The Returned of the Dual Bladed Ninja - Part 2

"You knew this," accused Jack later that night. They were back at the Egyptian Palace as Zhen looked out to the quiet and dark city while listening to the conversation.

"Please, him getting married is something I don't believe." replied Tony.

"Don't play dumb with us, I know you split from us last night. What did Zhōng tell you?" demanded Jack.

"I didn't see him, today was the first time I saw him." lied Tony.

"What shortcut and cure were you talking about?" asked Zhen, she turned to look at Tony with anger in her eyes.

"Zhōng wrote to me about a potion I made, and somehow someone made something similar and overdosed its victims. We both knew that was impossible since it was complicated and very difficult to get right otherwise it has no effect." explained Tony.

"You're talking about Death for a Day? Is that the only one you make that is complicated?" asked John.

"Indeed, which is why we know the dangers of overdose." confirmed Tony.

"Could it be imported?" asked Jack.

Tony shook his head and said, "I had one warehouse that had any reserves of it stored in. If I heard correctly, it was searched and the potion was burned and destroyed. I now only make enough for slaves that need it to sleep."

"You said if you heard correctly, do you know if Zhōng heard about what happened to it?" asked Zhen. She stared at Tony who stared back with his arms crossed.

"If you listen hard enough, you will hear just as much as Zhōng does. For example, I heard a rumor that Zhōng was getting married before Pharaoh Ay announced it." said Tony.

"How?" asked John.

"At parties, if you talk one-on-one with many people, they'll paint you a picture of what they see of Zhōng. I asked many and someone I talked to was a guard who recognized me in the black market games." began Tony.

"And that's where you heard about this marriage." concluded Jack.

"And I know who he's getting married to," declared Tony. He looked at Zhen who flinched but was absorbed into what he had to say. "He's going to marry someone that'll help him bring peace to the Ninja Empire. Zhōng actually gave me a letter when he passed me earlier today, the contents of the letter gave us clear instructions on what we must do."

"And where is this letter?" asked John.

"I burned it, he wanted it to be my eyes only." said Tony, he looked at Jack and John before looking back at Zhen. "His wife, I promise you, will respect him to give you soldiers to fight. His words to take the Ninja Sword to you wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. Because he'll become a king to the queen who will lead the Egyptian Empire. That's why he's avoiding us because he can never face us with guilt that he slept with two if not all three. I would be curious to know if he practiced on you to get better with them." he lied.

Zhen approached Tony and slapped him before running out of the run. The boys watched the door close behind her in silence till Jack spoke, "Does he seriously want it this way?"

"Zhōng knows Zhen won't call for war unless there's no choice. But even then, she won't take the sword till she knows he is safe from the danger he wades in far too often." said Tony, rubbing his cheek.

Zhen ran faster through the hallways of the palace, tears flew from her eyes as she desperately searched for Zhōng. She rounded a corner and stopped to see him leaning on the balcony with a drink in his hand. He wore the same clothes they saw him in as the two swords swung on either side of his hip. Slowly she approached him and he shifted his head a little to see her.

"Has my uncle told you why Egyptian wine is more bitter than Spartan wine? It's because the grapes here are grown in harsh conditions where sandstorms come and the sun bakes hard. Even water becomes scarce to quench their thirst. Many vines die before the harvest can begin, but the ones that produce are harvested to make wine." said Zhōng before taking a sip from his cup.

"Tell me what Tony said is a lie," demanded Zhen as she came closer to him.

"Well he heard from great sources, if he lied then my uncle would be lying to you as well." replied Zhōng.

"You can't do this, the Zhōng I know…" began Zhen.

"The Zhōng you know is dead," interrupted Zhōng, he glared at Zhen hard but she didn't back away or even flinch. "He died at the battle for the capital, he joined Truman and now they are in the afterlife with each other. I am the descendant, the man that has no bounds, I am fearful to all who see me, I am the Dual Bladed Ninja."

