| One-Shot |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
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Bloody Idols: Chapter Four
The handful of gunmen around the car start shooting at Rain and Xing, with a deafening chatter of gunfire. Rising gracefully up the side of the building, the elevator and its contents seem rather disconnected from what is happening below, aloof and untouchable.
Xing ducks behind the door to the car. "Dammit, I've still got payments on this!"
Rain tchs, "Not important! Sort that out later -- after the men with guns go away!" Then he reaches under his hoodie. "Hey, Xing?"
Xing nods sharply, poking himself around the edge of the car to squeeze off three shots at the closest gunman. "Yeah?"
Rain says, "Hold your breath."
Xing pulls himself back, looking quizzically at Rain for a moment. Then, "Oh, hell, you're going to pull one of those sulsa things, aren't you?" He takes in a deep breath, closing his eyes and hoping that he'll be able to get the stink out of the car.
"Yeah... something like that." From the gunmen's point of view, three small black triangles sail over the edge of the car to roll across the bare ground before coming to a stop, their rounded edges causing them to wobble to the upright position.
In unison they each spring to a height of about four feet and POOM! into a dense cloud of thick dark smoke and, as suddenly becomes apparent to anyone trying to breath it, metal shavings.
There's a whisper of air, a flap of flying cloth, and the little ninja springs on one of the gunmen, a halo of smoke parting around him like a kuei demon straight out of hell.
There's a scream after Xing's shooting, then a sharply snapped bit of swearing. The gunfire continues intermittently throughout, occasionally covering the irritated goon's foul commentary. A moment later there's a great deal of strangled coughing and scrambling for more friendly cover.
Rain flows like the smoke around the gunmen in front of him, ducking a wild roundhouse swing and sliding in behind the enforcer, curling an arm tightly around his throat while reaching up to fire off a few random shots at the last place he saw a target; time to sow a little discord and confusion. He gives the enforcer a swift kick in the back toward his compatriots, and fades back into the smoke for a quick lungful of air before diving back in.
Xing shakes his head a bit, wondering how he's supposed to shoot through that -- wait. Where Rain isn't, a shadow in the cloud. He whips the Luger up and squeezes off two shots, a moment later ducking back behind the car, listening for a body hitting the ground or someone's cursing that'll tell him he hit.
Things are indistinct in the smoke, and the yelling and random gunshots are confusing the issue... but Xing's pretty sure he got someone with his latest. If nothing else, there was no high whine of bullet-ricochet against metal. The goons aren't idiots, however -- they're clearing out of the smoke rapidly and simply spraying it to both dissipate it and prevent the others from following easily.
Unfortunately this fills the air with randomly flying lead. Despite their best efforts, the mooks can't avoid each other in the smoke and confusion. Rain and Xing both hear curses and screams, and the chatter of random gunfire slowly falls silent.
Also in the smoke, Rain can feel the occasional tug of bullets on his clothing and the whine of their close passage near his head. Unfortunately... he's also hit three times!
Rain staggers back, instinctively heading deeper into the smoke for shelter, kneeling down. He grits his teeth; gunshots burn. But that's good; he doesn't feel the sharp pain of splintered bone or a deeper ricochet... flesh wounds. It's just flesh, he forces himself to think, A Knight is more than his flesh. They can't beat me... nngh... that easily.
In the sudden, almost echoing silence that falls after the gunfire dies away, the two can hear with weird clarity. Far, far away is the humming roar of the traffic of the city. Not quite so distant is the mechanical kthunk! and whirr of the half-built apartment building's elevator starting its automated journey down to the ground again. Quite close indeed is the sound of a softly whispered, worried, "Shit..."
The smoke is starting to clear away in the light breeze off the distant bay. There are quite a few bodies around the bullet-riddled car, all lying very still. It would appear, in fact, that only one gunman remains -- and he's aware of that... problem.
Rain rolls onto his back, and grabs a quick lungful of only partly-tainted air, changing out clips in his handgun. Finally, the first goddamned thing to go right today.
Xing straightens, his Luger out and aimed at the gunman. "Drop it!" he snaps, like he saw a cop do in a movie once -- which gives him an idea. "Drop it and put your hands on your head! You have the right to remain silent...!" Oh, that's right, Hong Kong doesn't have that Miranda Act that the Americans have.... He gives up, then just letting his words be enough for the gunman to drop his... gun.
The gunman gives Xing a blank look, not really understanding what's being yelled -- then focuses on the very, very huge looking barrel of the gun pointing at him. He goes white... then slowly and carefully sets his gun on the ground and holds up his empty hands.
Xing nods, then glances up at the down-coming elevator. "I'm open for ideas!" he shouts to Rain.
Rain rolls to his feet and sprints for a shadow and some cover. "Trunk! Leave him for the cops!"
From the top of the half-built apartment building, where White Dagger and the others are, there's a sharp crack! of sound. Could be a rifle shot... hard to tell. Xing blinks. Trunk? What the hell does that- At the sound of the rifle crack he scrambles to grab cover that isn't in line with the top of the building.
There's a split-second for the two to realize the goon before them has been shot in the head, as he falls over in a graceless sprawl of limbs. Perhaps fortunately, his upper torso falls behind a bit of cover, and out of their immediate sight.
Rain puts his back to a sturdy upright girder, trusting that whatever's being fired at them isn't some kind of anti-materiel rifle and won't punch a few inches of cold-rolled steel. He shrugs out of his hoodie and starts taking off his web rig, and then his shirt. He tears it and starts tying parts of it around his shoulder and upper arm.
