Chapter Twenty Two The Beginning of the End

It was swift and precise. As the guard approached the edge of the boat hearing the commotion, the assassin quickly grabbed him and pulled him over board, cutting his neck at the same time. He then climbed on the boat and ran towards the next guard, dealing with him then throwing him over board. He quickly ran about the back side of the deck, dealing with the guards there. He moved to the front of the deck and entered the inner part of the ship, careful to remain silent and undetected.

He paused for a moment and lightly punched the wall, sending vibrations throughout the whole deck. Mai and Ty Lee where easily found, being in the largest room, but he had an extremely unexpected discovery. He smiled to himself, whispered, "My lucky day," paused for a second and said, "Guess I have to take out the entire ship."

He returned to the deck where he had left at least twenty guards alive, he had snuck in the shadows unnoticed. This time however the was no sneaking. As he stepped outside he slammed the heavy iron door behind him, creating a reverberating sound that all of the guards turned to see. The first two guards never laid their eyes on him as he plunged the knives he had stolen through the backs, right behind their heart. He followed through by slicing the knives through the next two guards necks. As the guards saw their first four comrades fall they began to draw their swords, but the next nearest three soon had a knife plunged through their hearts. The assassin quickly moved on to the next two guards who had finished drawing their weapons but with a quick roll and a slice to their heel they collapsed in pain. He moved on to the final group of five who had all finished drawing their weapons. He quickly picked up a sword of a fallen man and charged toward the group. He jumped up at the last moment, stabbing down at the man's heart. He landed and faced the other nine waiting for them to strike. As one did, he blocked the downward swipe, diving forward and sending the sword through the man's stomach. He took the sword them man was holding as he fell and turned around quickly plunging his sword through another man's heart. He quickly finished off another six, stabbing them in their chests. He then turned to the other soldier who turned around and began running to alert the rest of the ship. Nazca quickly pulled out his knife and through it, finding its place in the man's back.

He quickly moved back into the ship and headed for the steering room. When he reached there he quickly killed the man there and then returned to the hull. He ran to where Ty Lee and Mai where being held. He felt two soldiers guarding their cell ahead. He paused for a moment then sprinted, silently, towards them. The guards heard a sudden rushing movement and turned to face it but the knife had already passed through their throats. They swayed for a moment then collapsed dead. He stepped over their bodies and opened the door. This time he felt her hand coming as he opened it and with lightning fast reflexes, grabbed her hand before it made contact.

"Nazca!" Ty Lee exclaimed., pulling her hand back and embracing him in a hug.

"About time," he heard a voice say from the bed.

"Nice to see you too Mai," then he turned serious, "We're hijacking this boat right now, so I need you two to go to the engine rooms and take out any guards there, I'll handle the rest of the men in this part of the deck, there's someone I need to talk to."

Ty Lee looked questioning but Nazca quickly turned and left, "C'mon," Mai said, "Let's go do whatever he told us to do."

Nazca moved quickly down to the lower levels of the ship. He kept silent ensuring that he was undetected. On the first hall he came to he found his first target. The two guards were standing talking lightly to each other when it happened. Nazca rushed forward, slit the nearest guards throat, rolled past the other guard jumped up and did the same to him. As the two guards fell, Nazca opened the door and an instant later was gone, already out of sight.

He then moved on to the other posts, and dealt with the guards there ensuring he was not spotted by anyone. As he finished he returned to the engine room to meet up with Mai and Ty Lee. As he reached there he smiled as all the men were rolling on the ground in pain, "Nice work," he called out sensing the girls above him, ready to take out the invader.

Mai jumped down landed in a crouched stance but Ty Lee moved more gracefully, doing a series of flips until finally landing on her hands, "So what's next?" she asked.

"There some people we know on this ship, I want to meet them first, after they recognize me I want you to come alright, I'm going to be on the deck, so meet me there in a couple minutes."

"Wait," Mai interrupted, "who's here."

"Some old friends."

Nazca approached the boat excited, he had not talked to some of them in years, he was ready to end this war together. Then he remembered what could happen, what had happened the last time he was in this proximity to them, but he realized, it didn't matter, it had to end this way there was no other way. He slipped quietly out on to the deck and headed for the bow, as they came into sight he heard one of the men who he had truly kill say, "It's the Assassin. He has come to kill us all. The Final arbiter decides who lives and dies. He has no mercy there is no hope!"

As Nazca head these words he stepped from the shadows of which concealed him and spoke saying, "No hope for you that is."

As the words left his mouth he pulled out his knife and through it, sending it straight for the man, the girl hovering over him yelped and tried to dodge it but it found its mark in the man's chest. Nazca walked over and pulled his knife out, then rinsed of the blade and his hands. He then stood up and faced the group, taking of his hood.

There were various responses, most gasping but one teenager said, "You?!"

Nazca smiled, happy to see his friends again, to be together, to end this war together and so he spoke, "Yes, me."