"That is harder to say, he was almost always gone. When he was home, he only stay for at most two days before going away. He trained most of that time and he was always so serious. Come to think of it, I don't think he showed emotion in public for years. He grins but never smiles, he feels pity but can't let a tear go. He has one emotion other than anger and it makes him look dull." describe Xing.

"Didn't your brother used to be the cheerfullest person in the whole empire?" asked Kotori.

"I don't think he remembers how he felt, the only thing he feels is a cold, empty and dark emotion, pain." said Xing.

"There must be something that can make him feel differently." declared Cortana.

"Or someone, did he ever have a girlfriend?" asked Hannah.

"What?" said Xing in shock.

"Cause if he doesn't, that means anyone could take him." suggested Hannah.

"I don't think our brother would like that." said Xing.

"Why not? If anyone could still get him, then maybe he'll show his emotions to the one he cares deeply about. Meaning whoever can get him to talk honestly should have the right to be with him." said Hannah.

"Well then you better catch up to the princess." said Captain Howin before being elbowed by the princess who gave him an angry glare.

"Really?" said Hannah as her eyes widen, inside her mind she thought she found the perfect couple. "Have you guys started doing that?"

"No, no, no, there's no way I can do that with him." said Princess Zhen, shaking her red face.

"She has a boyfriend," stated Silica.

"I heard he'll take any girl that even looks at him to a private discussion." said Hannah.

"Reminds me of someone else," murmured Captain Howin.

"At least my father only did it once." defended Xing who heard his comment.

"You're sure about that?" asked Captain Howin.

"Very sure," said Former Lord Guǐ, he also came to join their conversation. "It shocked us that he did it, he felt guilty. If he ever did it again, he will die before it happens."

"Very well," acknowledge Captain Howin.

"Going back to Lord Zào, while his pureness is stained, I must follow my mother's will and marry him." declared Princess Zhen.

"Even though there is someone that cares about you and is pure as far as we know?" asked Xing. Her arms were crossed and her face was cold and stern like Zhōng.

"You guys are definitely his sister." said Princess Zhen. They went silent as they thought of what to say next.

"We should get back to training, Hannah, let's try your skills in a mech form." suggested Cortana.

"Okay," said Hannah, the girls left Princess Zhen to go and train.

"You're alright, princess?" asked Captain Howin.

"Yes, I'm fine." said Princess Zhen, covering the shape of her mouth with a hand. Her face was still red but became redder after she heard Xing's words.

Zhōng walked through a burning city, it wasn't the first time he saw one, but it was horrifying to him. Bodies laid freshly killed as blood flowed through the streets, the sky was cloudy and red from fires lit inside buildings that burn. Death and destruction was all he could see as he continued to walk. He saw Jack laying down and crouched next to him. He suddenly grabbed Zhōng, surprising him. "Where did you go when we needed you the most? We needed the sword." he said, losing his breath of life. He let go of him and closed his eyes for the final time. Then he saw something terrifying, there were bodies of his family, friends, the empress, and the princess, all laid in front of a black mech. It saw Zhēngfú and as Zhōng drew his Valtryek, he found out it was broken, he drew the Ninja Sword to find out it didn't work. His eyes widened as the black mech readied himself to fire at him. But unlike before, the dream continued as the place disappeared like dust.

Cautiously, Zhōng walked through the black void he was in. He heard a scream and turned around to see him in the Valtryek. He tried to blast the black mech but it was too strong as it came down and cut him in two. The princess and her and his friends watched in horror. One by one they were slain by the black mech till the princess was the last one, as it raised for the final time, something pierced Zhōng from behind on his right side. "You have thought about them then yourself." the Vow Keeper's voice said. He then pulled back and out, cutting the space between his side and where the blade struck.

Zhōng woke up breathing heavily with his unsheathed Valtryek in his hand. "Sir?" said a soldier at the entrance of his tent. "Apology but the lord would like to speak with you now." he continued then left.

Zhōng put his sword down and away as he continued to breathe forcefully. He looked at the table with his stuff on it. While he calmed down, he thought about his dream. The scenes, the voices, the smell, all of it seemed real to come true. He soon got up, put some armor on and a cloak, and as he stepped out, he pulled the hood over his head.