Ow. Ow, ow. Now I have to go up there looking like a bad B-movie star. Why don't I just paint some camouflage on my face? God. My whole life is a cliché. He starts strapping his rig on and pulls his hoodie back on, as much for warmth and prevention of shock as for fashion's sake.
The elevator hits ground and the noisy metal door ratchets open. Someone waves towards the car, shouting, "Hellooo! White Dagger says hurry up -- he's expecting you!"
Xing grimaces. Oh, great. We're on his timetable. Rain opens his mouth, and then closes it before he can give his position away by following his first impulse: shouting piss off! He leans back, instead, peeking with just half his face out from behind cover.
The goon in the elevator is wearing the usual dark suit, with the added interesting fashion statement of a heavily padded, somewhat military-looking, white canvas vest of some sort. He's leaning out of the elevator and grinning, looking rather pleased as he waits for a response.
Rain tchs. He leans back into cover and shouts, "Tell the White Dagger to throw the fucking rifle down first!"
The man laughs and calls back, "Don't be stupid! If you want the girl and the treasure, you'll come up. Otherwise he'll throw the girl off the building!"
Xing frowns slightly, glancing at the smiling man. Custom vest of some kind. He's not going for the big-game-hunter look. Probably some heavy duty kevlar there. He looks over to Rain, mouthing the word, 'Treasure?'
Rain leans back out and does a quick calculation. At least three hundred feet straight up, five give or take between here and the building, no way to tell what the wind is like between there and here. And a rifle is the one thing I don't have. There's nothing I can do from here. Except maybe tap this guy in the head for being a prick...
The man adds, "You've got one minute! After that I'm going back up, with you or without you. Whether the girl lives or dies is up to you." He looks at his watch, adding with almost obscene cheerfulness, "Starting timing... now!"
Rain tchs and sits up; with a flash of dark cloth he rolls up near Xing. "Do it. Go on up. I have an idea."
Xing thinks to himself, I am so going to enjoy fleecing this guy for everything he's worth. Better yet, I'll let Rain take care of him. He straightens and steps out from behind the corner. "All right, all right, you made your point." It's a gamble; White Dagger might try to cap him but then he knows that Rain can take care of this obscenely laughing fool.
The man looks up with a smug grin -- then frowns, "Both of you!"
Rain slides two of his knives into the cuff of his boot, and (teeth grinding) follows Xing. Gonna do something awful to you, yes yes... Xing says easily, "Keep your... vest on." He settles himself onto the elevator, adjusting his collar and the sleeves of his coat. "Nice jacket," he compliments dryly.
The man steps aside for both to enter the elevator, looking quite pleased, "Hello, hello! So pleased to see you both! White Dagger's expecting you, yes, yes -- he's quite the artisan, you know!" He hits the button for the elevator to start, which it does with a screech of metal.
He continues to talk as he struggles with the door, "It's quite -- oof! -- quite the honor to be in- erg! -invited!" He finally gives up on the jammed door, looking exasperated as he wipes his forehead. "Damn. Well, just stay well back from the door."
Rain is making a mental list. Fingers, hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, neck, eyes, ears, nose, ankles, knees, hip, groin. And now the pressure points... He's already planning his opening attack for when this goes sour; and it inevitably will. His Chin Na instructor would be so proud.
The mook beams at the two men, pulling out a walkie talkie, "Hello, boss? They're with me!" There's a crackle, then the tinny reply, "Both of them?" The man replies with a proud, "You betcha, sir!"
Xing finishes straightening himself up, the socialite part of his mind already relegating this overly-armored boor to the category of 'flunky.' The gambler part of his mind is wondering what the chances would be of White Dagger minding if this one was thrown out the door at the top of their ride... I'm so sorry, White Dagger. But he should have stayed well back from the door.
Aside from the loud rattling and chugging of machinery as the elevator passes floor after floor, and the faintly weird whisper of the wind through the open metal cage of the rising elevator... there's silence for a moment in the car. It's a strange, almost eerie sensation for both Xing and Rain... almost as if the wind is tickling the back of their necks, causing their hackles to rise...
Then the tinny voice on the walkie talkie returns, calm and with an aristocratic accent, "Excellent work, Feng." The smile in the voice can be heard as he adds, "Goodbye." There's a click, then a ticking noise from the vest Feng is wearing. He looks confusedly down at himself, "Huh...?"
Rain says, "Oh, shit!" He goes for the blade in his boot. "Hold still if you want to live-- I'm about to do you the favor of your miserable life!"
The man's eyes widen. He hesitates, then throws the walkie talkie at Rain, "Stay away from me!"
Xing blinks and grabs Rain a moment later, "Forget him, there's no time! Out the car and grab something and hold on!" He pulls Rain out the car, hoping he and the Sulsa can grab hold of something outside the elevator car that doesn't put them in the blast radius. He aims for the next passing floor, feeling fortunate that the soon-to-be-ventilated boor couldn't close the door after all.
Rain kicks off of the outside of the elevator and starts vaulting side-to-side, climbing the inside of the elevator scaffold. He hopes -- really hopes -- there's an open aperture he can get at somewhere; his explosives training comes unwelcome to the front of his mind. Composition Four does how much damage within fifty feet?!
Rain flies (almost literally) out of the elevator shaft with a moonsault that sees him landing on a horizontal I-beam and barreling for the far side of the building. Shit! Shit! Shiiiit!
