The Tightrope Between Old and New

Long ago, something terrible happened at a campsite. No one couldn't believe what happened as guards took the younger prince away, while his older brother was covered with his blood. The prince's fear has gotten the best of him, now it'll haunt him and his family for years to come.

Camp Obake was a campsite private for the students who went to school in School Town. Xing was excited, she heard quite a lot about the place as Zhōng occasionally passed by while doing business. "Last! Day! Of! Summer!" she shouted on the beach of a small lake.

"This place is amazing." exclaimed Kotori.

"Better than being stuck in a classroom." commented Pina.

"This is going to be fun!" stated Cortana.

"Always worth it and now you came with us," said Silica.

"Don't forget, someone else." reminded Xing.

"Hey Fallen Prince," cried out a girl from his class as he was checking his horse. "We need one more person and thought of you since we are in the same class and you can help us out with a lot of things." she said, trying to seduce him.

"Sorry, but technically, I'm not here." replied Zhōng.

"What?"

"I'm currently working with my uncle back at School Town." explained Zhōng. He was all work and no play since he recovered.

"Then how come you came?" asked another.

"Because, I requested from my brother, to see if he can come and be a bodyguard." explained Principal Jiào who overheard.

"Does that mean, he'll have to sleep in a tent instead of a comfy cabin with us girls." complained a third.

"Doesn't bother me," replied Zhōng.

"And since he isn't with us, he has picked a spot before we left where he can enjoy this week in peace." noted Principal Jiào.

Before they left for almost a day's ride to the camp, all the girls had planned for the final spot in their cabin for Zhōng. The news was disappointing to them, but for Zhōng, his disappointment was coming. He had bags for his tent and blankets on Yáo, the horse neighed for being off again after carrying it this far. "Just a couple more turns, you can handle that." assured Zhōng as his horse neighed with disgust. "Guess we should be off." he stated as he climbed back on him.

"Don't forget dinner." reminded Principal Jiào.

"I'll come once my camp is set up." stated Zhōng. They galloped away leaving towards the trail that led around the lake.

"Well that's a pity," commented Lady Mona, sarcastically.

"Anyone wants to join us?" said Lady Klee. It was her, Lady Mona, and Princess Zhen. The cabins hold six people and everyone didn't want to disband since Zhōng wasn't going to stay with them. Princess Zhen watched him leave, she didn't like that they found a loophole but there was nothing she could do.

"Princess Zhen," cried Xing, running up to them. "Would you like to join us?"

"What?" asked Lady Mona, they were surprised that Xing offered to the princess. Princess Zhen looked at the group that Xing was part of, she didn't meet them before as they were labeled poor lords at school. They looked unsure about Xing's request but Xing was leading them bravely, she would have been a great leader.

"You think you can ask the princess to join you lowly people?" asked Lady Klee. They didn't like them, especially Xing for what her brother did to them.

"Why did you ask me?" asked Princess Zhen, curious before she decided.

"You seem interested in my brother, I figure we might see him come and join us for a few events. This could give you the best opportunity to keep a strong eye on him." said Xing.

"How about this, you join us, that way we can keep a good eye on him as well." suggested Lady Mona.

"But that means you can take two of your friends to come with you." noted Lady Klee.

"Pity you have twice that amount." harassed Lady Mona.

"Sure, I'll join your group Xing," said Princess Zhen. She didn't want Xing to choose, nor the short scrimmages being an all-day thing.

"What?" said both ladies.

"Your majesty, you can't leave us." pleaded Lady Klee.

"The problem we have is we're the smallest group right now. Others have set up their groups, we could hope that we won't be drawn to be separated, or be in a good spot before they are all filled up." reasoned Princess Zhen, she walked with Xing to join her friends. It's time to find something about Zhōng from an outside source.

The girls went to the beach to swim and enjoy themselves before dinner. Xing, Pina, Kotori, and Silica were splashing around while Cortana was changing and Princess Zhen lay on the beach watching them. She mostly watched Xing, seeing her smile reminded her of the old times. When she was only three, chasing after her brother. The thought of him smiling big reminded her how cold he became around her. His blue eyes once sparkled were dull and were the only warmth he spread but not in a good way.

"Something bothering you, your majesty?" asked Cortana, breaking her thinking.

"No, I'm good," assured Princess Zhen, she clung her skirt to her swimsuit tightly below her belly.

