The Essences Saga
Chapter 4
An Unbeatable Challenger
Ninjisu sat in his cell for a few hours with all of his equipment stripped from him. The only reason he still had his mask on was because his final request was to keep it on. He was strapped tight in his prison uniform, and if that wasn't enough they strapped him to the cell wall. They had no intention of allowing him to attempt an escape.
"It's time," thought Ninjisu.
The sun had set and there was a new moon that night. Ninjisu knew that if he was quiet enough, escaping would be easy. He thought the plan out in his head. It was a good plan, he was sure.
He started to focus his strength. After struggling for ten minutes (it would've taken him a lot less time if he wasn't trying to be as quiet as a dead wind) he broke free from the wall. He flipped forward and on to the floor. He made absolutely no noise during the whole process. He began to focus his strength once again. After struggling for another ten minutes he finally broke through his restraints.
"Time to get my stuff back. This will be the most difficult part, I wonder if my things really are worth retrieving?" thought Ninjisu.
He snuck over to the door. He took a quick look outside. There were five guards lined up on either side of the hallway with top notch equipment. Ninjisu hadn't realized how important it was to those young men's careers to keep him in that cell until the time came for his execution the next. Ninjisu felt bad for the probability of them losing their jobs, but he refused to allow his execution to pass.
"Sorry guys," thought Ninjisu as he focused his strength into his right fist.
He punched the heavy, solid steel door directly in its gigantic hinges. The guards immediately took battle positioning. One of them was about to sound the alarm, but just as his hand reached for the bell rope, a broken screw flew through the air and hit him square in the middle of his hand.
"Ahhhhh!!!!" screamed the guard as he fell to the ground clasping his injured hand with the other.
The other guards turned in shock. Before they had a chance to turn back around the cell door came flying at them. It plowed them all up against the wall. Some of the guards were knocked out on impact, others were cringing with incredible pain, but none of them were dead. Ninjisu walked over to the guards and set the door up against the wall. Then he tossed the guards into the cell. Once he had them all in his cell, he punched the ground a few times to make a hole with the perfect shape for the door to fit into. He grabbed the door and placed it in the hole. There was about a six inch gap between the door and the top of the doorway.
"Gotta keep goin," thought Ninjisu.
He walked over to the door at the end of the hallway, unlocked the hatch with the keys he took from one the incapacitated guards, and turned the handle. He stepped outside to find twenty guards waiting for him. Ninjisu closed the door behind him and stood there in front of the guards. He could tell how afraid they all were. He felt so bad that they would be willing to risk their lives in attempt to catch him.
"I didn't want any kind of fame, especially the kind that gets you the top seat on the emperor's most wanted list," thought Ninjisu as he kept his attention set on the good as dead guards in front of him.
Ninjisu took his position and awaited their attack. He figured they would attack one by one, with the bravest attacking first. The room was dead silent for five minutes. Then you could hear the drip drop of urine coming off the hem of one of the guard's pants. Ninjisu started to feel terrible. He knew that he couldn't wait much longer; otherwise he'd be swimming in tons of different bodily fluids by the time he got out of there. He leaped forward at the guards. There was one big scream of fright as the guards took their defensive positions. Ninjisu came down in the middle of the group, crushing three guards underneath him. Then he jumped up and did one big spin kick. The rest of the guards were down and out, but not dead.
Ninjisu continued down the hallway. He took a left turn at the signs that were labeled "Exit To The Right" and "Vault To The Left". He ran as fast as he could while remaining quiet. He had alerted enough guards as it was with all that noise he made with that steel door.
"There goes my hopes of getting out of hear without having my escape notified to the prison central command. Now, it's about speed," thought Ninjisu.
He rushed through the Vault Door. There was no one in the room. Ninjisu knew it was too easy. He figured that the second he opened the safe, he'd be stared at by another group off terribly frightened guards that he would have to knock out before he could get his things. He was completely right; he opened the safe to find another group of completely petrified guards.
"Maybe they'll just stare at me while I grab my stuff. Maybe they'll just let me leave... and maybe... I'm starting to sound as stupid and naive as Moon," thought Ninjisu as he leaped forward and knocked out the guards with a drill kick, to spin kick combo.
