Chapter15: Epilogue
Rice bags and wooden panneling. Sun shone in brightly through the windows as above the fans whirled round cooling down the hot air. Devious men with shady eyes sat at tables smoking and playing cards. A table in the corner of the room was clustered with four shaolin monks. Unlike the ones from the temples these had their chests covered also with the same orange. With shaved bald heads they conversed under the whirling shadow of the fan above like the breaking of a bunch of snooker balls.
"Something big's happened" whispered one gazing at the fan now and again.
"Are you thinking the same thing as I'm thinking?" replied the other leaning forward over a bowl of soup. At the counter a red headed man with a pigtale watched on with an apron across his chest he dried the dishes absently listening to every conversation in the room.
"Someone invaded the Temple of Elements and took their Master's anchient scrolls before anyone could wake him!"
"Who could have done this?" whispered another "But what was written on the scrolls?
"Nobody knows, but there was a man who saw the assassin"
"I heard that the surviving monk you mentioned said that there were two assassins from seperate sections, it seems impossible no?"
"Certainly," whispered another "it would be a three man job at least and they would have to have been the most skilled fighters in the entire world to get in past all the traps like that and scale the mountain"
"The monk was called Sang" said the starter of the conversation brooding over his bowl of water "Apparantly there were two and only two and never at any time did they work together. The first one a yellow ninja who they think was from the Shiri Ryu (although it could have been the one who got away)... he came in killing all of the guards arround and inside the building apart from one Sang who luckily was on patrol. Now this Sang finds out what happens, he sees the ninja, but then he finds yet another ninia in front of him who offers to help him track down the yellow one, together they found and killed the yellow one, but the blue one, you see they looked so he said: 'almost identicle'. Then he goes and betrays Sang and knocks him out while he bows"
"One should never bow out of practice" said another monk shaking his head from side to side, he sipped his mug gently with a pained expression.
"What's more Sang has vowed for revenge, he's sworn to track down the map, and find the person who tricked him so dishonerably"
"Sounds like an old women's tale to me" laughed Wong looking down from the bar "What's the chance of two ninjas coming together eh? On the same mission in the same place at the same time?"
"But how do you know they didn't eh? How do we know anything!" said the origional monk lifting his bowl into the air "I reckon something big's happened because the Shaolin temples have all sent out assassins as far as I can tell to track down the "blue ninja" who did it and bring him in for questioning dead or alive"
"What ninja in their right mind would wear bright yellow or blue? Its a stupid idea, if I were you I'd forget the whole buisness"
"Ah but we can't see!" replied another lifting his mug with a drop of the contents spilling out onto the table "We're a few of the people that's as been sent out to find him"
"You've been sent out to find who?" called a shady man in black from the other side of the room. He looked gruff with an unshaven beard and beady eyes, arround him on his table were a bunch of other people younger than himself but all looked dangerous and deadly serious.
"A blue ninja if its any concern of yours" sniffed the monk
"You're looking for a blue ninja?" laughed the man darkly "Well as a matter of fact so are we, so you'd better get out of here or else"
"I beg your pardon!" said the monk slamming his hands down on the table.
A table at the other end of the room near the door got up suddenly standing to their feet they came over in tight black suits with well cleaned faces and dark over shampooed hair and sharps eyes "Both of you are looking for a blue ninja so it seems?" laughed the leader, tossing his hair back with his hand "Well I'm afraid none of you will be finding him since we're going to get him first"
"You are damn well not!" roared the gruff bearded man standing to his feet. His asociates did as well and withdrew long sharp knives.
"Hey!" shouted the red headed barman "Easy now! Take this outside alright!"
The shaolin monks stood to their feet "Both of you get out, this is our ground!" they roared.
"Piss off" said the clean shaven and well dressed men, gold and decorated seems and buttons went down their posh clothes and black jeans.
"Who the hell are you people anyway?" spat the gruff leader his associates sniggered quietly behind him.
"We're Shaolin monks" replied the bald table "And you?"
"Black Dragon crime organisation" replied the gruff men
"Black Dragon eh?" chuckled the well dressed leader "Well we're Red Dragon and you've just sealed your own graves, none of you will leave this place alive"
The doors bursed open suddenly and a groop of black ninjas entered with weapons drawn, everyone else in the room imiediately drew theirs to a great *Kashing* of metal.
