About three hundred yards from the Kinkou temple, Zed held up his hand, signaling his disciples to stop in his wake. This was a place they were all familiar with, a place they left in ruin five years ago when they fled from the tyranny of balance and ventured off on their own to seek enlightenment and power. Zed remembered well that about a hundred yards away through the brambles and bushes of the Ionian jungle, was the first guard outpost.
The guard outposts of the Kinkou temple were laid out in three rings that circled the temple itself. In each ring were eight outposts laid out around the big loop. So this meant if Zed and his soldiers wanted to get through, they would only have to cut a single path by taking out three outposts rather than all of them. Each individual outpost would have but a single Kinkou ninja standing guard as the rest of them resided within the temple. Zed was fully aware that Akali would be planning for him and his plan was simple- attack. The Order of the Shadow was, combat-wise, generally superior to that of the Kinkous. This was due to the fact that they had been trained to fight as a Kinkou before they left the order and became their own entity to be trained in the fighting style of the shadow technique.
Zed ensured that each member of his order was a master of the forms and stances, taught to him by the shadows after he was joined with them. Although Zed remained the only member of the order with living shadows within him and the only member capable of manipulating shadows, all members knew the aggressive and deceptive fighting style.
Zed glanced back at his ninjas before edging on alone towards the first outpost. In the distance he spotted it. A dim light of an oil lamp flickered off of the green leaves that hung from the trees. There, the guard appeared to be meditating, sitting down with his legs crossed and his head bowed. This worried Zed. Since the Kinkous were well trained with Ki, the meditation while on guard duty was likely being used to sense passers by without having to actually see them. If Zed got too close to this guard, he would sound the alarm and Zed's army would have to battle through two hundred yards of jungle to even reach the temple, let alone take it over. The master of shadows grumbled as he tried to figure a good way around this.
Just a few steps behind Zed, Syndra levitated herself silently, floating her black magic orbs around herself, ready to launch them at anyone who came at her. She was almost as tense as Zed going into this. From what she remembered of Akali, this was not going to be an easy fight. However, before she could worry too much she noticed Zed roll his shoulders back, stretching and getting ready for something. "Zed," she whispered, "What are you doing?"
"Testing something," Zed hissed back.
"What?"
Zed chuckled softly, "Do you think I can make my double throw a shuriken?"
Syndra grinned, realizing what he was suggesting. "Give it a go. If not, I can always crush him."
Zed nodded and made a pushing movement with his arms. As he did a darks whisp emerged from his body, gliding shapelessly towards the outpost and stopping ten feet to the right of the Kinkou who still sat with his eyes shut and his head down. Clearly, he could not use his ki to sense the shadow. Zed brought his arms back in and instantly, the shadow near the outpost carved itself into a perfect representation of Zed. Zed reached back for a shuriken from his back. As he did, the shadow did the same. The ninja smiled under his mask as he threw it hard towards the Kinkou warrior. Zed's own Shuriken landed on the ground about half way between himself and the meditating soldier but the shadow's on the other hand, had lodged itself firmly in the Kinkou's head, silently dropping him to the ground, dead.
"Good job Zed!" Syndra encouraged, quickly gliding past him and on to the outpost. The simple stone building was quickly behind the majority of the group as they neared the second outpost. This one was, again, a stone building with an oil lamp lighting it, but it was different. This one was twenty feet tall and appeared to have a guard at the top surveying the area, about a hundred yards from the temple. This time it was Syndra's turn. She gave a grin to Zed, ignoring the pang of fear in her heart as she rose up into the air with her dark orbs. She levitated herself higher and higher until she looked down on the lookout from a distance. Slowly she moved herself closer and closer until she was only about thirty feet away, concealed by the cover of darkness and the fact that this ninja was scanning the ground, not the sky above him. Syndra floated ever closer and extended a pale arm, directing one of her orbs to float behind the ninja. Then, with a swift flick of her wrist, the orb slammed into the back of the Kinkou, sending him off the top of the perch and crashing down towards where Zed was waiting. Before the soldier could cry out, Zed launched a shadow up to meet him, the dark wrist blades cutting deeply into his neck, silencing his voice. Nobody would hear that guard.