Xing tries to pull Rain out of the car, but the sulsa's movement automatically make him slip from his grasp. That's fine, Xing thinks. He can take care of himself better when I'm not holding on to him. He dives out of the open doorway into the passing floor right in front of them, rolling to a standing sprint and bolting as far away from the explosive human as he can.
The sacrificial victim is terminally confused, unfortunately. The last seen of him, he's backed up into one corner of the elevator, looking around wildly -- and then there's a painfully loud, echoing, BOOOMMM! A bright flower of fire spreads through the elevator cage, reaching greedily outwards... then reluctantly withdraws, as the huge shards of the former elevator start an almost slow-motion tumble out of sight, towards the ground.
Once again, hearing returns with a painful, almost echoing clarity... the wind whispering quietly through the girders of the open, half-built building... the heavy slam of metal hitting the ground... and then, piercingly, a woman's scream, followed by sobbing.
Xing stops short, looking back and panting from the running. "Well," he murmurs, then winces at the sobbing, looking upward. He looks to Rain, then bolts for the stairs upward, drawing his gun, hoping the man will follow or stop him or come up with a better plan.
Rain is very still in the silence that follows... his long black scarf, now ragged at the end and edges from the abuse of the past few days, floats behind him, flapping like his own personal flag. He frowns, looking up through the skeleton of the building, and pulls his scarf over his mouth. His other hand tightens into a fist tight enough to make the glove creak; and then he's off, springing upward through the maze of steel as if on wires.
The two race upwards through the half-built building. Almost startlingly suddenly, they burst out into open air!
Rain springs up through the tangle of metal, twisting in midair to land with a resounding clang of boot heels on steel. Xing stops short. Hell. I didn't want to just burst out like this. I wanted option of sneaking up on him...
They're at one corner of the rooftop. Across the roof from them is a partially erected little structure, which will probably someday house machinery. Sitting relaxedly within is a slender, graceful man having a martini -- the White Dagger. Several black-suited men stand nearby, and the girl is bound to what appears to be part of a small crane on the roof.
Between them is an obviously unfinished section of roof -- as in there isn't any. A few boards cross the wide chasm... nothing more. Xing looks down at the chasm, mentally gauging and gambling on their ability to hold his and/or Rain's weight.
The White Dagger rises languidly, "Ah, excellent, you've arrived... and no worse for wear; how charming!" He finishes his drink and sets the glass aside. "We can finally start."
The girl is looking somewhat the worse for wear, actually... it's obvious she's not scarred at all, now, and her already flowing white clothing has some ragged rips in it. There are tear streaks through the makeup, and she's struggling with biting back sobs.
At the White Dagger's words she bursts out fearfully, "No! No, wait, I told you I'd show you -- please! Please, just d-don't hurt me an-ny m-m-more...!" She can't stop the crying, and her voice gets incoherent at the end there.
Rain doesn't say anything; he waits for the Dagger to make the first move. Xing narrows his eyes. The White Dagger has a reputation of being cruel and sadistic and enjoying it. He's the one who gives gangsters a feared and bad name. Xing imagines that it'd be a favor to the Pei family to kill him... but such pleasant fantasies can come later. For now, he takes his cue from Rain and holds himself back.
The goons all keep extremely wary eyes -- and weapons -- on the twosome. White Dagger straightens his jacket, then pulls out a handkerchief, strolling over to the girl. Eerily, he's almost crooning, "Now, now, enough sniveling... let's clean this up a bit so we can see your face more clearly, eh? Visual artistry should be appreciated..." He wipes all the makeup off Willow Down's face, then tosses the hankie aside and regards her thoughtfully, "Hm... where to start..."
The girl almost babbles, "I'll show you, I'll show you, I have the key, I promise!" Her eyes are wide with terror -- it's obvious she really doesn't want to recognize that White Dagger just... doesn't... care.
Xing bites back a snarl. For all the times he's been with a woman, there's a certain respect, a joyful adoration in those times; this is simply wrong. "What is it you want, White Dagger?" he asks sharply.
Rain fingers the blade behind his hand, waiting, waiting... picking his targets. Only two blades; he only gets one chance to make an opening. Keep talking, Xing, a few moments more...
White Dagger turns slowly towards Xing, his eyes narrowing. His eyes are on the two men, although his words are for the girl, "Have the key? My dear little girl, why do you think your dress was torn? You don't have it. You're useless to me... and you're lying."
He sighs melodramatically, "Liars so annoy me...!" Almost faster than the eye can see, one hand lashes out, cracking across the girl's face and rocking her head back -- and the crane creaks, the end with the girl shifting slightly, swinging out towards open space.
Xing narrows his eyes, his hand not holding the gun clenching. White Dagger is a sadist... he wants to terrorize the girl first. Let's see, from Rain and Xing's position, range about fifteen to twenty yards, bit windy... got good scores the last time I was at the range... timing, timing.... he won't just lob her off the chasm, he'll indulge himself a bit more.
Keep him talking for the moment, maybe Rain can take advantage of it. When he turns back to do something more to the girl... that's when I hope Fortune deals me in. He murmurs almost below his breath, "Be ready, Rain." Louder, and with a challenging tone to his voice because he knows sadistic brutes like to have people try to stand up to them when they're apparently powerless, "What is it you're looking for, Dagger?"
The White Dagger tilts his head, regarding the two with faint amusement, "Oh, please... don't be precious. You want the millions as much as I, and everyone else. The question is where... and I have the girl." He sighs melodramatically again, "True, the clumsy git has lost the key... but it's amazing what one can do with explosives nowadays!" He grins, his eyes alight with... something, "But please! Do add to the story -- it's so much more fun that way!"