"If I may ask, what happened in the arena two weeks ago?" asked Cortana. Reports said that a group of rebels attacked trying to kidnap the princess. However, the former prince fought them off but was injured due to its strain. But what reports didn't tell was Zhōng's threat and the mention of his brother, nor why he protected her.

"Even I, myself don't know I guess, but I want to know." answered Princess Zhen.

Suddenly a big tidal wave crashed on them, after they spit out the freshwater, they looked to see Xing with her Fafnir arm activated. "Are you guys trying to see if you can get a late tan?" she asked.

"Oh, no one splashes me and gets away with it." shouted Cortana as she ran into the water. She and their three friends decided to gang up on Xing. Princess Zhen smiled, they were all having fun with each other, something she wished she had often. She looked down and saw the tip of her mark showing, fear came over her as she covered it back up.

Later that night, they were gathered by a campfire telling each other ghost stories. "That was terrifying." commented Silica after Cortana told one.

"Thanks although I didn't make you guys jump," said Cortana.

"I'm sorry I don't jump easily, my brother always comes home telling me spooky stories," said Xing.

"Really?" asked Pina.

"Tell us one," demanded Kotori.

"I don't think you can get scarier than Cortana's." stated Silica.

"Oh, I know it will be scarier in fact, my story has to do with this camp." claimed Xing sparking everyone's including Princess Zhen's interest.

"Can you tell us?" asked Princess Zhen cautiously.

"Sure, your majesty." replied Xing, she cleared her throat and began. "About hundreds of years ago, my and Zhōng's great, great, great, great, great grandfather came to this camp with his younger brother. However, he was jealous of his brother because he had lots of friends but he didn't. He was first in line to the throne and heir to the Ninja Sword, but he feared that his brother's popularity could have their father to change his mind. This fear drove him to be afraid and angry and wanting to hurt him even more. So he ran into the woods, knowing that his younger brother would come after him. When he did, no one saw him again, well alive that is." Xing looked around as she watched the girls shiver from the story.

"What happened next?" asked Cortana.

"No one knows except our great, great, great, great, great grandfather. For he was responsible for his younger brother's death. Some say that when they explore this area, they can see the younger brother, holding up the weapon that killed him. Looking for the descendants of his older brother." stated Xing.

Suddenly a silhouette of a figure appeared behind Xing. "BEHIND YOU!!! THERE HE IS!!!" screamed the girls. Xing turned around and screamed as well from the shadow over her.

"Ha, ha, ha." laughed the figure clutching his guts. "Sorry I couldn't believe you told that story." said Zhōng as he came into the light of the fire.

"Brother," sighed Xing with relief.

"You scared us to death." accused Pina.

"Yeah, you jump out of your skin." joked Zhōng.

"What are you doing here?" asked Princess Zhen, relieved that it was nothing but didn't forget who he was.

"The principal said if I needed firewood, I could come and get some. I figure a little bit of warmth to go to sleep won't be bad." stated Zhōng as he reached behind him to pick up his bundle of firewood.

"You missed dinner." stated Princess Zhen.

"I think I said, if I finished, I would come." fired back Zhōng. They stare each other down, the fire and the ice, each of them wouldn't back down.

"You'll come to breakfast, right brother?" asked Xing.

Zhōng snapped away and grinned at his sister. "Captain invited me to go hunting, it'll depend on when I get back." he said.

"Oh, okay, well goodnight then." she stated. Zhōng grinned once more before turning to his horse and thundered away to his spot.

The next morning, the girls were sitting down eating breakfast. They were looking at their schedule for the day. "Sweet, we can do anything we want this afternoon." praised Pina.

"What do you think we should do?" asked Silica.

"We could go swimming," suggested Kotori.

"If we do that, I'd like to stay dry this time." stated Cortana.

"I didn't know you don't like water." teased Xing. The girls snickered and Princess Zhen grinned. She was thinking of Zhōng and how he was lively for the first time in forever in front of her. She wasn't sure how she liked that, his cold side of him was the person she'll describe him to be, but his warm side made him look human and not a demon.

"Your majesty?" asked Cortana, snapping her concentration.

"Yes?" asked Princess Zhen.

"Do you have anything you'd like to do this afternoon?" asked Xing. They wanted the princess's opinion on what to do. None of them wanted to make her feel alone.

"Well, I suppose we can do," began Princess Zhen. Suddenly girls were running outside in surprise. Curious got to the group and they got up and walked outside.