"The Fallen Prince, my lord." introduce a soldier guarding Lord Xīn's tent as Zhōng entered.

Lord Xīn looked up to see the hooded figure, his mouth show no emotion and the lights couldn't catch his other features. "I take it you want to remain hidden from the empress." he said.

"There are still men for me to find, I must continue without delay." said Zhōng as he roamed the tent.

"So what's the reason for the hood?" asked Lord Xīn. "I assume there's something hidden."

"More or less, I would prefer to show it to my enemies from now on." said Zhōng.

"So I take it you have my answer." said Lord Xīn as he sat down behind a desk.

"I already told you, I'm a dead body with a soul still inside."

Lord Xīn shook his head and said, "You told me what you are but I asked who you are."

"I don't share that information with my allies."

"But you don't share it with your friends either. One calls you one thing as the other calls you another."

"They don't need to know."

"Then what do they need to know?"

Under the hood, Zhōng paused to think about his continuous nightmare. "If they follow me, I'll lead them to their graves. If they follow me, all they're going to find is my pain. I don't want them to continue to come after me, I can't stand the feeling of losing them in a highly dangerous place. That's the difference between my allies and friends, I care for my friends." he said.

"And who made you decide where we should go?" asked Jack, he and John were waiting outside the tent shortly after Zhōng entered.

"You warned us if we follow you, it could be difficult and dangerous." said John.

"You invited us, we're not going to abandon one of our friends." said Jack.

Zhōng smirked under the hood, then said, "I figure there were too many people eavesdropping on us. Now I know three of the five."

"Three of eight," corrected Kettei as he entered dragging five dead bandits. "I found a new plague."

"How did they get past the outer guards?" asked Lord Xīn.

"They were here before we arrived." theorized Zhōng.

"Meaning they were following something." continued Jack.

"Or someone." finished John.

"How far are we to the empress, Muffler?" asked Lord Xīn.

"Probably five miles away, in this snow would be an hour by foot or thirty minutes by horse." guessed Kettei.

"Then we have no time to lose, we must beat the bandits to them." said John.

"We're too late, I'm betting they're already there." said Zhōng.

"Then you have no moment to lose." stated Kettei handing Zhōng his whip.

"You told me you care about your friends," began Lord Xīn, "aren't you going to help them when they need you? Isn't that your responsibility?"

"I'm not that kind of a man, why should I go back to them after I abandon them?" stated Zhōng.

"Because that man is still inside of you, stop resisting and show everyone who you are." said Lord Xīn. Zhōng turned his head at him, still showing no emotion, two dim lights were shining in a sea of shadows.

Xing and Hannah were in front of Princess Zhen's door that night. "Are you sure you guys can do this? You both worked very hard." said Princess Zhen.

"If we get a break from guarding you, it wouldn't be fair to the others." said Xing, she then elbow Hannah.

"She right, your majesty, and I apologize for what I said about him." apologize Hannah.

Princess Zhen snickered then said, "It's okay, as long as my mother doesn't hear about it, we can all talk about our crushes."

"Please, your majesty, don't give her ideas." groaned Xing, she remember how hard the girls had to convince her to apologize. (Though she was right)

"Too late, sorry." giggled Princess Zhen as Hannah joined her. Eventually, Xing join them it was hard to keep it in. "Alright girls, good night." she said once they calm down.

"Good night, your majesty." said Xing and Hannah. Princess Zhen closed the door to the room she stayed in. It was Hannah's room but she allowed the princess to use it while they stayed. There was a small bed and desk pushed to one corner with a window above the desk. A closet was on the other side of the room and the door was directly in front of the desk with a dresser off to the left of the door. The room had one rug but no curtains or a fireplace to keep warm. Princess Zhen crawled into the bed, though it wasn't fancy like her bed at home or at school. It reminded her of many things, her travels with her mother during the war, prison, trips to other empires, and Zhōng. His face, how he used to smile so big would now show barely any emotion. The reason it reminded her of him is that he lost everything and she had the feeling she would too. She thought about him as she drifted to sleep as the full moon shined through the window.

