Book 1: LIFE

Chapter 8:

THE TRIAL

Zhong and Aitoku trudged along the path, the barracks gate just in sight. Zhong was dry sobbing; he knew the news would spread about his quest. He knew how all would come to understand that he had almost killed a man because of some orders that turned out to be false.

Standing beside him was his rock. Aitoku didn't know quit what to say. He was the Master's assistant. He had been closer to the Master than any other guard had been. He had been given specific orders as well to make sure the Master had privacy. But this was Zhong. The circumstances were different and Aitoku too felt a bit lost and dejected.

"Just try to keep your head up when we enter the barracks." Aitoku told Zhong confidently. "The world could not have spread too quickly. It's only been a matter of days and I'm sure they'll understand. After all, you didn't kill the man this time."

Zhong stopped in his tracks as Aitoku's last words echoed across his mind. "This time." Zhong muttered under his breath as his gaze turned to the ground and his mind to that fateful night.

"No, this isn't how it should happen, and I won't be pulled into this anymore. I'm through." He threw the sword behind him and heard the stomach churning sound.

The man was dead.

"Zhong?" Aitoku asked as he gave Zhong a soft rub on the shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Zhong shook his head. "Yeah, I'm fine." Aitoku tried to smile but Zhong was being too depressed at the moment.

"All right then, let's just go and settle all of this." Aitoku moved forward and pushed open the doors to the barracks. Zhong followed behind him. They took six steps inside and then all hell exploded.

Men were rushing towards them. Whistles were being blown and there were loud shouts from some of the captains. Zhong was forced to his knees as Aitoku was shoved to the side, his protests going unheard. Zhong was forced to his feet and the ropes were bound tight around his wrists. "What's going on here?" Zhong shouted. Some men backed off, still afraid of him.

Zhong's old captain moved forward, looking down on his once prodigious soldier. "You're till under arrest, Zhong." He told him. "You escaped from this base and out of custody and have murdered two persons." Zhong was shocked.

"I killed one man." Zhong shouted at him. It was all in the guards' power to restrain Zhong.

"You killed a man just four days ago." The captain informed him. "The Master said so himself. He received a letter detailing the event. You will stand trial tomorrow for your crimes."

The captain turned and marched away as Zhong was carried off, shouting his innocence to the deaf crowd.

The cell was unbearable for Zhong. Not only was it cramped and dusty, but he had been lied to. His entire mission was now being disputed by the very man who has assigned it to him. There were footsteps outside his cell and Zhong moved forward to see who was coming. Aitoku appeared at the bars.

"I went to see the Master but he isn't in." Aitoku informed him as he pressed himself against the bars.

"I don't think that will do much good." Zhong informed him as he gripped the bas tightly. It was nice to see one friendly face. "I don't think he'll be of much help."

"Well, I was going to explain to him how it wasn't your fault the murder occurred. It was the work of a Spirit and no one can really dispute that." Aitoku told him. "If anything, I'll present it as evidence at the trial tomorrow."

"Yeah, about that…" Zhong stuttered. "What is a trial exactly?" Aitoku himself took a few seconds to think about this.

"Well, you will be faced with a legal representative who will judge you on whether you are guilty or not. A group of your peers will decide the fate though. Someone else will of course be providing the evidence that you did in fact commit the crimes they say you did.

"From the sounds of that, I'm already screwed." Zhong said as he moved away and fell down on his bed. "It's all the army anyway. The peers think I did it and the judge will too. It's big enough news. How am I supposed to prove I didn't kill the guy?"

Well…maybe… well I don't know what happens to you. I guess someone will need to represent you." Aitoku told him as he thought it through.

"Then how about you?" Zhong thought as he turned to his friend. "You were with me. You know I didn't do it. Why don't you defend me?" Zhong asked as he stood up. Aitoku's eyes wandered as he thought the proposal over.

"I mean…I guess I could…I would be the best one for the job." Aitoku reasoned. "I'll go to the Master and request that I represent you tomorrow!"

"Great!" Zhong said as he clapped his hands and then laughed. "So, you'll at least fix that for me."

"Yeah. It should actually be easy enough." Aitoku said as his excitement grew in proportion to Zhong's. "I mean, you didn't kill that man on the boat and you only escaped the base because you were given orders to do so. That's justified. Then I guess the only ting is if you killed that guy from before." Zhong's excitement died. He slowly lowered himself back onto the bed and glared at the wall.

"Yeah…that guy." Zhong said slowly. Aitoku gave a nervous laugh.

"Well, you didn't kill him…did you?" Aitoku asked as his cheerful voice turned to one of concern. Zhong didn't answer him. "Well…I'll see you tomorrow then. I'm just gonna go see if I can't get anything else to prepare you defense with."

"Yeah, sure." Zhong muttered. Aitoku opened his mouth to say something encouraging, but nothing came out. He tapped the bars gently and then left, leaving Zhong to his storm clouded mind.

Zhong left the campsite to clear his mind. Visions of his parents were flashing through his mind. But why had he opened up so early. He hadn't really known the guy that long. Three years wasn't enough to truly trust a guy.