"All of you get out!" said the leader in a Japanese accent "We need to speak to Wong about a certain Blue ninja... named Subzero, and his asociation with a coleague of ours"
"Who the hell are you!" yelled the red dragon
"We are the Ninja!"
"Get out!" screamed the shaolin monks "This is our ground!"
"Please I beg you take this outside!" pleaded Wong, he was ignored. Looking across the crowd of people he gulped backing off he hanged a closed sign on the till and ducked beneath the counter.
"I've had enough of this Shaolin and ninja crap" breathed the gruff bearded man "The lot of you get out, this is between us and the Black Dragon now"
"I'll have your tongue for that you pesky rats" hissed the Shiri Ryu pointing Kitana's forward, they edged their way in and the four groups approached each other weapons in hand. The stood still clutching weapons and breathing hard. A table and chair were knocked over as men circled round each other.
Suddenly the light from the entrance way darkned a moment and a Black Dragon member paused just starting to lift up a chair to throw at an enemy. A man dressed in blue stood in the doorway with a cold ambiance about.
"Is Wong home?" he asked peering through the crowd. They all stared at him with fixed eyes motionless "I guess not" he shrugged and walked away dissapearing behind the door frame. The mob stood still reluctant to move they weighed out the erge of continuing their fight against the erge of the blue man.
"Lets get him!" shouted the red dragon member and with a slice of metal and drawn weapons they roared a battle charge all running out of the door in a huge armed mass. Chairs and tables lay overturned from the close confrontation. Silence consumed the restuarant as the distant calls of the assassins became quieter and quieter until it dissapered under the faint noise of the wind.
Wong with his red pony tail gazed up slowly gripping the sides of the wooden counter, slowly he stood up to his full height wiping the sweat from his brow. Bending forward he turned the closed sign arround back to open and picking up the dishes continued where he left off.
A moment later Subzero entered through the door glancing back once at the sunny horizon. Walking into the room he bent down slowly resting his hands on a fallen wooden chair he pulled it up righting it to stand, he pushed it under a table and came up to the counter. Sitting down opposite Wong he gazed forward slowly to find Wong's emotionless gaze at the dish not faltering once towards him.
"Where's Mialta?" he asked offhand.
"I gave her the day off, since I knew there'd be some big buisness today" replied Wong absently scratching the dish, finnaly he turned his eyes back to Subzero "I wasn't expecting them all to come at the same time though, shame about that"
"I need a horse and supplies" said Subzero getting streight to the point.
"Funny you should ask for that" chuckled Wong "Since they're waiting for you in the stables. A Lin kuei in yellow brought a horse down here only a few days ago saying you'd need it, some real casual gear he had on. The horse is the same one I leant you last time, although with the passage of time it might as well be yours now"
"Thankyou very much" smiled Subzero. Wong gave him a strange look as if he'd just said something very out of character, Subzero coughed "I mean in a strictly formal buisness way of cource"
Wong nodded and lead him through the double doors to the kitchens. Passing back into the lavish gardens he came to the horse stables. Oppening the upper door Subzero could see the deep Brown shape of Shivalry inside. He smiled bending forward he stroked the horse's main "He'll be perfect"
"Oh... just one thing Subzero" smiled Wong looking round quickly behind him, he came close and Subzero nodded. He paused as if uncertain of how to go on "Do you know anyone by the name of Scorpion?"
Subzero froze looking up at Wong slowly in disbelief "Yes" he replied "I do... well I suppose... I did "
"Well a man called Scorpion was looking for you about two or three weeks back, just a couple of days after you'd finished that mission of yours. Some map I hear. He came here asking about you, said he was a freind of yours"
"Heh, it must be coincidence" chuckled Subzero "I don't think I do know this person. Since the Scorpion I knew died in that very same mission"
"That's strange" chuckled Wong absently "I thought you would know him. He was definitely Lin kuei you see, must be a knew recruit or something"
"There isn't anybody in the Lin kuei called Scorpion, I can assure you of that. The very name is an insult right now to the Lin kuei, it will take them some time to finnaly get over his death"
"He must have been Lin kuei" chuckled Wong shaking his head from side to side, "he was wearing the traditional clothing and all. His eyes looked a bit strange though, as if he was suffering from blindness or something"
Subzero was again silent. He looked Wong over very slwoly before speaking with narrow tight eyes like a tiger "What did he say?" he said speaking at length.
