Nature of the Spirit

Chapter 3: Fight and Flight

By Nanaki

Tseng was in the orchards in the hills behind Two Rivers, propped in a high tree branch, gazing into the distance. Though his eyes were open, he was basically meditating, and he'd barely moved in the last two hours. The bruises helped to keep him still as well. Yesterday, he'd taken on the entire student body at once, and he was still feeling the effects today. He'd won though, he reminded himself, grinning. He was already more than qualified for a post in the Imperial Army, but that wasn't what he was training for. He trained for what his mother had trained for: destiny. His mother's destiny though, had been forcibly imposed by Sun Li. His own destiny was still unclear.

Logic indicated that the kingdom didn't need another hero. Things had been very peaceful for the last twenty years, and he occasionally felt guilty for wishing that there was a great battle for him to fight. But he did wish it, all the same. To have the power to change the world, all by yourself... It was surely an intoxicating feeling.

'Intoxicating is indeed the word for it.' A voice seemed to come from everywhere, and nowhere.

Tseng's eyes opened wider, but otherwise, he made no move. The colors all around him seemed to have greatly increased in intensity, even the grey clouds that would probably bring rain later in the day. Floating in front of him, hovering over thirty feet in the air, was an apparition that appeared to be a girl no more than four years old. Her hair and skin were both tinted blue, and her fingers ended in dark blue points. Though she had never communicated with him before, there was no doubt in Tseng's mind that this was the Water Dragon, goddess of life and death.

'This is a great honor.' Tseng merely thought in return, knowing the goddess would be able to hear.

'Oh, I don't know about that.' The blue girl shrugged. 'It seems that I'm only ever the bearer of bad tidings to your family.'

'Be careful what you wish for, eh?' Tseng smiled.

'Or you just might get it.' The Water Dragon nodded. 'I come to warn you of a threat, not only to the kingdom, but to the natural order of the world.'

'That sounds unpleasantly serious.' Tseng's smile disappeared. 'Does my mother know about this already?'

'Your mother is in a place I can't reach.' The dragon's somber voice replied, and Tseng felt himself swallowing involuntarily. 'I don't mean death. Death is a place I know well. She is somewhere else entirely. It's true that I'm not what I used to be,' the blue girl pointed to herself, 'But my bond with your mother is very strong. The enemy's power obscures my sight, and for the enemy to be able to do that, it must come from the demon realm.'

'So, it's pretty much up to me then.' Despite the responsibility, and the danger, Tseng couldn't help feeling excited. Saving the world from demons! Hot damn! 'What do I do first?'

The blue girl smiled, and began to fade away. 'Judging from your reaction, I'd say: settle down. The rest will follow soon enough.' With that, the colors of the world returned to their normal hue, and Tseng blinked a few times.

"I'll do everything I can." Tseng promised, to himself as much as to the dragon. He scanned the horizon, but nothing looked different. Not feeling his bruises at all now, he climbed down from the tree and started heading back toward the school. Before he was even halfway there, the distinct sound of a flier a long way off reached him. It could be his mother coming back, but judging from what the dragon had said, that would doubtful. It could also just be someone passing through, but again, he doubted it.

.

Wei Ling really could have used someone else in the cockpit right then. She hadn't expected to get involved in a battle before she even arrived in Two Rivers, based on the assumption that no one outside the palace would be wanting to chase this particular flier. She was still going on that assumption, so the two fliers chasing her strongly suggested that the conspirators had been able to send men out in pursuit of her almost right away. It was not a good sign.

She was doing a fine job of evasion, if she did say so herself, but there was no way she could return fire unless she banked around to face them or did a loop and came down behind them. If she turned to face them, they had her outgunned, and were almost certainly better shots anyway. If she tried to do a loop, the chances were pretty good that she'd end up plummeting straight toward the ground. Considering that she was going to be lucky if she managed to actually land instead of crash at Two Rivers, the loop was out.

She nudged the controls down gently as a stream of bullets passed just above the canopy, then jerked back up. Sure enough, the next volley passed harmlessly underneath her flier. The trouble was, the other flier was still firing above her. Several rounds tore through her right wing, and the flier began to dip on the right side. Even with the controls yanked all the way to the left, she still went into a slow spin to the right. Her spiraling descent made it relatively easy for the pursuers to get a bead on her, and more gunfire completely shredded her right wing, as well as the main body of the flier. Clearly, these men didn't care about taking her alive.

'What the hell is going on here?' She wondered for at least the hundredth time. Somehow, even as the ground came curving up to meet her, ever faster, she had plenty of time to think. She'd been mulling it over the whole flight, and in the end, there was only one person who could organize a coup like this and expect to get away with it. Especially given that Xenin had been in charge of the operation, the mastermind had to be her father. But why, she had no real idea. Power, maybe, but he was already the Emperor of TWO countries. How much more power did a man need? No, there had to be some other reason.