Two large boars were slain, they were huge beasts. The men that went hunting were graduating on one of their own. "Well done, captain." applauded Principal Jiào looking at the sizes of the two boars.

"Well if we're going to be replaced, better have the girls eat much more than fancy dishes." joked Captain Howin. He and forty men came for protection to the camp, if there was any morale that he enjoyed the most, it was hunting.

"Did he get one of them?" asked Princess Zhen as the girls walked over. They noticed one was getting a huge celebration.

"His first time actually," stated Captain Howin. "He got the smaller one of the two but that's the one we were tracking. He couldn't believe he got it when he hit it, your majesty."

"What about the bigger one?" asked Xing.

Captain Howin hesitated, pondering if he should tell or not. "That was caught by Zhōng, he heard it coming and struck it down when it was twenty yards away from us." he finally said. Princess Zhen tensed up, she now understood why he hesitated.

"Well where is he?" asked Silica.

Captain Howin pondered again on whether he should tell or not. "He," he began, "He went back."

"What?" said Kotori.

"Did he get something to eat before he left you guys?" asked Xing.

"No, I did offer and he said he might come for lunch," said Captain Howin. Xing put her head down and her friends were worried about it. She knew her brother well, a might means probably not.

When lunch came, her fear was correct. The girls didn't see a trace of him arriving. They were walking back thinking about what to do for the rest of the day but couldn't think of anything. "Well isn't the loser squad." sneered Lady Mona as they walked by.

"Good afternoon, my lady." said Xing politely.

"What's so good about it?" joined Lady Klee. They were indifferent cabins but they did everything they wanted to do in them.

"It was a simple greeting, my lady." replied Xing. Though she and her friends were picked on because of her, she knew showing retaliation wouldn't look good for her.

"A simple greeting?" stated Lady Mona.

"Did you learn not to speak unless addressed?" asked Lady Klee.

"Yes," replied Xing. Princess Zhen noticed the girls tensed up, if she weren't there and they weren't so powerful, they would have made them take it back.

"I only commented on you, I never addressed you. Do you see the difference now?" stated Lady Mona.

"She probably slept through that lesson, clearly she has the same problem like her brother, it's in their blood." claimed Lady Klee.

"There's also a distance so I went off of that, my lady." replied Xing, she was on the edge of crying for something she did nothing wrong.

"I never told you to talk back." said Lady Mona.

"You don't belong here and maybe that's why your brother doesn't come, cause he knows that too." bullied Lady Klee.

Xing had enough and ran away as the ladies smiled victoriously. "How dare you ladies do that?" demanded Cortana, her fist was shaking but knew she couldn't hit them.

"Xing did everything right, what you did is unladylike." accused Silica.

"How dare you call us that?" stated Lady Mona in anger.

"Because between her and you, she has more courtesy and she's the kindest person you'll ever meet." snapped back Pina.

"She isn't a loser, even without her brother, she is the best person I've ever met," said Kotori. The four girls walked right past the two ladies and ran after their friend.

Princess Zhen and the ladies looked at each other blankly. "Why did you even choose to hang out with them, your majesty?" asked Lady Klee.

"If I catch or hear anything else about Former Princess Xing on this trip, consider her brother showing no mercy to the one who dares." threatened Princess Zhen. Though she didn't like Zhōng, she grew quite fond of Xing, she ran after her group to go and comfort Xing.

When Princess Zhen caught up to them, they were all standing behind Xing who was crouching. They couldn't tell if she was crying or not, but it was bothering her. "Xing, don't listen to them." said Cortana, trying to comfort her.

"They don't know you like we do." said Pina.

"You are not your brother, what they did I'll no longer accept." stated Princess Zhen surprising them and Xing, who turned around.

"I know I'm not him, but that doesn't mean I can learn from him." stated Xing as stood up.

"What do you mean?" asked Silica.

"Look down," ordered Xing, the girls, and the princess looked down at their feet and saw tracks.

"Horse tracks?" commented Kotori.

Xing stepped away and revealed the trail steered right and into the woods. "They're heading towards the lake," said Pina.

"Which means we found Zhōng's camp." stated Cortana, heading into the woods.

"Wait! Watch out!" alerted Xing. Suddenly Cortana stepped on a trigger, they heard something click and an arrow hissed in front of Cortana's face and impaled the tree.

"That was close," stated Kotori as Cortana shuffled back away from the woods.