He grabbed his things and got changed. He quickly rushed back out of the vault. Then he ran back down the hallway towards the exit. He didn't care about stealth anymore. He knew he was going to have to fight his way through no matter what route he took. He took a hard right at the end of the hall and headed for the door that lead into the reception area. He bolted through the door and ran straight for the exit. He sprinted right through the exit and out into the open courtyard. The front gate had already been closed. The search towers' torches had already been lit. Every guard that wasn't already knocked out was standing in front of Ninjisu, blocking his exit.
"Stay where you are. Your execution has been pushed forward. Your life will end here and now, and your reign of terror shall go with you to the grave," said the guard commander.
"He must've been rehearsing that little speech. Well, I don't have time for these weaklings. I've gotta get back to Pearl and Moon. I hope they didn't get mugged considering all that money they must've had with them. I hope they haven't spent too much of it either. I need that money for something much bigger than a nice hotel and high class meals," though Ninjisu as he took his stance.
"READY! AIM!" yelled the guard captain as he raised his hand in the air.
Ninjisu dashed forward and before the guard captain's hand was halfway back down, Ninjisu was in his face. The guard captain was stunned. Ninjisu hit him hard with an uppercut to the jaw. The guard captain went flying into the air. Ninjisu leaped up after him. He grabbed him and mid air and turned him around so that he was Ninjisu's human shield.
"Hold your fire!" yelled the second in command guard.
Ninjisu landed back on the ground and made sure to keep the guard captain in front of him at all times. He was constantly shifting and turning every time he heard one of the guards moving there gun into a firing position. He started to make his way to the front gate. Once his back was to the gate, he let go of the guard captain. He immediately jumped into the air, and did a back flip over the gate. He had successfully gotten out of the prison, but now he had to lose the guards' pursuit team, which was still the entire staff that wasn't already knocked out by Ninjisu. Ninjisu ran the fastest that he could towards the woods west of town.
"I'll lead these guys right to Oblivion Cave. They'll think I've taken up refuge in their and halt their pursuit until they can get stronger reinforcements that can handle the monsters that dwell there. As soon as I get into the cave though, I'll drop down into the Endless Pit and grab onto the switch to the secret passage. I'll make my way through the secret passage and out through the secret exit on the far north side of the cave," thought Ninjisu.
Before sunrise, Ninjisu had made it to Oblivion Cave. He made his way inside and followed through with his plan. By the time the prison guard pursuit team had made it to the cave, Ninjisu was half way to the secret exit. He made it out of the cave by the late afternoon.
"Finally, now that that's over... time to head for Murray Village. I should get there a day earlier than I told Moon and Pearl. That'll be good, since we need to get that money to him as quickly as possible," thought Ninjisu.
Ninjisu arrived in Murray village a day earlier than he had planned. Pearl and Moon were waiting for him at the inn. He used the second floor window to enter their room.
"Ninjisu!" cried Pearl as she hugged Ninjisu tight.
"Please be quiet," said Ninjisu as he hugged Pearl.
"I knew you wouldn't let us down. So, what's next?" asked Moon.
"We have to get this money to a friend of mine in Vicegrip Village," said Ninjisu.
"You had friends before you met us?" asked Moon as she chuckled.
"No, just one friend. His name is Gregory Hamilton the third," said Ninjisu.
"What's so special about him?" asked Moon.
"He's the heir to the Hamilton fortune. Unfortunately, he was robbed by the emperor, and since the emperor has complete power, Hamilton was forced to let his fortune go without question," said Ninjisu.
"That stupid tyrant strikes again. What would he any more money for. It's not like he has to pay for anything," said Moon.
"Are you trying to restore his fortune?" asked Pearl as she finally let go of Ninjisu.
"Yes, but we have to be careful about it. Once we give him the money, we have to make sure that he immediately uses it to rebuild his village to its previous glory. Otherwise, the emperor will just show up and take it all away again," said Ninjisu.
"Right," said Moon.
"Let's go," said Pearl.