At last, they were on to the last ring of outposts. Unfortunately, this one was much, much tougher for Zed to think through. As they drew near and looked upon what they had to get past, Zed and Syndra were unsure of how to proceed. This ring had clearly been set up just for Zed because it was not lit by a single oil lamp like the others, but hundreds. Lamps surrounded the entire base of the temple, lighting it up as if it were high noon. There were no shadows anywhere on the base of the huge stone building.
"Well," Zed started, "I suppose this is where our clever thinking ends and the fighting begins." Syndra nodded in agreement so Zed turned back to face his troops, who were came to a halt behind him in rows of five across, extending twenty rows back. Zed's voice was barely a hiss as he instructed, "This is it, my allies. This is where you and I will show the Kinkou just who we are! Let us take this temple for our own! As you fight, be sure to extinguish as much light as possible. You are far better trained to fight in the cover of darkness than they are. They may have ki senses, but you have the shadows on your side. Remember that."
Without a further word, Zed turned and strode confidently onto the open of the lamp lit stone walkway that surrounded the temple. Immediately there was a loud ringing noise. They had been detected. Knowing it was no use to sneak anymore, the rest of the ninjas and Syndra all flooded onto the cobblestone behind Zed. They waited for a moment until the ringing of the alarm bell ceased and a familiar green armored brunette appeared in the arched doorway of the temple, carrying her two signature kamas.
"Akali," Zed called, "I don't want to kill you and neither does Syndra. Surrender to us and you and your soldiers will be spared."
Akali smirked, "You are a threat to all balance. You will go no further, Zed. See reason."
"The only thing I see is a coward hiding in her temple, avoiding the fact that balance is for the weak, those who are not brave enough to find the truth!"
At this time, Akali's ninjas were starting to line the top of the temple with bows and the base with daggers and shurikens. The Order of the Shadow stood its ground, waiting for the leader to begin the fight. "Last chance, Akali, or you will end up just like Shen."
Akali's eyes lit up with anger, "Shen fought to his last breath to stop you and if I have to as well, so I will." Glaring at Zed, she raised her arm, signaling the hundred or so soldiers on the ground to charge.
In response, Zed charged forward, his ninjas close behind. The fight began exactly as Zed and Syndra had predicted. Arrows claimed a dozen of the shadow ninjas in just the first few seconds but after that, when the two groups were locked in melee combat, the arrows became useless as the archers were unable to get clean shots, safe from accidentally shooting their own allies in the back. Zed quickly made his mark, throwing two shurikens as he neared the front lines of the enemy and rushing past as two bodies dropped to the ground. As he reached the thick of the fight, surrounded by enemies, Zed did not draw his wrist blades but instead simply countered his enemies, grabbing them as they tried to stab or slash him and throwing or deflecting them away. Just by looking at him, Akali was unsure of why he was not using lethal methods but then it came to her as she watched. Zed was knocking the soldiers into the oil lamps that littered the ground. Most of them cracked and spilled oil out onto the stone and extinguishing but as Zed knocked away more and more ninjas, eventually flame met oil on the ground and a fire started to break out. Akali could watch no more. She twirled her kamas in her hands and dashed forward, trying to block out the sounds of her Kinkou warriors being hurled into the blaze. When she neared Zed, Akali leaped, extending her foot in mid air and catching his chest with a powerful kick. Zed was knocked back onto the ground for an instant but as Akali moved in, he leapt back to his feet. The two circled each other for a moment, focusing on their one-on-one fight as if the rest of the battle were not raging around them.
Akali was first to attack, stepping forward and swinging a kama at Zed's chest. Zed's form dissipated into the air, evading the axe's brutal cut but in the bright light, the shadow technique lent much less of an advantage.
"You may still be slippery Zed, but you can't dodge forever. I can see you," Akali taunted, watching the dark mass of shadow in the midst of the fight reform into Zed.
"It's true, my technique is not as stealthy in the light, but it does not matter. You shall still fall!" Angrily, the shadow ninja extended his arm blade and swung horizontally at Akali, aiming for her neck. Instinctively, she leapt back to avoid the slash, only too late realizing what Zed was doing. Behind her stood Zed's double who slashed at her simultaneously with the real Zed. Akali was caught mid leap on her right shoulder and fell through Zed's shadow, dissipating it as she crumpled to the ground.