"That was perhaps a warning shot," said Xing observing the arrow.

"You mean it shouldn't hit me?" asked Cortana who was shocked by the news.

"If you continued, you might have it pass by a mere millimeter." claimed Xing.

"Are there more or can we go around?" asked Silica.

"I think he might have more traps around, we can't go this way," said Xing.

"Can they float?" asked Princess Zhen.

"No, your majesty, why?" asked Xing.

"Cause we might see him if we come from the lake." explained Princess Zhen, although she didn't want to see him, he was perhaps the only person that Xing trusted all the way and needed comfort.

"Are you saying we should go across the lake to see him, your majesty?" asked Cortana.

"That could be the thing we do, seeing a friend." suggested Kotori.

"If we're going to do that, then we better bring something," said Xing. She had an idea of what to bring.

"Then let's go." said Pina, the girls turned back to the camp. Princess Zhen took one more scan before heading back after them. She felt someone was watching them from the woods and they wouldn't have realized it.

The girls got to work cooking in the kitchen. Each was in charge of a specific dish. "I don't think he hasn't eaten this much since was still a prince." exclaimed Xing as she supervised and gave suggestions.

"Well he definitely would come here if we told him we're cooking tomorrow." said Silica.

Xing walked over to where the princess was cooking. She was making curry, spicy yet it smelled delicious. "That looks delicious, your majesty." commented Xing. "Since when did you learn how to cook?"

"While I was traveling with my mother during the war, I helped to keep my mind busy." said Princess Zhen as her talent started to come back, it had been a while since she made something but she was curious about Xing's knowledge. "What about you? I thought you worked in the blacksmith?" she asked.

"Before me and Zhōng moved in to live with our uncle, I worked as a waitress and cook in a tavern." replied Xing, clearly her talent has yet to fade away from her as she worked with some shrimp. She was elegant and marvelous, it's no wonder people liked her. Her face and expressions reminded her of Zhōng, how the missing emotion of happiness still has yet to appear when she was with him alone.

When the sun was beginning to fall, the girls, wearing something comfy for the occasion, took their food and rowed across the lake to meet Zhōng. Before they left, Xing marked a place where the tracks led to the lake. "Hey, guys look." shouted Cortana as they drew closer to the other side shore. Between four fruit trees was a boy with a black sword laying on his lap.

"Oh, we're in for a treat." stated Xing as she put away the oars for a little bit.

"What do you mean?" asked Pina, but Princess Zhen and Xing knew what was going to happen.

A fruit from one of the trees dropped, it fell just past Zhōng who mediated. Just when it was about to hit the ground, it was sliced in half as the black blade was unsheathed and the boy stood up. He stepped on more triggers like earlier and darts flew into the tree snapping the stems of fruits to fall. One by one, they were sliced as Zhōng continued to step on the triggers firing more darts to cut the stems.

"Woah," exclaimed the girls as they watched.

"He's good," stated Kotori as they continued to watch.

"So good that he's showing off," said Xing.

"How?" asked Silica.

"If you look closely, you can see his eyes are close." explained Xing. The girls took a closer look and she was right.

Zhōng stepped on a trigger, it fired a dart aiming for him, he deflected it and continued slicing all the fruits while blocking incoming strikes. Though his eyes were closed, his instinct and feelings let him see where they came and fall. Soon it was nothing but darts trying to hit him. He deflected them and once he ran out, he sliced all four trees in one swing. One by one, the fruitless trees fell. Zhōng opened his eyes to see all four down, a field of sliced fruits and darts sticking out surrounded him. He put away the Ninja Sword and walked towards the edge of the water.

"I guess that's our welcome," said Xing as she put the oars back and rowed them to the beach. The girls toss Zhōng the anchor and he heaved them to shore and planted it.

"That was amazing," exclaimed Cortana.

"Well I'm glad you enjoy my amusement, now let's sit down to eat. Dinner is almost ready." said Zhōng as he began to lead them to his camp.

"Wait, you made something?" asked Xing as her face began to go pale.

"What's the matter?" asked Kotori to Xing, who was fidgeting. They couldn't see Zhōng as he was behind a bush finishing up.

"Another reason why I'm good at cooking is because Zhōng can't cook." explained Xing.

"It can't be that bad," stated Silica but Xing's look said otherwise. "Can it?"