"He said that you had done him a favour and that he had to repay it... that was all, no big deal. I told him I didn't know where you were which was the truth honest I didn't. Why did I do something wrong?"
"What couler were his clothes?" whispered Subzero slowly.
"Yellow, same traditional costume as yourself. A bit like the messenger who came down with the horse, but he seemed a lot more relaxed than this Scorpion person. If you don't mind me saying I didn't feel at all easy round him... he was all cold like. A very disagreable person if you don't mind me saying... you do keep strange company sometimes... and there was something very strange about his eyes"
"Wong" shouted Subzero suddenly bending forward over the man "Is this some kind of fucking joke?"
Wong widened his eyes in terror he stepped back "I don't know what you're talking about!" he gasped. Subzero lifted him up by the neck and gazed into his eyes "You'd better tell me now if you're playing games with me Wong because otherwise I sware you're going to experiance a whole new world of pain!"
"It's the truth!" he gasped choking he gripped Subzero's hands trying to wrench the hands apart "I promise!"
"You're telling me that a yellow clothed man came here today ... called Scorpion and asked about my name?" he roared "Did it not occur to you that Scorpion is dead?"
"I'm only telling the truth master!" he gasped "Please have mercy!"
Subzero froze at the words, his hands loostened. Normally he would have killed Wong for knowing too much. But something from his ordeal had changed him. He dropped the man to the ground where he clenched his neck in pain gasping for breath. Subzero turned away to the horse with a white face.
It snorted as if unaware as to what was happening. He turned slowly to Wong who was sprawled on the ground his pig tail wiggling back and forth across his head.
"Thankyou Wong" he said after a long moment "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for every trouble I ever caused you and your servant..." he sighed rubbing his forehead he turned again to the horse, he undid the catch and opened both doors to the smell of hay inside "I need to go now"
The horse rode across the desert the hoof prints being blown away as he passed across the dunes. Again as always he was returning to the shadows, yet now that things had gone the way they had, there were so few shadows left in the world. He couldn't keep running forever. Shivalry galloped on the sand rising from each beat of the hooves. Like the sands that lifted and fell back down to the ground, his time was running out. Whenever he moved over a dune it was as if the whole world saw him before he merged again into the safety below.
The night came across the Gobi desert and in the dark Subzero looked up at the moon, as he gazed at the mint leaf. It shone white under the glow of the moon, he stared at the veins, and the broken stalk. It seemed as fresh as the day he had taken it in his hands.
Passing through Dragon's gate at night he came quietly back to his home with not a passer by to seem him darting in and out of the shadows as he always did. Subzero, a cold assassin returning home. Under the moonlight he stood on the porch gazing up at the house above. He didn't knock, he just stood silent and again withdrew the mint leaf to look at it. The symbol of his hope, his struggle and his ordeal. In a way the leaf represented everything that had changed in him.
Turning away he walked round the back of the house. He climbed over a large wall with ease and dropped silently into his own beutiful gardens. The Lilly pools looked quite exquisite under that bright moonlight. At the edge of the garden he bent down where there was pleanty of space and raked the fresh soil aside with his hands.
He closed his eyes gripping the soil in his hands he closed it round the mint leaf and began to bury it under the earth "Is redemption really possible?" he whispered "If you show me the way Raiden... maybe I can try to follow as best as I can. It may not mean anything..." he whispered after ahwile padding down the earth with his hands, the grains caught the white light above and glittered like gems or glass with the soft moonlight upon them "but when I have seen hell..." he mumbled yet in this night the precision was in his own mind "I know for sure that there is a point in good even if at the end of all things it doesn't add up to anything at all"
Under the moonlight he strolled silently away to his house where with a quiet sound of hollow wood he closed the door. The sky was calm, and although there was a gentle pitter patter of rain on the roof that night, there was no storm, the weather was at peace.