Twenty minutes later, the closet door creaked open as an intruder cautiously walked towards where the princess slept. "What a beautiful person you've become, princess." said Doduk, the bandit snuck in during the day and waited for the princess to return and go to bed. "Such a thing shouldn't go to waste but sadly, my emperor has ordered you to die and so it shall be." he said raising a knife from underneath his cloak to strike the sleeping princess.

Suddenly the window smashed open as someone in a white cloak fell in, grabbed Doduk, and threw him out of the broken window. Doduk fell into the freshly fallen snow, when he turned around, he saw the person in a white cloak jumping from the window and landing on the ground with no trouble. Doduk quickly got on his feet and started to run away from him.

Princess woke up from the window being shattered, she turned around to see a white cloak disappearing from the window. Quickly she ran towards the window to see the bandit running away in a hurry. "Your majesty!" said Xing as she and Hannah burst into her room. "Are you okay?"

"Sound the alarm." ordered Princess Zhen, she continued to look out the broken window to find the person in a white cloak. She saw footprints beginning to appear in the snow as the cloak camouflaged the wearer.

Doduk sprinted throughout the camp as the alarm was sounded, he spotted guards around a campfire as they looked confused. "Guards! He's right behind…" he started before something wrapped around his leg tripping him. He looked down to see a whip and before he could get it untangled, it wrapped tightly before cutting into his leg and retreated back to its wielder. Doduk screamed in pain for a moment or two before focusing on the retreating whip as it disappeared in a white cloak, the same white cloak that threw him out. The cloak cover his entire body and a hood covered most of his face. The only thing showing was his mouth as it showed no emotion but the anger could be felt. The stranger started to march towards him, every step made Doduk's heart skip a beat. "You can't be him, you're dead." he accused as the person continued to march forward. "Who are you?"

The stranger suddenly stopped as a crowd of soldiers came to watch it play out. Princess Zhen, Xing, and Hannah were the first ones to arrive as well as they saw the stranger for the first time. "You know who I am already," growled the stranger as started to advance again. "I'm the shadow that follows you, the eagles who are watching from the sky, the alleys echoing and listening to every word they hear, the demon that haunts you and has hunted you down to die. I've been called many names, but what your feeling is who I am. And I am fear." he said as two dark blue eyes lit from underneath the cowl. When he finished, he drew a blue and silver ninja-type sword from underneath his cloak. The blade was held vertical, pointing up as his right arm was horizontal while holding it. Every step he took was like a clock ticking, the men tremble by this man's power.

Doduk limped up and draw his sword, he shook his head as the stranger drew closer to him. "This is not fair, you took out one of my legs." he complained.

"Yet you're standing, therefore you can fight." said the stranger as he continued forward with his blade still out and away from him.

"Show me your face so I know who my opponent is." demanded Doduk.

"Even after I told you, you still don't believe me?" mocked the stranger almost near him.

"You're supposed to be dead!" cried Doduk. He swung his sword when he was close enough. However, the stranger pinned his arm quickly, he then suddenly pulled his arm back, forcing Doduk to drop his blade. A second black and purple blade suddenly appeared in front of his neck.

Doduk stared at the black blade in horror as he watched the right arm of the stranger with the first blade in his hand pulling something back, revealing something. "I did tell you, you won't get away from me." he growled before slitting Doduk's throat. The place was stunned, but not by the bandit's dead body being easily and quickly defeated. They stare at the stranger in a white cloak as he shook the blood off his black sword with one swipe.

"What's going on?" demanded Empress Wēi, she, Captain Howin, and Former Lord Guǐ and Lady Yurei were trying to get through. When they did, they saw the stranger for the first time. There standing in a white cloak, with light armor on underneath it. He had two ninja swords on his left and back hip, a whip and other gadgets on his right. A powerful stern look on his face as his dark blue eyes dance like in them with his hair blowing through the breeze as right below his hair, a blue symbol meaning 'Fallen Prince' was freshly reapplied. "Zhōng?" finally said Empress Wēi in disbelief.

Zhōng said nothing as he surveyed the men who were watching. Some were surprised he was alive, others felt hope returned to them. He stared at a certain group making them feel uneasy, they split to avoid the glare just as a horse bellowed through them. "You were right, they're here too. I'm having my men finish them up. Were you successful?" asked Lord Xīn, sitting on his horse.