Zhen looked deep into the black eyes of Zhōng, but the further she went, the darker they became. She shook her head, it was the first time she realized that the Zhōng who returned wasn't the one she knew. "I don't want the Ninja Sword." she stated.

Zhōng turned to look at the city again and sighed. "You have no choice, even I don't. The burden left for me to carry just keeps getting heavier. The only way for me to lighten it is to find peace amongst those I came across." he said. He turned to look at Zhen who was shocked to see his blue eyes, they were peaceful and calm and weren't as before. There were no demons or monsters caged in them as the sea inside was still.

"So this is your peace to me? Leaving my side when I need you, giving me power that I fear, and claiming an army that I haven't asked for, is your peace to me?" questioned Zhen.

"There's no way out of this." replied Zhōng, finishing his drink.

"You and I both know that's not true." said Zhen.

"Well then forgive me, princess," began Zhōng, his black eyes returning as he tossed his cup. "I recommend you stay your distance because they're here for me." he shouted the last part and stood on the railing. 

Zhen looked out to the quiet city when she saw rockets fired and heading towards them. She dived away as the rockets crashed, and when she looked back, she saw a crater where Zhōng stood. She heard swords clashing and hurried to look over the railing and saw Zhōng fighting.

The alarm was sounded as soon as Zhōng finished dealing with ten soldiers, his mother's khopesh in his left hand and his Valtryek sword in his right. More soldiers charged at him before freezing Zhōng's black eyes fell on them before he killed them. He felt a presence and said, "Took you long enough."

"My father would be sending the guards to protect my half-sisters and Former Princess Zhen. I'm sure these ninjas aren't targeting King Alexios so I'm sure my father wouldn't protect him." reported Ichika, another wave of soldiers crashed on them and they dealt with them quickly.

"They're here for me, I need to ride out and draw them with me." said Zhōng.

"I go with you, you need someone to watch your back." volunteer Ichika.

Zhōng chuckled and said, "I think I'm back to full strength but it wouldn't hurt for you to come with me."

The ninja soldiers were getting killed rapidly in a hallway. Tony, Jack, and John were pressing their push so they could find Zhen. Suddenly behind the ninja mech ranks, a red and silver mech burst through with speed. Before the soldiers could get her, she jumped back with the same speed to release a volley of rockets. There was no one left standing when it was over.

"Your majesty, are you alright?" asked John.

"We need to get down to the lower levels, Zhōng is in trouble." said Zhen after she deactivated her mech.

"With all due respect, our duty right now is to protect you." said Jack.

"They're not here for me, they're here for Zhōng. He will die if we don't help." said Zhen. She looked at the three boys who were torn between duty and helping their friend. She could see the hesitation as if she weren't here, they would rush to his aid. They heard horses and turned to look rushing through the courtyard were two men. They went through the back entrance and out to the desert, the ninja soldiers who saw this action activated their mechs and took off after them.

"They may be here for Zhōng, but what's going to stop them if they see you? These are men who hated what your mother did and I'm sure that they'll take their anger out on you." said Tony.

"But I have more and they won't expect me to after them." said Zhen. Her eyes lit with fire as her blonde hair fluttered in the air. Tony smiled, he knew she made up her mind and they were going after Zhōng.

Zhōng and Ichika burst through the door to Zhōng's home and they went to the back room. "Why are the ninjas going after you? Our empire is no threat to theirs." said Ichika as Zhōng quickly grabbed his elixirs.

"That's exactly why they're here. They fear me and know your father won't wage war unless he has support from the other empires." said Zhōng. He checked they were the right ones and started to smash all he didn't need.

"Oh Fallen Prince, are you in there?" stated a voice from outside, twenty ninja-type mechs landed and surrounded the small home. "His majesty requests you to surrender and turn yourself into us. You are not welcome in any empires now."

"And what happens if I don't, Commander Gomun?!" shouted Zhōng inside the home.

"Then you and your friend are sentenced to death." stated Commander Gomun. The soldiers warmed up their weapons and pointed at the home. 

"Cobra, follow me." said Zhōng and they went back inside the back room. He pulled away his desk and revealed a hide-away hole. 