He murmurs a casual aside to one of his men, who nods and kicks out a brace on the crane standard. The arm creaks and swings a little further out towards open air, causing the girl to gasp and desperately try dragging her toes on the ground to slow it down.
Xing resists the urge to shoot now. "Fine," he says. "How about we cut a deal, then, Dagger? You're right, we both want the same thing. There's enough for all of us." He glances at the mooks, hoping to make eye contact with them. "Enough for everyone." Please, Fortune, let one of them be too greedy for his own good, so he does something stupid.
The wind picks up a little, tugging at the girl's ragged dress, fluttering over the edge of the roof. White Dagger tilts his head again, obviously waiting... with lessening patience.
Whatever the hell you're going to do, Rain, do it now! "Of course, there's the little matter of the girl. You want the key? She goes free." Xing shrugs. "Of course I'm willing to take a... moderate cut of my share for this consideration." Dammit Rain...!
White Dagger sighs again, "Nothing new... never anything new." He turns disinterestedly away, waving a dismissive hand, "Kill them." The goons open fire.
Xing doesn't hesitate; there's no other chance. He brings his gun up to shoot the bastard in the back, even as he's moving to get out of the aim of the mooks.
Rain takes off as if on springs, bolting across the narrow divide, flicking the blade in his left hand at the closest mook; he ignores the White Dagger entirely, leaping instead onto the crane arm and shows no sign of stopping.
The crane creaks alarmingly, almost bouncing at the sudden new weight, then swinging smoothly out over 13 floors of... air. The girl screams in sudden terror, sagging into the ropes as her feet leave the floor.
White Dagger shouts in startled irritation at Rain, "Hey! That's mine!" Like magic, two pale daggers fly from his hand towards the little ninja. Unseen and unregarded behind him, a mook gasps and falls as one of Rain's daggers sprouts from his throat. The others continue to spray fire at Xing; they're smart enough not to fire past their boss at Rain, though.
Xing whips out his hand, the one with the Luger. He's never shot anyone in anger before, and this time it's a cool-burning flame. He's never wanted anyone dead before, and this time all he wants to see is blood on the White Dagger. He points, aiming, squeezing the trigger in the same motion, exactly as he was taught but not giving the sadist a chance to react more than he already has.
Xing's patroness, Kuan Yin, seems to be with him now -- two of the goons' weapons misfire, and one even explodes in its bearer's hands with a small burst of flame and a yell from the goon! Another simply misses, even though they're at almost point blank range.
Unfortunately the other two do not miss, and Xing can tell he's been hit twice. He does not falter, however -- his shot flies clean and true. The White Dagger arches forward with a startled gasp, then falls to his knees.
White Dagger is silent for a moment, his back to Xing and his head bowed. He looks like he's studying his chest... then his head rises as he says slowly, "You... shot me. You shot me?!" He almost leaps to his feet, whirling to snarl at Xing, "How dare you?!"
Xing feels the hot lead rounds punch through him. Goddess, it hurts! He staggers a little from the wounds, gritting his teeth... but the Fortunate Shadow is not quenched just yet. He staggers a little, straightening as blood dances in a rivulet down his gun arm, the crimson droplets leaving trails along his glove to kiss the barrel of his Luger.
"How dare I?" he says, in an almost normal voice. "I dare... like this." And then he's dashing across the thin planks, this time praying Lady Fortune lets him keep the White Dagger's attention long enough that the sadist fails to notice Rain saving the girl, and that he doesn't plummet to an ignominious death.
The peach blossoms, unharmed, burn in burn in his shirt pocket as he empties the clip at the White Dagger in his run, all but ignoring the remaining gunmen.
There is blood on White Dagger's formerly immaculate white shirt, and on the crooked fingers of one hand. There is no reason whatsoever in his narrowed eyes, as the White Dagger leaps towards Xing in return, daggers flying from the fingers of his free hand.
Rain glides up the hanging arm of the crane, moving fast, so fast, almost a blur of motion. He knows time's up but that is a distant, background thought; he isn't really thinking at all, just doing, every instinct screaming GO, RAIN! GO NOW!
He tucks into a roll as he nears the end of the crane; his left hand wraps around the girl's arm, his right slashes down with his one remaining blade and severs the rope. And then he's out of crane, and they're falling. Before she can draw breath to scream, he squeezes her hand and says, just loud enough to be heard over the roar of wind, "Hold on!"
The girl has had a hellish day -- she can't really help it. She screams, long and despairing as she falls, her torn dress whipping blindingly about the two of them, flailing madly in terror. They fall only a dozen feet or so before Rain whips his legs out into space toward the hanging hook of a large winch... and safety. Or so he hopes.
Rain forgets momentarily that he's twenty years old, that he's barely old enough to be considered an adult, that he's been shot three times today and three more not twelve hours ago, and that by all accounts he should be riding the wave of sheer terror.
For the moment, he is every wuxia hero, every Hwarang Knight before him, as he snaps his leg out, catching the hook in the crook of his knee and swinging wildly out and then back in, riding their momentum to swing the girl up onto a painter's scaffolding, on her feet and unharmed.
For a long, silent moment he hangs there by one leg, still holding the girl's hands as she stands there, and smiles. "I'd never let you fall."
The girl stands there, white with shock, eyes huge, staring at the man hanging upside down before her. Her hands are shaking in his as she whispers, "Thank you... thank you so much!" -and then it's too much, all at once, and her eyes roll up in her head and -- she faints.