A wolf pup suddenly appeared from the bushes where Zhōng was at. It sniffed and kissed a couple of the girls. "Hey, stop you little thing." laughed Pina as it licked her.

"Down," ordered Zhōng and the pup obeyed. "Xing, can you close your eyes?" he asked.

"Why?" asked Xing terrified, her brother had yet to come out from behind the bush.

"Just do it," demanded Zhōng, Xing groaned then closed her eyes. Zhōng came out of the bushes, he had a small piece of meat sticking on a wooden pick. "Open up," he asked. Xing's fears came true, she opened her mouth and Zhōng placed the meat in her mouth. It surprised her as she chewed it. "Well?"

"It's plain," described Xing after she finished. "Yet good."

"What was that?" asked Silica.

"Oh, don't worry there's more fish." stated Zhōng as he went back to collect a platter.

Zhōng, the princess, and the girls ate all the food they brought. "I hadn't eaten this much since I was a prince." stated Zhōng as he rubbed his stomach.

"How did you learn to cook?" asked Cortana.

"Yeah, Xing said you can't cook," said Pina.

"Well our uncle said to me don't rely on the spices rather how well done the meat is and other sources first. There's a creek where I have trapped fish and wood for me to cut and simmer with the fish." explained Zhōng. He tossed another piece of fish to the wolf pup who lay between him and Xing. She was hoping for leftovers from the meal.

"Where did you find her?" asked Kotori.

"I didn't, she stumbled on me and I gave her somewhere to rest and sleep. She in return gave me warnings of danger and someone to keep me company." replied Zhōng.

"It's lonely working in the black market?" asked Silica.

"I thought you guys work in groups," assumed Pina.

Zhōng chuckled, something amused him that the girls were confused. "I don't want to tell you everything, so we're going to play a game." explained Zhōng. "The rules for it is to ask the other five questions; four truths, one lie. Xing and I played it to read people's minds to see who's lying and help us become better liars. It's a tool that I used for a long time." he said, his cold, mysterious look returned as he looked at the princess when he said the last part. "However, you all will ask me a total of five questions. I promise I will tell the truth on anything as long as it doesn't contradict a promise to a secret. Silica, you ask, is it lonely, yes and no. There are times when numbers will be the best option, however, I don't do them because I don't trust people as well so it's lonely for me." he explained.

"Why don't you trust people?" asked Cortana.

Zhōng pulled his hair back, for it was out in front covering his forehead. On the top right, a temporary tattoo was revealed beginning to show wear. "A reason why is this, there's a scar hidden underneath this, a friend betrayed me and gave me something to never forget. I guess I live in the midst of traitors for my entire life as he wasn't the first." he said.

"Why does it say Fallen Prince instead Dual Bladed Ninja?" asked Pina, the rest looked at her, they couldn't believe she asked that.

"The Dual Bladed Ninja was a completely different person than the Fallen Prince. Where he was free from the troubles of his past, the Fallen Prince is tied to them. This mark is what reminds me who I really am rather than who I want to be." replied Zhōng.

"Then if you could, would you go back to him?" asked Kotori.

"A wish that will never come true. For years I ran not for my life but my destiny, I saw some things that can never be unseen. So I run and I fight, I run to get away from them, I fight to make sure no one will have to see what I have. The Dual Bladed Ninja runs and the Fallen Prince fights." said Zhōng, he looked around as the girls were looking at each other, thinking of how their next question should be asked. "One more question," he stated.

Silence came from the girls as the unpleasant truth could see the light for the first time. "Do you regret what you did?" asked Princess Zhen, she stared hard at Zhōng. The past they shared was personal so was this question.

"Going back in time and telling you the truth, you would never believe me and I would have been dead. Yes, I regret it but I know when the time is right, you'll acknowledge me." replied Zhōng, his cold fiery stare returning back at her. They were the futures of the Old and the New. "No more questions, you guys need to head back." he stated as he got up with the wolf pup following him into the woods.

The girls looked up and saw it was almost dark. "I guess we should go." suggested Xing as the girls nodded in agreement. They perhaps scratch a surface of Zhōng's past that made him a demon to foes. They gathered their things and went back to the boat and row back to the campsite.

The next morning, the girls saw Zhōng talking with Captain Howin and Principal Jiào. After they were done talking, he climbed on his horse with the wolf pup behind him and rode off towards the exit of the campgrounds. "Where's he going?" asked Kotori.

"There are rumors a bandit party is nearby," said Captain Howin, overhearing the question.