But he made him feel different. He didn't have to always be the tough guy around him. He was just Zhong. Then again Aitoku was the closest in age to him. He shook the ideas out of his head as he went deeper into the woods. He could hear some rustling about. "Is anyone there?" Zhong asked as he drew his sword and moved deeper into the woods. He emerged into a glade with a river running through it. He roamed the area. "I'm sure I heard something over here." Zhong told himself as he moved to sheath his sword.

"No, please! Help!" Zhong turned to see two figures in between the trees. A figure was thrown into the river, water splashing everywhere. Another man emerged from the shadows, burly and clutching an axe. Zhong recognized the man in the river.

"Master!" Zhong shouted as he ran to his leader. The Master was pulling himself up as the axe wielding man grew closer.

"Do you know this guy?" the man asked Zhong. "He comes out of nowhere and starts heckling me when I'm just trying to pull an extra shift for some money."

"Well why are you working so late?" Zhong asked as he flashed his blade in the moonlight, hoping it would cause some sort of fear in the man. Sounds like something suspicious."

"You two are the ones acting suspicious." The man retorted.

"Please, Zhong. Protect me." The Master begged as he fled to hide behind Zhong.

"Sir, do you know who this is?" Zhong asked as he stepped aside to show the Master. "This is the head of the Global Army. He is responsible for the order kept around the world."

"Yeah, never seen him in my life." The man stated. "Why don't you two freaks leave me alone so I can just go home? Bunch of lunatics out tonight." The man turned to leave and Zhong got himself riled up. He took a deep breath in and then turned away.

The Master was stunned. "Where do you think you're going?" The Master asked in his husky voice, a bit of a hiss hidden underneath.

"He's leaving so there is no threat." Zhong responded to the Master.

"But, that man attacked me! Surely you must have some desire to protect the peace of this world and get him back." The Master tried to reason.

"But I'm only here to do some scouting work." Zhong said. "I understand your disappointment but it is late ad I would rather not fight."

"But, Zhong, don't you know why I am out here?" the Master asked him. Zhong turned to him and shook his head. Now that he thought about it, what was the Master doing this far out and with no protection either.

"Zhong, I wanted to reward you for all these years of service." The Master began.

"Are you two still here?" the man asked as he turned around, the axe limp in his hand. The Master got up and started moving towards the man.

"You see, I know about your parents already." The Master continued. "I decided, as a sort of gift for you, I would find the man who killed them. Zhong, you are looking at that man."

"What?" the man asked as the Master moved beside him. "What sort of game are you playing?" Zhong's eyes widened and his mouth went slack.

"I confronted him about it and he attacked me. He wanted me dead so no one would know of the injustice he did to you."

"Hey, now you listen here." The man started as he gripped his axe tightly and waved it in the Master's face. "I have never killed anyone and if you keep going with this little story of yours, you are gonna find yourself missing a few pieces if you know what I mean."

"You're awfully good at that aren't you?" Zhong replied as he moved forward with his sword raised, ready to strike. "Chopping people up."

"It was an expression…"

"Save it, you piece of trash. You killed my parents."

"That's it, Zhong." The Master shouted triumphantly. "Kill him. Kill him in the name of peace. In revenge for your parents. Let the rage flow freely through your body and open yourself to this power."

Zhong stopped. He lowered his hand, his eyes wide as he stared at the man's terrified eyes. "No." Zhong said as he turned his back. "I won't kill anyone."

"What!" the Master shouted. "But he attacked me! Aren't you at least furious about that?"

"I understand what he did, but death isn't the answer." Zhong said as he turned back to the Master. "I know what it's like to suffer deaths and I know that no one should ever go through it. He has a family and what good would it be if he died? I just keep the cycle of violence going."

"You…have so much potential…" the Master seethed. The man was clearly shaken by now, rooted to the spot with fear. "He committed a crime not just against anyone, but you specifically. You should be furious. You should e enveloped with righteous fury."

"No. Justified or not, his blood will not be on my hands." Zhong replied strongly. He turned away from the Master again, standing tall in his defiance. "No, this isn't how it should happen, and I won't be pulled into this anymore. I'm through." He threw the sword behind him and heard the stomach churning sound. Zhong turned around quickly to see what had happened.

The man was dead, Zhong's sword sticking into him. The Master was beside him, gripping an axe He turned to Zhong. "You just saved my life." The Master replied to a visibly shaken Zhong. "He had the axe raised to kill me but your sword stopped him. You are a hero."

Zhong's world was fading fast. He pivoted and printed from the glade, following the river to the source where he collapsed at the bank and drenched himself in water.

He had killed.

The Master was sitting behind his desk as usual when the curtain parted and Aitoku entered. "Ah, Aitoku, I'm glad to see you have returned." The Master said as he touched the tips of his fingers together and peered at him.

"Sir," Aitoku began as he knelt before him. "I would be honored if I could represent Zhong at his trial this afternoon. I have prepared items for his defense and think it is only just that the jury hears his side of the events that transpired."

