The Dance of Order and Chaos in Four Acts (Act I) (Chapter IV) (Part 2)
Dang, almost a month since my last chapter. I really got to step it up.
Anyway, this concludes the final chapter of Act I. I made a second part to give a little more time to the ninjas, as their story was cut short last time due to the length of Jhin's section.
#The Dance of Order and Chaos in Four Acts ##Act I: Convergence ##Chapter I ##Chapter II ##Chapter III ##Chapter IV (Part 2) ##Act II: The Performance Begins
Akali waited for what felt like five minutes when Elder Kaisi returned. “Where’s Shen?” She asked.
Kaisi smiled warmly. "Shen wanted me to tell you to meet him at the capital. We went in to see Jhin, but something troubled Shen. Instead of telling me what it was, he told me to give you two this message and then teleported away."
Kennen was saying something about wasted time, but Akali didn't hear him. Her eyes flickered, ever so slightly, down to the weapon box. Both of Shen's blades were still in there. Most interesting of all was that the spirit blade had not moved an inch since Shen's entry inside. Her eyes flickered back up to Kaisi within a fraction of a second, and while she didn't smile in acknowledgement, her lips didn't frown either as she nodded. "We'll leave right away Master Kaisi." She said.
With that she turned on her heel and dutifully walked out of the inner courtyard, with Kennen in tow. The pair said nothing as they walked through the outer ring of the complex towards the outer wall and exit. Akali's mind was busy churning up a plan.
Shiru was still at the now permanently unlocked gate, and Akali found it strange that he didn't show any surprise towards Shen's absence. He stepped aside without a word and let them pass.
The two ninja disappeared inside the forest that surrounded the north side of Tuula Prison, and immediately stopped. "Shen's in trouble." Akali said in a rushed whisper.
Kennen nodded quickly. "I guessed. Shen would never leave to go anywhere without telling us." He replied.
"It's not just that; his spirit sword didn't leave the weapon box. His spirit sword always travels with him when he crosses the astral plane."
Kennen grinned. "Guess it wasn't such a stupid idea for Shen to bind his ki to the spirit sword huh?"
Akali's lip twitched in annoyance. She had yet to give Shen slack for binding his ki to the spirit sword, and she wasn't planning on doing it any time soon. "It is a stupid idea." She asserted. "The thing literally floats in the spirit world and has a giant tether on him. Anybody with the slightest amount of spirit sense would see him coming a mile away thanks to that eyesore."
"It doesn't look that bad." Kennen insisted. "It's pretty cool."
Akali was certain at this point that Kennen just grew used to the thing, as he was much more in tune with the spirit world than she was, and therefore could see it all the time, whereas she could only see it after meditation. "We're wasting time here. I need you to go to the capital and tell the elders about what's going on here. Do not go to the Tuula Elder if you can help it. I'll stay here and free Shen."
Kennen nodded. "Good luck. I'll meet you at the capital." With that, he shot off through the forest as his body crackled with energy. Akali didn't have the heart to tell him that he in fact could not go the speed of lightning.
She turned back to the complex, the final stages of her plan forming in her mind. She pulled the green mask over her lower face and crept stealthily to the western edge of the wall. She calculated that she could get to the inner courtyard fastest once she scaled it.
Brandishing her kama, she dug one between the bricks and pulled herself up. She used her other arm to dig her other kama into the bricks and pull herself higher. Once she reached sufficient height, she dug the toes of her shoes into cracks in the wall for extra foot holds. Once she got a pattern down, she swiftly scaled the wall. She stopped at the top, poking her head over the top in a sweep for sentries. Her suspicions were correct: there was lax security here.
She leapt onto the top of the stone wall, and wasted no time climbing down the other side into the inner courtyard. Once she reached the ground, she slipped her kama back into her belt and did a final check for signs of life. Satisfied that there none, she walked to the weapons box and inspected it.
As she expected, the spirit sword was right where Shen left it. The monks must not have gotten the sense to move them. Which makes no sense. She thought. If they were spiritual in the slightest, they would have seen the tether and realized that Shen was making a literal path to him. The implications made her tense slightly. With an effort, she forced herself to calm completely. She needed to meditate.
She dropped to a cross-legged position and closed her eyes. While Shen and Kennen could see into the spirit world with little effort, Akali had to do special exercises, but she never minded. Shen and Kennen had given up some of their time for physical training for their studies in the spiritual arts. Akali had no such excuse.
She lowered the mask from her face; the last thing she needed was restricted airflow.
She breathed in slowly and deeply, and softly chanted in an ancient Ionian dialect designed to hone her ki, and focus it inwards towards her spirit, then outwards. The twin dragons of Body and Spirit twirled endlessly in her mind's eye. As she spoke, she imagined Body to descend, and Spirit to ascend.