Ninjisu nodded his head. He took off and waited for the girls' arrival. He waited for them about two miles north of the village. The girls met up with him as quickly as they could. Once they were back together again, they began their journey to the far north where they would eventually find themselves in Vicegrip Village. After about three days of moving as fast as they could while carrying the reward money, they finally arrived in Vicegrip Village.
"It looks completely deserted," said Moon as they approached the village.
"It's okay, once we get Gregory the money, he'll get this town back on his feet," said Pearl as she looked at Ninjisu.
Ninjisu nodded in confirmation. They entered the village and head for the dilapidated mansion at the northern edge of the village. They walked up the stairs and onto the porch. Ninjisu knocked on the door. The door fell off of its hinges.
"Great! Perfect! It happened again! This is just great!" yelled a man that seemed to be at least forty as he stomped up to the broken door.
"As short tempered as ever," said Ninjisu.
"Ninjisu!" yelled the man as he gave him a huge handshake.
"As strong as ever also," said Ninjisu.
"Well, my family did find this village with their bear trap handshake, thus the name," said the man.
"Gregory, this is Moon and Pearl," said Ninjisu.
"Ah, the Nonfratu Sisters. The greatest assassins in the world, or so I've heard," said Gregory with a grin.
"Finally, a little appreciation," said Moon as she shook Gregory's hand in excitement.
"Please come in," said Gregory.
Once the trio was sitting comfortably on a very dirty and uncomfortable sofa, they explained why they were in the village.
"Well, that's just splendid. First you save my life, and now you save my home. You truly are a saint Ninjisu," said Gregory.
Ninjisu shied away from the comment.
"When did Ninjisu save your life?" asked Pearl as she placed her hand in over his.
"Well, my mother and father had just been killed by some of the emperor's goons. Just as they were about to finish me off and leave the family fortune to the empire, Ninjisu showed up and kicked their butts. I've never been able to thank him properly, especially now that the empire has taken my family fortune through more peaceful yet still despicable methods," said Gregory.
"How has the village been able to survive without your family's fortune?" asked Moon.
"Well a very wise and strong elderly man showed up one day. He offered protection for free. He's also been hunting for us, keeping the farm crops going. He also took on the responsibilities of the village doctor after Doctor Vargrant passed away.
"He sounds like a great guy," said Moon.
"He is, his name is Zulk," said Gregory.
"We should meet him," said Pearl as she gazed at Ninjisu.
Ninjisu shook his head and insisted that they must be leaving now that they had delivered the money.
"Oh, so soon?" asked Gregory.
Ninjisu nodded his head. The trio made their way to the door, but as they were about to exit, Ninjisu was grabbed by the collar and tossed out into the street. He immediately recovered before he hit the ground. He took his stance and looked back at the doorway of Gregory's mansion. An old man, a young girl, and a young boy were standing on either side of him.
"You are trespassing, murderer," said the old man.
Pearl and Moon leaped out of the windows on either side of the old man and his two young allies. They rushed to Ninjisu's side.
Gregory came running out, "What's the meaning of this, Zulk?"
"This man is wanted for the murder of countless imperial soldiers, and... an entire orphanage of children. He's a monster and must die," said Zulk.
"We won't let you kill him," said Pearl.
"That's right, he may have done those horrible things in the past, but those stupid imperial dogs deserved it!" yelled Moon as she pulled out a handful of assassin spikes in each hand.
"Ninjisu had to, or he would've been killed for a crime that he couldn't have committed. What motivation would Ninjisu have for killing innocent orphans?" said Pearl as she started to focus her energy.
Ninjisu put his hands up, and told both of the girls to get out of the street. A few villagers started to come out of their houses to see what the commotion was all about.
"So you do have honor. Fine, I will fight you one on one," Zulk stepped into the street, "prepare to die you child killer!" yelled Zulk.
Ninjisu drew his sword and charged forth. Zulk drew his sword and blocked Ninjisu's downward slash. The two struggled against the other for a moment. Ninjisu jumped back and immediately leaped forward again. Zulk dodged the attack and countered with a trip. He brought his sword down, but Ninjisu spun away just in time. Ninjisu got up, and stared at Zulk.
"Now that I know just how strong you are, you will die." said Zulk.