Rain swings himself up onto the hanging chain, and starts launching himself up toward the roof again. Time to end this now. Hold on, Xing.
For Xing, there is only the White Dagger before him, his feet placed one... after another... quickly... upon the rickety board as he races across it. The Luger speaks once... twice... again... little pellets of lead singing out after the White Dagger. With a harsh, sudden click the clip empties as Xing An Ying is just a yard or two from the end.
He lets momentum throw the Luger forward in an arc, letting it land on the concrete safely for later retrieval... if there is a later. The motion lets Xing duck down and forward, his gloved hands -- one pale black, the other stained with his blood -- planting onto the board as he somersaults forward.
The sonorous voice of his mulan quan teacher, her laughter like the wind chime outside her apartment, comes to him: "Mulan quan wushu is movement, it is motion, and in motion is your life and soul...."
The daggers fly like shards of ice from the White Dagger's hand, and one whispers past Xing's cheek -- yet he feels no kiss of steel -- the White Dagger missed! The goons are starting to hesitate -- shoot, and risk hitting their boss... or don't shoot, but risk his anger later? Three of them miss, but one of them doesn't hesitate -- he brings up the rifle and fires directly at Xing!
The White Dagger snarls at Xing, teeth bared in a murderous rage and hands in wide-spread tiger claws, slashing at the diving man, "Die, insubordinate scum!"
The gunman's bullet pierces Xing's thigh at the apex of the somersault. His arms clench for just one moment with the sharp stinging pain as it tears through the muscle -- but cleanly, he realizes in faint relief. He pushes himself up and forward and off the plank, his arms wrapping themselves around him almost languorously as he spins.
His foot hits the concrete, and he unwraps himself like a lotus blooming in spring, the sweeping movements of his arms, the subtle turn of his wrists and arms as he lets his blood-soaked leg trace an arc before him in the ground, saffron blossoms of his life sparkling upon the harsh grey ground, ready to meet the White Dagger's attack.
He feels... nothing. Not now. His love affair with Lady Fortune may be drawing to a close but he accepts it as the way things are. I'm down on the ground... I've got seconds to live... and what's that waits for me, oh that waits for me...!
Rain snares a hanging counterweight as he scales the chain, gathering slack. As he bursts back over the edge of the roof, vaulting himself onto the narrow crossbeam with one hand, he flings the heavy chain overhand at the mook with the rifle. "It's not proper to interrupt a duel! Have some fucking manners!"
The irony of his phraseology is lost on Rain; he's sore and angry and bleeding and wants only to end this insanity once and for all. He doesn't have any poetic words, just one last burst of frenetic action.
Rain snarls at the Dagger, "And you! There's no more women to hide behind! Now I'm going to kill you in the name of the Knights of the Night, you son of a bitch!"
The last effectively shooting mook falls without a sound as the chain slams heavily into him, crushing him to the ground. The other mooks, already shaken or damaged, simply take to their heels, and moments later the metallic echo of their feet hammering down the stairs can be heard.
From above, perhaps from the neighboring buildings or from a passing helicopter, the scene is murderously quiet, the battlefield having been emptied but for a triangle of three remaining men. A bloody blade, falling peach blossoms, and the snap of floating black silk, a shadow among shadows. One way or another, the fight is about to end.
White Dagger's shirt is now stained a rich crimson, and his wide, glaring eyes are fixed on Xing -- he doesn't even seem aware of Rain behind him.
Xing's hands whip about in the windmill, the whirlwind that allows one to strike their enemy while not being where the enemy strikes. But the claws find their mark; slipping beneath Fortune's Own long-coat and piercing his side, finger-four slashes of wet red marking his side as the claws lash.
The pain is intense, horrendous and unbelievably harsh. Nothing could have prepared him for it. But, he tells himself, seeing the stalking sulsa behind the White Dagger, completing the whirl to face the sadist... it does not matter. Even if he dies... Rain ends it.
And I can't get up, from this wet crimson bed that you made for me, that you made for me... The faint smile, just barely showing the tips of his teeth as he bares them in defiance, the expression weak but the eyes, the eyes as hard and bright as they ever have been, is all the challenge he feels the White Dagger is deserving of...
White Dagger hisses like an angry cat, knocked back by the deceptively smooth-moving strike Xing lands on him -- then bounces back to his feet. It's an obvious effort for him, though, and he's panting now as he stalks forward again, bloody clawed hands out at his sides. "Pathetic little upstart... I rule here!" His insane eyes are bloodshot, and there's a touch of bloody foam at the corners of his mouth.
Rain doesn't wait for acknowledgement; he knows what lethal wounds look like... Xing is going to die if the fight drags on much longer. The fact that he might do the same doesn't enter into his thinking. Knights don't think of themselves first.
He aims himself for the White Dagger's back. Fine. If you won't meet your death face to face... suit yourself. He shoots down the narrow crossbeam, and leaves the ground, legs arcing out in a wide, crushing roundhouse kick.
The moment his boots clang against the crossbeam again he surges forward with a furious stream of strikes, battering down what defenses the Dagger puts up regardless of how much impact or effectiveness the attack is; he can feel the weight of all his order on him and it drives him on. "No! No more! No more innocents die tonight! GO TO HELL!"
Rain turns, backing the White Dagger up step after step with a stream of vicious strikes. Suddenly he spots an opening and, instinctively, lashes out at it, his foot swinging up and around with all the weight of a thousand years of Knights behind it. "It ends right now!! IT'S OVER!" His foot connects with a single, ringing snap.