Meanwhile, Syndra levitated twenty feet above the temple, taking on the entire rooftop of archers by herself. Arrows flew in a constant stream at the dark mage's form as it flowed easily between the sharp bolts whirring by. With powerful blasts of energy, Syndra returned fire, blasting enemies off of the roof with incredible force. She watched as they fell from the rooftop onto the stone below, landing with cracking noises as their armor crunched against the ground.
"Zed!" Syndra called to the shadow ninja, as he closed in on his prey below. Zed looked up, giving Akali time to roll away and three Kinkous enough time to take her place in the fray.
"What?" Zed called.
Syndra ducked another arrow and swiped with her hand, tossing the shooter from the roof. "Don't you think it's time to finish this?"
Zed growled and took a defensive stance against the three ninjas as they closed in. "Not yet. Not until Akali is dead!" He charged in at his enemies, stabbing one in the stomach and turning to shadow as his allies retaliated.
Syndra grumbled angrily and stretched her hands out to the Kinkous on the roof, focusing on making a telekinetic wall between them, stopping them from shooting any more arrows.
Ignoring the enemy ninjas, Zed charged blindly at Akali, raising his arm blade high in the air as she crawled away, the gash in her back noticeably staining the ground as she struggled. To save their leader, the remaining two warriors came to Akali's aid, grabbing Zed and only barely holding him back. Desperately, Zed tried to summon up the energy to push past.
"Akali, run!" one of the men, a ninja with light brown hair and strong arms groaned, as he grappled Zed's outstretched arm blade.
She shook her head and pushed herself to her feet. "No, Shen fought to his last breath. So will I."
Zed fought hard, knowing he was moments from breaking the hold and finishing Akali for good but the ninja hissed at Akali again, "Akali, if you die, the order is lost! If you live, the Kinkou survive! Please, run!"
Akali was taken aback by this and stopped in place for a moment. He was right. Nobody else in the order was going to be able to take up the mantle of grandmaster. The only other person even qualified was another ninja by the name of Kennen who had duties elsewhere in the world! No, it had to be her. Akali nodded and threw her kama hard at Zed, forcing him to pull back and lose his edge over the two ninjas holding him back. Quickly while Zed was disabled, Akali broke into a dash, taking mighty leaps and kicking down some of Zed's shadow ninjas in three powerful jumps while creating a distance between herself and her attacker. She gritted her teeth and endured the pain as she continued to run into the jungle, and away from the temple she had wanted so desperately to protect, away from the people she knew would die to protect her.
"Syndra, finish this! I'm going after her. Waste them!" Zed called as he bowled over the two ninjas, knocking them to the ground and charging after Akali, who was already several hundred feet away.
Syndra glanced down at Zed, trying to maintain focus on the wall between her and the archers. "Zed!" She cried out to him. "Let her go! Your mission is here, to take the temple right? Show restraint and do as you said you wanted to! I can't hold up this barrier forever!"
Zed stopped running and turned to look up at Syndra who was wavering in the air, her hands shaking as arrow after arrow was deflected off of her invisible shield. Sweat coated her face and arrows had clearly grazed her a few times judging by the small cuts in her clothing and skin. Zed couldn't leave now. She was right.
"Then I'm ending this now," he growled, dashing up the stairs to the huge double doors and turning around to face the crowd of battling warriors. "LISTEN TO ME!"
Zed's ninjas looked over, trying to maintain themselves in combat as the Kinkou thinned their numbers. Half of them must have already been dead. Akali's ninjas did not pay so much attention. "We can stop this fighting! You don't have to die!" Zed shouted angrily, frustrated by the lack of attention. Hearing this strange phrase, a few of Akali's warriors looked over at Zed.
"Zed, tell your soldiers to stand down, then they might listen," Syndra groaned, her body slowly and shakily descending as she ran out of strength to keep herself up any longer.
"Fine, Order of the Shadow, stand down! Defense only!" Slowly after Zed's words were heard through the yard of the temple, the clang of metal died out. Many more now turned to look up at the unusual ninja before them. Akali's remaining warriors were interested. "We don't want to kill you, Kinkous. We want you to join us. After leaving five years ago, I learned some valuable lessons about the world. First of all, balance is a fools' master…" A noticeable growl came over the crowd as the Kinkou's heard the foundation of their society insulted by Zed. "If we were to stop aiming for balance and start aiming for complete peace, complete control, complete victory, we could achieve those things! Who would there be to stop us? Who would dare stand in the way of peace? It's something that we all clearly want! This order needs a steady hand. I want to provide guidance and lead you to victory."