Rice bags and wooden panneling. Sun shone in brightly through the windows as above the fans whirled round cooling down the hot air. Devious men with shady eyes sat at tables smoking and playing cards. A table in the corner of the room was clustered with four shaolin monks. Unlike the ones from the temples these had their chests covered also with the same orange. With shaved bald heads they conversed under the whirling shadow of the fan above like the breaking of a bunch of snooker balls.
"Something big's happened" whispered one gazing at the fan now and again.
"Are you thinking the same thing as I'm thinking?" replied the other leaning forward over a bowl of soup. At the counter a red headed man with a pigtale watched on with an apron across his chest he dried the dishes absently listening to every conversation in the room.
"Someone invaded the Temple of Elements and took their Master's anchient scrolls before anyone could wake him!"
"Who could have done this?" whispered another "But what was written on the scrolls?
"Nobody knows, but there was a man who saw the assassin"
"I heard that the surviving monk you mentioned said that there were two assassins from seperate sections, it seems impossible no?"
"Certainly," whispered another "it would be a three man job at least and they would have to have been the most skilled fighters in the entire world to get in past all the traps like that and scale the mountain"
"The monk was called Sang" said the starter of the conversation brooding over his bowl of water "Apparantly there were two and only two and never at any time did they work together. The first one a yellow ninja who they think was from the Shiri Ryu (although it could have been the one who got away)... he came in killing all of the guards arround and inside the building apart from one Sang who luckily was on patrol. Now this Sang finds out what happens, he sees the ninja, but then he finds yet another ninia in front of him who offers to help him track down the yellow one, together they found and killed the yellow one, but the blue one, you see they looked so he said: 'almost identicle'. Then he goes and betrays Sang and knocks him out while he bows"
"One should never bow out of practice" said another monk shaking his head from side to side, he sipped his mug gently with a pained expression.
"What's more Sang has vowed for revenge, he's sworn to track down the map, and find the person who tricked him so dishonerably"
"Sounds like an old women's tale to me" laughed Wong looking down from the bar "What's the chance of two ninjas coming together eh? On the same mission in the same place at the same time?"
"But how do you know they didn't eh? How do we know anything!" said the origional monk lifting his bowl into the air "I reckon something big's happened because the Shaolin temples have all sent out assassins as far as I can tell to track down the "blue ninja" who did it and bring him in for questioning dead or alive"
"What ninja in their right mind would wear bright yellow or blue? Its a stupid idea, if I were you I'd forget the whole buisness"
"Ah but we can't see!" replied another lifting his mug with a drop of the contents spilling out onto the table "We're a few of the people that's as been sent out to find him"
"You've been sent out to find who?" called a shady man in black from the other side of the room. He looked gruff with an unshaven beard and beady eyes, arround him on his table were a bunch of other people younger than himself but all looked dangerous and deadly serious.
"A blue ninja if its any concern of yours" sniffed the monk
"You're looking for a blue ninja?" laughed the man darkly "Well as a matter of fact so are we, so you'd better get out of here or else"
"I beg your pardon!" said the monk slamming his hands down on the table.
A table at the other end of the room near the door got up suddenly standing to their feet they came over in tight black suits with well cleaned faces and dark over shampooed hair and sharps eyes "Both of you are looking for a blue ninja so it seems?" laughed the leader, tossing his hair back with his hand "Well I'm afraid none of you will be finding him since we're going to get him first"
"You are damn well not!" roared the gruff bearded man standing to his feet. His asociates did as well and withdrew long sharp knives.
"Hey!" shouted the red headed barman "Easy now! Take this outside alright!"
The shaolin monks stood to their feet "Both of you get out, this is our ground!" they roared.
"Piss off" said the clean shaven and well dressed men, gold and decorated seems and buttons went down their posh clothes and black jeans.
"Who the hell are you people anyway?" spat the gruff leader his associates sniggered quietly behind him.
"We're Shaolin monks" replied the bald table "And you?"
"Black Dragon crime organisation" replied the gruff men
"Black Dragon eh?" chuckled the well dressed leader "Well we're Red Dragon and you've just sealed your own graves, none of you will leave this place alive"
The doors bursed open suddenly and a groop of black ninjas entered with weapons drawn, everyone else in the room imiediately drew theirs to a great *Kashing* of metal.