To protect the people from evil men, and to see justice done. That is why we fight, Rain Xiao.
Hold on, Xing.
White Dagger's screech is the sound of tearing metal, like an insane puma's dying scream. He staggers back blindly -- how can he even move, when he's that shattered inside? -groping at nothing with clawed hands, his torn clothing flapping dark and wet around him. Then Rain's final strike connects, and White Dagger lurches sideways like a puppet with its strings cut -- his leg is broken.
For a moment he teeters on the edge of the roof; it looks like he's regained his balance -- his eyes clear from the pain and he looks around. Then he laughs -- loud and long and wild, without a shred of sanity -- "Cretins! You'll never take me!" He lets himself fall over the edge, and his wild scream trails behind him.
Rain stands there on the edge of the roof for a long moment... then collapses onto his knees, panting raggedly. He tugs the scarf away from his face, and closes his eyes. He murmurs, "I don't have to. Just die."
A moment later that piercing clarity of hearing returns... there's nothing but the soft, calm, murmuring whisper of the wind... and a moment after that, the patter of small feet moving cautiously to Xing's side.
Xing holds the position for a moment -- the position he expected to die in, panting, watching, seeing the end of it as the White Dagger throws himself over the edge... and the weariness settles onto him at last. Slowly his arms arc about as he slides himself from the position of fighting, straightening his legs, wrists curling until his right hand, forefinger and middle finger extended upward, settle above the palm-upward curve of his left.
He closes his eyes, and lets out a slow breath. I am yours... Fortune. Droplets of blood fall from his right hand into his left. And he falls to his knees, his arms falling a few moments later to his side, as the anger and vengeance drains away from him, taking the adrenaline with it.
He hears the footsteps beside him, the haziness in his mind making him think it's the sulsa. He murmurs softly, "Is she safe, Rain...?"
A female voice whispers, "Yes... thanks to you both. Don't die, please? I... I've had enough death..." Her voice chokes up and she falls silent. He can feel arms around him, though, trying to help him lay down.
Willow Down looks up at Rain, worry across her bruised face, "Do you have a cell phone? Are you all right? I... I think your friend is..." She bits her lip, then adds a little huskily, "Can you call for help, please?" She tears the ragged edge of her dress off, trying to staunch the worst of Xing's wounds.
Rain rises to one knee; then up to his feet. He looks out over the sprawling skyline of the island. Beyond, in the farthest distance, a sliver of purple mountain beyond.
He bends down and picks up his other dagger from the dead enforcer, looks at it for a moment, then shakes his head and hops as lightly as he can under the circumstances over the crossbeams to where Xing and the girl are; he nods. "I'll bring help. Don't worry... I promised. I won't let anyone fall."
The girl looks up at Rain, her eyes suddenly filling with tears and her lips quivering. She doesn't say anything -- she looks like she might be too choked up to speak. Instead she just nods once, then determinedly goes back to working on Xing.
Even though his eyes are closed, Xing smiles softly, to hear that voice. He makes no resistance at all. "Good... I'm glad you are. It's... almost done, then. I'll be all right.... Fortune's... not done with me... not yet." As he lies down, gentle velvet arms of cinnamon unconsciousness embracing him, he is smile warms, and he murmurs, "The peach blossoms... are still alive...."
Rain picks up his phone, and dials. "Hello... father? The mission is complete. We need an ambulance."
Some time later the three are in a safe house -- the same one Abdullah is in, in fact. Xing is in a medical room, sleeping peacefully after being patched up and suitably medicated. The girl is curled up on the other bed in the room, also sleeping, although hers is the rest of the exhausted, not the wounded.
Rain is in another room, being debriefed. The man Rain has been talking to shakes his head, "I understand he fell over the edge of the roof. I'm telling you, though -- there was a bloody spot, but no body."
Rain shrugs, a bit stiffly, most of his torso now wrapped in gauze, including one of his upper arms now. "It doesn't really matter, does it? The mission's complete. Everyone is safe. And if it's that important... I can always kill him a second time. Maybe the Pei syndicate took him away so they wouldn't be implicated."
The man nods once, unsmiling, "It may come to that. We shall see." He listens, then nods, "Possible, although not our concern. You, however, have done well; our debt to Grandfather Fa is paid." He rises, adding, "You may return to your friends when you wish... I think you will find there is more to learn." He makes a simple half-bow, then withdraws quietly.
Rain sits by himself in the room for awhile, leaning back with closed eyes. He recommended to father that they blindfold Abdullah and kick him in the general direction of a consulate or embassy, but that's no longer his concern. Xiao Chu's upper level has taken control of the operation now the field op is over... it's no longer his problem.
He wonders, though, what they're telling Willow Down. "She probably thinks I'm just another gangster too," he sighs. "Ah, well. Screw it. It's better that way." He rises and heads upstairs. Time to see if Xing's come around yet.
Xing is drifting in and out of consciousness, with sedation added every so often to the Ringer's solution drip. When Rain quietly slips into the hospital room, there's no immediate reaction from Xing. The girl, however, starts slightly, obviously having awakened suddenly. She freezes, huge dark eyes staring at him... then relaxes a bit. "Hello? I... I know you... you're the man that -- that didn't let me fall."
She studies him silently, eyes still wide, although no longer with fear. "You... you're Korean, yes? What's your name, please, honorable sir?" There's only quiet curiosity in her soft whisper. The bruise is starting to fade already, showing she's a pretty girl when relaxed.
Rain smiles wanly, and doesn't really meet her eyes right away. "That's right. My name's Rain." He nods a bit. "I'm Korean."