Zhen, Tony, Jack, and John soon landed behind a dune, they saw ninja soldiers pointing their weapons at Zhōng's house. After getting no response, the men fired after Commander Gomun gave the signal. Thousands of rounds flew into the walls, penetrating them, and had the speed to continue through other things. Vials and pots shattered inside and anything they held spilled out. "We have to help them," stated Jack.

"Wait," said Tony.

"Why?" asked Zhen.

"Zhōng could easily take care of them once they're no longer firing at him. He's being patient and we should too." explained Tony.

"But something doesn't feel right though." said John. They turned and looked at him confused by what he meant. "Zhōng has potions that could be harmful, why lead them all the way out here for them to destroy his work?"

"Perhaps so no one could replicate his work," suggested Jack.

"No, but he's right unless there's something in that house of his that we didn't see." said Tony before he pondered. His eyes suddenly widened and he asked, "You said you met him when he worked in a blacksmith factory?"

"Yeah, why?" asked John.

"Did you guys ever make bombs?" asked Tony.

"Only once, but that was with gunpowder." replied Jack.

"Some of the potions if mixed wrongly could explode, I know because Zhōng did it before." stated Tony and they realized what was going on.

Suddenly the house exploded as the wrong potions mixed together and ignited. The shrapnel from the house flew as fast as a bullet and killed some of the soldiers. Others took cover as more bits of the house blew again. On the third explosion, two mechs took the sky and rail bullets on them before flying back to the capital. "Don't lay there, after them!" cried Commander Gomun. He took off and his remaining troops followed them.

"Now we attack," stated Zhen, the four of them activated a weapon from their mechs and opened fire. They took out two before Commander Gomun noticed they were fired upon.

"Deal with the former princess and her friends, but make sure you hide the body. His majesty doesn't want to go to war against all of the empires just yet." ordered Commander Gomun. Half of his men split off the chase and dive back down to fight Zhen and her friends.

"This is going to be fun, it's about time I tried my new potion." stated Tony as he activated his full mech.

"Let me guess, they explode," guessed Jack.

"Nope, but they won't be able to do anything, not even deactivate their mechs once in them." said Tony.

"Well save some men for us to take on." said Zhen, she activated her mech again and Jack and John joined her.

"Of course, your majesty." acknowledged Tony and he opened fire in the incoming assault.

The capital of the Egyptian Empire was in chaos when Zhōng and Ichika returned. Blades clashed around the palace as the ninja soldiers tried to get inside. It wasn't till they saw Zhōng that they chased after him. Zhōng and Ichika led the chasing soldiers to the clock tower where they made their stand. They were on one of the higher levels taking down any soldiers that came up the spiral stairs.

"Your brother seriously wants you dead," stated Ichika as he took out one of the enemy soldiers.

"Well when you make a threat to disband or face the consequence of death, I'm sure I would be terrified and be looking behind my back." said Zhōng as he killed six ninjas. "I'm honestly disgusted that he didn't send me a challenge."

"Tell me, Dual Bladed Ninja, how many did you kill in a row?" asked Ichika as he took out another one.

"I took on fifty once but that is a pale record since I'm at one hundred and twenty-six," said Zhōng before killing another to make it one hundred and twenty-seven.

"How? I'm only at thirty," said Ichika as his blade was locked with an enemy's.

"Well if you stand near the stairwell and they're coming after you as well, you'll be closer to me. Also Cobra, I'm counting the ones that died near my hut and before he ran out there." explained Zhōng.

Ichika smirked before dealing with his opponent, he turned to the stairwell to see a ninja activate a mech weapon and aim it at Zhōng. "Look out!" he cried as he tackled Zhōng away just as the soldier fired. 