"Lath Na Ryi. Sae Eleisa Ryi. Lath Na Ryi. Sae Eleisa Ryi."
After a few moments, she felt her senses heighten. She felt her awareness reach down inside her, and thoroughly embrace her spirit. Her awareness then spread out, searching for other spirits. With her eyes still closed, Akali knew the closest person was currently Shiru, and he was nowhere near her position. She didn't bother sensing farther outwards, as she was in a secluded area. She opened her eyes slowly and was greeted with what was simultaneously an eyesore and a vital clue.
The spirit sword glowed brighter than usual, and a faint purple line radiated from it, pointed straight inside the inner chambers. Akali sprang to her feet and went towards the weapons box. Leaving the spirit sword behind, she took Shen's steel blade and strapped it to her back.
She slowly pushed the doors; even though they didn't make a sound she opened them just enough for her to slip through, and closed them behind her. She pulled the mask back over her face and then went to work.
She used the shadows for cover, creeping with the perfect balance of speed and stealth. She didn't run into anybody as she sprinted down the halls, but several times she had to stop moving or change direction to avoid running into somebody. She had no intentions on killing anybody. Yet.
Once she was nearly discovered. As she slid her shoulder across a wall to avoid a monk's detection, she froze as the armor on her upper arm scraped against the stone wall. In a stroke of luck, the monk sneezed at around the same time, and therefore didn't notice the blunder. He went on his merry way and Akali thought of Shen with irritation. She still didn't understand why he insisted she change her outfit. While she honored his wishes as he was the current master of the order, she still resented the more armored clothing at times. Master Kusho saw nothing wrong with her previous one.
Soon she came to a room where Shen's presence radiated. Across from the door stood a monk, dressed as a fighter rather than in loose fitting robes like his brothers.
She frowned. She didn't have time to get around him.
She leaped out of the shadows and slashed out with her kama, as silent as the night. The monk died before he hit the ground, actually hitting it with a rather loud THUD.
A swift kick brought the door down. Shen was on the floor in an incredibly uncomfortable position, looking completely paralyzed. A small pool of drool pooled around his face. The monk next to him keeping him sedated only had time to leap to his feet before he was dispatched in the same manner with which she killed the first.
After she finished, she turned and examined the cuffs. Ki locks. She thought irritably. This is going to be a pain to remove. For him anyway. "Hold still." She said aloud as she placed Shen's wrists flat on the floor to give the cuffs something to rest on.
"Akaaal--" Shen started, but his words slurred beyond that point. "Waaaii...AHHH!" His final attempt to speak was cut off in a pained shout as it felt like his cuffs suddenly contracted hard enough to send the spikes straight through his wrists.
Akali's foot swung around and came down hard on the cuffs, splintering them into pieces. Her foot stopped after striking the cuffs so she wouldn't hurt Shen too much. "Come on, get up." She reached down and helped Shen get to his feet. He nearly fell over from the numbness in his limbs, so he leaned on Akali for support. "Now, what were you going to tell me?" She asked.
"Not to kick me in the wrists just to break the cuffs." Shen said, using his now free sleeve to wipe his mouth.
"Whoops." She replied dryly. "What did you find out about Jhin?"
Shen stiffened, then looked at her with a look that seemed almost haunted. "The only thing I found out is that he isn't here anymore."
Akali did a double take. "What? That's impossible. No prisoner has escaped Tuula prison before."
"Apparently Jhin has." Shen said. "What's worse is that the monks here know it but act as if he's still here. They are hiding his absence, though I cannot imagine the reason why." He looked around. "Where's Kennen?"
"He's going to the capital, to warn the elders that Jhin has escaped."
Shen nodded. "Alright. We have to meet him there. We can then figure out if the Tuula Elder knew of this yet said nothing." He looked to Akali. "Put your arms around me and hold tight."
Akali's eyebrow raised. "What?"
Shen didn't catch her tone. "I'm going to teleport to Kennen's current location, which should get us close enough to the capital to get there on foot. I need you to hold on to me tightly so you can be taken along for the ride."
Understanding flickered across Akali's face, and she immediately felt a flush of foolishness for assuming Shen's intentions. "Right. My mistake Shen." You know you've been doing too many solo assignments when you've forgotten how your friends are. She thought with a twinge of regret as Shen opened a portal across dimensions. She knew what Shen's upbringing had been like, and what the last few years had put him through, and knew for a fact that there was only one thing on his mind, now and perhaps for the rest of his life.
The maintenance of Balance.
Shen prepared to teleport to Kennen, and one thought echoed throughout his mind. It had been bothering him for quite some time.
I wonder what I can grab for lunch today...
Phew, now that Act I is officially over, prepare to see Act II starting later this week.