The girl nods, putting her hands together before her to make the nod a semi-formal gesture, "Thank you, honorable Rain. You and your friend saved my life." She hesitates, then adds shyly, "I am..." She pauses, then says with quiet firmness, "My name is Yu-soo Fan."
Rain bows politely, if a little stiffly under all the gauze holding his upper half together, and some long-ago martial instinct forces his eyes up to watch the other; he meets her eyes, then. "I know," he says softly, "We came looking for you. I'm sorry we didn't arrive sooner.'
Yu-soo smiles with quiet happiness at Rain, "Please, don't be sorry. I am so very grateful you arrived at all!" As she watches Rain, a blush slowly rises across her face, and she looks shyly away. For someone who's not supposed to be a 'nice' girl... she's certainly behaving like one.
Rain straightens up, again stiffly, and sighs a little with relief when he finally gets there. Noting a sudden tension, he does his best to politely change the subject, "Ah... how are you feeling? I hope he didn't hurt you too badly before we could arrive..."
The girl's face tightens a bit, but she forces a smile, "I... I am feeling fine, thank you. Ah... p-please forgive me, Mr. Rain, if I would, um, rather not, please, n-not talk ab-bout..."
She takes a deep breath, then hastily adds, "Ah, and how are you feeling also, please? Well, I hope?" She blushes again, but pats the bed slightly near her, "W-would you, ah, would you l-like to... to have a seat? You m-must be tired also?"
Rain smiles lopsidedly, half-apologetically, "As well as can be expected, under the circumstances." He folds his arms across his chest, wishing for some reason he can't quite place that he'd put a shirt on. He nods and sits down lightly, looking back at Xing, and sighs. "I wasn't quite able to protect him either."
Yu-soo sits up a bit, putting the pillow as a brace behind her and pulling her knees up, to wrap her arms around them and the covers. She tilts her head, regarding him thoughtfully while he's looking at Xing, then says softly, "You both must be very brave... to save a nobody like that."
He smiles ruefully at Yu-soo, "I suppose I should be grateful you're both still around at all, but..." He sighs and smiles, shrugging a little bit. "At least it's all ended now."
She blinks as Rain looks at her, then sighs softly, a little regretfully, "I... suppose it is. I guess." She lays her head on her knees and murmurs a little muffledly, "You'll want the key now, right? And the location?"
Xing is not asleep. He meditates -- something he hasn't done in
so very long. It is a small garden, where his mulan quan wushu
mentor lived so many years ago. But it is odd; he cannot sense the walls
to the small patio.
There is a thick, cloudy, not unpleasant fog. Sounds are muffled,
making it even more peaceful. His mentor is there -- no... it is
Fortune, Lady Fortune, whose voice he seems to hear. And then the voice changes again, younger, sadder:
Rain shakes his head at Yu-Soo's comment, "Who you are doesn't mean anything to me... we couldn't let..." He pauses, trailing off, then turns to face her more, "Actually. We don't really know what the key is for..." He springs up, "Hey! Xing? Xing!"
The girl winces slightly, then sighs, relaxing a bit as she realizes the shout isn't at her. She looks over with interest at the other man, a small, shy smile on her face.
Xing winces a little, and tries to move as little as possible. Fortune favored him in this -- with a lot of help from Xing -- but that was not a pleasant experience at all. He grumbles a little, raising his hand to his eyes. "No need to shout," he mutters good-naturedly, "I'm still in the same district as you."
There's a small, startled, half-stifled giggle from the girl! Rain exhales deeply, "You're lucky you're still in the same karmic cycle as me, damn it. I thought you were going to die." He shakes his head, letting his shoulders slump with relief.
The girl's voice is soft, "Me too. Thank you for my life, honorable sir."
Xing chuckles, then winces as he realizes that's a bad idea. "Heh-ow. No, Rain, thank you. I wouldn't have made it without you." At the girl's voice, he gives a start. "Wha- OW!" and settles back onto the bed very, very carefully.
Through wincing eyes, he turns his head to look curiously at the girl. He doesn't say anything for a few moments, though his mouth moves as if trying to find words. "You're... you're very welcome, ma'am. It was... the least we could do."
Rain nods. "We weren't going to let the Pei do as they pleased with you."
The girl looks like she's not sure whether to smile politely -- or hide under the covers! "Ah... ah, thank you?" She puts her hands together in front of her and does a polite seated bow. Her voice is quietly resigned as she adds, "I am a miss, though... not a respectable married lady. Miss Yu-soo Fan, at your service."
Xing blinks a little, his eyesight clearing some. "Oh... my apologies, Miss Fan. Xing An Ying. A pleasure to meet you." He swallows. "Soo-niang, then... your sister." He can't bring himself to say 'was.'
At Rain's words, the girl looks at him... then at Xing, then down at her hands. "I... I have a confession to make." She bites her lip, then says quietly, "I... have lost the key. I will be happy to show you the warehouse, though. All I ask, please, is that you not hurt anyone else?" She blinks at Xing, her eyes filling with tears, and nods once. Her voice is husky and a bit choked up, "M-my... my twin."
Rain says, "Erm... actually... as I was saying... we don't actually know what the key is for."
The girl blinks at Rain, surreptitiously wiping tears from her eyes with the corner of the sheet. Then she blinks again, "You... you saved me... for me?! Not for the treasure?!"
Xing nods quietly, biting his lips. "I am sorry," he murmurs. Then he blinks, and with the arm that isn't hooked up to a Ringer's drip, digs the key from his pocket. Managing not to drop it, he holds it out to her. "Oh. This is yours, then."