"All of you get out!" said the leader in a Japanese accent "We need to speak to Wong about a certain Blue ninja... named Subzero, and his asociation with a coleague of ours"
"Who the hell are you!" yelled the red dragon
"We are the Ninja!"
"Get out!" screamed the shaolin monks "This is our ground!"
"Please I beg you take this outside!" pleaded Wong, he was ignored. Looking across the crowd of people he gulped backing off he hanged a closed sign on the till and ducked beneath the counter.
"I've had enough of this Shaolin and ninja crap" breathed the gruff bearded man "The lot of you get out, this is between us and the Black Dragon now"
"I'll have your tongue for that you pesky rats" hissed the Shiri Ryu pointing Kitana's forward, they edged their way in and the four groups approached each other weapons in hand. The stood still clutching weapons and breathing hard. A table and chair were knocked over as men circled round each other.
Suddenly the light from the entrance way darkned a moment and a Black Dragon member paused just starting to lift up a chair to throw at an enemy. A man dressed in blue stood in the doorway with a cold ambiance about.
"Is Wong home?" he asked peering through the crowd. They all stared at him with fixed eyes motionless "I guess not" he shrugged and walked away dissapearing behind the door frame. The mob stood still reluctant to move they weighed out the erge of continuing their fight against the erge of the blue man.
"Lets get him!" shouted the red dragon member and with a slice of metal and drawn weapons they roared a battle charge all running out of the door in a huge armed mass. Chairs and tables lay overturned from the close confrontation. Silence consumed the restuarant as the distant calls of the assassins became quieter and quieter until it dissapered under the faint noise of the wind.
Wong with his red pony tail gazed up slowly gripping the sides of the wooden counter, slowly he stood up to his full height wiping the sweat from his brow. Bending forward he turned the closed sign arround back to open and picking up the dishes continued where he left off.
A moment later Subzero entered through the door glancing back once at the sunny horizon. Walking into the room he bent down slowly resting his hands on a fallen wooden chair he pulled it up righting it to stand, he pushed it under a table and came up to the counter. Sitting down opposite Wong he gazed forward slowly to find Wong's emotionless gaze at the dish not faltering once towards him.
"Where's Mialta?" he asked offhand.
"I gave her the day off, since I knew there'd be some big buisness today" replied Wong absently scratching the dish, finnaly he turned his eyes back to Subzero "I wasn't expecting them all to come at the same time though, shame about that"
"I need a horse and supplies" said Subzero getting streight to the point.
"Funny you should ask for that" chuckled Wong "Since they're waiting for you in the stables. A Lin kuei in yellow brought a horse down here only a few days ago saying you'd need it, some real casual gear he had on. The horse is the same one I leant you last time, although with the passage of time it might as well be yours now"
"Thankyou very much" smiled Subzero. Wong gave him a strange look as if he'd just said something very out of character, Subzero coughed "I mean in a strictly formal buisness way of cource"
Wong nodded and lead him through the double doors to the kitchens. Passing back into the lavish gardens he came to the horse stables. Oppening the upper door Subzero could see the deep Brown shape of Shivalry inside. He smiled bending forward he stroked the horse's main "He'll be perfect"
"Oh... just one thing Subzero" smiled Wong looking round quickly behind him, he came close and Subzero nodded. He paused as if uncertain of how to go on "Do you know anyone by the name of Scorpion?"
Subzero froze looking up at Wong slowly in disbelief "Yes" he replied "I do... well I suppose... I did "
"Well a man called Scorpion was looking for you about two or three weeks back, just a couple of days after you'd finished that mission of yours. Some map I hear. He came here asking about you, said he was a freind of yours"
"Heh, it must be coincidence" chuckled Subzero "I don't think I do know this person. Since the Scorpion I knew died in that very same mission"
"That's strange" chuckled Wong absently "I thought you would know him. He was definitely Lin kuei you see, must be a knew recruit or something"
"There isn't anybody in the Lin kuei called Scorpion, I can assure you of that. The very name is an insult right now to the Lin kuei, it will take them some time to finnaly get over his death"
"He must have been Lin kuei" chuckled Wong shaking his head from side to side, "he was wearing the traditional clothing and all. His eyes looked a bit strange though, as if he was suffering from blindness or something"
Subzero was again silent. He looked Wong over very slwoly before speaking with narrow tight eyes like a tiger "What did he say?" he said speaking at length.