"So he is checking them out?" asked Princess Zhen.

"Seeing how many and if they are friendly or not, your majesty. It'll be a half-day ride for him so he'll be back around dinner." replied Captain Howin.

"Sending him tells me you think it's the reality before the hope," said Princess Zhen.

"I surely hope not," confirmed Captain Howin.

"Boss should be arriving pretty soon," said a bandit by an afternoon fire.

"It's a pity we drew the short straws and stayed back to watch the camp," said another.

"Do you think he'll be there?" asked a third.

"Our sources say he's with his uncle," said a fourth.

"Well then Doduk shouldn't have a problem kidnapping the princess." said the first.

"I don't know why he changed his mind about her." said the third.

"As long as we are getting paid, I don't care." said the second.

Suddenly a boy with a black sword ambushed them. He killed two by surprise and when the third tried to attack him, the dark blue fiery eyes froze him as the boy killed him. "How many?" growled Zhōng as he held his blade to the last bandit standing.

"Sixty of us with more coming, they left this morning and should be there pretty soon," said the bandit. Satisfied with his answer, Zhōng slit his throat and marched back to his horse. He was going to have to ride like it was the end of everything.

The princess and the girls were out fishing in the afternoon with barely any luck. They were thinking about what they learned from the former prince the night before. "Is he always that cold?" asked Cortana.

"Yeah," responded Xing as she cast her line for another go.

"He isn't like that when he is around you." noticed Kotori, Princess Zhen was surprised that even Xing's friends Zhōng gave them the same treatment.

"I guess he doesn't want me to see who he has become." replied Xing.

"Is it hard to meet the expectations he sets?" asked Silica she cast another line out too.

"No, his bar is low." replied Xing, "Since the fall, he has put his life out to protect me. He never wanted me to see war, nor see what he has seen. If anything I set the bar that high because I want him to know he can rely on me."

"That's why he shows his good side to you?" asked Pina.

"Well, I think there's more to it, even before the fall Zhōng was changing into someone else as he grew older. It's hard to tell when he began that change." replied Xing. Suddenly an explosion was heard and soon more followed at the campsite. The girls looked curiously at what was happening before twenty mechs charged from the woods and headed towards them. "Get down," cried Xing as she activated her Fafnir and fired at the incoming attack. Like her brother's broken Longus, her Fafnir had Roktavor specifications in her arsenal, making it the ultimate stamina type. The incoming mechs fell from the blast, they pulled up creating a huge wave rocking the boat. Princess Zhen's footing slipped and her foot got caught in the netting.

Meanwhile, guards and the senior class tried to defend themselves from the surprise attack. It was chaos, as they overwhelmed a powerful force. Captain Howin used his spear to cut through as many as it could, he wanted to wait until their opponents were drained. Suddenly his pole snapped as he fell to the ground, his opponent stood over him to give the final blow. Before he could come down, a black and dark silver blade came down on him and the captain's opponent fell as stood in his place was a black mech. "I take the rumor we heard was true." concluded Captain Howin as Zhōng deactivated his mech and helped him up.

"How long ago was it when they started to attack?" asked Zhōng, the odds were going against him the longer it went on.

"An hour, maybe another half as well." replied Captain Howin as he activated his Spriggan to fight off some bandits.

"And the girls?" asked Zhōng he sliced a charging bandit in a mech just by his sword itself.

"Are either in the bunkers or if senior, they are helping us out." replied Captain Howin.

"Wrong people," stated Zhōng as he took another one down. "Where is the princess and her group?"

More came charging at them before a volley of artillery from a Valtryek mech annihilated them. "The princess and her group were out on the lake before the attack." stated Principal Jiào. "They're perhaps still out there considering a group of bandits is hovering over there."

"Leave it to me then." said Zhōng as he put away his sword to prepare for mech activation.

"Get them somewhere safe." ordered Captain Howin as Zhōng took off.

Xing was getting tired, her endurance was at her limit as she defended the boat as best she could. The girls tried getting Princess Zhen's foot free but the waves from returning fire made it hard to hold on. Xing's Fafnir mech arm suddenly deactivated as she clung to the boat taking deep breaths. Seeing no one was firing back at them, the bandits dove for a bombing raid. Fear went over all the girls' faces knowing this was the end. Suddenly the ten bombers were all destroyed by a fast intercepting black mech. Confusion went on the bandits' faces as the Ninja Mech killed two more of them and then charged at them, killing them one by one. Reinforcements for the bandits arrived but it didn't matter as Zhōng took them out on his own as well.