"Well, I whole heartedly agree with you." The Master said as he rose from his chair. "In fact, I am overjoyed to hear this."

"You are?" Aitoku asked him cautiously.

"Yes. It means that my decision was correct." The Master told him.

"What decision?" Aitoku prodded again.

"Well, have a seat and I shall tell you all about it." The Master said as he lifted Aitoku to his feet.

"Well, that's great and all, but I do have to be getting along to the trial." Aitoku stammered.

"Nonsense. You've got all the time in the world." The Master said as he sat down in his chair and Aitoku sat opposite. The Master tapped his fingers anxiously on the desk and en lunged into his proposal, drawing Aitoku even deeper into his twisted web of plots.

The trial was nearing its close and Zhong sat alone on his side of the court room. Aitoku had not shown up. He was left with no word in his own sentence, but none of it mattered. He already knew he was doomed. Throughout the entire trial Zhong had sat in his seat like a vegetable, not responding to any of the evidence against him.

"At this time, I should assume the jury has reached a verdict." The judge said as he gestured wards the people lined up along one of the windows of the courtroom. "I would also assume it was an easy decision given the lack of evidence to the contrary."

"We have reached a verdict your honor." The juror said as he stood up and handed a piece of parchment to the judge.

Zhong just sat there, thinking about how everything had gone wrong.

A few hours earlier, Zhong had been moved into the office to meet with a special visitor. He was pacing the floor anxiously and fidgeting all the time. Finally he was told to sit and stay still by the guard, who was getting a minor headache from watching the man wet himself with fear.

Finally the door opened again, this time with the visitor. Zhong's hopes faded. "Good afternoon, Zhong." The Master said as he slipped into the chair opposite him.

"What do you want?" Zhong asked dryly.

"I just wanted to comfort you in this trying time." The Master said.

"You sold me out." Zhong told him flatly. The Master didn't seem to care. "You gave me orders and then say I was acting recklessly. You just don't even have a conscience, do you?"

"I hear that a lot." The Master said. Zhong shook his head vigorously

"The one thing I just don't get is…the only thing I even did wrong wasn't even that clear." Zhong shouted. "That man I killed wasn't intentional."

"Yes, but it was murder." The Master said.

"But I saved you." Zhong shouted. "It was an order to kill him and…" Zhong's mind wandered back, new clarity lighting the situation. "My sword had weight on the hilt."

"What does that have to do with your crimes?" the Master asked him, clearly unfazed by this encounter and clearly getting delight as Zhong squirmed.

"No. I mean I put more weight in my sword near the hilt so that the tip was lighter. It gave me a better swing." Zhong said as his mind raced through the equations. "I customized my blade so that only I could wield it and it would only be beneficial to me."

"I still don't see the point." The Master hissed. "I can see you don't want to talk about this anymore and truth be told I only came here to see if you wanted to bargain for your position back." The Master rose to his feet as Zhong continued to calculate. "I guess you'll enjoy prison." The Master turned to leave, placed his long fingers on the door handle.

"I couldn't have killed him." Zhong worked out. The Master stopped dead in his tracks. "The blade would have hit the ground before it hit him. He was too far away….unless you…" Zhong looked at the Master. The Master gave a glare backwards and then swept from the room, guards coming to drag the broken Zhong away.

"No. Justified or not, his blood will not be on my hands." Zhong replied strongly. He turned away from the Master again, standing tall in his defiance. The Master was furious. The puppet was not working as he had hoped and all his plans looked to be going down hill. It was time to do this himself. "No, this isn't how it should happen, and I won't be pulled into this anymore. I'm through." Zhong threw the sword backwards. It curved awkwardly towards the ground but the Master was quick.

With a simple twist of his hand, a portal opened beneath the sword, swallowing it up before it hit the ground. Next the Master sent it hurtling through space straight into the man's chest. The Master clutched the axe out of the dying man's hand and fell to the ground with it just as Zhong turned around. The damage was done. Now he just had to recalculate for the sorry, miserable thing that was Zhong.

He summoned Zhong's equipment to him through the use of another portal and followed Zhong, placing his things next to him as Zhong tried to wash away his imaginary sin in the pool.

"We find Zhong guilty of double homicide and fleeing from authorities." The juror announced as the guards quickly seized Zhong and hauled him out of the courtroom and into a carriage waiting to haul him off to his new prison cell.

The Master watched it depart, hoping that his gambit would pay off in the end. A crowd of soldiers assembled before him. "Tragic what can happen to a good soldier." The Master lectured to all of his followers. "But luckily we do have those who show the right qualities to be amazing fighters, leaders, and men."

"I am proud to bestow the greatest honor any of you may achieve today." The Master said proudly. "The title of one who will control all forces of my army. My new 'right hand man' if you will. I can only hope that all of you will aspire to be just like them."

The curtain behind the podium shifted aside as a man dressed n jet black armor moved forward, looking menacing with his dual swords and wrist knives. "General Aitoku."