There was silence for a long moment as Akali's ninjas started to whisper to each other, some of them clearly considering the offer of joining Zed.
"Your order is falling to pieces!" Zed continued, "Shen lost his duel with me because he failed to see what I do: we should not fear power! We should embrace it! When I united with the shadows, I was given a gift, a chance to right the wrongs of the Kinkou. Neither the Kinkou nor the Order of the Shadow are perfect, but with your help they could be!"
Another break of silence fell over the scene, the only sound being the crackling of the fire. Panting, Syndra touched down next to Zed and wiped sweat from her forehead. Zed looked over and noticed she was smiling. He couldn't help but smile a bit himself under the mask.
Suddenly, one Kinkou raised his hand. It was a young man, probably in his mid-twenties with pale skin and black hair. "I will join you. The world needs order. I will help you bring it."
Zed beckoned him forward and the ninja came forward, ascending the stone stairs. "What is your name, Kinkou?" Zed inquired.
"My name is Marcus," he replied softly, his voice nervous.
Zed stretched out his arm and pulled Marcus next to him, taking hold of his hand and shaking it before raising it up to show the crowd. "See? This young man understands the value of unity! Why can not the rest of you?"
"Because you're a tyrant who stands against everything we have fought for, what our brothers died for!" a voice called. Zed whipped around to look at the speaker. It was the same ninja with light brown hair who told Akali to run.
"You…" Zed hissed. "Come here."
The ninja complied, bravely striding forward up the steps towards Zed. "Why don't you repeat that for me," Zed growled when the brunette man drew near.
"I said you are a sadistic bastard who wants to bring disorder and chaos. You are lying to these people and you mean us harm."
"And you honestly believe that don't you?" Zed questioned. The man nodded. "Well then," Zed commented, taking a step away and looking at Marcus. "Kill him."
"Wh-what?" Marcus stuttered, taking a step back.
Zed clasped his shoulder and turned him to look at his nervous face. "You want order? You have to take it. Nobody is going to give it to you. Kill him and bring order."
The young man nodded, a shiver running down his spine as he drew his dagger. The brown haired rebel did not waver an inch as he watched Marcus step close, his dagger firmly held in his hand. He watched closely, his breath even and consistent even as the dagger slid smoothly into his flesh, releasing a steady drip of red onto the stone floor. Marcus looked up, making eye contact with the man he had just stabbed and heard the Kinkou ninja's last words. "And so we truly are lost… My soul is with you Grandmaster Akali…"
Zed snarled with hatred at the man as he started waving in place, losing his strength and planted kick on his get, knocking him backwards down the stone steps into a pile at the feet of the gathered crowd.
"So what will it be? Join me, or end up like him?"
Syndra grabbed Zed by the hand and pulled hard. "Zed, what are you doing?"
"Sacrifices have to be made Syndra," he replied, pulling his hand free, "believe me, I do not want to kill. But it must be done so that the rest can be saved." Syndra shrugged her shoulders and looked down. "Syndra! Did you not kill dozens of men today on that roof?"
"I did," she replied, looking up angrily, "But killing in combat and killing in cold blood are very different Zed. You should try to figure out the difference."
"There is no difference when our future is on the line."
Syndra turned towards the temple and took a step inside, "Finish this Zed. Then remember to let go of your anger. The king I will sit beside is not a hateful man in his heart."
Zed nodded and turned his eyes back to the Kinkou ninjas. "So who will be joining the order and who is joining that fool at the bottom of the stairs?"
Author's notes: I totally lied about the contents of this chapter in the last author's nots, didn't I? I'm sorry. When I was writing this chapter, there was just a lot to write for both Zed and Syndra and Riven and Yasuo so I decided to split it in half. This week is all about the villains, next up is the heroes.
Next time: Yasuo and Riven unravel a tangled web of secrets in the Shadow Isles as they brave the shadows to find the truth. (See what i did there? That's a Zed line. Yeeeeeah)