"Do I look like I wasn't?" asked Zhōng. Lord Xīn looked around and saw surprised looks on the soldiers' faces. Whether it was him coming in or whatever Zhōng just did, they were shocked. He shook his head no as his reply to Zhōng's question. "As promised, I've taken you to the empress, my lord." declared Zhōng.

"Xīn, is that you?" a motherly voice called Lord Xīn. He turned his head towards where it came to see familiar faces looking at him.

Lord Xīn climbed off his horse and walked towards the familiar faces in disbelief. "Father? Mother?" he said.

"Yes, it's us, son." confirmed Former Lord Guǐ.

"Father, mother," said Lord Xīn once again as he ran towards and hugged his parents. They hugged him back as tears of joy fell from their faces. "Why? Why did you leave me?" he sobbed.

"We were the only ones who knew the emperor's secret." began explaining Former Lady Yurei.

"The emperor knew she'll be discovered and offered us this life." continued Former Lord Guǐ.

"But we must abandon you in order to do this." finished Former Lady Yurei.

"I thought I lost you, you left me alone with only a few of your advisors left. I wept and yet here you are, alive." said Lord Xīn.

"If it weren't for your parents, my lord," begin Hannah as she approached them. "I will not have live this long. I am indebted to you and your family, I shall do whatever it takes for you to forgive your parents and my family." she finished as she bowed.

Lord Xīn recovered from his tears and looked at the girl bowing in front of him. He felt a little bit of pain still left and uncomfortable as the pain of loss for all these years had gone away. "No, you have it all wrong." he stated, he then stood up and shouted across the space towards Zhōng who happen to rejoin Jack and John and was preparing to leave again. "Fallen Prince! I pledge my two hundred that came with us and the two thousand eight hundred waiting to join you!"

Zhōng sighed heavily before saying back, "My lord, I brought you to the empress to fight for the empress. If I wanted men, I would ask for them."

"So you're looking for men to join us on my behalf?" questioned Empress Wēi.

"I swore to your daughter, your majesty, I will find every man that can fight and protect her. I will not let the capital fall just as it did to me." replied Zhōng.

"Where are you ever going to find more men than what we could find and what you've brought so far?" questioned Captain Howin.

"These bandits typically take the higher price, I think a head of a dozen will give you another hundred or two and won't be what my brother had in mind." threatened Zhōng.

"Truman, whether you find some more or not, it's too late to find more." said Princess Zhen.

"Why did you call me that?" asked Zhōng as his glare met with Princess Zhen's eyes.

"Because you are afraid of revealing something to me. You're scared and so you hid behind the masked of the Dual Bladed Ninja. No matter how you make yourself look like him, you won't be the Fallen Prince." declared Princess Zhen.

Zhōng said nothing as they stared each other down, Zhōng hesitate to grab a sword, unlike Princess Zhen who reacted and firmly grabbed onto her sword around her robe. "I told you, Truman was never alive." growled Zhōng.

"Well it's clear that the Fallen Prince is then," began Empress Wēi, "I wish to inform you that you have your own army and I will grant you a seat in my court as well as my daughters as a representative of the Old United Fiefdoms."

"And who decided this for me?"

"The lords that'll be under your rule. I know they won't accept me, but they'll follow you so if you trust me, they will trust you." explained Empress Wēi.

"So I'm going to be the middle man in order to fix the cracks between the empires." concluded Zhōng, he didn't like how he was going to be treated.

"As the future empress, I would like you to serve this position set by your lords." declared Princess Zhen, her eyes now matched with Zhōng's intensity as the two got going again.

Zhōng suddenly blink and backed down before saying, "As you wish princess."

A sigh went throughout the place after hearing his words. The men welcome the late guest as Jack and John start to take the horses somewhere to rest. "For a moment, I thought you wouldn't change your mind." said John.

"On the bright side, you won't have to worry about losing to me every single time." stated Zhōng.

"I'm going to bet, you might struggle with her." suggested Jack, pointing at Hannah.

"Considering I don't know her, she'll definitely try to throw me off." said Zhōng as he led them to the barn before they went to bed. However, that night became the first night that Zhōng couldn't even shut his eyes.