"Fallen Prince, we meet at last." a bandit called out to him and Zhōng stopped his killing to look at him.

"Are you Doduk?" growled Zhōng.

"I am," confirmed Doduk in a Wyvern.

"You know where my brother is." stated Zhōng.

"I do but he doesn't want you to come yet, not until he has the princess." said Doduk.

"Well I'm not going to let him," claimed Zhōng as he prepared a missile launch at Doduk.

"He never said she needs to be alive either," said Doduk, firing down at the boat.

The girls were working on getting Princess Zhen's foot out when they looked up to see a rocket coming down on them. "Abandon ship!" cried Cortana. She, Xing, Silica, Pina, and Kotori jumped off. Princess Zhen's foot was finally free but was too late to jump as the rocket exploded the boat.

"Now your brother wants you." stated Doduk. Zhōng's anger went up, his demon eyes went to a brand new level that no one has ever seen. He fired, destroying the Doduk's mech arm.

"Next one will kill you," growled Zhōng.

"You can follow me to meet your brother or you can find her body in hopes she's still alive." said Doduk as he fly away, retreating.

Zhōng wasted no time and dived toward the water going faster and faster every second. Princess Zhen was running out of breath as she sank deeper. She didn't dare to swim, the shock from the explosion prevented her to swim. The world around her began to darken as she saw the last light cast a silhouette of a boy swimming towards her.

The girls crawl onto the beach wet and cold across from them was the campsite where a battle raged. "Where's the princess?" asked Xing. They were worried about their lives, they forgot about her.

"Did she jump with us?" asked Kotori.

"I didn't see her jump on our end." stated Pina.

"Or mine," commented Silica.

"Look," stated Cortana. The girls looked where she was pointing and saw Zhōng carrying the princess to the shore. He laid her on her back and performed CPR. He pressed hard and the girls flinched when he gave her rescue breaths.

After the second round on the second rescue breath, Princess Zhen finally coughed. Water came out of her mouth as she came back to life. "Oh, thank goodness you're okay, your majesty." stated Xing as she and the girls huddled around her to make sure she was okay.

"You girls may want to strip." stated Zhōng, he got up and out of their way when they came to see her. They looked at him confused and even glared at him. "You don't want to catch a cold out here. And I don't think any of you are my size." he explained as he walked into the woods. It suddenly dawned on them that they were at his camp again as four fallen trees laid not too far from them.

That night, they huddle around a blazing fire with their clothes catching the warmth to dry. They clung tightly to the thick blankets that Zhōng provided, he had plenty for each of them. They ate fish that Zhōng caught, however, none of them wanted to accept what might have happened. Zhōng suddenly appeared dragging one of the fallen trees with him and posting it up to lean onto another tree. "What's that for?" asked Xing.

"Well my tent can hold two people, Yáo's tent can hold twice that amount so that takes care of you girls." explained Zhōng.

"So that will be for you?" asked Kotori.

Zhōng paused from what he was doing, his back was to them and they couldn't see his expression. "I'm going to need to stand watch until we know it's safe, this is for Yáo." he said as his horse neighed with approval. He trotted around within a small circle and the wolf pup joined him. "Clearly I'm not the only one that likes to show off." muttered Zhōng as he got back to work.

"Surely you'll try to get some sleep." pleaded Xing.

"I'll try, no promise," he replied as he left to find more branches for the shelter.

Later that night, Princess Zhen woke up. She was sleeping with Xing in Zhōng's tent but something was bothering her. She got up and left the tent, the fire went out a while ago as smoke still came from the burnt logs. She looked at the other tents, the girls were sound asleep in one and Yáo the horse slept peacefully in the completed shelter. She walked towards the edge of the woods where it met the beach. The wolf pup lay at the base of one of the trees, it looked up at her confused. Princess Zhen looked up and saw a boy camouflage in the tree as part of his cloak still fluttered through the breeze. She looked across the lake and saw it was still burning but sounds of violence were almost gone.

"You should be sleeping, your majesty." said Zhōng behind her, he jumped out of the tree and walked behind her. She turned around and saw a boy under a cowl looking at her. The moon hit his face just right to see everything about him as his dark blue eyes glittered from it.