Zhōng quickly got back up and using his khopesh sword, he hooked one of the ninja soldiers and used him as a shield to charge at the soldier who fired at him. The soldier fired rounds into his fellow defenseless comrade as Zhōng's black eyes came to him. When Zhōng was close enough, he ripped his khopesh back, ripping the soldier's shoulder and swinging his Valtryek katana around, slicing both their heads. When their bodies fell to the ground he turned his attention back to Ichika who clutched his chest. "Cobra!" he cried as he rushed to his side.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, is just a bullet wound." assured Ichika. Zhōng moved Ichika's hand away, just below his left shoulder blade was a small bullet hole. Zhōng quickly pulled his medical kit out and pressed gauze into the hold before a hand clutched his wrist. "They're not going to stop till you're dead."

"But you must live," argued Zhōng.

"I'm going to make it, but in order to stop this battle, you must die." said Ichika.

Zhōng sighed and pulled out one of the elixirs he took from his hut and gave it to Ichika. "If you can't get to me, give it to someone I trust."

"I shall," promised Ichika. Zhōng got up and activated a weapon from his Valtryek. After taking a few short breaths, he fired down the stairwell to draw attention before running higher up the clock tower. Ichika watched as soldiers hurried up and after him, he could hear the battle raging above before it suddenly fell silent.

Zhen, Tony, Jack, and John crossed over a dune to see the capital as the sun arose. Smoke rose from a few paces but there were no more cries and swords clashing. They went to the palace where wounded Egyptian soldiers lay on cots. "Former Princess Zhen, thank goodness you're alive." said Pharaoh Ay as he and King Alexios rushed to them when they saw them.

"Alive and tired, there's bodies from the Ninja Empire lying near what's left of Zhōng's home." said Zhen. King Alexios and Pharaoh Ay looked at each other, they knew something that Zhen wasn't aware of. "Where's Zhōng?" she asked as she realized.

"Poisoner," called a soldier and Tony turned around to see a guard with chest injury looking at him. "I'm glad we met again."

"Cobra, how did you get that?" asked Tony as he approached and knelt by him.

"Just a chest wound, I'll be back on my feet soon." brushed Cobra.

"Do you know where the Dual Bladed Ninja is?" asked Zhen.

Cobra reached into his pocket and pulled out an elixir and gave it to Zhen. "He's waiting on the top floor of the clock tower." he said.

Zhen ran fast through the streets, heading to the tallest clock tower in the capital. She hurried up the stairwell with hopes that the worst hadn't happened. When she reached the top floor, she saw bodies lying all over with one leaning on the wall as his swords lay loosely in his hands. "No! No, no, no! Please, Zhōng, don't leave me." cried Zhen. She rushed to the dead person's side. After seeing he wasn't breathing, she cried into his shoulders. Her tears wept through his clothes as her screams muffled in them. She must have wept for a while till she heard something glass clattering on the stones. She looked to see a vial that whatever was left in it slowly dripped out. She quickly pulled out the elixir that Cobra gave her and waved it in front of his nose before making him drink it. She watched with anticipation of what would happen next.

Suddenly Zhōng's eyes flew open and he gasped for air, he coughed before taking a few deep breaths. He turned to see Zhen was staring at him and he sighed as leaned his head back. "Of all the people he picked that he trusted, it had to be you." he groaned. Zhen hugged him tightly and wept a little more, surprising Zhōng a little.

"Why do you play this game to stay away from me? Why push yourself further away from anyone? Can't you see you're not alone? Do you expect me to celebrate your death?" cried Zhen as she hugged Zhōng tighter.

Zhōng waited a little longer to let her get all her tears out. "Can you help me up, princess?" he asked. Zhen looked at him and saw his blue eyes shining back at her. She nodded and helped him to his feet. Zhōng however couldn't find his balance and leaned hard on Zhen. She blushed with surprise before she adjusted her balance and supported him down the tower.

Zhōng instructed Zhen to take him back to the palace, he then navigated her through till they came to a door. His strength returned as he limped to unlock the door and hold it open for Zhen to come in. When she entered, her eyes widened as she gazed at beautiful flowers grown in the small space. What had her the most surprised was the flowers grown were found all over the Ninja Empire. "I don't believe it," she awed.

"My mother tried the same experiment after she married my father. I wondered if I could do the same and was surprised at how easily most of them grew." explained Zhōng.