In the same instant that she realized the ground was uncomfortably close now, she saw a building she recognized from paintings as the Two Rivers school, and was surprised to realize that she'd made it. Almost, anyway. She braced for the impact as best she could, but even so, a few seconds later, the world went dark.

.

Consciousness returned slowly, which was probably for the best. Dull pain permeated her head and neck, plus her shoulders where the flight harness had dug into them. The harness had probably saved her life though. 'Okay, time to move.' She thought to herself, but her body made no response. 'Come on!' She yelled at herself, and managed to get the fingers of her right hand moving, slowly.

The sound of something scraping through the ground was followed by the tinkling of broken glass, and Wei Ling realized that someone was opening the left cockpit hatch. She decided to play dead for the moment, hoping that she'd be more able to fight by the time they actually tried to drag her out of the cockpit. If they bothered, that was. "Well, I didn't expect this." The voice of whoever it was reached her ears. "When destiny decides to get started, it doesn't fool around." Then, slightly louder. "Princess, can you hear me?"

Wei Ling managed to open her eyes and turn her head slightly to the left. The sharp pain that she had expected to accompany this action didn't arrive, which was a relief. "Tseng the Cloud Lotus. It's been a while." She stated the obvious. It had been almost a year since she'd seen him now, and he'd gotten a bit taller. It was obvious that he'd been training hard this whole time as well, unlike some people in the palace who tended to slack off during the summer months, herself included.

"Princess Katsumoto Wei Ling. What have you gotten yourself into?" Tseng smiled. He stepped into the cockpit beside the pilot's seat and began to gently run his hands along her left arm and shoulder, feeling for injuries. She finally lifted her head and blinked a few times. "Hey, don't move too fast. If you're injured, you might make it worse."

"I don't think anything's broken." She said. "Which is a miracle in itself."

Tseng nodded, then looked around at the mangled flier. "So how did you go from a formal function to crashing in my backyard?"

"It's probably a long story, and one I don't know much of." Wei Ling stretched her arms out, wincing. "But I can sum up in two words: coup attempt. Actually, I shouldn't even say 'attempt.' For all I know, it was successful."

"Hmm..." Tseng craned his neck to look outside the cockpit hatch. "Then these probably aren't your loyal bodyguards coming to rescue you."

Wei Ling looked up through the shattered glass and saw one of the fliers that had shot her down gently lowering itself into a landing not fifty feet away. The other was hovering over to a landing spot a little farther behind. "Ugh." She started to unstrap herself from the harness. "We really need to get out of here, right now."

"You just rest." He gestured for her to remain seated. "I'll handle this."

"I really don't know how many there are." She protested.

Tseng just grinned. "I said I'll handle it. That means I will." Coming from someone else, it might have sounded condescending, but from him, it was reassuring. "The Agile Dragonfly model can't hold more than eight and stay in the air, so that means sixteen tops. And if they were able to keep pace with yours, which was only carrying one person, they're probably not full."

The nearer flier had touched down, and four soldiers jumped out of the hatches, each brandishing a spear. "Loyal soldiers of the Empire, welcome to Two Rivers!" Tseng called out, walking forward calmly. "What can I do for you?"

"Stand aside, citizen." The captain, a bearded man in his mid-thirties, ordered calmly. "We're here to apprehend a criminal." He used his spear to point at Wei Ling.

"Criminal?" Tseng raised an eyebrow, and continued walking forward. The soldiers, trying to act tough, didn't stop walking to meet him until he was inside their spear range, exactly as he'd wanted. "Just what has the heir to the throne done to justify such lethal force in response?"

"Tseng the Cloud Lotus," the captain began, sounding exasperated, "don't be fooled. This girl is an imposter. She was involved in a coup attempt to assassinate the royal family and rule in their place. Your cooperation in this matter would be greatly appreciated."

"I'm always happy to help the truth be told." The smile remained on Tseng's face as he called back to the crashed flier. "Princess! Do you remember, that time when I was six and you were five, when we were playing hide and seek, and I had the brilliant idea to hide underneath that exterior balcony? Who was it that saved me?" Tseng only asked for the soldiers' benefit, on the off chance that they were loyal men who had been misinformed. He knew quite well that she was the genuine article. The remarkable emerald green of her eyes and the scent of her favorite perfume would have been enough to convince him even if he hadn't recognized the feel of her chi.

"It was my mother." The princess answered readily. "And I remember her entourage gasping as she dove into that sliding catch. It was unusual behavior for someone dressed in full royal regalia, I admit."

Tseng's smile didn't waver as he turned back to the soldiers. Now, four men from the second flier were jogging over to join their comrades. "Well, it seems you gentlemen are mistaken. If there is an imposter, she's not here." Tseng saw a few faces twitch at that, and knew that these men had to be involved with the plot.