"He said that you had done him a favour and that he had to repay it... that was all, no big deal. I told him I didn't know where you were which was the truth honest I didn't. Why did I do something wrong?"
"What couler were his clothes?" whispered Subzero slowly.
"Yellow, same traditional costume as yourself. A bit like the messenger who came down with the horse, but he seemed a lot more relaxed than this Scorpion person. If you don't mind me saying I didn't feel at all easy round him... he was all cold like. A very disagreable person if you don't mind me saying... you do keep strange company sometimes... and there was something very strange about his eyes"
"Wong" shouted Subzero suddenly bending forward over the man "Is this some kind of fucking joke?"
Wong widened his eyes in terror he stepped back "I don't know what you're talking about!" he gasped. Subzero lifted him up by the neck and gazed into his eyes "You'd better tell me now if you're playing games with me Wong because otherwise I sware you're going to experiance a whole new world of pain!"
"It's the truth!" he gasped choking he gripped Subzero's hands trying to wrench the hands apart "I promise!"
"You're telling me that a yellow clothed man came here today ... called Scorpion and asked about my name?" he roared "Did it not occur to you that Scorpion is dead?"
"I'm only telling the truth master!" he gasped "Please have mercy!"
Subzero froze at the words, his hands loostened. Normally he would have killed Wong for knowing too much. But something from his ordeal had changed him. He dropped the man to the ground where he clenched his neck in pain gasping for breath. Subzero turned away to the horse with a white face.
It snorted as if unaware as to what was happening. He turned slowly to Wong who was sprawled on the ground his pig tail wiggling back and forth across his head.
"Thankyou Wong" he said after a long moment "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for every trouble I ever caused you and your servant..." he sighed rubbing his forehead he turned again to the horse, he undid the catch and opened both doors to the smell of hay inside "I need to go now"
The horse rode across the desert the hoof prints being blown away as he passed across the dunes. Again as always he was returning to the shadows, yet now that things had gone the way they had, there were so few shadows left in the world. He couldn't keep running forever. Shivalry galloped on the sand rising from each beat of the hooves. Like the sands that lifted and fell back down to the ground, his time was running out. Whenever he moved over a dune it was as if the whole world saw him before he merged again into the safety below.
The night came across the Gobi desert and in the dark Subzero looked up at the moon, as he gazed at the mint leaf. It shone white under the glow of the moon, he stared at the veins, and the broken stalk. It seemed as fresh as the day he had taken it in his hands.
Passing through Dragon's gate at night he came quietly back to his home with not a passer by to seem him darting in and out of the shadows as he always did. Subzero, a cold assassin returning home. Under the moonlight he stood on the porch gazing up at the house above. He didn't knock, he just stood silent and again withdrew the mint leaf to look at it. The symbol of his hope, his struggle and his ordeal. In a way the leaf represented everything that had changed in him.
Turning away he walked round the back of the house. He climbed over a large wall with ease and dropped silently into his own beutiful gardens. The Lilly pools looked quite exquisite under that bright moonlight. At the edge of the garden he bent down where there was pleanty of space and raked the fresh soil aside with his hands.
He closed his eyes gripping the soil in his hands he closed it round the mint leaf and began to bury it under the earth "Is redemption really possible?" he whispered "If you show me the way Raiden... maybe I can try to follow as best as I can. It may not mean anything..." he whispered after ahwile padding down the earth with his hands, the grains caught the white light above and glittered like gems or glass with the soft moonlight upon them "but when I have seen hell..." he mumbled yet in this night the precision was in his own mind "I know for sure that there is a point in good even if at the end of all things it doesn't add up to anything at all"
Under the moonlight he strolled silently away to his house where with a quiet sound of hollow wood he closed the door. The sky was calm, and although there was a gentle pitter patter of rain on the roof that night, there was no storm, the weather was at peace.