"Looks like the fighting is over," commented Princess Zhen looking back at the campsite.

"They're bandits, if one way doesn't work, they try another with perhaps more." stated Zhōng. "They won't stop until their hiding places have been discovered, then they'll leave us alone."

"You're sure?"

"They're no different than me."

"You must be proud of your sister, she held them off for us." said Princess Zhen gratefully.

Zhōng sighed then said, "Something is on your mind, princess, something that doesn't involve the bandits or my sister."

Princess Zhen looked back at the campsite across the lake, she sighed and replied, "Since the end of the war, you have protected me even though you know I wanted to kill you. Never once have you left me behind, why?"

"You think I'll forget my promise to you? Wasn't my words to you after you tripped on that branch not meaningful to you?" asked Zhōng.

Princess Zhen turned back towards him, her red eyes sparkled as tears began to flow. "Then where were you when I needed you the most?" she asked.

Zhōng stared back, not saying anything for a while. "I wish I knew, it wasn't until after the fall I found out. It struck me guilty and I ran to find you before someone stopped me." he finally said. Dullness fell into his eyes as memories flowed through him, memories he would like to bury.

"How do I know that isn't a lie?"

"Like I said before, I will tell only the truth," he replied.

Princess Zhen paused, something haunted even Zhōng as he stared out across as well. "Who was she?" she finally asked.

Zhōng sighed, whatever happened in his past, he didn't want to talk about it. "Gravity," he began, popping the princess's interest. "That's what killed the younger prince," he continued.

"How do you know?" asked Princess Zhen.

"You ever wonder why the Zì Yóu Fiefdom is the only one that can declare itself to be an independent nation?" asked Zhōng, Princess Zhen knew about it but never the reason why. "It's because of this story. The future lord of the fiefdom was best friends with the younger prince. When I was there last time, I discovered a diary that told the secret weapon that killed him. Apparently, my great, great, great, great, great grandfather climbed a tree to get away, his younger brother was worried for him cause he dashed away in tears and followed him up. But he wasn't trying to kill his brother, he was trying to kill himself. Before me, there was only one in my tree that was the second eldest son to be heir to the throne. But before my great, great, great, great, great grandfather, there was none. He didn't want to live in a world with poor popularity. So he climbed a tree to jump and die.

"He climbed higher and his younger brother did too though he feared heights. Soon my great, great, great, great, great grandfather made the top of the tree. He threatened he'll do it but his younger brother knew he was going to either way. My great, great, great, great, great grandfather cursed him and said terrible things about how he felt about his younger brother's popularity. But the younger brother said, 'It doesn't matter as long as you are king.'" finished Zhōng, Princess Zhen's eyes widened from the remaining part of the story."

"So he jumped instead?" asked Princess Zhen.

"He slipped, a branch underneath him gave and he fell to death as my great, great, great, great, great grandfather watched in horror. When he made it down the tree, blood poured from the back of his younger brother's head, soaking his hands and clothes. The fear of unpopularity came back to him, that's why he went to him, the lord of the Zì Yóu Fiefdom. He pleaded that he wouldn't tell after he told him the truth and offered liberty if he and his heirs believed we were unworthy. He wanted to face the fear of being named a coward and unpopular. This event made my great, great, great, great, great grandfather perhaps one of the greatest emperors ever to rule this empire and his second eldest son was maybe the best since the first." explained Zhōng.

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Princess Zhen.

Zhōng's eyes relit into his normal state, the demons behind them awaited to be released, and the fire in them burned brightly. "Because I want you to be better, you can't if you don't know the whole truth. Who I was, who I am, I don't know and that's why you should be better. You are destined to rule, and for me, I'm walking on a tightrope over death." he stated. "I know it's a lot to believe such a story, but it's better to hear both sides before deciding. And maybe that's why I don't smile to you anymore, is because the old me is dead with the new soon to die, there's no point in me being associated with you as a friend." he said. He was suddenly back in the tree watching the last of the fires being put out across the lake.

Princess Zhen knew their discussion was over, in her heart she knew he told her the truth. Though it was uncomfortable, it was true, but the last part was perhaps something she maybe didn't want to see happening. She returned to her tent, as Zhōng looked up the tree to see the place where a young branch used to grow before snapping. There he thought he saw the younger brother looking at him as he sat higher. He smiled at him and Zhōng smiled back as the ghost disappeared as the breeze passed by. He had closure but Zhōng didn't have his yet.