At Xing's offering, the girl almost recoils, "Oh! No, no, please, I don't want it any more! Please don't make me take it -- it's got so much blood on it now! Kai was greedy, true, but Susie d-didn't -- she didn't des-s-serve to d-die for it!"
Rain tries not to look incredulous. He reminds himself that for all she knows, he's another Triad assassin. "Well... yes. We were looking for you because you'd vanished... and when we found you on the end of a crane twelve stories in the air, well... we did what we thought was right."
The girl tries to contain her tears, staring incredulously at Rain, "You... w-were looking for me? But... but why, if not for the treasure?"
Xing nods a bit, then winces as he stretches to set the key down on the nightstand. "Nobody deserves to die for mere wealth," he says, a bit strained. When he finally returns his arm back at his side, sweat is on his brow.
"To be honest," he adds, managing to not pant from the exertion, "we have no idea what all this was about, all this talk about treasure and all." He grimaces. "I'm so disappointed that fat sadist didn't call my bluff. I'm usually so much better at that sort of thing..."
There's a little glass with water in it on the nightstand. Standing in the glass is a small spray of slightly battered but still sweet-smelling... peach blossoms. Xing smiles softly at the sight of the blossoms, letting his fingers brush against them briefly before looking back to the girl, letting Rain explain. The girl is looking with utter confusion between Rain and Xing.
Rain says, "Your father asked us to... find Soo-niang. But when we discovered you both were missing, and the connection with Kai... we went looking for you both. Your safety was the mission given to me. We didn't actually know there was a treasure involved..."
He trails off, realizing this is about to sound exactly as insane as he thinks it will: "Until some Muslims shot me." He adds somewhat sheepishly, "Um... I'm still not exactly sure why they did that."
The girl stares blankly at Rain, listening. A moment after he stops talking, she blinks... then has to cover a slightly hysterical sounding giggle! She puts both hands hastily over her mouth, looking ashamed, then carefully says, "Forgive me, please; I'm not, uh, not quite m-myself..." She blinks again, a shocked look crossing her face as she sits up suddenly in the bed, "Shot you?! Oh, no! Are you all right?!"
Rain smiles wanly and raises his hands a bit. "I've felt better, to be honest, but... I think I got off a bit easier than Xing did."
The girl gives Xing a worried look, "You... the Muslims shot you too?!"
Xing laughs softly, and winces a bit. "Oh... heh... no, I just had to use someone's head as a footstep to climb on a container. I think he means the... dance with White Dagger."
"Oh!" Yu-soo considers, then says politely, "I am glad you are healing well, then, honored Xing." She looks back interestedly at Rain, "So... you really just saved me... um, because of me? Not because you wanted the Iraqi ancient treasures Kai hid in the warehouse because the Baathist guy who stole them for the Hussein government died on the sea trip over?"
Xing smiles. "Thank you, Miss." He blinks at her explanation. "Uh..." The only thing he can say in reply is something an American gambler once muttered in awe: "Whoa."
Rain just... stares. "I... uh... well, yeah. I mean, that is... of course. We didn't even know there was a treasure. That shouldn't matter... you were in trouble. We were sent to find you. We weren't going to let anyone hurt you."
Xing says, "Well... that does explain the Muslims."
The girl stares back, equally astonished. A moment later, in a small flurry of bedclothes, she leans forward to throw her arms around him in a careful hug, "Oh, thank you!" She blinks, realizing they're both practically nose-to-nose -- then flushes bright red and hastily retreats back to the head of the bed, pulling the covers up to her chin, "I, ah, I mean, well, um... yes. Thank you. Yes."
Rain smiles sheepishly and doesn't pull away; he just shakes his head, "Don't mention it. Your father sent us to find you... we weren't going to come back to him with anything else."
The girl winces slightly, "Oh. Um... yes." She sighs, looking away, "I... don't think I'm quite what my... my father was having you search for. I..." She puts her head on her knees and muffledly adds, "He's divorced me. I'm no longer his daughter."
Xing mmphs softly, reaching up to rub his brow. "That's certainly his loss, then. You are very courageous to do what you have done, Miss Fan."
Rain says, "We didn't know that." He adds matter-of-factly, "And I don't care. We'd have still gone up there for you. I'd have still gone up on that crane. It would have been unthinkable to do otherwise."
Yu-soo tilts her head enough to glance through her bangs at Xing, a small, ashamed smile on her lips, "Well... I... I was greedy too, initially. It wasn't until I realized Kai was in fear of his life, and Susie'd been shot instead of me -- that's when I realized it was wrong." She sighs, "By then... it was too late... and I didn't know who to return the key to."
Xing resists going into a political diatribe; he's in no condition, and politics isn't his thing. Instead he says, "There's time enough to figure out the right thing to do."
Rain says, "Your family's circumstances don't diminish the worth of your life. We weren't about to let you just be murdered by those savages."
Yu-soo peeks out from under her bangs again at Rain, a faint flush across her cheeks. Her voice is small, but faintly pleased, "Really? That... that's so nice of you... honored sir."
Rain smiles a little at Yu-soo and shakes his head. "It was just the right thing to do. And... just call me Rain. People call my dad 'honored sir.'"
Yu-soo's blush increases, but she takes a deep breath and smiles with genuine happiness, "I... I would like that, thank you, hon- er, Rain. W-would you please call me Yu-soo as well?"
Rain nods, "It'd be my pleasure... Yu-soo."