The captain let out a sigh. "Tseng, believe me when I say, you'll be a lot happier if you just step aside, and forget this ever happened."

Tseng laughed. "Even if you know my name and background, it's obvious you don't know a thing about me." Now the second group of soldiers took up position just behind the first.

The captain just shook his head. "You are far too much your mother's son for your own good."

"Well, we finally agree on something." Tseng chuckled, but he dropped into a fighting crouch, right hand and foot pulled back.

The captain just nodded. "Kill him."

"Huagh!!" Tseng burst forward, slamming a knee into the captain's stomach and kicking him in the throat at the same time. As the captain staggered back, making a disturbing gurgling sound, Tseng jerked to the side, trapping the spear that had been meant for his kidney between his right arm and torso. "Hah!!" He slammed the heel of his left hand into the shaft, breaking the spear in two with a sudden burst of splinters. He grabbed the end of the next spear that came his way, just below the point, and separated it from its owner with a brutal jump kick.

He twirled the spear around, then used it to throw off the aim of the next two stabs coming at him, twisting the spear around further so that all three got tangled up together. As the soldiers were trying to bring their spears back up to a ready position, Tseng jumped up and managed to hit them both in the face with a midair split kick that Wei Ling was frankly amazed a guy could pull off. Sensing soldiers closing in behind him, Tseng slipped into a chi speed boost and kicked one of them into two others with a massive blow to the base of the spine, before they could even start turning to face him.

Now there were only two soldiers still standing, and one was unarmed. To their credit, they didn't hesitate for a second, but plunged right in. Tseng floored them both in just a few seconds with a furious series of kicks that hurt just to watch. As they skidded to a halt, the captain staggered back up, hurling a spear straight at Tseng's back. Tseng simply whirled around and kicked it out of the air. "Now would seem an appropriate time to surrender." He said as he quickly strode forward.

"You little fool!" The captain roared. "You have no idea who you're trying to fight here!"

"Trying? I would say I'm succeeding." Tseng answered with a smirk, because he suddenly had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen.

"Don't say I didn't warn you..." The captain growled, black flames suddenly engulfing his body. As his human form disappeared in the flames, the macabre visage of a horse demon drifted into view through the smoke, quickly followed by the rest of the skeletal form. "Now, cower in fear, puny mortal!" He bellowed. Tseng merely regarded him with a raised eyebrow. "What's wrong? Are you paralyzed with fear? I wouldn't blame you. It's not every day that an enemy you thought defeated turns into a demon!" He laughed in a rasping voice.

Tseng shrugged. "No, the Water Dragon already told me what to expect."

"Then you must have come here prepared for your death!" The horse demon bellowed as he hurled a massive fireball at Tseng. Tseng backflipped out of its path, then charged forward. The demon pounded the ground, and sharp spikes of energy thrust up from the ground all around it, but Tseng simply jumped above them, nailing the demon with a roundhouse kick to the head that sent it staggering backward, then he backflipped away again.

"The surrender option is still open." Tseng grinned, for the moment ignoring the small fire that was starting to spread up his pant leg.

"Damn you!!" The horse demon roared with rage, the flames of its mane spreading up even higher, then it charged rapidly forward.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Tseng ran forward to meet it, and a furious flurry of blows were exchanged in just a few seconds. Then there was a sudden explosion of bone splinters, and the demon's right arm went flying away from its body.

"What?! What is this?!" The horse demon took an involuntary step backward. "How can this be happening? I'm a high class demon!"

Tseng walked calmly forward again, arms spread out, his hands taking on a dark blue glow. "I don't know who sent you goons..." The demon let another fireball fly, and it looked like it was going to connect, when Tseng simply disappeared. A blink of an eye later, he was high in the air, his fist poised to strike. As he started falling, he threw a brutal punch right between the eyes, and the horse demon's skull burst into many pieces. "But you are nowhere near ready to take on a Spirit Monk!" Tseng finished as the horse demon's body collapsed into a pile of bones, its firey mane disappearing, as did the fire on his own clothing.

As Tseng glanced around, he saw that those Imperial soldiers who had still been conscious had already fled the scene. Maybe they hadn't known ALL of their captain's secrets, or maybe they just knew when it was time to cut their losses. Tseng just stood there for a moment, letting his breathing slow, before calmly walking back to the Princess' crashed flier. He found Wei Ling looking at him with wide-eyed surprise. "What?"

"I'm suddenly finding myself with a renewed sense of hope, that's all." She allowed a small smile to appear on her face.

Tseng propped a foot up in the door frame, then turned back to regard the pile of horse demon bones. "It may take a while, but we'll find out who's behind this plot, and I'll take them down." Then, he smiled again. "If our mothers don't beat us to the punch, that is."

.

"But, I'm a fucking demon!" - Azrael, at the moment of his death, Dogma