"They are beautiful and healthy as well," expressed Zhen as she looked at every flower's condition. She then frowned when she saw the next patch of flowers were brown and dried. "Almost all of them,"

"Don't be fooled by the outer appearance of Dead Livings," began Zhōng, he then swung his sword and the guss of wind from his swing blew the dead pedals and leaves away. What was revealed was shiny and sparkling black and white petals swirled together. They out of all the flowers now looked the most healthy in Zhōng's garden. "Even the dead can be beautiful." he finished.

"Where are these grown originally?" asked Zhen as she got closer to look at them.

"The northwest corner of the Ninja Empire, they're found amongst the wheat and rice fields. Their pollen is so rich that creatures would drink from them, that's why looked dead so the creatures could leave them alone." said Zhōng.

"Is that why you fake your death? So that you can be alone to carry out whatever you want?" asked Zhen, thinking back to where she found him. She stood up and turned to look at Zhōng.

"If anything, I'm already dead, yet it puzzles me that you and my brother still come at me. One of you wants my wisdom that I gained through five years, the other wants me dead for good. To try and solve that issue I wanted to fake my death so you can forget about me and focus on reclaiming the Ninja Empire. Meanwhile, my brother would breathe a sigh of relief but that's all the space I need to kill him. The second part is complete but the first has been foiled just now." said Zhōng.

"And so what are you going to do now?" asked Zhen.

"Perhaps I'll do the thing Tony said that made you search for me." replied Zhōng.

"I'm sure you're thrilled with that." grumbled Zhen, she walked towards Zhōng and tried to pass him before he stopped her.

"Nefertiti is the most laziest person I ever known, she barely comes out and barely cares about her flowers. She will let this empire burn to ashes without a care of what happens to the people. Cleopatra I believe has slept with every single man and maybe even woman in this capital. Her flower garden may be well taken care of, but she has personnel taken care of it. If she becomes queen, she won't be loyal and pure to me. Hatshepsut is the only one I see taking care of her garden, she works hard and takes care of them by herself. However, if she sees a weed, not only does she pull it out but all the nearby flowers around it. She may be a good queen, but a sniff of treacherous or illegal things would have her kill all responsible and all who knew them." listed Zhōng, his eyes turned black as he stared at Zhen who said nothing and looked down. "Considering, you've just ruined another plan of mine, I'll ask who do you think I should marry?" he said.

"Is your end goal to see me sit on the Ninja Empire throne?" asked Zhen. Zhōng nodded his head and she continued, "Then for the last time, come back to my side. I'll ask for your assistance this last time and you can go live your life in peace."

"My life was in peace when I was with you, it made you my weakness and I am yours. If we want the Ninja Empire back, we must go our separate ways sooner rather than later." said Zhōng. The conversation ended as he left through the he open to leave Zhen alone.

"I deeply apologize for our hospitality, Former Princess Zhen." apologized Pharaoh Ay as they were by the pier where Tony ready the ship to leave.

"There's nothing you could do to know of the attack." forgave Zhen as he bowed her head.

"I assume the fight ended because they took care of their target." theorized King Alexios.

"Then I am not worried for a second wave, as long as they believe what their kill is dead, I will do everything in power to ensure they believe." declared Pharaoh Ay.

"I pray your men that are left will recover quickly and give my farewells to your family." said Zhen, she noticed Zhōng didn't come with Pharaoh Ay to send them off.

"Let Xing know if she wants to, she can come to the Egyptian Empire." said Pharaoh Ay. Zhen nodded her in acknowledgment by the time Tony approached them.

"It's time to depart, your majesties." stated Tony.

"Very well," acknowledged King Alexios, he and Zhen bowed to Pharaoh Ay one more time and went to board the spartan ship.

The ship was ten miles away from the Egyptian capital when the second lookout member came to the crow's nest with a katana and a khopesh. "Are you the second member?" asked the first lookout member.

"Indeed," replied the second lookout member as his eyes glowed black with anger.